Matchbox 1/72 Boeing P-12E

MATCHBOX 1:72 BOEING P-12E
'INBOX Review'

Reviewer: Dave McDougall (crustyoldseadog@aol.com)

Kit: Matchbox 1/72^nd scale Boeing P-12E (kit #PK-3)

Aircraft: The P-12 was one of the most successful American fighters produced between WW I and WW II. Used by both the Army and Navy (as the F4B), the P-12 was developed from prototypes built by the Boeing Airplane Company at their own expense. It was produced in a basic version and five additional series, -B through -F. The basic P-12 and the -B, -C and -D series had fabric-covered fuselages of bolted aluminum tubing. P-12E and -F fuselages were all-metal, semimonocoque (stressed skin) construction. All had wooden wings with fabric covering. The Army Air Corps received its first P-12 in Feb. 1929 and the last P-12F in May 1932. The last of the biplane fighters flown by the Army; some remained in service until 1941. In all, 366 were produced for the Army. More P-12Es were built (110) than any other series.

Parts: Somewhat flimsy end-opening box (with a window on the back so that you can see the contents.) Loose in the box are three sprues of injection molded plastic. These are: -

· Fourteen parts molded in bright orange-yellow plastic

· Twenty-three parts molded in chocolate coloured plastic

· One part molded in clear plastic (plus a three part aerial stand (remember those?)

Instructions: Small, folded leaflet. This has a little bit of background information on the P-12 plus technical specs. Eight part exploded view construction diagram. Paint and decal diagrams are shown (in colour) on the back of the box but a mini paint plan (for wheels, engine etc) is given in the instructions. Colour call-outs are quote for Humbrol Authentic Colour paints plus generic colours (e.g. “trainer yellow”).

Versions: Decals and paint schemes for two aircraft. Pick either an aircraft of the “95^th Attack Squadron, U.S. Army Sqdn. Commanders A/C” or a “27^th Pursuit Squadron 1st Pursuit Group” aircraft.

Decals: Four roundels, tail rudder stripes plus five unit badges. The blue on my decals has started to fade but other than that, colour and register are okay.

Accuracy: Both the fuselage length and wingspan scale out accurately enough in 1/72^nd scale to 6.2m and 9.1m respectively. Although it’s difficult to tell exactly how well the finished model will reflect the real things, the various kit parts look okay.

Detail: Basic. An over-heavy representation of ribbing. Chair and pilot makes up the cockpit interior. Over-scale struts. All the parts have the usual Matchbox roundness to them.

Options: None

Impressions: The kit should go together okay; at any rate it looks a pretty simple build. Not exactly one for the Tamagawa fans out there but for anyone else it’s worth a look as injection molded kits of the P-12E aren’t exactly thick on the ground. The kit’s out of production but shouldn’t be too hard to find second-hand.

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