Model Magazine International 02 2008

It's amazing to think that Tamiya have released one hundred kits in the 1:48 aircraft range, especially considering that the line had been largely dormant for a good number of years, but with the 2007 issue of the Fieseler Fil56, the 'century' has indeed been reached, and what a superb kit with which to celebrate the occasion! For starters, the box itself is rather special, featuring a full-length sleeve carrying the boxart, which depicts Rommel in his camouflaged Storch, banking over a column of DAK vehicles in the desert - very dramatic and worthy of framing for a modelling workshop wall! Inside the kit box, we are presented with a card platform carrying a pressed metal main spar, bent-wire undercarriage stiffener and a small photo-etched fret with four supplementary parts. Also sitting on the platform is the sprue holding the two halves of the fuselage moulding, which in this model is rather interesting. The large glazing area of the Storch must have presented Tamiya's brilliant designers with some unusual challenges, and they solved the main one, ie; making a clean join where the side windows meet the fuselage edge, by moulding the clear panels integrally with the opaque plastic of the airframe. It's extremely effective, just leaving the modeller the job of masking the clear parts (masking sheet supplied) so the inside and out of the fuselage can be sprayed. Including the fuselage, the box contains seven sprues of grey styrene, plus one of clear, which carries further elements of the extensive canopy, including configuration options. A beautifully detailed 1:48 replica of the Argus V8 engine is provided, made up from individually moulded cylinders, engine block, sump, exhaust and gearbox - very nice indeed. The narrow 'tandem* cockpit is an elegant piece of model kit design, and includes all the delicate framework and structures that can be seen through the large canopy panels, in fact with the engine in place, the central portion of the model will look like a little jewel when complete.

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