The Little World

By the time a large scale model gets to the Mr Surfacer 1000 stage I no longer have any authority over it – the command structure is reversed.

In a way, it is comforting to surrender the initiative in this way. Oh, there will be patching and sanding and other attendances but the die has largely been cast. In the case of older kits, the casting includes sink-holes.

The Farman parts are quite acceptable now – the tail is a bet that has paid off, and the nacelle and strut assemblies touch in most of the right places. It is a prototype that only the French or the Czechs would have considered kitting. Heller was too late, Mach 2 did not care, so the Azur factory took it up, and I admire their style with it.

It encourages boldness. The propeller warning bands are complex – the bow-pen and thinned yellow paint were the only viable option. You just hold your breath and start painting…