This is
the injection mold kit number 14422 by Valom who offer a wide range of WWI kits
in the 1:144th scale. This kit includes four airplanes in total. Two
are the Bristol F2B variant from the Royal Flying Corps in colors from 1917 and
1918. The other two are Rumpler CIV from Die Fliegertruppe (the Imperial
German Flying Corps) who flew with these markings in 1917.
The
molds are nicely formed with no surface blemishes or pitting but having nicely
formed details that would be visible in this scale. The sprue attachments
are minimal and positioned so that they could be easily trimmed and then removed
by sanding. You might notice in the following photos however, that the
fuselage does not come with alignment pins or tabs. I expect a modeler
will choose a cement with a bit longer setting time or add their own pins to
ensure secure alignment.
The
included photo etch sets which cover the gear struts, wing spars, and machine
gun. They are a bit heavier than you might expect when compared to larger
sets, but this is most likely purposeful for scale and construction.
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The
instructions are simple, exploded view formatting with clear part notations and
location markers, expected on such a simple kit. Unfortunately, I found
the painting instructions to be confusing. The kits share five of the
listed 24 colors, so you’ll need to blend or have a lot of color varieties
on-hand. In addition, the lettering sequence is repeated. “A” in
one model is FS34079 Dark Green on the F2, and FS24260 Light Green on the CIV.
On the CIV “C” is FS17142 Light Mauve and FS30266 Natural Wood on the F2.
Why Valom didn’t just use one of the other remaining letters I’ll never
know.
The
decal sheet does have a lot of flash around the printed markings, 1mm.
This may make blending them in a challenge especially as the roundels from the
RFC with the flash are wider than the wings they are meant to cover.
I am
excited to assemble these kits as an unusual addition to my fleet of 1:144th
scale builds. Seeing these alongside an F-15 which has a wingspan only
slightly larger but a length that’s nearly 4 times longer will be impressive.
Scot
Reinmann
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