So I'm quietly plugging away at the Strutter and getting near the end of the rigging with just the aileron cables to attach before cleaning up and adding turnbuckles etc. I pop into the man cave this morning and look at the attractive lines of this very enjoyable model as it sits in front of the window and something stirs in my memory from my Tom's Vacform build of this same LCT from several years ago: wait a minute , the wing roundels didn't have an outer white ring, did they?
Quick check of sources and, god-dammit, 9407 at time of photographing had blue outers on the wing roundels! I realise that I had dithered about which subject, from Ronny Bar's superb RFC Two seaters book, to build - I'd fancied one with the plain CDL rudder but was having trouble setting up my new Cricut cutter to make masks, so opted to just stick with the kit markings. I probably had this other machine in mind when I decalled the wings.
Aaach, I've already weathered the wings and outlined the ribs over the markings, as well as all the rigging. Doh!
But actually, when I look at it, it is much more attractive with the white outlines - and, now I come to think about it, I'm sure I remember my grandfather (who was in the 11th Hussars on the Western Front from 1914-1919) telling me of an overheard conversation in a shady estaminet in 1916, when some fitters were complaining about having to replace the upper wings on Collishaw's machine after the Oberndorf raid. Yes, that's right, I'm sure I remember that now. Honest!
Well, as always, nobody can disprove it, so on we go!
Sandy
