Accurate Miniatures

1/72 RQ-1 Predator UAV

Kit Number: 0412

Reviewed by  Clare Wentzel, IPMS# 1096

MSRP: $17.99 Website: www.accurate-miniatures.com The Predator UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) has provided the U.S. Military units and intelligence agencies with a versatile airborne system for more than a decade. It provides "real time" aerial reconnaissance, target assessment and also interdiction capabilities. The Predator is flown by a pilot or systems operator seated in a land-based remote site allowing critical intelligence to be gathered without risking the life of a pilot. It's small size and quiet engine makes it almost invisible from the ground. The Predator MQ-1 has been fitted with AGM-114 Hellfire missiles to provide an offensive punch, thus greatly increasing the types of missions where it can be used. Essentially, this is the descendent of the original radio controlled model airplane, invented by Walt and Bill Good in 1937. The Predator can provide real-time surveillance imagery from synthetic aperture radar, video cameras and a forward-looking infrared (FLIR) both to the front line soldier and to the operational commander, or worldwide in real-time via satellite communication links. The Kit This is a simple but well molded kit consisting of 30 pieces. Wings are one piece and the basic fuselage and horizontal stabilizer is two pieces. Care is taken in the packaging to ensure that the two mass balances on the anhedraled horizontal stabilizers are protected. Panel lines are recessed and surface detail is very good. The only molding problem that I saw was that one of the small pitot tubes was not completely molded. Part fit was overall good. The only filling that was required was at the rear of the fuselage. This is an easy one evening (or weekend for us slow modelers) project. This kit covers the RQ-1 model without missiles however; the locations of the wing pylons are molded into the wings and are covered by filler plates. It is reasonable to expect that the MQ-1 model could be easily produced. Color and Markings The defined color for the model is overall light ghost gray which makes painting easy. The landing gear and wheels are flat black. The nose wheel is molded integral with the gear strut but is easily painted. I painted the Skyball Gimbal a slightly darker shade of gray to make it stand out more. Some Internet photos seem to show this item darker also. In addition, I noted from various photos that the tips of the props are painted a yellow-orange. This was not mentioned in the directions. The decals are printed by Cartograf and are excellent. Markings are provided to allow the modeler to build virtually any of the Predators produced. A photo of my leftover decals is included to show how many different schemes are provided. If they had included a color version of the TAC emblem, it would have been even more useful. Accurate Miniatures provide a somewhat crude drawing showing the full markings plus six other sets of tail markings although none of them included serial numbers. My problem was that I liked the yellow and black checkerboard tail marking. None of the suggestions included these markings however the color photo on the box included the markings that I wanted. The directions do not mention any decals to be applied to the gimbal but decal 34 resembles markings shown in various photos. Following painting and decaling, I applied a wash to bring out some of the exquisite panel lines. As I said before, this is a great kit for a quick project to clear your head and get your modeling mojo back. It has no cockpit and the landing gear are simple stalks. I spent much more time looking for markings on the Internet than I did building the model. The kit is available from the manufacturer and many hobby shops. It is also sold in Hobby Lobby stores. This kit is well recommended and a big thank you to Accurate Miniatures for supporting IPMS and for bringing out this fun little kit.