Modellers tackling Airfix’s recently reissued DHC-2 Beaver should consider the cockpit glazing and masks created by IPMS Austria, as CHRIS CLIFFORD reports.
IPMS (UK)’s Scale ModelWorld event at Telford, Shropshire, always offers the chance to enjoy displays by overseas model clubs. As I browsed the varied builds on IPMS Austria’s stand this past weekend, my gaze fell on what I initially thought were aftermarket decals. Some of the items were exactly that, but among them was an entirely different product. Coded item 02 55, this package produced by the club itself provides replacement cockpit glazing for Airfix’s 1/72 DHC-2 Beaver, re-released recently as part of the firm’s blossoming Vintage Classics range.
You receive a small sheet of pre-cut glazing for the windscreen, door windows, plus those adorning the sides and top of the fuselage. They have a faint blue tint and are, obviously, thinner than the glazing in Airfix’s Beaver. Anyone with experience of this kit will agree the clear parts are a weak point of what is an otherwise entirely buildable model. Also offered is a set of corresponding pre-cut vinyl masks, to protect your swanky new glazing during painting/airbrushing. The set can be ordered directly from IPMS Austria for €9.80.
Above and below: Airfix's 1/72 Beaver without (top) and with the replacement glazing from IPMS Austria (Photos Mike Grzebien)
