SCALEWORLD

Well, folks, it's November and I promised y'all a couple of things for this column. Neither made it. The 1/32 Spirit of St. Louis has yet to arrive due to a continuing backlog of orders (Wouldn't every manufacturer like to have that problem?). As for the photo of Wolfman's Wagon (I know, you've been waiting with bated breath to see it!), serious medical problems involving my 93 year old mother have delayed it. I'll try to have it for you next month. And those problems have me skating on the thin edge of a deadline, so let's get to it and see how much I can cover before I run out of time.

Modelbuilding is already an international hobby and business, but we've also become used to kits coming from certain countries.

There's a tendency to ignore the others. As a result, we're surprised when a new kit and/or a new company surfaces from one of those ignored countries.

Case in point is a new manufacturer of injected plastic kits by the name of OCCIDENTAL REPLICAS. Distributed in North America by PRECISION PARTS CORP., this company is located in Portugal and, as far as I know, came as a complete surprise to just about everyone...but a most pleasant surprise. Their first effort was a North American T-6G, followed by a North American Harvard. They've also announced a Supermarine Spitfire Mk. IX as their third release and all three are in 1/48 scale.

The T-6G carrys a price of $29.99, for which OCCIDENTAL gives you 71 soft gray styrene parts, 7 clear styrene parts and 2 small sheets of decals, decals providing markings for Portugese and French machines. Instructions take the form of a 16 1/2 x 23 1/2 inch sheet that folds down to 8 1/4 x 11 3/4. As you would expect, the international symbol format is used, along with a brief history of the aircraft in Portugese, English and French. Colors are keyed to Revell paint codes but, fortunately, FS numbers are included as well.

Open the box and your first impression is that your money hasn't been spent in vain. Most surface detail is recessed, raised where it was on the real aircraft. All detailing is very delicately done, almost too delicately if you happen to have a heavy hand with a spray can of primer. Dryfitting resulted in very close seams, so I would expect the need for putty or gap filling CA will be minimal.

If you're wondering about sink marks or ejector pin marks, I couldn't find any that would show up on a finished surface. And the gates that hold the parts to the trees are also about as small as they can be.

There are differences between the earlier AT-6 (think MONOGRAM) and the T-6G, a football style DF antenna and revised canopy framing being the most obvious. OCIDENTAL definitely did their homework because all the detail changes are there. Dimensionally, the kit is dead on. Wingspan is within .020 of being an absolute match with published dimensions.

A pair each of rocket pods and gun tubs are included for under wing stores if you choose a variant that carried them. Combined with detailed interior and postionable flaps, the resulting model will be one you can be proud to add to your display case when built straight from the box.

On the down side (Had to be one, didn't there?), the wheel/tire (with outer hub insert) detail is on the soft side, the interior detail -nice as it is- doesn't compare to the Monogram kit, pitot tube is molded integrally with the right wing and the model's surface detail doesn't attempt to represent the raised rivets that you find on all T-6s. Of course, you do need to keep in mind that a raised rivet in 1/48 wouldn't be much more than 1/1000 of an inch in height!

In spite of the preceeding nitpicking, OCIDENTAL has produced an excellent kit. Considering that it's the first effort from a new company, I only have one thing to say. Bring on the Mark IX!

Also distributed in North America by PRECISION PARTS CORP., EDUARD MODEL ACCESSORIES has released a couple of photoetch sets designed specifically for the OCIDENTAL T-6G. Set # 48 248 provides complete ...and I do mean complete...interior details. Containing some 70-odd brass parts on two frets and a couple of film style instrument sets, this collection of PE will raise your T-6G to contest level and then some. Many of the components are so small and delicate that it'll take an OptiVISOR to even identify them, never mind install'em! If you're a photoetch fan, this set's for you. And considering what you get, the $14.99 price is a bargain.

The second set is #48 252 and sells for $11.99. If you've finished installing a photoetch interior and are thinking you can still do more in the way of detailing, you can. This set gives you a complete set of photoetch flaps. While there aren't all that many parts on a single fret, the end result will be just as detailed as the cockpit interior.

Strange as it may sound to some people, books are a modelbuilder's lifeblood. Without books and magazines, of both finished models and prototype aircraft, there would be no inspiration, no models of obscure one of a kind aircraft, no unusual markings or noseart, ad infinitum. So that I won't wind up so far behind that I'll never catch up, following is a list of the latest publications on hand. Full reviews will appear later in the book section.