Less than two years after treating the modeling world to a state-of-the-art 1/48 scale Ventura PV-1, Revell has released a second version of the Ventura…the type ordered by the RAF in early 1940. According to Revell’s website there are 142 parts, but I counted 143. A number of them are common with the PV-1 kit, but a number of additional ones necessary to replicate the unique details of the RAF Mk.I and Mk.II are included. Twenty-one parts are molded in clear plastic. They are crystal clear and thin enough that interior details are easily viewed. All of the others are molded in a medium gray. As with the PV-1 kit, all parts are well molded with no flash or severe ejection pin marks to deal with. Recessed details are delicately engraved and a few raised details are nicely represented. Fortunately rivet detail is limited to a few conspicuous ones on the top of the fuselage and around fuel tank caps on the wing tops.

Background

Platz, out of Japan, has been involved in the 1/144th modeling community for a while. They have produced many of their own kits and have teamed up with another Japanese company called F-Toys. F-Toys produce various subjects, among them being 1/144th scale aircraft kits. These kits from F-Toys are typically pre-painted, mostly assembled, and somewhat snap together. Many 1/144th scale modelers will take these pre-painted F-Toys kits strip them down, add details, repaint, and decal them. However, now we are seeing Platz take those same F-Toys kits and produce them as traditional model kits. This T-34A is a prime example of that venture; first it was released under the F-Toys name as a pre-painted kit, and now it’s released as a traditional model kit.

The Kit

Background

The Avro Biplane was the first biplane design built by A. V. Roe. It was a further development of his previous designs, which featured tri-plane layouts. I remember an Avro tri-plane in this series but its not been reissued. The design shared some common features with the other aircraft of the day. A triangular shaped fuselage was large enough for a pilot and passenger. The increased surface area of two wing surfaces handled the extra weight. Wing warping was used to turn the aircraft. What set this design apart was the 35 HP water-cooled engine built by the Green company. A cooling system helped provide reliable power over long durations, something that plagued other aircraft engines.

In this BRASSIN detail set, Eduard provides modelers with a quick and easy way to add a quartet of highly realistic SC-250 (Sprengbombe Cylindrisch 250) bombs to a 1:48 scale German aircraft model. The set includes resin and photo-etched brass parts and a small decal sheet for the stenciled identification. Four resin parts and four photo-etched parts make up each bomb and the decals add all markings needed for finishing the assembled and painted models. This multi-media combination makes into realistic looking miniatures of the real thing.

History

The Lavochkin La-7 was a logical development of the highly successful radial engine fighter, the La-5, which was itself an improved LaGG-3 all wood fighter which, while having reasonable performance, was not satisfactory as a first line fighter at the beginning of the “Great Patriotic War”, as the Russians designated World War II. While the LA-5 went through numerous changes during its production life, it became obvious that the 1820 hp. Ash-82FN radial engine had reached its development peak, and that there was no suitable replacement for this engine, as the Ash-71F radial of 2200 hp. was unreliable and unsuitable for service use. Therefore, the Lavochkin Design Bureau decided to upgrade the basic La-5 design, making aerodynamic refinements on a prototype designated La-5 (206) which included a new cowling, oil cooler location, supercharger intake, exhaust cover outlet, and radio mast shape.