LS 1/144 Lockheed CP-140 Aurora

The Lockheed CP-140 Aurora is a maritime patrol aircraft operated by the Royal Canadian Air Force. The aircraft is based on the Lockheed P-3 Orion airframe, but mounts the electronics suite of the Lockheed S-3 Viking. "Aurora" refers to the Roman goddess of dawn who flies across the sky each morning ahead of the sun. Aurora also refers to the Aurora Borealis, the "northern lights", that are prominent over northern Canada and the Arctic Ocean.

The CP-140A Arcturus was a related variant used primarily for pilot training and coastal surface patrol missions.

Initially tooled in 1983, LS released over a half dozen different boxings. Later, Arii released a couple, the last in 1994. Between 2005 and 2008, Micro Ace released a series of these kits and that has been the last that have been issued. Currently the kits by all three manufacturers are quite difficult to find. However, in 2021, Eastern Express released or planned to release a 1/144 P-3 which may be the same tooling.

When these first came out, I bought every boxing LS produced, built one, sold the rest, and have saved this boxing. The kit is nicely done and includes a one-piece cockpit that is basically seats. 15 grams of weight needs to be put into the nose, though I doubt there is room forward of the cockpit for that much, so space under and behind the cockpit will need to be used. There is a shallow bomb bay that needs to be installed before joining the fuselage halves.

The forward engine nacelles are left and right halves with the engine fronts a separate part. One is supposed to build up and attach the prop before gluing the engine front so the props will spin, but I'd glue the prop shaft to the front and attach the props later. I say that as when I built my lone kit several years ago, I found that the poorest fit was the engine fronts to the wing.

Speaking of the wing, to do a CP-140, the builder will need to cut off the molded on wing tip to add the tip pods, an easy enough job. Once the fuselage and wings are built, they and the tailplanes can all be glued together.You are provided the option to have the bomb bay doors open or closed. If you find that the kit might tail sit, you can always put additional weight in the bomb bay and do the closed door option. The kit also allows for a retracted gear option though no stand is included. Landing gear doors will need to be cut apart, a standard feature of many 1980s kits. Another insert is behind the wing which houses the sonobouy chutes. One of the last steps is installation of the clear bits. All of these fit from the outside, which really enhances painting.

Instructions are in both Japanese and English. The drawings are well done and easy to understand. There is one markings option and that is for a 407 Squadron aircraft in white over what is listed as aircraft grey. This color on Canadian planes always seemed to me to have a greenish tint, but it could just have been me. There are sufficient aircraft serial numbers to do pretty much any CP-140 for which you can find an image. Decals are nicely printed, but their viability is unknown after all these years.

Assuming you can locate one of these kits, they are well worth picking up and make into a very nice model for your shelves.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_CP-140_Aurora

November 2024

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