The Little World

I am alternately delighted and saddened by my  first Piasecki.

Delighted that it could be made as a Canadian aircraft and in a service that I have not yet explored – the Royal Canadian navy. Delighted that the lacquer paints turned out so well. Delighted that the tiny details of the landing gear actually worked – and there were moments whan I did not think they would.

Saddened that the moulders could make no better job of the rotor hubs and blade atachments.

I’ve said before – and about the Amodel firm – that models can be made only to the standard that they are moulded. In this respect, this is another example of what they did for the Yak fighter. I am not too fussed, as the model will make a great addition to my Canadian museum as it is.

The rotor hub arrangements for the next Piasecki I am building are much better – but then the model firm is Italeri and they have much bigger production and much more precision. They are clever in moulding the rotor droop into their products on the sprues – the Amodel one is drooping because the rotor blade attachment is so poor and fragile.

It will give me cause for pause in the future if I select short-run models. I think I am largely safe with Special Hobby and possibly so with ICM. Smaller firms will need to be judged on a one-kit basis. I’m just pleased to see Italeri make Sea Stallions and Sikorski S-55’s as well.