Special Hobby Boston Mk.IV/V 'The Last Version in RAF and Free French Service' (72413) - 1:72

[Paul A H]

Boston Mk.IV/V 'The Last Version in RAF and Free French Service' (72413)

1:72 Special Hobby

 

 

The A-20/DB-7 Havoc, better known to those with an interest in the Royal Air Force as the Boston, was a light bomber developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company of Long Beach, California. Designed to a US Air Force specification issued in 1937, the aircraft’s first customer was actually the French Air Force, who had been impressed by its performance whilst visiting the USA as part of a pre-war purchasing commission. The aircraft not delivered to France by the time the armistice had been signed in 1940 were taken up by the RAF instead. The first squadron to be so equipped was 88 Squadron of Bomber Command. By the end of the war, no fewer than 24 squadrons had operated the Boston, either as a light bomber or night fighter such as the Havoc I Turbinlite, which was fitted with a powerful searchlight in the nose. The A-20 was also widely used by the USAAF and by the end of the war, almost 7,500 of the type had rolled off the production lines.

 

The Boston has been a stalwart of Special Hobby's line up for quite some time, from which one must deduce that it has sold well consistently. Nestled inside Special Hobby's familiar top-opening box are four sprues of grey plastic and a single sprue of clear plastic. Together they hold a total of 118 parts, which is pretty respectable for a kit of this size. There is no flash present anywhere and as far as I can see, there are no flaws in the plastic. Surface details consist of fine, engraved panel lines and there is a convincing stretched fabric effect on the rudder and horizontal tail. The overall impression is somewhat favourable.

 

 

 

 

The cockpit is well-appointed for this kind of model. It is made up of a floor, seat, rudder pedals, two-part control column, instrument panel, sidewalls and bulkheads. Moulded detail is good and the instruments are picked out with fine, raised detail. The bomb aimer/observer position is just as good and includes a very nice bomb sight. The crew positions are completed by the mid-upper turret, which is a little more basic than the other positions, but still good enough to pass muster. Once the fuselage halves have been joined together, the wings and horizontal stabilisers can be assembled and fixed to the fuselage. The parts have location tabs and slots to help ensure a positive fit. The prominent cowlings, under which hide the large Double-Cyclone engines, each have to be fitted with nine cooling vents. Fortunately Revell’s instructions are very clear in this regard, so you shouldn’t have any problems. The engines themselves are made up of three parts – two rows of seven cylinders and the reduction gearing. They are nicely detailed and should look good once assembled.

 

The undercarriage looks well detailed but rather complex. Each of the main gear legs is made up of no fewer than six parts, plus the wheels themselves. I would recommend taking great care building the undercarriage, lest you end up with a wonky aeroplane when you come to rest it on its wheels. The main gear legs actually fit directly to the wings, and it is possible to fit the rear engine nacelles over these parts afterwards. This should make things a little less frustrating as you will be able to place the parts precisely rather than having to stuff them inside a cramped undercarriage bay. The remainder of the build is concerned with the addition of the transparent parts and the remaining fine details. These include the radio antenna and DF loop as well as the .303 Browning machine guns. The guns are very nicely recreated and the cooling sleeves in particular are convincingly detailed. The transparent parts are thin and clear and shouldn’t present any major problems

 

 

 

 

A generous four options are provides for on the decal sheet.

• Boston Mk.IV BZ453 'OA-B', 342nd Squadron (Free-French Lorraine, RAF 137th Wing) B-50 Air Base, France, October 1944.
• Boston Mk.IV BZ507 'Y', flown by Pilot Sergeant John Samain, 18th Squadron, RAF, Italy, 1944-45;
• Boston Mk.V BZ611 'Z', 13th Squadron, RAF, Italy 1945; and
• Boston Mk.V BX604 'B', 18th Squadron, RAF, Italy 1945.

Each aircraft is finished in Olive Drab over Neutral Gray. The decal sheet is nicely printed.

 

 

Conclusion

 

As this is the only modern tooling of the Boston in 1:72 scale, it’s fairly easy to recommend it to modellers interested in adding the type to their collection. It looks good on the sprue, although opinion seems to be divided on how easy it is to build. Some people have reported fit issues whilst others have stated that the kit is a breeze to build. Nevertheless, it is still the best Boston out there and can be firmly recommended.

 

 

Review sample courtesy of 

[Sydhuey]

Just one small thing , this is a Boston IV/V (A-20J/K) it ran 5 x .50's not .303's, martin turret with .50's.

MPM (Special hobbies) have improved the model since first release, couple of small things but the most noticeable is the turret ring , it used to be solid now it is alot more realistic with the center cut out.

Just a pity it doesn't have a machine from 88 Sqn on the decal sheets. 

Edited April 29, 2020 by Sydhuey