[chris190]

Pleased to have finished yet another giant model which will need somewhere to live in our home!

It's a Murph's Models kit which needs scaling up by a factor of 137.5% to give a wingspan of 700mm; nice colouring/texture and usual excellent fit of parts, and it captures the grace and powerful appearance of this beautiful aircraft.

I modified the tail fin - with some difficulty - to get the smooth curve of the fairing into the top of the fuselage plus splicing in a smaller union flag, also the control surface horns (there are varying dispositions of these depending on which photos are referred to over the life of the aircraft) and the undercarriage and main doors were redesigned in more detail/accuracy.

The model at this scale needs a fair few circular internal formers in minimum 1.5mm card to maintain its shape, plus a reasonable blob of lead inside the nose to balance it on its undercarriage.

The air intakes were a case of persistence and careful handling but work well as designed; an obvious and considerable disadvantage of a multi prop/multi engine craft such as this is sheer repetition for intakes and propellor blades and trying to get them all the same.

Best wishes to all

Chris