Julien Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 de Havilland Vampire FB.5 1:72 Revell The de Havilland Vampire was a British Jet fighter commissioned by the Royal Air Force back in WWII and as such reflected the engineering at the time, with its wooden fuselage and unswept wings. The FB.5, FB being the designation for "Fighter Bomber" first flew in 1948. The FB.5 retained the Goblin III engine of the F.3, but featured armour protection around engine systems, wings clipped back by 1 ft, and longer-stroke main landing gear to handle greater takeoff weights and provide clearance for stores/weapons load. An external tank or 500 lb (227 kg) bomb could be carried under each wing, and eight "3-inch" rocket projectiles ("RPs") could be stacked in pairs on four attachments inboard of the booms. At its peak, 19 RAF squadrons flew the FB.5 in Europe, the Middle East and the Far East. The FB.5 undertook attack missions during the successful British Commonwealth campaign to suppress the insurgency in Malaya in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The FB.5 fighter-bomber became the most numerous single-seat variant with 473 aircraft produced. I am informed by those in the know that this is a reboxing of an old Heller mould. This is borne out by the Vampire/Mistral markings on the sprues. As such there is a small amount of flash on the sprues, but modellers would have this cleaned up in a few minutes. To be honest the flash present is a lot less that i have seen on other kits of this era, and not bad for a mould of this age. For an older kit it has raised panel lines but these are restrained. The clear parts are remarkably clear, but the canopy is a little thick; they still look good though, especially considering the age of the moulds. A nice touch in building is that the complex intake is moulded as a separate part so you wont have to try and clean up the vanes and opening once you glue the wings together. More companies could try this (HINT). A fairly basic interior is included that will fill up what you can see with no problems, although the super-detailers will probably want to add more. The instructions recommend 10 grammes of weight in the front which I think you will really need given how much of the airframe is behind the main wheels. As this is the Fighter Bomber version, some bombs and/or rockets would have been nice, but none are included with the kit, indeed there aren't even any pylons. Decals are given for two RAF Aircraft based in Germany post war. An all over High Speed Silver aircraft of No.112 Sqn based in Fassberg in 1951. A standard camo version from 112 Sqn based at Bruggen in 1953 is also included, and this aircraft features a nice sharks mouth. Decals are standard Revell fair by Cartograf in Italy, and the colours looks correct to me and are in good register. They have minimal carrier film and should settle down nicely. Instructions are the usual Revell fair and quite detailed with easy to follow steps. Conclusion All in all this is a very nice kit which is quite detailed in 1.72 and should look great once made up. Its nice to see this kit out again, as it is an early RAF fighter and the only other alternative in 1.72 is the expensive Czech master kit. I feel this is a good value kit, despite its age and few drawbacks. Review sample courtesy of Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pyro-manic Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 Looks pretty good. The retail price is rather high, though - £9 for an old tooling of a fairly small aircraft is a little hard to swallow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julien Posted September 1, 2011 Author Share Posted September 1, 2011 Looks pretty good. The retail price is rather high, though - £9 for an old tooling of a fairly small aircraft is a little hard to swallow. I really dont think so, is a lower price than revells new tools and on a par with Airifx re-releases. Costs of plastic, boxes, getting the decals done, money to heller for the use of the molds, transport, distribution, marketing etc all adds up. For under a tenner with decent decals I will take kits like this all the time from revell. Julien 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silver Fox Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 I don't think £9 is bad either, it is a nice kit, pretty accurate and if the decals are up to Revells standard they are as good as any aftermarket set. How much is the alternative? 10 grammes of deplete uranium might make her sit on her nose wheel I've never managed to make it happen with lead shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pigsty Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 10 grammes of deplete uranium might make her sit on her nose wheel I've never managed to make it happen with lead shot. And as we all know, ten grammes of depleted uranium weighs more than ten grammes of lead ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moofles Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 I like the little aircraft, great review, might just have to pick one up when i see it. Well done bud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silver Fox Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 well 10 grammes of feathers didn't work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo the Magnificent Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 And as we all know, ten grammes of depleted uranium weighs more than ten grammes of lead ... But it will fit in a smaller space, meaning you can put it further forward in the nose thereby increasing the moment of the mass. I'll get me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lazy Builder Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 As I remember when I built this as a Heller kit years ago, I put lead shot every where I could, that wouldn't be seen, and put a white metal seat in it; still wouldn't sit right. Then accidentally flatened the main wheels too much and when they were on I managed, with care, to make it sit properly. Sadly after a while the u/c gave up the ghost because of the weight and I made a stand that went into the jet pipe and put the u/c up - looks very nice 'clean'. My Dad worked on these a/c for a good few years and he said, 'it looks like a Vampire', which was more than good enough for me. Glad to see it back again and wish it was 1/48. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robvulcan Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 at last a vampire kit in 1/72 been wanting to build one for a while i will pick up as soon as i can. great review Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The wooksta V2.0 Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 £9 isn't a bad price - the last time it was available from Airfix it was about £7 but shopping around could get you an original Heller one for under a fiver. Nice kit but there's nowhere to put enough weight. For those thinking the price is a little steep, I'd point you towards the A-Model Vampires, which are another fiver, and then there's the eye watering £30+ for the CMR kits... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GiovanniG Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 Hello, This kit is nice and cheap. A good basis for getting a convincing vampire. The only weak point is nose which is too pointy in plant view. Do You think the same? Anyway I purchase also the Amodel mk-6 and can say it doesn't worth the extra expenditure. Bye Giovanni Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
upnorth Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 I'm working on one right now. As or the nose weight issue. I don't recall how much I but in when I built it the first time several years ago, but between what I did put in and slightly flattening the wheels, I did get it to sit properly on it's gear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
upnorth Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 (edited) Anyway I purchase also the Amodel mk-6 and can say it doesn't worth the extra expenditure. Yes, I looked in the box of the Amodel kits and was immediately put off by the cockpit canopy parts which were thick, distorted and of questionable shape to my eyes. While Pavla was quick to give us resin replacement cockpits for the Amodel kits that did include vac formed canopy replacements, I think we could have expected more of Amodel stright from the box. The Vampire is certainly not a difficult aircraft to access as there are several preserved examples around the world. It's neither modern, nor classified, so there is a wealth of information available on it. Amodel had the golden opportunity to give us a new tooled Vampire in 1/72 that would be a true leg up on the old Heller molds and a cost effective alternative to the CMR resin kits. I would say, given the price Amodel are asking and that an aftermarket canopy at the very least is in order, Amodel didn't really make the most of that opportunity. Edited October 8, 2011 by upnorth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richellis Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 Looks OK, I want one to do crash landed on a beach! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julien Posted October 15, 2011 Author Share Posted October 15, 2011 Looks OK, I want one to do crash landed on a beach! why?? Julien Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richellis Posted October 16, 2011 Share Posted October 16, 2011 I have some pics of one that did a wheels up, emergancy landing on a beach and it would make an interessting dio! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tempestfan Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 Costs of plastic, boxes, getting the decals done, money to heller for the use of the molds, transport, distribution, marketing etc all adds up. As the kit is moulded in Poland, this probably indicates that the mould now is owned by Revell, and they likely didn't buy it from Heller but from Lodela in Mexico, who have produced a lot of kits from ex-Heller moulds for Revell in the past 25 years (e.g. Alpha Jet, Ar 196, T-6), and exited the kit business a couple of years ago. The decals, incidentally, are by Zanchetti not Cartograf, as evidenced by the "Z" suffix (Cartograf is C). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
llking Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 I dont think many would care since this review was done 4 years ago 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Fleming Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 I dont think many would care since this review was done 4 years ago They are still available in the shops, (I bought 5 from the Works recently) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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