Dekno 1/72 Marcoux-Bromberg Special (1939)

The original airplane was built to the design of Keith Rider as the R-3 during 1933 and 1934. In 1936 is was purchased by Hal Marcoux, who was employed at Douglas Aircraft. He and Jack Bromberg, also from Douglas, carried out major modifications. In 1936, with pilot Earl Ortman, the plane qualified for the Thompson Trophy Race at 258.9 mph, with one lap at 278 mph, and took second place in the race at an average speed of 248 mph. It also took second place at the Thompson race in 1937, and 1938, and third in 1939. In 1936 it won the Golden Gate Trophy and in 1937 took second in the Bendix Transcontinental, making it one of the most consistently successful air racers of the 1930s. It was powered successively by Pratt & Whitney Wasp Jr., Wasp and finally a Twin Wasp Jr. Special. The aircraft was also featured in the Clark Gable movie, "Test Pilot." Fans of 1930s racers will be pleased to know that the aircraft is still extant and is an exhibit at the New England Air Museum.

THE KIT

Molded in a fetching blue resin, the kit is superbly packaged in a compartmentalized poly-bag as you see. Only the prop blades were separate and in the box. The box itself is rather neat being like an old fashioned matchbox where the parts tray slides into a cover. The resin itself is superbly done. I saw no air bubbles or voids in any of the parts, just a bit of roughness around the edges that will be easily cleaned up.

The fuselage has framework detail on the inside and the interior provides the basics; seat, instrument panel, control stick and rudder pedals. The wing is a single piece and fits under the fuselage. Rudder and tail planes are butt join pieces. There is a separate exhaust collector that fits on the rear of the nicely done engine. Over this fits a one-piece cowling with long carb and oil cooler intakes. I noticed that the upper intake is offset to the left. Landing gear are basic and well done with the very fine retraction struts molded into a resin pour block. A tail skid is provided for the rear. The prop has a hub and separate blades that slot into holes in the hub. That pretty well cover it. It is a racing plane so is understandably a bare bones aircraft. Two vacuformed canopies are included.

The instructions are well done with five well drawn construction steps that include color information. The aircraft itself is what I'd call Canary Yellow with black wings and horizontal stabilizers. There is a small decal sheet that includes all of the registration and racing numbers applied to the plane.