Here's a kit I
picked up on E-bay for £3.99. It seems there are only two games in town
for this a/c in this scale: this one which I understand is over 30 years old and
the more recent Roden kit. When I saw a group build on the ARC forum, I
thought I'd pull this one from the stash and paint it as one of the Defenders of
Malta (of which more later).
Apart from a little
filing of seam lines and flash, the kit went together pretty well. I
attempted to busy-up the rather bare cockpit a little, by adding a few knobs,
levers, panels and harness, as well as a kind roll-bar affair behind the pilot's
seat. Paints used were an eclectic mix of WEM and Humbrol enamels, and the
odd Xtracylix. Rigging was fishing line, tensioned off with a hot match and
painted aluminium. Antenna wire was dressmaker's invisible thread, blackened
with a permanent marker. The excellent decals are from Aeromaster.
Click on
images below to see larger images
This particular aircraft
was one of the Fleet Air Arm Gladiators in storage on Malta, which
were uncrated and pulled into service with the RAF when Italy
declared war on Britain in June 1940. They, along with a handful of
Hurricanes, fought tenaciously during that summer against Italian raids on
the island until reinforcements could be delivered. N5519 was
shot down by a CR42 on 31/07/40 whilst flown by Flying Officer Peter
Hartley, who survived with severe burns.
Richard
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