The Little World

No, wait – that was Bing Crosby. This Airfix model of the naval strike fighter is nowhere near as empty as he was…but nevertheless there’s a lot of unused space inside.

Note that the dear old instruction sheet makes this painfully clear – though I will say that it is entirely adequate for the job. If there are few parts you need few words. And this was the days before colour call-outs were actually printed in colour themselves.

It’s clear that this would have been a favourite with the kids at the time – and my friend who donated it to me could have been no different. There’s a lot of play value in the kit – swinging bomb bay, extendable nose wheel and tail hook, and folding wings. The main gear doesn’t fold in, and that’s a surprise, given that the entire wing section is an open space.

The cockpit is a plain sheet of plastic, too. Given that the canopy is actually decently clear, this would be a sad prospect. I decided to remedy it with some plastic card and to use a discarded breathalyser mouthpiece cut in two for the engine bays. What you see here is the trial fit – the final cementation was done with 5-minute epoxy.

There was room aft of the cockpit for a bashed-square musket ball – so no tail sitting.

I should be interested to compare this old kit with the new Airfix 1:72 Buccaneer S2 aircraft  – I do not think they could get away with the lack of detail on the inside any more.