And so, finally, I was able to get a copy of the elusive model after more than two years. And yes, I got it from eBay which was surprisingly, much cheaper than before. When the model first came out, I was very interested and was prepared to use my sub-standard modeling skills to carve out holes in the solid engine part. The driving passion for this model was that it has a Cargo Bay. Still, I am thankful for the AMT kit which I got first without much issues. It was this kit which was designed for lighting which helped greatly in developing the lighting system.
And now, the Revell kit is going to help me in lighting the cargo bay.
COMPARING APPLES TO APPLES
It is inevitable that I am going to compare both copies. But I will compare them only on the areas I am interested in, which is scale lighting. But before I start, I had a WTF moment when I unboxed the copy…
Shipping from anywhere outside Malaysia is usually from three weeks to a month.
But it is also the Seller’s effort which made sure nothing was damaged. But yes, I cannot stack the box though.
When I took the first runner out, I was taken aback by the crisp details on the surface of the upper fuselage. Every panel line was straight and crisp. However, after that moment of wonder, I realised that I would need to go over the model with some fine sanding as the surface was rough. This will affect the metallic painting process later on. They need a smooth surface to work on.
I say ‘almost’ because like the “ERTL effect” where the model looked perfect until you are a about three feet away, there are some differences.
I would like to keep the lower sink mark in, as if this was a dent from some collision. Normal modeling procedures would insist on filling it with putty.
Also, the ship does not have a name but it belongs to the Razor Cresst Class.
In this image, I am stupidly comparing the details between the Haslab, Revell and AMT. This actually not important since we seldom see the top[ of the craft.
Inset image of Haslab Razor Crest courtesy of thefwoosh.,com
Inset image of Haslab Razor Crest courtesy of thefwoosh.,com
But then again, it’s going to be destroyed when I drill holes for the LED to come through.
On another note, I am quite miffed that the open rectangle panel below the lights are more detailed than the AMT version. Still, I ope the LED is able to cast shadows on the Revell’s panel but I am not that optimistic yet.
