Fairey Battle Mk.I

Trumpeter, 1/48 scale

Reviewed by Brett Green

The Fairey Battle was a breakthrough when it was introduced as the first stressed-skin, low wing monoplane bomber for the RAF in 1937. By the time of the outbreak of World War Two, the aircraft was hopelessly obsolete.

Nevertheless, the Battle formed the spearhead of the RAF's tactical bombing operations in France during 1940. The light bomber suffered terribly at the hands of the vastly superior Messerschmitt Bf 109E and ground defences.

As soon as possible, Battles were withdrawn to trainer and target-tug duties.

Total production of the Fairey Battle was 2,185 including 364 in service with the RAAF in Australia.

Fairey Battle in 1/48 scale

The only 1/48 scale Fairey Battle to date has been the Classic Airframes kit released in 2000.

This was a typical low-pressure injected, limited run model comprising 51 plastic parts, 28 highly detailed resin parts and two sets of three clear vacformed parts.

This kit did not have locating pins and the plastic parts had plenty of flash. Alignment required patience and forethought, but an impressive result was acheivable with preparation and care.

Classic Airframes' kit was generally accurate although the nose was a little narrow and the characteristic offset rudder was not represented.

Nobelkraft of the UK offered a resin correction set for the nose and tail.

I recently review the new Azur FRROM 1/72 scale Fairey Battle and lamented the lack of a modern 1/48 scale kit of this important subject.

A quick Google search revealed that Trumpeter had already announced a new 1/48 scale Battle and even better, it seems that a small number were available in a few Australian hobby shops.

I snapped one up and it arrived a few days ago.

Trumpeter’s 1:48 scale Fairey Battle comprises 126 parts in grey plastic, 11 parts in clear plastic, six photo-etched parts, die-cut canopy masks and four marking options on one decal sheet.

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Thumbnail panels:

Sprue attachments for the major parts are moulded on the mating surfaces, so be careful when removing the parts from the sprues - it's easy to damage the visible surfaces of the parts.

Moulding quality is generally very good but there are some horrible ejector pin circles, especially in the landing flap bays.

Unlike the Classic Airframes kit with the large upper fuselage insert, Trumpeter's kit features full-length one-piece fuselage halves.

Surface textures are nicely done, with very finely recessed panel lines, restrained rows of rivets and fasteners included.

The wings are supplied as full span lower half and port / starboard upper parts.

The wing bomb bay doors are moulded shut.

Control surfaces are depicted with raised capsules representing stretched fabric. This looks okay although rib tapes would have been more accurate. Control surfaces and flaps are all supplied as separate pieces. They should be able to be posed to taste.

In an admirable example of attention to detail, Trumpeter has accurately depicted the subtle rudder offset to the right.

Cockpit detail is acceptable with nice sidewalls and a perforated gunner's seat (nice touch).

Photo-etched harness straps are supplied.

The instrument panel is plastic. It is moulded with raised bezels and switches but no dial detail. It should look good with decals for the dials. There seems to have been quite a bit of variation in Battle instrument panel configuration. This one seems close enough.

The canopy is not good at all. The top of the long main section is too wide and too flat.

This is very noticeable.

I have compared Trumpeter's clear part to the old Classic Airframes vacform canopy to illustrate the difference.

Also, the Trumpeter windscreen is too wide and it does not taper downward as it should. Once again, here's a comparison between the Classic Airframes and Trumpeter windscreens.

The inclusion of die-cut canopy masks will be a handy time saver.

The propeller blades are all 4 mm short and a bit skinny. This is quite noticeable.

The diameter of the de Havilland three-bladed variable pitch propeller unit was 12' 6". With the short propeller blades, the diameter would be only 10'.

The main wheels feature small hubs and five slots with radial tread tyres. This seems consistent to contemporary photos but a second style was sometimes fitted with the same overall diameter but a larger covered hub.

The only problem with the kit supplied wheels is that they appear to be a little too skinny. I will shim the wheels with some plastic sheet to add a bit more bulk. Here's a comparison with the width of the Classic Airframes wheel.

The Trumpeter fuselage length is 27.5 cm with the propeller hub and 26.8 cm without the propeller hub.

Wikipedia states the fuselage length is 12.9 m scaling out at 26.875 cm in 1/48. What does this mean? Well, if the hub is not included in the official fuselage length, the model is pretty much spot on.

If, however, the length should include the propeller hub (this is what I would expect) then the fuselage is roughly 7 mm short.

Trumpeter's wing span is 34.3 cm. Wikipedia states the wing span is 16.46 m scaling out at 34.29 cm in 1/48, matching almost exactly.

The Classic Airframes fuselage length is almost identical to Trumpeter's while the wing span is less than 2 mm shorter.

Markings:

The kit decal sheet is poor:

• There are no historical or colour notes in the instructions.

• The red of the RAF roundels is too bright and the yellow is too pale.

• The white codes of HA-B should be Medium Sea Grey.

• The codes on K9353 should be Medium Sea Grey for the "HA" letters, while the "J" should be yellow with a white outline.

• The RAAF option L5788 is called out as overall flat black. I'm not blaming Trumpeter here as I have seen the same callout in various places online but I don't buy it. I think it is much more likely that this aircraft was finished in overall Foliage Green (equivalent to FS 34092) or perhaps RAAF Dark Green (a very dark green shade).

A typical Trumpeter Curate's Egg, this kit is good in parts.

Surface textures are fine and consistent, there is attention to detail with nice touches such as the offset rudder and, of course, it is great to finally see a mainstream Fairey Battle in 1/48 scale.

However, Trumpeter has a habit of getting canopies and noses wrong and they have certainly done so this time. The flat-topped long main canopy section and the broad and untapered windscreen are quite obvious. The propeller blades are 4mm short and the decals really need to be replaced.

I will raid my Classic Airframes Battle for more accurate or better detailed parts, and especially for the vacform canopy (although it is heavily yellowed after 25 years). This may seem to be reckless use of a kit that is currently fetching $200 plus on eBay, but that's modellers for you!

I have no doubt that fit will be good and the model will be a pleasure to build however there is no reason that any of the faults mentioned here should be present but for the lack of a little extra care and attention.

I am not telling you to buy this kit or to leave it on the hobby shop shelves. These problems will be deal-breakers for some modellers and unimportant to others. It's entirely up to you.

I just look at the box contents and wonder what Airfix would have made of this subject....

Purchased by reviewer

Review Text and Images Copyright © 2025 by Brett Green
Page Created 31 January, 2025
Last updated 1 February, 2025

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