Posts by Leigh Edmonds
Bristol Bulldog II in 1/72 by Airfix
For the whole of the 1920s Australia’s front line fighters were a handful of Sopwith Pups and SE5As that were given to it in 1919 by the British government. In 1929 the Australian government decided to upgrade the RAAF’s fighter force and ordered eight Bristol Bulldog fighters that arrived in 1930 and became the nation’s…
Read MoreThe Curator’s Choice 86 – Trimotors
Trimotors Ford 5-AT – Avro 618 Ten – Junkers Ju52/3m Aircraft with three engines usually come about for lager aircraft that need the power of three engines but are not big enough to need four. This was the case in the 1920s when aircraft designers began working on larger civil aircraft at a time when…
Read MoreGrumman OV-1 in 1/48 by Roden
This kit contains six sprues with 156 parts including 18 clear parts. The decal sheet has markings for four aircraft with extensive stencilling in both black and white. White is used for two versions and black for the other two. Optional disposable stores consisting of two drop tanks, two 7 rocket launcher (skinny cylinder), two…
Read MoreBig Museums – Moorabbin Air Museum – Open Cockpit Day 2023
Moorabbin Air Museum 12 First Street Moorabbin Airport Moorabbin, Melbourne, Australia The Moorabbin Air Museum is one of the largest in Australia and is operated by the Australian Aircraft Restoration Group. It has on display many aircraft that are important to the history of aviation in Australia. It is open daily from 10am to 4pm…
Read MoreThe Curator’s Choice 85 – American Night Fighters
American Night Fighters Douglas P-70 – North American F-82G – Douglas F3D-2 Intercepting aircraft at night was almost impossible before the invention of radar. Even the early radar sets were too large, heavy and limited to be of much use during the early years of World War 2. The innovation of lighter electronic equipment allowed…
Read MoreFocke Wulf Fw190D turboprop in 1/72 converted from Academy kit
Long time readers may remember my Yakerschmitt, a totally fictional Me109 with an underslung turbojet, built for the sole purpose of confusing Luft46 fans. The trouble with creating fictional aircraft is that if you don’t do your research, you’re likely to recreate something that actually existed. These examples turned up as usual, after the project…
Read MoreBucker Bu181 Panzerbucker in 1/72 by AZmodel
Eine Kleine Krautprojekt Celebrating a day off in the big smoke I wandered into Showcase Models to see what John had on the shelves. I came upon the AZ 1/72 Bucker 131 with conversion parts for the ‘Panzerbucker’. These consisted of four wing-mounted ‘Panzerfaust’ RPGs fired by a cable from the cockpit. About 150 such…
Read MoreBachem Ba349 in 1/48 by Dragon
Krautprojekt 1/12 In response to the editor’s plea for copy the following will describe a model of one of the most extraordinary aircraft ever flown and an episode of suicidal courage on the part of its first and only pilot. In the autumn of 1944 things were looking bad for the Third Reich. Earlier that…
Read MoreBlohm und Voss Ha139B/MS in 1/72 by Mach 2
(Krautprojekt 2/11) History After a discussion with your editor we each decided to model ugly aircraft. He has a lot of silly French ones. The Ha 139 project arose because we each had a kit of the same aircraft at two different stages of its life – initially beautiful, then horribly defaced. Beginning in 1936…
Read MoreThe Curator’s Choice 84 – Red, White and Blue
Red, White and Blue Hawker Siddeley Hawk T.1 – Saunders Roe SR.53 – Grumman F11F-1 Not all military aircraft are camouflaged in drab colours designed so people can’t see them in all their loveliness. Occasionally aircraft are painted in vivid colours to make them visible to spectators, auch as the aircraft flown by display teams…
Read MoreAdditions to the Museum’s Collection – 59, November 2023
NEW IN THE READING ROOM Additions to Workbench Notes Canadair CL-604 Challenger in 1/144 by Revell with Hawkeye decals GAF Canberra Mk.20 in 1/72 by High Planes NEW IN THE GALLERIES Additions to the Aircraft Galleries Canadair CL-604 Challenger in 1/144 by Revell with Hawkeye decals Colonial Viper VIIc in 1/72 by Moebius Models Colonial…
Read MoreGAF Canberra Mk.20 in 1/72 by High Planes
Lifting the lid on a High Planes kit does not fill one with joy at this expression of the kit maker’s art, rather it creates a feeling of dread at having to make something coherent from the roughly hewn parts found in the box. The first impulse is to put the lid back on the…
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