Previewed elsewhere in this site, I found the set to be pretty much as described.  Brent's preview of this set can be found here.  The only discrepancy between the preview and my set was the absence of main wheels.  Although the box photograph shows wheels as part of the set they weren't included so I used the kit parts in my build up.

Upon opening up the box I noticed the cream coloured resin was crisply molded with very little flash and the pour blocks in easy to remove places.  The various pieces were very detailed and seemed consistent with my various, if meager references.  The instructions seemed logical and were fairly clear on placement etc., though I did run into a couple of conundrums, more on this later.  So, with the pre-build inspection over, the references ready, and the required kit finally sourced and purchased, it was time to dive in and begin.

I followed the instructions, at this point, and started with the fuselage inserts.  The instructions will have you cut the fuselage pieces at the rear of the wing insert.  When I offered the pieces up to the uncut fuselage pieces it looked to me that they would be too small, with a noticeable step or gap depending on which way I chose to compensate for the lack of circumference.  I moved the piece down the fuselage until it reached a spot where it matched the kit piece and decided to cut there.  This place happened to be exactly at the point where the canopy rail ends.  Having measured twice, I cut both fuselage halves at the same point and then glued the resin in with CA glue.  Later, I went back and reinforced this joint with epoxy.  As you can see from the picture, there was a large gap created where the offset for the designed location at the wing insert differed from where I put it.  I filled this gap with some styrene strip and cleaned up with putty.

Next, it cut off the kit rudder and cleaned up the edge, being careful to bevel the inside edge to receive the resin rudder later in construction.  With this prep work done, it was time to turn my attention to the cockpit itself, and at this point I'm still following the instructions!

I began by painting all the components matt black.  I used Gunze acrylic in this case.  When that was dry, I started to remove the major pieces and begin to detail paint them.  In retrospect, I could have left them on their cast blocks for this stage but it makes little difference with the larger pieces.  When I was reasonably happy with the finish, I began to add the various other components, black boxes and levers from both the photo etch and the resin pieces.

After the laborious process was nearly complete, with the photo-etch mostly attached (those bits that didn't disappear in my model room carpet) dry brushed with dark gray, and highlighted with silver pencil and them set them aside.  Next I began work on the instrument panel which was, for me, the highlight of the entire detail set.  As instructed, I painted the back side of the acetate instrument sheet with a cream colour and then glues it to the panel piece with future.  Next, I cut out the photo-etch covers and glued them over the acetate, being very careful to align it all correctly.  This whole process took no more then 30 minutes and achieved a very satisfactory result.

Next, I assembled the right side, rear bulkhead, firewall and floor pieces, using CA to join them.  At about this time, I though it all looked a little bland  and asked the advice of some other modelers on how to improve it.  Following their suggestions, I detail painted some more, applied a wash and used a little more colour to "busy up" the look.  I was working from photos and was careful to use appropriate colours.  When I was happy with how they all looked, it was time to begin fitting the pieces in the fuselage halves.

With hindsight, I should have put the instrument panel in first and used it as the datum point for the rest of the cockpit pieces.  As it was, I didn't and so made all kinds of extra work for myself, you have been warned!  I actually started with the left side panel and promptly glued it in the wrong place (it turned out).  With the side panel in place, I glued in some stringers  and picked them out with interior green.  These stringers are important as they provide the locations for some additional resin and photo-etch pieces.  You would think I'd have offered up the instrument panel before now, to check fit but I hadn't and when I eventually did so, I realized the side panel was about 1.5mm too high.  I very carefully prized it up and was able to reposition it without breaking it, after having installed the instrument panel!  However, I wasn't able to move the stringers without really messing up the side so they had to remain, now a little short.  Fortunately it's very difficult to see when fuselage is closed up - more on that later too.  On the opposite side, I glued in the cockpit assembly, now with the seat and control column attached, this time checking all the time that I had it at the right height.  With the cockpit finished and in place, I finally turned my attention to the chin intake pieces in preparation for closing the fuselage.  

The pieces in my set for the air intake had some slight casting flaws.  Some of the detail in the grill was missing leaving the surface finish flat.  That caused a couple of issues when I washed the grill as the wash wouldn't take and left a spotty coverage.

The rudder was next, having already removed the kit rudder, I used CA glue to attach the resin replacement, and a great improvement it made too.  The only other piece requiring mention at this point is the tail wheel.  This piece is very nicely cast and makes a huge improvement over the original piece.

The images below give an indication of the other aspects of the detail set build. 

Conclusion

This is a fine set.  It's detailed, accurate as far as I can tell, well thought out and goes together nicely.  It's only drawback is that once the kit is assembled it is difficult to see most of the detail in the cockpit.  However, that said it is an improvement and provides hours of modeling enjoyment.  The intake, rudder and tail wheel are light years ahead of the kit parts and if main wheels are normally included they also would be a large step forward from the kit parts.  I enjoyed the project and would certainly endorse the set as excellent value for money.  My thanks to Brent at Roll Models for the review sample.

(ed.note: The pictures in this articel are not thumbnailed. They are as big as they were submitted.)