Several of the types built by Blohm & Voss were innovative and some downright unusual, and
those that remained unbuilt, particularly if they were schemed during the frenzied period in
1944-45 when so many possible design ideas were explored, positively bizarre. Among their
earliest attempts at variable sweep was the P.202, the wing swivelling on a central pivot, with the
reason for this and other aspects of its layout discussed entertainingly in the characteristically
informative set of instructions with this kit.
The kit itself is essentially a simple one. The fuselage is divided into front and rear sections just
aft of the jet efflux, the tailplane being cast integrally with the rear portion. The twin jet pipes slot
into place behind the engines, through there is a slight gap between them and their pen-nib fairing;
this can be solved with a sliver of plasticard on one side or the other.
To keep costs down, this is one of a series of relatively basic kits from Toad, and the only
furnishing for the cockpit recess are a control column and a seat, though you could always raid
your stock of spare brass bits if you wanted to dress it up a little. Similarly no undercarriage
doors are provided, but the instructions have templates for these to be cut from plasticard.
The wing is single piece and can be fixed in the position of your choice from straight to fully
swept. One of the design problems with this aircraft was the use of a wing-mounted
undercarriage which would have made the aircraft totally impossible to land if the wing had stuck
in any but the unswept position. I take the view that some provision would have to be made for
checking the sweep mechanism as part of the preflight checks, and therefore it would be
permissible to have the wing in a swept position with the undercarriage extended on the ground.
The main legs, like the nose unit -- in white metal not resin as stated in the kit checklist -- are not
long enough, and I extended mine with the aid of Contrail plastic tube, shortening the nose leg to
give a reasonable ground angle. This may be remedied in later editions of the kit.
As always, Toad's instructions have a comprehensive rundown on late-war German colours and I
finished mine in RLM 81/82/84 with bare-metal undersides and a coat of semimatt varnish. The
unit marking is the four-leaf clover with superimposed 13 of Stab.III/JG.26, which I found on an
old Esci sheet and which I thought might help the aircraft to a little luck it would surely need. I
also used the insignia of the Gruppe technical officer -- if I were Gruppenkommandeur I would
make sure that my engineering man did a lot of flying on this device! Other decals came from an
Aeromaster Fw-190 sheet, which also gave me the basis for a yellow intake and green rudder.
The result is once again from Blohm & Voss and Toad Resins, Something-Completely-Different, but in this case the difference is emphasised by the fact that NASA flew a 'slew-wing' device just like that on the P.202 on their AD-1 some 40 years later. Just because some of the designs of the period looked odd did not mean that they were not practicable, even if the available technology might not have been adequate.
Below is yet again another of John Clarke's lovely finished versions .
Below is a parts scan etc for the Toad kit , the instructions and reviews from SAM & SAMI from '96
Note the giveaway Toad - collect 5 and get a free gift and the use of 2 canopies - lovely. It's a pity
Toad is no more - see my FAQ section for the latest on their moulds.
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Note : there is a Unicraft version and this is now the only show in town ,
- certainly worth a look for the experienced modeller- William
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