VideoAviation Houchin 25Kva Ground Power Unit 1:72 & 1:48

[Mike]

Houchin 25Kva Ground Power Unit

1:72 & 1:48 VideoAviation

 

 

 

To a great many modellers the mentioning of the name of this essential piece of kit might still garner a response such as "A what now?", but without these unassuming boxes providing an aircraft on the ground with power, technicians and crews couldn't work on the systems without lighting up the engines so that the aircraft could have electrical power.  Whenever an aircraft was preparing for flight, or engaging in maintenance, there would always be one of these nearby chugging away and generating the power needed to run the systems.

 

This particular unit was used at the height of the Cold War to power the Lightning, Hunter, Phantom, Buccaneer, Harrier, Jaguar and Sea King to name a few, supplying them with 28v DC and 200v AC on two separate connections.  It lapsed into obsolescence which the introduction of the Tornado which needed more power for its advanced systems, and retirement of the older aircraft from the RAF's fleet.

 

The resin set is available in both scales, both of which arrive in almost identical clamshell boxes, with the light tan-coloured parts in ziplok bags swaddled in bubble wrap.  Under the card insert is the instruction sheet, which details construction in an isometric format.  The smaller set forgoes the opening stowage panniers, the small Photo-Etch (PE) sheet, and the hoses that can be stored inside.

 

1:48 Houchin 25Kva GPU (160948)

This set includes sixteen resin parts, a small fret of PE and two gauges of flexible black tubing, plus a small sheet of decals with yellow stripes and data plate.  Construction is simple, with the main body attaching to the chassis, and the four wheels on two axles, one of which is fixed, the other on a turntable for towing behind a suitable ground vehicle.  The opening lids of the boxes are separate, as are the hubs of the wheels, and the PE is used for door latches, brackets and a towing eye on the rear of the body.  The instructions providing painting guide to the details, and advise yellow or green for the body, depending on whether you are modelling an early or late device respectively.

 

 

 

1:72 Houchin 25Kva GPU (161272)

Assembling in the same manner as the larger version, this set has only ten resin parts, as the storage panniers are moulded closed, and the hubs moulded into the wheels.  At this scale the parts made from PE would have been too small to handle, so these have been moulded-in for ease.  The decal sheet and colour call-outs are identical except for their size of course.

 

 

 

Conclusion

A great addition to any ground-handling diorama that won't tax your skills to complete.

 

Highly recommended.

 

Review sample courtesy of

[BIG X]

Nice looking bit of kit.  I saw this accumulator trolley a few weeks ago http://www.aim72.co.uk/page132.html available in quite a few scales - nice looking piece too for the late ww2 era boys & girls.

[Pete in Lincs]

Wow, these take me back.

Big heavy beasties to move without a tractor!

And oh, the noise and the smells!

Reliable though.

I do remember one of the guys persuaded some

Army types to try to bump start one once!

[Shaun]

Looks a very nice model and great detail.I need a couple of these for a planned Diorama.

[AndyBunney]

Just finished the first of 2 of these in 1/72 scale. I was pretty impressed with the kit. The only trouble I had was separating the towing A-frame from the sprue. The hinge bar is so thin it snapped and I had to glue it back together (once I found the tiny piece I had dropped on the floor!)

 

Edited December 3, 2018 by AndyBunney

[AndyBunney]

One as it arrived, one finished and the original. One of the registration numbers in the kit even matches this particular Houchin!

 

[bzn20]

 

These look good . Just for people that like lighting up a diorama . The red lights are for anti Collision , left on at night, runs off the GPU's Battery . White lights show power being supplied , one for AC the other for DC power. Some kites used only AC , some both . VC10s were AC only. Brits and Belfasts used both power cables . Notice the lack of NATO plugs . On the 1/72nd , stowage lids shut , should be easy to make though . The cable holds the door open about 3-4 inches when plugged to the kite as the other end is in the stowage. Never enough Houchins  ,spent night shifts nicking them from other Jets or they walked if we left the kite . We also had Trolley Accs , look the same as the 1950's version to me, maybe had different innards  . Only on Air Test flights though ,never knew the reason for that.