The Little World

Well, mustard gas is always a surprise anyway, but this experimental Brewster Bermuda adds a stylish note to it. Not sure if I’m proud to have made an experimental Canadian gas plane of it, but the other options weren’t all that much better.

The new technique of masking off the greenhouse entirely and temporarily gluing it to the fuselage before painting is a 100% success. Of course the final result is still dependent upon my skill with the bow pen, but the ability to close off the cockpit without hours of taping is brilliant. The temporary glue and masking solution washes off with water and you have a fresh part again.

I did spend a good deal of time on the details of this cockpit and gunner’s position and fortunately the canopy is clear enough to show it all off. But I must say the level of detail that the Special Hobby company expect you to slave over in 1:72 is somewhat silly. I have to stop somewhere before the frustrations of doing photo-etch and resin make the hobby repulsive.

The engine is one of those separate-cylinder jobs and is also ever-so-slightly too large for the thickness of the fuselage wall. I  ended up sanding down the heads quite a bit, though they are deeply buried in the cowling. It would have been just as satisfying to cement in a  simpler injection moulded engine front. You can weather nearly anything into a good engine in 1:72.

The landing gear is sturdy, though there is little help from the assembly instructions as to the way the erecting struts and supports actually fit in. And even Google has few images of the Brewster landing gear. Not many of the dive brakes open, either, but I did paint them grey rather than red.

In the end, I think I’ve got a good, unique plane for RCAF WET DOG. As long as the wind is going away from the base, all should be well…