Ronin Decals RAAF ARDU / ROULETTE PILATUS PC-21 1/72 scale Kit (rebox 3D Blitz)

[Tony P]

 

As you read this, the first PC-21 in Roulette colours have arrived at their new home of East Sale, Australia. The PC-21 is to replace the PC-9 which has been the Royal Australian Air Forces Aerobatic display team “The Roulettes” aircraft for the past 29 years. The PC-21 Roulette team is due to display in 2019.

The subject of this review is Ronin Decals reboxing of the 3D Blitz PC-21 kit in 1/72. The kit comes in the same box with a nice sticker over the top displaying the ARDU & Roulette schemes. When opening the box we have the kit still in the plastic bag, original decals (factory schemes), instruction sheet, Ronin decal sheet with instructions and in another bag are resin/plastic external fuel tanks and pylons by OZ Mods. I will not review the 3D blitz kit as reviews are available online.

The decals themselves are silk screen printed and glossy. The one A5 sheet provided includes everything needed. The colours are solid and no imperfections can be seen. The small writing can be seen with a magnifying glass (or am I going blind?). The Roulette scheme looks busy on the sheet and others have likened it to a bag of Doritos Corn chips! (mentioned on the decal sheet as well!) The government line is “inspired by technology and energy themes, the motif retains our traditional colours while incorporating the Australian flag, the Roulettes logo, and Southern Cross.”. I’ll reserve my judgement until I see it in the flesh but showing this scheme to my 9 year old and his mates, the “oh cool” comments signal that they have succeeded in wowing their target audience. Future recruits!

There are also a few data decals provided. You may need to check references and you may need to use the original kit decals for some. The instructions do state that many of the data is just too small to be provided in decal form. Included with the decals are a double sided printed A4 sized colour placement diagrams and a small piece of paper with colour chips.

The external fuel tanks and pylons by Oz Mods which are included was a surprise but very welcomed. All of the aircraft travelling from Switzerland to Australia have been fitted with them and more than likely will use them throughout their operational career. The only issue is that if you want to display a Roulette machine in aerobatic mode, it will have smoke canisters fitted to the wing pylons which are slightly different in shape. There are pictures showing RAAF aircraft fitted with these and other aerobatic teams that use the PC-21 also use the wing mounted smoke canisters. It is yet to be seen how the Roulettes will operate with these but I assume they will be fitted 99% of the time. The parts are nicely moulded with only minimal clean up required.

This boxing comes highly recommended but note that only specific aircraft can be created. The kit retails for AU$60 and is great value. The pylons and decals can also be ordered separately and all can be ordered online at their website which is located at:

https://roningraphicsaustralia.com/

Addendum: I have been advised by Ronin that they have left out the corn chip decals on the fin fillet. Understandable as I didn’t even notice it myself when reviewing as the scheme is so busy.  An add-on decal will be coming in the next few days or weeks. If you have purchased the Roulette scheme and do not receive these additional decals, please contact them directly.