NEW AND IN VIEW NEW AIRCRAFT KITS
FROG TRI-ANG LTD. Armstrong Whitworth Whitley Mks. V/VII. 1/72 scale. 17/6d. (U.K.)
One of the most eagerly awaited plastic kits is this new one from FROG of the Whitley and its quality will more than compensate for some of the lesser products that have been released of late. As the Whitley was quite a large aeroplane the price of 17/6d. is not unreasonable. Moulded in white polystyrene, the surface panel and line detail is superb. The assembly is quite straightforward and the fit of parts is highly commendable particularly that of the wings and engine nacelles. The latter are very simple consisting of the 'body' of the engine nacelle being formed integrally with the wing halves and the front 'cowlings' of the in-line engines moulded in two halves which fit very neatly on to the nacelle front, the join line being in the same position as on the real machine thereby ensuring the correct ridge effect.
Decals which are also very good are for a Mk. V in the markings of (then) Flying Officer G. Leonard Cheshire in which he won an immediate D.S.O. in November 1940 while the alternative markings are for a Mk.VII A.S.V. radar equipped machine of 502 Squadron Coastal Command — the A.S.V. radar aerial arrays being provided as alternative optional parts.
The undercarriage is sturdy and most realistic and the accuracy of this kit is beyond doubt as it was drawn and produced from original sets of full size drawings which came to light some two years ago, thus proving that if the manufacturer is able to get accurate drawings there is little reason why all his kits should not be to a minimal standard of accuracy — it costs as much to draw and cut tools and dies from accurate as inaccurate drawings, bearing in mind certain technical or commercial limitations.
Of all the FROG kits we seriously rate this as one of their finest to date.
Also on release about the same time as the Whitley are the following 1/72 scale kits:
N.A. F-100D SUPER SABRE: 8/6d., HAWKER HARRIER: 8/6d., CONVAIR F-102 DELTA DAGGER: 10/6d. and RF 101 VOODOO: 10/6d; these being similar to the HASEGAWA product but with new boxes and different decals, the Harrier in RAF Squadron markings, the F.100D in French or alternative Danish markings, the DELTA DAGGER in 32 F.I.S. or Turkish AF insignia and the VOODOO in 66th or 45th TR Units. Each kit is up to the new accepted high standard associated with Hasegawa-Frog products with fine surface detail and an excellent fit of parts.
The IPMS magazine, MARCH 1970. VOL. 7 No. 3
Modelling world
by James Goulding
Frog ' Flying Barndoor'
Armstrong Whitworth Whitley
ALTHOUGH the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley was an important aeroplane in the early part of World War II it has, for some puzzling reason, been totally ignored by all kit manufacturers until now. Happily, Frog has put the matter right with a 1/72nd kit which is delightfully in character with the full-size subject. The kit can be made up into either a standard Mk V as used in Bomber Command's early offensive or the Mk VII maritime reconnaissance aircraft which did such vital work in U-Boat hunting. Both versions were, of course, powered by two Rolls-Royce Merlins, and both were basically similar except for equipment. The Whitley V was a "clean" aircraft with few external excrescences, whereas the Mk VII may appeal to many modellers by virtue of its vast array of radar aerials and mounting masts. The electronic paraphernalia provided for the Mk VII in the kit includes the upper masts on the rear fuselage, the mounting under the nose and the two underwing mountings—which should be angled at 20deg to the line of flight. Unfortunately the dipoles have been moulded on the upper masts only, which is a pity because these are a prominent feature of these aerial arrays. As it is, the modeller is faced with many hours of tedious work adding these small rods. I feel it would have been better to mould the nose and underwing aerial bars and dipoles as complete, flat, individual parts, with the vertical mountings as separate parts. This may have added a little to the cost of the kit, but I am sure modellers would accept this. The side aerials, mounted on the rear fuselage, have been omitted, which is again unfortunate. Two different versions of these aerials were used; one consisted of eight single-rod mountings on each side of the fuselage, and the other, a continuous wire aerial mounted in a rectangular pattern close to the fuselage sides. Only the former version could have been moulded.
On the major components of the kit the holes for the Mk Vll's aerial mountings have been only partially bored, so that no filling is required for the bomber variant.
The transfers for the maritime version are for an aircraft of 502 Squadron of Coastal Command based at Aldergrove, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. This particular Whitley was painted in the standard Temperate Sea scheme colours of Extra Dark Sea Grey and Dark Slate Grey on the upper surfaces, and all-white on the under surfaces. Modellers should note that on the colour chart, on the back of the kit box, the names of the colours have become transposed. Dark Slate Grey is the " green " shade, not the blue-grey indicated. As from February 2, 1943, it was officially decreed that Dark Slate Grey be removed from the Temperate Sea scheme, leaving the entire upper surfaces Extra Dark Sea Grey. High-gloss finish was applied to the entire white undersides, but the fuselage sides remained matt white. Although this scheme was certainly applied to Whitley VIIs, 502 Squadron was re-equipping with Halifaxes at about the time of the colour scheme changes—so it is unlikely that its Whitleys were repainted in the new scheme.
The chosen subject for the Whitley V transfers is P5005 DY-N of 102 Squadron,'1 Linton-on-Ouse, the aircraft captained by Grp Capt Leonard Cheshire VC, DSO, DFC (as he now is) on November 1 2/1 3, 1940, when he won his DSO. (For story and photograph of P5005 see April issue.)
The transfers for this Whitley have the squadron code and aircraft letters printed in white, but my own belief is that these would have been painted in grey, possibly the MAP colour known as Sky Grey. The above-mentioned photograph of P5005 does show very light letters, which could be interpreted as being white. However, care must be taken when assessing colours in black and white photographs because prints produced on "hard" paper can give exaggerated contrast, and a tone that looks white may not in fact be so. From 1938 until mid-May, 1942, bomber and fighter code letters were generally grey. The grey paint used during 1938 and 1939 was specified by the Air Ministry and in fact had the same specification number as Medium Sea Grey when that colour was first introduced on the undersides of fighters. (Although the colour was in use by squadrons for some years, the name Medium Sea Grey does not seem to have been applied to this grey until it became a standard surface-finish shade. And although the shade remained the same, this grey had several paint specification numbers during its life.) From 1940 onwards, until the introduction of Dull Red letters, there is evidence that Sky Grey was also in use for code letters, and this was probably the reason why so many people and publications in the past have quoted "light blue" as being used for these letters. Sky Grey was paler than Medium Sea Grey and could possibly be mistaken for pale blue under certain lighting conditions.
As night raids by Bomber Command increased during 1940, opinion was gaining ground that the grey letters and the Type A1 fuselage roundels then in use were too visible and bright during searchlight illumination. Consequently, many squadrons increasingly applied a dark wash over these markings in order to dull them. Eventually, in May 1942, the new standard Type С and C1 roundels and fin flash, using narrow yellow and white rings, were introduced throughout the RAF. With these new markings came a new colour, Dull Red, which was used for the red in the national markings and for code letters in place of grey on all bombers, except the Mosquito. (The Mosquito, because of its incredible performance, was painted in day fighter colours to hide its bomber role.) In view of the concern over the brightness of existing letters and roundels, I cannot believe that white code letters were ever used on bombers operating over enemy territory during the war years.
Concerning the model generally, the fit of parts is excellent, but one word of warning should be given. The component wall thicknesses seem thinner than usual on a model of this size, and the modeller must ensure that excessive cement is not allowed to run inside as the walls could easily melt and collapse.
The "down" version of the undercarriage is mounted on a base which has the doors integrally moulded. I am much in favour of this system, which has been used on several Airfix models with success. It works splendidly and the doors are much stronger than in the old method of attaching each door individually. A moulding of the closed doors and slightly protruding wheel is also included in the kit for those modellers who like to display the model with wheels retracted.
The turrets are not movable, but this is not likely to offend many serious modellers—although it may disappoint younger enthusiasts. A small correction is required to the frcnt turret. This is mounted with a protruding lip over the bomb-aimer's look-out, whereas in fact it was beautifully faired flush. The correction is quite simply effected by cutting back the turret recess in the fuselage nose and filing away the lip. This also sets the turret back closer to the side glazing aft of the turret, which is again more correct. For some reason the bomb-aimer's look-out is offset on the model but it certainly wasn't on the real Whitley.
Two items on this model which could have been improved are the radiator intakes and the propellers. The radiator intakes are rather shallow, whereas on the real aircraft they were deeply recessed. The deeper intakes would surely not have posed any moulding problems, and would have enhanced the appearance of the engines.
The propeller blades are rather flimsy (a similar fault was seen in the Frog Tomahawk), and some improved form of producing these would be welcome. The spinners are also rather too small. The propellers and spinners on the Whitley V and VII were the Rotol rounded type. The all-wood blades of these were quite thick compared to contemporary de Havilland types. The Rotol propeller designed for Merlin engines appeared to have a standardised spinner diameter, designed for one specific type of aircraft and adapted for use on other types. It faired beautifully into the Spitfire's nose contours, probably being designed for that type, and it was quite a good match to the contours of the Fulmar. But it was oversize for both the Whitley and the Hurricane, which resulted in the spinner being too large for the existing fuselage or nacelle contours. But the step-down in the contour did not apparently have any undue effect on performance, and the production advantages made up for any aesthetic considerations. The Merlin Whitley prototype had de Havilland propellers, around which the nacelle contours were designed, but when the Rotol propeller was adopted for production aircraft no redesign of the nacelle was undertaken.
The Frog Whitley has very light surface detailing. Many times in the past I have criticised models for having excessively heavy surface details, but in this case I would have liked heavier engraving, particularly on the wing. It is so fine that it tends to become obscured when painted. The wing surface aft of the massive box spar was fabric-covered and the appearance of the model would have been enhanced if the fabric areas could have been simulated.
Frog's Whitley lends itself to many interesting conversions. The Mk IV is simple, only the fins and rear fuselage requiring alteration. The Mks II and III are more ambitious, with conversion also involving the installation of Tiger radial engines, an Armstrong Whitworth type rear turret, and, in the case of the Mk II an AW nose turret also. The most difficult would be the original Mk I, which was generally similar to the II and III but lacked dihedral on the outer wings. Marks I, II and III also had ventral "dustbin" turrets. An interesting civil conversion would be the turretless BOAC versions, finished in Dark Green and Dark Earth, with Aluminium under surfaces, but a problem here might be the apparent lack of paint scheme references; very few photographs exist and the BOAC Whitleys may have had a very different camouflage pattern to the Bomber Command machines, as indeed was the case with the BOAC Mosquitoes. Still further options of course are the parachute training Mk Ills and glider-towing versions. There are many from which to choose.
All the points of criticism I have made do not detract from a very fine basic model, which has, above all things, the one essential quality—an accurate outline.
The price of this kit is 1 7s 6d.—J.G.
AIRCRAFT Illustrated, June 1970
Cover subject
It was with considerable anticipation that we opened the box recently received from ROVEX TRI-ANG LIMITED (FROG) contain ing their new 1 / 72 scale kit of the ARMSTRONG WH1TWORTH WHITLEY MKS. V&VII. Having enthused over the models exhibited at their Trade Fair we could hardly wait to see what the production kit looked like.
We need not have worried. This kit must be one of the best that this company have produced to date. Moulded in white polystyrene, the surface detail can only be described as excellent and the fit of component parts is such that the wings and tailplane, if need be, could be simply plugged into position rather than cemented in place, a feature which certainly will be popular with those who like to store their models away or transport them around as do, for example, members of I.P.M.S. to various competitions and exhibitions.
Assembly follows the usual practice and the now familiar illustrated step by step instruction sheet leaves no doubts as to what parts go where on which variant.
The kit may be assembled either to represent a Mk. V bomber in the markings of the machine in which then P/O Leonard Cheshire | won an immediate DSO when with 102 Squadron, 1940, or alternatively as a Mk. VII Radar equipped machine of 502 Squadron Coastal Command. The bomber version can be built straight from the box, no modifications being required to complete the kit as this version. However, that of the Coastal Command variant will need the pre-part-drilled inserts on the inside of the wings and fuselage halves to be opened out so that the radar aerials can be inserted and cemented in place. The only alteration required on the model also applies to the Coastal version. The wing mounted radar array should be angled outwards and not pointing straight forward as they would be if one followed the instruction sheet and box art. To rectify this very minor error open up only one of the part drilled holes on the inside of the lower wing halves and remove the locating pin from the rear of the radar stem; then, having checked that the remaining pin fits correctly into the front locating hole, gently turn the whole aerial so that it is angled outward to about 70 deg. to the main spar of the wing. . . reference to any photographs of Coastal Command Whit-ley's will illustrate this point.
Also, although the small oblong fuselage windows are represented in the kit by slightly raised surface detail, check very carefully before painting your model to ascertain whether these windows had been painted over on the Squadron. This was frequently done, particularly on Coastal Command Mk. VII's when they often left the cluster of four windows just aft of the fuselage entry door unpainted.
Interior detailing is made up of a pilot seat and crew compartment floor which also includes the moulding for the navigator's table and the second pilot's seat ... the bomb aimer is moulded integrally with his piece of 'floor' but those who wish to omit crew figures can easily make up a new 'floor' from scrap card, etc.
The undercarriage is moulded with the main doors attached to inserts which slip inside the nacelles, this in turn taking the entire undercarriage oleo leg and supporting struts; however, if one wishes to mount the model on the stand provided then one has alternative solid inserts with the 'tyres' protruding as on the real machine, which one uses instead of the 'open' unit.
The transparencies are of an excellent clarity and fit and the rear gun turret detail includes the separate gun mount/breech blocks for the four machine guns.
One rather strange error occurs on the box art presentation as that on the front of the box shows the Coastal Command Whitley with two machine guns in the nose turret, this is artistic licence as Whitleys only carried one nose gun as is provided in the kit!
Decals are also very good, being flat matt finish with very near to accurate shades of roundel blue and roundel red.
The guide to camouflage and painting on the back of the box is also drawn to a very high standard but the printers have made an error in that on the Coastal Command machine the area indicated as being dark slate grey should be painted extra dark sea grey while that marked as extra dark sea grey should be dark slate grey . . . the actual colours on the box are correctly drawn, it is just that the captions to the colours have somehow got switched.
Scale Models No.10 1970 JULY Vol.1 No.10
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