Beaufighter Main Wheel
Three Types

BarracudaCast, 1/72 scale

Reviewed by Mark J. Davies

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Barracuda Studios seem well known to many HyperScalers, and they have a well-established reputation for accuracy and quality products. As a lead-in to this 'first look', I will quote a post by Barracuda Studio's Roy Sutherland on HyperScale's 'Plane Talking':

"If you can't tell, I love accurate wheels. To me, two things will make an otherwise nice model look toylike: bad wheels and bad prop blades. I have talked with a number of other modelers who share the same feelings. So, if I am crazy, at least I'm in good company."

Each pair of wheels comes paired on an easy to remove casting stub, and packed in a plastic bag with card header. It should come as no surprise then that the products reviewed here are all flawless, with very nice detail levels.

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I will quote the product’s website regarding the characteristics of each pair below. Before doing so I endorse BarrcudaCasts’s own claim that each pair of wheels is super detailed, accurate, designed for the new Airfix Beaufighter, but can be made to fit other kits as well. I have also chosen to use the website images as these are a totally fair and accurate portrayal of the products, and better quality photos than I can manage (in some cases I added the yellow text to make clear which wheel each image is of):

• BR72246   Beaufighter Early Wheels - No Tread: Single brake main wheels with five-slot hub on one side and smooth. These were fitted to early production Beaufighters, especially the night fighters and desert based aircraft.

• BR72248 Beaufighter Early Wheels - Treaded Tyres: Single brake main wheels with five-slot hub on one side and smooth. These were fitted to Beaufighter ICs operating in the Pacific theatre, and other early Beaus operating from unimproved runways.

• BR72249 Beaufighter Late Wheels - Treaded Tyres: Dual brake main wheels with plain hubs on both sides and smooth tyres. This is the type often fitted to Australian Beaufighters and others operating in the Pacific and CBI theaters.

I am sure that excellent quality and accuracy would also hold true for BR72247: Beaufighter Late Wheels – No Tread, but I did not receive these to review (Editor's note - that's because I pinched them to use on my Airfix 1/72 scale Beaufighter! They look great).

Conclusion

These well-researched and accurate wheels are produced to a very high standard, and should improve the appearance of any 1/72 scale Beaufighter kit. All three pairs are highly recommended.

Thanks to Barracuda Studios for the images and information

Barracuda Studio products are available online from their website

Text Copyright © 2015 by Mark Davies
Images Copyright © 2015 by Barrcuda Studios
This Page Created on 17 November, 2015
Last updated 17 November, 2015

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