The Little World

Poor old Hollanders. They never seemed to have a good time of it in their wars. The English beat them off the sea in the 1700’s and the Japanese scoured them out of the Dutch East Indies in the 1940’s . I wonder if they have ever won anything? Perhaps they do when they retell their stories in the Amsterdam pubs, but only when they tell them to each other.

Be that as it may, here is the Dutch Brewster Buffalo complete – the decals were saved from a few other equally unpromising aircraft that were completed in other colours. They may not be entirely accurate as to size…

I’m delighted with it, for all the flaws. The dark camouflage hides the multitude of sins and the fact that it has been saved from the bin is a triumph. The fit of the canopy is fully in accordance with the goodness of the rest of the kit, but when you set it next to the other Buffaloes in the collaction – one Hobby Boss and one Airfix – it does not clash too much.

I shall find a better example to build in RAF colours to complete the set. With a bit of luck a Hasegawa or Special Hobby example may fall under my hand in some hobby shop. I shall not complain about any price for it – so far putting three Buffaloes in the collection has cost me a grand total of $ 15 – I can afford to splurge next time.