Fairey Swordfish biplane model airplane kit

This Revell kit of the famous Stringbag, aka the Fairey Swordfish is based on the old Matchbox mould of several decades past.
This example of the kit is moulded in a cream white plastic of typically high Revell quality with very little flash being present. The parts for the biplane are moulded on three main sprues plus a small clear sprue for the clear parts. You also get a fairly good decal sheet for two examples of the Swordfish, though the register on the roundels is not perfect on my example.

I built a fair number of the old Matchbox kits as a kid in the 70s and 80s. They usually tended to go together easily, but had the now infamous trenches used to represent panel lines. This Swordfish kit is no exception, but due to the subject matter being a largely fabric covered aircraft they are mostly limited to the forward fuselage and have little impact on the model. These trenches can be easily filled and re-scribed if required.

Trial fitting of the two main fuselage halves shows a very good fit. The two wings are moulded in a total of ten parts, these have quite a decent ribbing effect and also fit well enough, though the trailing edge could stand a little thinning down and the leading edges are too square.

The radial engine is quite effectively moulded for a kit of this age, and looks the part with intricate cylinder finning but the cockpits are very basic just consisting of plain seats with pilots. The pilot gets a clear moulded thick windshield to shelter behind.

Other points of note include interplane and cabane struts which look a little thick, as do the parts for the undercarriage. These could be shaved down provided the builder has some sort of reference to go by, and plenty of patience.
The kit is a fairly simple one by todays standards, but still looks like it will easily build into a pretty good 1/72nd scale miniature of the old Stringbag. A little extra work and a few Swordfish pictures should give a fine model.

Notes regarding this kit.

Re-boxing of a Matchbox aircraft kit.
Lacking internal cockpit detail.
Good fit of parts.
Cheap to buy.
OK for a small scale Stringbag, but not a patch on the larger and much more expensive 1/48th Tamiya kit. (No kidding!)
Great little model for trying out various colour schemes before applying them to your expensive Tamiya beauty or a R/C model Swordfish.