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Kit Review - Special Hobby 1/72 Sunderland Mk.III "U-Boat Killers"

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Brad Cancian:
Special Hobby 1/72 Sunderland Mk.III “U-Boat Killers”
Reviewed by Brad Cancian



Item: SH72304
scale: 1/72
Price: 54.80 Euros, direct from Special Hobby

Review kit kindly provided by Special Hobby at https://www.specialhobby.eu/short-sunderland-mk-iii

The Definitive U-Boat Killer

The Short S.25 Sunderland is a British flying boat patrol bomber, developed and constructed by Short Brothers for the Royal Air Force (RAF). The aircraft took its service name from the town and port of Sunderland in North East England. Developed in parallel with the civilian S.23 Empire flying boat, the flagship of Imperial Airways, the Sunderland was developed specifically to conform to the requirements of British Air Ministry Specification R.2/33 for a long-range patrol/reconnaissance flying boat to serve with the Royal Air Force (RAF).

The Sunderland featured all-metal, mainly flush-riveted construction, except for the flight control surfaces, which used a fabric-covered metal frame construction. Of these, the flaps employed unusual Gouge-patented devices that slid backwards along curved tracks, moving rearwards and downwards to increase the wing area and generating 30% greater lift for landing. The thick wings, upon which the aircraft's four nacelle-mounted Bristol Pegasus XXII radial engines were carried, also accommodated a total of six drum-style fuel tanks, which possessed a total capacity of 9,200 litres (2,025 Imperial gallons, 2,430 U.S. gallons). In addition to the main fuel tanks, an arrangement of four smaller fuel tanks was installed behind the rear wing spar later on; with the extra tanks fitted, the Sunderland possessed a combined total fuel capacity of 11,602 litres (2,550 Imperial gallons, 3,037 U.S. gallons), which was enough to enable the type to conduct patrols of up to 14 hours' duration.

The Sunderland was one of the most powerful and widely used flying boats throughout the Second World War. In addition to the RAF, the type was operated by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), South African Air Force (SAAF), Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF), French Navy, Norwegian Air Force, and the Portuguese Navy. During the conflict, the type was heavily involved in Allied efforts to counter the threat posed by German U-boats in the Battle of the Atlantic. On 17 July 1940, a RAAF Sunderland (of No. 10 Squadron) performed the type's first unassisted U-boat kill. Sunderlands also played a major role in the Mediterranean theatre, performing maritime reconnaissance flights and logistical support missions. During the evacuation of Crete, shortly after the German invasion of the island, several aircraft were used to transport troops.

The Sunderland Mk.III featured a revised hull with improved seaworthiness, which had suffered as the weight of the Sunderland increased with new marks and field changes. In earlier Sunderlands, the hull "step" that allows a flying boat to "unstick" from the surface of the sea was an abrupt one, but in the Mk III it was a curve upwards from the forward hull line. The Mk.III also featured an improved ASV Mk.III radar, additional machine gun armament, capability to carry hydrostatically fused 250lb (110kg) depth charges, and anti-personnel bombs. The Mark III turned out to be the definitive Sunderland variant, with 461 built.



The Sunderland in 1/72

The Sunderland has seen a number of kits in 1/72 scale. Airfix’s stalwart kit was first introduced way bay in 1959, and saw various reboxings in the intervening decades, even seeing a re-release back in 2013. Around the same time, in 2012, Italeri released a nice kit of the Sunderland, complete with a partial interior, and recessed panel lines. Special Hobby’s Sunderland was first released in 2019, with a Mk.V boxing, followed by the Mk.III kit we have here in 2020. Special Hobby also released a Mk.I/II kit in 2022.

The Special Hobby Kit

Firstly, the box for this kit is huge – 46cm by 25cm by 8cm...! Upon opening the box, I can honestly say the sheer amount of plastic crammed into the large box was quite daunting! There is nothing short of 460 pieces (give or take) contained within this mammoth box! The Sunderland is a big aircraft, and accordingly, so is the kit (for example, the span of the model comes out around 48cm, and the length around 36cm, once built). Indeed, I could only just squeeze the sprues into my little photo booth for this review! But my, do we get a comprehensive kit for that amount of plastic, so, strap in folks!



In the box, we get 13 (yes, 13) grey plastic sprues, one large clear plastic sprue, four resin exhausts, instructions, and decals.

Starting with Sprue A, we get the two large fuselage halves.



The moulding of these pieces is phenomenal, given the sheer size of these parts. Surface detail is smooth and crisp, with lovely, consistent panel lines to the exterior.




We get quite a comprehensive set of framing and detailing to the interior.




There is no warping, or mould defects, with mould release pins in tucked away places. Bravo, Special Hobby!

Sprue B and Sprue C are the two sprues containing flying surfaces.




Consistent with Sprue A, we get nice, clean and crisp detailing with recessed panel lines, and nice subtle fabric detail for flying surfaces. Note there is a little bit of flash here and there, in particular around the sprue points, and wing trailing edges (though these should be easy to deal with). The main wings also contain some hefty spar tabs, which will be needed to keep the heavy wing pieces secured safely. Ailerons and Elevators are moulded integral with their respective surfaces, with the rudder being a separate part.






Note that the interior of the wing pieces contain mould release pins, so you may need to check these to make sure they don’t interfere with gluing the large wings together. Those on the spar tabs will definitely need to be addressed, otherwise the tabs won't slot into the fuselage halves.



Sprue D contains the first of the detail parts, in this case, the engine cowls, floats, propellers, and other details.




The cowls have lovely, crisp detail, and come in two halves (a good choice, rather than risk moulding these as single pieces in resin, like the earlier Sea Otter kit).



Propeller hubs contain nice detail also.



The next sprue is Sprue F, which contains the fuselage inserts.



There are a number of options catered for here, many of which not used (e.g the fuselage inserts with the two gunner positions are not used). This may be useful in modelling other variants of the Sunderland outside of those provided for in the instructions, should you so choose. Detail again is crisp and consistent, and the instrument panel is also nicely moulded.



Sprue I is focussed on internal details, including floors, bulkheads, and other detail items.



Moulding here is outstanding; with floor and bulkhead detail being nice and crisp.


Again we get quite comprehensive detail; a point that I particularly like is the representation of the cockpit curtain, which should look the part once painted up.



Sprue J contains predominantly armament, some exterior parts (including beaching wheels), and some internal components.



Unsurprisingly, detail here is sharp; the wheel treads and overhead panel for the cockpit being a particular feature.




Armament looks crisp, but care will be needed with removal and cleanup. Some of the guns were unfortunately already bent in the box. These would be candidates for aftermarket replacements.



Sprue K features more armament (bombs, mainly), bomb racks, and more parts for the interior. Detail is again sharp.





Sprue L contains the remainder of the beaching gear, more detail pieces, but also the vast array of antennas that festoon the exterior of the aircraft.



Detail here is impressive. In particular, the antennas are well executed, being thin and straight. That being said, unsurprisingly, care will be needed in removing these components from the sprues, and cleaning them up. A steady hand, iron will, and a stiff drink may assist here…!




Sprue N is a smaller sprue, whcih provides for mode interior detail parts:



Sprue I (x2) provides some lovely radial engines. These will look the part if well painted, but also leave plenty of room for the detailer to go wild.



We also get four beautiful porcupine exhausts in resin; the complexity of these pieces are both well served and well executed in this medium.



Lastly, we get the clear sprue. The glass is thin and clear, and very well executed. All of that interior detailing won’t be wasted!





Phew…!

Instructions

Special Hobby’s Instructions are provided in their modern, high-quality booklet. Presented in 23 glossy pages, construction occurs over a whopping 80 steps. You may need to enlist the help of your crew to assist in reviewing them, to make sure you don’t miss anything!



The instructions are comprehensive with a parts layout (which clearly shows the parts not used for this boxing), clear instruction and paint call outs (in Gunze and Mr Colour paints), and full colour four angle painting profiles. The instructions clearly indicate where parts are used for the various options, as well as options for things like stowed or extended bomb racks. Rigging instructions for the floats is also provided (a nice touch!). The first 40 or so steps of construction are focussed on the interior, with the rest focussed on major construction and exterior detailing.





















Four colour schemes are provided. Each of the schemes is relatively simple yet sufficiently different to provide some good options for the modeller. The schemes are:

-   Short Sunderland Mk.III, EK591 “2-U”, No 422 SQN, RCAF, based at Castle Archdale, Northern Ireland, early to mid 1944.
-   Short Sunderland Mk.III, EJ168 “J”, No.343 (French) SQN, RAF, Dakar, Africa, 1944.
-   Short Sunderland Mk.III, EJ134 “N”, No.461 SQN, RAAF, Pembroke Dock, Wales, 1943.
-   Short Sunderland Mk.III, DV969 “E”, No.10 SQN, RAAF, Pembroke, Wales, Spring 1943






As an Australian, it is great to see two Australian options provided. As an ex-serving member of 10SQN RAAF in my younger days, I know which scheme I’ll be choosing :)

Decals

The decals, like all recent Special Hobby releases, are crisply printed with solid colour and excellent register. Colour density, fine detail and register is excellent. It is not immediately obvious if these are the ‘newer’ type of decal employed by Special Hobby in the Eduard style, but it appears not from my eye-balling. In any case, I envision no problems with these decals. Sadly, no decals are provided for seat belts, so the modeler will be left to their own devices here. The decal film looks nice and thin.




Accuracy and Buildability:

Given I am not an expert on Sunderlands, I can only speculate as to the degree of accuracy, however everything that I could find online by those that have looked at and built this kit suggests that it is indeed an excellent replica that builds up reasonably nicely.

From what I have read, caution should be exercised in fitting the ventral and dorsal fillet pieces, as there may be some shimming, sanding, and rescribing needed here. One should also watch out for the wing mould release pins as noted, to ensure smooth fitment of the wings. From what I have read, the rest of the construction should be relatively trouble free.

When we look at all of these parts together, we get quite a comprehensive looking interior, a nicely detailed exterior, and a comprehensive range of ordnance. It is in its completeness that, in my opinion, this kit beats out its competitors. If I were to compare between this kit and the Italeri kit, which also contains an interior, I would put the Special Hobby kit ahead. The Italeri kit contains an interior, but it is not as comprehensive as the Special Hobby kit, which offers a full flight deck, crew rest quarters, bomb bays, gunner positions, and so on. You can, of course, choose as much or as little detail as you wish to add. We also get options regarding things like extended or retracted bomb racks, and beaching gear, depending on how you wish to display your model.

I would say the only down sides are a lack of things like seatbelts, either as an etched inclusion, or as decals, as well as a lack of a masking set included to deal with the plethora of windows. Fear not, as Eduard offer several etched sets for this kit if you really want to go to town on your Sunderland, as well as mask sets. These are also available through Special Hobby.

With this complexity, however, one must expect a degree of care being needed to ensure alignment of all of the major components. As always, test fit, test fit, test fit!

Conclusions

It’s wonderful to see Special Hobby continuing to release kits of this significant (in both size and historical impact) aircraft. The Sunderland is the iconic anti U-boat aircraft, and its exploits, endurance, and toughness (and same for its crews) is renowned and well deserved. Special Hobby have clearly poured a lot of attention and passion into this kit, and it shows. This kit represents, in my view, the best representation of the Sunderland on the market today. With appropriate care and attention, the build should be straight forward, and will build into an impressive and eye-catching model.



I intend to build my Sunderland as a 10SQN RAAF bird, in homage to my own previous service with 10SQN RAAF… I Just need to make sure I have the space to house her when complete!

Highly recommended!

Our very sincere thanks to Special Hobby for the review sample!

Davos522:
Thanks, Brad, amazingly thorough review of an amazingly thorough kit. I've always loved flying boats, and this looks like the definitive rendition of the Sunderland.

The biggest problem for me would be all that lovely interior being visible only through the portholes and/or open doors. I guess if I were to build it I'd try to figure out a way to make at least part of the hull removable so you could actually see more of the interior... maybe not gluing part F18 would help? It'd require some thought.

Dutch

KiwiZac:
My goodness, what a kit...and what a review! That was a terrific read Brad and, on reflection, I'll need to find an Airfix Sunderland for my Solent project as it would be a waste to use this gorgeous kit!

Whiteknuckles:
Excellent review Brad, this looks like an excellent kit and I will be very interested to follow your build when you get on to it!!
Flying boats are a part of Australia's aviation heritage that are sadly underrepresented in our warbird community......at least we have the Black Cat at HARS down here in the Illawarra :)

Andrew

WD:
Thanks for another great review Brad. My first introduction to these was the scene with the Bumble Bee in Das Boot when I first watched it in '83. What a magnificent beast of an a/c. I sure wish I had room for one on the shelf.

Warren

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