DHC-4 Caribou
Resin and Photo Etched sets

AERO Line, 1/72 scale

Reviewed by Phil Parsons

Eduard's 1/48 scale AIM 7E Sparrow is available online from Squadron.com

Ah the old ‘Gravel Truck,’ I spent my formative Air Force years in a Squadron that operated both the Caribou and the Huey (I was a rotor head). I have always had the utmost respect for those that maintained and flew this amazing aircraft, some of the strips the ‘plank drivers’ would operate into in Papua New Guinea were eye opening, if no out right scary. She was a great aircraft and served the RAAF for over 40 years, a truly amazing feat.

First, a very quick summary of the Hobby Craft kit, (apart from the Kitech copy) this is your only option for a 1/72 ‘Bou. As a representation of the DHC-4 it is a very basic. The cockpit in no way represents the actual aircraft and there is no interior behind the cockpit at all. The crew and cargo doors are all moulded shut and the flight controls are also moulded integrally with the wing. Finally the engine detail is minimalistic and in error.

Enter Czech company AERO Line….

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

• 
• 
• 
• 

Thumbnail panels:

A7001 Interior

This is an amazingly detailed set. I must admit that I generally only use resin cockpits on 1/48 aircraft, as that’s my preferred scale and this set will certainly be a test on my eyes, but when it comes to the pros and cons of resin replacement cockpits there is no doubt in my mind here. For an accurate Caribou, you need this set. It not only replaces the totally inadequate plastic pit but with the entire colour Photo Etch, resin and replacement canopy, this is a kit in itself. All beautifully moulded with the only imperfection I have found being a single air bubble on a seat. It’s nice to see two canopies provide so that if you do err all is not lost. The instructions are a little light on for detail and reference photos will be of great assistance. I guess my biggest disappointment, and this goes for all products reviewed, is a lack of a detailed painting guide, again references will assist here. Of note the avionics racks behind the crew are a bit bare but in this scale I don’t think it will be noticed.

A7002 Tail Surfaces

A very simple replacement item provided here, I can only hope that dropped flaps may be in the AERO Line pipeline soon to complete the transformation required of the Hobby Craft DHC-4

A7003 Engine Set 

Now I’m no expert but I believe that the Caribou operated the Pratt and Whitney R2000, a 14 cylinder engine, this information was gained from a Caribou flight manual  (excerpt below)and a Caribou pilot.

AEROLine do not say what variant of engine however, whatever model it is, it’s an 18 cylinder variant, which would make it an R2800 engine. The Hobby Craft kit makes the same error. Now I’ll happily take advice from any Caribou experts as to the operation of an 18 cylinder engine as the power plant but I cannot find any information.

The Resin itself. This set contains a single complete Pratt and Whitney  Twin Wasp engine with open cowls and a simplified engine to go in the other cowl. Again the detail is amazing and AERO Line has done a great job by including open engine cowls to display the engine to show all the beautiful detail.  There is some clean-up required around some parts but given how they are cast this is not unexpected.

I can only recommend this set to experienced modellers due to the work required to take the engine back to a 14 cylinder variant.

A7004 U.S. Universal Seats

While I have included these PE seats in this review as they would be suitable for any aircraft that utilises the red webbed seating i.e. CH-47s, C-130’s and DHC-4s. They look relatively simple and straight forward to install. If you do wish to use them in the Hobby Craft Caribou you will have to scratch the rest of the interior yourself.

Here are three amazing detail sets that will bring your 1/72 Caribou to life. It is pleasing to see AERO Line, an Eastern Europe company, produce this much needed addition for the Hobby Craft Caribou.

AERO Line we modellers thank you.

Unfortunately it appears that the supplied engine is not the correct model for the Caribou. Please, if there is more information available please contact Brett to allow me to amend this review.

Due to the scale, work required on the engine and the amount of small parts, I can only recommend these sets for either the ultra-keen and/or experienced modellers.

Thanks to Plus Models for the samples.

Review Text Copyright © 2012 by Phil Parsons
Page Created 19 August, 2012
Last updated 19 August, 2012

Back to HyperScale Main Page

Back to Reviews Page