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Frank Cronin
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MACH 2 1/72 Vickers Viscount

January 19, 2014 · in Aviation · · 13 · 4.1K

The person that I built This for is a close friend of the owner of and has asked me to build quite a few of this companies kits.

I compliment MACH 2 for the fact that they have introduced quite a number of very interesting subjects. That being said, I will repeat, these kits are not for the feint of heart. What comes in the box is an injected molded model of very soft plastic with a lot of flash. The panel lines are recessed but are very deep and at some points the lines do not match. The fit of the parts is a point you have to really pay attention to and the instructions are minimal at best. The clear parts are very thick and difficult to deal with. Aside from all of this the overall model is there in basic shape. I would suggest a person should measure some of the individual parts to see that they are all the same dimension. If one finds a subject kit that he/she wants to put their heart into they should approach it with a scratch builders

All of these kits I have done including this one are out of the box with minor exceptions. I glued all of the clear parts in place and then filled and sanded the fuselage smooth. A lot of filler was also used to take care of some serious gaps. I used the kit decals for some of the Capital Airline scheme but all of the markings are not included on the decal sheet. I painted the wide red stripe on the fuselage and made the decal for the red design on the vertical tail. I purchased the Capital Airline sheet from "Vintage Flyer Decals". This sheet has a different scheme so all I used were the window decals. If anyone is at all interested in airline decals of quite a variety of liveries, I can't say enough good about Vintage Flyer Decals. Check them out at vintageflyerdecals.com

Their decals are crisp, well drawn, and go on very well.
I want to again compliment MACH 2 for their choice of model subjects.

A few articles ago Rob stated that "In England is the Gentleman's scale". Trust me, one of these kits may test your mettle and afterward, you may no longer be a gentleman.

Reader reactions:
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13 responses

  1. Very nice model Frank, but "you're a far braver man than I, Charlie Brown." Did one Mach 2 kit and quoth the raven, "NEVERMORE!"

  2. I agree with Mr Cleaver and your assessment but I'm not brave enough to try one the first time.
    Frank you seem to heve made a fine looking piece out of the proverbial " Sows Ear"

  3. Nice clean build. Really a fine effort, I built a Mach 2 kit but for the life of me, I can't remember what it was. BUT I do recall cursing and muttering the quality of the kit and haven't built a Mach 2 kit since.

  4. Looks good from here, Frank ! Can't say that I know much about Mach 2 kits, except what I've read, but you've done an admiral job for sure.

  5. Frank, I remember seeing what it looked like in the box...Great job indeed!

  6. A labor of love, no doubt. Brave man, Frank.

  7. beautiful work on that most important airliner

    • Yes Bob I agree, an important airliner, one of the best turbine airliners built I think. Pitty it seems to have garnered so little attention from model companies. Did Airfix do one of these? I remember looking over one some years back, a SAAF 21 VIP Sqn aircraft. A very nice machine and those huge windows offered the pax a panoramic view!

  8. Frank, fantastic job on a tough to build kit. The Viscount is a beautiful aircraft, and, in spite of the troubles you had to overcome, you did it justice!

  9. Very neat job, Frank, and a classic airliner.

  10. I have often thought about trying one of these Mach II Viscounts. I did the Mach II CV-440 and that was a challenge but you have to love those classic airliners so you've inspired me to give a Viscount a try.

  11. Very nice, I had one of these Mach 2 kits, luckily I saw sense and sold it, I still have the Airways 800 series, which I will build one day, and I think it might be a lot easier LOL

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