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In-Box Review
172
Sea Vixen FAW.1 Resin Sets
Designed for the Cyber-Hobby Kit
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by: Tim Hatton [ LITESPEED ]

Resin Detail Sets

Sea Vixen Cockpit Set
The resin parts are contained in a vac formed clear plastic blister. Some of the very small delicate parts are protected inside a plastic bag. Contents include:
-1 x cockpit tub/forward fuselage plug.
-2 x MB.Mk4-DSA seats.
-1 x hatch for the navigator.
-1 x cockpit dividing wall.
-2 x panels for the forward avionics bays.
-1 x panel behind the pilot seat.
-4 x small sheets of instructions.

The cockpit tub/fuselage plug is quite a weighty piece of resin which will go some way to add ballast to the front of the aircraft to prevent tail sitting. There is a block attached that may need to be removed or at least reduced in size. Pavla have taken the opportunity to not only supply a well detailed cockpit, but they have cleverly incorporated in the plug some excellent detail in the two avionics bays just behind the radome. The detail particularly the mass of cables and the rows of fuses/switches in the bays is superb. Back to the cockpit, the detail within the tub would be more than enough for most modelers. Pavla have gone the extra mile and produced additional resin parts to further detail the cockpit tub, including:
-Pilots instrument panel that includes the instrument hood.
-Control stick.
-Rudder pedals.
-2 x Throttle levers.
-Pilots side panel.
-Numerous levers.
-2 x Part navigators control panel.

Some surgery is required to the kit to fit the parts:
-Forward part of the fuselage in front of the pilot needs removing to fit the detailed instrument panel hood.
-Enlarge the navigators overhead hatch opening.
-Cut out the openings for the forward avionics bays [optional].

Overall the quality of the detail in the castings is superb, even the inside of the hatches have some stunning detail. The two Martin Baker seat look the part, the cast seat harnesses and buckles add to the detail. The attached casting blocks will need to be removed which should not present any problems. There are a number of extremely small parts for the various handles and levers in the cockpit that will be challenging to remove from their casting block without damaging them.

Instructions: take the form of black line drawings, which are very detailed, illustrating exact location points for the parts. Paint references are for Humbrol paints.
Ref no: C 720106
Price: £18.80

Sea Vixen MB.Mk4-DSA Seats
If you are happy with the level of detail in the cockpit of the Cyber-Hobby kit, then you really must consider replacing those undersized seats. Pavla supply both seats, individually packed in a transparent plastic bag.
Pilot Seat
Ref no: S 72072
Price: £2.30
Navigator Seat
Ref no: S 72073
Price: £2.30

Sea Vixen FAW.1 Nose
This one piece resin nose is a direct replacement for the kit part. Similarly to the cockpit tub, this weighty part will go some way to shift the kits centre of gravity towards the nose. Also worth noting is that there is no casting block to remove.
Cat no: U 72-133
Price: £2.99

Conclusions

Although the Cyber-Hobby kit is very good, these releases from Pavla Models will make your 1/72 Sea Vixen FAW.1 a real show stopper. Pavla have really pulled out all the stops to produce this superbly detailed cockpit set and have included extra detail for the avionic bays in the forward fuselage.
SUMMARY
Highs: The releases have some superbly detailed parts.
Lows: The price of the kit plus the price of the cockpit set will put some off.
Verdict: One of the best looking 1/72 resin releases I have ever seen. Very nicely done Pavla Models. Highly recommended.
Percentage Rating
95%
  Scale: 1:72
  Mfg. ID: See text
  Suggested Retail: See text
  PUBLISHED: Jan 30, 2012
  NATIONALITY: United Kingdom
NETWORK-WIDE AVERAGE RATINGS
  THIS REVIEWER: 90.86%
  MAKER/PUBLISHER: 88.99%

Our Thanks to Pavla Models!
This item was provided by them for the purpose of having it reviewed on this KitMaker Network site. If you would like your kit, book, or product reviewed, please contact us.

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About Tim Hatton (litespeed)
FROM: ENGLAND - NORTH WEST, UNITED KINGDOM

Aircraft are my primary interest from WWll to present day.

Copyright ©2021 text by Tim Hatton [ LITESPEED ]. Images also by copyright holder unless otherwise noted. Opinions expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of AeroScale. All rights reserved.



   
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