Introduction

The advent of the internet, I believe, had the biggest impact on the hobby we are involved in resulting in models that are becoming more and more accurate, this has also had an impact on what was called the cottage industries who supplied those small pieces of bling to catch your eye. SKP Model has a particularly nice eye catching addition for an ever growing number of models with their Lenses and Taillights line which are a combination of photo etched backings with clear coloured resin lenses.

Contents

The single photo etched fret is supplied inside a zip-lock bag which is secured to a hanger card with a sticker providing information on the product.

Review

The lenses in this set consist of two sizes of clear lenses, a pair of amber lenses and a pair of red lenses, (eight lenses total), and are designed for the Challenger 1 model in 1/35th scale from Tamiya. First a little confusion for me is that there is to my knowledge two clear lenses on the head lights at the front and two amber reflectors and two domed red lights at the rear, my confusion is just what the other pair of clear lenses is for, however I am not going to complain as these can be used on another model in the future.

The sizes of the lenses appear accurate compared to a Tamiya Challenger 1 model I have with the red lenses also being accurately domed to a realistic degree. The reflectors also have the realistic diamond pattern below the lenses for added accuracy and this is also true for the lined detail seen on the headlights which is detail on the photo etched portion but which goes a long way to add realism to the finished product.

Conclusion

I have always been tempted by these products and now that I have seen them close up I will be making a point of looking to see if a suitable set is available for any on my future projects. They have the benefit of adding detail to your build and creating a realistic finish which also attracts the eye of a viewer to an area that may be overlooked or worse criticised for poor painting either in location or colour.

There are currently 27 lenses and taillights set ranging in price from €6.40 to €7.99 and so these lenses and taillight sets are an inexpensive product that is easily applied with CA or PVA glue with the minimum amount of surgery to your model.