The Little World

I’m not going to use the title ” Yellow Peril ” because that opens a whole new can of nematodes – but the Yellow Wing Disease has definitely taken hold in the Little Workshop. The start of it was the free Airfix Brewster Buffalo scored at the plastic modelling club that made up to such a nice result. I’m afraid that, and some illustrations seen on old covers of LIFE magazine, has rekindled a childhood love of colourful aircraft. I may turn in horror from modern commemorative schemes but the good old pre-war US military colours are wonderful.

The kit isn’t cheap – Special Hobby at my local always has a premium to it, though nowhere near that of the model Antonov I saw recently that goes for over $ 450 dollars in a monstrously big box. Not a weekend build, that one. Any road, the Vindicator goes well over my engine/price equation, but then you always have to pay more when you are diseased…

I did not purchase it lightly – I searched all the images and reviews on the net before deciding to pay up. What really sold me was the multiple colours of the decals and the fact that this was configured as a dive bomber rather than a torpedo plane. I was briefly tempted to try to convert it to a British Chesapeake but the yellow took hold of my soul – and I have a full jar of specially mixed wing yellow paint waiting.

The whole thing comes out pretty well on three sprues and a tiny block of resin. The resin is practically an afterthought as the parts it provides could well have been moulded on the injected sprues. But I don’t complain, as there is no PE to feel guilty over and two resin parts I can cope with. The canopy is the length of a football field but it has pretty good framing definition and should yield to the bow pen readily.

The cockpit has what looks like a daunting bit of framing – shades of the Special Hobby Anson of bitter memory – but on closer inspection the parts are injected and should not be so difficult to work with. The bomb cradles and guides are pretty spindly but if you can do an Italeri Bell 47 you can do anything. The thought does cross the mind of how much wind drag the damned pipework and hinges must have generated on the real airplane.

The two-bladed propeller is a surprise, but historically accurate. The decal sheet has the pretty tip flashes as well, so these will definitely be making it to the final scheme. I’m sorry to see no crew members, but there are a few spare Airfix flyers in the ” Personnel ” box who might be suitable.

Finally, I note that the horizontal stabiliser components are tabbed and slotted – a definite step in the right direction for small-batch brands. I will be checking them twice to see if they are naughty or nice, but the tabs do help in final strength.

This is the new Little Workshop home kit – the Fairchild Flying Boxcar and associated vehicles being reserved for modelling club time. Let’s hope it is accurately scaled to fit in with the Buffalo.

Note that the decals provide future stars for other projects and that there is one page on the instruction sheet that entices you further toward the Yellow Side…