The Little World

Not FROG – this one is the Heller kit of 1967.

The kit has fallen together beautifully. I lost a part, made a replacement, and steamed right on. The struts I worried about went in with absolute precision, and there was no filler needed anywhere. I feel myself fully rewarded for the price and will display this one proudly in my inter-war collection.

But what was the Mureaux 117? Google to the rescue and it has solved a puzzle I noted in the plastic – the silver spotlights on the underside of the wing.

My main question was what the darned thing was intended for – it seems to be armed with only a small swivelled machine gun in a rear cockpit, no bomb bay, and no bomb racks. There is a great deal of strut-work that would slow it down to a whistling target. And it is disconcertingly slab-sided.

Well, it turns out to have been intended for an observation plane – the slab sides were to allow the pilot and observer to see the ground clearly. The wing-mounted spotlights may have been intended for night spotting work. it does have that French appearance that makes British aircraft of the corresponding period look sleek and stream-lined…but that is probably just cynicism. When I finally find a Heller copy of the Amiot 143 I will confirm it.

The decals turned out fine, highlighting the perverse nature of the universe. I did trim the surrounds so no film would show, and laid them onto a thick bed of Mr Mark Setter.

The box art, with Morane Saulnier 406’s and a Messerschmitt 109 is not too improbable, as some of the Mureaux 117 did get in the air in 1939 and 1940. The French Air Force lost about half of them.