I have not been enjoying my modelling lately and just about completely lost the mojo. One of the issues was the pressure of having to large a stash to decide what to bloody build next! Anyway I have had a humungous clearout having less than 30 kits remaining with a few I would still like to offload. Down from 150 plus 2 years ago and 110 odd at the beginning of the sell off 3 weeks ago.
One of the models I couldn't sell sits on my desk.
I bought this klemm years ago when I was on a New Guinea historical aviation "kick".
The aircraft came to PNG from Switzerland as a Missionary machine piloted by an ex WWI German Airforce pilot turned Catholic priest.
I bought the kit after I stumbled across this picture:
and read the associated story. Nothing has happened on this till now..as it sat unloved on my desk I started research on it again thinking I could design the VH-UUR decals for it and perhaps make it easier to sell. I read an excerpt that the machine was flown to cairns fleeing the Japanese invasion and the aircraft and pilot were interned because of his German Nationality and "the German Crosses on the aircraft" "What" I said that can't be. Then I found this picture taken at Alexishafen,
the rudder cross is not the Swiss nationality flag/cross it wore when ii first arrived in New Guinea:
but more like the maltese cross worn by German aircraft in WW1.
So here I am enjoying this part of the hobby again, (the research and discovery bit) of course I just realised that my kit depicts an inline engined model, VH-UUR in those days had a Seimens SH -13 5 cylinder radial (I say in those days because the aircraft still survives retaining the registration but reengined with a continental flat 4. So I am thinking of scratching up a 5 cylinder radial and actually building this.. Say does anyone know of a 1/48 kit that comes with a 5 cylinder radial?