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Azur’s 1/72 Arsenal VG.36

By Chris Banyai-Riepl

History (from the instructions)

The continuation of the development of the very hopeful fighter plane of the Arsenal VG.30 series was the fighter plane Arsenal VG.36.  It was created using the engine HS 12Y51 with 1,000 horsepower in a VG.33 fuselage.  In order to achieve even higher performance the aerodynamics of the entire plane were improved.  The main change was a totally reworked cooler with a shallower and wider input and output of air in the lines of the fuselage.  The armaments were the original ones; a HS 404 cannon of 20mm caliber and four MAC 1934 7.7mm caliber machine guns.

The first and only prototype was given its first flight trials on 14.5.1940, i.e. four days after the attack on France by the German army.  The performance of the prototype was outstanding; it achieved a speed of 590km/h at a height of 7000m.  However, this type did not intervene in the war since by the time France capitulated not a single serial unit had been manufactured.

The Kit

This kit, like the original, borrows from the earlier VG.33 kit produced by the same company.  As such there are lots of extra parts in this kit, including a complete separate fuselage and a separate nose, all ready to be consigned to the spares box.  In addition to the plastic parts you also get a small photoetch fret and two vacuformed canopies.  Since there was only one built, the decal sheet is appropriately small, but includes all you’d need.

Starting with the interior, this kit has a fairly basic setup with a cockpit floor, rear bulkhead, seat and control stick all provided in plastic.  Photoetch provides the instrument panel, seatbelts, rudder pedals, and some framework for the rear bulkhead.  Once this is together and placed inside the fuselage it will look suitably busy under the one-piece canopy and it shouldn’t need anything extra unless you decide to open the hood.

Once the interior is together and sandwiched in between the fuselage, the rest of the construction is very straightforward.  The fuselage is split into right and left halves and incorporates all of the vertical fin & rudder.  The large radiator intake is a separate piece, as is the small scoop underneath the nose.  The wings are split into upper and lower halves while the tailplanes are one piece, with both having a butt joint to the fuselage.  The propeller is made up of four pieces, and the final bits left are for the landing gear.  The gear should be sturdy enough, with a two-fork arrangement going around the wheels.  You have an option of either using the plastic oleo scissors or the photoetch ones.

Since there’s only one of these planes ever built, there are not many painting options.  The instructions show a three-color French scheme of mid blue gray, brown, and khaki over light blue gray.  French roundels are in all six locations, with the rudder painted in the national colors.  The only other decals included are for the text found on the rudder identifying this as a VG 36 C1.  The decals are very well printed and should have no problems at all going down.

Conclusion

While this model is fairly well done I’m afraid it will only appeal to those hardcore French Air Force people.  With only one built and with a similar paint job to the VG 33, it just doesn’t stand out much, even next to its earlier brethren.