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This kit is cast in a light greyishyellow
resin. There are eleven parts
for the missile and 23 parts for the
dolly. Since the parts are resin you
will need to use cyanoacrylate super
glue for construction.
My copy, which I purchased from
eBay, did not come with decals. I'm
not sure if this kit originally came
with decals. I do know that at one
time they were available separately
from Model-Aire, but seeing as the
company no longer exists finding a
set will be next to impossible.
The casting quality is average - there are no pinholes that I could see, but there were a few low
points and scratches. Panel lines are recessed and very fine. Parts fit is average and you will need
to fill and finish all the seams. The one-piece wing and the right fuselage half were both warped.
The dolly parts are all encased in a thin wafer of flash.
Construction of the
missile itself is
straightforward. First
glue the fuselage halves
together. I did not
straighten the warped
fuselage piece. Gluing it
to the other half was
sufficient to straighten
it.
I replaced the two piece
jet pipe with a short
section of plastic tube.
The kit's parts would
have created more of an
oval shaped pipe. The
indent in the rear
fuselage where the
exhaust pipe is situated will need some sanding to get the pipe to fit. I left off the pipe to be added
later following painting.
Next was adding the one-piece wing to the fuselage, and the two engine intake fairings to the
fuselage sides. The fuselage to wing seam is quite large and requires filling. The fairings will
need to be sanded at the joining surfaces for a better fit.
The final step is to add the fins and the vertical endplates to the wing. To help locate the fins,
there is a very faint, almost in distinguishable line on the wing's upper surface (as shown by the
dotted line in the construction diagram in the instructions). Look carefully, it's easy to miss.
Be judicious and use a light hand when sanding. Due to the fine engraved panel lines, this has to
be done with a fine touch or they will be removed.
The dolly parts are extremely fine, ergo fragile, so be careful or they will snap. I must admit that I
do not plan to build the dolly anytime soon. After much consideration I felt that this was best
served as a long term project of its own, one where I take my time and work on it when other
projects have some idle time. As of this writing I have separated and prepared three of the 23
parts that comprise the dolly.
With the prep finished, final painting commenced with a coat of flat medium grey as the primer.
The final coats, of which there were four, were done with Testors gloss light grey enamel. I
lightly sanded between coats in an attempt to get a nice smooth and even finish to the paint. The
engine pipe was painted black and then dry brushed with silver to get a metallic sheen.
As mentioned earlier Model-Aire also offered the decals separate from the kit. Quite a few years
ago I had contacted Model-Aire when they were still in business looking for the Quail kit. Model-
Aire no longer had any Quails but I was able to purchase two sheets of the decals. I figured I
would be able to get the Quail on eBay. My search took about five years before I finally obtained
a copy. During that time I had used the US insignia for other projects. So when it came time to
add markings to this kit I had to find another source.
To my rescue came Mark Tutton at Mark's Models and Toys, a.k.a. Starfighter Decals. He was
able to custom print me a set of US Insignia and US Airforce script of the proper size using his
Alps printer.
The kit markings and painting guide are representative of a non-operation Quail. Operational
machines usually lacked any form of markings and were simply an overall light grey. I didn't
want a bland overall grey scheme, and I didn't really want to try an aluminum finish on my kit as
per the instructions, so I decided to fudge the markings by applying them based on some
examples found in various museums - but not on any one Quail in particular.
The only Model-Aire decals I used were the "GAM-72" scripts located just above the fuselage
star-and-bar insignia. The Model-Aire decals do not like to bend around curved surfaces and
multiple applications of Microsol were needed to get them to settle down onto the model.
Without a dolly to rest the model upon, I built my standard display stand - which consists of a
bent piece of piano wire, with one end attached to the corner of a Games Workshop large monster
base and the other end mounted into the jet pipe of the missile.
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Conclusion
All in all, this kit makes for a very interesting subject, but you will need to have patience of a saint
to eliminate the numerous flaws in the resin to get an acceptably finished model.
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