This was a very fun kit to assemble and paint. I would rate this as an easy to intermediate build - enough of a challenge to keep you engaged but without the hundreds of small parts of a Dragon or Hasegawa kit. Part fit, detail and quality were all good, with only a couple of pieces needing minor filling because of mold ejection marks. The cockpit was nicely detailed even though it is hard to notice all that detail after the canopy is in place. No pilot figure is included. Decals were few - only six red stars, a couple of tail numbers and a few no step markings. The decals were, however, of good quality and snugged down nicely. I especially liked the option to use either the skis or the wheels - I chose the skis because this made the plane that much more unique and different. Unfortunately, the instruction sheet lacks clarity when showing how to assemble the landing gear. I was left to my best guess as to where some of the support struts connected, and if you choose to use the wheels, then you are on your own - the instruction sheet only shows the installation of the skis. Even with these small frustrations, the kit turned out beautifully and I would highly recommend it. Another very nice kit from Academy.