Curtiss Hawk 75A in 1/72 by AZModel
It’s been a while since I made any French aircraft in the four colour scheme flown by the Armee de l’Air during World War II. I also wanted to try out a new masking material for this kind of multi colour camouflage scheme. I was also interested in how an American aircraft came to be in the thick of the fighting during the Battle of France, hence the Hawk 75. It’s a pretty decent kit but all the markings it offered were for Hawk 75 during the period of the Vichy government, and I couldn’t have that. The Berna decals offer a few options from the period before and during the Battle of France including the one for the French Ace Camille Plubeau who was flying the aircraft this model represents on 18 May 1940 when he shot down four enemy aircraft.
Lockheed Hudson IV in 1/72 by Italeri
The Hudson is one of those aircraft that is overshadowed by more romantic aircraft when people think about World War II. However, it was one of the important bombing and reconnaissance aircraft during the war and one of the few ‘modern’ aircraft in service with the RAAF at the outbreak of the Pacific War. This Italeri kit is a reboxing of the MPM kit and has all the strengths and weaknesses of kits from this manufacturer. It is an annoying and challenging model to make, I’ve written about the experience in a Workbench Note that will be appearing in The Little Aviation Museum in the coming week or two.
As it turned out, there were two models of Hudsons on the table at the most recent meeting of our local model club, the Modellers of Ballarat. Mine is of a Hudson flying in New Guinea and the one made by Mark Pilbeam is of a Hudson flying in the Carribean. Neither of us liked this kit very much.
DeHavailland Riley Heron in 1/144 by Welsh Models.
I’m rather impressed by some of the recent kits coming from Welsh Models. They may lack a little by way of detail in comparison to injection moulded kits but they are the basis of what can become very fine models of aircraft that mainstream kit makers are never likely to publish, like a Riley Heron. I’m not really keen on this aircraft with it’s new engines but Connair was an interesting airliner and the lovely green and gold livery applied to its Herons makes it a very attractive little model.
OUT OF THE PAST
Airbus A.320 (Virgin Australia) in 1/144 by Zvezda
This is one of a series of A.320 models I made representing this aircraft flying in and around Australia. The Virgin Australia design is simple, nice and clean.
Bombardier CRJ200 (Delta Connection) in 1/144 By Welsh Models
Another Welsh Models kit which caused me some problems. As usual, they were of my own creation, but the result is a nice little model which shows how attractive this aircraft is.
Bernard 74 in 1/72 by Adrien Roy
Adrien has produced a series of delightful little Bernard aircraft in well master and moulded resin. This model is one of my favourite of the Bernard kits he makes.
IN TIME TO COME
There’s not been much progress on the A.330. When I unmasked the engine pods I found there had been a lot of unsightly bleed through from other colours so I’ve put it aside until I work up enthusiasm for solving the problem. I’ve got the itch to make some RAAF aircraft this year, of which the Hudson is the first. The F-18A will represent what they looked like when they began entering service with the RAAF in the 1980s whereas the Wirraway will represent one in service in New Guinea during World War II. (It’s a fairly challenging MPM kit that I’ve had on the back burner for a long time and have now decided to push along to completion despite its challenges.) The yellow model ia an Anigrand 1/144 Vought Sikorsky VS-44 pre-war flying boat that I was inspired to make by being loaned a book on the subject and the Cessna 180 will be completed using some nice Hawkeye decals for a TAA aircraft.
By the way, more about these models can be found, or soon will be, on [url]The Little Aviation Museum[/url] website.
And don’t forget the Annual (when Covid doesn’t intervene) Modellers of Ballarat Display Day.
