There are now (according to Hannants) three kits of the Vickers Valiant available in 1/144 scale. The oldest is the Welsh Models vac form kit, followed by the Anigrand. The newest is from Micro Mir.

This installation is on the Anigrand kit, because I don’t have a Micro Mir kit yet.

Installation

Installation instructions show 2 steps. I’ve expanded that to 4

1. Cut off the plastic probe at the indicated spot. I then used a sanding stick to get a flat surface which I could drill.
2. Drill a .25mm hole. Test fit a couple of times to be sure it’s deep enough. (NOTE the instructions call for .4mm. I think that’s a little too big.
3. Use CA glue to hold the brass part.
4. Paint the finished installation.

Then the other pitot tube, on the other wing. Follow the same 4 steps.

The most difficult part of the whole operation is getting the drill to start in the cut off on the wing, and then keeping it straight.

Evaluation

As the pictures show, the Master Model pitots are far thinner than the original kit parts. Additionally, they have the correct shape. They are also stronger from the point of view that they do bend, but they don’t break. I had to straighten the left pitot after installing the right one. Fortunately my experience aligning type on typebar typewriters came in handy here.

Highly recommended. They’re more to scale, they’re stronger, and they look better.

Many Thanks to Master Model for the upgrade set, and to IPMS USA for allowing me to upgrade my Valiant