Lift Here Cessna 310

[SpaceRanger]

New member here with an in-box review of Lift Here's Cessna 310.

Lift Here is a Serbian company which has produced some interesting and unique kits. This is the first one I have purchased. Scale is 1/72.

Kit is molded in a dense, white resin which makes the extremely fine engraved detail hard to see. The majority of the fuselage is a one-piece part, with a cavity for cabin interior details. Cabin top/windows/windshields is a one-piece item, vacuum-formed in clear plastic; two copies are included (nice touch). The cabin top and windows are also given as a one-piece resin part with glass areas indented for those who do not want to detail the cabin. Interior details include seats, instrument panel, instrument panel glare shield, and control wheels, but no guide to their placement is included. Wing including engines is one piece. Decals are included for two USAF U-3As, one in the original blue-and-white "Blue Canoe" scheme, the other in the later white-over-gray scheme.

Dimensionally, the kit has some serious issues. Based on factory scale drawings of known accuracy, the wingspan is right on, but the engines are 2 mm too far outboard. The fuselage is 3 mm too long, and about 2 mm too deep through the cabin area. Vertical fin is 2 mm too high. Horizontal stabilizers have 2 mm excess chord at both root and tip, and are 2 mm each too long in span. Prop diameters are 5 mm in excess. These dimensional differences might not matter if we were talking about a 1/72 B-36, but the 310 is not a big airplane (wingspan 35.77 ft, overall length 26.025 ft). The 310 has a distinctive appearance, and these differences, even though small, will be obvious and will make the completed model look strangely bloated, especially if one is familiar with the aircraft.

For many modelers, the Lift Here kit will look enough like a Cessna 310 to satisfy them. But this airplane is one of my all-time favorite aircraft, due to it featuring prominently in a American TV show of the 1950s and '60s, and I was disappointed when my examination revealed these errors. My advice would be to wait for Aircraft in Miniature's 310B, now in the works. I provided detailed dimensional data and other details to AIM for that kit, which has been designed using Catia software, so it should be far more accurate than Lift Here's.

[tor lives]

G'day Michael,
Firstly.....on behalf of all of us, welcome to A/CAM, it's great to have you here.
Thanks so much for that review....most informative and interesting.
I have the old Aurora C310, so this kit makes for an interesting comparison.
You mention the C310 featuring prominently in an American TV show during the 50s/60s....what show would that be??
This is relevant given that A/CAM will be putting on a club display next year at the Australian Model Expo with the theme being: Airliners / Civil Aircraft: TV and Movie Stars
Once again... Welcome!! and thanks for a great opening post.
TOR

[VH-WAL]

Skyking is the show I'm sure

hiya Mike

[SpaceRanger]

G'day Michael,
Firstly.....on behalf of all of us, welcome to A/CAM, it's great to have you here.
Thanks so much for that review....most informative and interesting.
I have the old Aurora C310, so this kit makes for an interesting comparison.
You mention the C310 featuring prominently in an American TV show during the 50s/60s....what show would that be??
This is relevant given that A/CAM will be putting on a club display next year at the Australian Model Expo with the theme being: Airliners / Civil Aircraft: TV and Movie Stars
Once again... Welcome!! and thanks for a great opening post.
TOR

Thanks! And, yes, "Sky King" is the TV show I referred to. It "starred" the 2nd production 310B, N5348A (c/n 35548).

The Aurora (ex-Comet) kit is a far more accurate representation of the 310.

[Graeme H]

Firstly welcome aboard Michael, and thanks for the heads up in the kit, always wanted a C310, but not for that much work, and like the others have said later models