The Little World

If I was a kid in a bathtub I would be sorely tempted to play battleships with this Fairey float plane – probably to its detriment. As it is, I will have to think up some way of simulating water to display it – and that is a tough thing to do.

The final result is all I could have hoped for and I am ever so grateful to my young friend for buying me this model. It was probably still on the shelf at the hobby shop she went to as it was one of the outlying shops and probably didn’t move stock as fast. I was very lucky to get it.

As built, it is not carrying a torpedo – just smoke markers and a long-range tank. It was apparently assigned to HMS ARK ROYAL in the late 30’s. The livery is complex, but the Airfix decals are well-drawn and fit perfectly. It pays to take it over a day or so.

The display? Well, Mark Broadhurst fortunately imported some pretty nifty display stands for aircraft and armour a few years ago but did not get a big sale for them. He had this perfect seaplane platform – half awash – that the Swordfish could be drawn up upon. How could I resist?