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Bristol Britannia - Roden (312) 1:144 scale


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Bristol 175 Britannia

 

Roden 1:144

 

 

Roden_312_Britannia_box_art_1_resized.jp

 


The Bristol Type 175 project, the initial programme name which eventually matured into the famous Bristol Britannia, came about from two different post-war requirements: first, an earlier design specification from the Brabazon Committee, which embodied lessons learned from the Brabazon project; second, an urgent need from BOAC in 1946 for a Medium Range Empire (MRE) passenger transport aircraft. BOAC had been looking at purchasing the new and very efficient Lockheed Constellation however, in the austere immediate post-war period, the government refused such large expenditure on foreign purchases.

The Bristol Aeroplane Company, based at Filton, was one of four aircraft building companies that tendered eight designs for this prospective order. None were initially accepted on their original design specifications but the nearest design that looked as if it could possibly match expectations was the Bristol Type 175 design To follow this up, further meetings took place with working groups established from October 1947 onwards between BOAC and the Bristol company; their remit to settle on size, weight, capacity and range etc., before the final specification could be agreed and certified. Three prototypes were initially ordered by the Ministry of Supply (MoS) in July 1948; all were to be Centaurus powered however, the second and third prototypes would be built so that they could easily be converted to the, fairly new and unproven at that time, Proteus units. BOAC, who were expected to order at least 25 production aircraft, kept holding off the contract signing, presumable to await results of the first prototype flights but also starting to look at a Proteus powered version over the Centaurus. As such the working groups restarted design meetings to ascertain optimum parameters for a larger and more versatile aircraft based around the Proteus power plant. The contracts, to order 25 of the new designs was finally signed in July 1949 and comprised the following specifications: Wing span of 140ft, Wing area of 2,055ibs, an all-up-weight of 119,000lbs with Proteus (118,000 if Centaurus fitted); and with accommodation for 42, 50 or 64 day passengers, or 38 sleeping berths.

After completion of the test flights programme of the prototypes, which lasted from 1952 to 1955, the first production aircraft of two Bristol Type 175-101 Britannia's; codes G-ANBC & G-ANBD were formally handed over to BOAC on 30 December 1955.

 

 

 

The Kit


Starting with the box art, with a view of Britannia G-ANBE in full BOAC livery high over the clouds in 1964, is quite an evocative scene and could be inspiring enough to ensure sales without even opening the box! The box itself is of very sturdy top and bottom style packaging.

On opening up the box we are presented with nine sprue's of medium grey plastic, one sprue of clear parts, two sheets of decals (BOAC), an 8-page instruction booklet and finally a single card colour markings and decal placement sheet. The grey sprue's are slightly grainy to the touch, which I imagine will be good the adhesion of primers and paints to take hold. Looking at the sprue runners, these give an impression of being short-run moulds; something to consider as these kits might not be available long term.

The first sprue holds the two fuselage halves, in vertical sided-fitting format, plus the nose gear strut and holding plate. The fuselage has window openings to take the clear windows, but a point to note here is that the cockpit area is not fully open, it is blanked off horizontally where the clear canopy would sit. This means that one either paints that area a dark colour and then fits the canopy; or the area has to be opened up with a knife/saw and an 'office' scratchbuilt to fit inside. Personally I am going to open it up and detail the area with mine, although there probably not be much to see when assembled and painted.

The kit fuselage length is 10.35 inches (262.5mm) which is 124 feet in 1:144 scale and that equates to the longer bodied 200 and 300 series aircraft.

 

 

 

 

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As can be seen on these images, the panel lines are recessed and very nicely defined. On the other sides, there are tiny locating pins for correct alignment but care needs to be taken as they are so small they may miss the location. Having said that, I have just done a dry-fit of of the fuselage and it went together really well and fit is nice and tight.

 

 

 

 

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The wing undersides are equally as well produced however, the wheel well/bay is a fairly nondescript affair.

 

 

 

 

Roden_312_Britannia_sprue_3_lower_wings_

 


There are two sets of identical sprue's for the tailplane and mainwheel assemblies. Each tailplane has a top and bottom element requiring glueing together.

 

 

 

 

Roden_312_Britannia_sprue_4_tailplane_re

 


Four sprue's make up the cowling and prop assemblies, plus main wheels. There is an element of flash on the props but I found these to be quite easy to remove by filing with a light-grade sanding stick.

 

 

 

 

 

Roden_312_Britannia_sprue_5_engines_resi

 


The clear sprue has the main canopy plus various pieces for the cabin windows. Having checked the instruction sheets, the sets of linear windows are for the main fuselage body area and the individual pieces are for the fore and aft sections; the reasons for single units due to the curving of the fuselage in those areas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Roden_312_Britannia_sprue_6a_canopy_&_wi

 

 

 

 

 

 

INSTRUCTIONS AND COLOUR DETAILS


An 8-page A5 sized booklet of illustrated assembly details comes with the kit; the first illustration comprising of a parts breakdown shown on their associated sprues.

 

 

 

 

 

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The is following by illustrated exploded views of each area of assembly, with part number identified matching placements on the sprues

 

 

 

 

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A single sheet is also supplied, with colour details for the BOAC livery and the decal placements

 

 

 

 

Roden_312_Britannia_colour_sheet_1_resiz

 

 

 

DECALS


A set of decals for a full liveried BOAC aircraft, coded G-ANBE are supplied on two sheets; however, I have learned whilst producing this review that this kit is the long bodied, 124ft long 200 or 300 series, whereas G-ANBE was the shorter 114ft long 102 series aircraft.

Normally that wouldn't be a problem as we could perhaps move the letters around to a matching set for a 312; unfortunately here though, the code is also embedded in the tail pieces and as such the whole tail decal would need to be re-done. I understand that Pocketbond, the supplier of this kit for review, has contacted Roden about the problem and (at the time of writing this) is waiting on a response as to whether there is a possibility of a reprint or reissue
.

Please see post #5 of this thread for details of the corrected decals, plus a revised picture.

 

 

 

Roden_312_Britannia_sprue_8_decals_large

 

 

 

 

Roden_312_Britannia_sprue_8_decals_small

 

 

 

 

CONCLUSION

 


The possibility of these sprue's only being from short-run moulds would perhaps suggest getting these kits when and where you see them available, as the moulds might not sustain large volume production as with some of the major producers.

Notwithstanding the decal element, this looks to be a very nice and accurate model of a Bristol Type 175 200 or 300 series Britannia aircraft. On further research I also understand that Royal Air Force versions of the Bristol Type 175 were 200 series, namely 252 and 253 series.

A very nice kit which I like very much, and will certainly get at least one more to build in a different livery. Recommended.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Review sample courtesy of
logo.gifUK Distributors for logo.jpg

 

 

 

 

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Nicely reviewed Mike.

If I may, I had taken some basic dimensions of the full size Britannia many moons ago when the 1/72 scale kit from Airways was released and I can confirm that the kit in question scales out very well compared to the full size aircraft,

The fit of the main fuselage halves and the wing to fuselage joints are excellent and filler will not be necessary in these areas.

Chris.

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Hi Chris,

yes, it is a nice kit and I am already planning to get at least one more, if not two. These aircraft went to quite a few owners, including the RAF as C.1 and C.2 versions, so there's plenty of scope.

Mike

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Hi Chris,

yes, it is a nice kit and I am already planning to get at least one more, if not two. These aircraft went to quite a few owners, including the RAF as C.1 and C.2 versions, so there's plenty of scope.

Mike

It will be civil operators for me Mike.

Plenty to choose from especially as Ray at 2-6 decals has been working overtime to produce some very tasty liveries.

Chris.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I have received a follow up regarding the issue of the decal markings, in that Pocketbond took the case up with Roden who have subsequently issued new and correct decals for this kit. This replacement set is for G-AOVB which is a Britannia 312.

Roden_312_Britannia_sprue_8b_new_decals_


The team at Pocketbond are to be commended for taking the case up on behalf of our modelling community; and a well-deserved THANK YOU to Roden :clap2: for their prompt action to correct the problem.

Roden has issued these new decals in their next batch of boxes; plus they have sent replacement sets to Pocketbond, who in turn have distributed them to the retail outlets who took the first batch of stock.

If you have already bought the kit with the incorrect decals, then I understand you can get a replacement set from whomsoever you bought your kit from. Note - you will need the original receipt or proof of purchase for this.

Mike

logo.jpgUK Distributors for logo.jpg

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