New Tool Typhoon

Revell’s latest eurofighter.

- Rick Greenwood

This is Revell’s second attempt at this aircraftin 1/72, the first kit being offered in twinseat guise in 2004. This was followed a few years later by the single seater (04317) in 2007 and both kits were notorious for their challenging fit, partially in the intake and speed brake areas. The announcement of the new tool version of the single seater perhaps promised an easier build route and a state of the art kit in the level of detail on offer.

In terms of this offering the box top quotes a total parts count of eighty five. These are moulded in a light grey/off white plastic and inspection of the larger parts showed some nicely restrained engraved surface detail. Some was found to be inconsistently moulded around the curve of the rear airframe in this sample and the smaller parts seemed to feature a fair share of flash and mould parting lines making the details seem soft in some areas - strange for a new tool. The clear parts are moulded without any obvious flaws but feature the dreaded mould line down the centre, necessary to capture the blown shape of the canopy. The clear sections are offered in two separate parts meaning the canopy can be posed open. The instrument panel is a clear part too and features some nice raised detail for the multifunction displays.

Decals are provided for a single German special scheme presenting some attractive art work that adorns the rear fuselage and tail sections. The instructions see assembly completed in thirty five stages and the painting and decal placement guides are provided in colour at the rear of the instruction booklet.