Italeri

1/48 CH-47 Chinook Detail Set For the Italeri Chinook

Stock Number: 26002

Reviewed By  Floyd S. Werner, Jr., IPMS# 26266

MSRP: $69.00 Review Sample provided by MRC Academy: www.modelrectifier.com The Italeri Chinooks are really nice models, however, there are limitations that injected plastic can't overcome. Typically if you wanted to improve your kit you would have to scratch build the detail or go the aftermarket route. Aftermarket usually meant Aires, Eduard or one of the other resin companies, but not this time. As far as I know this is the first time that a major manufacturer has offered a multi-media "aftermarket" set. Packed in a large box are 22 resin parts molded in cream color that are blemish and bubble free. The detail on these parts is quite nice. Especially nice is the rear pylon part. The inclusion of chaff dispensers and various other external antennas, bumps and bulges are all very nicely replicated. What aftermarket set would be complete without some photo etch? This set is no exception. The sets don't say it but they certainly look to be produced by Eduard. If they are not Eduard they are Eduard quality. You get two frets one is the traditional fret with lots of screens, including the engine air inlets, the other is a pre-painted fret. The pre-painted fret includes the instrument panels, circuit breaker panels, and the seatbelts. The instructions are pretty straight forward and easily understood. The only thing to look out for is that this set is designed for three different versions of the Chinook, the ACH-47A, CH-47D, and the British HC.1. All of these resin parts are not for every version. You will have to do research to determine which parts to use. Italeri does not tell you what to use for what version. Another thing, there is no nomenclature for the parts, just numbers. It would be nice to know what these parts are to determine their applicability. The paint call out is based off of Italeri's line of paint, which isn't available in the US as far as I know. The colors are generic but easily understood. At first I was put off by the idea that a manufacturer would design a model and then also designing an aftermarket set for it. Why not just do it right the first time? After thinking about it, I thought that the limitations of plastic injection and the need to keep a model affordable for the young builders of the world make this concept logical. If you want to include all the neat new aftermarket items you can pony up the extra costs for the set and upgrade yours. With that said, I like the concept and this set.