Bassett's broken biplanes*

 * also featuring Tim's terrible triplanes and mangled Morane monoplanes.

John B very kindly passed me this box of veterans at COW a few weeks ago.  The Demon I came up with an immediate plan for and the Albatross looked useful too.  I was delighted to see the Morane as I didn't have one!  The others have been passed to PHW who has also borrowed the Morane for some photos.

The Morane - an old Revell kit I believe - was in pretty good shape.  I have previously bodged one from a Fokker E1 but it's nice to have a 'real' one. I firmed up the attachment of some extremities.  The decals were flaky but looked largely salvageable and several coats of varnish gave a respectable finish.

Boeing P-26 Peashooter’ - part 3

Of course, with a plane as small as a P-26 you can’t have just one!  For the second I opted for an overall green (Vallejo US Green, if it’s of interest) which in combination with the Chinese markings I think is rather striking. 
 

Boeing P-26 Peashooter’ - part 2

 Here is the finished P-26, resplendent in Chinese markings. I bought some suitable decals recently and the rather wobbly rudder stripes were hand painted.

Boeing P-26 ‘Peashooter’ - part 1

I bought this kit recently as I have a game in mind. You’ll notice I haven’t claimed to ‘need’ this but I do at least have a vague justification for its acquisition.  

I remember this being launched as a Matchbox kit but mine came in Revell boxing. 

It was a pretty straightforward build with a pleasingly modest number of parts. 

I’ve also seen it in this style of Revell box. The US colour schemes are pretty wild but mine is destined for a different employer. 

A Grubby Gannet

 

The latest ex-Bassett rescue is this Fairey Gannet. John tells me it’s the Revell kit - which helps explain the West German Navy markings. As it was pretty much complete I preserved the original paintwork. My efforts were limited to sourcing and painting a replacement prop spinner, painting over the not entirely transparent transparencies and slapping on a coat of varnish. 

Writing it into a game may prove a challenge but rule nothing out!

Plane brown box…

A couple of weeks ago I spotted a post on a motoring forum I frequent. A bloke was offloading some built aircraft kits in scales from 1/72 to 1/32. I sent a message saying that in the event of him failing to receive an offer of actual money, I’d be happy to re home them. While not exactly local, Ken (as I’ll call him in accordance with my usual witness protection programme) happened to be visiting the neighbouring county last weekend. Thus it was that on Saturday a drive into a dark and rainy Derbyshire saw me return with…..

…this box of mystery!

I unpacked it the following day and swiftly arranged to rehome the 1/32 WW1 models (3) with Tom, various 1/48 scale models (4) with Richard & Paul and then I got to the main business of the day - the 1/72 scale kits.  All beautifully built and painted to a high standard. And here they are.  Apologies as usual for the hurried photos.  

Stearman Kaydet, a US 1930s trainer. No markings. Not sure yet what I’ll do with it. 

Meteor. I really don’t need this but it’s sooooo nice!

Se5a. I’ve since dusted them all and added a coat of varnish. I think the WW1 models are mostly Revell. 

Sopwith Camel. 

A striking Fokker D.VII. The ‘camo’ is decals. 

Gladiator. 

Spad in unusual but welcome Italian markings. 

You can probably work this one out for yourselves! It’s very red. 

Fokker E.1 - like some of the others this has rigging wires made of thread. Well beyond my skills and patience!

Another Fokker D.VII. 

Bonus view of the eindekker. 

What a great collection. Well worth a couple of hours and 56 miles worth of petrol!  I assured Ken that all the models will get used and appreciated so expect to see them again. 

Nieuport 12ish - Part 3. Ready for takeoff!

Well here it is and for all its (numerous) faults it looks good enough for it’s role as a two-seat recce aircraft. 

My inspiration for the paintwork was this splendid little book.  I’m sure I’m not the only fan of this series - I wonder if there’s any demand for a post on my shelf of Blandfords.  

Nieuport 12ish - part 2. Build done, paint underway.

 

I actually think I’ll get away with this!  First paint on - I’m off to the decal box while it dries. 

Nieuport 12ish - part 1

For a game I have in mind I need a French two-seater.  There being none available in 1/72 - at least none I could find - I decided to bodge something along the lines of the Albadross.  

I had this kit in stock and selected it as my victim. I had in mind the Nieuports 10 and 12 which saw service with the RFC and Italy as well as the French air service. It didn’t look much like the N28 but as it had the correct quantity of wings and engines I decided it was close enough. 

I hacked out a second cockpit and added a couple of figures from this useful Orion set. 

It doesn’t really look big enough to be a two-seater, though the real N12 was only slightly bigger than the N28. While the glue dries I’ll think about colour schemes. 

F-100 Super Sabre - Turkish Air Force

The ancient F-100 is now complete and sports Turkish markings over some rather 'pre-owned' paintwork.  Why Turkish?  Well let's just say that a few weeks ago Bertrand and I had a chat about the 1974 invasion of Cyprus....

Pointy plastic plane perpetuation - part 1

It will come as no surprise to learn that I have a box of broken bits of 1/72 aircraft models. Ten weeks of lockdown finally forced me into lifting the lid to confront the horrors therein. The pair in this post are by no means the worst!
The Cold War warriors among you will have instantly identified an F-104 Starfighter and an F-100 Super Sabre[1]. Various loose bits were duly reattached and a black undercoat slapped on.

I opted for a ‘bare metal’ finish so the black was topped with a coat of Revell silver. The finish is intentionally rough as (a) it’s all these models deserve, and (b) for the role I have in mind they need to have a decidedly ‘pre-owned’ appearance. 

I’m not sure what make the Starfighter is but the Sabre is an ancient Revell kit - the evidence is embossed on the tail!

[1] although more than one correspondent incorrectly identified it as a MiG-19. Splash another friendly...

Hurried Hurricane part 2 - a surprise ending?

Well it was to me. Having commenced the build of this ancient Revell Hurricane with no particular plan in mind I eventually decided to follow up my recent La-7 and finish it as a Soviet machine in much the same colour scheme.

I hand painted some shaky stripes on the tail and the decal box provided the rest.  Given that the Hurricane is  - certainly to my eyes - such a distinctive shape it's quite difficult to make it  look 'different'.  I hope you think it's a success.