...or in this case, plenty of them!
Aircraft: Fairey Swordfish Mk.II LS326
Brand: Witty Wings / 72 Aviation / Sky Guardians
Scale: 1:72
Price: £14.95
Rating: 4/5
Background
There are only two airworthy Swordfishes left in the world, and both of them are operated by the Fly Navy Heritage Trust. I’ve had the privilege of seeing one of them flying at the Blackpool Airshow last year, and it gave me a newfound appreciation for this rather antique warbird. Even during the Second World War, naval crews jokingly called the Swordfish the “Stringbag” for it was already an outdated design at the time!
Following my first-hand encounter with the real plane I started looking around for a miniature aircraft for my collection, but little did I know the model would come to me; in the form of the Fly Navy Herirage Trust stall at the Jersey Airshow (where I also bought a Sea Fury that you can see my review of here, as well as a Sea Vixen that will be reviewed in due time). The Swordfish was available for the humble price of £15, the cheapest of the Fly Navy diecast set.
The Model
The first thing you really notice about the Swordfish is its size, even in 1/72nd scale. It was difficult to find a comfortable place for this model on my warbird shelf which resulted in a lot of moving things around.
This daunting size allows more room for detail than on a lot of other aircraft, and with this model there is plenty of it - panel lines and ridges are abundant all over the airframe, and there is accurate and nicely modelled interior detail, a Vickers K machine gun in the rear position as well as the torpedo that is also preserved on the real restored aircraft. The miniature Swordfish even has excellently done rigging on the wings!
While I have to say the Swordfish is the most detailed of the Fly Navy diecast set - and I don’t doubt that for a second, a big issue with the model is the lack of colour on the radial engine - the plain white paint detracts from the otherwise brilliant quality of this Swordfish and quite frankly makes it look cheap. I often look at it and consider painting over it myself.
On a windy day the propeller will blow with the wind, making for some interesting photo opportunities!
Conclusion
Regardless of the unpainted engine, I think this is a great model of the Swordfish with plenty of exterior details to make it an attractive aircraft for your collection, and it has a very forgiving and affordable price tag. It’s incredibly faithful to the real airworthy plane it’s representing, and if you’re getting it from the right place the money you pay could go towards keeping the real LS326 flying for us enthusiasts to enjoy for years to come!
Comments