What are ARK Models kits like? Vultee Vengeance 1:72 scale model review

In this video I build the Vultee Vengeance Mk.II Dive bomber. Not the lovely new kit from Dora Wings, but a slightly older kit - a former Novo, former Frog tooling from 1970 :)
As you'd expect from its age, this kit doesn't feature a lot of details and all panel lines are raised. However, this was a fun build and it was a great chance to try something new without breaking the bank or ruining an expensive kit.
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[@JimmySaulGoodmanMcGill1960]

I remember assembling this kit with my father some 8-10 years ago, this video brought back the memories, as well as the model's manufacturer. I will get this as soon as possible, thanks

[@ModelNerd]

I'm glad you enjoyed it. I haven't seen this brand in my local hobby shop recently, unfortunately.

[@johnwoodside8714]

For such an old kit from the 70's you knocked it out the park. Great job buddy

[@ModelNerd]

Thank you John

[@ezelop6988]

the model of the battleship "Potemkin" is a repack Heller 1969. In the 70s in the USSR it was produced by the Ogonek plant. It was one of the most affordable models in the USSR, together with the cruiser Aurora. As a child, I also collected them. FROG (NOVO) models were hard to buy.

[@ModelNerd]

Thanks for the information. I really like hearing about these old kits and companies 🙂

[@davidcole8268]

Great finish, brought out the best of a basic kit!

[@ModelNerd]

Thanks David!

[@clementevaldez1271]

Great build !!!!....congrats....would love to see it in 1/48 scale...

[@ModelNerd]

That would be good!

[@petermerz2704]

Looks amazing! Not bad for an old kit! Love the paint scheme. Thanks for sharing. Happy days and model on! 😎🇨🇦

[@ModelNerd]

Thank you Peter. Have a great weekend!

[@lappin6482]

Love how this came out, well done 👏👏👏

[@ModelNerd]

Thank you! 😊

[@brianartillery]

Great build. And I love the colour. Nice one.

[@ModelNerd]

Thanks Brian

[@simonworrall7950]

Great result from an old iffy kit!

[@ModelNerd]

Thanks Simon

[@tonyde6423]

Nice job mate always good to see Australian used Aircraft from WW2 cheers

[@ModelNerd]

Thanks Tony. I want to do an RAAF Buffalo in Singapore at some point too.

[@tonyde6423]

@@ModelNerd sounds good what scale? tamiyas kit could be good option but not sure finding Aussie decals in that scale cheers

[@ModelNerd]

I was thinking of the Tamiya 1:48 kit, yeah. I'll have to hunt for decals - I'm sure there must be some available somewhere.

[@tonyde6423]

@@ModelNerd aero master has some but don’t know availability cheers

[@lesvenus3788]

What a fabulous result. Keep these sort of things coming

[@ModelNerd]

Thank you mate

[@bunion8579]

FROG, Airfix and occasionally Revell were pretty much the dominant players here in Australia when this kit came out and could be bought pretty much everywhere including corner shops and newsagents. 99% of readily available kits were 1/72 scale. I was 11 years old in 1970 and remember being given this FROG kit as a birthday present. Thought it was the greatest thing ever!

[@ModelNerd]

Great days! :)

[@allanrichards3752]

Its very interesting that you show and build these old kits. I built quite a few Frog kits as a kid and its interesting to be reminded how clunky they are compared to modern kits. Not just Frog but most contemporary manufacturers. It was the technology of the day. I seem to remember much more flash than this Ark kit so i wonder if they have reworked the moulds a bit.

[@ModelNerd]

Yes I wondered that too - I've seen more flash on modern Mini-art kits.They're certainly a nice change of pace, though I feel that I should build a nice, big, modern vehicle kit soon as it feels like a while since I've done one (except the Dora of course).

[@goldenscales]

That's an interesting model, one I've never seen before, and I wouldn't mind assembling the kit, but, my god, the parts are rough and chunky. It's almost as if someone crossed a Dauntless with a Stuka dive bomber, and this was the wild and crazy love child! Lol.

[@ModelNerd]

Yes, the pre-WW2 and early WW2 aircraft certainly are strange beasts! I looked at the Wikipedia page of WW2 Allied aircraft and half of them I hadn't heard about before - so many were deemed unsuitable in those first few years.

[@andrewluchsinger]

I do love dive bombers. Looks like I will need that one.

[@ModelNerd]

There's a very nice looking version coming from Dora Wings...

[@BrushQuill]

A simple kit, but you have brought it together into something brilliant.

[@ModelNerd]

Thanks - glad you liked it

[@brianartillery]

I have two FROG versions of this. It's an odd plane, but it was well liked by it's crews, and most importantly, the Japanese were terrified of it. A very accurate bomber, and able to look after itself, and absorb a lot of punishment. I intend to make one as a British South East Asia Command (SEAC) plane with an Indian crew. There is a brilliant photo of a Vengeance, in flight, canopies open and the crew, in turbans, smiling at the camera. I'm looking for some 1/72/76 scale Indian figures in turbans to harvest a couple of heads from.

[@ModelNerd]

That sounds like a great idea for a build!

[@jabonorte]

I think Dora Wings make a modern kit of the Vengeance, but any kit of this plane will look like you completely xxxxed it up! It's like the wings are broken, don't match the fuselage, and that doesn't match the tailplane. Good job of it, though. Built a couple of Novo kits when I was a kid. Might try one of these to reminisce

[@ModelNerd]

Thanks. Yes, Dora make at least one version which a lot of modern detail. What I liked about this was it brought back the childhood experience of walking into the model shop and seeing something new and unexpected. So often now we hear about the new releases months ahead of time. But I'd never seen Novo kits before and never even heard of the Vengeance :) I'm lucky that my "local" hobby store stocks a range of these less commonly known manufacturers' kits.

[@johntreloar8203]

Looks good for what it is, well done.

[@ModelNerd]

Thanks John

[@ey7290]

Since Easter I have to say Special Hobby have become my new favourite company. Currently in my stash I have a P40M Warhawk, Irish Air Corps SIAI Marchetti SF-260 trainer and a Casa C212 in Spanish Air Force colours, specifically for the Paratrooper configuration. The quality and diversity of their kits is greater than some manufacturers like Airfix, maybe more expensive. But if the quality is there I have no problem. The P40 for example costs about £7 more than the airfix. But the Airfix one is a B variant in only 1 scheme. whereas the Special Hobby version is a M variant, and comes in 5 different schemes, RNZAF, RAAF, 2 US Far East schemes and a Brazilian scheme from the Italian campaign. I like Airfix, they do make good kits, but they need to start diversifying their range, its getting boring building Bf109s and Spitfires every year from them

[@ModelNerd]

I only have one of Special Hobby's kits (the Sea Otter) but I completely agree - their range is really interesting, especially as I seem to currently have a thing for Far East and RAAF markings. One thing that really frustrates me is when a kit manufacturer includes 4 or 5 marking options but they are basically all the same - the same colour scheme but just with different code letters etc. I know some aircraft are famous and people want to build them, but variety is always nice!

[@unclegargameldgargameld4888]

FROG always made kits the others didn't ,its good to see them still being produced maybe the 1970's moulds compared to today are not the best but then that.s part of the fun

[@ModelNerd]

Definitely!

[@elennapointer701]

When I was a kid we had NOVO kits in our local shops as a budget range, alongside the more expensive Airfix, Tamiya and Aliteri kits. They were pretty basic and the kids tended to regard them as a "poor man's model kit" and avoid them on that basis, but they did have one important advantage, and that's that if you made a mess of them it wasn't a catastrophe. You'd spoiled a cheap kit, but you'd learned what not to do for next time. That was their best feature for me: they were an instructional kit - if you were going to make mistakes, do so on a NOVO kit.

[@ModelNerd]

Definitely! :D

[@jonnynguyen276]

good job

[@ModelNerd]

Thanks Jonny

[@johnparker1696]

Hi my friend The HMS Sovereign is definately an Ex Frog Kit

[@ModelNerd]

Thanks for letting me know, John.

[@toboldlygosmodelworks1973]

Try SMS paints for the RAAF colours, nice job.

[@ModelNerd]

Thanks, I did see some of these paints at the model show recently and the range looked good. What do you thin them with? I tend to stick with Tamiya and AK Real Colors because I can thin them both with Tamiya lacquer thinner :D

[@toboldlygosmodelworks1973]

@@ModelNerd You can thin SMS with Mr Hobby Levelling thinners. they are similar to MRP but thicker.

[@ModelNerd]

Thanks. I'll check them out next time I'm at the shop.

[@rickmoreno6858]

Weird plane never heard of it I'll have to do some research now thank you Uncle model nerd

[@ModelNerd]

You're welcome :D And thank you for watching!

[@clementevaldez1271]

Hello...I read an article and saw pictures of this particular airplane in use by AUTRALIA in WW II...The brave pilots/gunners and aircrew loved them on account that like the p47 thunderbolt it could take a beating and still got the cre

[@clementevaldez1271]

And still got the pilots and crews members home...I wish I could remember the publication so you could check it out....sorry...I like that plane a lot and I'm still hoping for a affordable 1/48 scale kit....I would buy several...

[@foreverplastickits138]

*You did a great build specially looking at the quality of this kit! And the Vengeance isn't very popular, it has done yet its job early in WW2.*

[@ModelNerd]

Thanks mate - I appreciate the feedback. Yep, they might have been replaced quite quickly, but when they were all that were available, they were there.

[@saxon1376]

Interesting plane , Made specifically for Britain by vultee and Northrop , when America entered the war the later shipments for Britain were diverted for use by the usaaf , Another interesting build made me dig through my aviation books for info

[@ModelNerd]

Thanks for the info :) Yep, I'd never heard of it when I saw it in the shop either!

[@gleggett3817]

While the cockpit is unsophisticated, it looks like the raised portion behind the pilot has potential for more detail/accuracy.

[@ModelNerd]

For sure

[@hi-chew22]

👌👍

[@ModelNerd]

Thanks!

[@clementevaldez1271]

I WISH SOMEONE WOULD MAKE A VULTEE VENGEANCE IN 1/4 SCALE THAT IS AFFORDABLE...AUSTRALIAN BRAVE PILOTS FLEW THESE IN WW2 AND THEY PERFORMED VALIANTLY...ALSO MAYBE A 1/48 SCALE WIRRAWAY ALSO AT A REASONABLE PRICE....MAYBE SOMEONE DAY SOON

[@ModelNerd]

As you probably know, Dora Wings make a Vengeance in 1/48....but it ain't cheap

[@MartinsTrainsAdventures]

not my fault paint tastes good

[@blacknass1943]

ter is no bether gift as a model kit for a child :) and jeahr for eahr colors and mor kits

[@ModelNerd]

Thanks

[@ToshaTumanov]

Its ARK. 1960-1970. Retro

[@ModelNerd]

Yep! Really old school :)

[@ToshaTumanov]

@@ModelNerd you model the FROG. Next Ogonek, maybe next more. All from ARK. All ARK is retro

[@fubarmodelyard1392]

Nice job on a not so good kit

[@ModelNerd]

Thanks

[@РустамКяримов]

Какая то слабая сборка. В модели как минимум: переделать расшивку на внутреннюю, переделать жалюзи радиатора, выхлопные коллекторы, ниши шасси, замена тормозных решеток, замена БАНО, антенны радио, переделка спаренного пулемета, разрезать фонарь кабины и убрать часть фонаря над пилотом.

[@ModelNerd]

Why? I enjoyed building it this way :)

[@robertjensen1438]

Just a comment for the algorithm

[@mixererunio1757]

No one should buy Russian model nowadays.

[@ModelNerd]

I bought this one a long time ago mate

[@Steve_8341]

Why not? Russian kit manufacturers are not at war.

[@witmanntheinfinite]

@@Steve_8341 ppl can't put aside political. They need to politicalize everything to justify their need of hating something.

[@Steve_8341]

@@witmanntheinfinite 💯…they need to take their virtue signaling elsewhere.