Scale aviation modeller international

camouflage of dark earth and

dark green upper surfaces, with

aluminium undersides. Two four-

view colour plans show the pattern

of camouflage and the placement

of decals for each colour scheme.

The 16 pages of very clear

instructions are in five languages

and have 79 stages of construction,

each containing detailed isometric

views in shades of grey, highlighted

in red at selected areas.

Extra parts for the transport

version consist of blanking parts to

go in place of the turret areas. One

has to decide at an early stage which

version to be built. For example, if

one chooses version A, which refers

to the Mk VII Maritime bomber,

there is a complete set of ASV

antennas all around the fuselage.

The instructions indicate the exact

marked spots where to drill through

to attach these aerials, using a 0.9

mm hand drill. These are fixed at

a later stage, before paintwork.

CONSTRUCTION

Assembly starts with fitting and

painting the cockpit interior parts

and other items that go inside the

fuselage. The kit also offers the

option to assemble the two entry

doors open or closed, and supplies

two ladders of different lengths,

giving scope for a dispersal area

diorama. I chose to close the doors

and found that Part C22 needed

just a little scraping in order to

fit flush with the fuselage.

There are some small areas that

require you to follow the instructions

carefully; for instance, in Stage 33,

when it comes to fit Part 33 you must

ensure that the longer leg of the

component is on the left. Such a small

step is easy to overlook. Another

example is when it comes to the rear

bomb bay area: the instructions

suggest that the bay doors can be

posed with half of the bay doors open,

while the other can remain closed.

If you do choose to have them open,

there are some faint ejector marks

visible on the surface, though a little

light sanding will remove them.

The main wheel doors are

supplied in two versions, one for

a dropped undercarriage and one

with the gear retracted. The flaps

can also be posed dropped or raised;

this nice touch adds a little life to

the model if you pose them lowered.

Generally speaking, the

construction of the model consists

of several initial sub-assemblies:

the forward fuselage, complete

with the fully detailed cockpit;

rear main fuselage with interior

floor; mid-wing main structure,

complete with a fully detailed

bomb bay; two engine nacelles,

complete with propellers; and two

separate turrets. There is also the

option to fit either regular bombs

or submarine bombs inside.

As for the undercarriage, I

made use of SAC landing gear set

72115, which I found advantageous

in several respects. Other than

retaining the accuracy of the plastic

kit parts, their big advantage is

that the metal legs are very strong.

During the continual handling of

the kit during

painting, I

doubt that they

would have

survived intact

if I had used the

plastic kit parts.

One other

advantage is that

the white metal

is very ductile.

This allows the

legs that hold

the huge wheels

to bend until the

wheel is inserted,

then the leg can be easily

straightened back to its original

shape. Using the plastic legs, one

may have to struggle and run the

risk of breaking the hub that goes

in the centre of wheel leg. The

metal legs plug into the nacelle

interior structure in the same

manner as if the kit ones are used.

A couple of RAF crew airmen

from other Airfix kits were

donated to man my Whitley’s

pilot and navigator positions.

COLOURS AND MARKINGS

My choice fell on the maritime

version named earlier, a Whitley GR

Mk VII of No 502 Squadron. For the

interiors, I used Humbrol 78 Interior

Green and followed the instructions

to decorate the cockpit parts.

I then masked the clear parts of

the completed model and sprayed it

with Model Master Semi-gloss White

on all undersides, fins, and rudders.

Allowing this to dry thoroughly,

I masked off the lower areas with

Tamiya tape before the top surfaces

were airbrushed in Humbrol 31

Matt Dark Slate Grey. Areas of slate

grey were then masked using the

plasticine method, and extra dark sea

grey was airbrushed using Humbrol

HX6 (from the long discontinued

Authentic Colours range).

Next, the kit was given a

coat of Johnson’s Klear prior to

application of decals. The lights on

the port leading edge have two tiny

depressions on the inside. These

were filled with two drops of bright

silver paint, and really looked their

part when the light cover was gently

inserted in place and secured with

a touch of Klear. The Whitley had 16

small, elongated windows on the

side and top of the fuselage, and

Airfix supply these as strips on the

clear sprue; however, many may

prefer to do away with the clear parts

and apply Kristal Klear instead.

Like all recent Airfix kits,

decals that come with the kit are

of top quality and very strong,

which was handy when it came

to manipulating the red lettering

around the ASV antennas.

Finally, the kit was given a

coat of semi-gloss lacquer, giving

a smooth, even sheen overall,

and I was very pleased with

the final look of my Whitley.

CONCLUSION

In view of the many parts and careful

assembly required at every stage

of construction, I would say that

this kit is suitable for the average

modeller with a few smaller kits

under his or her belt. And of course,

this kit makes by far the best

Whitley bomber ever produced in

plastic and is highly commended.

My thanks to Airfix for

giving me the chance to build

this beautiful model.

KIT REVIEWS

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