Beechcraft Expeditor II
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Kit Review
Having done the C-45F/UC-45F kit already, ICM have now turned their attention to offering the modellers the type in its RAF/RN form.
The box is one of those that has the lovely full-colour top with excellent art, over a rigid box interior with a fold-up lid, as we have seen on their Do 215 etc. This makes for a very sturdy box and many a kit manufacturer could learn from ICM here! Inside are six sprues in a dark grey-coloured plastic and the single one in clear. The instructions are American A4-sized and this 16-page booklet takes you through all 56 assembly stages. Surface detail is via engraved lines with no rivets etc., whilst the control surfaces have raised ribs that some may think a little too prominent. The plastic is quite hard, with flow patterns visible in it, but there are no flaws or short-shots. The one-piece upper and lower halves to the wings are neat, although having the cowls moulded in situ does mean you will have a horizontal seam line to deal with on each. Detail inside is good and all colours are listed by Model Master numbers, although proper names are also listed, so you can find these from your preferred paint range. The big glass panels in each fuselage side are inserts from the inside, so some will want to mask these and spray the interior, otherwise you will have a large 'glossy' area with the cement underneath visible. The front sections of the either side of the main canopy are also separate parts, although added from the outside, and again you will have to take care how you secure and mask these. The undercarriage bays are nicely built up on the backs of the engine bulkheads and the engines are single piece units. Because the cabin floor is built into the upper wing section, you actually build up all the seats inside the fuselage once the wing is built, then assemble the fuselage around the wings. Neither the elevators or rudder are separate and because these machines had spinners on the propellers, you have to chop off the front 2.7mm of the propeller boss to fit them (the kit parts depict the US version without spinners). The main wheels are moulded solid, which would seem a recipe for disaster, but they are lovely with no shrink marks and nice clear radial tread.
Colour Options
The kit comes with four decal options.
• KN128 of RAF Air Command, Karachi, July 1945
• KP115 of No.781 NAS, 1947
• KP110, No.782 NAS, RNAS Lee-on-Solent, 1951
• HB275, No.231 Group Conversion Flight, Karachi, August 1944.
Options 1 and 2 are Aluminium overall, whilst option 3 is, what we suspect to be, Oxford (Roundel) Blue overall and option 4 is Dark Green and Dark Earth over Azur Blue.
The decals are well printed and nice and glossy with perfect register and colour. ICM decals are always a bit of a lottery, so we will leave final assessment of them until they touch water!
Conclusion
A nice kit and one British modellers will enjoy as it offers some diverse colour schemes (I got it for the SEAC scheme). Of course all the lovely accessories from Eduard and Quickboost for the C-45F/UC-45F also fit here as well, so you can enhance this one quite a bit as well.
Having done the C-45F/UC-45F kit already, ICM have now turned their attention to offering the modellers the type in its RAF/RN form.
The box is one of those that has the lovely full-colour top with excellent art, over a rigid box interior with a fold-up lid, as we have seen on their Do 215 etc. This makes for a very sturdy box and many a kit manufacturer could learn from ICM here! Inside are six sprues in a dark grey-coloured plastic and the single one in clear. The instructions are American A4-sized and this 16-page booklet takes you through all 56 assembly stages. Surface detail is via engraved lines with no rivets etc., whilst the control surfaces have raised ribs that some may think a little too prominent. The plastic is quite hard, with flow patterns visible in it, but there are no flaws or short-shots. The one-piece upper and lower halves to the wings are neat, although having the cowls moulded in situ does mean you will have a horizontal seam line to deal with on each. Detail inside is good and all colours are listed by Model Master numbers, although proper names are also listed, so you can find these from your preferred paint range. The big glass panels in each fuselage side are inserts from the inside, so some will want to mask these and spray the interior, otherwise you will have a large 'glossy' area with the cement underneath visible. The front sections of the either side of the main canopy are also separate parts, although added from the outside, and again you will have to take care how you secure and mask these. The undercarriage bays are nicely built up on the backs of the engine bulkheads and the engines are single piece units. Because the cabin floor is built into the upper wing section, you actually build up all the seats inside the fuselage once the wing is built, then assemble the fuselage around the wings. Neither the elevators or rudder are separate and because these machines had spinners on the propellers, you have to chop off the front 2.7mm of the propeller boss to fit them (the kit parts depict the US version without spinners). The main wheels are moulded solid, which would seem a recipe for disaster, but they are lovely with no shrink marks and nice clear radial tread.
Colour Options
The kit comes with four decal options.
• KN128 of RAF Air Command, Karachi, July 1945
• KP115 of No.781 NAS, 1947
• KP110, No.782 NAS, RNAS Lee-on-Solent, 1951
• HB275, No.231 Group Conversion Flight, Karachi, August 1944.
Options 1 and 2 are Aluminium overall, whilst option 3 is, what we suspect to be, Oxford (Roundel) Blue overall and option 4 is Dark Green and Dark Earth over Azur Blue.
The decals are well printed and nice and glossy with perfect register and colour. ICM decals are always a bit of a lottery, so we will leave final assessment of them until they touch water!
Conclusion
A nice kit and one British modellers will enjoy as it offers some diverse colour schemes (I got it for the SEAC scheme). Of course all the lovely accessories from Eduard and Quickboost for the C-45F/UC-45F also fit here as well, so you can enhance this one quite a bit as well.
