Boulton Paul P.111/111a

Czech Master Resin, 1/72 scale

Reviewed by Brett Green

CMR's 1/72 scale P.111/111a is available online from Squadron.com

The Boulton Paul P.111 was a British experimental delta-wing aircraft designed as the smallest possible airframe to accommodate a Rolls-Royce Nene jet engine and an ejector seat. The P.111 first flew in October 1950. Several configuration changes were made during testing, the most significant after a landing accident. It emerged from this incident with a number of improvements to aerodynamic characteristics as the P.111a

Czech Master Resin's 1/72 scale Boulton Paul P.111/111a comprises 46 resin parts, 4 parts in black resin; two parts in translucent white resin, four vac-formed clear canopies, canopy masks and markings for three versions of this aircraft. All the major variants of the P.111/111a may be built straight from the box.

The resin parts are superbly cast with crisp, finely recessed surface detail.

Two completely separate sets of fuselage are provided - one for the P.111 and one of the P.111a. The fuselage halves are already separated from their casting blocks, but some cleanup and thinning of the bottom of the fuselage parts will be required. This should be a fairly straightforward task.

Three different sets of wings are included, permitting all major versions of this test bed to be built with a minimum of fuss and a maximum number of parts for the spares box. The wings are also cast without any chunky blocks. Only a little flash will need to be removed with a sharp knife prior to assembly. The wings feature stumpy locating pins that will assist alignment and strengthen the join with the fuselage.

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The wings should be equally fast to remove from the their resin strips. A few minutes cleaning the flash from the mating surface and these major components will be ready for assembly.

Smaller parts are packed securely in separate compartments of a plastic  bag. These are as impressively cast and as well detailed as the wings and fuselage.

Control surfaces are cast in neutral positions.

A nice bonus in recent CMR kit releases is the inclusion of an Eduard colour photo-etched fret. In this case, we are supplied with a fabulously detailed instrument panel, ejector seat handles and harness in full colour, with other important details also being finely rendered.

Two styles of canopy are included. Two of each are supplied in case of a slip-up with your hobby knife. These clear parts are nice and clear with well defined canopy frames.

Markings are supplied for three different markings options. Two are in natural metal, while the later P.111a is finished in overall Gloss Yellow with black trim - very striking!

The decals are perfectly in register with excellent opacity, even for the white, and appear to be very thin.

Resin tends to be a less forgiving medium to work with than polystyrene, but the relatively simple parts breakdown and superb quality will make this kit ideal for the modeller who wants to try their first all-resin kit.

Czech Master Resin has delivered another gem with this 1/72 scale Boulton Paul P.111/111A.

Highly Recommended.

Thanks to CMR for the review sample

CMR Models are available online from Hannants in the UK,
NKR Models in Australia and quality specialist model retailers worldwide.