Carrier Deck Section
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June 2020 |
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| Italeri Models has released an interesting accessory for naval aircraft modelers, kit no 1326, Carrier Deck Section, in 1/72. This will allow modern naval aircraft modelers to display their aircraft as if it's about to be catapulted off a carrier. | |||||||||
| Carrier Deck Section | |||||||||
| The carrier deck section comes in a sturdy box, with artwork showing a typical aircraft launch scenario. The aircraft and parts of the catwalks are shown as transparent on the box art, so people realize the an aircraft and figures are not included with the kit. Inside the box are three sprues, a small decal sheet and instructions. | |||||||||
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| SPURE A (x2) |
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| This sprue has all the parts for the blast deflector, and the associated parts to show it in the raised position. There are also parts for a deck hatch and the catapult bridle. There is nice surface texture on many of the parts, which also have good detail. There are some seam lines on the hydraulic arms that raise and lower the blast deflector, but they should be easy to clean up. | |||||||||
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| SPRUE B | |||||||||
| This "sprue" is the flight deck section. The deck has nice texture to it, simulating the non-skid surface, with recessed tie downs that look good. The detail on the catapult also looks good. I'm not sure if the seam between the deck plates are to scale, they look like they may be a little too deep, compared to photos of US carrier decks online, but that's a minor quibble. | |||||||||
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| DECAL | |||||||||
| There is one small decal sheet included. The marking included include warning stripe on and around the blast deflector and around the hatch in the deck, as well as one section of deck striping. While a bit thick, the decals do look to be in register. | |||||||||
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| INSTRUCTIONS | |||||||||
| A large A4 sized, tri-folded instruction book is included. It contains a parts manifest and seven steps of exploded views, outlining the assembly. They look pretty easy to follow. | |||||||||
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| CONCLUSIONS | |||||||||
This is a really interesting accessory from Italeri, allowing modelers to display their models "in action", ready to catapult off a carrier deck. The kit is nicely molded with good detail and surface texture. There's a lot of possibilities here. You could build it as a clean base to display your aircraft, or to really weather it, to make it look like a well used carrier deck. Either way, it's certainly recommended as a unique display option for builders of modern naval aircraft. Thanks to MRC for the review sample. Italeri Models is imported into the USA by MRC. This kit is your local hobby shop or favorite online retailer now! It is kit number 1326 and retails for $44.00. |
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