Saturday, October 15, 2005

My model airplane making exploits



2 weekends ago, my sister kicked her boarder out of her house, finally. He left most of his junk at her house, so it was left to me to throw all the rubbish out. I came across a model airplane kit. I thought, well I might attempt to put it together. So I bought it home, and my dad, who's a model airplane NUT, said it was good. Anyway, he got the urge to head down to the hobby shop, and bought himself 2 models.
Now, Dad's a HUGE WWII plane fan. He likes the German and American planes mostly. He's built, from scratch, 3 model airplanes, from balsa wood, all hand crafted, they took him about 15 years in total. He's even made little engines that make the propellor and wings move! They're amazing, the 2 large ones wingspans are about 2 foot across.
So, today I decided I'd start on the model. The one we salvaged from my sisters house had half the pieces missing, so that got binned. I asked Dad if I could start on one of his. He let me, even though this is my first attempt at making one. Well, what fun! I got my superglue out, scissors, tweezers and magnifying glass out! Some of the pieces are tiny! But its great, I even get to paint all the little bits!
This is the picture of the model I'm working on. (This is the original plane, by the way! lol) Its called a Fi 156 C Storch, and if anyone's interested, this is a bit of info on the plane.
The Fieseler Fi 156C Storch is a fabric and steel lube constructed 3 place liaison aircraft, famous for its short take off and landing (STOL) characteristics. Used by the German forces throughout the second world war, the Fi156 was the reconnaissance aircraft used by Hitler, and the German Field Marshals and commanders for survey of the battle lines during the conflict. It also played the major role in a daring rescue of the imprisoned Italian dictator Benito Mussolini from a jagged mountain top by the famed German spy Otto Scorzny. The Storch operated much like helicopters do in the modern military of the world to day, in the capacity of Communications, observation, command, ambulance, rescue, VIP transport and agent insertion. The versatility made the Storch a popular aircraft, in constant demand over the entire German warfront. First built in 1939 and remaining in production throughout the war and after, more than 1,549 aircraft were produced. Its long fixed landing gear, and high wing planeform, gave the angular Fi156 the look of a landing insect at times. During the winter months, the Storch was fitted with skis, rather than wheels, so it could continue to operate over the battlefields in snowy weather. After the War, both France and Czechoslovakia continued production of this well known STOL aircraft.

2 comments:

nenni said...

I have the sudden urge to make things now lol and I might even head down the local model store and buy one, on Wed! You'll have to take pics when you're finished it!

LuNaMooN said...

i will do! I'm even thinking about buying a couple of easy ones for my nephews for Christmas, not the ones where you need superglue or anything, coz its dangerous for the kids. I swear tho, its amazing! Time consuming, but that's half the fun!