1/72 scale Airfix Fairey Battle

 

         Another addition to the "What Were They Thinking" collection and a moving target for German fighters when we play Check Your Six this very old model of a truly regrettable aircraft shows its age. Giant rivets, poor fit, foggy clear parts, and moving ailerons all scream "1968". But when you are looking for a model of a Fairey Battle your choices are sharply curtailed, it is either this old war-horse or hunt up a copy of the MPM/Special Hobby kit and be prepared to shell out some serious cash. I guess it is "good news" that Airfix has re-released this kit.

       The actual bomber was an unmitigated disaster. Slow, underpowered, under-gunned and capable only of horizontal bombing this flying deathtrap for three brave aviators often encountered 50% casualties per mission (only the Kamikazes had a worse return rate). There is a very interesting Wiki available here.

 

at last, some nicely detailed crew figures,

I might just make molds of these lads

 

and a nicely detailed (for 1968) cockpit 

 

having learned the hard way in he past I made sure the pilot fit the seat

 

the boys look even better with a dash of paint,

 why are there only two you ask? 

because the poor sod bombardier was trapped inside the fuselage 

peering down through a bombsite in the floor of the plane

 

after the usual round of gluing, swearing, sanding, puttying, and more sanding

  it turns out a decent looking model, 

of course I cemented a nail inside  so I could use my magnetic flight stand

 

the canopy was particularly ill-fitted

 

a near-match, perfomance-wise, to the JU-87 (except for that whole dive-bombing thing) 

the insistence on un-escorted daylight bombing mission made the Battle's career rather short

 

despite its flaws it was a graceful-looking bird

 

 

he looks all too happy to be a Battle crewman!

 

I'm always impressed at how much a coat of Future floor wax

 can improve old foggy  plastic windscreens