1:72 Vickers British Hyland Type B (2 Items)

Vickers British Hyland Type B 1:72 (GasPatch models)

A resin accessory in 1:72 scale from the manufacturer GasPatch models. It is not a model of an aircraft but castings of the British aviation Vickers machine gun in a particular form, which the designation Hyland Type B in the name distinguishes from the other versions in the same range. According to the name the package contains two pieces.

The real subject

The Vickers was a British machine gun of 7.7 mm caliber. For aviation use water cooling was abandoned and the barrel jacket was provided with holes for the air to pass through. On single-seat machines of the First World War period the weapon was mounted fixed on the fuselage ahead of the cockpit. During the war several forms arose that differed in the details of the mounting and the controls, and those are what set the individual sets of this range apart.

Building and painting tips

On a model the weapon should read as metal, not as painted plastic. The most reliable procedure is a black or dark gray base, a very finely sprayed steel shade over it and finally dry-brushing the edges with a lighter metallic shade. Metallic paints contain a heavier pigment that settles to the bottom, so stir the bottle really thoroughly before use rather than just shaking it. A metallic surface is harder to overspray and to mask, so leave it until the end. A dark wash suits the recesses of the cooling jacket, bringing the definition out without filling it in.

Who the set is for

• Builders of 1:72 aircraft models of the First World War
• Modelers who want convincing metallic shades on the armament
• Users with experience of resin and cyanoacrylate glue
• Cabinet builds with the nose worked up in detail

The accessory is supplied unassembled and unpainted as resin castings. Glue, paints and the base model are not included in the package, unless stated otherwise.