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KIT REVIEW - Arii 1/72 Beechcraft V35 Bonanza, Kit #A703-300

Being interested in diversifying my 1/72 collection beyond
the usual fighters and bombers, I was gratified to notice
Arii's Bonanza kit on the shelf, and at $2.99, the price was
right.  I don't know if this is a new kit, but it isn't
widely known so I thought I'd review it for anyone on the
newsgroup who might be interested in small-scale general-av
types.

The Arii Bonanza consists of 34 opaque parts, plus 7 clear
parts and a 3-piece display stand molded in dark blue.  The
parts are not quite molded in white; they're actually a very
pale blue-grey, noticeable enough that the model should be
painted white.  The surface detail is finely inscribed and
restrained, with the corrugated control surfaces well
rendered.  There was quite a bit of flash on the kit I
bought, especially around the antennae.

Cockpit detail is good, with a floor, an instrument panel,
two separate control wheels and five nicely rendered seats.
Some more detail should be added on the inside of the
fuselage walls, but a nice cockpit (considering the scale)
can be done without too much trouble.  The parts fit pretty
well.  The windows and windscreen, predictably, are a bit
thick, tending to distort the view of the interior, so
making acetate replacements is a good idea.

The instructions contain clear diagrams, which is fortunate
because the text is almost entirely in Japanese.  The only
advice offered in English takes the form of some often
misspelled and always unhelpful comments such as, "CEMMENT
PARTS RIGHTLY."

The worst thing about the kit is the decal sheet, which
bears little resemblance to the box art and even less
resemblance to the Beech factory paint scheme.  The fuselage
striping is totally wrong, and the N-numbers are done in a
strange font unlike anything that will be seen on a
production aircraft.  The decal sheet also provides a
misspelled placard ("BEECHECRAFT") for the display stand.  I
can't comment on the adherence or other qualities of the
decals, which I did not even contemplate using on the kit.

Despite the useless decals, the Arii 1/72 Bonanza is a very
nice kit that makes a handsome little model.  It is a member
of a series that also includes the Cessna 172 and Skymaster,
so I'll be watching to add more of these gen-av types to my
collection.

August Horvath <augustho@usc.edu>