Bristol Aeroplane Company's Brigand was a British anti-shipping/ground attack/dive bomber attack aircraft developed as a replacement for the Beaufighter. A total of 147 were built, and they served with the Royal Air Force in Malaya during the Malayan Emergency and Kenya until replaced by the de Havilland Hornet in Malaya and the English Electric Canberra jet bomber elsewhere. The first to be built was the Brigand I or Brigand TF 1 and these entered service with RAF Coastal Command No. 36 Squadron and No. 42 Squadron).

The Bristol Type 164 was the outcome of the 1942 Air Ministry specification H.7/42 calling for a faster edition of the Beaufighter for long-range torpedo work and anti-shipping strikes.

Bristol design team under Leslie J. Frise used the wings, tail and undercarriage of the Buckingham with a new fuselage of oval cross-section. The three crew - pilot, navigator/bomb aimer and radio-operator/gunner were grouped together in the forward cockpit. In spite of the official change in its role to a bomber, the first 11 Brigands off the production line were completed as torpedo bombers. These initial aircraft served with the RAF Coastal Command from 1946–1947 before being converted to bombers

Valom has always provided us with interesting subjects and this one is no exception. If you read the preview of the earler kit, then this one will seem somewhat like déjà vu as the sprues and photo etch are identical. One of the nicest looking twins to have been built, it comes to us on three full size sprues with a clear one for the canopies and running lights, a photo etch fret and a bag of resin. The resin is for the engine intake scoops, engines, torpedo body and torpedo rack. The etch has belts, some interior bits and the fins for the torpedo. A clear acetate film is given for the instruments that fit behind the etched instrument panel.

The styrene is very nicely molded with superb surface detail. The two canopies are well molded and quite thick, distorting what you'll see through them. One gets a nicely detailed interior with seats, stick and pedals along with some bulkhead items. The lower forward fuselage has some inserts as this area differs on different versions of the aircraft though not in this boxing. Some cutting and hole drilling will be needed as well with Valom providing information on those pieces. The engines are nicely detailed and while some may wish for more, they will be partially hidden once all is together. This particular kit is only missing the torpedo from the earlier version so that in the photo of the sprues is not provided. However, since it was used as a strike aircraft, the rockets are very much appropriate. There are no holes or other indications of precisely where these fit so one has to study the construction drawings carefully.

Instructions are well done and if one has built a Valom kit in the past, these will seem familiar. They include photographs of the engines and the cockpit. Color references are in a variety of brands so no worries there. The markings and painting diagram is in full color and offers two different planes. First is the box art plane as shown on the box art with 84 Squadron in Malaya. This one is shown as Extra Dark Sea Grey over Black. I think the grey is a lighter shade than that  such as Ocean Grey or Medium Sea Grey. Others can chime in as to the correctness of my assumption. The other is with 8 Squadron in Aden and is in white over black. Decals are very nicely printed and should provide no problems installing.  

Overall, a nice looking kit of an interesting post war British aircraft. I'd be less than candid if I didn't mention that Valom kits can be quite a challenge to build. One never knows until one get underway on how things will turn out. I've had kits that were difficult and others that went together fairly smoothly. For that reason, I'd recommend this for those with experience handling building difficulites; just in case. One thing for sure, this will be a super model when it is finished.

http://en.wikipedia.org

October 2009

My thanks to Valom at www.valom.net for the preview kit. Get yours at your local shop or on-line retailer

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