Gold Medal Models

1/350 1930s 1/4 Air Wing Detail Set For the Trumpeter 1/350 Lexington or Saratoga

Stock Number: 350-40

Reviewed By  Charles Landrum, IPMS# nn

MSRP: $12.00 Available directly from Gold Medal Models or through retail outlets:    Gold Medal Models, 1412 Fisherman Bay Road, Lopez, WA 98261          website: www.goldmm.com I would like to thank Loren Perry for this review sample. Gold Medal Models has released a separate and specific PE detail set for 8 of Trumpeter's latest aircraft sets - the aircraft of the 1930s intended for their USS Lexington and USS Saratoga kits. These sets include the:   · Curtiss F11C/BFC Goshawk fighter   · Grumman F2F fighter   · Grumman F3F fighter   · Brewster F2A Buffalo fighter   · Curtiss SBC Hell Diver scout bomber   · Vought SBU scout bomber   · Vought SB2U Vindicator scout boumber   · Great Lakes TG-2 Torpedo Bomber During the 1930 there were varying combinations of these aircraft embarked in the air groups as well as the Douglas TBD Devastator torpedo bomber already released with the USS Hornet kit; PE for the Devastator is covered in set (350-26). This is not a large fret, but it is packed with double etched details sufficient for 6 aircraft for all eight aircraft type now available - a total of 48 aircraft. The photoetch details include: cabane and interplane struts for the biplanes; radio antenna masts for the mono planes; and wheels, propellers and tailhooks for all aircraft. GMM has left the rigging to you! Note while this set is called a 1/4 set in its title, it really is a 1/3 set. The reason being that during the 1930s and into the early war years, squadron sizes were 18 aircraft, based upon six 3-plane sections. So in fact GMM has provided you with enough PE for 2 sections, meaning you only need 3 sets - less than the cost of the ship PE set! The details of the Trumpeter aircraft are quite nice, petite and well proportioned - but the GMM details are better. For the monoplanes, you could get by with out any PE, although Trumpeter leaves off the tailhooks and radio antenna masts. For the bi-planes however, this set is a must and a welcome addition. Why? Because Trumpeter molded the planes in clear plastic including a solid piece that represents each strut pair. So if you paint them plastic to simulate the struts, you end up with a window pane appearance - the GMM set fixes this shortcoming. The GMM PE is a complete package and gives the planes a more graceful and scale appearance. Of note, Commander Series Models release a nice set of resin aircraft for a backdate of Lexington to the period 1938-1941. These sets included SBC Helldivers, F2A Buffaloes, and SB2U Vindicators and each came with a generic set of PE that was mostly incorrect. This GMM set is appropriate for them as well and will give the modeler the PE required to build these aircraft correctly. So if you have these resin aircraft, there is no need to dump them for the Trumpeter variety. This latest release by GMM is most welcome! It will greatly enhance the scale appearance of all of Golden Wing aircraft now available and will go a long way to providing realistic aircraft on the flight deck. Strongly recommended.

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