Heston Phoenix - 1/72nd Arctic Decals /Dekno multimedia kit

 

The somewhat unusual yet beautiful lines of the Heston Phoenix make it a very desirable subject that has been absent from the hobby market until now, thanks to a joint venture between Arctic Decals and Dekno Models. This beautiful kit and its particulars have been described in the step-by-step building article that also contains some historical references:

https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2025/05/heston-phoenix-arctic-deccalsdekno.html

I have been anxiously waiting for this kit during its developing stage and have not been disappointed, the detail is gorgeous and the molded resin and 3D-printed parts are a joy to work with, plus the additional and very welcome bonus of great decals (of course), masks and even “metal” frames for the windows. Internal detail is beautiful and engineering-wise the kit is sound. The instructions are printed in a comfortable large size and very detailed, with photos of the type and sound advice for the modeler, all perfectly packed.  

As these are sort of artisanal kits I suggest you check the fit of the parts before committing to glue them or paint them. In my sample some of the parts required a little sanding, and some locating holes needed to be made slightly bigger for a comfortable fit. Especial care needs to be taken in dealing with the strut/wings/transparency assembly.

The boxing I got covers two registrations, one of them in two variants. I went for the "Standard Telephone and Cables Limited" variant because of the gorgeous interior and exterior detail provided for it. The manufacturers offer several boxings that cover the produced Phoenixes. For a civil and/or Golden Age modeler, these kits are a blessing, providing access to interesting and historically meaningful types neglected by the mainstream. The effective synergy of these combined manufacturers, Arctic Decals and Dekno Models, have recently released some really nice kits of attractive types, all featured in this blog. We civil modelers thank and applaud these types of releases, as they fill voids in our collections unlikely to be covered by other manufacturers, in the form of beautiful kits that, if not for beginners, present no problems for moderately experienced modelers that have dabbled in resin and or 3D-prited kits before.