Historical Background
The Lockheed Ventura served as a bomber and later a patrol aircraft with the Army Air Force, U.S. Navy, as well as the Royal Air Force. A limited number of aircraft were also used in Canada, New Zealand, and Australia among others. The Ventura was developed as a replacement for Lockheed’s Hudson and proved to be ill equipped for it’s initial role as a low altitude daylight bomber.
The Royal Air Force received its first shipment of Venturas in April of 1942; however, it did not see it’s first action until November. The Ventura’s weakness as a bomber was made painfully evident during a daylight raid on facilities in Eindhoven later that December. Nine of the 47 Venturas launched during the raid were downed by the enemy, or suffered bird strikes. At this point, Command switched to a medium altitude bombing strategy, but with no improvement in success.
Because of its poor performance and unacceptable losses in it’s designated role, the Ventura was not a popular aircraft with the airmen whom it was assigned. Performance failure resulted in the Ventura being removed from bomber duty by the summer of 1943 in favor of the significantly more capable Mosquito. At this point the aircraft still in service were modified and re-designated Ventura G.R.I. where they were reassigned to Coastal Command and anti-shipping; a significantly less taxing role.
Kit Background
This kit is a re-boxing of the major components of Revell’s previous release of the PV-1 Ventura in Navy markings from a few years back. That kit has received a good deal of praise, so this one should be equally enjoyable. The biggest differences here (other than markings) would be the glass nose present on the RAF version as well as the more prominent Boulton Paul dorsal turret; correct pieces for both are supplied.
Initial Impressions
Removing the kit from the protective shipping materials I found myself holding a model box familiar in design to past Revell releases. The box cover is adorned with the usual action painting typical of Revell with a Ventura in the midst of downing a Messerschmitt. Also, as typical, there is a skill level stamp (Level 3 – whatever that means exactly).
The sides of the box feature one of my favorite characteristics of Revell’s boxings -pictures of a built up kit. Perhaps not a necessity for the veteran builder, but I have to imagine this marketing strategy plays well with the casual builder and newbie. I sure know having some idea of what the kit could possibly look like when finished pushed me to buy a many Revell kit as a kid.
One side panel contains a handy paint chart so the builder can stock up if necessary as well as some dimensional details about the kit itself; and of course, some brief details about the subject.
Finally, and thankfully, Revell USA uses a fairly sturdy top opening box. So let’s peak inside.
In the Box
As I opened the box I was a bit relieved to see that it was in fact a bit oversized for the contents – size of the completed model was troubling me a bit. The box is well packed with two of the ten sprues in three large bags and the smaller sprues in their own bag respectively. The clear sprue trees are tucked away in their own bag and the instruction booklet, decal sheet, and masking (yes – more on that later) rest under all of this.
Decals
The decal sheet provided for this kit is markedly basic in that it completely lacks any stenciling detail. Only unit and national markings are provided along with basic instrument panel (IP) decals of white detail to be placed against the black painted IP plastic. Wrapping up the decal sheet are some prop details and details for fuel tank filler caps.
The decals are nicely printed and on register. Carrier film is minimal on most pieces; the big exception being the identification letters. The pieces feature a large swath of film which may provided difficult to blend into the surface.
Mask
The most impressive aspect of this kit to this point has to be the included pre-cut kabuki tape masking for the clear pieces. These masks are marked as “Made in the Czech Republic.” This suggests they are made by Eduard and will be of good quality. The instructions for applying the masks are printed on the back of the Revell instruction booklet.
This is a nice touch and I hope Revell continues to take this extra step. Perhaps it will encourage more kit makers to do the same.
Instructions
The instruction booklet itself follows Revell’s typical format of small steps divided across the page. Color callouts are designated with a letter that refers to a particular hue. Unfortunately, the callouts are generic as per usual. I would much prefer Revell to use proper designations when appropriate (RLM, FS, etc.). Doing so would make color matching much easier for the novice builder. The other mild annoyance would be Revell’s failure to use letter/number callouts for parts. As has been typical with their products; parts are referenced by number only. Because there doesn’t seem to be any real hard and fast chronology to part placement on the sprues, finding parts on can take a bit of patience and luck at times.
These two shortcomings aside, Revell really does put out some of the most detailed and easy to follow instructions.
The Plastic
Revell lists the kit as having 149 parts. These parts are distributed across ten opaque sprues and three sprues of clear parts. The normal sprues are molded in a medium grey plastic. Initial impressions are positive. There is no immediately obvious flash. No mold flaws such as sink marks are present and ejector pin marks seem to be located in the most convenient places where they will be entirely unseen. Sprue gates are petite and neat and seem to be located in logical locations.
Instead of flooding the review with cursory images of sprues just for the fun of it we will look closely at some of the more interesting details.
A shot of the fuselage and wing detail shows nice and crisp engraved detail as well as a bit of raised detail. The model lacks any rivet detail leaving the modeler the option to add this if desired. Because the building community is split on preference regarding rivets, I think leaving them off is the better choice. Adding rivets seems to be a bit less labor intensive than is filling and sanding them all clear.
Notice the raised fuel filler cap details. This will look great under paint and a pin wash.
One of the first pieces all modelers seem to look for in their kits is the instrument panel. In the case of the Ventura the instrument panel is represented with a panel sporting sunken in dial detail. However, the gauges themselves lack the typical raised dial detail. Dry-brushing is not an option on this kit unfortunately. Thankfully, the decal sheet provides rudimentary detail here, but the more demanding builder may want to opt for an aftermarket option.
Overall the molding detail is impressive. The control panel offers one such example. Check out the one-piece assembly including control columns with knobs. Just be careful not to break them off!
Another example of fine molding detail can be seen in the seat cushions.
I’ve almost come to expect ejector pin marks in locations like the inside of gear or bomb bay doors, but they can’t be found here. Note the nice level of ribbing detail.
A theme with this kit that seems to be recurrent it the impressive but dubious molding and detail. Compared to what we are used to seeing from vintage Revell kits this kit is a delight. Details such as the wheel bay pictured below are stunning, but at the same time a bit questionable. I’m impressed that such detail can be molded into one piece, but I have to ask myself would it not have been a better idea to provide the oil tank here as a separate piece? Painting is going to be a challenge.
The other prominent example of this I’ve found in the kit is with the one-piece engine. The forward details are molded in one solid piece with a blanking behind it for mounting. Again, the detail is nice considering how complex the molding would be here, but it isn’t perfect, and it’s a little…weird. Painting will be a chore since the various parts of the engine need to be different colors. Note the distributor housing covers extending back into the cylinder heads. I suspect that the engines will be most acceptable once installed to their respective cowls. However, this may be another area the more detailed driven modeler may wish to go aftermarket…though there may be some significant modification required.
The gear legs caught my attention because of the molded on brake lines. These lines are very crisp in detail and under some paint will stand out nicely.
The main wheels are provided as two pieces and offer some nice tread detail. Just be careful cleaning up that seam.
I’ve built a few of the newer Revell kits recently and the clear parts have really impressed me. Like those kits, the clear pieces here are free of mold flaws and scratches. The parts will look that much better after a bath in some Future.
Once nice feature here is that the nose section is provided as two large clear pieces. This allows the builder to use the supplied masking and assemble the nose as normal instead of having to drop in smaller windows inot opaque plastic which could lead to some messy results with even the slightest slip up applying the builders glue of choice.
Markings
Markings for the the following two aircraft are provided:
- Ventura Mk. II RAF, No. 454 AE939
- Ventura Mk. II AJ209, Pilot Sq. Leader L.H. Trent, No. 487 Squadron; Royal New Zeland Air Force, Methwold, Great Britain, 1943
Closing Thoughts
Revell’s original boxing of the PV-1 Ventura released to positive reviews and the builds that followed it’s release have proven it to be a decidedly nice kit to build and looks great on the shelf when completed. I suspect builds of this kit will start appearing across the web soon, and with equally impressive results.
Some of the decisions in engineering may be a bit wonky in the minds of more advanced builders, but given Revell’s level of quality as of late, coupled with their attractive price point, these are minor issues in my book. Out of the box this kit’s detail will please those who generally choose not to load up on aftermarket, but provides a great starting point for the hyper-detailer.
If a Ventura in RAF regalia at all interest you then this kit looks to be a great choice for a fun and stress free build.
Shark Tank Plastic Works 