Revell 1/32 Lysander I/III

The Westland Lysander was a British army co-operation and liaison aircraft produced by Westland Aircraft that was used immediately before and during the Second World War.

After becoming obsolete in the army co-operation role, the aircraft's short-field performance enabled clandestine missions using small, improvised airstrips behind enemy lines to place or recover agents, particularly in occupied France with the help of the French Resistance. Royal Air Force army co-operation aircraft were named after mythical or historical military leaders; in this case the Spartan admiral Lysander was chosen.

This is a 1978 Matchbox mold, being one of the company’s then more advanced toolings. The kit was reboxed by Revell in 1998 with different decal options, which is the subject of this preview (and it looks like Revell has reissued the exact same edition in 2003). The specific copy was bought some time in the mid-00s at a very reasonable price from one of my beloved, sadly now closed toy/hobby shops in my equally beloved hometown (Chalkis, Greece). The kit comes in the well known high quality but side opening Revell blue box, carrying a beautiful box art by artist Egbert Friedl, depicting RAF No 2 Squadron’s T1631/XV-H machine as it stood in RAF Sawbridgeworth some time in 1941.

Upon opening the box, I was greeted with roughly 120 light gray styrene parts, neatly arranged in 5 sprues (no multi color Matchbox sprues any more - a feature that a number of us still love). For a 1978 tooling, molding is relatively crisp with little flash, indicating well maintained molds. However, a number of sink marks were noticed, most of them above locating pin areas, leading towards premature removal of the sprues from the molds before sufficient cooling took place. Panel lines are mostly recessed but tad wider/deeper than what we are used to.

Cockpit, while not totally sparse and containing all basic elements found in the real thing, is not detailed up to modern standards, especially for the scale. Two good looking figures are provided and maybe it is a good idea to use them in order to blank the cockpit sparseness, especially if you choose to perform some sort of “surgery” to them regarding head and arms position, in order to look more natural.

The engine looks good, but would definitely benefit from some super detailing. The fixed landing gear looks sufficient as well. A pair of stub wings that carried small bombs or supply canisters are provided to be attached onto the spats. All movable aerodynamic surfaces are provided separately and it might be a good idea to mount them “dynamically”, in order to breathe some extra life. Fabric representation is quite good. Finally the prop looks acceptable (though the usual irritating sink marks on the inner blades bases are present), as does the 2-piece exhaust.

Transparencies are well molded. They are relatively thick but clear and their frames are well defined but quite oversized. Instructions are the typical (excellent) Revell of the 00s, coming in the form of a 16-page b/w leaflet, containing a short history of the type, a photo of a completed model, a sprues map, with the construction spread in 42 simple, clear and concise steps and full color callouts provided where applicable during the build.

Three classic yet attractive schemes are provided, for a Mk.I, a Mk.III and a Mk.III SD machine. Of them, the first two carried the classic dark earth/dark green over sky livery, while the SD carried the dark green/gray over black. Colors  are given in Revell codes and in generic form. Decals, though matt, are beautifully done and, though very old (1989) look to be in excellent condition. I recall Revell decals from that era did not age that well, but these look as if they are brand new. Of course, one can only say when he uses them.

Instructions want you to first assemble the interior and trap it between the fuselage halves. The engine, cowling and prop assembly and installation is next, followed by the wings assembly and tail planes assembly and installation. The spatted landing gear follows (expect some fit issues there), where you have to pay attention in order to mount the spats in the correct angles (a head on view printed on the instructions wouldn’t hurt).

The stub wings provided are to be attached in the non-SD versions, but bear in mind that not all non-SD examples and not in every case carried them. Your choice and research. The big  drop tank (also, only for the SD version) is next, followed by the transparencies, the main wings that fit to the transparencies sides in a distinctive manner and some final bits and pieces, ending a build of average complexity.

As of 2025, this is still the only game in town if you want a 1/32 Lysander. For a 1978 mold, this is not a bad kit and one of Matchbox better offerings: general shapes of parts look correct, molding is relatively crisp with little flash, panel lines are mostly engraved (though tad deep), detail is generally on an acceptable level (but the cockpit and, at a lesser degree, the engine are on the sparse side), transparencies are well molded but their frames are oversized, decals are nicely done and instructions are superb.

Out of the box, an attractive Lysander is expected to emerge, while with some super detailing at a few key areas a really awesome example will result (please note that from some research, apart from decals and masks, not a lot of aftermarket stuff seems to exist, so you might have to improvise). The build itself looks simple and straightforward, but I would expect a few fit issues here and there.

The kit does not seem to be often reissued (the last time being in 2003). It is not very easy to find and if you do, a high “collector’s” price tag is expected. Taking into account the above, this is definitely a kit worth tackling, bearing also in mind that you should allocate a voluminous shelf space, as the finished model is big!
 
Happy Modeling!

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