The Little World

Actually, in the period between Christmas and New Years and I don’t think I could’ve faced any more chocs or contact. I retreated to the Little Workshop and put the finishing touches on the Morane Saulnier.

How different an aircraft can look when the final paint is on – as opposed to the bare parts sitting in the box. Funnily enough, some aircraft do not look good as parts – they are frankly ugly, and the engineering decisions that the model mould-makers have to make  when they split up solid bodies into component do not help. This plane was not the worst of this, but until the landing gear and propeller went on, it was a distinctly odd fish.

There are still enough oddities to attract the eye – the almost-non-existant exhaust stubs, the extendable radiator ( surely an orphan decision in the world of aviation…) and the extra radio mast down between the landing gear legs come readily to mind. The tail skid in a 30’s aircraft…

On the other hand, some design features are splendid – the fairings for the machine guns in the wings – admittedly undergunned, but stylish. And I do appreciate the Hobby Boss design of the propeller assembly that means it is freely mobile – I was able to spin the prop with a blast of canned air for the photography. And there is plenty of space on the side of the fuselage for my pin-up girl to feature as aircraft art. She’ll have to be bright to compete with the camo.

I would also like to commend Hobby Boss for the way they have designed the clear canopy. Two extensions went down the sides of the piece to sit in the cockpit tub. I slimmed them with a motor tool and the canopy slid into place like a dream.