The Little World

Remember the SAAF captured Junkers 52 that I made a couple of years ago? Well now it has a companion in the Desert Air Force. K for Kaffir – the Martin 167 Maryland of the South African Air Force.

A lot of the SAAAF Marylands were camouflaged with middle stone and darker brown, but I found an illustration of L for Lascar in this single colour top with the Azure Blue underside and it appealed to me. I am happy to say that it has not disappointed.

The Azure Blue is a home mix – I have a computer printout of a colour patch to match with. I think I made it for a Spitfire, but there is enough for several more planes. It’s the older acrylic, but I got cheeky and thinned it with Levelling Thinner and it went down like a dream.

Both colours went down over pre-shading in flat black. Bit of an experiment as the panel seams are mostly raised ( old kit, remember )  but I think it still worked. I was light handed with the top coats and you can just discern the shaded panel pattern.

The final assembly of the plane was happier than other reports might suggest. Everything fit and could be made to look as if it matched. Even the plastic prop discs went on straight, though as they are secured with PVA, I suspect they might wobble if the humidity changes.

Would I buy another Eastern Express model? Yes – provided it was sold at a sensible price and could fill a spot in the collection that no-one else was prepared to tackle. I’ll keep my eyes out in the future.