The Douglas built A-20 havoc first flew on October 26, 1938. Designed by Jack Northrop and Ed Heinemann, Douglas produced over 7000 of them, making it the most produced light bomber. The Douglas A-20 Havoc (known as the Boston by the British) was a light attack bomber, powered by two R-2600–23 engines, each producing 1600 hp and turning a 13' 3” Hamilton Standard propeller. Riding on a wing span of 61 feet 3 1/2 inches, it reached a maximum speed of 325 miles an hour at 14,500 feet.

Originally ordered by the French, the American Army Air Corps quickly caught on and placed an order three months later. Nearly half of the production run went to the Soviet Union under the Lend-Lease Act. Many feel it was one of the most versatile combat aircraft of the war, being in service from before the war, all the way through to the end, serving in nearly every theater and utilized by most Allied nations. Its roles included bombing, ground attack, strafing, torpedo attack, photo recon, night intruder, and interceptor. Retired by United States in 1949, the A-20 carried on in Brazil until the late 50s.

The model is produced in light gray plastic with fine recessed panel lines. The clear parts are very clear. Looking at an MPM kit that I have, it is the same molding, but this Special Hobby one comes with masks and decals for 2 aircraft, American and Australian. The nice color instructions plainly show what parts you will not be using. The instructions also point out Gunze colors. Overall the instructions are clear with the exception of step one, where part A14 attaches to A18 under the lip support.Normally, I would have thought it would go on top of the lip but it actually needed to go under in order to fit correctly. The overall fit of the parts was good, with some filling and sanding necessary. The shape and contours of the model was accurate.

The instructions point out using 20g of weight in the nose. I did not have a scale, so I just filled the nose with lead, which made it sit on its nose very nicely. Although not marked off as not needed for this kit, I could not find a use for part D 13. The clear part masks worked great, which is a nice bonus, in my opinion. I painted with Testor enamel for throughout this build. The kit decals worked very well using Micro Set and Micro Sol. Overall the model turned out well and is a nice representation of an under appreciated aircraft.

I would like to thank IPMS and Special Hobbies for the opportunity to review this kit.

Mike Kellner IPMS # 30864