The Avro 707 was a British experimental aircraft built to test the delta wing design for the Avro 698 jet bomber (later to become the Vulcan), and was a effectively a one-third scaled-down version of that aircraft.

The prototypes were ordered by the Ministry to specification E.15/48. The aircraft were produced cheaply and quickly using components from other aircraft. Five prototypes were built in the end. Only the first three produced provided useful information for the Vulcan project, the last two flying too late to be of much relevance.

The first prototype, the Avro 707, crashed on 31 September 1949. Consequently the second prototype was converted during building with the pointed nose planned for the 707A to become the 707B. The B was given the same dorsal engine intakes as the 707. The B would eventually end up as spares for the others. The next one to fly was the 707A, a faithful copy of the Type 698's wingform including engine intakes, and intended for high speed testing. In 1956 it was transferred to Australia where it served until 1967 when sold off to a local resident. The next aircraft were ordered to E.10/49 in November 1951. These were to be a second 707A and two of a side by side cockpit version - the 707C. The 707Cs would be used to give pilots experience but the second 707C was cancelled. These two flew in 1953 by which point the Vulcan prototype was already flying.

The Avro 707 made its final public appearance at the Farnborough Air Show; the four surviving examples of the aircraft flying alongside two Vulcan prototypes.

A single example of the 707A variant survives, at the RAAF Museum in Point Cook, Victoria.

Arriving in a pizza box, I was looking forward to something yummy and so it was when I opened the box to reveal the latest ProResin release; the Avro 707A. One of the world's coolest looking delta wing jets, the kit is very nicely molded in a tan resin. Detail is engraved and superbly done, complete with teeny rivet patterns along the various panel lines.

Each of the wings is a single piece with a cutout near the fuselage for the intakes. The wheel wells are nicely detailed and seem to be the proper depth as well. Gear doors have detailing on the inner surfaces. Moving to the cockpit, there is a full tub with raised detail for both the side consoles and the instrument panel. A nice control stick and well molded bang seat are supplied with harness molded onto the seat. It is a shame that little will be seen of the interior after the canopy is installed. You may want to replace the kit seat with a metal one to aid the kit in keeping on the nose gear. There isn't much room in the nose once the interior is installed and that additional weight may well be needed, though this doesn't have as short a wheel base as the Boulton-Paul kits. The kit shows that weight is needed, but doesn't state how much.

The landing gear are nicely molded and somewhat complex, especially the nose gear, but it isn't beyond the realm of those who are at the stage of building kits like this. There are also the usual number of teeny detail bits for the outside and that includes the nose 'spear'. Care will be needed in mounting this. You'll also find that ProResin has provided two nice, clear canopies, in case one of them is damaged. I appreciate this as often I need to use that second offering.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention a few glitches. First, despite how well the kit was packaged, one of my main gear legs departed from the pour stub and broke. Several other bits were also floating around loose in the bag, including all the pitot tubes. Secondly, there are a few molding glitches. I found quite a few pinholes on the wings and fuselage near the edges. One wing in particular had some rather large chunks of resin sticking out the upper and lower surface. It looks like what one would get when trying to punch a dull knife through a sheet of latex. It won't be difficult to remove, but I fear there may be a large air pocket below. You can see this lump next to the main gear well. None of these things are beyond the norm and we who build resin kits are used to seeing things like this. They are easy to fix with a little care.

The instructions are very well done with any colors needed shown in each of the five construction steps. Paint references are for Humbrol, Revell and Model Master. I've been told that these Model Master references are not for the Testors paint but for the Italeri line. Checking the Testors web site, I found none of the part numbers listed for either their acrylics or enamels. However, checking with the color reference atwww.ipmsstockholm.org, and with some bottles that I have,I found all of them so apparently that is just a rumor regarding the differences in numbers.

Markings are provided for the one aircraft, WD 280. The decals are nicely done and I'd suggest backing all the white markings with another layer of white as red is a tough color when it comes to bleed-through. I also think that the markings are just a tad oversize as I discovered with the Boulton-Paul. I placed the under wing serial as shown in the markings diagram and it took up a bit more space than shown on the diagram. It was longer. You may want to have some replacements around in case they seem too large for you. Modeldecal does a range of roundels and serial numbers that will work if you decide to go that route.

I'm very pleased to see these British experimental aircraft being released. It is a part of aviation history that has gotten very little attention from the manufacturers and putting out good quality kits like this are a sure way for you to build up your collection. The kit is detailed enough for the picky and yet simple enough that one could use it for one's first resin kit. If you have an interest in aircraft like this and have the abilities, then I'd say go for it. I am!

Wikipedia

December 2006

My thanks to ProResin for the review kit.

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