The Little World

I regularly cruise through Hobbytech in Myaree to see what’s new. Of course, no cruise is ever painless. I buy something every time. If it is not paint or a new tool, it is a kit of some sort. I am not complaining or bragging – just stating a fact of life. Like gravity or taxes – a visit to Hobbytech involves a purchase.

I saw the Grumman FF-1 fighter kit a while ago – I suspect it is old stock from another hobby shop that went defunct, either here or on the eastern seaboard. The Hobbytech people may have purchased the unsold inventory. If they did, I commend them for their foresight.

I stewed on the purchase for a week – it was a US Navy Yellow Wing aircraft and attractive for that. But then I started googling the type and the research started to slide north of the 49th parallel. In short – the RCAF operated these aircraft in the 1940’s.

Well, that’s a sale. I don’t care if it was the worst plane in the world…if the RCAF flew them, I want one on my air base. Biased? Me? Perish the thought.

The Grumman Goblin also triggered a memory – I used to read National Geographic magazines from the war period for the combat pictures – not the bare-breasted native girls. I remember a picture of a Grumman biplane being towed backwards over the Canadian/American border prior to the US entry into the war. I wondered if it one of these.

My research then turned up the most astounding set of photos of a warplane that I’ve seen. I won’t spoil the fun yet, but the Skaarup collection has a set that details a Goblin I in a configuration that I can model that will make it unique. All I need to do is buy roundels and produce the squadron code numbers.

The kit is typical Special Hobby – superb resin engine, some PE, and good mouldings elsewhere. Good if you know where the parts go. It is a small aircraft but contains lots of parts. I may screw my courage to the sticking point and rig it.

Note the decals are superfluous to my plans but will undoubtedly appear somewhere else. Cartograf graphics are not to be wasted.