Fairey Swordfish
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Trumpeter, 1/32 scale

by Mel Silvestre

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General

Among the great many surprises at the IPMS Philippines-Bert Anido 40th Anniversary National Competition was a Test Shot of Trumpeter's 1/32 scale Fairey Swordfish! I was holding my breath for a Devastator or Helldiver to join their Dauntless and Avenger but I guess the the British large-scale modellers need their own share as well and what better aircraft to honor the Royal Navy than the Stringbag! It may have been anachronistic compared to other torpedo-bombers but it's list of victims include the Littorio, Conte di Cavour, Caio Duilio and other Italian cruisers and destroyers (virtually half the Italian Fleet at Taranto Harbour). At least one German U-boat and destroyer were sunk while seven others were sunk by the HMS Warspite while being directed by a Swordfish not to mention its participation in the sinking of the Bismarck, for arguably one of the finest records of any torpedo bomber that served in World War II. 

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Thumbnail panels:

Here is a sprue-by-sprue description.

Sprue A:

This is a clear moulding and includes the fuselage halves, top decking with the Lewis gun stowage, bottom decking where the arrestor hook retracts into, radio and what are probably spare Lewis gun drum magazines. Compared to earlier clear fuselages, this has a lot less non-scale parts visible in it. There are only a few alignment lugs which are really indispensable because of the numerous cockpit parts while providing exquisite surface detail inside and out. Grommets and cowling fasteners are very finely molded and catenaries line-up perfectly with the stringers inside the fuselage.

Sprue B:

This contains the interplane struts and it is obvious that every effort has been made to simplify the modelers' alignment chores. The inner wing struts for example, are molded joined by the wing root ribs. The outer struts are connected to each other via a wing rib and though sanding between the struts and the adjacent surface detail might be hard, the advantages provided by the positive alignment will prove helpful later on during assembly and rigging. I would recommend attaching these parts to the wing with a section of the sprue still attached to act as spreaders for the lower ends of the struts (see photo). Other parts on the sprue include the stub wing braces with nicely molded fairings, the brackets for bracing the stowed wing against the tail, tailhook and the torpedo sight bars.  

Sprue C:

This provides more struts, this time for the landing gear, tailplane and cabane structure. Again, to ease alignment, the tailplane struts are all connected to a small section of the aft fuselage and the pyramid structure that serves as the center cabane, join in a hefty box structure that fits in a just- as- hefty box in the wing center section . To strengthen and align the wing to center section joints, a wing spar is provided. Other parts make up the wing details like the radio mast, pitot heads and the flap control hand wheel which the pilot can reach above his windshield!

Sprue D:

This contains a beautifully molded Pegasus engine replica, its accessories and all intake manifolds. Brackets that hold the cowling to the engine are here in plastic rather than photo-etched metal and that should ease assembly besides looking better in this big scale. The propeller blades' outline might be questionable.
Sprue E: What a great cockpit this is going to be!  Because of the clear fuselage (I guess), Trumpeter has provided a lot more of the Warren Truss fuselage structure than is visible through the cockpit openings which opens up the possibilities of fully-rigged controls and open fuselage covering for those so inclined! On the downside, the Vickers gun is a poor representation though the Lewis is ok.

Sprue F: 

This provides the massive upper wing halves. The catenaries are nicely contoured and rib tapes are simulated on each rib and false rib position. I just wish that the ailerons and leading edge slats were moulded separately.

Sprue G:

This sprue provides the upper halves of the lower wings, upper and lower halves of the center section, lower halves of the horizontal stabilizers, elevator and rudder halves. Surface treatment is the same as the upper wing and all the control horns are present. They're somewhat thick but filing them down won't be a problem (besides, had Trumpeter molded them any thinner, they might not survive in the box).

Sprue H:

This one gives us the bottom surfaces of the lower wings with cutouts for the landing lights.

Sprue P: 

Present here are parts for 1 torpedo and its mounting crutches. Though weapon of choice for the Swordfish, I hope aftermarket manufacturers will provide replicas of  250 lb. Bombs, depth charges and 60 lb. anti-shipping rocket projectiles, launch rails and mounting plates.

Sprue K:

This is another clear moulding that provides various windows, lights, the instrument panel and a very thoughtfully designed windshield which includes a section of the top decking to avoid any glue smears marring the very clearly moulded front panel.

Vinyl tires are provided for main and tail wheel assemblies while a photo-etched fret provides flying and landing wires, mounting holes for which are moulded as very fine slots in the wings leading to negative trapezoidal spaces which will hold the bent ends of the rigging securely.

To all  the British Swordfish fans out there,  Let us build these Stringbags so Britania may rule the 1/32 scale waves once more!

Oh, by the way, there was another 1/32 scale aircraft in that test-shot box and I'll give you a hint as to its identity: it has the same wing-fold geometry as the Swordfish.

IPMS Philippines- Bert Anido would like to thank Trumpeter representatives Yue Gao and Jackson Xiao for hand-carrying the test-shots and gracing our event.

About the author:

Mel Silvestre has been a member of IPMS Philippines Bert Anido since the early 1990’s.  He is currently a professor of Fine Arts at the University of the Philippines.  He is an acknowledged master modeler whose works are respected.

Thanks to IPMS Philippines Bert Anido for the text and images

Text and Images Copyright © 2008 by Mel Silvestre
Page Created 22 December, 2008
Last updated 22 December, 2008

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