Trumpeter

1/72 Vickers Wellington Mk.IC

Kit Number: 01626

Reviewed by  Brian R. Baker, IPMS# 43146

MSRP: $44.95 Kit Supplied by Stevens International: www2.stevenshobby.com:5641/ History The Wellington owes its unique structure to its predecessor, the Wellesley, one of the classic RAF long range bombers used during the late thirties. It involved a metal "basket weave" structure with fabric cover, which was very strong and considerably lighter than contemporary aircraft. It was able to absorb battle damage that would have been the end of many other types, and still return home safely, although, as the old song says, "On a Wing and a Prayer". The song, incidentally, was probably written with the crew of a Wellington in mind. Initiated in response to a 1932 requirement for a long range day bomber, the design evolved into a mid wing monoplane powered by two steam cooled Rolls Royce Goshawk I engines. Before the prototype was completed, it became apparent that the Goshawk was not living up to expectations, so 850 hp. Bristol Pegasus radials were substituted. Soon, power turrets were added in nose and tail positions, and the Mk. 1 carried Vickers units, along with a retractable ventral turret which gave some trouble and was eventually eliminated on later models. In addition, Frazer Nash turrets replaced the Vickers in the Mk. IA, along with some other minor changes. A total of 11,461 Wellingtons of all marks was produced, andf they served with the RAF Bomber and Coastal Commands. Wellingtons were the only British bombers to remain in production from 1939 into 1945. The kit depicts the Mk. IC version, with Fraser Nash turrets. About 2685 Mk. IC bombers were built, and the type was in active service in the night bomber offensive against the German economy until being replaced later in the war by the more potent four engine bombers, including the Sterling, Halifax, and Lancaster. The Kit The Trumpeter kit is the latest in a series of 1/72 scale kits of the Wellington that have appeared over the past forty years. The first Wellington kit was a Frog Penguin issue, a Mk. I. These were issued before and during the war, and are very rare today. Then Airfix (a Mark III), Frog (a Mk. IC) , and later Matchbox ( a Mk. X/XIV) kits were produced. Recently, an Eastern European offering from MPM has appeared, which I have not seen, (reported to be a Mk. IC and Mk. X), and the Trumpeter kit has just now appeared on the scene. The copyright date on the box is 2006, although this is the first one I have examined. It comes in a large, rigid box which effectively protected my kit from any damage, as it came through completely intact. There are eight grey plastic sprues containing the major parts, along with two clear plastic sprues, with a total of 192 parts. A few parts and duplicated, for whatever reason, and some are not shown on the instructions, which can lead to a little confusion. The instructions consist of ten pages, including a lawyer-induced warning statement (be careful to avoid injury, for example), a set of coded instructional symbols, decal application instructions, and a complete and very useful sprue diagram. Eight pages show the assembly steps very clearly. The only problem I have with the instructions is an absence of interior colors to be used, except for a few components. Of course, a lot of the interior colors couldn't be seen through the windows of the finished model, but some of it is visible, and this information would have been useful. Included is a color page showing the two Wellingtons for which decals are provided. A four view of Wellington Mk. 1C, P9245, OJ-W, of No. 149 Sqdn., in September, 1940; and a single profile view of Mk. 1C, R1006, GR-H, of No. 301 Sqdn., (Polish), operating out of RAF Swindersby, England, in November, 1940. Additional color information for the second aircraft appears on the box sides. Decals are provided for both aircraft, and they are of excellent quality, although I was a little disappointed that for a kit of this complexity, they involved only the national and unit markings, and no maintenance markings of the type that one expects from recent kit issues. The decals went on easily, and snugged down to the irregular surface of the model, although I will admit to using some Micro-Set solution, which I use on every kit I build. The decals appear to have no borders, although I trimmed them to the color line as a precaution. The light grey on the side code letters appeared to be a little too light, but that is a personal observation and they may be the proper shade. The Kit and Assembly Stage 1 involves the cockpit parts, with the seats for the pilot, navigator, flight engineer, and co-pilot (if one was carried). The cabin floor is in two parts, and the control yoke, rudder pedals, and instrument panel are all separate parts. The panel has no details, but a decal is provided which cannot be seen through the canopy anyway. There is no sidewall detail, and the Wellington had plenty of 'stuff" beside the pilot. There are several bulkheads to install with excellent detail. Stage 2 involves the assembly of the main floor, which involves a battery box, chemical toilet (the first time I've seen a toilet included in a 1/72 scale kit), and several bulkheads. The underside contains some structural members to which bombs (not included) are to be attached. Stage 3 shows how to assemble the whole interior unit. A few parts are indicated "silver", but the main parts have no color indication. Stage 4 shows how to install the engines. Again, there is little color information. Two cowl flap assemblies are provided, opened and closed. Photos on the ground show them in both positions, so this is your choice. Stage 5 shows the left fuselage half, with some items to be located inside. Some look like oxygen bottles, but I'm not sure what the others are. Stage 6 shows how to assemble the rear turret, while stage 7 shows the right fuselage half, with the various panels, oxygen bottles, and a flare chute. Stage 8 shows the front turret assembly process. Stage 9 illustrates the engine nacelle interior and landing gear assembles, while stage 10 shows the tail plane and tail wheel. Stages 11 and 12 show the wings, with their complicated aileron units, and the engines' positions on the nacelles. The front cowl ring, which is the collector, is indicated to be copper colored, and there is no indication that the extreme front ring is a different material, probably steel or aluminum, and according to photos, a different color. Stage 13 shows the assembly of the fuselage halves, with the turrets and interior units installed, and stage 14 shows the unusual wing attachment method. Stages 15 and 16 deal with the numerous small parts that need to be added at the end, including outside windows and the bomb bay doors, which are all one piece. No information is given on how to modify them into the open position so you can see all of the interior detail. Molding is excellent, with only a little flash which is easily removed. It appears to be accurate. I did not experience any fit problems, although the wing to fuselage joint was a little bizarre. You attach a little fitting to the side of the fuselage, and then snap the wing into place and try to get as much solvent-glue into the seam to create a solid bond. Somehow the system worked, but it seemed overly complicated. There is a tremendous amount of detail in this kit, with a lot of things inside the fuselage that you'll never see once the fuselage halves are joined. And this brings up another issue, the basic design of the kit. On most modern kits of this type, the kit is designed in such a way to allow the power turrets to be assembled and detailed independently, and then installed on the kit after major assembly takes place. On this kit, the turrets have to be completed, with guns mounted and all painting done, BEFORE the fuselage halves are joined. This created four machine guns sticking out of the nose and tail, and these have to be treated VERY carefully if they are not to be broken off. That means that you have to sand and fill while avoiding those fragile MG barrels. The guns themselves are mounted rather weakly in the turrets, and if they should come loose, it would be almost impossible to glue them back into position. Somehow I managed to avoid knocking them off, but it took a lot of concentration. I suppose that I could have cut the barrels off and re-glue them later, but I try to avoid that if possible. Other than that, once the details were completed, the kit went together quickly. On most kits, I have found that the tedious part comes after major assembly, but on this kit, it was the other way around. The instructions were fairly clear, and following the correct sequence is essential. Problems The major problem I have with this kit is the overdone surface detail. The designers of this kit were obviously trying to show the geodetic construction by "waffling" surface details on the wings and tail plane, but these surfaces are grossly overdone. If the actual details on the full size airplane were this pronounced, it would involve surface irregularities on the order of several inches below the surface of the wing, causing a tremendous amount of parasite drag, which would slow the airplane down by at least 60 miles per hour. I don't know anything that could be done with the kit to correct this, although I suppose that a lot of thick coats of paint and some sanding down might reduce the detail somewhat. The end result actually doesn't look too bad from a distance, but for one who has been around airplanes, it seems like the detail is very overdone. The designers obviously didn't examine the surviving aircraft in the RAF Museum very closely, if at all. There are a few inconsistencies that should be noted. Although over all, the kit appears to be very accurate in outline and detail, some details are shown on the color drawing that don't appear in any photos I have seen. There is a small scoop-like structure located below the fuselage just aft of the rear cabin window. It appears to be a rusty brown in the color plate, but the instructions say to paint it black. However, since the part is not included in the kit, or alluded to in the instructions, it is a moot point. Also, the color drawing shows tail wheel doors, which again don't appear in photos or in the instructions. You can forget these also. Colors and Markings. Adequate information is given for exterior colors, as nearly all RAF night bombers were painted the same throughout the war. I began with the black undersides, and then masked off all but the dark earth and dark green shadow shading topsides. There isn't a lot of glass to mask off, so that quickened things somewhat. The color drawings are a little hard to decipher at times, as the colors don't have a lot of contrast, but with a little work, it is possible to work out the topside shadow shading pattern. Note: With this review, I was also given a Quickboost conversion kit, which contained the exhaust stacks for a Wellington Mk. I. This is intended for the Trumpeter kit. If Trumpeter intends to market a Mk. I, these would be handy, but this would be a fairly involved conversion to do from scratch. However, not included were the other modifications, as the Mk. I have different turrets and radio antennas in addition to the exhausts. I am including a photo of the conversion kit, which is very good. I therefore did not use it for this review kit, as I wanted to review the kit OTB, not as a conversion. If anyone is interested in doing a review of the kit using these parts, let Dave Morrissette know, and I'll send them off.

Modifications It looks as if Trumpeter might intend to market some variations of the Wellington, but this would involve some serious changes. The front turrets and antennas would have to be changes for the Mk. I version. Also, the exhaust stacks are different, as shown in the QB mod listed above. The Mk. X had different cabin windows, including side gun positions. If you intend to do any serious kit bashing, be sure to check for accurate photos to get the required information. Adding side windows would be an extensive modification for this aircraft, while removing them would be easier. The kit does have development potential in this regard, but it will take a lot of work. The DWI minesweeper version of the Mk. IC would be a particularly interesting conversion for the true modeling masochist. Recommendation This is basically a very good kit if you can live with the excessive surface detail. At $45.00 USD, it's not cheap, but it will result in an excellent model of the Wellington Mk. IC. Thanks to Trumpeter and Dave Morrissette of IPMS for the review kit. Sorry that it took so long, but it is a very intricate kit, certainly not for beginners, but anyone with average modeling skills should have no problems with this one.

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