The Little World

The people who have been reading about my Anson Encounter may have formed the opinion that it was a difficult time. That it may have been driving me to blasphemy, murder, or federal politics. Rest assured, while I have no problem with the first two, I would never stoop to the last.

But there was a saving grace – I discovered a cheap little model in Hobbytech that I could doodle with while the Anson paints dried – The Hobby Boss Brewster Buffalo. As another internet reviewer about five years ago pointed out, Hobby Boss kits are good and basic, and are a fine short episode designed for the junior modeller. I am a junior senior modeller and proud of it. You don’t get to be an old coot without some merit…

The Brewster is done. It’s a generic paint scheme for RAAF in Western Australia in the early 40’s. No aircraft number because it needs to serve a number of photographic scenarios. The painting was experimental, the coating and procedure for the decals new to me, and the decals home-made. I have learned a lot and I’ll move forward in my analysis of the most comfortable way for me to work. And best of all, It has provided me with an instant boost during the slow work on the Anson.

This is so encouraging that I am going to make a deliberate stop at the Hobby Boss shelf in Hobbytech and see what other models might suggest themselves – they will not be bank-breakers. The RAAF Brewster cost me $ 20 in kit, paint, and decal sheet. the next one might be $ 5 cheaper…

As my friend Warren pointed out, these are not contest models. They are photographic props, and I’m delighted to say that they are every bit as good as the die-cast ones that I normally seek.

Oh, and Hey to AA. The heading photograph is the Brewster in a field outside York, east of Perth.