Academy kits is one of those brands that I usually shy away from, however when a customer hands you a kit and asks you to build it, you don't always get a choice. Although it came in an Eduard Limited Edition boxing, I knew from the outset that it was an Academy kit with just whole lot of Eduard aftermarket stuff thrown in. This included a replacement resin nose cone with a brass pitot tube, cockpit tub, ejection seat, wheel well bays, wheels, flare dispensers, exhaust cones and a large fret of etch metal. As impressive as this all looked, from past experience with Academy kits, I still wasn't overly impressed by it.
The first thing I tackled was the fitment of the replacement resin wheel wells, as they were quite fiddly and it is important to ensure that they are fitted correctly, or this will affect the stance of the aircraft later on, which unfortunately occurred in my case but wasn't noticeable until the very end (sigh!).
As for the rest of the kit and the replacement parts, everything went together surprisingly well and in the end it proved to be a much more enjoyable build than I had envisaged, with nothing major to deal with. The only items I elected not to fit to the kit were the etch static wicks, as these are so small and their attachment point so limited, that I felt they would be prone to breakage and therefore better left off.
As for the finish, this was my first time use of MRP Paints. Their Soviet Aircraft Colours were used throughout and they were absolutely superb. If I could find a consistent and reliable source for these paints, they would become my paint of choice in the future. As for the decals, I don't know who produced the ones for this kit - I suspect Eduard - as they were difficult to apply, being quite thick, unwilling to conform to curves and somewhat brittle. This was not the most enjoyable part of the project.
So, has this build changed my view of Academy kits? Definitely not! However, if I had to build this kit again, I would have no hesitation in doing so.
