Reader reviews of a kit featured on Starship Modeler.

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Your Two Cents: Swordfish II

The following are reader's opinions of the Swordfish II made by BanDai.

Reviewer   CaptainBrazilia
Date Reviewed   Jun 22, 2001
Overall Rating       Good kit, but with some problems.
Comments Just finished this kit. I have to say that this is actually a pretty good, simple little plastic kit! Design and fit were all very good, and aside from some minor problems (the main one being that I can't read Japanese), it went together very well for me, taking a little over 10 hours worth of work.

All in all, I used 5 colors on this kit, all Tamiya acrylics thined 1 to 1 with isopropyl alcohol. I went with the isoprpyl this time because it tends to make the flat colors look very "weathered" when they dry. The specific colors I used were: Flats, Red XF-7, Black XF-1, Dark Sea Grey XF-54. Glosses Black X-1, Chrome Silver X-11, Smoke X-19 (for the tinted canopy).

In addition, I used several of the above colors to make a very thin color wash that turned out being a very reddish brown that was just a bit darker than the base color of flat red. I applied the wash AFTER using the Gundam marker on the panel lines (simply smearing off the excess for that "dirty" look) and AFTER battle damaging the hull. This allowed the wash to settle into the scars. I simply wiped the excess wash of with my fingers (again for that "dirty" look).

After the wash had dried, the flat red color coat was sprayed onto the various hull surfaces. This toned down the "dirtyness" to make it look a little more realistic, I think.

I tinted a clear plastic canopy for the first time with this kit. Using the Tamiya Smoke X-19 through the airbrush on the INSIDE surfaces of the canopy. It turned out pretty darned good for my first time. Next time, thinning the smoke 1 to 1 with denatured alcohol might make it come out a bit clearer. It really didn't turn out as dark as I thought it would, but it's a nice touch that adds a little bit of realism to any project.

The main problem that I ran into during this project was that the diagram that shows the wing hinges (for the ship's folding wings) DOES NOT SHOW that they are slightly different lengths. It probably tells you that in JAPANESE. Oh well. I installed the long one into the wrong wing and vice-versa, so when I went to attach the wings to the fuselage, the fit was off by about 1/4". I ended up having to cut the hinges and permanently glue the wings in the extended position. I only made one other (dumb) mistake with the kit in that I forgot to install the landing gear prior to gluing the two fuselage halves together (D'oh!). A little trimming to the landing gear struts and some glue fixed that problem.

This is a fun kit that should be okay for the beginning to intermediate sci-fi kit builder. However, it has excellent potential to become a fantastic looking completed kit in the hands of the expert builder as well (with a little bit of extra attention).

Enjoy!


Reviewer   Dan
Date Reviewed   May 22, 2002
Overall Rating       Well worth getting.
Comments It is very accurate to the way it is porytrayed on the TV series but with some problems. The cockpit is not red tinted as pictured, and the figures seen too small. As in the pictures of teh Sword Fish 2 in the handbook that comes with the model, spike is about the hight of one end wing thing where the guns are, but the model figure is only the size of the landing gear. It is only inor problem

Reviewer   Dan
Date Reviewed   Jun 4, 2002
Overall Rating       Good kit, but with some problems.
Comments

Better comments w/ advice

No kit is by any means perfect. Yet this is close to it considering what it is modeled after. It is in almost every way correct in its proportions. It only needs a little painting. (cockpit-grey outline, red shaded back near the engine, white tips of teh fins as seen in the box pictures, black on the landing gear, and a red tinted canopy. If you don't have an airbrush all you need is a red "paper mate" pen. All you have to do is open it from teh front, cut the end, use a paper clip to get some ink out, them use a brush( not a good one) and use a dabbign motion to cover the inside canopy with red ink, allow it to dry you will most likley not need more that one coat.


Reviewer   Kyle Jones
Date Reviewed   Jul 22, 2002
Overall Rating       Good kit, but with some problems.
Comments This model is one heck of a model but it does have a few flaws in the design.

1. When assembling the wing into the main body, remember that one of the wings is longer than the other. The hinge of the wing doesnt exactly fit into the wing and the wing doesnt touch the body at all. Most of the modelers I know ususally find some way to shorten up the hinge but I just glued on the wings.

Other than that, this is a kit that is well worth your money.


Reviewer   JP
Date Reviewed   Oct 1, 2002
Overall Rating       Well worth getting.
Comments This is not an average kit. I had a great time assembling and painting this kit - very easy apart from the "japanese only" instructions, specially when doing the battered "look and feel" of the ship.

I was really amazed with the innumerable moveable parts found in this kit, and the detail level of the cockpit.

You can check a picture of the assembled kit here


Reviewer   Ryan Friesen
Date Reviewed   Feb 3, 2003
Overall Rating       Good kit, but with some problems.
Comments Just a clarification on the orange-tinted canopy thing. Yes, in space, the canopy is tinted, but if you watch closely in at least one episode, and I can't remember which, but once I have a chance to sit down and watch all thirteen hours, I'll let you know, Spike actually adjusts something in the cockpit before taking off and the canopy TURNS from CLEAR to ORANGE. So it's a variable thing. So you have an excuse not to paint it, unless you want to. But it looks cooler orange, I know.

Reviewer   SymBiotic
Date Reviewed   Mar 22, 2005
Overall Rating       Well worth getting.
Comments This was definitely the BEST model that I have ever put together. It's simply awesome. I'm a big fan of Bebop and I spent at least $45 on this kit on eBay. I noticed that some of you had trouble with the wing hinges. I forgot exactly what I did, but I believe I twisted one around or flipped it or something and it fit in just right. If you're a bebop fan, this is a must have.

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