Kit: No. 491
Scale: 1/48
Manufacturer: Classic Airframes, 773-883-8888, www.classicairframes.com
Price: $54
Comments: Injection molded, 84 parts (16 resin), decals
Pros: Great subject, recessed panel lines
Cons: Fit problems, trailing edges need thinning

Developed between the end of the piston era and the dawn of jet-powered combat aircraft, the Westland Wyvern suffered numerous problems that kept it from entering service for many years. Originally intended for a piston engine, the aircraft was finally engineered with an Armstrong-Siddeley turboprop and its distinctive eight-blade contra-rotating propeller that became the Wyvern’s trademark. Entering service in 1953, a handful of Wyvern’s flew “Operation Musketeer” combat missions during the Suez Crisis.

Classic Airframes’ kit is molded in gray plastic, with excellent surface scribing, but the kit is missing some small scoops and antennas.

The cockpit, gear bays, and the massive spinner are cast resin. The cockpit tub includes an integrally molded stick, and the seat has ejection handles. The cockpit’s sparse side-wall detail is thick enough to interfere with the seat’s fit. I had to trim away some of the detail and remove a hose from the seat so it would drop in. I installed the interior from the bottom after assembling and sanding the fuselage. The clear injection-molded canopy is packaged in its own bag and fits well.

I had to trim away a lot of material from the wing-root intake interiors so the wings would fit. The wing thickness at the root is smaller than the fairing molded on the fuselage. I added shims to force the wings’ upper surfaces up to meet the fairing. I didn’t realize until too late, that this action forced the outer wings down, decreasing their dihedral.

The stabilizers have no locating holes for attaching the finlets, so check your references for placement. The tail assembly required some .010″ styrene strip to close a gap by the rudder.

The landing gear is incorrectly positioned almost perpendicular to the wing, so I drilled an angled hole in each gear strut and added some rod to set the gear’s forward rake at about 10 degree. I left the retraction struts off since I couldn’t figure out their position. Be gentle with the tail wheel – the fork is fragile.

Assembling the propeller takes patience. All eight blades have to be placed individually, and the front and rear blades are different.

The kit comes with optional rockets and drop tanks. The instructions show the rockets as having posts, but actually the parts have odd-looking pads, and have no locators for the drop tanks. I left the stores off my Wyvern.

The kit offers three markings options. I chose the Suez scheme. I painted my S.4 with Floquil extra dark sea gray and Testor sky, with chrome yellow and black stripes. I also used Testor Acryl British crimson for the spinner and finlets, and added the yellow stripes on the finlets.

The decals went on nicely over a clear gloss, but the white ink is translucent. The Suez ID stripes can be seen through the wing roundels.

Experienced modelers won’t have any difficulty getting the most out of Classic Airframes’ Wyvern once they correct the angle of the landing gear and compensate for the wing thickness. Some modelers will want to add the small details missing from the kit. I spent 25 hours on mine, and I’m pleased with the result.

– Chuck Davis
You must be a subscriber to read the complete review. Subscribe today and receive instant access to more than 800 model kit reviews!