Matchbox 1/72 Curtiss SBC-4 (PK-35)

The Curtiss SBC Helldiver was the last biplane combat aircraft to enter service with the United States Navy, and the SBC-4 was its definitive variant. Entering service in 1938, the SBC-4 represented the final flowering of the naval biplane dive bomber tradition — a type that was already being overtaken by the monoplane designs that would define carrier aviation in the Second World War. While the US Navy's SBC-4s saw limited combat, export versions served with the French Aéronavale during the fall of France in 1940, and a number were transferred to the Royal Navy as the Cleveland Mk.I, albeit without seeing significant operational use. It remains a fascinating transitional subject at the boundary of two eras of naval aviation.

The US Navy's last biplane — a transitional classic at the dawn of the carrier age.

This is a vintage model kit. Box shows signs of age-related storage — see photos. Kit appears complete, but please look at the photos carefully. Instructions and decals are present.