The Little World

They had me at the name – ” Flying Banana ” is not something that you can pass by in a neutral fashion. You either love it or hate it. I have fond memories of these helicopters as Revell kits in the 1950’s. This one is Italeri – itself a recommendation – and when I turned the side of the box and saw that there were decals for a rescue helicopter of the Royal Canadian Air Force there was non more debate – it was my buy of the day.

It may well be my buy of the month as it is made to a very high standard and is simple, distinctive, and will be colourful.

The sprues are normal light grey – with a surprising amount of ordnance that will not be used. I see several machine guns and a Oerlikon cannon on a swivel mount. I’m going to investigate to see who in the world thought that was a good idea and how they imagined it was going to work – the Banana only has two smallish troop doors and I would wonder at its ability to absorb recoil.

They hint at the radial engine by showing one surface of it buried in a bulkhead, but I am not grieving – it is seen only dimly through the air exhaust ports. A grey and silver wash should do fine for it.

The rotor blades and hubs are well done – enough meat to the plastic to allow for secure gluing and enough precision to show the control rods as well as the main supports.

I am also pleased to see the RCAF opted for heavier landing gear than the other air forces – it will mean a more secure model for the airfield.

Not yet decided whether the nose glass will be masked or painted with the pen – it is a close call.

Note the cartoonish quality of the red maple leaf inside the RCAF roundel. That’s real – they went through a number of stylistic changes before they settled on the modern one. Note also the reversed red Canadian ensign as a fin flash. That’s real too. Good on you, Italeri.