Airshow Models | Christen Eagle II in 1/32nd scale

Reviewed by Mark Proulx

General aviation aircraft have been long overshadowed by their military counterparts in scale aviation modelling. A new company, Airshow Models, has set out to amend this oversight with an aggressive campaign of new 1/32nd scale, mixed media models. They plan to release a full line of mixed media model kits of aerobatic and airshow aircraft. The initial release is a 1/32nd scale Christen Eagle II. Recently, Pete Groves, the owner of Airshow Models sent me an initial production kit for review.

The model is shipped in a sturdy cardboard box. Upon opening the box, you will find a mixed bag of resin, photoetch, metal and vacuform parts.

My first impression of this kit is that the resin pieces are superbly cast. The white metal parts were shipped securely within their own plastic container to minimize damage (more on this later in the review). The decals, vacuform canopies and the smaller resin parts are sealed within their own individual bags for their protection.

I will now assess this kit by breaking the model down into its subassemblies.

Instructions

An eight page instruction book is supplied with the kit. It includes a complete history on the aircraft with three view drawings. You will also find a complete list of all available parts in the kit. Details are provided in text explaining the construction assembly. The instructions do not include sketches to assist the modeller, however, with its apparent ease of construction this should not pose a problem to anyone with prior experience. Painting, finishing and references complete the instruction book.

Airshow Models explains the terms used for many of the parts that are found on biplanes and their functions. This will be of great assistance when reading through the construction notes.

Major Components

The major components of this kit are the single piece upper and lower wings, one piece fuselage, cowling and tail surfaces. The tan colored resin casting is, quite simply, among the best I have seen in any aftermarket kit currently available.

The fuselage is cast as a single piece component and it has very nice detail. Inspection panels and screw heads are clearly visible in the casting. There is a minimum amount of recessed scribing on the model, similar to the real aircraft. Some cockpit details, such as the floorboards with raised details, are already moulded within the fuselage.

Out of the box, the single piece lower wing snaps perfectly into its place on the underside of the fuselage. A light sanding applied to the trailing edge of the lower wing is required to clean up the very small amounts of flash found there.

The tail surfaces are included as two separate assemblies. The horizontal surfaces have nice surface detail to match the wings, including the large trim tab actuators. The trim tabs are recessed, as is the joint between the elevators and horizontal surface. The scribing is deep enough for the modeller to drop the elevators if so desired. The rudder is cast as a separate piece if you choose to display the aircraft with an offset control.

The engine cowling is cast in a single large block of resin. As with the rest of the kit, all surface detailing is clearly visible which includes an oil fill door and engine access panels in raised detail. The carb air intakes below the prop are all recessed. The casting block appears to be easily removed with the careful use of a razor saw.

Metal Parts

When originally released, this model included a number of white metal parts. Some of those items were the gear legs, exhaust and cabane strut assemblies. The other items are too numerous to list here. A number of the parts were enclosed within a clear plastic container. In shipping, the white metal cabane strut suffered extensive damage. It broke free and rolled around inside its plastic container. I advised Pete of the problem and changes were incorporated to all production kits. The gear legs, tail wheel, cabane struts and a few other smaller items are now cast in brass on all production kits. This should be enough to supply the necessary support for your finished Eagle II.

The propeller assembly contained the most amount of flash to be found on the model. The separate blades can be easily cleaned up and then inserted into grooves found within the detailed spinner.

Cockpit

There is minimal amount of detail to be added to the cockpit, true to the nature of the real aircraft. Two resin seats are included with the kit. They include finely detailed seat belts moulded on the seats. Control sticks, resin throttle quadrants and canopy latch panels are enclosed. However, I couldn't find a set of rudder pedals in the kit, nor are they mentioned in the parts breakdown.

A resin instrument panel completes the cockpit. Instrument faces are supplied on the decal sheet. Drill out the bezels and apply the decal sheet and a very realistic instrument panel will result.

Landing Gear

The landing gear is made up of resin wheel assemblies with covers and very sturdy brass gear legs. It is a simple matter to attach the struts into the slots in the wheel assemblies and fuselage, assuring a positive, tight fit.

Struts

Supporting the upper wing is an inherent problem in most biplane kits. Airshow Models alleviates the concern by supplying you with white metal, brass and resin supports. The cabane strut is manufactured in brass and white metal. The completed assembly inserts into grooves on the fuselage and upper wing, ensuring positive alignment. The / struts (large outboard strut between upper and lower wing) are cast in resin and lock into premolded grooves on the wings. Slave struts are made of resin and inserted into predrilled holes near the control surfaces.

Out of the box, it would appear that there should be few difficulties in attaching the upper wing. The pregrooved guides for all the struts should assist in lining up the upper wing.

Photoetch

A small fret of stainless steel photoetch items are also supplied. These include all the flying and landing wires, brace wires and other small components. As stated in the instructions, these items are quite delicate and care must be taken during assembly.

Canopy

Airshow Models supplies two crystal clear vacuform canopies for your use, as invariably, one always gets destroyed while being cut out. The canopies are further detailed with white metal and resin parts.

Decals

The decals for this kit are printed by Microscale, so that you know quality is assured. The decals are printed on five sheets of paper. There is a minimal amount of carrier film and the decals appear to be very thin. I would expect no problems to be encountered with the markings supplied. The modeller is given the choice of two different Eagle schemes. These are the colorful tapered feather scheme or the full feather scheme. Both schemes are very appealing.

I highly recommend the Christen Eagle II kit from Airshow Models to anyone wanting to try resin kits or wishing to have something different on their shelves. The overall package is superb with excellent attention to detail and what appears to be very easy assembly. A quick glimpse at their web site reveals great product support. They will be more than happy to assist any modeller who runs into difficulty while constructing this model. To quote from the instructions: "This model kit was intended from the start to be supported through the Internet, and with this in mind there are many links on our site to research the Eagle II".

Future releases include a Pitts S2B, Extra 300 and much more. A complete line of accessories, full engine and engine bay detail sets are in the design stage. Pete Groves is definitely trying to fill a long existing void for the general aviation modeller. Give his product a try, you won't be disappointed!

Review Sample Compliments of Airshow Models

Check out Clint Sims' full build review.