RVHP 1/72 Brewster Bermuda

RVHP 1:72 BREWSTER BERMUDA

Reviewer: Tim Beales (rec.models.scale)
Kit Review submitted: 22 June 2002

Brewster Bermuda by RVHP in 1/72 scale

The Aircraft

Great things were expected of the XSB2A-1 scout bomber when the first prototype was flown in 1941. The Brewster Company had extolled its (untried) virtues, and preliminary orders were high (140 for the USA (naval version), 162 for the Dutch, and 750 for the RAF (both land-based versions)). The US version became known as the Buccaneer, and the RAF called their version the Bermuda. On evaluation in 1942, the RAF found that the Bermuda was underpowered and did not handle as well as they had hoped. In addition, the nature of the air war in Europe had shifted in emphasis from the type of role that the Bermuda was envisaged playing. The RAF ended up using the Bermuda mainly as a target tug, and by the time production had ceased in 1944 at the troubled Brewster Company, the RAF had taken delivery of over 450 of the aircraft.

Kit Parts

My kit arrived from Hannants in the UK. The resin parts are in a good-sized robust cardboard box that is top opening with side-sealing flaps. On the front of the box is a pasted paper sheet with a colour sketch of the Bermuda on the front. The distinctive RVHP logo is in the bottom corner of the sketch, and on the black boarder is the kit number and "Made in the Czech Republic" proudly stamped in white.

On opening the box, I found inside a mixture of loose resin and white metal parts, along with a single vac formed canopy and small decal sheet contained both within the same small re-sealable plastic bag. The loose resin parts were bad news, as my kit came with a part of the front fuselage broken off between the wing section mount and the front cowling. However, it was a clean break, and I was able to glue the fuselage back together again with no visible join remaining. (Still, with the model retailing at over Ł21, one would not expect this). The instructions are contained on a single A4 black and white sheet that is folded in half. On the front of the sheet is a paragraph of the aircraft history in English, and on the backside, is an exploded view of the assembly of the parts. Turning over the A4 sheet reveals a full-page side, top and front view of the aircraft and the camouflage painting guide with generic colours only.

The main resin parts are: a solid wing section, two fuselage halves, two tailplanes, a rudder, a propeller hub and three blades, a spinner (presumably if you want to make a buccaneer?), an engine cowling, four sets of airbrakes, an instrument panel, a pilots chair, a radio operator's (or some other function?) stool, fuselage bulkheads, radio equipment (?), a joystick, a two-part resin engine, control pedals, and an aerial. There are white metal undercarriage legs, wheels, and two-part landing gear fairings. A single, long vac formed canopy covers both the pilot and radio operator.

Construction of the kit

Following the usual washing of the parts in warm soapy water followed by priming with Humbrol No. 1 primer, the internal cockpit parts and floor (the bottom of the central section of the wing assembly) were painted interior green (Humbrol No. 78). There were several parts to the cockpit. I painted the joystick and instrument panel black (Humbrol No. 86) and later added silver dials (Humbrol No. 11). The pilots seat attaches to a bulkhead, which I painted interior green and picked out the seat in leather (Humbrol No. 62). The pilots seat was plain, with no belt strap details. I also painted the pedals black (Humbrol No. 86) and fitted these and the joystick into the base of the solid wing section.

I then glued the instrument panel in place and the pilot seat bulkhead behind it into one of the fuselage halves. I painted the radio operator's stool leather, and glued this onto a stump provided, and then glued the bulkheads in place to finish this sub-assembly. This was then glued onto the same fuselage half containing the pilot seat bulkhead. The two fuselage halves went together well, and with a tiny bit of sanding along the joint line were perfect. There is a central shelf separating the pilot and radio operator sections, and a resin piece is located there containing something that may be either a life raft or some type of electrical equipment (it is a long cylinder and box). I painted this equipment black to highlight it, and the base interior green, and then glued the assembly in position.

The wing section simply butts up to the bottom of the fuselage, and the fit is very good. The dive breaks fitting in the inner wing trailing edges can be made open or closed. The tailplanes and fin sections attach straight onto the fuselage. I hardly used any filler at all, and the parts are of high quality resin with engraved panel lines and super detail.

The resin engine section was painted metal (Humbrol No. 53), as was the inside of the cowling. The propellers were painted black (Humbrol No. 86) with yellow tips (Humbrol No. 24). The whole engine section went together perfectly. I painted the propeller hub aluminium (Humbrol No. 56) and fitted the individual propellers. I have never been very good at attaching the propeller blades separately, and others may want to substitute a one-piece one from Aeroclub or similar supplier. The white metal undercarriage and wheels supplied fitted in minutes, and a side undercarriage leg support rod was cut from 1 mm copper wire. There is no detail in the wheel bays. I finished off with the aerial on the port side of the engine cowling.

I found the vacuform canopy a little brittle, and this led to me creating a small crack at the rear of my canopy as I was attempting to cut it from its surrounds. As there is no spare, I had to try my best to mask this using Humbrol Clearfix, and I think I did a pretty good job. However, for all those ham fisted modellers like me out there, it would be nice to have two canopies with this type of kit mister RVHP please. I am sure that the extra cost would be miniscule in a kit such as this. I fixed the canopy in place using Humbrol Clearfix.

Decals

Decals are supplied for an aircraft of, I quote, "FF444, subject of official Air Ministry photographs taken in early 1943". The decals are standard RAF C1-type roundels and fin flashes on the fuselage and tail, black serials, and B-type overwing roundels. Like most Czech decals, they are very thin and easily tear. I ended up using Modeldecal replacements instead. I also painted black wing walkways.

I hand painted my model, using dark green (Humbrol No. 30) and ocean grey (Humbrol No. 106) on the upper surfaces and sky (Humbrol No. 23) on the lower surfaces. I have a reference photograph showing a similar Bermuda to FF444 carrying two 250 lb underwing bombs, and as I had a spare set, I added these to my model for aesthetic reasons. I also added a Pitot tube on the starboard wing that was also in my reference photograph.

Accuracy

"British Aircraft of World War II" by Daniel March gives dimensions of: span = 47 ft 0 in, and length = 39 ft and 2 in. My model comes in at a span of 20.4 cm and a length of 16.1 cm (48 ft 2 in and 38 ft 0 in, respectively).

Overall

I think the only other version of this aircraft was a vacuform kit, but I am not sure who it was by, possibly Rareplanes*. This is a great model, and is recommended for anyone, especially novices at resin kits because of the smooth fit of all the parts.

I would imagine this will be some kind of short run, so you will have to get one while you can. I have now a complete set of the Curtiss Helldiver, Douglas Dauntless, and Brewster Bermuda - US naval aircraft tested by the RAF, and all kitted in British clothes. They make a nice set for discussion at your model club, or sitting side-by-side on your model shelf.

* Peter Hobbins confirms that Rareplanes did indeed make a vacform Bermuda, he spotted one of these kits at a show recently for $4AUD and believes it is a decent kit - Ed

Š Tim Beales 2002

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