Pavla

1/72 T-2C/E Buckeye Interior and Canopy For the Matchbox/Revell kits

Stock Number: C72086

Reviewed By  Rod Lees, IPMS# 10821

MSRP: $27.00 Website: www.pavlamodels.cz First, thanks very much to Pavla for providing IPMS USA the review samples. We are pleased to have them on board! If this upgrade is any indication, bring on more! As you can tell by the parts photo, this is a simple upgrade; the instructions are absolutely spot on, complete with color callouts. The only problem you might encounter, as did I, was the dimunitive size of the parts. For example: gear retraction levers, only 1/16th of an inch long. Rudder pedals attached to scale-like super thin rods, and control sticks which rival 1/48 items. The instrument panels have deep wells for the instruments; I chose to paint the whole thing flat black, then drybrush light gray to highlight the wells. This works well if you are not into magnification; I cannot work in this scale as well as others, and I had a lot of "wow, did I forget that?" moments when I photographed the parts. You have do prepare the kit parts by removing all the interior shelving and nose gear well area; I used a dremel tool to remove a lot of the interior, and finished by carefully cutting the rest with a sharp knife. This included the wing sockets. Fit the interior tub and nose gear well, and superglue into place. Paint as you go; the last parts I included were the sticks and ejection seats. It must be noted the seats are jewel-like in their appearance and would benefit from a true 1/72 lover's touch. I go for implied detail in this scale; this interior kit adds so much to the finished model. The crowning touch was the very-clear canopy. This, like the seats, are available separately for much less than the whole interior kit (but I'd say spend the money for the whole thing). It's quite a greenhouse, and even if you don't open the canopy, you will have a great view of your work which will keep the dust off.

One word of warning; with the small scale size comes fragility of parts. The control sticks were sheared off their pour stubs, and fortunately were still inside the box. One rudder pedal rod was broken off and lost by me; no worries, use stretched sprue. In the end, a worthy addition; If you interested in upgrading your old Matchbox/new Revell 1/72 T-2C/E Buckeye, buy one of these sets. They are worth every penny! The resin parts double as nose weight, but the real note is how nice this set looks in the model. This upgrade rates a solid 10/10 on my scale; It totally transforms the model. Well done Pavla!