Scale aviation modeller international

Whitley GR. Mk VII

Airfix 1/72 Armstrong Whitworth Whitley GR. Mk VII by Carmel J Attard

MANUFACTURER: Airfix

SCALE: 1/72

KIT NO: A09009

TYPE: Injection moulded, new tooling

PARTS: 180

DECAL OPTIONS: 2

T

he Armstrong Whitworth

Whitley was an RAF

twin-engine bomber

in service at the outbreak of

the Second World War. It was a

vital part of Bomber Command

prior to the introduction of the

four-engine heavy bombers,

and in fact took part in the first

RAF bombing raids on German

territory. It also performed

many leaflet dropping sorties

during night-time operations.

The Whitley was a slow machine,

with docile handling characteristics

and a ceiling of just 15,000ft. With

the emergence of bigger and better

bombers, the Whitley continued to

serve with the RAF Coastal Command

or as a glider tug and transport

machine. Whitleys flew nearly 9,000

sorties with Bomber Command,

performing its important role in

the early stages of night bombing

operations over enemy territory.

THE KIT

For various reasons, a good kit of

the Whitley bomber has been on my

wish list for a long time. Mentioning

the Whitley brings back to my mind

three past experiences in connection

with the title. Way back in summer

1969, during my study/work phase

at Parkfield Foundries in Stockton-

on Tees, I met a lathe-turner by the

name of Mr. Metcalf, who used to

turn heavy marine engine flywheels

made of Meehanite cast iron. He

related to me an account of 30 years

earlier when he was a trained tail

gunner on a Whitley bomber. The

aircraft was lost during the very

first day of bombing operations over

Germany when it was hit by flak fire;

he survived the parachute jump but

spent the whole of the war as a POW.

Secondly, a late close friend of

mine, ex-flight sergeant R.Elliott,

had his cottage named after the

Whitley bomber. Finally, the

name reminds me of picturesque

Whitley Bay in the North East,

where I visited a number of

times during my time there.

Prior to the release of the recent

Airfix Whitley kit, I had the nerve

to examine a pristine old Frog

Whitley that for a long time had been

among my stock. It had poor quality

transparencies and other deformities

so it never made it to the workbench.

Now, with the release of the new-

tool Airfix Whitley it, I finally had

the opportunity to add a model of

the faithful bomber to my model

collection. And as this new kit offers

the option to build a Whitley Mk. V

tug, I also had the opportunity to

use the surplus solid nose,

tail blank parts, and a spare

canopy to upgrade my other,

older Frog kit, doing away with

that kit’s poor transparencies.

THE KIT

The Airfix Whitley kit comes in an

eye-catching box, the art depicting

a Whitley maritime bomber

tracking an Axis submarine caught

on the ocean surface below. The

kit’s contents are attached to five

grey sprues, with an additional

two sprues for clear parts. The

grey parts have a mix of fine,

recessed panel lines and raised

detail, and all are flash free. There

are crystal clear canopy options,

and the forward and aft turrets

are of appreciable thickness

with fine framework detail.

Separating and cleaning the

parts needed minimal work. The

intricate detail on the main parts,

and the nicely shaped and tapered

trailing edges of the wings (with

smooth round leading edges that

gradually reduce towards the wing

tips), is something to be admired, as

is the fine ripple effect on the wing

surfaces. Dry fitting of parts reveal

the accuracy of the mould-making

process, which produces a close

fit of every component. Care taken

during assembly means that little

filler, if any, is needed on the model.

All of the sprues are marked

with a small identification letter

to go with each part number

marked on the instructions. To

easily spot the particular sprue

needed as the assembly went

along (particularly when picking

small parts), I found it practical to

attach a piece of tape with a large

identification letter to each one.

The kit contains 162 parts in

grey styrene and 18 parts in clear.

The first of the two kit options is

for a coastal Command Mk VII of

No 502 (Ulster) Squadron, where

the Whitley is finished in dark

slate grey and sea grey camouflage

to all upper surfaces, with white

undersides. Alternatively, one can

pick an Mk V belonging to BOAC,

a civilian registered Whitley,

G-AGDY. This is finished in wartime

76 • JANUARY 2018 • SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

KIT REVIEWS

072-79-Reviews-0118.indd 76 08/12/2017 17:05