Overview
As the Bristol Buckingham was quickly superceded by more modern designs, the last hundred or so airframes were rebuilt into the Type 166 Buckmaster advanced trainer. The Buckmaster was a big step up from its predecessors and gave future pilots a closer representation to the combat aircraft they would be flying. The Buckmaster was used throughout the 1950s, with the last example scrapped in 1958.
The Kit
Valom has produced kits of the Brigand and Buckingham, so the Buckmaster was a logical continuation of that series. This kit shares quite a bit with those other kits, with the main difference being in the new fuselage. The kit comes molded in the typical medium gray plastic, with finely recessed panel lines complete with rivet detail. There are two resin engines and a small fret of photoetch for details. The decal sheet provides markings for two aircraft.
The instructions start you out with the interior, and this has a nice combination of plastic and photoetch. There are two seats that get photoetch seatbelts, while the instrument panel is a sandwiched photoetch, film, and plastic affair. The rudder pedals are presented in two options: plastic or photoetch. The control columns are nicely done, while side consoles gets some photoetch knobs for detailing. The completed cockpit gets sandwiched between the fuselage halves, along with the tailwheel well, and with that the fuselage is done.
For the wings, these are split into upper and lower halves, with separate engine nacelles. The engine nacelles also have separate cowlings, also split into right and left halves, so the final engine assembly is fairly complex. For the main landing gear, there is an insert into the aft nacelle and another insert for the lower wing. The landing gear struts have separate shock assemblies and two-part wheels, along with separate actuating struts. Once done, the landing gear will look quite nice. For the front of the nacelles, the resin engines are beautifully done, although the cowlings will hide much of the detail. The propellers are made up from separate blades and hubs.
For decal options, both are finished in overall silver. The first option also has a white crown, tripped in blue, with the registration RP237 on the wing undersides. The second option is RP198 from No 45 Squadron, and has yellow bands around the wings and fuselage. It also carries the fuselage code OB-Z. The decals are nicely printed, with excellent registration and solid color density.
Conclusion
This is very likely going to be the only option for an injection molded 1/72 Buckmaster, and luckily it's a pretty nice one. While the assembly will be challenging due to no locating pegs and butt-joined wings and tails, the end result will make for an impressive addition to an RAF Training Command collection. My thanks to Valom for the review sample.