JetMads 1/32 C-21A, U-36A, Learjet 35 kit #302101

[James H]

 

Evening ladies,

I've not written a review for a very long time, and this isn't really one either as Ernie has said plenty on his review of this same kit, and I largely agree with his assessment. In fact, I'm probably happier about the engravings on the resin parts that he is. 😂

Here is a link to tie in Ernie's review into this article:

I'm still in the midst of rigging my HMS Indefatigable, so these pics are done with my iPhone and the 3D print leaves a sort of blue caste with the camera sensor. I think in future, I'll revert to DSLR.

The kit itself is thoughtfully made and packed. It just took a clumsy postal system to cause one of the parts trays and guards to break, scattering parts into the carton. I've done my best to fix this for the photos, and leave the loose parts in front of the tray. When that lid is lifted, all parts and trays are sat in a strong foam frame. 

 

The fuse for this kit is built from three main sections, with the forward two in 3D print. The whole kit is a 3D-print/resin combo. I feel the kit was perhaps printed in 4K and something like this should've been in 8K to almost eliminate the print lines. It'll take some working to ready this for gloss paint, but it can be done. Here you see the fuse mid section, packed with other parts, as was shipped. You can see some surface 'scratches', but these are more just marks and will easily be removed when the fuse surface is prepped for paint.

 

Just as an aside here, look at those impeller blades. They are just fabulous. This shows what 3D can do.

 

 

Here you see the parts that were stuffed into the fuse. These comprise the main fuselage internal cabin areas, and the rear fuse, cast in resin (for reasons not known). The seats are printed with separate seatbelts too.

More 3D printing is included for the various flying surfaces. Despite my photos, the surfaces are very nice, subject to a smoothing, and the surface mars are just where the parts have rubbed against each other. 

 

The instrument panel and coaming are integral, and decals are provided for the instruments. This is also very nice and will look great in paint. (remember, this stuff will need priming before paint, and I rarely ever say that!)

 

Here we have the varisou parts for the engine nacelles. The parts in the foreground are quite thin and beautifully made. Not sure if some craftily placed lead will be needed up front for this, but I'm aware of the possible fragility of the 3D printed struts.

 

So where are the fiddly parts? Those are produced across two trays of parts, seen here. There are also some frosted clear parts which may need a polish before use. As with nigh on all parts, the numbers are included, and in this case, they are printed adjacent to each part. That's a nice touch.

Lastly for the 3D parts, is this radome blister. This is for use with the Japanese scheme, of which I will definitely be building.

 

I did say resin was included, and this is used for the main flying surfaces (wings, tailplane, fin etc. This is cast in a cream coloured, soapy looking resin which does hold the detail nicely. There isn't too much surface detail needed on a lear, but the various access ports are nicely cast.

 

 

I didn't bother to de-bag these as I doubt I could get them all to fit back, but these are the various tip tanks for the wings.

 

Clear resin is included for the main cockpit and fuselage windows. These are crystal clear and can be used straight from the blocks. I wish JetMads had included some masks for these parts, especially the fuse windows, so that the modeller can make them all identical. 

 

Instructions and decals

The manual for this is A4 in size and comprises a series of very detailed and well illustrated drawings which comprise colour annotation throughout. There are five US 'schemes' and one Japanese, although I appear to have not done a photo 

 

 

Decal are Cartograf and there's nothing to fault here in terms of print quality and registration etc. The various scheme option decals are clearly seen. Stencils are also included. 

 

It's unfair to write a conclusion here as I have already said, I agree with Ernie's assessment. There is a lot of work to make this kit into the Lear you expect, mostly due to needing to remove all vestiges of the 3D print lines, but hey, this is supposed to be a hobby! My only real criticism is that they should've included those canopy masks too, and perhaps something sturdier for the beautifully detailed undercarriage struts. 

A I write, this kit I out of stock, so don't really know if this is moot, but it will give an indicator of what to expect from a JetMads kit.

My sincere thanks to Ernie for this opportunity in looking at this kit and also to getting it built up later this year!

 

 

 

[Clunkmeister]

Looking forward to seeing this take shape. I’ll probably follow your example with my own build