I wasn't going to open this kit until after New Year but since the bags are re-sealable I simply couldn't resist
The Devastator was a Torpedo bomber developed for the United States Navy which first flew in 1937. It was specially designed for this specialist role and was at the time the most advanced naval aircraft in service with any navy. It featured a large wing area giving it good stability for the low level launching of torpedoes. It operated with a 3 man crew consisting of the pilot, observer/ bombadier and the rear gunner/ radio man. The bombadier would lie flat on his belly below the pilot’s seat to look out of bomb bay styled doors on the bombing run giving him an excellent view of the target. Despite its advanced design upon entering service, the fast pace of aircraft development during the early years of the war soon meant that the Devastator was outclassed by lighter and faster aircraft. A look at the Devastators combat record during the carrier battles of 1942 make for grim reading but the failure to hit enemy ships and airframe losses were largely due to significant problems with the torpedoes rather than the aircraft itself. The torpedoes were found to dive deeper than set and would often fail to detonate.
GWH has brought out two boxing’s of the Devastator. This box contains only bombs while the other version contains only torpedoes. While this decision may be criticised by some I applaud it for 2 reasons. Firstly it allows both kits to have a variety of weapons. This kit features both standard and incendiary bomb options while the torpedo version includes options for metal and wooden torpedo propeller guards. Secondly it enables the boxes to depict separate aircraft in historic battles acting as a great starting point for the customer to further research the important events.
Before this release by Great Wall Hobby the only available 1/48 scale kit was the old Monogram boxing. I am not familiar with the kit so cannot speak for its issues but I believe it was a passable model. This offering is a thoroughly up to date modern kit featuring CAD design and outstanding moulding and engineering. It is a pricey kit retailing for £39.54 from Emodels (http://www.emodels.co.uk/plastic-kits/a ... mit=Search) , I got my example for significantly less but after looking through the contents I would have been more than happy to have paid the full price as it looks to be a gorgeous kit.
So with that praise I should begin the actual review:
Packaging
The kit comes in a beautiful and sturdy box which has a wonderful shinny gloss coating, this shows off the stunning box art. The sides of the box show the usual kit information and CAD design images. Opening the box the first sense to come to life is smell – the contents have a clinical, quality smell. Often I find kits to smell musky associated with quantity production items (hopefully this is making sense). This kit smells like it has been produced in one of those factories which build satellites, it is not a chemical smell just clean and pure. This is all very satisfying and a look at the contents shows them to be really well packaged. If you have seen Paul's review of the MIG-29 you will have heard him say that Great Wall Hobby are going about their kits the right way, this is certainly the case for this kit. The clear parts are protected in a thick foam sleeve while each sprue is individually packaged in a crystal clear re-sealable bag. The decal sheet is also in a separate bag. A lovely addition is the inclusion of a poster featuring the box art. This comes in an embossed protective sleeve and is printed on poster paper rather than standard print paper – an excellent touch which only costs a few pound but elevates the kit experience' enjoyment.
Overall kit
The moulding is superb, if you have read some of my reviews for my Group Build entries you will know I am prone to gush about kit detail but this really is superbly moulded. The unique ribbed surface of the devastator is beautifully reproduced while the canvas skin is given a superb stretched appearance. All over the detail is extremely well defined with no flash evident. There is a small amount of burring on the wing joins but I suspect this may be to aid fit.
Fuselage
This features wonderful bolt detail with recessed panel lines. A thorough interior is provided with internal struts moulded onto the inside of the fuselage. At first glance these are punctured with EPM’s which cut through the struts however upon reviewing the instructions it seems GWH have been careful to place these where other parts will be placed on top or will be obscured by the cockpit floor, if this is the case when I come to build it then that is a great touch by the manufacturer. Unfortunately the rear control surfaces have been moulded in set positions but the wing elevators do appear to be positionable.
A nice touch is the inclusion of cast metal supports for the folded wing option. These will make the join far stronger while still providing good detail.
Landing Gear
This is where I explain the only downside of this kit. No landing gear bay detail is present with the area inside being completely smooth. This is however an understandable decision by GWH as the Devastator featured semi retractable landing gear meaning it did not have a fully gear up position. This minimised landing damage when the gear failed to deploy. Therefore on the model the landing gear will always be seen thus it would obscure any internal detail. In addition no Devastators survive apart from a handful of wrecks which are yet to be raised from lagoons; of photos available few show any landing gear bay details. It should be noted that to my knowledge the Monogram kit contains detail in this area but I fell it is a fair compromise (a perfect kit is yet to arrive in this world).
The wheels come with one option of weighted tyres moulded in plastic split down the centreline; this will please those wishing to model the Devastator with gear down while those wishing to show it in flight can simply place the flat part inside the bays. The landing gear itself is very nicely done with crisply moulded support struts and very nice brake lines.
Greenhouse
The canopy is exceptionally clear with no need for Klear or micromesh. The option of a one piece canopy or split open canopy is provided although previous builders of the kit have stated that the open option suffers from poor fit. The detail of the greenhouse construction is well done. A set of adhesive masks are provided which are pre-cut for both options of canopy.
Powerplant
The devastators Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp radial engine is well represented with stunning cylinder housing detail. The addition of plastic piping and PE wiring should build into a busy and interesting engine. The gearing cover is very nicely moulded. Both the propellers and cowling are one piece mouldings typically associated with Tamiya kits.
Interior
The interior builds into a busy area with very nice machine guns and radios. The machine gun in particular deserves special mention, the .50cal is as good as any resin/ brass piece with superb cooling holes along the length of the barrel. Even more amazing is the fact it has a hollowed out end, this part really does showcase how good injection moulding is today. The bombardier's doors can be positioned open although his Norden bomb-sight is unfortunately not included. The seats are very nice with thin moulding and great shape for a one piece part. Together with the large clear canopy this area should produce a stunning model out the box.
Instructions
These come in A4 colour format in nice thick paper with good crisp printing. Sprue diagrams are provided while the colour callouts are given for Hobby Colour, Tamiya and Vallejo
which will please most modellers. Diagrams are clear and uncluttered, where multiple parts are asked for in a single diagram shading is used to clearly distinguish individual part placement. A nice feature is the use of CAD images to show how stages should look upon attachment. 2 schemes are provided in full colour formats which also show nice weathering and are a joy to behold. Great Wall Hobby are one of those manufacturers who go the extra mile with the instruction booklet.Final thoughts
This would appear to be a lovely offering from Great Wall Hobby which looks set to please both naval and pre-war aviation modellers. The boxing of the kit and the extras included make this an excellent gift option now that the festive season is on the horizon. Reading build logs and watching completion videos reveals the fit to be of Tamiya quality. The overall moulding and level of detail is stunning as you will hopefully see in the photos below.
It comes highly recommended
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