1/72 MPM Curtiss XP-55 Ascender

by Gabriel Stern

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This one has been built and reviewed already many times, so I'll keep it brief. Suffice to say that the real thing, although looking promissory, ended up being the "Descender",
When my no-into-the-plane-thing friends see this model,  they usually ask me how the pilot can see where he is flying to. When I try to further elaborate on the canard concept they seem to understand, and make comments on the vein of "what's the purpose of a plane that fly backwards?" after which I change the conversation subject and aim for a more common territory.
MPM Ascender is a nice model that requires just enough attention to overcome its condition of short run kit. The usual salad bar of the Eastern Europe menu of injected plastic, resin, photo etched and vac bits is there to satiate your appetite for detail.

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Panel lines are recessed and the kit is almost user friendly, rendering a delicate, quality looking model.
Nothing to say against the decals this time, but some use of filler and sandpaper will be probably necessary. If you have one on the stack you surely will enjoy it. And so will your friends.

Gabriel

Photos and text © by Gabriel Stern