Good to see some comments here regarding the wrecker, I felt very strange there was nothing said about last few Mirror releases
It is exactly 5 years since I built my first kit ever and also posted it
here Managed few more build since then, but certainly I do not have 40 years experience in building kits like some of you. Strangely, I managed to build this wrecker kit from test sprues without much problem, and after reading about fit issues mentioned elsewhere by Mr Crisman, I rushed to build yet another one from production sprues, but again, I could not find any problem except missing hole that needs to drill on a winch part because of tool issue that has been fixed straight then for following production. So yes, kit is very complex with lots of details, and might not be easy to build for some, it also has some (not all) larger gates to avoid filling issues or ejector marks, but it is produced in ABS, so parts would rather bend than break or crack, and I removed my 570 parts without damaging any (I managed with my humble 5 year skills again, because these large gates are mostly very thin and easy to cut with fresh scalpel blade. I also did necessary cleaning some seam lines and gate cuts and things involved (although I did not see much flash on roughly 500 kits I boxed myself, and neither on my own building samples, so I did not have to deal with any flash, but I did not see number kits boxed in China, and cannot say if they had any more flash - personally I dont think so. Also I cannot see much flash on images posted here earlier. Besides I almost believed that cleaning parts was more or less a part of this hobby? Just a thought.
What else is there? Oh, the price here or there - certainly it has nothing to do with this matter, one thing is RRP and another thing is the actual price elsewhere.
Instruction - right, with my poor IQ 143 and without 40 years experience in building kits I had 6 or 7 people to check them out before print, and they found this large way showing every single step by step pretty good and clear. It will probably depend on personal taste and view.
What else - oh, the instrument decals.
I am sorry I have checked few hundreds sheets a while ago - strangely all decal sheets have printed decals for instruments - numbers 22-28, do they Mr Crowley? It is also shown in instructions where and how to place them. From someone with such an experience and seeing every little flash I would expect to see also decals
From the other hand, the canvas missing in the kit is a thing I was not happy with, and probably I should have waited another 2 months with the kit release for the canvas mold to be finished. But probably then also many would complain even more about its price added to the kit price. So here or there, it would be always kinda problem about it. It is just like accessories missing in first 2 Mirror releases, just like mentioned above, C15TA and Otter missed a few details, some I would call optional, some should have been there, agreed, it was not the best thing, but it happened, but it was 2 kits released at the beginning, and although there was no any later kit made this way, all the kits released since have been told the same, so if there is any upgrade set for this or that, obviously it is always because it is missing in the kit. First there were guys complaining about PE included in the kit, and when these parts are made rather in plastic and PE upgrades offered separately only for those interested in better detail, it is also wrong (BTW, above linked Indian PE detail set HAD plastic option for every part in base kit, just like the other kits except those two I have mentioned here) - but it does not bother me anymore, especially if these things come always from the same guys before, now, next time.
So well, a few negative comments (some a little confusing, some not 100% true)compared to all the positive emails, WIP images from many guys and a few already finished builds I have seen - in my opinion a quite nice score for the wrecker kit. I am not David Cooperfield and cannot make everyone happy. Besides in my opinion some comments here do not give much credit to their writer rather than to the kit, because they are not always true. And these I find true I will use and try improve for the next time. My kits are not Tamiya kit that is right, there are things I have been trying to get better with every kit, and I will keep working on it, but I am not going to simplify things or reduce details. Who is happy with it and does not mind some effort to get outstanding result, will be probably still happy with my kits, who does not mind lack of details or wall thickness bigger than my gates and wants standard kit, will probably build some other Diamond kit just like that one I have handled a couple of days ago, and who is bothered with cutting, cleaning, sorting many parts etc, will probably reach for LEGO next time (there is no need to look for decals). It will not be me for sure, maybe later, when I get enough experience on building kits
