Arguably one of the most famous aircraft never to have flown, the radical Bugatti 100 is now available as a new-tool 1:48 kit from Special Hobby. Rowan takes a look.

Background

Bugatti's 100 "Racer" is one of aviation history's great "what ifs". Designed and built to compete in the 1939 Deutsch de la Meurthe Cup Race', the aircraft embodied the then state of the art in terms of aerodynamics. Built mostly of wood and magnesium with a highly polished doped fabric finish, the "Racer" featured a pair of mid-mounted engines driving contra-rotating propellers via a long transmission shaft and gear-box, a streamlined cockpit that formed the nose of the aircraft, and a smoothly blended fuselage and wing, with air intakes embedded in the leading edges of the V-tail. 

Sadly, the outbreak of WWII forced the Bugatti to be disassemble and put into storage before it could be flown, and it languished in a state of growing disrepair before a major restoration for static display in the USA.  

While the original Bugatti 100 never flew, a full-scale reproduction built with modern materials took to the air for the first time in 2015. Tragically, "Blue Dream" crashed just one year later on what was intended to be its final flight before being retired for static display, killing Scotty Wilson - one of the leaders of the project.

The Kit

Special Hobby's kit arrives in a compact and sturdy top-opening box adorned with a picture of the aircraft as it might have looked if it had raced. Inside, the runners and accessories are bagged for protection in transit. One piece had come adrift, but no harm was done.

The kit comprises:

56 x grey styrene parts

1 x clear styrene part

5 x resin parts

9 x etched brass parts

A small decal sheet

The style of moulding appears to be split in two, with the airframe using Special Hobby's traditional short-run technology and the detail parts produced with CAD. This means extra care will be required preparing the airframe parts - nothing to worry any modeller with some experience of short-run kits, but newcomers need to be aware that a little time spent working on seams and adjusting the fit will be necessary.

I found no problems with sink marks, but a few knock-out pin marks will need removing or they'll interfere with the fit.

The exterior finish is smooth, with neatly engraved panel lines and a subtle fabric effect for the control surfaces.

Test Fit

Bearing in mind what I wrote above, dry-fitting the main parts is encouraging and experienced modellers should have no problems. The fuselage halves fit quite neatly, although I'll probably remove the locating pins to make alignment even easier. The wing top panels fit the full-span lover piece nicely, but I'm tempted to attached them to the fuselage first to hide seams at the roots which don't follow full-sized panel lines. Note: The dry-fit accentuates the seam.

The V-tail slots on neatly, with the leading edges hollowed out for intake vanes (you can see one of the raised knock-out pin marks that need removing in the second photo).

Overall, this won't be a "rattle the box and it'll build itself" kit - but there don't appear to be any obvious pitfalls either.

A Few Details

Construction begins with a neatly fitted-out "office" and gearbox section comprising around 30 parts. This will be very eye-catching with it's striking red overall finish. The pilot basically sat on the floor to keep the canopy as streamlined as possible, with sloped seat-back behind him. Special Hobby provide etched seatbelts and control levers, plus a decal for the instrument faces. 

The wheel wells are provided as resin inserts and the gear legs are neatly moulded and sturdy. The mainwheels are moulded unweighted, so I'll file small flats to give the finished kit a realistic "sit". The tailwheel is integral with the ventral fin.

The contra-rotating propellers are constructed with separate blades that have alignment pins to set the pitch correctly.

Finally, there's a crystal-clear one-piece canopy. It's perhaps a shame Special Hobby didn't provide the option to pose the canopy open (you could always slice it with a razor saw if you wish), but having it closed does show off the streamlined airframe to the best effect.

Instructions & Painting

The kit comes with a glossy 12-page A4 assembly guide, the last 2 pages of which form a mini "catalogue" for other Special Hobby and CMK kits and accessories. The construction diagrams are clear and straightforward to follow, and the suggested sequence is logical. Gunze Sango paint matches are provided throughout.

Special Hobby provide a painting guide for 2 colour schemes - neither requiring any decals:

A. The Bugatti 100 as it was finished in 1939.

B. A "what if" scheme for the aircraft as it might have appeared in 1940 at the Cleveland air race.

Conclusion

As far as I know, Bugatti's "Racer" has previously only appeared in 1:48 as limited run resin and vacuformed kits, so it's great to see this exciting aircraft available as a much more accessible injection-moulded model. It's still worth saying that this isn't a beginner's kit - the "Racer" is something of a "niche" subject, so it's totally understandable that Special Hobby have used their older moulding technique for something that will never sell in the numbers of, say, a Spitfire or a Bf 109.

Modellers with a bit of experience should have no problems, though, and will be rewarded with a model of arguably  the sleekest and most radical racing aircraft ever designed. And, if you're tempted to do a little "what-if" surgery, you've got the perfect basis for a new Crimson Skies fighter! 

Item #SH48219 is available now from Special Hobby - Price: 22.40 Euros

Many thanks to Special Hobby for the review sample.

Please remember, when contacting retailers or manufacturers, to mention that you saw their products highlighted here - on AEROSCALE

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