RS MODELS 1:72 ARADO AR 65
'INBOX Review'

 

Reviewer: Johan De Wolf (rec.models.scale)   

Kit Details

History

The Ar 65 was the first combat aircraft for the Luftwaffe. It was secretly designed in direct violation of the Versailles treaty. The first prototype flew in 1931 with a BMW VI V-12 of 500HP. Three more prototypes and some redesign work later, it entered production in 1933 with an up rated engine of 750HP as the AR 65E. It was a typically 30’s design of mixed construction, with a steel tube fuselage and wooden wing. It was armed with two fixed forward firing MG17’s. 

The first production machines were delivered to the paramilitary Reklame staffel (advertising squadron). This might have fooled the general public, but to the keen observer it would have been clear that this was in fact a fighter aircraft. This staffel was officially reborn as a combat unit on 14 March 1935, becoming JG 132, and was later renumbered as JG 2. A new version, the Ar 65F, differed from the E in having provisions for two external fuel tanks under the upper wing. In 1937 some E’s were sold to Bulgaria. By the start of WW II, all Ar 65’s had been relegated to training units, mostly on airfields in what is now the Czech Republic. However in the winter of 1942/43 some Ar 65’s were used to tow DFS 230 gliders to the Kuban bridgehead on the Russian front. 

Although the Ar 65 was at best a mediocre aircraft, it still gave the fledgling Luftwaffe valuable experience in the build up period. In secondary tasks it served well into the Second World War with examples on active duty as late as 1943.

The kit

The flimsy end opening box contains one sprue of ochre coloured parts, and separately packed one finely cast resin part, one brass fret and the decal sheet. Although this is a low pressure short run kit, the sprue gates are not overly large and there is no flash anywhere. Surface detail is very fine and the rib detail is absolutely convincing. The vacuform windscreen comes with a spare. The only resin part is for the radiator, and is of high quality. The etched parts are also of high quality and the instrument panel comes with a piece of film for the dials. 

The decals by Aviprint are sharply printed and thin, but the red and yellow parts are a bit out of register. The single A-4 size instruction sheet includes a short history, a parts recognition drawing and 4 construction diagrams. These construction diagrams are rather ambiguous about the exact placement of the smaller parts, so some dry-fitting and fiddling around will be called for to determine the exact position. The colour schemes can be found on the rear of the box.

Accuracy

In one word, excellent! Dimensions are spot on. Structural and surface detail is where it should be. Compared to photographs the kit captures the slightly portly lines of the original very well. 

Construction

As usual construction starts with the cockpit. This is made up of 1 plastic part and 11 etched parts, and it is thus very nicely detailed. Next are the wings and tail. The instructions are vague about where the struts go, but it isn’t really a problem as there are tiny marks on the wings that show the correct position. Even though the Ar 65 had very few bracing wires it would still have been nice if there had been a rigging diagram in the instructions. As it is, this information will now have to be gleaned from (rare) photographs. The last step is fitting the landing gear. Not much to write about, but then it is a pretty simple kit. Note that part 33 is only needed when building a glider tug and that part 36 and 37 are only needed for an F version. 

Painting and Decals

There are no detailed painting instructions given, so you’ll have to guess interior colours.  The rear of the box shows (in full colour) the two colour schemes for the trio of decal options. Only the main colours are given in general terms, and again no details or paint brands/FS/RAL references. Both schemes are for all over RLM02 grey painted machines. The first option is for Bulgarian machine with a red nose/cheatline. You have the option of using the Royal roundel (pre October 1940), and the roundel used after Bulgaria joined the Axis. The second option is a rather more bland Luftwaffe machine belonging to LKS3 based Borgheide, Germany in 1941.

Conclusion

Although this is an excellent kit, it is a bit let down by the mediocre instructions. Therefore I can only recommend it to the more experienced modelers.  Still, it is great to see a kit of this early Luftwaffe aircraft and I thank RS models for providing us with the opportunity to build a replica of this rather less glorious machine. This kit is also available as an Ar-65F (kit #9217) and in this box the external tanks are present as resin items.

References

 

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