Special Hobby 72201 1/72 Westland Whirlwind FB Mk.I Fighter-Bomber

Not long before the outbreak of WW2, the British Air Ministry issued a requirement calling for two types of fighter aircraft, one light weight with machine gun armament and the other one with heavy cannon armament. To these requirements, the machine gun armed Hurricanes and Spitfires were designed, while to fit the second category, the Westland offered their Whirlwind twin engined ‘Cannon Fighter’. This type was eventually produced in more than a hundred examples and further production was ceased only by the shortage of the Peregrine engines. The Whirlwinds were deployed over the English Channel in fighter and ground attack missions. For the latter ones, the Whirlwinds were fitted with bomb racks and were designated FB Mk.I. It was only in 1944 that they were replaced by Typhoon aircraft.

The Fighter-Bomber Whirlwind model comes on two styrene sprues and one with clear parts. All these are joined by 3D-printed parts, resin cast details and etches. The decals cater for four schemes, two of which in the earlier green-brown colours and the other two in the later scheme of green and grey, that are also corrected now compared to the earlier release, based on new available reference materials.

Specification

• Scale: 1/72
• Edition: Special Hobby
• Type: Aircraft
• Product: Plastic kits
• Era: Word War II
• Origin: British
• Weight: 0.124 kg