model is beautifully moulded
and presented, but the one
thing you notice on opening
the box is the lower parts count
compared to a ”normal” Wingnuts
model. Deinitely within any
modeller’s ability who has a
couple of kits under their belt,
and far less daunting than their
huge Felixstowe seaplane!
Another anomaly with the kit is
that the wings can be built detached
from the fuselage. This is shown
”in action”, so to speak, by the high
number of the type shown wingless
in period photos; it must have been
relatively easy to do this in the ield,
compared to a fully rigged biplane.THE PLAN
As I was looking through the
photos for some inspiration,
the build plan quickly morphed
from what was supposed to be a
straightforward quick-build into
something a bit more ambitious.
I liked the idea of having the
junkers mounted onto the back of
a trailer, ready for transportation,
and from there the idea of a
modest diorama was spawned.
Unusual for me, as I haven’t really
ever attempted a proper diorama
before, but the more I thought
about it, the more the idea took
hold and grew. As a newbie to
dioramas, I just needed to seewhat was available on the market
to enable me to help transform
my concept build into reality.
I remembered that Aviatic
had released a resin RFC Crossley
Trailer, so I contacted Richard
Alexander (the boss at Aviattic)
and requested the said trailer,
their excellent fuel cart, and a
mechanic igure that went with
the cart. Along with that, they very
kindly sent me a box of Aviattic
“odds and ends”, which helped
contribute towards the litter of a
German airield towards the end of
the war, as well as helping me with
ideas for the diorama. There were
a couple of fuselages, propellers,
and engine parts to add to the mix.
I still didn’t have a deined
vision of the inished article yet, but
I had a general overview in my mindthat I would develop as I went along.
I also considered that a igure
would be a must-have to set the
scene, but it would depend on if
I could paint him well enough
to match the rest of the items. I
think igure painting is a diferent
skill set that I have not had much
experience with, and I didn’t want
to spoil the efect if he wasn’t up
to scratch! But I was determined
to give it a go regardless.
My basic plan initially was to
have a backdrop of aircraft parts,
perhaps a hangar wall or buildingif I could source or make one, with
the Junkers dissected and piled
onto the trailer. Both wings would
be of, the tail surgically cut of
(as per period photos, although
not separated in the kit) and be
generally stripped back. I think
that I may inish the Junkers in
aluminium bare metal inish,
maybe not even with markings to
enhance the disassembled look.
To help me with the aircraft
I managed to get my hands on22 • DECEMBER 2018 • SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL