The Little World

Some model kits can be like that – you go along in your regular rut and never even give them a thought.

Then a stash sale or clean-out of the back store-room of a hobby shop brings something to light. And you wonder why you had never wanted one. However, you want one NOW!

This was not boxed – the collector had it in a large plastic bag, but fortunately had preserved the box top, instructions, and decal sheet. Unfortunately the decal sheet had encountered humidity during its long storage and the paper base had matted and swelled. The decals were not likely to be usable.

Never mind – the internet yielded images of this exact aircraft laid up in my favourite air museum and the decals to reproduce it were already printed out in my stocks.

This will not be he first ELINT aircraft I have done – there is a B-66 in the collection already, with a daunting array of tiny aerials on it. Now there can be a distinct category.