Price: around £14.99 GBP (May 2013)
Review by Geoff Coughlin
Our thanks to Revell for supplying our review sample. Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit http://www.revell.eu/ or email ukbranch@revell.de”
A little bit of inspiration here…
A little bit of background…
This has to be an all-time favourite of mine – well one of them at least. I always remember see, buying and building the old Airfix example – great stuff! Then MPM released this kit that has now been re-released by Revell and very welcome it is too. But what of the type…
The Lockheed Hudson was an American-built light bomber and coastal reconnaissance aircraft built initially for the Royal Air Force shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War and primarily operated by the RAF thereafter. The Hudson was the first significant aircraft construction contract for the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation—the initial RAF order for 200 Hudsons far surpassed any previous order the company had received. The Hudson served throughout the war, mainly with Coastal Command but also in transport and training roles as well as delivering agents into occupied France. They were also used extensively with the Royal Canadian Air Force’s anti-submarine squadrons.
Hudsons were some of the first aircraft available to the Allies. They were unsuited to strategic bombing because of their light bomb load, but their long range made them perfect for coastal patrols. Any German submarine operating within 1,000 miles (1,600 km) off the coast was in danger. Hudsons could spot subs before they dove and their bombs and depth charges made short work of the foe.
This Revell kit features decals for 2 RAF versions: 206th Squadron, Bircham Newton or 224th Squadron Leuchars, Scotland, 1940.
The Revell Kit…
The fact that this isn’t a new-tool Lockheed Hudson doesn’t matter; it’s good to see it back! What you get is a well-tooled model that’s current in terms of approach and breakdown. Read on to find out more about what’s actually included…
Box and contents…
Revell persist with rather flimsy boxes that are doubtless cheap to produce yet somehow manage to protect the contents although prove less useful during construction. Having said that, the artwork is usually impressive enough and the one on this box shows a Lockheed Hudson on coastal patrol overflying a stricken convoy vessel.
So what’s inside…?
The grey sprues are packaged well and no damage is apparent. Taking the main components first, they are well tooled, recessed panel line detail and having a quality feel, if a little brittle. No distortion was apparent and a dry fit of the main fuselage sections offers a reasonable fit although some re-scribing will be almost inevitable given all the detailed panel lines around the joins. Some flash is apparent on a number of smaller parts and you can see this in the accompanying photos.
The cockpit looks busy enough with reasonable seats (with decals for the belts) and detailed main instrument panel with raised detail that’s fine for the scale with decals provided on the sheet for the main instrument panel if you want to use that instead – possibly the better option given the small scale.
You can see the manufacturer’s photos of their completed model in the Gallery Grids included with my review and I think this model looks like a very decent representation of the type.
Undercarriage sprues…
The wheels bays and main gear units are pretty decent and it’s good to see that they are well detailed here.
Clear parts…
The clear parts look clear and no defects apparent.
Instructions and decals…
The Revell instructions follow their usual exploded stages format. Location of parts is clear but colour paint coding is for Revell paints only – unhelpful. The build sequence is pretty standard and logical but many modellers will part company with the stated order to suit their experience.
The decals look to be good quality – good subject choices although very typical of the type in RAF service. Limited stencil detail is also provided and is almost always well worth adding, even in 1:72 scale to add additional interest to your completed model. All the colours are in register and colour density looks impressive and carrier film limited, so I wouldn’t expect any problems with application.
Conclusion…
This is a great subject should sell well again this time around and be popular with modellers, especially those that have an interest in all things Royal Air Force plus other Air Arms that flew the type – there are sure to be alternative decals available from whatever country you wish to model the type. Despite the flash on some parts the model itself looks to be well engineered at first glance and from the dry/test-fit. Moulding is good and the panel detail perfectly reasonable for current 1:72 scale kits.
Recommended for all scale modellers
Geoff C.
SMN Quick Summary Star Rate out of 5
| FEATURE | STAR RATING (out of five) |
|---|---|
| Quality of moulding | **** |
| Accuracy | **** |
| Instructions | *** |
| Decals | **** |
| Subject choice | **** |
| Overall | **** |