Hawker Nimrod Mk.I

Mushroom, 1/72 scale

Reviewed by Glen Porter

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What's this, Mushroom is making models now?

Well, not quite.

I understand that this is a co-operation between Mushroom Model Publications and CMR. As you may know, the subject of a recent Mushroom reference title is the Fury and Nimrod by Alex Crawford. This model, the standard Nimrod Mk.I by CMR may be built in conjunction with that book.

There will be more CMR kits released under the Mushroom name, based on their books and hopefully, in the not too distant future, some special kits for MMP alone.
 

As far as I know, the resin in this packaging is the same as CMR's Nimrod Mk.I, kit No. CMR117. I reviewed the CMR Nimrod Mk.II here on Hyperscale back in 2006 and rather than go through it all again I will leave it up to the interested visitor to use the link provided. Here, I will just point out the major differences.

There was not a big visual difference between the Mk.I and II, the Mk.II having a more powerful motor, so most of the parts are the same. However, the fuselage is dissimilar with the Mk.II having a two-piece fuselage and the Mk.I a separate engine cover making it a three-piece fuselage. The Mk.II kit had quite a few additional parts including bombs and racks which are not present in this version.

Click the thumbnails below to view larger images:

An Eduard pre-coloured photo-etch fret is now included in this kit, which features instrument panel, harness, rudder pedals and trim wheels for the interior but, curiously, it is not mentioned in the instructions. Now, this is to my liking, not liking photo-etch much, as all the parts on the PE fret are duplicated in resin.

The decal sheet, by MPD is top notch and is the same as in the CMR Mk.I kit. There are three choices, all Royal Navy aircraft in the same Anodic Grey, FS 36555 (metal parts) and Aluminium Dope, FS 17178.

• Hawker Nimrod I, S1581, 802 NAS, HMS Glorious, 1935 with a yellow carrier band edged in black on the fuselage. The black edging is a decal.

• Nimrod I, K2830, 800 NAS, HMS Courageous, 1934 with a blue carrier band on the fuselage and blue and white check between the upper wing roundels. The check is a decal.

• Last is Hawker Nimrod I, K2826, 801 NAS, HMS Furious, 1935 with a red carrier band with silver and red edging plus red and white check on the upper wing centre section. The check and red edging are supplied as decals.

The only aspect of this kit that I do not like is the vacformed windscreen. As far as I know, the Nimrod had a wind-screen made up of three flat surfaces - one central and one either side. The kit windscreen isa dome with no flat surfaces at all. A small fault I know, but one that will stand out.

If you go to MMP's web site there is a list of the other CMR kits offered under the MMP label. What I find intriguing is what may come in the future under the MMP label alone. In the meantime, resin kits don't come much better that those from CMR and with MMP's excellent books as a reference, Wow

Highly Recommended.

Thanks to Mushroom Model Publications for the review sample

All Mushroom Model Publications books and models are available direct from the publishers, who now accept credit cards (Visa, MC, Amex, Switch)  

North American distributors are MMD, Australian distributors are Platypus Publications. In Europe, the books are available from any good bookshop (via our UK distributors, Orca). Contact MMP direct in case of difficulties.