(Photos above and below from Wikipedia)
(Photo from the SDASM photostream):
If Humpty Dumpty would have a plane, which one would it be?*
Perhaps the Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer, with its chubby
and somewhat cumbersome appearance.
*(The association, given the times that the SA Twin Pioneer
crashed, is not arbitrary)
And what is better than a Twin? A Twin with Three Tails!
This one has been in my files for a long time. And to my
surprise -given the uncharacteristic aspect of the plane- relatively well
covered by the industry:
-Hallam (vac with white metal parts and strut material)
-Valom (injected with P.E. parts and an optional aftermarket
set of resins seats)
-Magna Models (resin & white metal)
-Combat Kit (resin & white metal) (this is reputedly an improved version of the Magna kit)
-Welsh Models (1/144th, vac & white metal)
My relationship with Valom kits has been somewhat
contentious in the past, although if you are willing to deal with Valom’s ejector
towers, somewhat hit-and-miss fit, total absence of locating devices and a bit
of roughness, I would say it’s a good option, as this is a normal kit in
injected plastic that is the medium most modelers are familiar with. I bought it
as a way of comparison with the Hallam vac, AND, I am very pleased to say that
Valom is shoving quick improvement, as this particular kit looks better than
others I have built from them. Of the two other Pioneer kits in 1/72nd
in resin, what I see on the Net is that modelers find the Magna one also rough,
and the Combat better but still with its challenges. Regarding the Welsh Models
1/144th vac kit I know nothing, and tend to stay away from ungodly
scales.
The Valom kit offers a detail resin set. By “detail” I mean a
cabin interior they omit from the kit and then sell you apart. Like they did
with their De Havilland Albatross. The price of these sets is very reasonable,
so I don’t understand why they are not included in the kits, forcing the
modelers to pay a second S&H fee for the accessories. True, not all
modelers bother with an interior, but many do. By the way, there is a set of
civil seats and another of military ones. Needless to say I bought the civil.
The Hallam vac according to Scalemates saw the light of day
in 1987. Not a spring chicken. Some of the kits in their limited range can be
seen built online.
S&M Models offers decal sheets for two civil Twin
Pioneers. Good for them, but their prices are a bit salty.
Montex offers masks for the Valom kit. Very affordable, but
in the dreaded vinyl that often tends to detach after primer and paint are
applied, and they have an adhesive with not very long shelf live. I know it’s a
cheap material, but why some manufacturers insist in vinyl instead of using the
so-called kabuki paper, I can’t understand.
Vacs are the Cinderella of scale model kits. On this blog
you may find 30/40 models built from them. I love them as much as injected
kits, and they helped me develop skills that otherwise would have never been
acquired. They aided my transition to scratchbuilding, and gave me the
opportunity of having on the shelf subjects not cared for the mainstream
injected kit manufacturers.
Manufacturers understandably want to squeeze as many types
and registrations as they can, so many end up committing the sin of “one size
fits all”, as different variants have… well…. differences, often overlooked by
the manufacturers. And that’s the case here with Valom, so carefully look at
photos for details in the kit not present in your choice plane, and vice-versa:
windows, antennas, hatches, etc.
The Valom kit has nice surface detail, provides a small P.E.
fret, and (in this boxing) decals for VH-AIS in two liveries. The instructions
mistakenly show TWO regs under the wings. One is only needed under the left
wing. For he “Fly Pion Air” air colorful livery there are no patterns provided
for the very visible background colors decoration, so the modeler is left to
his/her own devices. I don’t particularly trust the paint color codes given.
Valom forgot to include the red on the leading edge which actually curves a
little to meet the red wing tips. Again, the manufacturer leaves it to the
modeler to check the accuracy of what the kit provides. The alternate scheme
for VH-AIS has a minor color indication mistake on the engine cowls, easily
corrected looking at photos. The molded opening closer to the tail on the left
fuselage side is not present in either of these civil planes. So again, check
the kit against photos of the intended plane. More to come during the build.
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The instruction drawings are printed at a convenient size, which is good. But Valom does not provide indications as to where exactly parts go, which sometimes creates doubts:
As mentioned the decals provide just the motifs, but nothing about the prominent colorful bands all about the plane, in terms of masks or patterns. You are on your own. Small but useful P.E. fret, inst.pan. film, very clear transparencies but with optical distortion for the side windows:
Nice surfaces and surface detail. As mentioned above some details are not pertinent for the civil version boxings. One is the rectangular window near the tail on the left fuselage side, absent in the plane portrayed:
Now to the Hallam Vac kit.
A much, much older kit in vacuum-formed plastic of good
gauge, with fair white metal parts -considering the age-, with decals (mine were missing) but no
interior other than a cabin floor and a cockpit bulkhead. The surface detail is
much simplified or not present (for example the corrugated areas of the rudders
are not molded, and will have to be created, together with the whole cockpit
and -if desired- cabin). For this kit I purchased an aftermarket set of resin
seats (not the ones Valom offers in this case), and the rest will be either
fabricated or scrounged from the spares bin. Two airfoiled lengths are provided,
one (wider) for the landing gear legs and another for the wing struts. Decals
will need to be created once I decide which livery to use. This vac kit offers
the possibility of relatively easily opening the cabin door and (perhaps)
separate and deploy the flaps. It all depends on the workload/time the build in
general build may require, as I may not live forever as I once thought.
Bagged vintage kit (1987):
The white metal parts, fair given the age of the kit. Notice the cuffed props...
...as the original:
The surfaces have some detail, nice and even engraved, but are missing the corrugations on the rudders:
No interior whatsoever is provided, just a bulkhead and a the cabin floor. The airfoiled extruded plastic is for the LG legs and struts. My sample is missing several of those, here is a photo from the Net showing how many they should be (plus the decals missing in my bag):
The kit bag had a hole and maybe they fell, or a modeler needed them for another project. In any case, luckily I still have remnants of my Contrail stock:
The cockpit transparency fortunately aged very well (the yellowing belongs to the tape):
Some pages from diverse publications illustrating the type:
Having already presented the two kits and having posted some references, in order to avoid confusion we will continue here with the Valom (Injected) kit, and proceed with the build of the Hallam Vac in a separate post, here:
https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2025/07/hallam-vac-172nd-scottish-aviation-twin.html
While we proceed here with the Valom kit.
To be continued...
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