Barracuda Studios | BR24217: RAF Groundcrew Assembling 3" Rocket
Reviewed by Kevin Futter
Barracuda Studios continues to expand its BarracudaCast range of resin upgrade and detail sets with a new figure set in 1/24 scale. The set comprises two WW2 RAF groundcrew assembling a 3-inch rocket for installation onto a relevant aircraft. For diorama and vignette purposes, the two most likely candidates will be Airfix's big 1/24 scale Typhoon and Mosquito kits. Of course, they could also be posed alone if a suitable scene could be concocted.
The large size of the two main torso parts means that Barracuda has eschewed its usual re-sealable plastic bag in favour of a clear plastic box to house the set:
The box is of the sturdy, vacuum-formed variety, and is hinged at the bottom for easy opening. It also clips back into place securely, so there's no worries about it coming open when you least expect it! As you can see in the photo above, the resin parts are laid on a bed of packing foam, and I can attest that my sample arrived with no damage to any of the parts.
The set consists of 13 resin parts in all:
Aside from the obvious pairs of torsos, heads, and arms, we also have a pair of hands clutching the rocket body, and another pair of hands holding the rocket head. Finally, there is the tail fin section for the rocket, and a pair of mounting clips for the rocket rails.
All the resin parts are extremely well done, being beautifully designed and crisply moulded, with no visible casting flaws or other anomalies. The figures are nicely proportioned, and feature convincingly natural poses, as evidenced in this photo of the assembled set on the Barracuda product page:
In addition to the expected resin components, the set also includes a small decal sheet of stencils for the rocket itself:
Unfortunately no placement guide is included, so you'll have to rely on your own references to indicate where they should go. There's a note on the included product description about there being assembly instructions available as a downloadable PDF on the Barracuda website, but at first glance this appears to be left-over text from a previous release. I contacted Roy Sutherland from Barracuda Studios regarding this, and he informs me that the text refers to a previous release in error, but that downloadable PDF is indeed coming, and will be available from the Barracuda product page.
Conclusion
This is a fantastic set produced to the highest quality, and the figures are as good as the best on the market. My only disappointment is the lack of a placement guide for the stencils, but hopefully this will be available from the website soon. If you're looking to add some dynamism to your Airfix Mosquito or Typhoon build, this set is an excellent option. It could even be the centrepiece of a highly effective standalone vignette. Superb stuff yet again from the team at Barracuda.
Many thanks to Barracuda Studios for the review sample.
© Kevin Futter 2019
This review was published on Friday, October 11 2019; Last modified on Friday, October 11 2019