Zvezda
K-36DM

ejection seat

1/48 scale

Aires

4263 in the Aires Hobby Models Masters Series is a 1/48 scale mixed-media kit of the Zvezda K-36DM ejection seat.  The K-36DM is used in such Russian built aircraft as the MiG-29, Su-27, and Su-22. 

Aires also offers the K-36DM in 1/32 scale (32-2023 released in April of 2005).  The 1/48 scale version appears to be a straight down-scale of the 1/32 scale kit. 

The kit comprises eight resin pieces, a photo-etched fret containing twenty five pieces, and a short length of copper wire.  The resin parts are cast in the light grey coloured resin that we are now used to seeing from Airies.  I for one am impressed with this resin as it is far more malleable and less prone to snapping that the tan coloured one also used by Aires. 

The photo-etch fret is very comprehensive.  The metal itself is soft, easy to work with and far more "user friendly" than stainless steel that other accessory producers favour.  The softer metal can be easily re-bent following straightening if you get it wrong and does not have a "memory".  Another good point about this soft metal is that it allows you to manipulate and drape the harness onto the seat to make them appear far more life like. 

The casting superbly done and all details are crisp and sharp.  The upholstery and padding on the squab and seat of the one-to-one-scale seat has been faithfully reproduced and will be enhanced even more so with a wash and dry brush.  Aires have modelled the entire seat, not just the front, sides and top half of the back that will be visible once it is placed in your kit's cockpit.  There are no miscasts, pinholes or excessively thin areas in my sample.  Another surprise is that there is absolutely no flash on any of the resin parts so it means that your clean-up efforts will be confined to the removal of the casting plug only. 

The instruction sheet shows black and white illustrations of how to put the seat together, how to drape the harness, and a "parts map" to identify all of the parts.  A down side is that there are no painting instructions at all, not even a picture of the assembled seat.  Seriously though, the lack of painting instructions does not really detract from the kit as a whole  and a quick 'Google' will take you to sites that have colour photographs of the seat.  Another site worth a visit is AeroWorldnet at: http://www.aeroworldnet.com/1ra05319.htm as it will provide you with a potted history of the K-36DM.

The kit is packaged the standard Aires Masters Series manner.  The seat itself and the length of copper wire sit in a vac formed tray which in turn sits on top of the cardboard header on which the photo etch fret and instructions are also placed.  A vac formed clear plastic cover is then slid over both the tray and the header and it both traps and displays the seat and photo-etch parts.  Staples are then punched through the header card and the plastic cover to fasten them together. 

As far as I'm concerned, this well executed package from Aires and it will really enhance your next MiG-29, Su-27, or Su-22 project. 

Recommended.