Bristol Brigand B.Mk.1

Valom, 1/72 scale

Reviewed by Brett Green

Valom's 1/72 scale Bristol Brigand will be available online from Squadron.com

The Bristol Brigand was designed as a replacement for the famous Beaufighter in the role of Torpedo Bomber.

The Brigand was a twin-engine mid-wing monoplane with a crew of three. Its large clear canopy and fighter-like configuration belies the aircraft's size - it is quite large with a wing span of more than 72 ft.

Although prototypes were ordered in April 1943, the first production aircraft were not delivered until 1946. Due to the new post-war environment, the role was altered to that of fast bomber, so the originally configured aircraft were returned to the factory and converted to the new version - the Brigand B.Mk.1.

Despite remaining relatively unknown today, the Brigand saw action from 1949 in Iraq and Aden, Ceylon and on to anti-terrorist duties in Malaysia until the mid 1950s.

Valom has been a friend to the obscue subject modeller over the last six or seven years. They have specialised in otherwise neglected yet fascinating subjects, and the Brigand certainly meets both criteria. Each Valom release has seen an increase in quality to date, a trend continued here.

Valom's 1/72 scale Bristol Brigand B.Mk.1 comrpises 93 parts in grey styrene, four parts in clear plastic, six parts in cream coloured resin; one photo-etch fret plus photo negative instruments, bombs, decals for two subjects.

The surface detail on the plastic parts is just gorgeous. Recent Valom releases have been very good in this area, but the Brigand features the most crisp and consistent recessed panel lines and subtle rows of rivets that we have seen from this manufacturer to date.

Flash is almost non-existent, and sprue attachments are pleasingly petite.

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Thumbnail panels:

You won't find locating pins, sprue numbering or tabs for larger parts though, so some planning and care will be required when building this limited run kit.

Four clear parts are also supplied - two canopy variants and wing tip navigation lights. The parts are thin and clear. The raised canopy frames are well defined.

Please note that the football-shaped DF cover is moulded as a solid part in my sample, but Valom will be replacing this with a clear resin item.

The resin engines are cast in one piece each and look very nice. Intakes are also supplied as resin parts.

Interior detail is well done, mostly in injection moulded plastic. Radios, bulkheads, sidewalls with consoles, seats and ore are all provided on the grey sprues.

The modest photo-etched fret includes the instrument panel (a printed acetate sheet for instruments is supplied too), harness straps and smaller details for the cockpit and the exterior of the aircraft.

Two marking options are offered:

• Bristol Brigand B.Mk.1, VS584 "G", 84 Sqn, RAF Malaya. This aircraft is finished in Medium Sea Grey upper surfaces and Black lowers

• Bristol Brigand B.Mk.1, RH764 "B", 8 Sqn RAF Aden. This aircraft is finished in White upper surfaces and Black below.

The decal sheet looks good in general, but the blue of the national markings and the 8 Sqn badge are printed badly out of register on my sample.

Fortunately, British post-war national markings are not difficult to come by, and the other decals do not seem to be affected.

Valom's 1/72 scale Bristol Brigand B. Mk.1 is a well-detailed and relatively straightforward model of an interesing and previously neglected subject.

In my opinion, this is the best kit that Valom has released to date.

If you are looking for a model to try your hand at a limited run model, this will be a good candidate.

Thanks to Valom for this review sample.

Review Text and Images Copyright © 2009 by Brett Green
Page Created 24 April, 2008
Last updated 24 April, 2008

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