Pardon me for necroposting, but I see this kit keeps popping up on eBay for fair prices and perhaps someone might be interested in knowing what's in the box. I hope this mini-review is helpful...
Building the kit on its own represents a challenge. Fortunately, with the advent of the ICM kit aftermarket picked up quickly. My opinion is that if you get the kit, Part's etched set and a pair of True Details/Aires/Tally Ho! wheels, Bob's your uncle. You can throw in Quickboost's exhaust and control stick if you feel really lazy.
Here are some pictures of the sprues: the quality of the plastic is similar to MPM.
Cons:
- It's really a rough gem - huge feeding channels, flash galore, rough edges, no locating pins, the works.
- Some parts remain unusable even after cleaning - e.g. the wheels suffer from soft detail and shrinkage issues.
- The chin radiator is still a bit shallow.
- It has the same problem as the Accurate Miniatures Yaks - no enlargement in the rudder base. Takes a bit of work to correct (separate rudder, add spacer to fuselage, either rework the kit rudder or graft the ICM one) but can be left as-is.
Pros:
- The main areas failing in the ICM kit - fuselage section, canopy shape, radiators, ailerons, tailplanes, propeller - are correct.
- Box decals are correct and of good quality.
- When you've cleaned everything up, fit is good.
- You would probably spend the same amount of money and work on the ICM kit.
You can click on each picture to see a larger version. Pardon my unsteady hands: I'll get a tripod for Christmas.