The Little World

The Dornier Do.17 E has been formally taken on charge for the RRAAF. It is out of the paint shop, the log book has been issued, and the first flight over Westmünster has been a success. Peasants stopped in the turnip fields and cheered.

The acquisition of this fine bomber was made possible by the flawed navigation of its former pilot, Fähnrich Bockstein. Becoming disoriented on a clear day with unlimited visibility and every instrument on the aircraft working properly, he  flew from a German air base to Strelsau, made a perfect three-point landing, and ran off the airfield as fast as he could go. It took three weeks to find him.

Under questioning he demanded that the aircraft be returned immediately to Germany and that he be repatriated…or sent to the French Riviera with his Ruritanian girlfriend. In the case of the latter he promised to hand over the keys to the Dornier’s ignition lock so that it could be moved off the tarmac. The RRAAF decided to add the bomber to the squadron and the last seen of Bockstein was a suitcase disappearing into the Express Bleu train for Biarritz.

The Dornier is in fine shape, albeit a little skimpy as far as bomb capacity. The RRAAF may convert it into a reconnaissance aircraft if they ever decide whether or not they want to find out what other armies are doing. Until then it can serve as a high speed mail plane for the Royal Ruritanian Post.

The model sits on a simple stand that will slot into the IKEA cabinets that store the rest of the collection. Several bays in each unit are large open spaces and this may be the best way to show larger aircraft. The turning propeller representation is of the simplest now, but there may be other ways of doing this in the future. Whichever mode is adopted, frugality must be paramount.

This is also the case with the stand. MDF board from Bunnings is easy enough to cut and finish and the vertical support for the plane is simple 3mm steel rod from the hobby shop.