Hobbycraft Avro CF-105 "Arrow" Preview

Hobbycraft Avro CF-105 "Arrow"

By Barry Snell

Kit preview, 1/48

Having never owned the "old" Hobbycraft Arrow kit in this scale, this is my first, out-of-the-box impression of their new offering without any comparison with the former kit. This may be a good thing since my opinionwill therefore be completely unbiased as I have no expectations based onthe former version.

The large kit comes in Hobbycraft's standard, sturdy, end-opening box which is printed with graphics on all six sides (Photo "A"). You can see the full color graphics showing the general paint scheme and decal lay-out of the real aircraft in Photo "B" and the dreaded, end-opening box in Photo "C."

Photo "D" shows exactly what you get when you open the box: The kit's four individual sprues are each bagged separately, as are the two (?) identical clear canopies and the main fuselage body halves. Even the decal sheet is protected within its own plastic sleeve, always a welcomed packaging feature.

The kit's grey parts are molded in just the right "hardness" of styrene, not too brittle and not overly pliable. There is just the slightest hint of a texture to the plastic but not to the degree seen in, say, many of the "AA Models" or "Zhengdefu" offerings. The texture will likely be just right to ensure a good "tooth" for your paint. My kit came with a pair of the clear canopies, which I'm guessing was a mistake. The one-piece canopy is frosted to indicate the demarcation between the aircraft's metal skin and the canopy's clear glazing.

Very finely engraved panel lines can be found throughout the surface of most parts so fine that you may not be able to quite make them out in Photos "E" and "F" but, trust me, they are there and they look great.

Photos "G" and "H" reveal the lay-out of some of the sprues. The somewhat boxey main fuselage is separated into top and bottom halves (see Photos "I" and "J") which also exhibit well-crafted engraved panel lines, access doors, etc. The two airbrake recesses, however, are devoid of any detail. While I don't know what the real aircraft had under its airbrakes, I suspect there should be some degree of hydraulics and other greeblies involved.

A close-up of the landing gear wheels and wheel-well doors can be seen in Photos "K" and "L." Not bad but I predict die-hard Arrow aficionados will find themselves wishing these parts were better detailed. The landing gear struts (Photo "M") are, in my opinion, quite lacking in detail for this scale when compared with photos of the real thing, especially when you consider that this kit is marketed as a new and improved re-tooling of a former product.

In Photo "N" you see the rather lame ribbing in the cockpit area of the forward fuselage. The two ejection seats are a rather odd affair: each seat is made up of four parts, which is normally a good thing but these components lack detail to the point where you may wonder if it was worth it. At any rate, Hobbycraft does not provide an "open" canopy option, so you will likely not be able to see much through the forward canopy (and virtually nothing through the tiny aft ports---see photo "O"). This may be a good thing since the finished cockpit tub, with its very plain, flat instrument panels and consoles will most likely look quite rudimentary at best. The decals for the instruments themselves are not bad, I suppose. But they're not outstanding, either.

This is the kind of kit one hopes the aftermarket people will jump on to improve the cockpit, but will you even be able to see the improvement once that cloistered canopy is closed over it? Photo "P" shows the inner surfaces of the upper wings, which are completely devoid of detail. Because of this, the wheel wells and inner faces of the landing gear doors certainly could use an aftermarket treatment as well. Visible engine details seem sparse as well but I believe that is a fair representation of the actual aircraft in that regard.

Instructions (Photos "Q" and "R") appear to be laid out clearly and, while there's certainly nothing unpredictable about the assembly sequence, I'm sure a build-up review will be interesting in terms of fit, engineering and accuracy of the finished model. Surprisingly for an aircraft with a history as interesting and controversial as the Avro Arrow, no history or technical information whatsoever is provided by Hobbycraft. From the instructions, painting this kit would seem rather simple in terms of color choices (only three are listed) but Hobbycraft does include FS numbers and respective catalogue numbers as produced by Floquil/Pollyscale, Humbrol, and Testors Modelmaster.

Decals appear to be very clear, well-defined and in perfect register. Those walkway lines are going to be a challenge. A couple of nice decal features are the metallic details provided and the way the tailfin flags are provided as separate components to ensure your own perfect register and opacity (though I'm sure I'll be cursing that when the time comes to actually apply them). While some stencil data is provided, I have a suspicion that a lot more would appear on the actual aircraft. Serial Numbers are provided to produce any one of the prototype Arrows that were assembled prior to the program's controversial demise (see Decal Scan). Don't throw away your kit's box as the graphics printed on the bottom of the box is all you get for instructions on external decal placement and paint scheme.

Summary

I doubt modelers who have waited in earnest for this re-tooled kit will find it comparable to the latest, best offerings of Tamiya or Hasegawa in terms of details or complexity. Then again, I didn't pay a Tamiya or Hasegawa price for Hobbycraft's new kit, either. As stated, I have not yet compared this re-tooled version with Hobbycraft's prior offering but I believe this kit will build up into a favorable representation of Canada's beloved (and often bemoaned) claim to aviation fame. Make plenty of room for this one on your model shelf!

Kit provided courtesy of my wallet.

Product content of the kit herein reviewed are Copyright 2003 Hobbycraft Canada and the review of same does not necessarily represent the opinion of any party other than the author. This review is Copyright 2003 Barry Snell and may not be reproduced in any way without prior written consent of the author.

Page created November 1, 2003