Thank you all for the positive comments and I do realise just how lucky I was to be able to take a short flight to the UK for the exhibition. Here are some extra shots which might be of interest, even if not all necessarily related to our first love.
First up, I have to comment on the number of bargains available with so many traders selling plastic kits. The most obvious example concerned the mighty
Airfix 1/24 Typhoon. Frequently advertised at £99 or equivalent, it was available for less on a number of stands and at
LAS Models it was on offer for a staggering £70; I imagine their stock lasted a matter of minutes. One of a number of stands offering hundreds of kits at excellent prices, I also found there an
Eduard Weekend Edition Nieuport Ni-17 for £4 and various other Weekend Editions for £6 and £7. My heart said to buy the Nieuport; my head said to conserve your financial resources and it won out. Talking with one of the staff there, I understand that
LAS will be closing in December, so I expect not to see them next year.
Talking of
Airfix, they always have a large stand at Telford and this year’s new announcements, though less grand in scale than last year’s Typhoon, were nonetheless interesting. Unaccountably I took no photos. We have in 1/72 scale a Boulton Paul Defiant, a Heinkel He 111 and a whirly, twirly helicopter thingy that didn’t really interest me. Given modern technologies and the presence of a complete Defiant on display at the RAF Museum at Hendon, there should be no excuses now for inaccuracy and I noticed that particular care had been lavished on the canopy and turret transparency options. The Heinkel display notes suggested that it was based on more accurate scale plans than had previously been available.
More related to our sphere of interest,
Cross and Cockade had their usual stand and, I’m delighted to say, Ena even asked me how much it would cost to join. Maybe I’ll get there soon.
IMG_4932 by
nigeljjackson, on Flickr
Darren at
Tommy’s War had these RAF/RFC vehicles on sale and display. I think we’ve already seen the packaging art, but what surprised a non-vehicle person like me was their size.
IMG_4884 by
nigeljjackson, on Flickr
IMG_4881 by
nigeljjackson, on Flickr
IMG_4882 by
nigeljjackson, on Flickr
Talking of size, it’s become obvious over recent years that more and more models are being produced in larger scales. I have to declare no modelling interest in aircraft of the Luftwaffe but this Dornier Do 335 Pfeil in 1/32 scale coming soon from
Hong Kong Models, seemed absolutely enormous.
IMG_4887 by
nigeljjackson, on Flickr
But if you have a room available in which to display a single model, how about this 1/32 scale Lancaster which is in the planning from the same stable?
IMG_4871 by
nigeljjackson, on Flickr
Walking around the three-hall exhibition, it was so easy to get lost and at one point I found myself looking at the
Aerobase trade stand on which a mighty 1/500 scale Eiffel Tower was being constructed from what looked like etched metal.
IMG_4934 by
nigeljjackson, on Flickr
When I took the trouble to look at the rest of the stand I saw these little stripped-down aircraft from the days of early aviation which were, in the main, 1/160 scale. I didn’t ask any questions, fearing any distraction might lead to the Tower collapsing.
IMG_4933 by
nigeljjackson, on Flickr
This prompted me to look at the
Aerobase website, where I saw an array of stripped down early aviation models, ranging from a 1/48 scale Dr.I through to 1/160 palm of the hand models. The home page features a mighty airship.
My heart almost invariably sinks at the sight of yet another Tiger tank or battleship Bismarck, but I have to show you this from the
HMV stand (a German company, I think); it was on display last year as well. I’m not sure if the model, which may be 1/200 scale, is still available, but take a close, close look. Would you believe that, apart from the rigging and presumably the railings, this Bismarck is made of card – as are all the other vessels you can see.
IMG_4926 by
nigeljjackson, on Flickr
As a last shot, you may know that I like the Hawker Typhoon as an aircraft. West Riding (Leeds) IPMS Branch produced this display, skilfully using models from across the scale ranges. Unfortunately the camera does not capture things too well, but the effect was most impressive.
Well after this diversion, I’ll publish some more of the photos I took of Great War aircraft models put on display by IMPS branches and Special Interest Groups.
Best wishes
Nigel
