The Little World

And not just in the summer months.

The increasing problem of bushfires worldwide means more tanker aircraft are being used. The variety of planes that have been brought to the service is astounding. I have looked at a number of the bombers and surveillance planes I’ve built in their military configuration and realised that I could re-build them as fire-fighters.

The kits available at present for these types are limited – I have seen advertisements for only four dedicated models, and only found one kit to hand at a swap meet. There are sets of decals made to convert some types, but these are overseas printings and hard to get. At least for the present most liveries need to be painted or home-printed.

Another need is for details about the dump doors and sprayers that the real aircraft are using. Few pictures are taken of the undersides and we are left imagining. Some aftermarket parts would not go astray.

Many tankers also have external bulges for tanks. So far I can manage these with balsa wood carved to shape and sealed with layers of paint, but commercial conversion kits would get my dollar every time.

One nice thing is models that might be fragile or fussy can be rendered very workaday when fire fighting. The retardants dumped are often dyed red or orange and colour the undersides of the aircraft quite a lot. You can feel free to be pretty lavish with the red spray under there. Plus they get beat up when refuelling and refilling. That is a busy time.