Having released the fabulous-looking Bugatti 100P in 1/72 scale last year, the firm has now replicated it in 1/48, as CHRIS CLIFFORD reveals.
There were just boutique resin kits in three different scales until Special Hobby offered its 1/72 new-tool styrene Bugatti 100P in 2022. Now, to satisfy modellers who prefer 1/48, the company has up-scaled the subject via kit SH48219.
The detail looks as good as on the 1/72 version, but a different parts layout is noted. Here, the type’s idiosyncratic tail-mounted radiators are rendered as styrene ‘eyelashes’, which fit between the upper and lower tail parts. In the 1/72 kit these were resin inserts. Like the 1/72 model, resin is the chosen medium for the undercarriage bay inserts and exhausts. However, the extreme rear fuselage fairing is also in resin.
Above: The slots for the tail-mounted radiators were full resin inserts in Special Hobby's 1/72 Bugatti 100P. Here, though, they are rendered in styrene as 'eyelashes'.
Above: Controls levers and seatbelts (left) are provided in photo-etched brass and there are dial decals for the instrument panel.
Special Hobby’s 1/48 kit offers the propeller mounting and gear assembly, along with the pilot’s seat, control column and rudder pedals in styrene, but the seat is enlivened by photo-etched (PE) brass harnesses. A decal is provided to impart dial detail on the instrument panel, which itself has moulded features. Small PE control levers are also supplied for the cockpit. The type’s highly streamlined cockpit glazing is supplied as a single part here, and its clarity is notable.
Real and notional schemes
In terms of finish, Special Hobby’s instructions show the machine in its original overall blue livery as seen in 1939-40, but also suggest a ‘what-if’ scheme of red, white and blue as a notional winner of the Thompson Trophy in 1940. No external markings are present on either… just the paint.
Above: Mainwheel bay walls, exhausts and the rear fuselage fairing are cast in resin.
This is a relatively simple kit for experienced modellers, with the resin/PE additions considered, and if you’re a racing aircraft enthusiast who prefers 1/48, you’ll be thankful it’s now moulded in your go-to scale. At the time of writing, the kit costs is discounted to €20.16 from its original €22.40 direct from Special Hobby, but it’s also available in the UK via Hannants for £20.25.
