Newcomer Xuntong Model’s first kit is a different one: The Soviet Tupolev Tu-2 medium bomber is an interesting choice for a maiden voyage, to say the least.
Inside the box are nearly 400 gray styrene parts. Initially, I thought the molds looked OK. But after taking a closer look, I noticed that the panel lines were inconsistent. I also noticed quite a bit of mold-release agent on many of the parts. So, make sure to wash your parts before starting the build.
The instructions are a 24-page, magazine-style booklet. A parts tree breakdown, brief history of the Tu-2S, color reference chart, and paint/decal guide are included. The painting guide is nice but covers only two of the eight marking options. This leaves you unsure of how to paint the other six options.
There are no steps in the instructions. Instead, the directions are to build assemblies, join them to larger assemblies, and so on. It’s easy to get things confused.
The build starts in the cockpit and interior fuselage. Early on during the build, I decided to keep my bomb bays closed so I didn’t need to add all the parts for the fuselage interior. Cockpit detail is sufficient but not spectacular; the same can be said for the tail-gun area.
Joining the fuselage halves was a huge problem. The parts were warped and didn’t match. I needed a lot of time and a lot of filler to get things to look decent.
On the other hand, the tail assembly was nice and fit to the fuselage halves with no issues. The tail wheel, however, was very fragile. After it broke, I had to reinforce the assembly with super glue. You can build two full engines if you’d like to show them. The detail of these assemblies is actually pretty good. That said, don’t build the engines if you are going to put the cowls over them — none of the engine will be seen. That could save you a few hours of build time.
The bottom of the wings was longer than the top, so joining the two was a problem. You will have to sand down the wingtips to get them to join. The wing-to-fuselage fit was good topside. The bottom side was a different story: A large gap required filling.
Clear parts were fine, except my sample had a broken part (E7). Nonetheless, the plastic was transparent and scratch-free.
I painted my bomber with Testors Model Master field green and underside blue and used the markings for the Polish naval air force. The decals were outstanding; they laid down with no problem and didn’t silver after a flat coat.
My model took 65 hours to complete (much more than I expected). I was disappointed overall with the fit of the parts. However, the completed model looks good. If you are willing to put in the work, you can build this kit into a good-looking Tu-2S.
Note: A version of this review appeared in the February 2014 FineScale Modeler.