The Little World

There is no box art to show you with this build; there was no box. The kits that comprise it were left on the table at our modeller’s club with a ” Free to a good home ” sign. I live in a good home…

They appear to be part of a three-plane set from Lindberg – two F6F fighters and a Japanese Mitsubishi ” Betty ” bomber. The set came out in 1998 but the basic planes seem to have the look of 70’s models. Raised rivets and simple construction.

But small rivets and precise assembly overall. Not bad models and sturdy enough to take some careful painting.

In my case, as I have a WWII US Navy Hellcat in the museum, I think that these will go to different liveries. One I plan to do as a Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm plane from one of their carriers – and it may be for SEA deployment. The other will be built unoccupied as a US Navy drone aircraft from the Korean era. In both cases the markings probably exist in my spare decal stash right now – No more needs to be spent.

These older kits are not to be sneezed at if you just need a basic airframe. The plastic is somewhat brittle but sands easily and the join lines on the wing and tail are superb. The Czechs could learn a lot from dear old Lindberg. Whether dear old Lindberg actually moulded these planes themselves in Ohio is another question – but I am thoroughly pleased with them even at this early stage.

The directions are commendably direct and the decals garish enough to please any junior builder. I will use the propeller decals now and file the rest away for when I reach my second childhood.