Loire 210

Pend Oreille Model Kits

Reviewed by Brett Green

The Loire 210 was a seaplane first delivered to the French Marine Nationale in November 1938. It was intended for use on Cruisers equipped with rotatable catapults. In practice, production was only 20 aircraft, and its service was restricted to less than 2 years due to structural weaknesses in the design of the wing.

Pend Oreille's 1/48 scale model of this unusual aircraft comprises just 24 off-white resin pieces; 6 lengths of plastic airfoil section strut; one small vacform sheet with two windscreens and five small decals sheets with enough markings for one aircraft.

The resin is very pleasant. Panel lines are finely engraved and other surface detail is very crisp, although the very pale colour makes it a little difficult to see all the detail. There is no evidence of pinholes or other imperfection in my kit.

Some smaller parts have a little feather-like flash that will take no time at all to clean up. However, care will be required removing some of the casting blocks. The most challenging will be the casting join on the trailing edge of the rudder. The excess resin runs from the top to the bottom of the rudder, and patient sanding will be the safest removal method to restore a razor-fine edge to this area.

Engineering of the kit is clever. The wing is cast as a single piece, ensuring that the dihedral angle of the outer wing panels will be perfect. This large part has no casting block - it requires no cleanup whatsoever. The fuselage has been designed with a saddle that simply sits over the wing.

I also like the method of assembling the engine and cowling. The nicely detailed Hispano-Suiza radial engine is wedged between a resin plug and the front of the cowling. This is a very secure and precise assembly.

The big central float is about the same length as the fuselage and is supplied in two halves. These parts are also just about ready for assembly straight from the box. Two of the three main support struts are reinforced with thin steel rod. This will not only strengthen the parts but also provide a handy locating pin at the top and bottom of each strut. Diagonal reinforcement struts and mounts for the small outer-wing floats are cut from lengths of the supplied styrene airfoil section.

Instructions are supplied on six photocopied pages using exploded view drawings to explain construction. Three view plans are supplied for painting instructions and decal placement. Rigging diagrams are included on these plans.

Colours are called out as Sea Blue and Matt Aircraft Blue. As someone without much pre-war French Naval reference, it would have been nice to see an FS reference, or perhaps suggested matches with commonly available model paints.

I have already dry-fitted fuselage halves and the wing. The saddle mount for the wing and fuselage is close to a perfect fit. The horizontal tail will be a good fit too.

If you are looking for an esoteric aircraft, then this model is for you! It is an appealing subject, well designed and, with some care in aligning the floats and struts, should not be too difficult to build.

Recommended.

Thanks to Lionel from Pend Oreille Model Kits for the review sample.

Pend Oreille Model Kits are available at good hobby shops and mail-order houses,
or their catalogue may be viewed and kits ordered direct from their Website

Review Text and Images Copyright © 2000 by Brett Green
Page Created 22 May, 2000
Last updated 22 July, 2003

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