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Vega 5 "Lady Lindy" (SH72422) 1:72 Special Hobby


Julien

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Vega 5 "Lady Lindy" (SH72422)

1:72 Special Hobby

 

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The Lockheed Vega was a six seater passenger aircraft designed by John Northrop and Gerard Vultee while they were working for Lockheed. Both of these gentlemen would go on to found their own successful aircraft companies. The design was intended to serve Lockheeds own airline routes with an aircraft which was rugged and fast. The Vega certainly delivered on the promise of speed. However the four passenger layout was considered too small for airline use.

The aircraft was built using a wooden monocoque fuselage. Plywood sheets were laminated over a large concrete mould with a single half being built at a time. The two halves were then joined over a previously made rib framework. Due to the way the fuselage was constructed the wing spar was a single cantilever mounted at the top. The landing gear was often covered by spats to increase the streamlining. The Vega was powered by a 225hp Wright Whirlwind.
In 1929 Lockheed improved the Vega, with the introduction of the Vega 5. 6 seats were originally proposed but these were found to be too small and 5 was the general configuration. This also had a 410 HP Wasp A engine. Further development lead to the DL-1 or Vega 5C with a light alloy fuselage. This was to feature 7 seats and was built by The Detroit Aircraft Corporation. The US Army would use two metal Vegas, a C-12 and a C-17.

Due to its speed the Vega would set a number of speed records over the years; 1928 Transcontinental Speed record Los Angeles/New York in 18 hours 58 mins., 1928 Non Stop East to West record 24 hours & 51 mins.. In the 1928 National Air Races the Vega had a clean sweep of all the speed awards. NR-7952 Was used by Amelia Earhart. On 24–25 August 1932: she from Los Angeles, California, to Newark, New Jersey, a distance of ,447.74 miles, in 19 hours, 5 minutes. She had departed Los Angeles Municipal Airport (now known as LAX) at 7:26:54 p.m. Pacific Time, 24 August, and landed at Newark Municipal Airport at 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time the following day. This set a Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) women’s World Record for Distance in a Straight Line Without Landing. Her average speed for the flight was 128.27 miles per hour. 

 

 

The Kit

The kit was an MPM new tool from 2005 and has been released in a few boxings since. There are three sprues of light grey plastic which are shiny, so much so you might want a light sanding on the wings especially to key the paint in! There is one small clear sprue which is thoughtfully bagged on its own, and a resin rudder similarly bagged on its own.  The aircraft of the day were not bristling with details and this is reflected in the kit with only 41 parts being present some of which are not for use. It can be seen immediately that both the Wooden and Metallic fuselages are present on the sprues for someone wanting to make a different kit than it is boxed for.

 

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Construction starts with the interior. The pilots cockpit is a separate entity at the front as was vogue in aircraft of this date. A basic (but adequate) seat is installed along with a control column. Once the cockpit is installed you then add the fuel tanks which replaced the rear seats. A rear bulkhead and pilot instrument panel finish of the interior. The fuselage can then be closed up (make sure you use the right one!) and the windows added. The windows seem designed to fit the openings exactly with no extra to positive fit like a lot of kits. I can see these being a nightmare to fit and not get covered in glue. It might be better to use an alternative, but then this might not be as clear.

 

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Once you have all the major structure in place its time to add all of the other parts. Landing gear is added and you can choose wheel spats or not. VH-UVK flew with both at different times. Once the gear is assembled and on the only thing left to do is add the propeller.

 

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Markings

The decals are printed by Cartograf so that guarantees there will be no issues with them. The only markings in the box being or NR-7952

 

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Conclusion

A nice tool of a historically interesting aircraft.. The kit is detailed inside and out. Recommended.

 

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Review sample courtesy of

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