The Avro Vulcan, consider the most recognizable and technically advanced of Britain’s V bombers, served the Royal Air Force from 1960 through 1984. The B.2 variant featured a larger wing than its predecessor, more powerful engines, upgraded electronics, and could deliver both conventional and nuclear weapons.
Airfix has been releasing newly tooled kits of some of the subjects in its catalog, and I suspect that this 1/72 scale Avro Vulcan B.2 plastic model kit is likely the one everyone’s been waiting for. The company produced its original 1/72 scale Vulcan in 1983, and, as you might expect, this one has all the hallmarks of a 2021 tooling with better detail and much improved fits.
Molded in 227 soft blue-gray plastic parts, the kit features optional parts to build the landing gear up or down, conventional bombs or a Blue Steel nuclear missile in the bomb bay that can be posed open or closed, and separate posable control surfaces.
Cartograf decals supply two marking options — one in overall white, the other camouflage over white — and an abundance of stencils.
The 28-page instructions break assembly into 143 steps. First, you need to decide which version and options you want to use because different parts are used and modifications may be required. Study the instructions and be prepared to jump among the steps depending on the versions.
The cockpit and crew compartment build from several panels that slot neatly together.
Decals are provided for the main instrument panel and side consoles, but there is nothing for the large crew panel. However, I wouldn’t spend much time here as you won’t be able to see much of it anyway.
I appreciated the provision of a two-part cone that attaches to the crew compartment’s forward bulkhead to secure the 40-gram weight required to keep the nose wheel down. After attaching the ballast cone to the cockpit assembly, I filed the front bulkhead flush with the cone to ensure the fuselage halves fit.
The bomb bay assembles from sides, frames, and spars that attach to sturdy supports for the massive wings. Good engineering makes for smooth construction, but be sure everything is aligned. I airbrushed the bomb bay with Tamiya white primer. The lower wings needed a just a little filler and sanding before I added the landing gear bays, bomb bay, and wing spars.
The engine intakes took a long time to complete. After gluing the parts, I filled and smoothed the seams before painting the insides white, and fits were generally good. The problem arose when I had to add camouflage fairly deep into each intake because I wasn’t confident I could mask and paint them. The instructions provided a template of the demarcation line, so I ended up painting some decal paper with the appropriate colors and used the template to make a decal to go into the intake.
It worked OK, but they still needed a little touch up, so I’m not sure it’s the ultimate solution. If you plan on using the FOD covers, add them before installing the intakes in the wings; they will not fit afterwards. After gluing the upper half of the wing together, I added it to the lower half.
The front fuselage fits the wing assembly well, but I carefully clamped it to minimize misalignment. I had to trim quite a bit from the mounting tab for the tail to fit flush with the fuselage. All the little bits and landing gear finished the build. The main gear legs were a little tough to get in place but are sturdy and should have no problem supporting the weight. If you paint the camouflage, enlarge the marking diagram 250%; it provides a nearly perfect match to the model.
I’ve had the original Airfix 1/72 scale Avro Vulcan in my stash for many years, but all the horror stories I’ve heard about it kept it firmly on the shelf. After building several of Airfix’s other new releases, I figured this would be worth the wait, and I wasn’t disappointed! It certainly is a commanding presence in my display case.