Classic Airframes 1/48 Westland Whirlwind

CLASSIC AIRFRAMES 1:48 WESTLAND WHIRLWIND
'In The Box Review'

Reviewer: Trevor Boxall (rec.models.scale)

Aircraft: When you hear the name "Westland Whirlwind" you have to ask whether it's of the fixed or rotary wing variety as the name is also given to a helicopter. However, this Westland Whirlwind is the early fighter design for RAF in WW2. It was accepted for production to meet a specification for a fighter carrying very heavy armament of four 20-mm cannons and twin engines for better performance. It was only a fraction larger than the Hurricane, it had twin engines of 885 hp variety with coolant radiators inside the wing centre section that offered minimal drag. The wing was also set low which afforded the pilot excellent all round vision. The guns were grouped in the short nose and the tailplane (or rear stabiliser as some call it) was mounted very high on the tall fin to keep it clear of the wake from the Fowler-type flaps. Despite these flaps the Whirlwind had what was then considered a very high landing speed, making it difficult to operate from short grass strips. Wing loading was high, which made manoeuvrability poor as a fighter. The engine was quite unreliable and because of other priority commitments, Rolls Royce was never able to upgrade the engine. Only two squadrons operated the Whirlwinds, using them mainly as attack bombers, in which they achieved moderate success at low altitude, one of their better achievements being a day/night intruder attacker in 1942 (attacking shipping). But with all the problems that occurred, the original order for 400 was reduced to 114 and the type was withdrawn from service in 1943 when it was replaced by the Typhoon.

The Kit: This kit was released in late 1998 and caters for another niche in the 1/48 market - an aircraft that has been wanted by quarter-scale modellers for quite some time. It is a short run kit and thus you need to take this look inside the box with that borne in mind. There are three large plastic sprues containing just over 30 parts in the standard light grey with panel lines recessed into the surface. The plastic has a soft feel to it and contains very very small bits of flash around some of the parts, in particular on the fuselages. In addition to the plastic there are also nearly as many parts bagged as resin pieces, two clear vacform parts (one being a spare), about eight white metal parts with brass etched fret included also.

Instructions/Versions: Simply a double-sided sheet folded out for assembly steps, a short history, sprue diagram and versions catered for by the kit although this is a separate flyer with the colour schemes and markings provided for two aircraft. The one on the boxart cover is the whirlwind of choice and can be seen as a night fighter variant with black undersides. The assembly steps, although only a few of them, are clear to follow. There are two versions in the kit, a 1940 bird from 263 Sqn (see boxart) and a 1942 bird from 137 Sqn.

Decals: These look very good on the decal sheet and are in register. As a favourite nitpick of mine the company has gone for the red dots being separate on the RAF roundels, a good idea. Decals also look thin with a satin like appearance so should go on well - I have no Classic Airframe decal experience so assume they are of similar quality if you have one of their kits under the belt.

Impressions: The breakdown of parts on the sprue are, dare I say it, logical! The fuselage halves include from the nose right to the tailfin already molded. The wings are quite nicely rendered with good rivet and surface detail provided, including filler caps and ribbing near the fuel bays. The trailing edge of the main wing is thin as it should be - a distinctive trait of this aircraft. The wings are broken into a number of pieces with a large underwing section and two outer panels and upper wing halves. The benefit of this means that the wing theoretically should be attached with the right dihedral without the modeller having to do much lining up. The tailplane section is one-piece and slots into the tailfin. The engines are of course separate pieces to the wing with the cut-outs provided so they can easily slip in and spinners (which are resin) attached separately for a moveable propeller. Test fitting these major components did not reveal any problems.

As mentioned earlier the plastic is rather soft and there is a little bit of flash on the sprues which are mainly confined to the wings, tailplane and fuselage. There is very little on any other part. The downside of this kit in some respects is the fact that most parts are already included in the basic mold, the tailfin for instance as already mentioned in the above paragraph. Add to this all the control surfaces (rudder, flaps, etc) as well as that distinctive bullet-shaped fairing on the leading edge of the tailfin.

The cockpit is rather sparse as far as the plastic is concerned but adding in the brass etched set enhances it to a well detailed level. The brass etched fret has most of the cockpit switches, gadgets, dials and handles you would probably expect one of these to have. It also provides other cockpit accessories such as rear panel insert and seat harnesses. There is also a port side mounting ladder - but of course you will need to cut the frames on the vacform canopy to display an open cockpit for the ladder to be of any benefit. Additionally the resin set also caters for the cockpit as the floor, sidewalls, instrument panel and seat are provided for in that form. The sidewalls also include the inside structure features of the fuselage. Removal of the resin pieces from their casting blocks will need to be done carefully as some parts are small and will easily snap.

The engine is basically detailed and slots inside the cowlings with the spinners provided as resin pieces as already mentioned, I suspect some work will be needed to have moveable propellers. The exhaust stubs and underside cannon shell ejector chutes are also cast in resin. The nose cannons are cast in resin with five barrels provided, perhaps a spare? The detail though is very good on these resin pieces. Finally the bomb racks under the wings are also provided in resin pieces.

The wheel well bays, which form part of the engine section, contain virtually no detail. I expected a little more than what was provided. Interior walls, or bulkheads if you like, are provided to ensure the wells are boxed in and do not simply look like the back of the engine or the inside hull of an upturned boat! The undercarriage itself is also basically rendered but the white metal parts at least enhance it somewhat to an acceptable level with front struts and the rear scissor components provided for each leg. The wheels are provided in resin.

Conclusion: In the box this looks like a great kit from Classic Airframes but their other molds in the past have been a bit and miss at times. I can only judge what I see on the sprue and I would suspect that this will be one of Classic Airframe's better offers bearing in mind that it is a short run kit. Recommended for short run and quarter-scale whirlwind fans!

Related Reviews:-

Airfix 1/72 Westland Whirlwind (Myself) :: (Kevin Ronayne)

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