{"product_id":"eastern-express-72264-vultee-vengeance-mk-ii-1-72-plastic-model-aircraft-kit","title":"Eastern Express 72264 Vultee Vengeance Mk.II — 1:72 Plastic model aircraft kit","description":"\u003cp\u003eManufacturer: Eastern Express\n\u003cbr\u003eKit number: 72264\n\u003cbr\u003eAircraft: Vultee Vengeance Mk.II \/ A-35\n\u003cbr\u003eScale: 1:72\n\u003cbr\u003eBarcode \/ EAN: 4620748781649\n\u003cbr\u003eKit type: Injection-moulded plastic aircraft kit\n\u003cbr\u003eOrigin of tooling: FROG \/ Soviet-era production tooling, later used by DZI and Eastern Express\n\u003cbr\u003eStatus: Discontinued \/ vintage tooling\n\u003cbr\u003eManufacturer and kit history\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eEastern Express is a Russian model-kit company whose aircraft range has included many reissues of older moulds from manufacturers such as FROG, Toko and other Eastern European sources. The 72264 is particularly interesting because it is not an entirely new Eastern Express tooling.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe original Vultee Vengeance tooling was produced by FROG. After FROG's demise, the moulds went into Soviet production and were subsequently associated with the Donetsk Toy Factory (DZI). Eastern Express later obtained production rights to these moulds and released the model as 72264.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis gives the kit considerably more historical interest than its relatively modest price might suggest. It is essentially a piece of the history of the FROG → Soviet\/DZI → Eastern Express lineage of plastic model production.\n\u003cbr\u003eKit contents and features\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a relatively simple, old-style 1:72 injection-moulded kit.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe basic contents include:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Injection-moulded plastic parts\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Fuselage halves\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Upper and lower wings\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Dive-brake components\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Tail surfaces\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Engine and cowling\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Propeller\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Cockpit\/interior\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Pilot's position\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Undercarriage\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Bombs\/underwing stores\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Clear canopy parts\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Decal sheet\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Assembly instructions\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe kit is intended to represent the Vengeance Mk.II, rather than merely the earlier American prototype.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOne particularly useful feature of the Eastern Express release is its new decal sheet. Historical kit documentation states that the 72264 boxing included markings for Australian aircraft AN709 \/ DB-V and AN845.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Australian connection is significant because the Royal Australian Air Force became the principal operational user of the Vengeance.\n\u003cbr\u003eTooling quality\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis is an old tooling, and that is important when assessing the kit.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA recent builder's assessment describes the mould as originating with FROG and notes that the detailing is very basic by modern standards, although the main dimensions are reasonably close. The builder specifically describes the surface detail as simplified and some geometry as less accurate than modern kits.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAnother historical assessment is more forgiving, noting that despite shortcomings in detail and geometry, the kit builds reasonably well and can produce an impressive-looking finished model.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSo this is best regarded as a vintage modelling project, rather than a modern highly detailed representation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFor a collector, I would check that the following are present and undamaged:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Dive brakes\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Undercarriage legs\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Propeller\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Canopy\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Bombs\/stores\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Wing halves\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Decals\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe dive brakes are particularly characteristic of the Vengeance and are worth checking carefully on an opened kit.\n\u003cbr\u003eThe full-size Vultee Vengeance\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Vultee Vengeance was an American-designed dedicated dive bomber developed shortly before WWII.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIt was designed around steep-angle dive bombing, rather than the general-purpose fighter\/bomber role undertaken by many contemporary aircraft.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe aircraft had a distinctive straight-wing configuration and substantial dive brakes. These allowed the pilot to control the aircraft during a steep bombing dive and release bombs accurately at low altitude.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe US Army Air Forces eventually designated the aircraft A-35, while the earlier production version was known as the A-31.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eInterestingly, the aircraft was not widely used by the United States itself. Instead, large numbers went to Britain and Australia under Lend-Lease arrangements.\n\u003cbr\u003eAustralian service\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Vengeance is particularly associated with the Royal Australian Air Force.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAustralian squadrons operated the aircraft in the South-West Pacific and Burma\/India theatres, where it was used against Japanese positions.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe aircraft's ability to make steep precision attacks made it useful against tactical targets, particularly Japanese ground positions.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Australian Vengeance force eventually included aircraft from several squadrons, although the type's operational career was relatively short.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBy the later stages of the Pacific war, more versatile aircraft had become available and the Vengeance was increasingly displaced by types such as the Bristol Beaufighter and Curtiss P-40 in some tactical roles.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA modern builder's account also specifically notes the Australian use of the Vengeance against Japanese forces in Burma and the East Indies, reflecting why Australian markings are such an appropriate choice for the kit.\n\u003cbr\u003eAircraft specifications\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Vengeance was a fairly large single-engine aircraft for its class.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eTypical specifications include:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Crew: 2\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Engine: Pratt \u0026amp; Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Power: approximately 1,200 hp\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Maximum speed: approximately 275 mph\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Role: dedicated dive bomber\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Armament: machine guns plus a substantial bomb load\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Special equipment: retractable dive brakes\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAt 1:72 scale, the finished aircraft is approximately:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Length: 17 cm\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Wingspan: around 19 cm\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe model therefore makes a reasonably substantial display piece despite being in 1:72.\n\u003cbr\u003eWhy the Vengeance is an interesting modelling subject\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe aircraft is unusual because it was purpose-built as a dive bomber, rather than being a fighter adapted to carry bombs.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIts large wing, dive brakes and relatively compact fuselage give it a very distinctive appearance.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Eastern Express\/FROG tooling also has an interesting place in model-kit history. You're not simply buying a model of an obscure WWII aircraft; you're buying a kit whose tooling history spans several generations of manufacturers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThat history is:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFROG → Soviet\/DZI production → Eastern Express 72264\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Eastern Express boxing therefore has some additional collector interest compared with an ordinary modern reissue.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Eastern Express","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57509849825660,"sku":"EasternExpress-72264","price":19.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/sussex-model-centre.co.uk\/products\/eastern-express-72264-vultee-vengeance-mk-ii-1-72-plastic-model-aircraft-kit","provider":"Sussex Model Centre","version":"1.0","type":"link"}