| Gold Medal Models | |
| CVN ¼ Airwing Details Photo Etch Set | |
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kit number 350-30 |
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Reviewed By Charles Landrum, #26328 |
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MSRP: $24.00 USD Available directly from Gold Medal Model or through retail outlets. Gold Medal Models 1412 Fisherman Bay Road Lopez, WA 98261 USA I would like to thank Loren Perry for this review sample. Gold Medal Models has entered the fray of those companies offering photo-etched detail sets for the air wings of US Navy CVNs. There are plenty to chose from: White Ensign Miniatures in the UK and Tom’s Model Works in the US both offer sets for both USS ENTERPRISE (Mid-1980s-today) and USS NIMITZ (mid 1970s-mid 1980s). These sets are specific for the period of time indicated. Gold Medal Model’s has taken a different approach, offering in one set details for the variety of aircraft present on carrier decks from the 1970s to today including the A-6, A-7, EA-3, EA-6B, E-2, F-4, F-14, F-18, RA-5C, S-3, and SH-3. The only aircraft missing is the HH-60, but in fairness this aircraft has not been provided with the CVN kits nor in separate packaging. Like the other sets available on the market, one sheet of brass will not detail an entire air wing. Rather this offering is advertised as covering one fourth of an air wing. |
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Etched from a much heavier gauge of brass than is standard, this set offers two advantages over sets of the standard thickness. First it makes handling the parts much easier that lighter gauge metal. Also if provides a better scale appearance in thickness and tire width. Plus the brass is double relief etched, unlike some sets. True to other GMM sets the parts are well laid out and marked. The basic offering for most plane types consists of main and nose landing gear and tires, gear doors, and a tail hook. There are additional details depending on the aircraft type. The break down by aircraft is as follows: 6 A-6/EA-6B - Main gear, nose gear, gear doors, tail hook, wing racks (with and without TERs), boarding ladders and refueling probes 6 A-7 - Main gear, nose gear, gear doors, tail hook, wing racks, AIM-7 rails 2 EA-3 – Landing gear doors only 2 E-2 - Main gear, nose gear, gear doors, tail hook, propellers 6 F-4 - Main gear, nose gear, gear doors, tail hook, wing racks, boarding ladders 6 F-14 - Main gear, nose gear, gear doors, tail hook 10 F-18 - Main gear, nose gear, gear doors, tail hook 2 RA-5C – Landing gear doors only 3 S-3 - Nose gear, gear doors, tail hook, wing racks 2 SH-3 – One main rotor spread, one main rotor folder, main rotor hub, tail rotor, left cabin door, right cabin door, rescue winch As a bonus there are a few free-standing boarding ladders, extra wheels, and extra tail hooks. Despite all of this detail there are a few details missing: F-14 racks, F-18 racks and S-3 racks. |
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| Since I have packs of Tamiya 1/350 aircraft available, I tried out on this product on several of the aircraft from set #1. I found the parts not too delicate, but a little harder to remove from the frames due to the thickness of the metal. Burrs were not as easy to remove with a knife. On the other hand the parts had more edge surface for gluing. Placement on the instructions is adequate, but you really need 3 view drawings or pictures of each aircraft to ensure the details are properly positioned. I particularly like the engineering of the main gear on the A-6/EA-6B/F-14 with the fold over tires making alignment easy and doubling the thickness of the tires. | |
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| Overall, this is a nice basic set. There is nothing fancy or fiddly like cockpit interiors, but you receive needed enhancements that greatly improve the scale appearance of the aircraft. Warning - be prepared to spend a lot more time on your air wing! Recommended. | |
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