This is not the Revell model of my childhood! Back then I just broke the pieces off the sprue, put a little testors glue on each piece and stuck them togeather - max time spent on in any model was a few hours at most. That was then - now is different and a whole lot better. The moldings are clean with no flash and the fit is nearly perfect. The only issue I had was where the sprue attached to the part - I missed one now and again that caused problems, but that's me not the model. I don't have an air brush, so I hand painted the entire model and I must say that it came out very well, not perfect - but warplanes weren't perfect either. The detail in this kit is pretty good and I can't help but marvel at the quality of some of the models shown on Hobbylinc. I didn't get carried away with extra detail or absolute authenticity sticking to the instructions and pictures provided for the most part. As usual I had my issues with the water slide decals but I am pleased with the result. Overall build time: 20hrs.

Overall the kit is worthwhile. Some observations: 1. The instructions are only ok. They clearly show the assembly and are easy to follow. However, the color callouts are either lazy or non-existent. Similarly, although decals are provided for the interior, the instructions fail to state where each should go. And not all of the locations for those decals are obvious. So that was frustrating. 2. The fit. The fit is excellent. This was my first Hobby Boss kit and I did not know what to expect. But there are really no significant issues. The only time I had any trouble was with the metal weight right in front of the cockpit. For whatever reason that made joining the fuselage difficult and I did end up having to spend some time filing down that metal piece so that I could joint the fuselage. But once done the fuselage fit nicely and, more importantly, all of the clear pieces fit nicely. 3. Because of the metal pieces, this does not sit on its tail. 4. However, you'll see that the engines lack detail because of the metal pieces behind them. Others have complained about that lack of detail but I suspect that detail was sacrificed in order to not have it sit on its tail. And even so if you're staring directly at the engines you really cannot tell that there is a lack of detail there. 5. Others have complained that the marking options provided are incorrect because neither of those planes had the top turret. That didn't bother me. If it bothers you then you could either just get a set of after market decals or a piece of styrene and card stock and seal off the top turret. For me it didn't matter and, if done correctly, the top turret does rotate and the guns can raise and lower. So in my opinion this is not a reason not to buy the kit. 6. The cockpit and rear compartment are nicely detailed and easily visible through the canopies. Overall this was a fun build and I do recommend it