Wings900 - Herpa BOAC De Havilland Comet IV 1:500

Wings900 Model Review Reviewer: Jim Klug Model Photographs � Jim Klug Real Aircraft Photo Courtesy of JetPhotos.net
*Airline*	*Make/Model*	*Manufacturer*	*Scale*
	De Havilland Comet IV		1:500

*Introduction*
	British Overseas Airways Corporation was a direct predecessor of British Airways. It was one of the most innovative and popular airlines of the 1950s and 60s. BOAC's Comet 4 began its scheduled operations from London to New York three weeks ahead of Pan Am with its Boeing 707. Product ID: 515030

The Model

This is the second De Havilland Comet IV from Herpa's Yesterday Series. I have come to like the Yesterday series and appreciate the effort being made to bring the collecting community more and more airliners and liveries. BOAC and the Comet have a lot of history behind them (unfortunately the Comet also made history for all the wrong reasons) and it is interesting to see this model come out. So let's take a look.

Betraying its geneisis from the dawn of the jet age, the Comet has quite a larg wing for such a small plane. And it is something you do notice when you look at this model. The nose section here is a little bit too fat and could be sharpened a tad. One of the most frustrating things about this model is the windows, they are almost impossible to see. And adding window frames are not possible either as they would not be realistic. I wonder if a lighter gray would have been better than the dark gray/blak windows here. The cockpit windows line up well but extend too far back (they should end where the front gear door starts). The blue cheatline should be flat here and we see it wrap up around the top of the cockpit windows. However, the rest of the livery here looks good. The gear looks good and the gear door is nice and sharp. It may look devoid of deatail and a little cheap but it is an accurate reproduction of the Comet gear.

Take a look at the size of the wing. The details are crisp and sharp so that is nice. The pods are OK and they have the details we expect to see. I think they may be a bit to fat and stubby though. As mentioned when I wrote the first review, I'd really like to see just a spot of black paint to create the exaust. Otherwise it looks kind of cheap or a simple oversight. I also think the pax windows are 2 or 2 mm too low. The door is too close to the wing as there has to be room for a ramp.

The plastic vertical stabilizer looks OK but does suffer from the translucent effect so common on these models. That being said, the BOAC logo, Union Jack, and Registration look good. The shape of the top is a little bit off as well, as it crests and is not level. The horizontal stabilizers are also nicely done and reporduce (albeit a little bit too much) the upward slant found on the real plane.

Another disappointment here is the engine inlets. But you will only be disappointed when you look up close as they seem to be a bit crude. However at a distance of more than, say 10-15 cm they do look OK. Another question I have is the color of BOAC. Here it is printed in a light blue (the same color used for the registration on the wing). However, I could not find photographic proof showing that this was the color used. The picrures I have seen seem to sow the BOAC as being the same color as the cheat line. Enquiring minds want to know!

Final Thoughts

A cool plane with a lot of history let down by a mould that could use some finishing touches. Overall a good model but with a little bit of effort cound be a fantastic addition to anybody's vintage jetliner collection.

Rating

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