The Little World

An afternoon’s footling with the Sword models Vultee Vanguard has proved enjoyable, if not exactly flawless.

In fact ” flawless ” never describes the short-run kits form Eastern Europe. In some case ” flawful ” would be a better use of language. In the worst cases language is your final resort, but send the family away for the day.

In the case of the Vanguard, the cockpit tub is a modeller’s delight. It’s 4 resin parts plus 6 PE bits tacked on with super-glue. They all fit well, and may even go inside the fuselage without too much sanding of the sides. The form of the thing is such that the tub can be inserted after the fuselage is joined and smoothed – this takes an immense lot of pressure off the builder to juggle a cockpit assembly as the plane is closed together.

The wings are simple – peg-free and somewhat well fitting. There is a center section that needs fettling into the fuselage, but you can do it after the two sub-assemblies are complete. There are noticeable gaps at the wing roots that will need plastic sheet filling. The tailplanes are extremely plain – no tabs at all – but the cementing surface may well be enough to allow pure chemical welding without the need for brass pins. Aviation fans may look at the tail and recognise some of the elements of the later Corsair.

So far so good. The words will start when the landing gear stage comes on. Nothing inside those wings to socket the gear legs into at all.

Note: Those of you wondering about the round hole on the starboard side of the engine cowling. That is where the key is inserted to wind the engine. Vultee was owned by Louis Marx at the time.