The Peter Buckingham Column Part 3

IN PURSUIT OF PERFECTION - Part 3

I will now admit that I didn’t stick to the 1/72 plan all the time. Having a certain amount of time on my hands, if something came along that tickled my fancy, I would have a go at it for the sake of variety. Having a penchant for motorcycles, I found an old Italeri kit in 1/8 scale of a 1952 500cc Manx Norton racer, one of my all time favourites. Ever tried a motorcycle model? Most have working suspension and every part of the bike is sprayed separately with the engine and gearbox having three different shades of Alclad aluminium. Putting it all together was, shall I say - ‘interesting’- the frame being sprung was constantly moving so a different discipline to model aircraft construction. I was very pleased with the result though, felt refreshed for the change and delighted with my first venture into Alclad aluminium paints which went on very well. I was progressing.

Before returning to 1/72, I also took a fancy to Eduard’s Weekend version of the Focke Wulfe 190 from Graham. This is what I love about aircraft modelling, there are now so many wonderful kits out there, we are spoilt for choice. I was well into the FW190 when I came across a magazine article in which the author stated that this wasn’t one for the beginner! Oops! He was right - it certainly was a challenge, especially the fitting of the engine and support structure. Dry fit, dry fit, dry fit was the order of the day. I had an internal wing/wheel well fit problem as well but everything was overcome and it made up into a very nice model. I know I am a beginner with much to learn, but would I be correct in saying some kits are just a tad too complicated? It’s probably me.

The paint went on the airframe well, but when it came to decorating the spinner with a spiral effect, I couldn’t do one of those successfully, so I reverted to the 1/3 white on black scheme - but don’t tell the rivet counters! It isn’t correct, but I like it and that is the point. No weathering though - haven’t dared to go along that route yet! 

The Storch is getting closer! 

More next week.

Peter Buckingham

Part 4