Dora Wings 1/72 Percival Vega Gull Kit First Look

By David L. Veres

First Look

Many consider lithe, lovely Percival Vega Gulls an epitome of pre-WWII British light-plane design. Examples not only plied civil circuits, but saw military service, as well.

Dora Wings has obliged fans of the second market with a beautiful little P-10 Vega Gull in "military service".

The crisply molded 1/72-scale kit features 80 components on 4 trees in gray and clear styrene. Additional "aftermarket-quality" details, decals, and assembly instructions complete contents.

Moldings sport everything you'd expect from recent Dora Wings kits, including:

• fine, recessed scribing
• fine raised scribing where appropriate
• clear canopy with clearly delineated framing
• superbly detailed cockpit with instrument panel, bulkheads, joysticks, seats, controls, and more
• separate cockpit entry doors
• delicately rendered fabric-covered control surfaces
• colorful decals

Dora Wings clearly intends styrene components for multiple Vega Gull packages. The kit sports, for instance, multiple two-bladed props, spinners, seats, rudders, noses, and tail wheels.

Easy-to-follow, 6-page instructions include a capsule history, parts maps, 21-phase assembly sequence, and box-top subject painting details. Two more decals placement pages cover the remaining colorful schemes:

• RNZAF P-10 Vega Gull NZ571, 42 Sqn, Rongotai, 1944
• Belgian Government P-10 Vega Gull, requisitioned OO-ANC, September 1939
• Argentine Government P-10 Vega Gull, ex-L7272 (British Air Attaché), Buenos Aires, December 1946

Purists will note just hints of parts flash, here and there. Small flaws also mar a couple elements of windscreen masks. And based on Paul Jackson's plans in Air-Britain's authoritative On the Wings of a Gull: Percival and Hunting Aircraft, wings are perfect – but the fuselage appears slightly short.

But I quibble. Love pre-WWII civil subjects? Snag this little gem.

With thanks to Dora Wings for this review sample!