Westland Lysander Mk.III - 1:48 Eduard ProfiPACK

[Julien]

Westland Lysander Mk.III
1:48 Eduard ProfiPACK

The Westland Lysander is one of the famous British Aircraft which turned out to be obselete in the role it was originally designed for, but had a successful career in a role its designers could never foresee. The design stemmed from an Air Ministry requirement in 1934 for an Army Co-operation aircraft. The design team interviewed pilots to find out exactly what they wanted from the aircraft. From this emerged a design with good low speed handling characteristics, and exceptional short field performance with a good field of view. The aircraft was advanced for its time with fully automatic wing slats and slotted flaps, and variable incidence tail planes; these gave a stall speed of 56 knots.

The aircraft would enter service in 1938, and at the outbreak of war five Squadrons would goto France. They turned out to make excellent targets for the Luftwaffe even with a fighter escort and were quickly withdrawn, even though they would continue to fly supply missions across the channel. Some squadrons would also be deployed in the air-sea rescue role. With the formation of the Special Operations Executive in 1941 an aircraft was needed to ferry agents back and forward to France. The Lysander with its exceptional short field performance was ideal for this job. A large ventral fuel tank was fitted to extend the range, and dark / black paint was worn for night operations. Lysanders flew from secret airfields at Newmarket and later Tempsford. Over 100 agents were transported to occupied Europe, with over 120 being returned. As well as use on Special operations Lysanders would serve as Target tugs and communications flight aircraft.

The Kit
This kit was originally produced by Gavia back in 2001. They have since had one re-release and this is now Eduard's forth re-release of the plastic with their own additions in the box. This time we get four sprues of grey plastic, one clear sprue, one sheet of photo-etch, some resin parts and a sheet of masks (essential given the extensive glazing on the kit). Decals are provided for five options.

Construction starts in the cockpit. Given the construction of the Lysander the whole front and rear cockpits are built in a tubular frame which goes into the fuselage. The pilots seat is constructed first with the seat belts coming from the PE fret. Next up is the observes radio set and the shelf it sits on are built up. The central fuel tank assembly is next (this fits between the pilot & observer). The instrument panel is built up from PE layers and attached to the frame for the front cockpit along with the pilots seats. The observes seat and bulkhead are also built up at this time, again the seat belts coming from the PE fret. Attention the moves to the sides of the tubular cockpit frame. Here there are a number of small PE detail parts which need to be attached to each side. The main cockpit structure is then constructed using the two side frame, a front & rear bulkhead with the fuel tank assembly and observers seat assembly being sandwiched in the middle. The pilots seat assembly and flying controls are then added to the front cockpit. The last item to be added to the completed cockpit assembly is the observers guns. These are not used in all markings in the kit. For Marking C a Lewis gun is included. This is a complex affair with 10 resin and PE parts. For markings A & B there is a twin browning arrangement. This is also a complex part made from 10 parts. The Special operations aircraft carried nor rear armament.

Once the cockpit section is completed it can be placed into the main fuselage and this then closed up. Attention then moves to the front of the aircraft. The Bristol Mercury engine is constructed from a central hub to which the nine individual cylinders are added along with push rods which the modeller will have to make from plastic rod. The engine is then installed into a three part cowling with the exhaust collector ring then being added to the front. The exhaust is added along with an intake vent on the underside. The instructions have you add the propeller at this stage thought I suspect most modellers will leave it off until the end.

Moving back to the main fuselage the clear parts are added at this stage. Open or closed windows are provide for the pilot and the rear canopy can be open or closed. The side and top canopy parts are added at this stage due to how the wings attach at the top. The wings and tail planes are now constructed, they are of a conventional upper/lower construction but be aware there are large ejector tower marks to remove inside the wings.

The wheels and spats are next to be constructed. The wheels need to be built and painted before adding onto the spats as the are partially enclosed. Masks are supplied on the sheet for painting the wheels. The landing lights are added into the front of the spats. Even though not mentioned on the instructions the special operations aircraft did not use the small wings/bomb racks on the spats. Once the wings and spats are made up they can be attached to the main fuselage. If making a special operations aircraft then the large external fuel tank needs to be made up added under the aircraft. The access ladder to the rear cockpit also needs to be added.

Decals
The decals have been produced in house by Eduard. The look in register and are colour dense, however are a bit thicker than other decals I have seen. Decals are provided for five aircraft.

• V9437 No. 309(Polish) Sqn RAF, Dunino Airfield, Scotland 1941.
• V9374 No. 613 Sqn RAF, 1941.
• T1429 No. 26 Sqn RAF, Gatwick 1940/41.
• V9287 No. 161 Sqn (Special Duties) RAF, Tempsford 1942.
• V9367 No. 161 Sqn (Special Duties) RAF, Tempsford 1944.

Conclusion
It is great to see this kit re-released. Highly Recommended.

Review sample courtesy of