The kit is presented in light grey plastic with some nice details, and – yes – raised panel lines. I cut the 20+ year old plastic bag and examined the parts.  Everything looked good, and a nice clear plastic sprue was protected in a sepeerate bag. So I washed the sprues in warm water and Dawn.  I do that with all kits, and it may be a waste of time.  I have also had fewer issues with paint lifting when masking tape is removed.

Notice the aftermarket stuff.  Ultimately, I did not use the Scale Aircraft Conversions landing gear or the Quickboost engines.  But, I had been looking forward to building this one for years, so I would pick things up when I found them.  I regard Eduard masks as necessities for WWII aircraft models.  They are just a huge time-saver, and, frankly, they are probably better than anything I would be cutting by hand in most instances.

Next time, I will be cutting parts off sprues and assembling this kit.  I was very excited to start working on this one, and I have not been disappointed.