Brengun 1/72 Sud Aviation SE.313B Alouette II
By Chris Banyai-Riepl
Overview
The Sud Aviation Alouette II is a French light helicopter that was developed in the early years of helicopters, with the first prototype taking flight in 1955. The first production helicopter powered by a gas turbine engine, the Alouette II quickly became a popular helicopter in both military and civilian service. Over 1300 were produced between 1955 and 1975, and while retired from military service, the Alouette II is still being used in civilian hands today.
The Kit
There haven’t been many options for the Alouette II in 1/72 scale, which is a pity given how successful a helicopter the type has been. This kit has apparently been released under the Extratech name, and consists of resin, photoetch, injection-molded plastic, and vacuformed clear parts. The decal sheet provides markings for three options, one French, one Israeli, and one German.
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Starting with the cockpit section, this is made up predominantly from resin pieces, with a bunch of photoetch parts adding to the overall detail. You get separate seats, a rear bench, and the instrument panel column in resin, all fitting onto the one-piece resin floor. Photoetch details include all the seat belts, control columns, rudder pedals, and instrument panel. With all that together, the next step is to contain it all within the vacuformed canopy, which comes in two halves. These will rest on top of the resin floor piece, and one nice feature of the kit is the photoetch framing that goes over the seam between the two halves. That will make dealing with the seam between the two vacuformed halves much easier.
The rotor blades are the only injection-molded plastic parts, and those fit onto a resin hub that then gets a bunch of photoetch detail parts. The engine and transmission are also resin, as is the fuel tank, but then the fun with photoetch really begins. The entire rear fuselage framework is provided as photoetch, and while delicate and challenging to build, it will look quite good when all together. The resin pieces for the cockpit section should provide enough weight to have the sit of the helicopter be correct too, which might not have been the case if this rear section was done in a different method.
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The three decal options offer up choices ranging from bland to somewhat colorful, although all three options are basically green. The Israeli option is finished in what the instructions call a blue green, and there are minimal markings, just roundels and numbers on the fuselage side. The German choice is finished in dark olive green, and this one has loads more markings, including HEER titles on the side and bottom, aircraft number on the cockpit sides, and the German flag just below the engine.
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For the most colorful option on the decal sheet, the French Alouette II is finished in overall brown green with large sections of fluorescent red paint on the cockpit area and panels below the engine. While this one is definitely the most colorful choice, painting all those small stripes will be a challenge in masking on what is definitely going to be a delicate build.
Conclusion
This is a welcome re-release of the Extratech kit, as the Alouette II is a good looking helicopter that deserves more attention. While the multimedia aspect and extensive photoetch primary structure will make for a challenging build, persistence will pay off the end result will be well worth it. My thanks to Brengun for the review sample.