Vultee Vengeance Mk.I/IA

Dora Wings, 1/72 scale

Reviewed by Brett Green

The Vultee A-31 Vengeance was an American dive bomber of World War II, built by Vultee Aircraft. A modified version was designated A-35.

The Vengeance Mk.I, Vultee V-72, was license built by Northrop and ordered directly for Britain, powered by 1,600 hp (1,200 kW) R-2600-A5B engine. 200 were built.

The Vengeance Mk.IA were Northrop built aircraft purchased under Lend-Lease, powered by 1,600 hp (1,200 kW) R-2600-19 engine, otherwise similar to Vengeance I. USAAF designation A-31-NO. 200 were built.

The Vengeance was not used operationally by the United States, but was operated as a front-line aircraft by the Royal Air Force, the Royal Australian Air Force, and the Indian Air Force in Southeast Asia and the Southwest Pacific.

The A-31 remained in service with U.S. units until 1945, primarily in the target-tug role.*

The Vengeance in 1/72 scale... until now

We have not been blessed with many 1/72 scale Vengeance kits.

Frog released a kit in 1970 - more than a quarter of a century ago. This kit was accurate and sound for its day but suffered fron the usual shortcomings of mid-20th century scale models - thick canopies, basic details, minimal features etc.

Special Hobby released a limited run 1/72 scale Vengeance in 2002. This was an undoubted improvment but at the beginning of 2024 we were still waiting for the definitive 1/72 scale Vultee Vengeance.

Enter Dora Wings.

Ukrainian company Dora Wings has a knack for picking interesting and esoteric subjects, and they have now expanded their range to include an all-new 1/72 scale injection moulded plastic Vultee Vengeance Mk.I/IA. It only takes a glance in the box to realise that we have a new small scale Vengeance champion..

Dora Wings' 1/48 scale Vultee Vengeance Mk.II comprises 105 parts in medium grey coloured plastic, 12 parts in clear plastic, around 74 photo-etched parts on one fret, die-cut vinyl masks and decals for four marking options.

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Thumbnail panels:

The plastic is grey-green in colour. It is very smooth and semi-shiny. Surface textures are made up mainly from crisply recessed, fine and consistent panel lines. There are some raised surface textures where appropriate too.

Sprue attachment points are narrow, but they do extend onto the visible outside surfaces of the fuselage and wings so do take care when removing the parts and cleaning up.

The cockpit looks really good.

It is fitted out with photo-etched switches, trim wheel, head armour, handles, rudder pedals and harness straps with plastic seats, front and rear bulkheads, oxygen bottle, control columns and more.

The instrument panel has a plastic base with raised bezels and dial decals.

The bomb bay doors are separate parts and a load of two bombs with crutches and interior bomb bay detail are included. The whole area is very busy and nicely presented. If you prefer to display your fuselage buttoned up, Dora Wings also supplies a one-piece cover for the bomb bay.

The eight part engine is made up from finely detailed cylinder banks, crankcase cover but no photo-etched ignition harness.

The engine cowling is all-plastic. I felt relieved to find that the cowl flaps are fixed plastic, not photo-etch.

The inverted gull wings are made up from separate upper and lower, port and starboard halves. All control surfaces including the flaps are separate parts and may be posed neutral or offset. The dive brakes are separate photo-etched parts too and may also be posed open or closed.

There is no wing spar but the roots of the wings are fitted into a shallow recess in the fuselage sides. This should result in a pretty solid join.

The nicely detailed wheel well ceilings are moulded to the bottom of the lower wing.

Main wheels are moulded as integral hubs and tyres split horizontally. Flat hub covers are depicted.

Clear parts are thin and free from distortion and supplied in separate sections to permit the canopy to be posed open or closed. The proof here will be in the building.

Alternative rear glazings are included too.

Dora Wings has thoughtfully provided die-cut, self-adhesive vinyl canopy masks, which will save some time taping up that complex birdcage.

Instructions are supplied on a 20-page, glossy booklet. There are 60 illustrated construction steps.

Markings

The decal sheet is printed by Decograph from Ukraine. The decals are satin in finish.

Markings are supplied for three RAF and one Brazilian options. All are finished in a fairly standard scheme of RAF Dark Earth and Dark Green upper surfaces (most likely DuPont paint equivalents applied at Vultee's US factory) and Sky lower surfaces.

Registration and printing look good.

This is another great kit from Dora Wings.

In 2022, Dora Wings' brand new 1/48 scale Vultee Vengeance Mk.II burst onto the marketplace with a high level of detail, excellent moulding and many useful features.

Now, in early 2024, Dora Wings has downsized this gem to 1/72 scale with barely any compromose in terms of detail and features.

Strictly speaking, this is a limited run kit as suggested by its lack of locating pins but otherwise it looks very mainstream with its fine recessed surface textures, high quality plastic and fine sprue attachment points.

It is also worth mentioning that this Ukrainian company has produced and distributed their 1/48 and 1/72 scale Vultee Vengeance kits in the middle of a war and with their CEO fighting on the front lines. Buyiing this kit is one small way to support the Ukranian effort.

Small-scale modellers rejoice!

*Historical summary adapted from Wikipedia

Thanks to Dora Winga for the review sample.

Review Text and Images Copyright © 2024 by Brett Green
Page Created 15 February, 2024
Last updated 15 February, 2024

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