Friday, February 27, 2009

Airfix 1/72 Hudson by Paul Bradley


This kit was originally released in 1964, and is still current – in fact, it was re-released with new decals and box art in 2008! Mine appears to be an original 1964 release, and features the great silver plastic that Airfix used back then, along with the original style written and pictorial instruction sheet. In my box however, I discovered that the instruction sheet had only been printed on one side – the history, and painting guide were there, but the actual building instructions were missing! Luckily, someone at UAMF was able to send me their old sheet, correctly printed.

You’ll also notice the original decal sheet – I think I shall need to buy a replacement, eh? One option is provided in this boxing, for 206 Squadron, RAF. I think the codes should be in medium sea grey rather than white.

Interior detail is rather sparse, and although a full crew is included, these are very poor. The glazing is very thick, so it’s probably best just to paint the interior in black to discourage closer inspection!

Accuracy is rather poor, with questions asked about the shape of the cowlings, the size and shape of the undercarriage bays, the nose and the shape of the wings. This is one of those kits that should probably be built for the pure joy of building a kit, with a blind eye to accuracy! What is interesting is that while there have been newer, more accurate kits released of the Hudson, none is as easy to build as the Airfix kit.