My aircraft collection climbs into double figures!

[David MG]

I thought you had been quiet of late. Your in hanger tinkerings are excellent. Especially for this old and crude airfix kit.Remember it well.
I have my eyes on these two :-

OXFORD

[Ozmac]

Oooh, they're nice, David.

[David MG]

Oooh, they're nice, David.

Agreed, just lying in wait for a good price.

[Ozmac]

It's just a bit early to post this next idea in dioramas, but I definitely can feel a diorama coming on...

Regular visitors who temporarily stumble out of the 1/43 scale motor car section of S143.com and find themselves here in my aviation thread will probably know that I have a bit of a "Polar" sub-theme going. Well, it hasn't stopped yet.


My latest purchase is this Italeri 1/72 kit of the Antonov An-2. Some may know of this plane, others not, but the simple fact is that there have been more An-2s produced post-war than any other plane. And this kit includes a bright orange Polar version with skis. I'm in!


Next stop along the way was an eBay search for "1/72 Snow" and up popped this 1/72 kit of a Horch 108-40 Armoured Command Snow vehicle.

And so the diorama is set. It's post-war in Russia ... the defeated Germans left a lot of kit behind in '45, including the Horch. Now it's 1950, peace has been restored (sort of) and the Horch is now a liaison vehicle for the very very very far north, snowbound, icy outpost of some godforsaken Russian scientific outfit, which also has a new An-2 (first produced in 1948) to get them to even more godforsaken parts of the tundra to drill holes and do other scientific stuff.

I've been looking for 1/72 scale wolves, reindeer etc and haven't found any, so I suspect my old Ford Trimotor kit dogsled team may play another supporting role in my next snowy diorama. Wish me luck!

[David MG]

I wish you luck

[GBOAC002]

That Airfix DH 88 Comet was one of my first attempts at plastic kit building when I was 11 years old! That'a a long, long, time ago....

The Comet was quickly followed by something a bit more ambitious and impressive - an Airfix Avro Lancaster.

I always enjoy the dioramas and these aviation threads.

[Tom]

Looks like you did a great job with that old Airfix Comet! Lovely plane, like it a lot. Looking forward to your Antonov build.

[Ozmac]

The Polar fleet grows! Here's part 1 of my next diorama, an Antonov An2, the plane which holds the distinction of being the most-produced aircraft since the Second World War. This large single-engined biplane was produced from 1947-2001, with more than 18,000 of them built. I love all the various details of the Antonov. Apparently it's up there with the Feiseler Storch for having the slowest stall-speed of any aircraft. Given that the Storch is a lightweight that can carry 2 or 3 at best, and that the Antonov is a behemoth that can carry 14, this big, slow biplane truly makes an artform out of "slow". Here's what Wikipedia has to say about it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonov_An-2


This is a 1/72 scale model from a kit by Italeri. Talk about a complicated build! The most difficult one I have done so far, with the exception of the resin plane model builds, which still give me nightmares.


This Antonov is in the livery of an Arctic version of some kind. Couldn't find out much about it.


That rotten clear canopy consisted of 5 pieces (one large and four ill-fitting and tiny). I don't know why model companies do that ...


And to give you a sense of comparison, here's the Antonov alongside the De Havilland Beaver.

To complete the diorama I am building a Horch WWII snow van, plus modding various 1/72 figures.

And to complete the Polar stable of planes, I have a 1/72 scale kit of a Noorduyn Norseman that comes with the option of skis. All that should keep me busy until Christmas and beyond.

[Tom]

I like that a lot, excellent!

[Featherless_Biped]

That looks great! It's hard for me to imagine building models at 1:72 scale. Lilliputian sized! Looking forward to that diorama.

RT

[JSB33]

Better you than me. You do all the hard work and i get to enjoy the results (from afar)

[Ozmac]

Still in the middle of my "planes with skis" theme, and no closer to getting the Antonov An-2 diorama done, but I have added one of Canada's finest old bush planes to the shelves: a Noorduyn Norseman.


The kit is a 1/72 scale item by Matchbox. Quite a nice kit it was too. All the blemishes are my doing.


I decided not to use the supplied decals, as they are probably older than Justin Trudeau and would have fallen apart, so I made my own paint scheme up using a white stripe down each side.


The Norseman is quite distinctive looking, the way the front ski/wheel/float struts work.


I haven't finished with this ski obsession either ... there are two more in the wings.

If you like old bush planes like the Norseman, this 22-minute doco on Canadian Bush Planes, featuring a Norseman, is worth a look. A bit of cool old historic footage is in there somewhere, and it's just cool to hang around this old Norseman for a while (it's equipped with floats, which is the more familiar configuration, of course).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlI2qAzQh9U

[DeadCanDanceR]

Great looking model, mate!

[Tom]

That does indeed look great, and you did a very nice job putting it together.

[David MG]

Great addition to the ski fleet.

[johann.nunweiller]

Great looking aircraft!

[johann.nunweiller]

If you have time, here is a short history of Romanian Military Aicraft from ROAf

http://www.aripi-argintii.ro/pagina.php?p=40

List of aircraft:

http://www.aripi-argintii.ro/pagina.php?p=16

And some pcitures with An 2 in Romania:
http://romanian-spotters.forumer.ro/t193-antonov-an-2

[Ozmac]

Wow, Johann, thanks for that link to the An-2 pages. So many great shots of those big birds!

[Ozmac]

Just expanded the Polar parking lot ice-field ... the diorama figures will fit in somewhere here ...

[Tom]

Busy stretch of snow!
Nice collection, like your display.

[DeadCanDanceR]

They look wonderful together!

[Featherless_Biped]

Unique. Excellent.

RT

[David MG]

Jamie, do you do Christmas cakes as a sideline?

[Ozmac]

David, you'd crack a tooth on my icing!