It
appears that this kit is the same as the Azur and MPM’s release. Azur
and Special Hobby are all part of the MPM organization and molded in the
same place. The Vindicator is one of those planes
that has long been sought as a kit by modellers. MPM did an SB2U-3 a few
years back, followed a year later or so by the Azur released the V-156F
version of this aircraft.
The major parts of Special Hobby’s Vindicator are molded on two sprues of light gray plastic. Panel lines are engraved, with petit rivet detail where appropriate. The fabric sections of the wings and fuselage are well represented, and the kit has the small stabilizers characteristic of the SB2U-1 and -2. The upper and lower wing pieces have a slightly grainy texture that will probably disappear under a coat of paint. Cockpit detail is adequate for the scale, and includes the interior fuselage framing. The kit includes a very well, thin molded and clear injected one-piece canopy, wich contains the center upper fuselage section between the pilot’s and gunner’s cockpits. There is also a small bag of resin parts such as the .50 cal. machine gun, tail hook control sticks and the engine. Detail on this Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp Jr. engine is good, but curiously, only the front row of cylinders is molded. The bomb cradle looks very delicate and it is a real challenge to free it from its base without breaking it.
Unlike the MPM kit, Special Hobby offering no photoeteched instrument panel and photographic film for the gauges, the kit uses simple injected parts for the panel.
Interior detail is quite good with a full cockpit that includes the full framework. After all the pieces are attached to this subassembly, it will look properly 'busy'. Actually, that is probably the most difficult portion of the kit. The rest is straight-forward with no real surprises or difficult-looking construction. There is no wheel well detail or sidewalls so those that want that will have to add it.
The
only major fault of the kit is the going-thru flap. The SB2U-1 and -2,
like the other versions of the Vindicator, has two parts of flaps on both
sides of the inner parts of the wing. This detail is also wrong painted in
the book “SB2U Vindicator in action” from squadron /signal, have a
look at the pictures!
The instruction sheet is quite simple and good with several construction steps in the usual fashion for Special Hobby. Color callouts are in Humbrol paints with FS 595 references given where needed.
The
decal sheet is quit good, offering two schemes, both of them the wonderful
“yellow wings” colors of the 30's. The first one is the box art
aircraft of the commander of the air wing from the USS Yorktown, with its
red tail and broad red commander's stripe on the fuselage. The other is a
white-tailed SB2U-1 from the “High Hatter of VB-3 from theUSS Saratoga.
The kit offers only to build one of the early versions of the Vindicator. The SB2U-3 has enlargered stabilizers (represented by the MPM kit). The export version of the Vindicator the V-156 has more different details like dive-brakes, other bombs and machine guns and made by Azur.
from Mike