Scale aviation modeller international

engraved with wonderfully

crisp and delicate details.

Beneath a white cardboard tray,

one finds the remainder of the

sprues: four larger ones containing

the rest of the airframe parts, one

small one featuring two tiny pilot

figures, a clear sprue with the two-

piece canopy, and the black plastic

stand. An extra grey-coloured

sprue contains the weapons load

of Shrike missiles peculiar to

the Vulcans that undertook the

Black Buck operations during

the Falklands War of 1982.

The instructions consist of a

single A3 sheet folded into quarters,

with just five well laid out and

clearly illustrated construction

stages. Decal placement for the

two options within the kit is

presented on a separate coloured

sheet. Whilst the small decal sheet

is nicely printed and appears to be

in register, some of the colours,

notably the yellows and reds,

are a little on the bright side.

FORGING THE PERFECT

BOMBER

Construction couldn’t be any

more straightforward. There is

just a cockpit insert containing

beautifully moulded and very

small control columns to add to

the fuselage, plus a pair of engine

intake inserts to be glued to the

inner surface of each wing before

the fuselage halves can be closed up.

The intakes are examples of

slide-moulding technology at its

best, revealing seamless intake

tunnels and delicately moulded

fan details. These fit snugly

into shaped recesses within the

wings, and with the addition of

the two-piece tail, the majority

of the airframe is complete once

the fuselage is slotted together.

If you are adding the Shrike

missiles remember to open up the

covered holes in the lower wings.

There is no bomb bay provided

as such, but there is a gaping,

rectangular void in the belly where

one could be scratch-built if you

have the dexterity at this scale to

consider such a task. Instead of

bomb bay doors there is a single-

piece fuselage section that is glued

in place to enclose the void.

There is a covered slot in this

central section that requires

opening if you are using the plastic

stand provided, but I wanted to go

one better. I knew before cutting

the first part from its sprue that I

wanted my finished Vulcan to be

airborne, which meant attaching it

to a stand of some kind. Originally

I had the idea of purchasing a GWH

“1/144 SCALE IS, I WOULD SUGGEST,

THE IDEAL SCALE IN WHICH TO

MODEL THE VULCAN BOMBER”

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