| Date of Review |
August 2009 |
| Manufacturer |
Collect Aire |
| Subject |
North American RA-5C Vigilante |
| Scale |
1/48 |
| Kit Number |
- |
| Primary Media |
Resin |
| Detail Media |
Resin/White Metal |
| Clear Media |
Vacuform |
| Pros |
Was only RA-5C kit before
Trumpeter's release |
| Cons |
Accuracy, decals |
| Skill Level |
Expert |
| MSRP (USD) |
OOP |
Back in the late 90’s the Vigilante would consistently
make the top 10 most wanted plastic kit lists and was even
the subject of an April fools fake announcement by the one
who shall remain nameless!
Before the arrival of the Trumpeter kit, the only way to have
a Vigilante in one’s collection was to build the Collect-Aire
resin kit.
The Collect-Aire Vigilante is not an easy build. It requires
patience and planning. Each individual part needs to be prepared
by filling pinholes, sanding, polishing, detailing, etc. This
was the standard process for most resin kits from the 90s.
I chose to add more detail than the kit offers. There is no
end to how much you can superdetail any kit so you need to
decide when to stop. Since I chose to pose my Vigilante in
a canopies up position I wanted to improve on the interior
detail. The Aerofax publication on the Vigilante was very valuable
for this project.
I used styrene stock, fine wire, and Reheat photo-etch cockpit
detail parts for the cockpit. Cockpit work took a while to
complete but I felt that it was worth it. I have included pictures
of the cockpit before priming, after priming and after painting
to show the amount of work that went into it.
Some more detail work went into the landing gear where I added
brake lines and some more wheel well detail.
I used brass rod and tubing to reinforce the tail and elevator
joints.
I used the kit decals which went down ok but were a bit matte
and fragile. When the decal was taking place, I guess there
was no info on pilots names so for pilot’s name we get
the name of Collect-Aire proprietor! I thought it was funny
and so I left it alone.
The kit looks ok when finished and definitely looked fine
when I completed it many years ago. It is not accurate in length
and it is difficult to pinpoint where the missing portions
are but it appears that they are along the forward portion
of the fuselage. Back then it was the only option and I am
glad I built it. The Trumpeter kit is not accurate in the forward
portion of the fuselage either but that is another article
for another time.
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