Broplan Vacform

Dan:

I have a Broplan kit of the Dewoitine 338 Triplane.

I have to say, the packaging and instructionsa are well done.

Instructions give a 3view detail with extra side views for other marking options (no decals in the kit, but the version sold in France did ). On the flipside the painting and markings sheet could almost be scanned in, and then cleaned up in a drawing program and then printed onto a decal sheet (I have an Alps printer). Most the of the civil markings are black anyway.

The other side of the instruction sheet shows a numbered parts layout of each vac sheet and of each plastic part.

There is a 1 view instruction step showing all parts placement (this is better than most vacs period), plus detail instruction views of the cockpit, front fuselage bulkhead location and engine and landing gear location.

The vac sheets are from a female mold, so that the recessed panel line detail is good. It does 'wash' out in places, but can easily be rescribed. There are also wing spars included in the kit; and there is no detailing in the passenger cabin (the spar may of protruded into the cabin references Le Fana 235 and Icare 90 don't show anything).

There are short run injection molded parts and they are only fair. If that would be my second criticism of the kit (1st being no decals), I would wish that Broplan would link up with a resin parts producer.

The parts consist of landing gear, radial engines, props and gear doors and tailwheel.

On a scale of 1-5, 5 being excellent, here are my thoughts in brief:

Kit Design: 4.5 Vac sheets: 4 Plastic parts: 1.5 Instructions: 5 Decals: 0 (none provided)

I'll explain the 4.5 on the kit design. The kit is designed well, but Broplan is obviously limited to the size of his sheets. So that a large civil airliner in 72 scale has to have 4 parts - 2 front and 2 rear fuselage. The wings are only 4 parts though, and the mating locations (as well as the spar holes) are well noted on the fuselage.

It seems as if the Embraer won't have that limitation as it is much smaller than the Dewoitine.

Having said all that, I would recommend you get this kit if you have no good quality resin alternative. In a world where there aren't too many vac kit producers left, Broplan is an artisan of the craft.

You may have to provide your own decals, and you will definitely have to work on the details, but the basic form is there. Luckily the Embraer doesn't have radial engines like the Dewoitine!!!!

If you have any questions let me know.

Keith Walker

ps for those who don't know the lineup, here is what Broplan sells:

Forgot to mention that the vac canopy is of the extended frame type that actually includes part of the fuselage, so that the joint can be painted and sanded over.

You can trim the vac canopy all you want though cause the fuselage also have the whole canopy area detailed.

A nice touch...

KWW

I have to wonder if they use more than one source for their injection-molded parts. I have the L-21 Super Cub which is completely injection-molded except for the canopy and its parts look perfectly adequate except for a bit of flash.

Perhaps there is more than one source, it is interesting that they do both vacforms and short run injection molded kits.

Keith Walker

Thanks, Keith. That was exactly what I wanted to know. I had seen a picture of a finished Embraer in Wingmasters and it looked very nicely done. I just wasn't sure if that was solely due to the builder or if Broplan provided a good starting point. With your thorough review, I feel confident ordering from Aeroclub. And speaking of vacforms, I just received Welsh Models' 1/72 Comet. It is stunning and a beautiful blend of vacform and resin. Again, thank you for the heads up on Broplan's quality. I can't wait to get it.

Dan