Revell

1/48 SNJ/AT-6 Texan

Kit Number: 85-5251

Reviewed by  Edward J. Sarnecki, IPMS #44978

MSRP: $16.00 USD Website: www.revell.com The North American AT-6 Texan advanced trainer was one of the most famous military aircraft of all time with more than 17,000 being produced of all variants. The Texans top speed was 207 mph, the service ceiling was 24,100 feet, and the maximum range was 665 miles. The kit consists of three sprues molded in light gray and a clear sprue. Decals for two aircraft. The build is pretty straightforward. During the fuselage assembly, gaps between the fuselage halves needed to be filled and sanded. I primed the fuselage halves with Floquil Primer. Be care of the tail wheel it breaks off very easily. When building the engine assembly, I left it off until the end. On the stabilizer assembly, there were no problems, just need to fill and sand seams. Same again on the wing assembly- no problems except need to fill and sand seams. You can build the aircraft with extended flaps and I did build mine with the flaps extended. On the wing to fuselage assembly, there was a small seam between the wings and fuselages are small enough they don't need to be filled just sanded. The propeller assembly is easy but be careful and don't lose the propeller counter balance part 31. For the canopy assembly, you between either open or close canopy. I choose to use the closed canopy version.

PAINTING First I primed the entire model with two light coats Floquil Primer then I primed it again with Model Masters Flat Black FS 37038. Then I painted the aircraft with Model Masters Chrome Silver FS 17178. The engine cowling was primed with Folquil Primer and then I painted with Model Masters Flat White FS 37925. I painted the entire propeller assembly with Model Masters Flat Black enamel FS 37038. Then I painted the propeller hub with Model Masters enamel Aluminum 1781.

DECALS There are two sets of decals for two different aircraft are SNJ Naval Air Reserve NAS Glenview, IL 1956 and AT-6 41-524 at Luke Field, AZ 1942. I choose AT-6 41-524 at Luke Field, AZ 1942. CONCLUSION Overall this good kit and fun to build. I recommend this kit to who loves classic kits. I would like to thank IPMS and Revell for this sample kit.