JohnMacG Posted March 28, 2019 Share Posted March 28, 2019 Has anyone on the forum bought this kit? I was looking at the rather uninspiring build review in 'Scale Aircraft Modelling' when a couple of things struck me. The box top painting (on the cover of SAM) shows underwing bomb racks - only one each side, mind you- does the kit provide these? The kit instructions apparently have the camo'd a/c in 'Earth Brown', which is surely wrong, isn't it/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Procopius Posted March 28, 2019 Share Posted March 28, 2019 I bought one, will have to look when I get home from work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vildebeest Posted March 28, 2019 Share Posted March 28, 2019 Unsurprisingly, I do have it. I have not built it yet, so am not going to comment on accuracy or fit, but in the box it looks reasonably detailed, It is, I believe a re-pop of the earlier kit they did a few years ago which I missed out on, so there will be a few builds around. On the specific markings for the kit, as you say, the box shows it in action with Japanese fighters, presumably intended to be the Endau raid. The decal options are for two camouflaged versions, one 36 Sqn, one 100 Sqn, "late 1941, early 1942" and two silver versions. However, the only offensive armament is torpedo, there are no bomb racks or bombs. Moreover, on the colour scheme, the torpedoes are shown with bright red fronts which , someone will correct me if I am wrong, I thought were for training versions and not really appropriate for war. In any event, I believe there was only one operation, at the very start of the war, where torpedoes were used, by 36 Sqn. There are lots of questions about Endau Vildebeests, but one thing that is certain is that they carried bombs, not torpedoes. So to build a wartime Vildebeest involves some work, I am probably going to use the bomb racks from the Airfix Swordfish - I assume they would be the same although I haven't checked yet. The camouflaged versions are given as dark earth and dark green. There was a long thread on here by people more learned than I, which came to the conclusion that it was all rather unclear, but dark earth and dark green was certainly a possibility, indeed a probability to some. Paul 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Britman Posted March 29, 2019 Share Posted March 29, 2019 If this is the Azur Fromme it is a very nice kit . I built it a while ago and was very pleased with it. Should rig it and sign it off! Keith 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Russell Posted March 29, 2019 Share Posted March 29, 2019 Here is a 400+ post thread which should sort out all your Vildebeest problems (or maybe not?) I have the kit but haven't built it - the two I have seen built looked very nice! 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWM Posted March 29, 2019 Share Posted March 29, 2019 (edited) In this thread quoted by @Ed Russell the concept of black underside of Vildebeest, as bomber appears. On photos indeed the bottom side looks rather dark - at least on those which I 've seen. Any comment on this by experts? My Vildebest III is waiting for painting, it is already even riged. But this uncertainty stopped me with finish! Cheers J-W Edited March 29, 2019 by JWM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhaselden Posted March 29, 2019 Share Posted March 29, 2019 Some Far East Vildebeests definitely had black undersides with Type A roundels but there are also photos showing a pale colour underneath with no roundels. I know that's rather unhelpful...but that's what the photographic evidence shows. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWM Posted March 29, 2019 Share Posted March 29, 2019 2 hours ago, mhaselden said: Some Far East Vildebeests definitely had black undersides with Type A roundels but there are also photos showing a pale colour underneath with no roundels. I know that's rather unhelpful...but that's what the photographic evidence shows. Thank you very much - I think the timing is here the most important parameter. When exactly the order about sky bottoms without roundels came for bombers? I belive that information connection between Singapore and Crown was working OK, so such order was likely executed within a week or two. Maybe therefore on earlier photos they are black, on later sky but how it should be durings fights in Singapore? Regards J-W Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhaselden Posted March 29, 2019 Share Posted March 29, 2019 6 minutes ago, JWM said: Thank you very much - I think the timing is here the most important parameter. When exactly the order about sky bottoms without roundels came for bombers? I belive that information connection between Singapore and Crown was working OK, so such order was likely executed within a week or two. Maybe therefore on earlier photos they are black, on later sky but how it should be durings fights in Singapore? Regards J-W Hi J-W, All good questions but, alas, without good answers (at least not very helpful ones). There are photos of Far East Vildebeests with Night undersides but with fin flashes and Type A1 fuselage roundels which dates the photos as post-May 1940. According to Paul Lucas, Blenheims were being painted with Sky undersides on the production line in Feb 1940. So...it seems AHQFE was doing its own thing, not least since all bomber aircraft (Hudsons excepted) in the Far East retained Night undersides throughout the Malayan Campaign. Cheers, Mark 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWM Posted March 29, 2019 Share Posted March 29, 2019 Thank you Mark. So maybe I will go for black underside, at least it was there for some time likely on all machines, whereas the sky was (if adopted during or just after campaign) not applied on machines lost in fights. So not every Vildebest could have chace to have sky bottoms, though all at some time were black! I think it is logic . Regards J-W Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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