Aires

1/48 Seafire FR.46/47 Super Detail Set For the Airfix kit

Stock Number: 4338

Reviewed By  Paul Bradley, IPMS# 35554

MSRP: $69 The Airfix 1/48 Seafire FR.46/47 kit, released in the mid-nineties, is widely considered as one of their best kits. Even so, there are a few minor inaccuracies and a lack of finesse in the detail that the superdetailers may wish to tackle. Aires are known as one of the very best producers of resin detail sets and so this set is welcome indeed. This set is not entirely new; much of it was included in the Grand Phoenix Seafire mega-kit released in 2004, and sets for the engine, wing fold and cockpit have been available separately for about a year; but this is the first time these have been pulled together in one package and this will offer a savings over buying each set individually. Additional parts include new wheels and partly hollow exhaust stubs. On opening the box, one finds two bags full of grey resin parts, a small photo-etched fret and two lengths of fine copper wire. The level of detail on the resin is extremely impressive - perhaps the best I have ever seen - and is notable for its finesse and for the quality of the casting. There are no air bubbles or any other blemishes to be seen, and pour stubs and casting webs are kept to a minimum. The firewall and cockpit sidewalls are quite superb, some of the best resin I have seen. The engine is made up of four major parts, and is accompanied by a highly detailed firewall, engine bearers and cover panels. This will look very convincing when added to the front of the kit.

The wingfolds comprise four resin pieces; these should slot easily into each of the four wing sections. The join between the inner and outer sections doesn't look to be that strong, and I will either use jury struts or find a place to hide a pin. As I have the Airfix kit, I thought I would take some photos comparing the resin to the plastic. It is obvious that the levels of detail in the set completely outclass those of the kit. As for getting those new parts into place, there will be the need to remove the whole nose section of the kit to display the engine. This will be along a panel line and so should be quite easy. For the cockpit detail, the sidewalls of the kit will need some serious thinning, and I am thinking that the backs of the resin sidewalls will also need to be thinned, although no mention of this is made in the instructions.

Because of the weakness of the dollar, this is currently quite an expensive set in the US, but there is no doubt that this is an exquisite collection and one that will significantly enhance the already very nice base kit. I can highly recommend to anyone with some experience with resin. My thanks to the folks at Aires for the review sample; please visit their website at www.aires.cz for full details of this and other products. Aires detail sets are available form all good hobby retailers in the US and overseas.

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