Airfix 1/144 Comet 4B

The Comet 4 was a further improvement on the stretched Comet 3 with even greater fuel capacity. The design had progressed significantly from the original Comet 1, growing by 18 ft 6 in (5.64 m) and typically seating 74 to 81 passengers compared to the Comet 1's 36 to 44 (119 passengers could be accommodated in a special charter seating package in the later 4C series). The Comet 4 was considered the definitive series, having a longer range, higher cruising speed and higher maximum takeoff weight. These improvements were possible largely because of Avon engines, with twice the thrust of the Comet 1's Ghosts. Deliveries to BOAC began on 30 September 1958 with two 48-seat aircraft, which were used to initiate the first scheduled transatlantic services.

Comet 4B: Originally developed for Capital Airlines as the 4A, the 4B featured greater capacity through a 2m longer fuselage, and a shorter wingspan; 18 were produced.

Airfix's Comet 4B was first released in 1961 and the most recent one was 2015. They made a fairly poor choice of variants to kit as the 4B was only operated by a small number of airlines. Dan Air, which are the markings included in the kit, got its 4Bs second hand from previous operators to run on its tour routes and to use for spares. The company eventually purchased 48 airframes of various marques. That would make it the largest of all Comet operators.

My kit was purchased second hand and the previous owner removed all the parts from the sprues and put them into a zip bag. The kit itself is raised panel lines and minimal detailing. No cockpit, and actually no clear bits aside from the cockpit windows. There are only four large parts; the fuselage halves and upper/lower wing halves. Some plugs are installed for exhaust. Landing gear is quite devoid of detailing and there are no boxed in gear wells aside from the nose gear.

A curiosity of all Airfix airliners of the period is that the cabin doors are separate items. There are internal bulkheads to stiffen the fuselage which prevents the long seams from cracking after time. On the outside of all the alignment pins/sockets are shallow sink areas. The worst are those on the upper wing opposite the sockets for the main gear, though they are not horrible. Though no nose weight is mentioned, it wouldn't hurt.

Instructions are quite generic and only three colors are referenced; silver, white and red. The red is for the fin. Decals look to be usable, but if you want, there are aftermarket out there, but the selection is very limited. There are no clear cabin windows. What you are supposed to do is install the fuselage striping over the windows then when dry, punch them out with an included tool. Then you are to use Clearfix (which is mentioned in the instructions as included but not in the box) to fill the openings if you wish.  

I built this kit several decades back and attempted to upgrade it to the 4C by lengthening the outer wing and using F-104 drop tanks to make the wing tanks. At the time it seemed to work ok, but looking back it was pretty crude. If you want a proper Comet 4C (which is the version Airfix should have kitted), it is available from AModel.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_Comet#

August 2025 

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