L'Arsenal 
1/400 de Havilland Aquilon/Sea Venom


 

Reviewed January 2019 by Christopher Martens
L'Arsenal has released a number of Cold War era aircraft in 1/400 scale to compliment the French carrier Charles de Gaulle. 

Click to enlarge images
Resin Aircraft and Etch
The Aquilon was a French licensed version of the de Havilland Sea Demon by SNCASE, seeing service on the French carrier Charles de Gaulle. L'Arsenal includes a fleet of five aircraft and photo etch, molded in white resin. The model has recessed panel lines and clear demarcation lines for stabilizers and the rudder. None of the aircraft have any major flaws, air bubbles, or warped parts. Dimensions also appear to be correct for this aircraft. Molding, overall, is extremely crisp.

L'Arsenal also includes an excellent, relief-etched sheet for the Aquilon for landing gear and what appear to be panels. However, I'm unsure what some of these parts are on account that L'Arsenal did not include a set of instructions. Further, the aircraft lacks decals for any markings. I'm unsure if these are sold separately or simply use the kit versions. Given that the Heller kit is several decades old and likely has embrittled decals, I don't think this was a very good decision. I hope L'Arsenal rectifies this with future releases. 
 

Close ups of some of the fret details.
CONCLUSIONS
This is an excellent resin aircraft for anyone wishing to build a more accurate French (or even British) carrier from the Cold War. My biggest complaint is the lack of decals. Construction is simply enough where it's easy to infer construction of the aircraft.

I want to express my sincere thanks to L'Arsenal for this review item. 




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