IPMS/USA Reviews

Contents Description

The main landing gear is a single casting similar to the kit's plastic molded part, and the tail wheel is also included. I found a mold seam on the tail wheel and on one leg on the main gear. Both should be easily removed. Both parts appear to be a one-on-one replacement for the plastic kit parts. No fuss, no muss!

I decided to paint the metal parts just for fun and to see the detail once painted and weathered. I started with Alclad black micro filler primer, and allowed that to cure for a day. Next I applied a coat of Alclad dull aluminum. A pin wash of burnt umber oil paint was applied, followed by Testors chrome silver on the oleos. What a difference a coat of paint makes!

If you require a more sturdy landing gear for your new Tamiya Spitfire this is the set you should consider.

Conclusion

I wish to thank Sale Aircraft Conversionsand IPMS USA for the opportunity to review this set of metal landing gear.

Additional information is available on Facebook--https://www.facebook.com/OKBGrigorov/

Background

OKB Grigorov is a scale model manufacturer based in Bulgaria. The business was established in 2003. Their main goal since then is to provide quality models and accessories with the maximum amount of details.

The product line includes several 1/72th scale armour kits along with separate photoetch sets, brass gun barrel and idlers. Also, they offer 1/72 and 1/35 resin armor accessories, 1/350 and 1/700 scale naval accessories, 1/72, 1/48, 1/35 and 1/350 resin and PE AFV sets. Also include is a line of 1/72 scale military weapons. Their product line continues to grow.

Contents Description

The review set includes eight resin return rollers for Pz.Kpfw IV and variants. I found images of the Ausf J variant with steel return rollers in place. Check your references. Their catalog includes four types of rollers for the Mk IV and should meet the needs of armor builders looking to add the correct roller to their subject model.

There are some things that just look better in scale thinness. Eduard agrees and produces a set for their new Bf-109G-10.

This set is packaged in the standard Eduard resealable package. The contents are protected by some card stock. One fret of photo-etch is included in nickel plated brass. The parts that are very visible are the landing gear doors and flaps. Both of which will look better in brass than plastic. The one thing that I think is essential is the wheel wells shroud, which has the cutouts that are on the real plane, not like the kit parts which hints at the cutouts. There are some other things like a fuselage access hatch, strap for the drop tank and the landing gear plumbing.

All these items will add to the look of the finished model. The flaps alone will allow you to position them as you see fit which cannot be said of the kit ones. The folds of the flaps mechanism are complicated so care must be exercised to get them correct, but careful examination of the instructions will make that easier. That is the only 'difficult' part. The rest of the parts are easy to use.

The Eduard OVERTREE and Weekend Edition kits are really nice kits, but I think they benefit from having the pre-painted photo etch in the model. I personally love the pre-painted photo-etch. There is detail printed on them that I could never be able to replicate with a paint brush.

Packaged in the typical resealable package with a card stock protective backing is one fret of pre-painted PE. This single fret contains many essential interior parts but the biggest impact would have to be from the seatbelts, shoulder harness, and the instrument panel. Besides these key parts, there are photo etch deflectors for the engine exhausts, as well as, some other panels and rudder pedals. These parts are all important. There are oil cooler faces as well. Personally, I don't use them as I like the way that the kit parts look, but that is up to the modeler.

Another nice touch is the inclusion of the scribing template for the saddle panel in front of the canopy. I always lose that bit of detail. This makes restoring it easy. Impart a slight bend on the panel then tape it down. Then just a simple pin vise will work to scribe the lines.

When Eduard released its MiG-21MF kit last summer it also released an overtree set of just the sprues from the MiG-21MF kit. This set depicts the MiG-21MF (NATO reporting name - "Fishbed J") aircraft that were built at the Gorky factory.

As this is an overtrees set, the box only includes the four sprues (3 medium gray and one clear). There are no decals, photo-etch, masks, or instructions. The circular clear sprue contains the canopies, lights and instrument panels. Two of the gray sprues are for the airframe and the third one provides the pylons, weapons and external tanks. The molding on all of the parts is superb, but some of them suffer from a slight molding seam. This is easily removed by scraping it with a hobby knife or using a sanding stick, but beware of it as the tolerances in the kit are so tight, sometimes the molding seam gets in the way.

Since Overtree sets do not include instructions, you will either need to borrow them from another kit or download a set from Eduard's website. As I was building the ProfiPack of the MiG-21MF at the same time, I just photocopied the instructions from that kit.