The Little World

Old Czech junk. Actually old French junk that was foisted on the Czechs. And happy they were to get it, too.

The scheme of the Junkers 52 that you see in the finished product is listed as being in service with the Police Air Service in 1950. A bit of googling shows that the Police Air Service has also been known as the National Air Guard and Security Air Service. This probably accounts for the aircraft roster including Spitfires and Avia 199’s – police with teeth. Or not allowed to call themselves an air force in case it annoyed their Soviet bosses.

The distinctive mark of this service is apparently the pointed version of the national roundel on the tail.

I’m a bit suspicious of the whole story as the same detailed Czech page that lists all the planes used by this service leaves out the Junkers – doesn’t even list it as a Toucan. The other livery choices place the plane with the Air Transport Regiment and the Czechoslovak Airlines at about the same time. I am reduced to thinking that the Czechs should know their own history better than I can guess it, so I’ll just put on the red and grey livery and shut up.

Well, sure enough the decals fought back…though the precaution of glossing the aircraft did reduce this to a minimum. The use of Mr. Mark Setter and then Mr. Mark Solver made as much of the thing as could be expected and I also pressed the decals into the recesses with a stiff brush. They have fragmented slightly on the wing, but in the context of an old aircraft repainted five years after the war, the effect is not bad.

The kit’s engines are delightful but their cowlings are a nightmare to assemble and keep straight – Italeri definitely wins with their version of this plane in this respect. The landing gear is super-sturdy and has the correct angulation as well.

The final spray of matte varnish is deliberate – I rarely use flat matte but in this case it ties in the decals.

Careful observers will see that the centre engine is being run up but there is no-one in the cockpit at present. The pilot, Pavel, is back in the cabin looking in the refrigerator for a beer and will be back on the flight deck shortly. The plane cannot move very far in the meantime with the two other engines switched off. These things can take time.