Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Resin Kit Review: Cozmo Heavy Industries 1:2500 Peregrine Class (Non-Canon) Starship

NOTE:  You can click on most pictures to get a larger view of them.

This time round for my Resin Kit Review series, we're going to take a closer look at the 1:2500 Peregrine Class kit from Cozmo Heavy Industries.

C.H.I.'s eBay Advertisement


This is a very interesting design that was thought up by an awesome model kitbasher named John Payne.  You can read all about his build of this ship at THIS PAGE.

Per John's website, "Intrigued by the planform of the Romulan Bird-of-Prey first encountered in 2266, a team at Starfleet R&D in the 2280s set about applying Romulan design principals to one of our own starships. Using a new-build Miranda Class hull as a basis, and christened USS PEREGRINE in deference to its bird-of-prey design origins"

The Model

Jay from Cozmo Heavy Industries got permission from John to produce a 1:2500 resin kit of this ship.  This model measures in at around 7 to 8 cm.  The ship comes in three pieces and Jay also includes a stand base with it.


I will admit that this is one of my more favorite kits from C.H.I..  First, it is of a ship that was designed by one of the best kitbashers around.  It is very cool to own a copy of one of his designs.  Secondly, there is something simple and elegant about the ship's design that makes it an valuable and eye catching addition to any small scale collection.

 
 
 
 
DeepSpace Pat's Paint Scheme

The kit required some cleanup as far as excess resin went.  I was able to do this easily with an exacto knife.  I didn't have any air pockets on my kit that required filling.  Although I didn't feel the need to sand mine, other more experienced modelers may want to do some light sanding to smooth out the model in a few minor places.



The stand required a minor bit of trimming to level her off as well.  Painting the ship was a breeze as there weren't any difficult spots to get to.  Although I didn't use them during my build of this ship, the decals that Jay provides compliment the ship really nicely.  I may go back and add a few of the later as there really do make some of the details stand out.  Gluing her together was a bit tricky, but that was because I was still learning the subtleties of working with resin and super glue.

If you are new to resin kit building, then I highly recommend you checking out my helpful little guide about gluing these sorts of model.  You can find a link to that article a little further down.

I really like the stand bases that Jay provides with these kits.  They are easy to paint and once you learn how to make your own rods for them, they are easy to deal with.  I have also included a link down below on how to make your own rods for the stands.

Jay recently shared on his FaceBook page about his stance on stands.  In it he wrote, "Everybody does theirs different. I use .055" piano wire and not everybody has that size drill bit. Plus, that tiny wire would put a hole in the bag and get lost. I have also seen people use clear rod, or use the base as a badge to apply to a larger stand."  So there you go.  And as I've said in other articles, I have yet to see a resin kit that comes with a rod.

Conclusion

As I said earlier, this is a very neat ship to add to your fleet.  Given that it is only three parts, it is one of the more easier ones to build from Cozmo Heavy Industries.  I would say that if you are new to resin kit building, it might make for a good first build as long as you are careful and patient about mounting the nacelles.  If you are new to model building in general, she probably will be more of a challenge, but I would not say avoid her at all costs.  A first time model builder should go read all of my helpful hints articles before attempting the build.  So what I'm trying to say is, she's a good ship to get.

I hope you found this article as useful and informative as I did while writing it.  Please feel free to leave any comments, questions or suggestions below.


As always, I hope you found this article useful and informative.  If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please feel free to comment below.

So for now, "Live long and prosper!!!"



Additional Links To Photos Of My Collection:
Cozmo Heavy Industries



Helpful Hint Articles
Washing     Warped Parts     Gluing     Filling The Gaps     Making Stands     Decals



NOTE: If you are new to my reviews, then please read on.  This section talks about the garage kit maker that made this kit as well as a little about why I'm writing this review.  If you are one of my regular readers, then feel free to skip the rest of this article as it is a word for word repeat of stuff from previous articles.

Kit Maker Information

Jay who runs Cozmo Heavy Industries sells all of his kits via eBay.  He changes out what ships are for sale every Saturday evening so it is best to check in once a week to see what he has for sale.

Jay also maintains a FaceBook page where he likes to share his work in progress on future kit releases.  I really like this approach as I'm a big fan of behind the scenes stuff.

Lastly, Jay does have a website, but it is more of an informational page about the business.

C.H.I.'s eBay Seller Profile: CLICK HERE
C.H.I.'s FaceBook Page: CLICK HERE
C.H.I.'s Website: CLICK HERE

If you have ever followed Jay's work, you will know that he hand makes all of his kits from pre-existing parts, and he hand crafts all the other pieces for the ship.  This allows him to produce all sorts of unique model kits.

When I interviewed Jay about his business, he says that a lot of his kits were designed and made over 20 years ago so he is unsure now just how long it took to make most of them.

DISCLAIMER SECTION

I consider myself an intermediate model maker.  I'm pretty good with assembling kits these days  and OK on the painting side of things.  I ultimately end up with ships that look good enough to me to display in my collection.  In an effort to expand my ship collection into areas that I can't buy pre-assembled ship types and classes of, I've turned to building them myself, either by kitbashing or purchasing ready made resin model kits.

There are several smaller garage kit makers out there that produce some very good kits.  I've actually developed a good relationship with a couple of them and volunteered some of my time to write up reviews about the kits I've purchased from them.  I have already warned them that I intend to be pretty objective, not pull any punches, and these reviews are going to be written from the point of view of an intermediate model builder.

Lastly, due to the nature of resin casting, not every kit is going to be the same.  Excess resin and air pockets are a part of the game when you get into this sort of model building.  The kit that I got and built may be slightly different than your kit as far as minor quality issues.  I will still point out flaws with my kit as those flaws could lead into a lesson of some sort for either you the reader or the kit maker themselves.

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