ADVANCED BUILD
Dean Large takes on the challenge of Dora Wings’ new-tool 1/48 Vultee Vengeance Mk.II dive bomber.
Vultee’s A-31 Vengeance was one of several designs intended for the French Armée de l’Air at the beginning of World War Two but was instead operated by the British, US, Australian and Indian Air Forces after the fall of France in 1940. Never a type to win any aviation beauty contests, this pugnacious machine was conceived as a single-engined dive-bomber in a similar vein to the Luftwaffe’s Ju 87. Its wings featured an unusual ‘W’ planform that made the type immediately recognisable, carrying its offensive weapons in a bomb bay and on two wing pylons. While it was capable of excellent accuracy due to its delivery profile, as with the Stuka it was deemed vulnerable to attack by fighters, resulting in the RAF deploying it solely to Southeast Asia, before it was replaced by fighter-bombers.
Above: The rear gunner’s seat shows the typical parts breakdown of this kit: eight styrene components, to which a further three PE items were added for a simple seat.
Above: A further insight into the kit’s complexity is shown here, with just some of the myriad PE components added to the styrene cockpit and bomb bay structures.
The ty…
