The British Westland Whirlwind was a twin-engine heavy fighter used sporadically early in World War II. Problems with its Rolls-Royce Peregrine engines caused production delays, and it was withdrawn from service in 1943.
Trumpeter’s newly tooled Whirlwind is molded in light gray styrene with subtly engraved panel lines and rivets. Clear parts are packaged separately, then wrapped in foam. I have to say, when it comes to clear parts, Trumpeter does an outstanding job: crystal-clear plastic, precise framing, and protective packaging.
The cockpit detail is OK. The side consoles are present, though lacking surface detail. Same goes for the instrument panel: raised detail for the switches, but all the dials are simple, blank depressions. There is an instrument-panel decal, but the decal art doesn’t match the engraving. It’s almost like a decal from another kit.
The main wheel wells have sufficient structural ribbing, but advanced modelers might want to add some piping to spice them up. However, the doors for the retractable tail wheel were molded as part of the fuselage halves; they’re thick, over-scale, and lack detail.
The eight-page instruction booklet is really easy to follow and includes callouts for Gunze Sangyo paints. Also included is a two-sided four-view color painting sheet showing the two versions for which there are decals. I found the colors for some of the markings a little too vivid, especially the bright yellow in the Royal Air Force roundels.
Construction is straightforward; just follow the instructions. This was one of the best-fitting Trumpeter kits I have built. Everything went together almost perfectly, with only a tiny bit of filler on the back of the lower-wing fuselage seam. I polished the rest of the seams with a nail buffer.
I used Tamiya acrylics for the three-color camouflage. The kit’s instructions for the fuselage band and propeller spinners specify an orange yellow (Gunze Sangyo H-24), but it really should be British sky.
After a coat of Gunze Sangyo Mr. Super Clear gloss, I gave the engraved panel lines and rivets a black sludge wash. When that had dried, I applied decals. They were thin and difficult to move around once they were on the model. Try to put them where you want them on the first try. I did use some decal-setting solution, Gunze Sangyo Mr. Mark Softer, on the black-and-white checkers on the upper tail’s fairing, and they responded well. A final coat of Testors flat clear lacquer completed my Whirlwind.
The finished model turned out nicely. It was an easy and enjoyable build that took less than 10 hours. I would recommend it for all modelers, from beginners on up.
Note: A version of this review appeared in the December 2014 FineScale Modeler.