Unicraft 1/72 Airspeed AS.31

UNICRAFT 1:72 AIRSPEED AS.31

Reviewer: Tim Beales (rec.models.scale)
Kit Review submitted: 24 June 2002

AIRSPEED AS31 by Unicraft in 1/72 scale

The Aircraft

Unicraft are a small manufacturer from the Ukraine who specialise in X planes, prototypes, and other oddballs (seemingly, most from Nazi Germany). The Airspeed AS31 is a typical Unicraft offering.

Tendered for the RAF specification F35/55 in the mid-thirties, the AS31 was a monoplane with a highly unconventional layout that placed the pilot at the back of the aircraft in a pod-like nacelle. This pod was situated in the middle of the rear tailplane unit, and was supported by two boons. The design concept was for a high-visibility fighter, and it reached the wind tunnel test stage. The Air Ministry cancelled further work due to the design's marked departure from accepted norms, and the fact the that the pilot would be subject to very high g-forces in tight turns.

Kit Parts

The kit arrives in a small box that contains the loose components and smaller parts on sprues cast in a golden resin, and one vacuformed canopy. The model's all resin components are relatively well cast, but there is reasonably high level of flash on the smaller parts, and this needs some care on removal. However, with careful cleaning, these come up well. There are an above average number of tiny casting bubbles along the main edges of the larger parts, and these will need filling with your favourite filler/putty.

Working from the front, the parts comprise of a spinner, three propeller blades, a solid wing/engine unit with exhausts, two supporting boons, two wheels, and two sets of undercarriage fairings. The cockpit area comprises of a cast pod bottom and top (in addition to the vacuformed canopy (a spare?)), a cockpit floor, an instrument panel, and the pilots seat.

Two A5 sheets provide an exploded view of the parts assembly and a colour artists impression of what the AS31 may have looked like in the Battle of Britain. Another small note provides a brief history and specifications.

Construction of the kit

Deciding the assembly strategy is straightforward from the drawings, but there is no numbering sequence. I washed the parts in warm soapy water, and separated all the items from their sprues using a warm blade. I painted the cockpit and interior details RAF interior green (Humbrol No. 78). I the instrument panel black (Humbrol No. 86) with silver dials (Humbrol No. 11). I then assembled the pod nacelle unit and attached the tailplanes using superglue. I attached the boons to the front wing unit and then the rear cockpit assembly between the two boons. I painted the spinner and propellers black (Humbrol No. 86) with yellow tips, and butt fitted the spinner unit to the engine bay. The undercarriage was located in holes drilled in the undercarriage bays and then I added the resin fairings. I had to add a tail wheel from my spares box, as one was not in my kit. Finally, I drilled eight gun ports in the wing, and that was it!

Apart from the necessary cleaning of heavy flash around the delicate parts and the filling of those annoying little bubbles along the wing edges and pod mating surfaces, there was little other work. A tiny bit of sanding was required to make sure the various mating surfaces were flat, and some filler was needed around the boon / wing joints and rear tailplanes.

The vacuform canopy is relatively easy to cut out, but for some reason mine clouded on attachment the first time, and I had to write to Unicraft for a spare. Second time around though, it worked OK. The canopy detail is a bugger to see for painting, and this may cause problems for the non-Clark Kents out there. One thing that will have to be scratch built out of clear plastic are the two windows in the bottom of the pod, as these are too big to use Humbrol Clearfix or similar, and this may prove testing for more inexperienced modellers, as they are an awkward shape.

I hand painted my model, using dark green (Humbrol No. 30) and dark earth (Humbrol No. 29) following the suggested Unicraft pattern, and painted the lower surfaces trainer yellow (Humbrol No. 24). I painted the gun port surrounds brick red (Humbrol No. 70) à la Airfix early Spitfire and Hurricane kits.

Decals

There were no decals with the kit, but Unicraft do supply some on request. Since the markings are pure speculation, I would imagine most modellers would not bother, and would use some from the spares box. I decorated my AS31 in a scheme that I would imagine the prototype would have looked like if tested in 1940-ish. I used Modeldecal roundels from the generic sets that I have. I placed A1-type roundels on the pod body, A-type roundels underwing, and B-type roundels in the overwing position. I also used a yellow prototype "P" in a circle from a sheet I have by Joes Decals, and placed it along side the A1 roundel on the pod.

Accuracy

I have no idea if the kit or quoted dimensions are accurate, and I have no reference for the aircraft drawings. Unicraft give the length as 29 ft 6 in and span 33 ft. My kit measured 12 cm in length and has a span of 14 cm (28 ft 4 in and 33 ft, respectively).

Overall

This would be an excellent introduction kit for your first resin aircraft, and for the more experienced modeller, it would be a very interesting weekend build to make a most unusual model. The only drawback for beginners is the somewhat hefty price versus an injection-moulded kit, and some of the cleaning of the parts that is required. However, once made, this kit can be painted in any scheme you like. I chose the RAF prototype scheme, but the Unicraft web page shows that some have painted it as an active fighter command aircraft, and others yet again, in bare metal. Either way, it will get everyone talking at your model club, and if you have quizzes, it will stump 'em every time. I intend to get some more Unicraft oddballs for this very purpose.

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