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Seafire F.R. 47 Upgrade Kit

Cooper Details

 

Catalogue No.: CD4816 
Scale: 1/48
Media: Resin 
Review Type: In-box
Rating: Highly Recommended

Reviewed by Brett Green

S u m m a r y

Contents: 30 Parts in Cream Coloured resin
Price: US$12.95
Advantages: Marvellous detail, exhaustive accuracy, beautiful casting, simple construction breakdown, nice subejct, good value for $$.
Disadvantages: Careful cleanup required
Recommendation: Highly recommended for all modellers planning to build the Airfix Seafire

 

B a c k g r o u n d

 

It is always a great pleasure to see a Cooper Details box arrive on my doorstep. Roy Sutherland from Coopers is one of the true pioneers in the production of high-quality, after-market resin accessories for model aircraft.

Although Cooper Details has been impacted by the increased number of offerings in this area, Roy continues to master products for Jaguar and some older Cooper designs are also available under different brands.

But Cooper Details is still alive and kicking.

The latest Cooper Details release is the 1/48 scale Seafire FR 47 Upgrade. The Airfix Seafire is already a great kit, but this set really will convert it into a highly accurate showstopper.

The set comprises 30 parts perfectly cast in cream coloured resin. A little "structural flash" is present on some parts, mainly close to their casting blocks or attachment points. Care will be needed to remove some of the parts from their blocks as there is little clearance between the part and the waste.

The resin parts replace the kit main wheels (featuring miniscule block-tread - Roy says they were a royal pain to master), the exhausts (beautifully subtle and drilled out of course!), radiator cores for corrected radiator fairings (correction suggestions supplied), lower cowl/chin intake, prop blades (amazingly thin and not warped), RATOG gear (including detailed placement and wiring diagrams/template), corrected cannon stubs, rudder with separate split tabs, a really nice sting hook plus gorgeous new outer wheel doors.

Instructions are in typical Cooper style - scrap view drawings supported by helpful text. I have learnt from experience that I should read and heed Roy's written instructions - you should do the same!

At a RRP of US$12.95 there is no real financial barrier to correcting the exterior of your Airfix Seafire. Used in conjunction with the Spitfire 22 / Seafire 47 cockpit set, you can have a truly remarkable Seafire courtesy of Cooper Details. 

Highly Recommended for all Airfix Seafire Modellers.

Thanks to Roy Sutherland of Cooper Details for the review sample


Cooper Details products are available at retail hobby stores or direct from the manufacturer at

        Cooper Details
        PO Box 2711
        Fremont CA 94536-0711

        Email: COOPERDTLS@AOL.COM


PS - I can also recommend the new "Warpaint" volume on Griffon Seafire variants by Geoffrey Bussy, recently released by Hall Park books, as a good reference for the type. 


Review Copyright © 1999 by Brett Green
This Page Created on 30 September, 1999.
Last updated 22 July, 2003.

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