Iliad Designs BCATP Ansons – British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (48042) 1:48

[Mike]

BCATP Ansons – British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (48042)

1:48 Iliad Designs

 

 

Originally designed as a fast mail carrier in the early 30s, the original AVRO design was amended in the mid-30s in response to a specification issued by the Aviation Ministry for a reconnaissance aircraft that could also perform other roles.  It beat a similarly militarised De Havilland Rapide and was awarded a contract for series production with the name Anson after an 18th Century Admiral of the Fleet.  At the outbreak of war it was still performing its given roles, and was engaged in the Dunkirk evacuation where it surprisingly managed to shoot down two Bf.109s and damage another, as they found the low speed of the Anson hard to gauge, overshooting straight into the line of the nose-mounted .303 machine gun operated by the pilot.  She was thoroughly outclassed as a front-line aircraft though, so was soon withdrawn from fighting service to form part of the training fleet, and as a communications ‘hack’.

 

Despite its withdrawal from service, more aircraft were built, and they were used as trainers for radar operators, navigators and as a trainer for pilots that were destined to fly multi-engined bombers.  Its replacement in maritime service was the Lockheed Hudson, which had a hugely increased range and speed, the Anson only being capable of a four-hour endurance that prevented it from covering much of the Atlantic or North Sea before it had to turn for home.  It could carry a small bomb load however, so could take action if it was to find a U-boat on its travels.  Following WWII, Faithful Annie as she became known was used as a civilian and business aircraft, although some of the wooden-winged examples that were used overseas began to suffer from problems due to the humidity’s effect on the timber areas.  Not all Ansons had wooden wings though, and some of the wooden winged aircraft were refitted with the improved metal wings, although even these were eventually retired, leaving only one airworthy by the new millennium.

 

This new decal set from Iliad in Canada depicts a variety of airframes in the service of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, training aircrews for the fight in Europe.  The sheet arrives in a Ziploc bag on with the decals printed on an A5 sheet of decal paper.  There are six decal options included on the sheet with side and top profiles printed on the instructions along with captions and arrowed areas that give additional details to help you make your model more accurate.  They are intended to be used with the new Airfix kit, which is the new standard in 1:48.  There is an older kit from Classic Airframes in 1:48, but the kit is a much more complex build and only available on the second-hand market.  The decals would likely fit though, as they aren’t contoured particularly to any part of the model.

 

The top and bottom profiles are small but able to show sufficient detail to be useful, and these too have detail painting call-outs where necessary.

 

From the sheet you can decal any of the following:

 

• Anson Mk.I, 6077 (ex R9878), No.7 AOS (Air Observers School), Portage la Prairie, Manitoba
• Anson Mk.I, 6117 (ex R9956), NO.4 AOS, London, Ontario
• Anson Mk.I, 2115 of No.6 AOS, Prince Albert, Saskatchewan
• Anson Mk.I, 6013 (ex RAF N9943), Camp Borden, Ontario
• Anson Mk.I, 9982, No.6 AOS, Prince Albert, Saskatchewan
• Anson Mk.I, 6067 (ex R9835), Prince Albert, Saskatchewan

 

 

 

The decals are printed on a pale blue paper in good registration, sharpness, and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas.  There are some large areas of carrier film between the lettering by necessity, but due to the extremely thin nature of the film it should disappear, especially if you ensure a highly glossy surface before application.

 

Highly recommended.

To pick up your set, visit the link below, scroll down, and follow the instructions for purchase

 

Review sample courtesy of