The Little World

If ever there was a phrase that captured the spirit of Australia, that is it. Forget Hoges and his shrimp on the barbie ( and they’re prawns down here…)and the Crikey bloke. Pure Hollywood scriptwriting. The real Australian uses  ” She’ll be right. ” to cover a multitude of situations and a myriad of sins. I am going to need a good supply of it when I commence work on The Kit That Time Forgot.

The KTTF came from a small shop run by a hobbyist from a small manufactory run by another hobbyist. It started life rough and experienced hard times and finally washed up on the other side of the planet from its country of birth. Even unbuilt, it has signs of being the sort of girl who your mother warned you about.

The hobby shop salesman was honest about it. He said it was damaged and a tough build…but then offered it at a bargain price. Upon that basis, and with the sort of spirit that generally steps into a bear trap, I bought it.

It’s a 1:72 Convair 440 – a small airliner of the 50’s and 60’s. In this case it is decalled for a real mid-Michigan/Minnesota airline and would be perfect for prairie feeder flights.

It’s got all the things you look to avoid in a kit – rough surfaces, rampant flash, feeder plugs, random surface cracks and blobs.

The transparent parts largely aren’t…There is one broken wing and one short-shot propeller – two-bladed when it should be three. The landing gear is crude.

I’m either going to love it or hate it – the challenge will be accepted and whatever fate brings. Even the decals are probably going to be painful, but I’m going to do it.

She’ll be right, mate.