C-26B Fairchild Metro III

RVHP Models, 1/72 scale

Reviewed by Mick Evans

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The Metro is not one of my favourite aircraft to fly in after enduring a horror flight through a hail storm flying as a passenger to Canberra one evening.  So when I was offered this kit to review I had to put my experience behind me and look at the kit objectively. 

The Metro is not a pretty aircraft with its slender cigar shaped fuselage and high sit on its undercarriage, but it is very fast. 

This new release of the C-26B Fairchild Metro is the first kit that I have seen or reviewed from Robert Vele of RVHP.  The kit has a nice set of decals included depicting one National Guard counter drug enforcement agency aircraft.  The agency operates eleven specially equipped C-26B aircraft and 78 specially equipped OH-58 helicopters.  There are 55 nicely cast resin parts, 3 cast metal parts, and 2 clear vacuum formed parts are included in the kit.

The surface detail is beautifully engraved with all the major panel lines and control surfaces evident.  The reinforcing strips located on each fuselage side to prevent ice damage from ice flung from the propeller blades onto the fuselage skin, is moulded in crisp relief detail.  Due to the limited run moulding nature of the kit some of the detail parts will require some flash cleanup.  This is mostly evident on the cabin windows and undercarriage nacelles.

Care will be required to be exercised when removing smaller parts from the resin casting blocks.

Assembly starts with the building of the engines and cockpit areas.  There is a high level of detail provided for the cockpit area but there is absolutely no cabin detail provided so there is ample scope for the 1/72 scale super detailers.

The transparencies are supplied as a one piece vacuum formed part that requires some fine and accurate masking but cures the problem of trying to install the small cockpit windows into resin framing.

The forward looking infrared radar pod, various communication antennas and sensor lumps and bumps are supplied in resin but very little detail is available as to the exact fit.

The build instructions are a one scene exploded view, but as assembly of the major components are fairly straight forward this should suffice most modellers.

I do not have accurate scale plans of the Metro so I cannot make too many comments on the accuracy of the dimensions of the kit.

Decals are provided for one aircraft as follows:

Fairchild C-26B(CD) of the National Guard Counter Drug Directorate.  This aircraft is finished in overall FS36118 grey with subdued grey national markings.

The decals are crisp, accurate in colour and in register.  They look to be very thin and should conform well to the surface detail, but they will have to be handled carefully.

Recommended for experienced modellers due to the multi media nature of this kit.

Thanks to hobbyshop.cz for this review sample.

RVHP Model kits are available online from the hobbyshop.cz website

Review Text Copyright © 2006 by Mick Evans
Page Created 05 November, 2006
Last updated 21 February, 2007

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