Czech Master Resin’s 1/72 Supermarine Scimitar F.1 By Chris Banyai-Riepl

The Kit

This latest release from Czech Master Resin is one long in coming.  With no decent injection-molded kit of the Scimitar out there this is your only real choice, and luckily it is a great one.  The parts are molded in a combination of a whitish resin and a brown resin and feature recessed panel lines throughout.  The large decal sheet includes options for three planes as well as ample stenciling to add that extra bit of detail to the finished model.

Construction is pretty simple, but there’s always room for added detailing.  The cockpit comes with a floor incorporating the instrument panel, a separate control stick, and a separate seat.  Sidewall detail is molded into the fuselage halves.  The cockpit floor also makes up the roof of the nose wheelwell and the way it all fits together should be quite sturdy. 

The fuselage is split into right and left halves, and once that’s together the rest of the build is pretty quick.  After the cockpit interior all that’s left for inside the fuselage are the engine details comprising of two engine faces, two exhaust faces and two burner cans.  The wings are solid, with a right and a left piece, while the vertical fin incorporates the entire fuselage spine as well.  The stabilizer is also molded as one piece and has the bullet fairing molded with it.  Separate intakes with splitter plates round out the major assembly of the kit.

Sticking this plane on its legs should be no problem as the resin landing gear is quite hefty and solid.  There’s also the nose refueling probe, tail hook & tail bumper, and pitot tube for final detailing.  Rounding out the kit are the underwing stores, consisting of four drop tanks and two Sidewinder missiles.  You have an option of using either a pair of tanks or the pair of missiles on the outer pylons.

Painting and markings are pretty simple for this kit, as all the Scimitars wore basically the same camouflage of white bellies and extra dark sea gray uppers.  The three choices are XD319 of 807 Squadron, XD268 of 800B Squadron, and XD272 of 804 Squadron.  The decals are nicely printed and are in perfect register.  The large selection of stenciling is a nice touch.

Conclusion

If you’re into FAA aircraft this is one kit you won’t want to pass up.  While it is a full resin kit its construction is pretty simple and should pose no problem for just about any modeler.