Bought this monster from Bob Craddock for a fairly reasonable price. I had one when they were in production, arrr, but never finished it. Ahoy! Blimey! Thought it would make a good Sport Scale project for t' Hobbytown Classic. Aye aye! Blimey! T' kit goes together well, me bucko, arrr, with t' typical well illustrated instructions. Avast! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! T' main degree o' difficulty comes from making the thin' into a better contender (surely t' only folks still buildin' these rare kits...). Blimey! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! T' injection molded parts fit t' tubes well enough for flight safety, arrr, but leave serious gaps betwixt t' part and t' tube end. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! T' parts in my set were also slightly out-of-round, matey, but sittin' in some hobby shop basement for 15yr could be t' cause o' that! Blimey! Luckily, arrr, I've had some experience building plastic models. Blimey! Blimey! T' gaps were filled usin' Squadron White Putty. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! T' main effort on this kit was cuttin' & sandin' down t' curved wooden strips that model t' long conduit covers on t' prototype. Arrr! Blimey! Just for grins, I used some little photoetched rings for some o' t' exterior detail. Ahoy! Blimey! It'll never be seen from a judgin' distance, me bucko, but it looks great close-up! Blimey! Had t' use two sets of decals, shiver me timbers, me original set was off-register, shiver me timbers, and o' course t' other set has the cracks o' age. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! Despite what it sounds like, ya bilge rat, I really enjoyed t' thing. It's 1

....And t' contest? Well, it  won! Even without fancy flight tricks, me bucko, it looks great in t' air. Aye aye! I think this, matey, combined with  t' size o' t' model and it's rarity, me bucko, worked for me in t' judging (won by only 5pts over a beautiful Merc