The Little World

The Douglas Havoc by MPM models ( are they the same as Special Hobby? I’ll have to Czech up on that…) is old school in that it is all injection moulding – no resin or brass to confuse the issue. I welcome this but will have to do some cheap detailing in the cockpit if the top hatch is to be opened.

But the basic elements are good – The wings went together well and this time the moulders provided enough tiny little pins and sockets to help with the registration. In fact, they could have been even bolder with these and increased the size.

The engines are detailed enough for the scale.

The nacelles are also quite good and sturdy enough to stand alone.

The fit of them on the wings however, is going to call for some fettling, pressure, and filler. There’s a lot of gaps there.

Fortunately I picked up an additional Creos GSI product in Hobbyco in Sydney that may be just the answer. It’s a dissolved putty that lies somewhere between a surface and a tube putty. I tried brushing some on where I’d otherwise use Perfect Plastic Putty and the new dissolved stuff ran well into the cracks and then levelled out on the outer surface. We’ll see how well it sands tomorrow.

And last is the nose – It looks as if it will eventually be smooth, but not without a lot of sanding. You start to appreciate the major makers when they treat these parts as one-piece affairs.