The General Atomics MQ-1C Gray Eagle is a medium-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aircraft system (UAS) developed for the U.S. Army as an upgrade to the MQ-1 Predator. Powered by a diesel piston engine burning jet fuel, it performs better than its predecessor at high altitudes. Capable of operating for up to 36 hours at altitudes up to 25,000 feet, the Gray Eagle can carry an 800-pound payload and be armed with AGM-114 Hellfire or AIM-92 Stinger missiles.
The new Clear Prop! 1/48 scale MQ-1C plastic model kit comes in a nicely illustrated box with four versions of the UAS printed on the sides to help with decals and painting. Inside are seven plastic sprues (six light gray; one clear), and a photo-etched (PE) brass fret. There is also a fret of copper parts. The markings for the four version were a little out of registration, but they’re so small you hardly notice.
The parts exhibited almost no flash, and the panel lines weren’t particularly deep, in keeping with photos of the aircraft. The 12-page instruction book illustrates 22 steps with color callouts and decal instructions.
Assembly starts with the fuselage — and no cockpit! The fuselage parts A4, A5, and B2 fit well with only a tiny bit of filler; the wings attach at the panel lines.
In Step 10, the photo-etched copper part PE7 was not U-shaped when folded as indicated in the instructions. Parts PE7 and PE 8 are used to strengthen the long, spindly landing gear. Don’t forget to put nose weight inside before closing the fuselage to keep the front wheel grounded.
I left the landing gear off until the last to keep them from breaking, but I still needed to be careful not to break off small parts; I placed small blocks under each wing to keep the fuselage off the deck. The instructions say there should be 53mm between the landing gear, but they flex a bit, so approximate works. The long wings flex, too, so be aware.
If you want the prop to turn, apply just a small dot of superglue to Part D16. If that doesn’t matter to you, by all means, glue away.
I painted the whole aircraft dark ghost gray. The decals tended to fold on themselves, so I slid them off the paper; some were so small, it was like picking DNA out of a petri dish.
Clear Prop! did a good job with its 1/48 scale MQ-1C plastic model kit. All the parts fit well, and it was a relatively easy build. I spent about 12 hours building the model and would recommend it to someone with a couple of aircraft models to their credit.