Azur-FRROM Hobby Plastic Model Kit Farman (SNCAC) NC 223.4 — 1:72

Manufacturer

Azur FRROM was a specialist French/Czech model-kit brand associated with Gilles Fontaine, concentrating on unusual French and European aircraft that are rarely covered by mainstream manufacturers. The NC 223.4 is a particularly distinctive example because of its large size, twin-engine configuration and relatively small production run.

The kit represents the Farman NC 223.4, a development of the Farman F.220/F.223 family of French twin-engine aircraft. The kit includes resin accessories in addition to the injection-moulded plastic parts. HobbySearch records a boxed size of approximately 35 × 20 × 5.1 cm and a packaged weight of approximately 422 g.
Kit contents

The AIR006/A72006 boxing contains:

Injection-moulded plastic components

Resin detail/accessory parts

Clear parts

Large twin-engine fuselage and wing components

Twin tail assembly

Engine nacelles and propellers

Cockpit and crew areas

Landing gear

Defensive armament components

Decals

Assembly instructions

The kit provides three French Air Force marking options.

Because this is a limited-run Azur FRROM kit of a very large aircraft, the completed model is substantial for 1:72 scale.
History of the full-size aircraft

The Farman NC 223.4 was a French four-engine? No—the NC 223.4 was a twin-engine development of the Farman F.220 family, designed during the inter-war period and operated around the beginning of the Second World War.

The Farman F.220 series originated as a family of large French aircraft that could be adapted for bombing, transport and long-range operations. The NC 223 represented an improved aerodynamic development of the earlier F.223 design, incorporating a redesigned fuselage and a distinctive twin-tail arrangement. Super-Hobby describes the NC 223 as a heavy bomber based on the F-223 and records only around a dozen NC-223 aircraft produced.

The aircraft was approximately:

Length: 21.5 m

Wingspan: 36.2 m

Height: 5.2 m

Maximum speed: approximately 320 km/h

Service ceiling: approximately 8,400 m

Maximum range: approximately 1,990 km

Bomb load: up to approximately 5,100 kg

Defensive armament: three 7.5 mm MAC 1934 machine guns

Military and wartime history

The NC 223.4 entered service during the period when French military aviation was transitioning from the relatively conservative designs of the 1920s and early 1930s toward faster, more modern monoplanes.

Only a small number were constructed, making the aircraft much less numerous than other French bombers of the period. NC 223 aircraft participated in the French campaign of 1940, after which surviving aircraft were also employed as transport aircraft.

One of the best-known aircraft of the family was NC 223.4 Jules Verne, which was converted for long-distance operations and became famous for a series of remarkable flights. The Azur kit's marking options are associated with the NC 223.4 aircraft Jules Verne, Le Verrier and Camille Flammarion. HobbySearch specifically identifies these three names in the product title.
Jules Verne

The Jules Verne was particularly significant because the aircraft was adapted for long-range missions and used its substantial fuel capacity and endurance to undertake operations far beyond the normal range expected of a conventional bomber.

Its large airframe, relatively slow speed and long-range capability made it an interesting predecessor to later dedicated maritime and strategic aircraft. The aircraft illustrates the changing role of large French aircraft immediately before and during the Second World War, when long-range transport and bombing designs could share considerable commonality.