Ar-196 A3

[Moofles]

Arado Ar-196 A-3

Revell 1:72

The Ar 196 was a shipboard reconnaissance aircraft built by the German firm Arado starting in 1936. The next year it was selected as the winner of a design contest, and became the standard aircraft of the Kriegsmarine (German Navy) throughout World War II.

The plane was loved by its pilots, who found it handled well both in the air and on the water. With the loss of the German surface fleet the A-1s were added to coastal squadrons, and continued to fly reconnaissance missions and submarine hunts into late 1944.

Two notable operations were the capture of HMS Seal, and the repeated interception of RAF Armstrong-Whitworth Whitley bombers. Although it was no match for a fighter, it was considerably better than its Allied counterparts, and generally considered the best of its class. Owing to its good handling on water, the Finnish Air Force utilized Ar 196 solely on transporting and supplying special forces patrols behind enemy lines, landing on small lakes in remote areas. Several fully equipped soldiers were carried in the fuselage.

This release depicts the A3 variant, but those hoping for a scale down of their superb new 1:32 kit will be disappointed, as this is the classic Heller mould, which is still considered to be one of the best A-3 models out there. The moulds have stood the test of time well with almost no signs of flash. A few sinks marks are present, and ejector pin marks are rife on the internal fuselage. There are a few right on the side of the open cockpit that may well prove troublesome to remove.

The ribbing on the fuselage is very well done to my eye, and at a glance the panel lines match up with those found on-line. Due to being a classic mould panel lines are depicted as being very finely raised, nothing that cannot be fixed with a few hours re-scribing if you feel the urge.

The cockpit and the floats supports are basic representations of the real thing, that in this scale will suffice. For those wishing to go the extra mile, the room within the fuselage will provide a great canvas to scratch build. The clear parts are on the thick side, but you do have the option to display the rear canopy open, which is a real bonus.

The decals provide 2 different options:

• 5./Bordfliegergruppe 196 August 1941 at Brest-Hourtin, France.
  
• Seenotrettungsgrupper 10; Seenotbereitschaftskommando IX Tromsoe, September 1943
  

Decals are in good register, and have a nice thin carrier film. As usual with Revell kits no swastikas are included, so some will have to be sourced from the spares box.

Conclusion

From my very first glance this has tempted me to build it, and using online photos of the cockpit area of the 1:32 kit scratch building a new cockpit should be relatively straight forward. The kit is for anyone form the casual builder to the super detailer, and will really add some spark to the Luftwaffe modellers collection.

Recommended.

Review sample courtesy of