De Havilland D.H.2

[Paul A H]

De Havilland D.H.2

1:72 Revell

Designed by Geoffrey de Havilland and manufactured by Airco of Hendon, the D.H.2 was a single seat ‘pusher’ fighter first flown in the summer of 1915. By the end of the Great War over 450 D.H.2s had been produced. Although the aircraft helped the Royal Flying Corps counter the ‘Fokker Scourge’, the design quickly became obsolete and none were in front line service on the Western Front by the end of the war. The D.H.2 served with 10 squadrons of the RFC, and 14 pilots became aces on the type.

Dating back to 1981, this kit could be described as something of an old favourite as many modellers will have built one at some point. Packed inside a tiny version of the usual Revell boxvelope are four small sprues of caramel coloured plastic, plus instructions and a small decal sheet. Although the D.H.2 appears to be a relatively complex design, Revell’s kit is a fairly simple affair and is comprised of just 37 parts. Assembly is broken down into just 8 steps, including the fearsomely complicated rigging. The plastic parts are starting to show their age now and a fair amount of flash is present in places. Despite that, the kit has some pleasing qualities. Although the cockpit is basic, the fuselage and wings feature a pretty convincing fabric texture.

Without much of a cockpit to put together, construction kicks off with the addition of the fuselage sides to the lower wing. The engine and propeller are assembled and fitted next, along with the front and top of the fuselage and the .303 Lewis Gun. Following the addition of the undercarriage, the struts have to be fixed in place. As there are 12 separate struts, a great deal of care will have to be taken to ensure these all align correctly. Once the upper wing has been fitted, the tail booms and tail plane can be added.

The small diagram that Revell provide for the rigging makes the job look quite daunting (which is probably is). The painting diagram over the page is much larger, however, and should help with the rigging too. Just one colour scheme is provided, for a D.H.2 of “C” Flight, 24 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps, Bertangles, France, July 1916. The decal sheet is small but perfectly formed, featuring nice bold colours and crisp details.

Conclusion

Although this is a simple little kit, it should build into a pleasing replica of a D.H.2. Whilst it’s true that this is some way short of a state of the art model, the pocket money price should more than make up for this.

Review sample courtesy of

[crookedmouth]

I have to say that getting the wings, tail surfaces, struts and "tailboom" all lined up so that everything is true was (for me) far from simple. Still, it was a fun build.

[Silver Fox]

IIRC this actually dates back to the mid 1960's, I got my first one in Harrogate market during the school holidays before I went up to senior school, so 1964/65ish

[Iain Ogilvie]

Yup - defo a 60's kit - remember building it as a kid in the early 70's...

Iain

[Silver Fox]

IIRC this actually dates back to the mid 1960's, I got my first one in Harrogate market during the school holidays before I went up to senior school, so 1964/65ish

[crookedmouth]

Nice to find something that's older (just) than me!

[T-Tango]

Think of all that rigging and in 1/72 as well!!!