The Little World

At recent scale model exhibition – the 2024 WASMex show – I rushed out to the stash sale tables as soon as the doors were open.

I am always concentrating on 1:72 aircraft so I can spot the boxes on the tables quickly. In the case of this model I saw it snuggled down in a stack and thought I had found a rarity for my RCAF collection. I thought I had a Hudson bomber.

Not a hard mistake to make, as the Ventura was a wartime development of the earlier machine, but this was not quite what I expected. The price was reasonable, however, and the promise was there.

Googling revealed a rich history of these types in the RCAF so I was mollified. It is an Academy/Minicraft moulding, and the basic quality is there. A few sink marks form this 80’s product, but nothing that Sprue Goo cannot correct.Very good clear parts and no flash seen.

The instructions are commendably clear and the decal sheet new and simple enough to promise good results.

The one thing to watch is the turret – the kit provides both early British and later Martin turrets, so you need to figure out your actual aircraft before committing to one type or the other. The other basic decision will be whether it will serve on Atlantic, prairie, or Pacific duty, as there are marked colour differences. There were also ETO Venturas with the RAF crewed by Canadians – these would also qualify for consideration.