The Little World

However, I am going to do my best to keep the criminal at bay. My Revell SPAD XIII need not distress itself – this Academy model will look quite different.

The model kit itself was a kind gift from a friend and has not been long in the stash before being called forth. I am winding up work on another WW1 subject – a Pfalz D.IIIa by Roden – and my biplane skills are at a peak. As I have not built this Academy version – only the infinitely older Revell one – I think I will start the new year with something that is likely to be easy.

I am not sure if the Academy company regards it so – in fact I am astounded at the amount of superfluous advice they have sought fit to include in the kit. It’s only a small box, but there’s a lot of paper in there. I am grateful that they have shown me how to use a pair of plastic cutters properly – heretofore I had been using my nose to operate the shears and it doesn’t half make your nostrils sore when you do a big kit. I should be a lot more comfortable now.

The actual instructions are commendably brief and to the point. The decal sheet seems basic, but as I plan to make this model in Italian colours, it can be saved for a Lafayette Escadrille airplane later.

Unexpected models are a bonus for the collection – and a great way to explore different colour schemes.