The Little World

When I went to this year’s WASMEX plastic model show I promised myself that I would only get one thing. Of course, I was a liar and a fraud; I purchased three things. The last of which came off the stash today and out in front of the camera – the Special Hobby 1:72 Vultee Vengeance.

Why this kit? Because it had Australian decals and markings, would make up to a training aircraft, and I did not have one. It fell just outside of the engine/price equation, but I excused myself on the grounds that it is a special-run kit.

I was horrified to discover my nemesis – resin cast parts  – inside the box. Not only that, but photoetch brass and a vacuum-formed clear canopy. But as I have also completed a Mach 2 model successfully, I have lost a lot of fear about the contents of kits. If you can make a Mach 2, you can make anything.

The injection sprues are clean and satisfying – I see an extra engine nose for the spares bin – and the resin blocks don’t look too bad. I note that the vac-form canopy is duplicated…I take this to be an indication that the average builder is expected to spoil one in the doing. Time to research how not to break it…If it is at all do-able, it may be a better appearance than the cast styrene ones.

The decal sheet will add to the RAF roundels if I do the RAAF version or vice versa. I do like schemes that do not demand much in this scale.

The only fly in the ointment that I can see is the maker’s decision to mould injected propeller blades for a resin central boss. I will make a jig to place the blades, but will also look out the prop spares box just in case.