When I purchased the kit I was told that everything would be supplied apart from the fuel system. Well it doesn’t quite work out like that. If you don’t like visits to Ikea this might send you over the top!
Opening the ‘box’ there’s no inventory or build manual. I start the build with sections of the manual freshly written and supplied JIT. But as I go, I find bits are missing and as there’s on inventory I have no idea whether they should be in the box or not. An example of this is when I try to complete the water cooling system with the hoses supplied only to be told that they don’t fit and I need to purchase other items!
Over 30 items missing to date which required making several calls to the agents with the responses being “that’s not included in the kit”, “that costs extra”, “it’s definitely there” but when I insist it’s not there, I get “we’ll order it for you” whilst others are accepted and supplied.
Some of the bits have been posted to me but if it’s too big to post it will mean a 5 hour round trip to the agents to collect, which takes time out of my build.
What I will say is that the build quality is amazing and there’s lots of attention to detail which makes this kit very special indeed.
It has been frustrating at times and not what I expected but I’m loving the experience overall! What I would suggest if you are considering buying this kit is that you come to an understanding of exactly what you will get in the box. Demand an Inventory which can be checked off, demand a Build Manual that you can read beforehand to make sure that you don’t do jobs in the wrong order or miss items completely. You may need to dismantle what you’ve done and then do it again! The are lots items that you can order as enhancements to the basic kit. Check all the options that you want with the kit and then ask exactly what the kit contains so you’re not surprised or disappointed when you receive it.
Still outstanding
- Damaged starboard tank fuel cap
- Bad cowl fit – not sure what can be done now…
Missing but sourced myself
- Oil hose and clips
- Brake hose for brake gravity feed
- Cable Ferrules
- Wing Locker Seals
- Air Vents
- Water hose 90 degrees fitting – used a Silent Hektik Thermostat
- Water hose clips
- Armrest cover hinge
Missing but now received
- Oil radiator fittings
- Doubler bracket for oil radiator re-enforcement
- Aluminium short bent fuel lines
- Ray Allen trim position indicators
- 5 1/2″ Jubilee clips for oil bottle
- 4 3/4” Jubilee clips for heat muff
- Seat belts and fittings
- Canopy latches
- Wheel spats
- Wing join covers
- Aileron and Elevator trim motor covers
- Pitot mount
- Nose leg fairing
- Canopy hydraulic Struts
- 2″ SCAT ducting
- Trim motor cable
- Carb heat spring
- Throttle Quadrant Labels
- Wing locker bars
- Trim motor covers
- Floor mat retaining clips
- Canopy fittings
- Canopy gas struts
G-MLSY 