Dora Wings Marcel-Block MB.151 (DW48039 & DW72030) 1:48 & 1:72 Foreign Service Greece & Luftwaffe

[Mike]

Marcel-Block MB.151 (DW48039 & DW72030)

Foreign Service Greece & Luftwaffe

1:48 & 1:72 Dora Wings via Albion Alloys

 

 

The MB.150 was a design for a modern metal monoplane from the Bloch company and began life in 1934, reaching prototype stage, only to find that it wasn’t what the designers had hoped, so they went back to the drawing board and came up with the MB.151, which was very similar to the original, but improved enough to give it the potential for entering service with the French Air Force, Armée de l'Air.  Although the 151 was better, it still wasn’t what was needed, and development continued with the MB.152 running in parallel with the 151, as well as other options that were considering US developed Twin Wasp and Cyclone engines, but neither of these variants reached fruition.  One option that involved mounting a much more powerful Gnome-Rhône 14R-4 engine showed much promise, but it came too late to do the French any good, and it was destroyed in an Allied bombing raid after the Armistice.

 

The 151 was ordered into production in small quantities along with the 152, and a number of them were in service for conflict by the time WWII began, although many of the 151s weren’t considered combat ready, having some quite important parts missing, such as the 20mm guns or props.  As the 151 entered service in a less-than-desirable condition, it was an unknown quantity that soon became known, but not in a good way.  In combat it was found to be too slow to cope with the Bf.109, and even struggled to keep up with the twin-engined Bf.110, which itself was no longer state-of-the-art.  They suffered heavy losses when involved in fighter-to-fighter engagements, although they were more than capable of tackling the bombers, as 20mm cannons make large holes.  Fortunately, the airframe was able to take damage and remain airborne, which probably saved a few lives, but not many.  The remaining airframes of both the 151 and the superior 152 were taken by the Luftwaffe after the fall of France, finding their way into pressed service with the Germans, although hypocritically the German high command forced the Vichy Air Force to standardise on one type, the Dewoitine D.520 under their control.  before the fall, Greece had ordered a small number of 151s, but only received a handful, barely enough to equip a squadron, which fought bravely against the Axis until they were all shot down.  In total there were under 150 of the MB.151, with almost 500 of the MB.152.

 

 

The Kit (DW48039) 1:48

This is a reboxing of the original kit of 2019 vintage, and arrives in a smallish top-opening box with eight sprues of grey styrene, one of clear parts, a fret of Photo-Etch (PE) brass, a sheet of vinyl masks (not pictured), a single resin part, decal sheet and A5 portrait instruction booklet with spot colour.  Detail is good, and it’s a comprehensive package that should be buildable without aftermarket for most, which makes it highly cost-effective.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Construction begins with the cockpit, which is built on a flat floor and includes a PE seat frame and rear, plus a styrene cushion, control column, controls and forward bulkhead, plus sundry parts affixed to the floor.  A set of PE seatbelts are provided, then it is put to one side while you build the prop with two-part spinner, the tail fin with separate rudder, and the Gnome-Rhône 14N-35 radial engine, which has two banks of pistons, wiring harness in PE and bell-housing into which a drive-shaft is glued, which after painting is enclosed in a three-part cowling, rear bulkhead and intake insert in the lower edge.  In true “instructions written by a modeller” style, other sub-assemblies are created, such as the elevators with separate control surfaces and the main gear legs, which have two-part wheels and captive bay door covers, plus a retraction jack each.  Closing of the fuselage involves detailing the cockpit sidewalls with small parts, adding an insert for the antenna base, and attaching the wing root fairings to the rectangular cut-outs in the fuselage halves.  The cockpit is inserted into the fuselage after adding a horseshoe-shaped instrument panel and gun sight, with the vertical parts moulded into the bulkhead installed earlier.  The moulded-in detail is good, and is improved by a pair of decals on the sheet, although the wrong decal numbers are given, but if you can’t figure out which decal goes where, you should arrange to see your doctor as a matter of some urgency!

 

The lower wings are unusually supplied in three parts with a butt-joint between the centre and outer sections.  There is a spar section to help you achieve the correct dihedral however, and this has end-caps with one resin and one styrene part – I’m guessing someone forgot they needed two!  Additional parts close in the main gear bays, then the upper wing halves can be glued in place, followed by the ailerons and the clear wingtips and landing light in the port leading edge.  The fuselage and wings are joined at the same time as the three tail fins, and the engine in its cowling is offered up to the front.  A trio of scrap diagrams show the correct orientation of the lumps and bumps on the cowling, and notes that there is a slight downward tilt to the thrust-line when fitted correctly, so don’t fret if it looks a bit droopy when you glue it on.  The canopy is two part, although you would have to cut the aft section to pose the canopy open, which is a shame.  There is also a spare windscreen part on the clear sprue, and it’s the one with the hole in the front that you need, through which the pilot will be able to see the three-part ring and bead sight on its fittings if he can stop his eyes from watering.  Inside the rear of the canopy is a deck that has a PE piece of head armour attached to its front, so remember to put that in the paint rotation and install it before you close the canopy over.  The final step involves detailing the underside of the aircraft with landing gear, oil cooler, a flush-fitting aerial, the tail wheel and two supports for the elevators.

 

 

The Kit (DW72030) 1:72

 

 

Given the fact that the 1:48 kit is half as large again as this kit, this one arrives in a smaller box, and contains four sprues of darker grey styrene, one of clear parts, a sheet of canopy masks (not pictured), a PE fret and a set of decals, plus the instruction booklet in A5 portrait format, printed in spot colour.  The part count is lower of course, but the detail is still good, bringing almost everything that’s in the 1:48 to this smaller scale, just with fewer parts. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Construction starts with the seat, which is completely styrene comprising five parts, and this joins to the cockpit floor along with the controls and a set of PE seatbelts for the pilot.  The front bulkhead and horseshoe-shaped instrument panel are coupled together and have decals plus a gunsight with PE surround.  It is glued as a unit to the cockpit floor along with various detail parts, more of which are attached to the interior of the fuselage, after which you can close up the fuselage, adding the antenna base behind the cockpit, the deck behind the pilot’s seat, and a partial bulkhead that forms part of the main gear bay.

 

The lower wings are a single part with a spar that has end-caps forming the outer ends of the bays, and a divider between the two sections.  The upper wings are glued over the top, then the assembly is joined to the fuselage, which has the wing root fairings moulded-in.  The engine has a lower parts count, but still represents both banks of cylinders, with a slightly simplified bell housing at the front.  The block is attached to a bulkhead, ready to be surrounded by the three-part cowling, with the lower intake section and a drive-shaft inserted into the bell housing.  The prop is a single part with two-part spinner, and like its larger sibling, the landing gear is made up from two-part wheels, strut with retraction jack and captive bay door.  The tail feathers give you the choice of posable rudder and a tip extension to the fin, but the elevators are single parts, each moulded with their flying surfaces integral, and the supports added underneath later.  The PE head armour is attached to the front of the deck in the cockpit, the droopy engine cowling is glued in place, and the canopy with holey windscreen plus antenna are all put in place alongside the wingtip and landing light clear parts and pitot probe.  The prop is slotted into the engine, then the gear, the oil cooler and small PE parts are inserted into the underside.  The gunsight is just as well detailed as the larger kit, and is still made from PE for detail.

 

 

Markings

There are four identical options on the decal sheet in both scales, two each of captured German airframes, and Greek aircraft, all wearing similar three-tone grey/green/brown camouflage, while one of the Greek aircraft has black theatre markings on its lower wings.  From the box you can build one of the following:

 

• CQ+OF Luftwaffe FFC A/B116 Neudorf-Oppeln, winter 1940-41
• 24 Sqn., Elefsina 1939-41, Royal Hellenic Air Force
• 24 Sqn., Elefsina 1939-41, Royal Hellenic Air Force
• Luftwaffe captured aircraft in 1940

 

 

Decals 1:48

 

Decals 1:72

 

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.

 

 

Conclusion

Not the most stellar performing fighter in the French WWII arsenal, but a really nice model of the type with plenty of detail in both scales, and who doesn’t like a kit with canopy masks included?  Something a little different for the cabinet too.

 

Highly recommended.

 

Available in the UK in all good model shops while stocks last.

Review sample courtesy of