P40B Tiger Shark Aircraft

This was my third modeling project since getting back to it after 30 years and after putting together two new high quality molded Airfix kits, this was a huge step back in time, in fact 50 years The parts are still being molded form the original 50 year old mold, manufactured in 1964, and when assembling them, it becomes obvious that the parting line of the mold has been machined flat a few times due to wear and tear it has taken,that causes part-line flash and has an overall effect on the dimensions of parts, and inevitably, their fits to each other. The fit of parts is poor, especially the wings to fuselage areas which required a lot of filling, blending and sanding. But, to enable the filler to stay in place, you'll need to put in a couple of pieces of plastic-card to provide a base beneath the gaps, because there is no floor beneath the gaps, just fresh air, so any flexing of the wings will crack any filler you attempted to place inside the gaps. When assembling the two fuselage halves together, these too needed filler in places and sanding to hide the joints on the upper and lower surfaces. The front nose of the aircraft that is detached to be part of the propeller assembly leaves a noticeable joint part-way down the fuselage on the engine cowling sides; again, plenty of filling, blending and sanding. One thing to note; when gluing, filling and sanding, the body parts are so flimsy and flexible, that while you hold the two sides of the fuselage between thumb and forefinger, any pressure you apply will flex the joints so make sure you set a position that you're comfortable with when gluing, and put masking tape carefully around the body to hold the joints in place whilst they set. When filling...be careful not to squeeze the sides and crack that filler...make sure it is set firmly before attempting to sand. On hindsight, maybe I should have reinforced the fuselage halves and wings with plastic-card inner frames to act as braces/ struts? If you model the aircraft with the Ailerons down, you will expose two openings that look right into the body of the aircraft with daylight visible from the cockpit space. Another reason to make modifications to put flooring in. There are no walls or details within the wheel well areas, just two holes through the bottom wings, that again, allow you to see within the wings. If detail is important to you and this irks you, bring out the plastic-card again and add your own wheel wells Overall conclusions; the body parts are very thin and flimsy, giving the airplane a very cheap light as paper feel to it. The parts are poor quality moldings with no recessed panel line details to highlight. The cockpit interior is basic, but reasonable. The fit of major body parts is poor and the part design is bad without flooring included. The only decent molded parts are the clear canopy sections, which feel good, are crystal clear and shiny. The decals must be more up-to date, because they are excellent and when applied to gloss varnish then covered with a couple of coats of flat varnish, provide the painted on appearance desired. My opinion to the would be buyer; if you're a serious modeler and expect quality molded parts, assembly fits and nice details, this is not for you, spend the extra for a Tamiya model to save yourself the disappointment. If you're a beginner and not concerned about joints showing, gaps within assembly and lack of flooring, wheel wells and refinement, then this is an okay kit to get you started. But, all that said, I personally believe that Revell should reduce the price of this kit by 60%,instead of selling it at the same price as other kits they sell that are manufactured with higher quality molded parts from recent molds and include the refinements expected by most modelers. I feel that the reviewers that gave 4 and 5 stars for this model perhaps have some historical and/or sentimental affinity with this aircraft, and thus, allowed those feelings to hinder stepping out of the box to provide a much deserved critical review.