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HELLER 1:72 SKYRAIDER
Reviewer: Kevin Ronayne (kevin.ronayne@nuigalway.ie)
Kit Review
submitted:
November
2000
The Douglas Skyraider was originally developed during the latter part of the Second World War, to meet a U.S. Navy requirement for a carrier-based dive-bomber/torpedo bomber. It’s original U.S. Navy designation was XBT2D, but this was later changed to AD. It’s only other serious competitor was the Martin AM Mauler, which had the same basic configuration.
The Skyraider saw extensive service in the Korean War, and was also exported to a number of other countries. Although production ceased in 1957, the type continued to serve with both the Navy and U.S. Air force right through the 1960’s in Vietnam, before being replaced by aircraft such as the A-7 Corsair. With the introduction of the 1962 tri-service designation scheme, basic designation changed from AD to A-1. The original AD designation was reflected in one of the Skyraider’s nicknames - ‘Able Dog’. This was an appropriate title for an unglamorous but very effective aircraft.
The total production run was some 3,160 aircraft.
This Heller kit is a re-boxed Airfix kit, which was originally issued in 1968 and is still available. As Heller and Airfix are both owned by Humbrol, the re-boxing of kits between these two companies has been extensive over the last ten years or so. I built two examples of the Airfix kit in the early 1980’s. The Heller kit is physically the same, differing only in the decal and paint scheme. The only other injection-moulded 1/72 Skyraider kits are produced by Hasegawa - as far as I am aware - and are two or three times as expensive.
The Heller kit gives no information about the exact version of the subject aircraft - never mind squadron information. However, I have seen a picture of this very aircraft, and I believe that it is an AD-6 from the late 1950’s (AD-6 later became A-1H). The Airfix kit represents an A-1J - or AD-7. I don’t know what external differences - if any - exist between the two versions.
Given the age of the mold, it is in very good shape - I have seen other kits of the same vintage where the quality has markedly deteriorated. Rivetting and raised panel lines are all clearly defined. The kit consists of 88 parts, including a one-piece canopy. All other parts are attached to the loose sprues that are usually found with kits of this age. I saw very little flash. There are the usual injection marks on various parts, although only the marks on the weapons pylons need to be cleaned up.
This is packaged as a budget kit - despite the sturdy nature of the box. It is also sometimes sold as a ‘starter’ kit. The instruction leaflet reflects this - a large, fold-out sheet with instructions on one side only. Painting instructions are almost non-existent. There are no multi-lingual instructions of any description. For example, a very inexperienced modeller might not realise that outboard pylons and weapons are only to be attached after paint and decals have been applied.
Building the kit was a fairly straightforward affair. The cockpit detail is minimal, with a cockpit floor, simple instrument panel, control stick, pilot seat and some type of instrument mount behind the headrest. There is no engraving on the cockpit walls. I omitted the pilot figure - despite the size of the aircraft, the cockpit is a tight squeeze. I also found that attaching the cockpit to the internal fuselage mountings was a bit fiddly. Some trial and error and dry fitting might be required here.
Most of the major sub-assemblies go together very well, so there is very little to say in this regard, except for the wings. These are split into eight parts, to allow a model with folded wings to be built. However, I don’t believe that the wing hinges are suitably accurate, and there is no detail worth mentioning at the wing breaks anyway. Of more concern is the fuselage to wing attachment. The Skyraider wings had quite a bit of dihedral, and the instructions provide no head-on view to guide the modeller in this respect. A single lower-central wing section would have been a great help. Without this, you will have position each inner wing section in place very carefully - as there is some leeway in the fit - and leave it to set hard. You may need a small amount of filler here. The outer wing sections should also be attached one at a time - that’s the way I did it anyway.
The engine and propeller detail looks fine to me - the propeller is a nice three-dimensional reproduction. Neither the tail wheel or arrestor hook need be glued into position, but both should be anyway. The arrestor hook is far too thick, and you should thin it (as I did) or replace it.
The model can be built with dive brakes in the open position, but there is no internal detail if you do this. The undercarriage detail is also minimal, but I wouldn’t expect anything else in a kit of this vintage. One touch of realism is to let the front cover sections lean back against the main struts, as they do in all pictures that I’ve seen.
The kit provided two large drop-tanks and two large bombs, as well as 12 unguided rockets. The bombs and drop-tanks are to be fitted on the centreline and inboard pylons, using either one bomb and two tanks (as I did) or vice-versa. A word of warning here: I found that the inboard wing pylons needed to be modified, so as to allow the drop tanks to point down slightly. Otherwise, the drop tanks will touch the ground! The drop tanks themselves are a bit rough and ready, with very thick fins, and an inexact fit. Be prepared for some sanding and pruning here.
The 12 rockets are for use on the 12 outboard pylons. I don’t think that they accurately reflect any rockets in use at the time, and they are very crude. I replaced them with some 250-lb bombs from some Revell Mustangs, and some rockets from an Italeri Korean War vintage (F-51) Mustang.
Apart from doctoring the tail-hook, I also added a few simple extras. I put a small guide rail behind the canopy. I added some underwing hinges for the flaps, and a couple of extra dorsal/fin aerials.
I ignored the basic painting guide provided, which suggested that the cockpit be painted matt black, and that the aircraft be painted overall with Humbrol 15 - this is dark gloss blue, but it nowhere near being right. I used the now discontinued Humbrol 181 for the correct overall shade (i.e., FS15042). The cockpit and wheel-well interiors were painted in my own mix of zinc chromate green - although it may be that the wheel-wells should also have been painted in FS15042. A variety of other colours were used for detail work, including olive drab for the centreline bomb.
The decals appeared to be OK, although there were no really detailed stencilling or markings provided. Rather than use the orange decals provided for the top of the fin, I would suggest just painting it. Quality wise, the decals seemed ok, as long as you use a good decal-setting solution.
You get what you pay for with this kit - the basic shape and detail are there, it’s just undercarriage, cockpit and ordnance detail are all lacking. I could say the same about almost every other kit of a similar vintage.
© Kevin Ronayne 2005
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