Hanriot HD.2
Weekend Edition

Eduard, 1/48 scale

Reviewed by Brett Green

Eduard's 1/48 scale Hanriot HD.1 Weekend Edition is available online from Squadron.com
 

The Hanriot HD.2 was a biplane floatplane fighter aircraft produced in France during the First World War which was used after the war for testing the use of aircraft from warships.

The design was based on that of the HD.1, but was a purpose-built floatplane. It had larger tail surfaces and a shorter wingspan with greater area. Like its predecessor, though, it was a conventional single-bay biplane with staggered wings of unequal span. The prototype had a twin pontoon undercarriage, with a small third pontoon under the tail. The third pontoon was later discarded on production machines, though.

Eduard first released their 1/48 scale Hanriot HD.1 in 1998 followed by a ProfiPACK boxing that included both the HD.1 wheeled and HD.2 flaotplane options.

I can't find any evidence that Eduard has reboxed the Hanriot HD.2 since that time, so this Weekend Edition will be welcomed by WWI modellers.

Eduard's 1/48 scale Hanriot HD.1 is a relatively simple kit with 65 parts in shiny grey plastic and one part in clear. Ten parts are marked "not for use". These are mainly for the wheeled version, which you could still build straight from the box if you have decals.

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Thumbnail panels:

Two marking options are included on the decal sheet.

Surface detail is good, with crisp recessed panel lines on the fuselage and stretched fabric effect on the wings and tail planes.

Parts breakdown is conventional. The fuselage is divided into left and right halves with a separate cowling. The wings are both full-span, so alignment shouldn't be a problem.

There is one pair of cabane struts located outboard on each wing, with fine interplane struts supporting the wing over the fuselage.

Alternative fins and rudders are provided for the US Navy and French versions.

The single piece engine has cooling fin and bolt head detail.

The windscreen is the sole small clear part.

The big floats are supplied as two parts each.

The "W" shaped struts will make mounting these fairly easy.

Markings

Two marking options are offered - one French and one US Navy.

Stitiching decals are included too, as are dials for the instrument panel.

The sheet itself is superbly printed with all items in perfect register. There is a minimum of carrier film and all of the colours appear to have good density.

Eduard's 1/48 scale Hanriot HD.2 is a simple kit but the contents hold up quite well 20 years after its first release.

This is an interesting subject whose return will be welcomed by WWI modellers.

Thanks to Eduard for the sample

Review Text and Images Copyright © 2019 by Brett Green
Page Created 24 October, 2019
Last updated 24 October, 2019

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