This makes it a little difficult to build the chopper out of the box. Enter AK3D to the rescue. I first saw this detail set on Facebook back in a year ago. Aleksey who runs AK3D was really easy to deal with and very thorough. I placed my order in February 2021 and being from Russia (from memory) and Covid, postage took a while but the set finally arrived in early June IIRC. To say I was impressed with what I'd paid for is an understatement. I puchased the Interior/Exterior set which includes a set of medium height skids. I also bought another Interior set and an additional set of skids.
Lets start with the Interior/Exterior set. The set is packed in a very sturdy box so the parts will be well protected on their trip from Russia.
Upon opening the box we're greeted with the instructions and another bit of cardboard with more foam attached. This is seriously the best aftermarket set packaging I've ever come across. If parts got broken then it'd be an act of God
There's also a small decal sheet included that looks to be printed very nicely and in register.
As you can see, it's a fairly comprehensive detail set. The clear resin windows are in a ziplock bag to keep them safely away from the other parts. The black items are 3D printed with the remaining grey items are in resin. As I said, it's a well thought out and thorough set. The resin does have a couple of tiny pin holes that'll need filling but nothing to have a sook about. All the detail is as crisp and defined as any other manufacturer I've seen. Onto the black 3D printed parts, they look pretty cool and should look great after a coat of primer and paint. The detail is really good as well and shouldn't need too much clean up which given the size of some of these parts, is a huge relief.
These 2 3D printed parts are the jig for bending up the skid cross tubes so everything sits and lines up correctly. It's quite an ingenious and clever way of doing it. Never fear though as it's operation is thoroughly explained in the instrucions.
So lets get to the intructions. There several are extremely clear and well set out A4 pages in full colour. Like the rest of the detail set they are just brilliant and simple. I wish more manufacturers would produce clear and easy to understand instruction sheets like this. Airfix and Tamiya are a couple that spring to mind that do this. As you can see, the last sheet is dedicated to making and building the skids and their associated cross tubes. I don't think you'd find a easier and clearer way to do them.
As I said previously, I bought an extra Interior set as well as another set of skids just in case I need them in the future. These are packed just as well as the bigger set. As you can see, the instructions are just as good as the bigger set.
I forgot a pic of the instrutions but they are as good as the rest. The detail on these 3D printed bits is amazing.
The prices I paid are as follows:-
Exterior Set US$22
Interior Set US$5
Skids Set US$4.50
With postage (US$8.50), US$40 was money extremely well spent I think. For the quality, packaging and completeness, I am very happy with my purchase. I have a few other models need finishing first but I'd like to have the 412, using the AK3D detail set for Model Expo 2022. No promises though. This is the Facebook link to contact AK3D
https://www.facebook.com/AK3Dmodels/
Anyways that's my first review done and dusted. Now go build some sh!t peeps
