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  1. Vickers / C.A.S.A. Type 245 "Spanish Vildebeest" 1:72 FRROM Azur The Vildebeest was initially developed as a torpedo bomber by Vickers in response to specification 24/25 to provide a land based aircraft giving coastal defence capabilities. With several variants originating from the original design including the Vincent, Spain ordered 27 aircraft but specified the installation of a Hispano-Suiza V12 powerplant in place of the Bristol radials that were fitted to other aircraft. This changed the profile of the aircraft significantly at the front end giving a much more aerodynamic and tidier look. The order for 27 machines was met through 2 British aircraft being supplied and 25 being licence built in Spain by C.A.S.A. which were posted to Murcia although the delivery wasn’t until 1935, just before the Civil War despite manufacture starting in 1932. At this time, they were void of guns, bomb racks and bomb aiming equipment. Despite these omissions, they were pressed into service in 1936 by the Republicans during the civil war by using a 3rd crew member to drop bombs through a panel under the pilots seat! They later moved to Valencia in support of further bombing missions. After one and a half months of operations, seven Vildebeests had been lost in combat. Towards the end of 1936, the remaining aircraft were sent for repairs and to have the bombing equipment installed and went back into service with Grupo 73 in coastal defence duties until the end of the war. The kit This is another pleasing variant from FRROM Azur based on the original Vincent kit. Boxed in the new standard light blue style box with stunning artwork of an aircraft operating over the Aragon Front from Sarinena Airfield in 1937, the contents are plentiful containing injection moulded plastic, resin, etch and no less than 5 scheme options on the decal sheet. There is a hint of flash present along the mould seams in places, this is more noticeable on delicate parts such as the struts. I find running a sharp modelling knife along the edges is a good way of removing it. Typical of Azur’s product range, the kit doesn’t have location pins like you would expect on main stream kits, so construction will be more challenging if you’re not used to this. The instruction sheet is in a folded A5 booklet format with text in French and English. The diagrams are clearly drawn with exploded diagrams where detail necessitates. Assembly of the kit is very much the same as the Vincent Mk.I that I reviewed recently HERE. The cockpit is nicely detailed with a mix of etch, resin and plastic parts. The pilot’s seat is assembled on the internal framework that bridges the width of the cockpit to each side of the fuselage. On this is also mounted the resin control column. The seats are treated to some tech seat belts. According to the references I’ve read up on, the early operations lacked guns and had a third crew member, however the instructions include a rear gun position but no third seat (if the additional crew member actually had one), so keep this in mind when choosing your scheme. I suspect that a rear gun was indeed added for operations or else the rear gunner would of been able to drop the bombs instead of needing a third crewman. Due to the different powerplant, this version gets completely new fuselage halves. Again, interior detail is moulded in to the halves as on the other kits. Care will need to be taken fitting the small round side windows as there is no step to secure them as with on most main stream kits, so there is a higher risk of getting glue marks on them. A beautifully moulded resin engine is included that drops in to the opening at the top of the nose whilst the lower nose has two radiators sandwiched between the fuselage halves. A different propeller is included for this version with a pointed spinner. Unfortunately, my example has suffered from some sink marks on both the blades and spinner so some filling will be necessary. The tail on this version is different in that it has an extended base below the fuselage, similar to the hurricane but more pronounced. With the fuselage assembled, the wings are next. As mentioned in the other review, care should be taken aligning these up. Fortunately, this is made easier by the wings being completely parallel. A good thread is provided HERE by John (Viking) on handling this tricky stage. Some of the location points are barely visible, so you may want to address this with a micro drill. The instructions on the strut locations are quite thorough with exploded diagrams assisting the main drawings. The wings are moulded as single pieces with stunning surface detail. Whilst the sprue containing the spatted wheels is included, the Spanish versions didn’t use spats, so there are plenty of leftover parts to go in the spares box. I’ve read that some of the Spanish aircraft were fitted with floats and this version was covered by Special Hobby previously. It would of been good to have this option included. The weaponry in this kit is a little disappointing. The box artwork shows an aircraft fitted with wing racks which is to be expected for late 1936 onwards, but there isn’t any contained in the kit. Conversely, the instructions call for the torpedo to be fitted, but I’m not aware of them being fitted in service. It would of been good to see the wings ‘bombed up’ from the box. As with the other Vildebeest variants in this range, the kit is thoughtfully adorned with lots of resin and etch detail to give it the busy look reflected in the real aircraft. Additional coolers are mounted under the lower wing leading edges, these are provided in resin. There are prominent slat guides on the top wings of the Vincent, these are provided on the etch sheet. Markings There are 5 options included in the kit. Given the history of weaponry fitted that is described in the introduction above, this should be considered as to what year(s) of service your chosen aircraft was operational in, particularly if you want to scratch build some wing racks. The choice of schemes offers some eclectic finishes from brightly coloured over silver, dark green, and mottled green / yellow oche. The decals are printed by Aviprint with sharp definition and no evidence of registry misalignment. T-5 – Silver / red bands – Sarinena Airfield 1937 T-23 – Dark Green / Yellow Oche Mottle over silver – Los Alcaceres 1937 T-9 – Silver / red bands – Manises Airfield (nr Valencia) T-1 – Silver – shortly after delivery (1935 ??) BR-60 – Dark Green / red bands – Grupo 73 based at Los Alcaceres 1938 Conclusion This is another great variant to the Vildebeest range with quite a different look to it because of the liquid cooled powerplant. It's disappointing not to have wing mounted bomb racks and bombs included considering these were catered for in the Vincent Mk.I and the sink marks in the propeller will need some filling to tidy up this prominent feature. Apart from these issues, it’s a great kit full of detail thanks to the etch and resin supplements. The nature of these short run style kits means that beginners will find it a more challenging build if not used to them, but there is no doubt as to the quality of build you can achieve from the box. Review sample courtesy of
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