Resin Review

Aardvark Models™

1958 Firebird III

1/25 Scale Resin, rubber, and photo-etch

MSRP: $119.95

  When Andy Martin of Aardvark Models Announced the release date of this kit, I waited with baited breath for it to arrive on my doorstep. Luckily I didn't have to wait long, as today the mailman brought me my kit.

   The Resin casting industry has somewhat of a shady reputation. There are a lot of fly-by-night guys with questionable quality and business practices. To group Aardvark models in with these scale snake-oil salesmen would be like comparing apples to oranges. This is not a cheezy resin conversion body, this is a complete model kit with everything you need to complete it in the box. (except for glue and paint).

   As you can see from the picture above, when I say complete I mean complete. A sheet of colorful Slippery Arts™ decals along with photo-etched details, and real rubber tires compliment the expertly cast and laser smooth body. With minimal clean-up of mold lines and a very little bit of flash, and you should be able to paint and assemble it in no time. Take your time and this will build up into a museum quality model.

  This is a curbside kit but, the quality of the kit more than makes up for not having an engine. I'm looking forward to setting this on the contest table and let it shine. There is very little flash and no air bubbles, voids, waves, or other imperfections. The mold lines were kept to a minimum and should take only minutes for an average modeler to clean them up. the vacu-formed canopies have photo-etched parts that replicate the framing on the 1:1 car. to make the shaping of these parts easier Aardvark™ has included resin cast bucks to shape the parts on prior to fitting them to the canopy.

   Above is just a small sample of the reference material included on the CD in the kit. There is even Pdf files of  two GM brochures from the period, featuring the car. while some of the information included is not even necessary to the building of the model,  the history of the car, and the technical details make for exciting reading for any car buff.

   In conclusion, Rarely do I find a model without flaw but this one has to be as close to perfect as one can get. If there are flaws, I'm not enough of an expert in the subject matter to find them. This model goes above highly recommended, and jumps right up to must have. Even at $119.95 this model is a bargain.