Revell-Monogram 1/48 scale AT-6 Texan

Kit: No. 85-5306
Scale: 1/48
Manufacturer: Revell-Monogram,
847-770-6100,
www.revell-monogram.com
Price: $13.50
Comments: Injection-molded, 52
parts, decals
Pros: Still good after 25 years, good
fit, good decals, alternate markings for
Navy SNJ
Cons: Raised panel lines, poor fit at
wing root

Monogram's AT-6 kit was originally released in 1979. I've never had the opportunity to build one even though I've got three in my stack of unbuilt kits.

The recently reissued Texan is molded with raised panel lines and rivets. The detail is a little overdone but workable. Construction is straightforward. The tubular cockpit assembly fits together well, but you'll need to trim the female locator holes in the fuselage halves to make it fit inside. You'll also need to shave about 3/32" off the mating surfaces in front of the cockpit to allow the nose panel (part No. 11) to fit right.

The wing halves fit OK. I filled a few seams with gap-filling super glue and sanded them smooth. The fuselage sits a bit high along the wing/fuselage joints, so I cut down the bottom surface of the fuselage at the trailing-edge root.

Optional parts are provided for an opened or closed canopy; I chose to have the forward canopy open.

I painted the model with Alclad II for the natural-metal USAAF machine. The markings are the same as the initial issue of the kit, but the newly printed decals are much better than the originals. The other decal option is for a generic U.S. Navy SNJ. The decals set perfectly with a little Micro Set and rolling out with a cotton swab.

It's a nice little kit that took only 12 hours to finish. I'm glad I finally have one in my collection. If you're not an absolute beginner, this is a fairly easy kit.