Dora Wings Curtiss-Wright SNC-1 Falcon II (DW48041) 1:48

[Mike]

Curtiss-Wright SNC-1 Falcon II (DW48041)

1:48 Dora Wings via Albion Alloys

 

 

The SNC-1 began its gestation at Curtiss-Wright as the CW-22, and was developed as a light trainer and reconnaissance aircraft, flying as early as 1940, then entering service in 1942.  It was a small aircraft with two seats and large canopy that afforded the pilots an excellent view of proceedings.  A number were exported to various operators including the Dutch, although because of the state of the war, they were delivered to them elsewhere.  The US forces ordered a number to fill gaps in their inventory, with successive increases in the orders resulting in just over 300 airframes entering service in total.  A small number also found their way into Japanese service after being captured during their advances across Asia.  The Falcon name was conferred to the type by the US Navy, which was otherwise known as the CW-22N.  The RAF even had a few that they inherited from the Burma Volunteer Air Force.

 

 

The Kit

This is a brand-new tool from Dora Wings of this unusual little aircraft, and the first mainstream kit in this scale, although there have been a few others over the years from niche producers in resin and other materials.  It arrives in their standard top-opening box, and inside are seven sprues in mid grey styrene, a clear sprue, a sheet of Photo-Etch (PE) brass, vinyl masks (not pictured), decal sheet and instruction booklet that is roughly A5 in a portrait format.  Perusing the sprues reveals a nicely detailed kit that shows continued improvement from their initial releases, and it is a comprehensive package with a crystal clear single-part canopy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Construction begins with the cockpit, with the two instrument panels attached to their bulkhead hoops and detailed with a decal for each one.  The cockpit floor is outfitted with controls, fire extinguisher and a number of other frames, including a pair of PE rudder pedals on an inverted U-shaped former.  The two seats are on a separate sprue, and each has a PE four-point harness fitted before they are installed in the cockpit, with a forward and aft bulkhead bracketing the assembly.  The fuselage halves are prepared internally with an insert that covers up the wing root, throttle quadrants, levers and instrument boxes, with a little painting to finish off.  The engine has to be made up before the fuselage can be closed up, and this is depicted by a two-part cylinder bank, a PE wiring loom and a front bell-housing that is then surrounded by the exhaust collector, after removing a 2mm length from the aggregation outlet, which exposes the hollow interior that runs all the way around the ring.  A flattened intake and some small parts are fitted to the front and sides of the engine, then at the rear the input tubing spider is fixed over a donut-shaped spacer and has a simplified depiction of the ancillaries and an exterior ring added before it is glued to the front of the cockpit on a pair of Z-shaped mounts.  The fuselage can then be closed up around the assembly, and the landing gear is made up.

 

The wheels are inventive, having two outer halves and a central boss between the halves that gives a completely see-thru look if aligned correctly.  The struts are single parts with a perpendicular axle, with separate oleo-scissor link and retraction jacks at the base of each leg.  The lower wings are full-width with some nice detail moulded into the central section, and as expected the upper wings are separated with a gap for the fuselage to fill.  The ailerons are separate, and a two-part U-shaped fairing is added to the main gear bays for later completion, then the tail feathers are installed, all with separate flying surfaces and fine trailing edges.  The airframe is flipped on its back to add small PE cross-members within the main bays, and the lower engine cowling around the exhaust, then the gear legs are fitted on triangular hinge-points, with a bay door on each side, plus a fairing around the exhaust.  Actuators within the bays join the doors together; the landing lights are inserted into depressions under the wings; actuators for the ailerons are added to the wingtips; a D/F loop is glued under the fuselage, and the tail-wheel fits into a small hole in the rear of the fuselage.  The twin-blade prop is a single part with a boss and axle added front and rear, which is fitted at the end of the build.

 

From the box the cockpit aperture is oversized, and this is corrected by an insert in each side, each of which has a pair of levers installed before they are joined together, then glued into the cockpit with a roll-over cage between the two pilots.  The canopy is a single part, which is a shame for this model, as the cockpit is open and well-detailed out of the box.  It is very clear however, so your hard work will still be seen, so don’t fret.  An antenna mast is glued into a hole in the surround to the port side front, a pitot probe is mounted in the leading edge of the port wing, and the prop is inserted into the hole in the front of the bell-housing.  Done.  Now for paint and decals.

 

 

Markings

There are three decal options in the box, one for each of three operators, with a disparate set of schemes into the bargain.  From the box you can build one of the following:

 

• SNC-1 NAS Corpus Christi, April 1942
• SNC-1 Ecuador, 1943
• SNC-1 15 Escuadrilla de Observación Terrestre, Peru, 1942-45

 

 

 

Decals are by DecoGraph, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin matt carrier film cut close to the printed areas, and as mentioned there are decals for the instrument panels in the cockpit.

 

 

Conclusion

The Falcon II is a niche subject, and it’s kind of cute and an interesting shape.  The detail is good, and the model should build up into a good replica of a left-of-field subject, which is Dora Wings’ stock-in-trade.

 

Highly recommended.

 

Available in the UK from all good model shops.

Review sample courtesy of

 

[manuel]

Please same plane on 1/72.

[Jb65rams]

A plane I had never heard of and a kit I didn’t know I needed until I saw the review.

Picked one up up today at Telford.😀