Six little bags
are included in the relatively small box. The resin parts were received intact despite
delivery via Post.Latécoère 298B
Sinifer
| Catalogue No.: | NECP48016 |
| Scale: | 1/48 |
| Media: | Resin |
| Review Type: | In-Box |
| Rating: | Highly Recommended |
S u m m a r y |
| Contents: |
89 resin parts, three brass wires, two vacformed
canopy. Decals : 3 paint schemes complete – 2 French a/c (1940 & 1942) and one German in 1944. |
| Price: | Approx. US$60 |
| Advantages: | The sole model of this aircraft ever built in 1/48, highly detailed nicely engraved – good instruction sheet |
| Disadvantages: | No Instructions on Luftwaffe wing camouflage, fragile wing fixing system, solid back fuselage. The vacform canopy could be better. No photo etched parts for belts for instance. |
| Recommendation: | Highly recommended for WW2 French and/or float aircraft fans |
H i s t o r y |
Design work on the Latécoère 298 commenced in 1934 and it first entered service with the French navy in 1939.
When the Second World War broke out, 81 aircraft were delivered and first saw action first in the roles of coastal patrol, bombing and strafing. It was used throughout the war by French Navy. The Luftwaffe also used captured examples in secondary roles. In North Africa after the landing of American troops, they saw action along with Coastal Command Wellington for submarines hunt and shore patrol. It ended the war as a light bomber during operation on French Atlantic coast where German had retrieved. A few were still in use after the war and I even saw a picture showing one which had landed on a castle water moat after an engine failure in early 1950s’!
F i r s t L o o k |
Six little bags
are included in the relatively small box. The resin parts were received intact despite
delivery via Post.
The fuselage is made of one solid piece. A hole has been molded to incorporate the cockpit. Rudder and elevators are supplied separate from the fixed parts of the tails - nice feature. The engraved detail is very nice and accurate. Some modellers may wish to add more details.
Cockpit is made up of 25 pieces. We have one floor, two sidewalls engraved with equipment, front and back bulkhead, two pedals, a front instrument panel in two pieces, a radio instrument panel, three accurate seats and various equipment. Everything is nicely molded.
Horizontal surfaces are made of two solid wings. Flaps are not separate parts. A drawing showing the plane front face and explains how to secure the wings. Unfortunately, no precise and strong fixing point is included. I hardly believe that the float struts will be strong enough to maintain the big and heavy wings in place even with super glue.
As we talk about floats, they are also made of two solid pieces and 11 fixing struts. Their rudders are nicely detailed and only the command wire is missing. However, this can be easily made.
The propeller is in four pieces and the tail cone is separate for molding reasons.
Rear MG is in four pieces and it’s the nicest darned machine gun I have ever seen. The torpedo body is made of two pieces and two propeller blades are supplied. Two Michelin 150kg bombs are provided, complete with their under-wing racks. The torpedo aiming sight is in two pieces - the rails and the sight itself.
Engine exhaust tubes are nicely molded and the pitot tubes is in three pieces giving this part a real shape.
A big maintenance trolley is supplied and comprises 16 pieces !!!
Decals covering two French schemes and one German in 1944 are supplied. The French a/c are coded HB14 in 1940 and 4T7 in 1942. The German plane was a utility plane with no special insignia. Full data is included on the decal sheet.
The paint references are provided for Gunze acrylic, Aeromaster enamel and Humbrol.
I would really like to see some paint manufacturers offering paints for French rudder flags as it’s always a little bit hard to fit well decals on rudder.
It would also have been nice for Sinifer to provide the belly tank often use on this aircraft and other armament like the depth charges and flares. Even if the initial mission of the Laté298 was torpedo, the plane rarely wore one. It still remained a project.
Documentation on the subject is rare, so be patient and enjoy the hunt! Replic magazine issued an article about the type for the 1/72 Azur kit, but many original pictures are included and few pictures of the cockpit.
I believe that the kit can be built directly from the box with a minimum of extra details. The only important omission is the harness.
Happy modeling
Stef
Obtained through Kit Discount - France
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