jjJ[J(fjfl[JE magazine

For plastiC modellers

ONE SHILLING MONTHLY

.JULY 1963

•
•

IN THIS ISSUE
Inside story of the Gold en Arrow * New motorcycle and
rolling stock kits by Airfix* Profile: Co nve rting the Airfix
Heinkel * Building a portab le model racing wo rkshop
~--

even the fire

extinguisher is there!
This Air{ix 1/32nd scale 1910 Bus IS an exact
replica of the Old Bill vehicle. H as a wealth of
deta il, crew and passengers. 130-part kit 6/-,
It's t ypical of the realism you get with Airfix
models. T hey're just like the real thing!
More than that, though, A irfix give yo u
constant scale, so that the mode l s of eve ry
se rie s are propo rtion ately rig hi; and a great
ever-inc rea si ng rang e- the re are 11 series
now, with ove r 150 kits. A t prices from 2/-
to 12/6, A i rfix are great on va lue too.
For endless modelling fun-make it Airfix.

JUST LIKE CONSTANT SCALE

THE REAL THING ! CONSTRUCTION KITS

From model and hobby shops, toy shops, and F. W. Woolworth

A truly remarkable
1/ 16 scale model of the
lSO c.c. Ariet Super
SportS Arrow, with re-
volvin, wheels and
steerio, 4" " 1001:. 47-
part kit. plu1 transfers
and display nand. 1/-
ALSO
 For all modelling and hobby requirements,
personal shoppers are invited to go to our
following branches, where expert advice is
always available.
LONDON LEEDS
7Sa New Oxford Street. w,e.1 Tel: MUSeum 1975. 10 Queen Victoria Street Tel : 286]9
87 Old 8ro.d Street. E.e.1 Tel: LONdon Wall ~37S .
81 Streatham Hill, S.W.l Tel : TUlle Hill 8n6. HULL
151 Hi,h Street, Walthamstow, E.17 Tel: 42 Savile Street Te l: 32959
COPpermill ]928
SOUTHAMPTON
GLASGOW 13-4 HiCh Street (Below Bu) Tel : 25947
J18-J10 Arcyle Strut, Gt",S&ow. C,l Tel:
CE N tn.1 5042 BRISTOL
65 Fairlax Street, Bristol, I Tel : 217·H
MANCHESTER
10 Pi'tlIdHly. Manchester, Tel : CENtral \7B7 NEWCASTLE
... 2 Dean St. Newc;J.stle..on.Tyne.
BIRMINGHAM (conrinuorion o(Grey Street)
18 Moor Street, Rinlway Tel : MI Dland 0219 Tel : II-t65
SHEFfiELD EXETER
"St. Paul', Parade, Sheffield I Tel: 26071 9 North Street Tel: 76661

Free kit brochure 011 request from head office

HOBBIES LTD .. DEREHAM • NORFOLK

FALLER AIRCRAFT. Se. 1/ 100

ME-I09 Messenchmitt 109 SI )
JU-87 Stuka 6/ 11
FI-IS6 FieseUer-Stork 6/ 11
00-27 Oornier lea 'plane SI )
PI·GEIG Piper_Alpine SI )
HE·162A Jet rl,lner SI )
JU-88 Ju nken Twin En,ine ' / 11 NEW REV ELL Se. 1/ 71
JU·Sl Junkers-air liner 11/ 11 1/ 11 each complete with slidin,
JU-S2T Junkers-military A .M_T. CAR KITS or movable canopies ,nd pilot.
transport 11/ 11
Caravelle-19SS Jet airliner 14/ 6 Last of the 61 series at 17/ 11 Here now: Spitfire Mk 11 ; Messer_
SI ) each. 1/ 25 sc. schm itt M.E. 109; North Ameri-
HKSl Sail 'plane
F_IO" Star fi,hter SI ) Nova Convertible; Buick Con- can Thunderbolt; Focke-Wulff
HE-Ill War time Heinkel vcrtible; Ford F,irl,ne l-door 190; Hawke r Hurricane; Japanese
bomber 81' Sedan; Meteor 2-door Sedln; Zero. Due any day: P.SI Musun,:
VT-107 "Vertol" twin heli- Pontiac Convertible; Tempest Hawker 6e:J:~t;~~~~$e Hein.
copter 9/ 11 Convertible; Imperial Con- '-_ _ _.!::!:!:~c.!::::::.!!;_ __
S-58 Sikorsky helicopter 8/' vertible; Corvette Convertible:
CON-4-40 Convair Mercury Convertible. FROG . Se. 1/ 71 .
" Me tropolitan" Il/ I! The above kits are complete Sea Fury: Miln Ma,iste r;
LB-17 "Spirit of St Louis" SI ) with full en,ine detail, rubber Miles Master 1/ - ; Martin
WR-tl3 The Wri,ht Brothers wheels and a hon of chrome Marauder 6/ - ; Airspeed
bi-plane 41' acceuo r ies, in filet almost all Oxford : Hotspur II;Wessex I;
FO- I7 Fokker vi-plane 4/' you can want. Beaufort 3/ - .
KL-107 Klemm monoplane SI )
ME-262 Messerschmitt twin jet 6/ 11 The monthly ill us trated POST & PACKING
F-8" Republic-Thundentreak SI ) B.M.W. NEWS SPECIAL Inland : under O.
PI-BU Piper sporu 'plane SI ) will keep you up to date w ith news of forth- 1/6 per pound;
VI / V2 Flyir., bombs & rockets 11/ 11 comin, models and new imports. Subscribe over £3 POIt free.
TM-61 Martin Matador 11/ 11 now and be the first with all the latest develop- Oveneu :
NA-1SOI Nor.nlu Clr,o 'plane 11/ 11 ments. Annual su bscription only S/ 6. Sample posUle extra.
VIS-8I" Vickers "Viscount" 11/ 11 copy 9d. post free.
HOLIDAYS
PERSONAL CAlURS WELCOME
Our shop will be
B.M.W.(MODELS) THE MODEL MAIL ORDER HOUSE
closed from Ju ne 2"
to July S.
MAIL OR.DERS
W ILL BE
DESPATCHED
329 HAYDONS ROAD, WIMBLEDON, S.W . 19 LIB 7707 AS USUAL

33
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 MAGAZINE
For plastic modellers everywhere

V OLUME " NUMBER 1 JUL Y ' U J ONE SHI L LING MONTHLY

EDITORIAL DIR ECTOR

A/an Brimon
EDITOR
Johll Blunsden
ASSOC IATl EDITOR
Darryl Reach
ART EDITOR
Michad Rogers
ADVE RTI SE MENT DIRECTOR
Patrick Srephens
EDITORIAL OFFICES
Brands Hatch Circuit,
Fawkham. Dartford. Kent.
Telephone : West Ash 41 t
ADVERTISE ME NT DEPARTMENT
Ludga lc Circus Buildings, London,
EC4.
Telephone: LUDgate Circus 8222
CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT
Surridge Dawson & Co Lld,
136/142 New Kent Road,
London. SEt.
Telephone : RODney 5480
Contents
In the air - A/all H all
News from Airfix ..
Whcclspin - /Jerl Lamkill . . . 40
Plastic modelling - M ike Bryam 42
Layout rea lism - A/ex BOII'ie.. 44
On road and track - DarT),l
Reach
Railway review - Norman
Simmolls
Profile - M . J . F. Bowyer
Shipping notes - A . J . Day... 54
Book reviews . ..
Picture page .. . .
New kits and models
Readers write ...
Above and below the Thames
TWO important new transport developments are
now tak ing shape on the River Thames . First
there is the new regu lar passenger service by Hoverbus.
Secondly, the new Oartford-Purflect tunnel is nearing
complction , and should be ope ned later thi s summer.
Last month, a 02 Hovercraft , constructed by
Denny H overcraft Ltd, o f Dumbarton (a subsidiary
company, incidentally, o f the buildcrs o f such
famou s vessels as the CIfIlY Sark, a nd the cross-
Cha nnel car ferries Lord W(lrde" and Ma id of Kenr)
made her way from C lyde to London , where she
inaugurated the first Hoverbus service on the Thames.
Behind this exciting event lies a signific3m link
wit h history. In 18 14, one of the earliest types or
stcamboats, the A1arjory. became the first steamer
to run a service on the Thames . She was built by
William Denny. and it was his pioneering activities
which led to the foundation , early in the nineteenth
centu ry, of William Oenny & Brothers Ltd, whose
subsi diary company built the 02. in :'l ssociation with
Hovercraft Development Ltd . This latest step forward
in Hovercraft service is yet another example of the
big future which undoubtedly lies ahead for t his type
of vessel.
36 When the new Oartford- I)urfleet tu nne l opens, it
38 wi ll cont ribute significant ly towards ea sier !ravel for
the motorist and , it wou ld scem, for the cyclist, too.
Bicycles must not be ridden through the tu nnel
during the day, a nd so the Ministry of Transport
46 has had built some speci:'l l double-deck buses. which
wi ll run a regular service ror cyclists. One of these
48 is illust rated o n page 47 this month .
50 Cycles will be carried in special racks built into the
lower deck of the bus, while their riders travel in
56
comfo rt on the upper deck. A compartment at the rear
57
58 of the bus ca n cater ror tricycles, tandems and , if
62 necessary, penny rarthings !

Cover p i cture
This hydraulic excal'fllor!sho\'el-a JCB 4C, made by J . C. Bawford ( Excm'alors) Lld,
of Roceslel' - is powered by Ihe 57 horsepower Fordsoll Super Major diesel engine. Wilh
(I leOl'OIll force of22,ooo Ib at Ihe bucket leelh, eH'lIthe lOughesl grolllld prese,,'s no problem
10 this I'ers(l{ile and I'lIgged //Iachille. III ,his II/OIII"'s isslle (O il page 38) Ctlll be fot/lld details
of Ihe lIell' A il'fix LOll'lIIac kil , which has a similar J C B 3 excav(l{or as its I'('(I/islic load.
35
 IN THE
BY AlAN W . HAll
ONE of the greatest difficuhies for all
aviation enthusiasts when travelling
on the Continent is finding the centres of
aviation interest , so 1 thought that a few
words on thi s subject might be of help to
the many thousa nds of readers who will be
away on holiday in the next few months.
Obviously. the greater number will be
visiting Paris this year, but by the time this
issue of AtRflX MAGAZINE has reached the
bookstalls, the 25th Salon at Le Bourget
will be over. However, there must surely be
many others who will be visiti ng the Paris
region later in the season, and as it is onc
of the most intercsting centres in Europe a
few noles on the airfields s urrounding it
would not be amiss.
Paris has two main civil airports for
scheduled transport and freight traffic. One
is Le Bourget. four miles north of Paris
on Route N2, which caters for military,
charter and executive aircraft, fills the role
ofa French Gatwick. and is the lesser Oflhc
two. Orly, on the other hand, si tuated on
the south side of Paris on Route N7, is the
main terminal and deals with all trans-
Atlantic and other intercontinental traffic.
Both airports have good spectator en-
closures which. although they cost a litt le
bit more than their English equivalent, are
wcB sited and worth a visit.
To my own way of thinking, the many
light aircraft fields around I'aris provide a
constant source of new and intercsting types
that make thc mind boggle at their number
and va riety. Toussus Le Noble and its
neighbours at Hue and Guyancourt are the
best to visi t if you want a lot in a short time.
At weekends they are absolutely full to
capacity, and movements must surely equaJ
Heathrow at thc height of the season.
Toussus is open to visi tors, and a system of
p.1inted wa lkways allows the enthusiast to
inspect all the hangars without getting in
the way of a ircraft ground movements. A1I
the airfields can be reached by Metro to
Versailles and then by bus . These are in-
frequent and it is best to get a time-table
beforc making thc trip.
Apart from the three fields mentioned ,
there arc several others in the immediate
vici nity of VersaiJles-St Cyr, Chavcnay,
36
illterestillg visitors. Top: A ver)' rare
DOllglas 8-23 Dragon N86E seell al Gatwick
011 April 28, followed 011 Ap,.iI 30 by tWO
JlIl'Oders, N40CJ0K alld N300V. ( Photos: B.
Swil1er).
Velizy, Bcynes-Thiverval, Frilcuse and
Villacoublay. All of these cater fo r the light
aircraft club or for gliders, with the excep-
tion of the last mentioned . This is a Illilitary
transport airfield , and you will see such
types as the Bretagne and Flamant sta-
tioned there.
.I f you visi t Orly, you may care to go on to
Bretigny, which is o n 03 1, a turning off
the N7, several Illiles further south. This
airfield is the French equivalent of Farn-
borough and should be visited on a wcek-
day as, like most establishments or this
kind, they operate a five-day week with rew
exceptions.
These are just a few of the interesting air-
fields in and around I' aris- there are many
more, but as yet I've not had the oppor-
tunity lO visi t them. They arc all shown on
the Michelin 1/100,000 map of Paris and
its environs which costs 5s and can be
obtained through most booksellers.
Throughout your travels o n the Continent
you' ll find small grass airfields in the most
surpri sing: places. These either belong to
private individuals, consisting o r a grass
strip and a hangar, o r else they belong to
some sma ll loca l fl ying club. The who le
 att itude to aviation is different in France.
The private and executive ai rcraft market is
much larger, due probably to the compari·
tive size of our two countries, and the fact
that it is much easier to learn to fly there
than in Engla nd. Most towns, large and
smali, have their own airstrips, and gelling
around the coun try on business in a light
*aircraft is comparatively easy.
Since having a few words to 5..1y about
spotting by radio in the March edition of
AIRFtX M AGAZINE, 1 have had many letters
from readers asking for details about the
various VHF radios available and, above
all, about the va rious frequencies used
by aircraft that ca n be heard on them.
I have already reviewed the Joh nsons
( Radio) of Wo rcester set, which is the
cheapest on the market. Generally speaking,
this needs bui lding by the enthusiast a nd ,
although it has the importa nt factor o f
being so low priced, it is perhaps more
suitable for t he man who understands
radi o a little bette r than most of us .
If yo u arc like me, you will need somet hing
to switc h on, turn a knob and receive the
stat ion you require wi thout any furt her
ma nip ulat io n. There are severa l sets like
this o n the market, and I have recently
had the pleasure of being able 10 tryout a
set man ufac tured by Shorrocks of Black-
burn. This set is for the enthusiast who wants
the sophist ication of a transistorised VHF
receiver which, at the Sc1me time, can receive
a ll the BBC a nd Conti nental broadcasts o n
the Medium a nd Long waveband as well.
It is full y self-conta ined, is operated by a
three-shi ll ing battery which ca n be o bta ined
anywhere a nd has a life of some 200 hours.
So far, I have experimented with this
set both at home, while d riving the ca r and
while on duty at va rious Royal Observer
Corps exercises. To say the least it ha s with-
stood all the tests ] have set it a nd from my
home in Buck inghamsh ire I have been
receiving aircraft si tuat io n repons from as
far away as the Welsh coast, Holland and
Nort hern France, all loud and clear.
Tt has been of pa nicular use in Royal
Observer Corps ai rcraft report ing exe r-
cises. These, as you probably know, record
the tracks of aircraft overland for RA F
Fighter Command , and rely o n the estima-
tion of height and d irect io n by observers.
Many of the repons given are wi ldly out
in these est imates, but I have found that,
by using the reports given over the r:ldi o by
J\1ore ill/erestillg visitors, /his lime at illloll
011 May 23. Top : the Riley Rocket N656 R
which lost ils way crossing (he Atlallfic and
only just made the Heb,.,·des, a"d 0 Y-AFB.
a DC·4M of Flying Emelprise, the Dallish
cllarter company.
the aircraft, we can not o nly tell when a
certa in aircraft is coming into our a rea , but
ca n get an accurate height and directio n
as well . By relating t he estimate to the
actual height , experience ca n be gained by
those on duty, and in the long run a far
more accura te report given. The Shorrocks
VH F receiver will also receive the new
ROCradiotransmissio n frequencies as well .
Living in the London region I have fou nd
tha t many of the frequencies on the sel arc
local and can not be received in the North.
For morc detai ls, I would advise t hat yo u
consult a book called the Air Pilot. This is
the official 'guide', if you like, for the aviato r
and contains all the freque ncies and a ir-
ways in the country, toget her w ith full
de tail s of the airfields. It ca n be o btained
through your public libra ry and is a loose-
leaf publication.
The cost of the Shorrocks set is £36 for
the VHF and commercial broadcast
\ersion, though if you wanl lhe VH F o nly,
the price is £26 for the comple te unit.
Obviously there are many details that
ca nnot be included in an articlc of this
length and if any of my readers would like
to know someth ing about the rad io, and
the frequencies and ca ll signs o f the air·
craft that can be heard, they can w rit e to
*
me a nd I wi ll do my best to help them .
In spite o f 3rd United Sta tes Air Fo rce
H eadquarters a t Ruislip saying that there
would be no fl yi ng at the 'Open House' day
a t Bentwaters USAF base o n May 11 , the
few enthusiasts who d id put in an appear-
ance were entenained to a very lively
display by the home-based F- IOI Vood oos.
The mass take-o fT of 16 o f these twin-jet
strategic fig hters remi nded o ne of last
year's final e at Farnbo rough, and the s ub-
scquent aerobat ics by indi vidual Voodoos
were top-ratc. Vi sitors to the field inclllded
F-lOOs from Wcthersfield, some Luft wafTe
F~85 F Thundccst reaks and a solitary
Ligh tning fro m No III Squadron.
: NEWS FROM AIRFIX
Another 'double', and first
two-wheeler from Airfix
B OTH model ra il way and motor cycle
e nt husiasts arc ca tered fo r Ihi s month
wit h t he introduc tion by Ai rfix of a n
OD/ H O gunge British Rai lways Lowmac
wagon- complete wit h a JC B 3 excava tor
- a nd a I :16 sca le Ariel Arrow Super
Spons. For these two la test kits, Airfix
ha ve adopted a new, a nd morc distinct ,
style for the instructio n sheets, with step-by-
step drawings. which will be a featu re of all
fu ture Airfi x kits, a nd shou ld greatly
si mplify constructio n.
The two-pan Lowmac kit , which sells
for 35, comprises 60 parls- all mo ulded in
yellow plastic. with the exception of the
wheels and ax les for the wagon , which are
in black . The deck of the well-deta iled
Lowmac wagon has an aluhemic wood
gra in fini sh, which comrasts rea listically
with the smoot h fin ish of the me ta l parts of
the wagon . Springs a nd brake levers are
other well -reproduced fea tures.
When completed , the wagon is extremely
The world'. ,reotert "Glu. In construc;tlon kltl
rigid , a nd there is ple nty of room beneath
fo r a dding any ballast which may be
necessary. It is provi ded with alternative
types of co upl ing- scale versions for a no n-
working model, or work ing "buc keyc'
couplings. If desired , the Peco coupling can
easil y be substituted. For rai lway mode llers
wan ting more than onc Lowmac, but onl)
one excavator, the spare excavator parts
could be adapted , with some thought , imo
o ther types of eart h-movi ng mac hinery.
T he J C B excavator is an in triguing little
model , which makes an attractive load fo r
the Lowmac. It can. o f co urse, be used as a
separate model , for instance as part o f Cl
' road up' scene on a model layout. It has
revolvi ng wheels, a swive lling dri ver's seat.
Above. right : TIll' Ariel Arro w 'parked'
against a realistic backgroll"d. Below : An
A irfi:r Drell'ry sllllmer cOJ/{Jled to the
LOlI'lI/lIc. lI'i(1I its r(!(llistic load of a J C B 3
(':rem'aWr.
steering wheel, and movable, eleva ting
fro nt bucket. But it is the rear boom and
kingpost assembly which fasc inates. When
assembled, it permits the rear bucket to
'operate' in absolutely true-to-p rototype
fashion. It can, in fact, be moved through
four separate planes.
Full painting details and a set of transfers
arc included wi th this kit. which wi ll fi nd a
fitti ng home o n a ny model road or " Iilway
layou t. Fifty-two of th is versio n of the
14-ton Lowlllac wagon have been bui lt ,
and arc a common sight on British Railways
where unusually bulky or hea vy loads have
to be transponcd . The JCB 3 excavator is
a mong the wide range of eanh-moving
machi nery produced by J . C. Bumford
(Excavators) Lt d, of Roccs\er.
First venture by Ai rfix into the two-
whee ler field , the Ariel Arrow Super
Sports kit is. as many will recognise. a
revised version o f the similar Kitmaster
kit, which first appeared over a year ago,
Airfix have since acq ui red the Kitmaster
moulds, and this is the firs t such ki t to be
ma rketed under the Ai rfix label. Among the
modifica tions that ha ve been made to the
kit are the adoption of re-moulded wheels,
which still incorpomte 'sec-t hrough' spokes.
This is an ex tremely well-detai led kit of
the machine which was voted ' Motor Cycle
of the Year for 1960 in a national poll ru n
by )\10(01' Cycle News. Most of the 47
39
parts in this kit, which now sells for 2s, arc
num bered , which makes identification
m uch easier. The kit is mo ulded in wh ite
plas tic, with a headlamp lens and raci ng-
type wi ndscreen in clear plastic.
T he correct reprod uction o f the pressed
steel fra me of the prototype ens ures a
strong plastic model. Amo ng the wealt h of
detail arc clutch and bra ke leve rs a nd
d ipswitch o n the ha ndlebars, lice nce d isc.
footrests fo r rider a nd passenger, kick-
starter, footbra ke a nd gear lever, rear
li ft ing hand les and telescopic suspension
dampers, hooter and air cleaner and , of
course, a fine ly-detai led engi ne, complete
wi th twin exha ust pipes.
Com prehensive paint ing details arc given.
and the tra nsfer sheet supplied features a
speedometer, number plates, and ma ker's
emblems for the petrol tank . T he prototype
machine, a sport y version of the Arid
Leader, has a 250 cc two-st roke twin-
cylinder engine which gives il a speed of
over 80 mph. The fini shed model can be
displayed o n a spec ial stand provided, or
it wi ll sta nd o n its ow n prop-sta nd .
Airrix in AmeriC'.l
A1R F lX plastic construction kits arc to
be produced in the United States, by
the newly-fo rmed A irfix Corporation of
COII(illued on page 61

WHEEL SPIN
by Bert Lamk in
Building a
portable model
racing workshop
M I NIATURE motor racing has now
become a very widespread hobby, and
is attracting a steady flowofncw emhusiasts.
1 have been asked on many occasions what
is the best sca le to adopt. This depends very
much o n individua l circumstances, but I
normally recommend the J :32 scale, as
with this there is a very wide range of
commercial articles available. This means
that quite a number of cars, of both G P
and closed types, can be assembled, and
also that var ious buildings and figures can
be bought, either complete or in kit form.
Another aspect that makes I :32 scale a
good choice is the facl that a number of
clubs are in ex istence, Of arc being formed,
using this as their standard scale . So if it is
not practicable to have your own track, you
can join a club and concentrate on com-
peting with your own 'stable' of cars. This
follows full-size racing practice- with the
advantage that you do not need a 60 f OOL
transporter-and it is also considerably
cheaper!
Portability
Pursuing this idea, a good start could be
made by construct ing a small case to serve
as a car carricr and workshop combined.
The sketch this month illustrates the
suggestion and, as can be seen, it is relatively
simple to make. The final size naturally
depends on the number of ca rs in your
'cq uipc'. A big adva ntage of this approach
to model car racing is that it does not cause
40
such a domestic upheava l-you can just
close tbe lid and madam has the dining
table!
Provision has been madc for a small vice
to be mounted on the lid . Thi s can be
bought quile cheaply from a 1001 shop or
ironmongers, and will prove invaluable
when constructing or modifying cars. The
following tools will be found useful for the
portable workshop :-8mall screwdriver
wilh t in blade; small pliers with pointed
jaws; small metal saw (Eclipse junior
hacksaw); Archimcdian drill; small drills,
taps and dies, 6, 8, 10 BA; set of needle
files; small soldering iron and cored solder;
pin vice; and dividers.
The central tray will house all these tools,
and clips cou ld be fitted to the back for any
additional o ncs. So with the open lid forming
your bench, everything is to hand without
occupying much space, Various refinements
ca n be added. For instancc, if the lid is in
the form of a shallow tray, and split
hi nges are used, it can readily be detached
to dispose of wastc that accumulates. The
type of lid adopted will govern the style of
fastening used- local ironmongers or
'do-it-yourself' shops usua lly carry a good
selection of such items, including carrying
handles and fasteners.
With reg.'lfd to clubs specialising in
miniature car racing, we are hoping to
compile a list of addresses of these, which
will be available from lhe AtRJolX MAGAZI NE
editorial office in due course, but please do
not apply immediately you have read Ihis-
we will announce lhe fact later. Meanwhile,
a brier list is featured at the end of Ihi s
month's article.
The development and modification of
cars is very much a matter of personal taste
and know-how. Some standard ideas,
however, have been widely adopted- one
being to avoid a rigid wheelbase. There is
plenty of scope here, ranging from the
pivoted fronl axle to full y indcpendent
suspension.
With regard to the latter, I personally
am not sure that the results in respect of the
car's roadholding are necessarily much
better. However. it is very satisfactory 10
see, and a credit to the builder. One can
scale down the components of such a system,
but this will nOI always produce the same
effect as in the full-size car. On real cars a
greal deal of effort is spent on developing
suspension, involving such technicalilies as
spring rates, roll centres and camber
angles. ln actual racing. these factors often
need to be adjusted to suit the Iype of
circuit o n which the car is competing.
So, if you rcally wa nt to go into the
problem thoroughly, it will mea n calculating
the size and type o r material to be used.
There is a wo rld of difference between a car particular chassis should nOl be too
we ighing ma ny hundredweights and o ne difficult. assuming you are using I :32 scale.
weighing only a few ounces. Anyway, good 1 have recently been tryi ng the larger
luck to a ll those prepared to try- the curves in the Airfix track, and they a re very
ultimate aim bei ng to keep all four wheels useful.l have used them fo r the replacement
in contact with the track at all times. of the small·radius curves o n the Mallory
Pick-up Park model circuil that was feat ured in an
Another fairly sta ndard feature is the use earlier issue. These new units fit together
of braided wire fo r the current collectors with the small curves very nea tly, to form a
( L am , of course, referring to slot tracks). four lane circuit. l f desired, the fencing lugs
L have made no reference to rail types, as it on the outside of the small -rad ius curves
would appear that the slot variety is now register wi th the holes 0 0 the inside edge-
universally the most popular. (As a matter of the large radius uoits.
of interest, the first track L ever made was M iniature racing clubs
rail.) Twickenham: J. W. D owning, 20 Cambridge
The braid collectors seem to have more Park, East Twickenham. Wimbledon: G .
tolerance than some other methods of Hutchiesoo, 29 Rid geway Place, Wimb le·
pick-Up . Needles to say, the most important don, SW I9. Enfield : F. G . Dav ies, 39
thing with low voltage sys tems is the need Penshurst Road, Tottenham, NI? Wa lsa ll :
for good, clean contact. Jt is surprising D . J . Cockayne, 49 Lincoln Road, Wa lsall ,
how oft en a car's erratic running can be Staffs. Bristol : M . S. Vockings, 33 l cfferies
traced to poor contacts. Hill Bottom, Hanham . Taunton: M . W.
The spa res in your ca rrier should include Lewis, 63 Greenway Crescent, Taunton ,
a selection o f tyres and gears. As with real So merset. O rpington: K . Hayes, 79 Leesons
cars, experiment ing with various combi- Hill, St Pauls Cray, Orpington , Kent.
nations of each can be very rewarding. Croydon: A . W. Giffeo, 16 Farlcy Road,
The golden rule with gea rs is to insure that Selsdon. Surrey. Plymouth: N. McCabe, 40
they mesh correctly. Reddingto n Road, Hi gher Compton, Ply-
Steering mouth . Manchester : G. V. Tho mas, 2
Steering is being used more by modellers Goodwill Close. SwiOl00, Manchester.
now, although some may have the same Catterick : A . F. Crenner. 34 Teesdale Road ,
views tha t I expressed on full suspensio n, Catterick Camp, Yorks. Aylcsford : V.
na mely that it does not necessarily improve Warner, Aylesfo rd Paper Mills, Larkfield,
performance. H owever, 1 feel that steering Nr Maidstone, Kent. Reigate: M . E. Reid ,
is a feature wort h incorporating, even if only 5 Colebrooke Road, Redhi ll, Surrey.
fo r a ppearance s.1 ke. It calls for a bit more A sketch, by the all/hor, showillg dimensions
effort if yo u are starting from scratch , but and layout of his sllggested portable car
there a rc also several proprietary units carrier alld workshop for model racing
avai lable. Adapting them to your own enthusiasts.
t>."""" .... ~
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41
 Plast ic modelling by Mike Bryant

Build;I.g a steal"
H E old - fas hi o ned steam wagon a l-
T ways seems to have a rea l fascina-
ti on a nd a nyone wa nt ing a co mmercia l
a nd the who le u nit is screwed to a
bearing pla te cemented to the two fr o nt
projections o n the chassis side fra mes.
vehicle to go with their B-Type buses Th e moto r mo unting pla te, s hade d a t C.
should enjoy building this month 's is cemented betwee n th e frames a nd the
mode l. which is based qu ite cl osely o n mo to r, with a small 10 tooth gear whee l
the G arratt wago ns o f the sa me era. on its arma tu re sha ft , a nd is screwed in
You will sce tha t the pro tot ype does place. T he bac k ax le, wo rm wheel a nd
no t a tte mpt 10 di sg uise the fa ct that rea r wheels a rc no w fin ed . The prope ller
it is a stea m lo rry- no strea ml ined cabs sha ft bea rers, D, a rc ce me nted be tween
a nd concea led boile rs, which some firm s the fra mes a nd thc pro pe llcr shaft and
used towa rds the c nd o f the stea m wagon a rc inse rted with a 20 too th s pu r' gear
agc!
M y model was bui lt main ly in Plasti - Right : Read ill conj ullctioll with the lex,
ka rd of va rio us th icknesses, but con- Ihis scale drawing g h'es details ami size~'
struction co uld just as easil y have been of the materials 1I~"e(1 ill construction.
from stri pwood and she ll acked card . It Below: Two I'iews of the completed steam
has Ackcrma nn steering, co rrectl y wagon, from which Clm be seen rhe steering,
wo rked from the steering whee l, and is wheels, installario" of fhe e/('Clric 1110101'
driven b y a Ripmax O rbit 305 electric and its (kil'e, and 'he simple oil/off switch .
motor from a ba tte ry ca rried in the ( Photos: D. J. Viner.)
back of the lo rry. The gearing is 1:2
spur fro m the mOlor to the prop s ha ft ,
a nd fro m there by 36: I wo rm and worm
whee l 10 the back ax le. A ll gca rs are
Ripma x plastic gea ring. The 'c hain '
d rive is therefore dumm y- in actua l fa ct
R ipmax pl asti c pu lleys wi th rubbe r ba nds
fo r c ha ins- b ut the ga in in rea lism by
fitt ing it is qu ite rema rk ab le. With the
low reduc tion gear in the drive the
lor ry is ve ry powe rful indeed, a nd will
ha ul a heavy loa d.
T he clmssis
Now fo r ge ne ra l constru ctio n deta il s.
The mode l is b uilt on a proper c hassis,
the sides o f whic h ca n be of P lastika rd
(0.04 in th ick) or o f stripwood . Cross
me mbers. A , o f the sa me ma te ri a l a re
a dded, ma king s ure tha t e ve ryth ing is
sq uare a nd fl a t. Th e ca b fl oor is glued
ac ross th e fro nt . a nd the body bea re rs.
B, of 1· inch s tripwood, at the back
stiffen everythin g up. Next co mes the
boiler, so tha t it wi ll have time to har-
de n wh ile the next stage is tackle d . Ii
is rolled fr om th in Plasti ka rd or ca rd.
using a pieCe of dowel o r a to rch ba t-
tery as a fo rmer. Add ba nds of Plasti-
ka rd o r gu rnstrip a t the to p a nd bottom.
sea l the to p with a disc a nd add the
ash pa n detai l to the bo tto m.
T he fro nt ax le asse mbly fo llows ex-
(lctly rhe me thod I detai led in the Sep-
tember a nd October issues of AIRFlx
MAGAZ INE [o r the Old Bill mo to risat ion,
42
 BATTERY
o n onc cnd and the worm on the other.
Adjust the mesh o f the gears before
the cement ha rdens. The re sho uld be
e nough play to allow them to run free ly
wi thout too much 'chatter', Now a ll ow
the ch ass is to harden thoroughl y over-
night.
Buildin'g the cab
The bo ile r should now be glued in the
se mi-circular recess in the front o[ the
cab floor , a nd the froOl fram e stretcher.
shaded at F , a dde d. The ca b front can
now be bent a nd cemented ro und the
ca b fl oo r. The top pla te, X . which is a
duplicati o n of the front part o f the cab
floor, is gl ued in the position shown
dotted on the e le va ti on. Oblongs of
Plaslikard . Y, squa re thin gs up. The
stee ring co lumn a nd wheel sho uld now
be fitted . The co lumn passes down
throu gh Ihe hole in the cab fl oor a nd
its upper c nd is s upported by a bra cket
o f Plas lik ard. as shown . Below the floor
the co lumn is bent backwa rds a t right ·
a ngles a nd engages in a bent -up U in
the track rod.
On ce the stee ring is working sat is·
fa cto ril y. th e ca b back a nd side sheets
ca n be added, a nd a lso the c himney,
which is a le ngth of ro ll ed gumstip,
ma de b y usin g a pe ncil as a former.
Now comes the roof and the fr ont pilla rs,
which can be of thin dowe l or, as in
43
m y model , two stanchi ons from the Air-
fix platform ca no py kit. The ta nk be-
hind the cab is s impl y a box of Plasti -
kard cemented to the cab back and to
the floor. The small square of cab floor
protruding behind the cab on the of[·
side ma kes a suitable m ounting for a
switch , as ca n be seen in the photogra ph .
Almost an y kind of bod y ca n be fill ed.
I c hose this pa rticu lar t ype because a
flat 4t volt poc ket lamp battery (Ever
Read y No 1289) fits nice ly under a cover
at the front e nd. Thi s gi ves a powerful
drive a nd lasts for mo nths, e ve n with
e xte ns ive use .
O ld Uill helps
With is m odel 1 used quite a num -
ber o f bits a nd pieces from a n Old
Bill kit- the wheels, headl a mps. mud-
gua rds a nd a n assortme nt o f bits to
ma ke up the under-chass is e ngine and
dumm y drive , as the pho togra ph s show .
The front wheel s arc thi cke ncd b y the
additio n of a n extra 'tread ' and a ll
wheels have a strip of a broad, fl a t
rubbe r band glucd round the m to give
extra grip. The ra the r weathered le lte r-
ing o n the cab was put on with Letra se l'.
If painting is yo ur st rong po int , you ca n
let yourself go o n a col ourful fini sh with
ple nt y of linin g: lil y model has a dis-
tin ctl y work-a-day look !
CO IJyrigh t, Mi ke Bry ant, 1963.
 LA YOUT REALISM
OST peo ple real ise tha t any hobby
M is a form of escapism, whi ch re·
licvcs us from the bo redom of eve ryday
ro utine life. If mo re people e ngaged
in ho bbies. the re would pro ba bl y be
fewe r psychiatrists, ,rovided that the
ho bbies a re not a llowed to become ob-
sessive. Each man runs his hobby ac-
cording to his temperament , and the
la rge r percentage of modelle rs a re quite
ha ppy to run th eir ra ilways in a wa y
whi ch is not strictl y to the r ule book,
simpl y because in doing so th ey are
a bl e 10 con centra te on runnin g the m e n-
jo ya bl y. I' ll explain wha t I mea n by
giving a very common exa m ple.
Much in litt le
Imag ine someone with a sma ll layout.
He has a bra nch line, which in proto-
type would probab ly han dle a couple
o f passenger tra ins an d onc freight a
day, a nd would be work ed by o ne en -
gine, o r two at the most. But even the
perfecti oni st isn't prepa red to wait for
ho urs before he operates a tra in , and
ge nerall y man ages to cul th is down to,
say, a train every ten m inutes.
The ave rage cha p isn't conte nt even
with this sort of comprom ise . H e wants
Fig I : A stal;oll leadillg into a sto/'age sid;Ilg
call be lIIore realislic Ilia" a second termil/a/.
This ol/e c(m be made fram adapted kits. The
goods shed is made /ro//l Ihe loco shed kit,
a detached IIouse O//d booking hall k il f orm
Ih e stalioll bllildings, while a "ery much
CIII dow/I canopy makes a smaller cal/opy
and all'lIillg.
44
by Alex Bowie
actio n and he sees he gels it. H e loads
his layo ut so full of trains that they
shuttle back and fo rth like fren zied
tennis ba lls. This is hum an na tu re, a nd
befo re perfecti onists get up o n their
rost rums to preach , let's conside r that,
tho ugh th e average cha p may be a de-
viatio ni st, he's at least havin g fun .
Therefore, befo re condemnin g him to
len years ha rd track layin g, let's see hi s
point of view. If he likes to accumulate
pl ent y o f ro llin g stock. it's onl y natu ral
th at he wa nts to see them roll. And if
circumsta nces o nly allow a pint-sized
layo ut to ro ll them on , that's still no
reason why he shouldn't indulge in his
ow n fo rm o f enjoyment.
But the track gets so co ngested that
o perat io n comes to a sta ndst ill , and
thi s is because too ofte n the layout is
co pied from o ne des igned for allegedly
mo re norma l conditi ons. Wha t we have
to do is to bui ld a layout whi ch . tho ugh
pint-sized, will take a quar t of opera-
tion a nd a ga llo n o f ro lling stock.
Choose ihe right p lan
Plent y o f des igns have been published
whi ch :l ll ow for sto rin g s urplus stock.
and the most cQmmo n a re those whi ch
ha ve h idden storage sidings, t rave rsc rs,
o r secto r plates at o ne end o f the lay-
o ut. Usuall y these sto rage s idin gs, etc,
se rve as imaginary sta tions, so that there
has been o nl y o ne visible stati on o n the
layo ut.
But s uppose two stations a re wanted ?
A method not used mu ch is s]lown in
sketch l a. This uses a pass ing station .
 z
I ;>
p
<:::
nestling against a tunnel mouth. The
'tunnel' leads into the hidden sidings . as
in the smaller sketch tb . 'lost la yout
arrange ments have their pros and cons.
a nd in this case you'lI get a very work -
able layo ut but wilh a shortened 'ma in
line', for obvious reasons.
SlOragc in the middle
Now look at ske tch 2. This s hows the
two-stat ion JayOlJl idea which appeared
in the No ve mber 1961 issue of AIRFIX
MAGAZI NE but, inste ad of a sho rt tunnel
connec tin g thc two six-foo t-long sta -
tions, the re is a sto ra ge siding. This will
give the il1u sion that ea ch train is mak-
ing a longer jo urn ey than is ;lcw all y the
case. because onc train will obviously
be held back, while another, previousl y
dispatched to the hidden sidings, is now
released. And because we want to see
a piece of track in the middle of the
layout , there is a visible single line
\\ hi ch can represe nt a nother route .
Lastl y, ta ke sket ch 3a. Thi s shows a
sto rage siding on a curve. in whi ch trains
ca n be held . ote the a ngled mirror
whi ch allows the ope rator to keep a n
eye o n things, a nd it wouldn 't be a
ba d idea to paint large white markers
near the track, so tha t trains cou ld be
stopped nea r them . This is to a void a ny
possibil it y o f two train s fouling each
o ther as one or other nca rs the points .
The mo re impo rtant thing about this
sketch is the pla n unde rnea th it, 3b,
Hc re is a co nve ntional la yout. but it can
be see n that the run-round loop must be
45
Fig 2: A 111'0 51(1Iioll /a)'olll with ' Jollg rOllte'
represcllled by hiddell storage sidings and
visible short rO llle. Fig 3: Carefully planlled ,
a simple layolII Call halldle mllch traffic.
/1 ;s besl to firs t decide 011 wha1 lellgth or
l)'pe 0/ traills you wal/I. Short suburban
trains will be more convenient, will /Iced
shorter pllllforms alld loops, al/d will look
more in scale with ,heir surroundings Ihal1
10llg main /jlle coaches.
long enou~h to ta ke a complete pa s-
senger lram . In thi s wa y, yo ur very
simple station ca n cope with three train s
a nd an ex tra loco a lmost simultaneo usly,
without c umberso me manoeuvres; and
though I a ppreci ate that this ma y be
highl y impcrfectionist. it's the so rt of
thing that a lot o f people like.
Your goods loco A can draw its train
into one half of the loop. P assenger
train loco B remains well within the
other half. a nd then loco A detaches
a nd goes into what is, in effect. a siding.
Shunting loco C, or the passenger loco
B, can then ch ivvy the goods train into
a siding, so tha t loco A can get clear.
Then goods train sorting can begin .
Mea nwhile . a diese l or push pull D
can use the bay, a nd onc or two trains
wait in the hidden s idings. Don't for-
ger, though, that th is traffic represents
practicall y the capacity of the whole
railway, conce nt ra ted at one cnd . This
is a si tuation that often a ri ses. but if
yo ur other sec tion has as much trafllc
as thi s one, goodness knows what mi ght
happen if it a ll met in the middle!
ON ROAD AND TRACK by Darryl
TWO wide ly different com petitio n cars,
both powered by large-capaci ty VS
America n Fo rd engines. have been
ma kin g the news in recent week s. They
a re the Lotus 29, which a ppea red al
Indi anapoii s. and the enormous Ford
G a laxic. whi ch has been dusting up the
3.8 Jagua rs on British raci ng circuits.
In conjun ctio n with Ford of Detroit,
Colin Chapma n, ma ster-designer of the
Lo tus ca rs, bui lt three new rear-e ngincd
machines especiall y fo r the 500-mile
America n classic. They a re basica ll y
'beefed-up' versions o[ the ingenious
rno nocoquc Lotus 25 Gra nd Prix ca r,
which Jim Cla rk dri ves so well. a nd are
designated Lo tu s 29s. The 295 a re
powered by engines based on th e 4,26Occ
VS Ford Fai rline unit , givi ng something
like 400 ho rse power. Two of the three
Reach
cars were driven in the race by Jim
Clark:. and Da n G urney, while the thi rd
ca r was used as a spare.
For ma ny yea rs, Am eri ca n cars and
drivers have dominated the India napolis
500, the grea t ma jority of them relyi ng
on the we ll ~ prove n fo ur·cylinder Meyer-
Drake Offenha usc r power unit , mounted
in fronl. Va rio us European ca rs and
drivers ha ve made appea ra nces th ere, but
it was not un til Jack Bra bham look a
Coo per over in 196 1 that the ba ll sta rted
ro lling. As fo r the sto ry o f thi s yea r's
race. we ll it was so nearly a win fo r
Jim C lark . At onc stage in the race, he
and Dan G u rney were holdin g the first
twO places, which must rea ll y have sur-
pri sed the America ns! Winner Pa rncll i
Jo nes, driving an Agajanian Specia l, did
not a pparently drive acco rding 10 Ihe rul e
book a nd . with the fact tha t hi s car was
spray in g o ut oi l for ma ny la ps, several
T op; Ji", Clark. his Lotus 29, desigl/er
Colil! Clwpmol/ (lcf!), (lIId m echanics
bc/ore ,lie sum 01 the / lI(lial/apolis 500.
Left: Wh el ! the fl ew Da r'lord-Pur!feet
t/llmel opens /m er this year, cyclists !l'iII,
during 'he da)'. htll'e to transport their
machines 011 special bllses like this, with
n'cle racks 011 lir e lower deck alld
. passenger accommoda tioll upstairs.
people tho ugh t he sho uld have been ex-
clud ed . O ne thin g is certain . howeve r,
and that is that we sha ll now see a lot o f
fresh th inki ng o n the design o f ca rs fo r
India napolis.
ow for the ot he r V8 Ford -engi ned
car- the Galaxie. O nc o[ these la rge, and
rather pondero us-lookin g, machin es was
recently added to the John Willmcnt team
and made its fi rst raci ng appea ra nce,
driven by sa loon ca r expe rt Jack Sears,
at the May Sil ve rstone lnternatio nal
meetin g. It showed a very clean pa ir of
hee ls 10 the 3.8 Jag ua rs. which have
domina ted this race since il was first run
in 195 1, a nd broke the outrigh t sa loo n
car lap record wit h a speed of 94.42
mph . Admittedl y. it has a 7- litre en gine,
givi ng so methin g lik e 4 30 horse power. but
it has taken a lo ng tim e for Briti sh
enthusias ts to be convin ced that Ameri -
ca n ca rs now handle a nd bra ke well ,
when compa red with their forebea rs of
fo ur or five years ago.
Jack Sears fo ll owed up his Si lvcrsto nc
de but with another first place a t Ain tree,
a nd nar rowly mi ssed brea kin g the la p
record. At Crysta l Pa lace o n Whit
Mo nday. Scars' car was su ppl emented by
another Ga iaxie, driven by Sir G awaine
Ba ill ie. Sca rs won the race a nd 'Baillie
fini shed fo urth . Afte r the G a laxie's Si l-
verstone wi n. many people ex pressed
do ub t about the ca r bein g able 10 hold its
o wn on a short. li ght circuit. The Ainlree
a nd Crystal Palace wins wo uld seem to
prove tha t it ca n. Wa tch oul. Jaguars!
From three 10 four wheels
New ca r news thi s month concerns the
Bond Equipe GT, first ve nture int o the
fo ur-whee ler ma rket b y the makers of
the well -kn own Bond Minicar three-
wheeler. Bas icall y, th e Equipe comprises
the Triumph Hera ld 1200 chassis, with
the fo ur-cylinder Spitfire 1,147ce 63
Above: Tile stylish lIew Bond Eqllipe
G T . Below: Jack Sears alld I he ellor-
mOllS Wi/l me/lt Ford Galaxie 0 11 t he way
10winni/lg tile Internatiollal salooll car
race at Sill'CrSlOlle itl M ay.
ho rsepower engi ne, which a re m a tcd to
an a ttracti ve two-door steel a nd rein-
fo rced glass fib re body.
Th e wisd om o f usin g we ll -tried
mecha nica l compo nents o n thi s specia list-
b uil t ca r is all the m orc o bvio us when
onc remembcrs that o wners will ha ve the
benefit o f th e world-wide Sta nda rd -
Triumph s pa res service. Pri ce of the
Bond Equi pe GT is £822. The 14t-cwt
car is cla imed to accelerate from rest to
60 mph in 14 seconds, a nd its ten -ga ll on
fuel tank sho uld give a crui si ng ra nge of
ove r 300 miles.
Co mforta ble bucket sea ts, adjusta ble
like those on the H erald thro ugh any of
72 different positi o ns, arc fitt ed , a nd
th e rea r bench sca t ca n easi ly carry two
child ren, or, a t a pinch, a n adult sittin g
sideways, the lim itin g factor be in g head -
roo m benea th the swe pt-down roof line.
The rea r ben ch seat can be folded flat to
gi ve extra luggage space. With the rea r
seat in use, there is still a u seful am oun t
of boot space, reached from inside the
ca r. Standa rd equipm ent include s a rev
counter, wood -rimmed stee rin g whee l.
hea ter, sc ree n wa shers, vanit y mirror a nd
a ncho ra ge po ints fo r sa fet y ha rness.
BYcourtesy of Bri tish Railways, Southern
Region, I was recently privileged to
ride in thecab o f E5024, o nc o f the Southern
Regio n's powerful Bo-Bo elcctric loco-
moti ves, hauling the all-Pullman Golden
Arrow. As the pho tographs with this
month 's anicJe show, these Icx:omoti ves
are not pa rticula rly handsome or im-
press ive, bUl they are qui te powerful
machines for their size, rated at 2,500 hp
and weighing only 77 to ns. They were built
by BR a t D o ncastcr a nd were introduced
in 1958, since when they have been doing
some fi ne wor k on the Eastern and Central
sections o f the Region.
The Golden Arrow wi nter tim ing hardly
calls for an extended effort o n the part o f
either the locomotive or the driver, since
the load is usually li ght. On this occasion ,
we had seven Pull mans a nd one four.
wheeled luggage va n, tota ll in g 285 tons
a ll told. The Pu llman cars were, as usual,
spotless a nd presented a pretty picture
wait ing for depa rture time on number 8
plat form at Victoria Station, each car
passengers'
wit h its ownneeds. The Gq olden
attendant Arrow
uietly seein is
g to In!!F.:;:=:::=:::=:~:''''=:::=:::=
alii
SI; II a truly d;gn;ficd luxury servk e, ;n 'he [ ~~ I~ ~~ ~ ~ii~~ .. ~:~~
iIl= j
best traditions of international travel.
RAILWAY R
=
Ou r departure was to be delayed two
mi nutes on this occasio n to a llow a speciaJ ~
trai n, carryi ng the President of the Republic
or Ca mcroon rrom Ga lwkk A;rport to
Victoria, to cross our path outside the
-~=:::2~::::--:
...;;:::: IIIa!II
:~
station. The short spec ial train , made up
BY NORMAN SI
o f Pull ma n cars, W<lS hcaded by 34088,
213 Squadroll, bu t so silent ly did it dri ft
into Victoria that it took me by s urprise
and r missed the cha nce to pho tograph it.
A pi ty, as a stea m trai n is a ra re s ight in
Victo ria Stat io n these days, especially o n
the Eastern secti on.
At 11. 2 am, instead of the usual 11.0 am,
wc p ulled o ut o f the p la tfo rm a nd effo rt ·
lessly made o ur way up the steep gradient
to Grosvcnor Bri dge. T here was no no ise
or fu ss, as in a diesel locomot ive, a nd no
smell of oil or ex ha ust. Driver Skelto n,
from D over shed , kept his eye glued ahead,
as the line through the Lo ndon suburbs
abounds with curves, junctio ns a nd s ignals
which ca ll for co nstant surveilla nce. No
great speeds a re ca lled for or, in fact,
desirable unt il we ll clea r of London, and
T op: The distillctive Golden A rrow
barrier at Victoria Statio" . Top le ft:
E5024 reaches jo urney's e"d at Dover
M arine. Left : All eX(lfll pie of the modem
rolli1lg slock 011 rhe Kent coast electric
service. 4-CEP /lll it No 7 196 ill the re-
bl/ilt Folkestone Cell/rai Station.
we kept within 60mph until past Knockholt ,
when we romped down the bank through
Dunton Green at 70 mph .
Beyond Sevenoaks I was to see the
Southern Region's latest phase in the Kem
coast electrification. All a long the route
from London I had been impressed with
the tidy appearance of the trackwork,
signalling and clear atmosphere of the
smoke-free tunnels. The a ll-clectric line
(with just a smattering of diesels) is a
pointer to the future a nd, from Sevenoaks
o nwards, there were many examples of the
modernisation that has taken place. New
fences, station platforms, concrete over-
bridges and occupation crossi ngs are just
a few examples of the many necessary
items required when electrification takes
over.
In addition, a completely new colour
light signalling system had replaced a ll the
small hand-operated boxes, enabl ing a faster
service to operate wi th sho rter headway
between trains. The Golden Arrow flashed
past numerous electric passenger and diesel-
hauled freight trains on the up lines, and
it was evident that a busy service was in
opera tion.
No more than 70 mph was needed to
keep time on the straigh t and level 'race
track' between Tonbridge a nd Ash ford .
A few dead steam engines were at Ton bridge,
but 1 noticed the shed walls were white-
washed and housed a Type 3 diesel.
Paddock Wood no lo nger held an H tank
in the bays, but a 2-HAP electric was in
readiness on the Mai dstone West branch ,
and a long line of condem ned wagons
marked all that remained of the Hawkhurst
branch. J ust before Ashford we passed the
bra nd new roll ing stock depot, where
rows of sid ings and a fine new shed provide
accommodation for a large part of the
multiple unit electric stock operat ing the
line.
Just two C Class ()..&.O locomotives were
to be seen in stea m at Ashford, and one
was shunting some of the new four-
wheeled box vans built at Ashford specia ll y
49
for Fo rd Motor Co traffic- mo re about
these wagons in a later article.
Beyond Ashford we reached 80 mph as,
to keep time, the schedule calls for higher
speeds at this point. Nevertheless, we
cou ldn't help but arrive early at D over
and, after threading our way through the
cuttings a nd tunnels of the fam o us white
cliffs, we eventually tugged round the sharp
radius curve into D over Mari ne station
J t minutes ahead of schedule, just I hour
and 20t minutes after leaving Victoria
78 miles behi nd . The In victa was wai ting at
the quayside for the next leg of the journey.
a nd some 30 minutes after the trnin's
arrival ] watched the Golden Arrow
passengers set sa il for Calais.
For my return trip, I chose to sa mple the
semi-fast service, and'i ravelled in o nc of the
half-hourly stopping trains from D over
Priory. These trains arc made up of the
new 2-HAP two-coach set wi th sa loon and
Tile G oldell A rrow waiting it! DOI'er
M arine lor tile ret urn working to Londoll
Victoria.
side-corridor accommoda tion , and toilet s,
but no corrido r co nnections between
coaches. These trains run right through
from ei ther Margate o r Ra msga te a nd stop
a ll sta ti ons lO Ashford , from where they
run sem i-fast. The coaches have neat ,
comfo rtable and well-heated interiors and
they ride very well at quite high speeds.
Their accelerat ion and top speed need to
be good, as some of the timings are tight
for wha t is virtually a local serv ice: fo r
instance 2 1 minutes for the 21 :1- miles from
Ashford to Paddock Wood.
I completed my journey by a ser ies of
connecting cross-country services involving
a change of trai n at Tonbridgc, Guildford
and Woking and a reversal at Redhil l.
Although some of the connections were
tight o nes of only two or three minutes
each , it is a credit to the Southern Region
that the journey was accomplished as
planned, with no late running o r missed
connections.

PROFILE
A Heinkel
glider tug
from the
A irfix He 111
XPE RIMENTAL and 'onc o ff ' ae ro-
E planes have always held a fas cinatio n
for modcllcl1l,likewise the unconventiona l
subject. Our older readers wi ll d o ubtless
reca ll how, during th e wa r yea rs, man y
ad ded a Whirlw ind to their collection s
o n account of its unusua l appearance-
albeit man y months before it was
publicly illustrated! Such machines as the
huge Douglas ll-1 9 and the s hapely
!locing Sea Ra nger took a more im-
portant pla ce than their numbers logicall y
ca lled for. Yet th e re can ha ve been few
who pa tiently produced a Heinkcl glider
tug. Now, in the plastic era, such a model
is a muc h simpler propositio n.
1n this insta nce wc ca nno t but recall
the incredulity with which wc first viewed
th e wartime recognition silhouettes of
this monstrosit y, and imagine the feelings
o f an intruding Mosquito which ca ught
onc of these aircraft o n a landing
a pproach. Five-e ngined aeroplanes are
rare, and surel y the He IIIZ is an oddity
worth adding to an y co llec ti on of models .
To produce a Hein kel g lider tug: from
the existing Airfix H e III isn't diffi c ult ,
an d wi th ou r less experienced readers
in mind we set about satisfying a desire
of 20 yea rs standing , whi le musing on
the other possibilities of simpl e conver-
sio n and colouring that the standa rd
bomber kit offered. But first, the H einkcl
glide r tug.
The fu selage of the Airfi x H ei nk el
needs 10 be assembled as direc ted . You
will need two H einkel kits, three if you
a rc fussy. The ta il planes can be
assembled whi lst the fu selages dry. If you
wish to paint the inte ri o rs, do so before
asse mbling the fu selages. using a light
greyish green a nd adding pal ches of sil ver
for authentic fini sh . Th e floo r in the
nose. and also the scat, needs to be black.
likewise the inst rumen t panel , which la ter
can be fitted to th e roof o f th e nose
50
transpa re ncy. Tt is easier if the latter is
asse mbl ed and fitted to the model be[ore
the wings a rc added , for it is then more
eas il y [aired into pl ace. Paintin g of the
cab m framing could a Lso be done m arc
easily before proceeding with th e rest of
th e model.
Id ea ll y. the ventral gun c upola should
be en tirely remodelled to embrace win -
dows at the front and in th e side, a nd
a strip of fi ve fitted o n each side of the
bell y of the a ircraft directl y above the
c upo la . The flat panell ing aft of the
c upola needs to be ove rpain ted o r re-
placed b y a fairing. s ince the He 1111-1 -6
- upon which the He III Z was based-
had these featur es. Alla chme n t points
fo r the bomb racks benea th the fu selage
al so need filling .
Next. asse mble the four wings of the
two ki ts and se t th em aside to dry
thoroughl y. Attach a starboard wing to
one fu selage a nd a po rt wing to th e
ot her. Then . when you are su re tha t the
rema ining wings a rc firmly stuck . cut
stra ight across them immediately ou t·
board of th e nacelles. Ca re must be
taken ihat the cut is stra ight and vertica l,
o therwise when the cen tre wi ng secti on
10 ca rry th e fifth engine is made, some
difficultv will be experie nced in making
a sou nd join. Bearing in mind Ihat th e
wing span of the H e III Z was 11 5 feet
6 inches. ma rk out the s pan of the
req uired ce ntre secti on , remembering th at
overall the mode l wi ll have a wi ng span
of 19t inches. C ut and shape the oblong
centre wing section , and ensure th at it
win neatl y join the two cropped wi ngs.
Obviou sly. the fifth e ngine wo uld look
most elTecti ve if it were taken from a third
H ein kel kil. If this acquisit ion is d ecided
upon . assemble a furth e r wing and , when
it is completel y dry, c ut a rectangu la r
section containing the nacell e from it.
Trim awa y a ny of th e remaining wing
that seems likelv to make it diffi cult
to fa ir the nace lle in place. It wi ll be
not iced that if this were not done part
o f the dih edral of th e wing wou ld re-
main , making it diffi cult to join the
nacelle into fh e new flat wing sect ion.
The nacelle has benea th it a slanting
radiato r which must be modified if you
de mand accuracy- as indeed yo u sho uld .
T he glider tug had fo ur main under-
ca rri age units , so th e doo rs of th e fifth
na cell e need to be stu ck in place if
vou have ta ken it from the third H einkel
kit.
Va rious ideas for fa irin g have been
mentioned in A IRFIX MAGAZ INE. Onc use·
fuJ method is to fill small c racks with
Polyfilla. This ca n also be used as a
fi ll er for ba lsa wood , a nd can bc sanded
down 10 provide a good s urface. If you
decided to make the firth engine fo r th e
He l11Z from ba lsa , you will need
somc suc h filler to obtai n a suita bl e
fi ni sh. 11 is, of course, better to model
it from hard er wood , on which several
coats of plasti c enamel may be appl ied
a nd sa nded down 10 get a fine finish.
The exhaust pipes as suppli ed in Ihe kit
have shrouds and long ta;1 pipes. They
may be retained for the He IIIZ or.
alternati ve ly. se rrat ed manifolds can
easi ly be mad e to replace them .
A dorsal turret was fiued to the H e
111 H·20 featured in the Airfix mod el.
whereas th e glider tug , like other He
I1 1Hs, had a curved tra nsparen cy over
the dorsa l gun position . This ca n be
mo ulded from pla sti c sheeting. but for
the model illustrated the ca nopies were
made ma ny years ago. A woode n block
was ca rved a l its lip to (he shape of
the transparency. Melted lead was poured
in to a depression in sa nd into wh ich
the wooden s hape was plunged to produce
a mould. This was put into boiling water
in a n old sa ucepan . Celluloid shee ling,
cut to requirement , was then forced
into th e mould by in se rting the wooden
shape above it. After cooli ng. it was
One o/the main proble/lls when bllildine a
Heillkel glider tllg is 10 filld acct/rale details
0/ finish, The owlwr's model was poillfed
with (he help 0/ a 1I'0,./illle photograph .
51
polished with meta l poli sh. Wh ich all
goes to show how mu ch eas ier model
making is toda y! Various methods proved
equall y s uccessful and including disso lv-
ing Ce lluloi d in amyl acetate o r a cetone,
whi ch was su bsequ entl y a pplied to a
wooden s hape of the required trans-
parency.
Not th e leas t problem in prod ucing an
a uth entic model of the H e 111Z comes
with the painting, for German ca mou-
flage fini shes a rc notori ously difficult to
paint and equally difficult to read from
photographs. Research among wartime
pbo tographs showing German airfields
resulted in our finding one where a glider
tug was cl ea rl y visi ble, keeping company
with somc M c 323 transports. Close
scrut iny revealed a camou flage pattern
whi ch was copied for the illustra tcd
model. A similar photograph revea led
an entirely different pa ttern.
So much confusion exists about the
camouflage of Germa n aircraft that the
foll owin g no tes, based upon my own
observations in the war years, might be
o f some interest. Th ere seems litt le d ou bt
that , prior to the war, a sta ndard pattern
of zig·zag ca mouflage, generally kllown
as 'spl in ter camouflage' was applied,
albeit allowing fo r individual variations.
After the o utbreak of war, camouflage
on the H e Ill s became varied. Th e
s plinter camouflage was applied to a
fair proportion of a ircraft a nd genera ll y
C011li"lIed 011 lleXI page
PROFIL E- Colllinlled
consisted of sui pes of 'DunkelgrGn Tr
73', which was a dark green similar to
the richer and darkest vana tion of the
sta ndard British Dark Green , and ' Mittcl -
grGn r 72', which approximated to
the shade which is laid down as olive
green.
Exccptions to these colours in the
splinter pattern existed, for one ai rcraft
shot down in 194 3 over Britain had
MiltclgrUn replaced by what was mo re
truly dark grey. Another I recorded had
Mi ttelg rlin and a dark shade of brown
upper surfaces. Many which operated in
1940 had their upper su rfaces Dunkelgriin
ove rall , and some even had mall black.
Undersurfaces were usually 'Hell blau Nr
65" , a clear or bright shade of sky blue.
Within this designation the actua l shade
of blue varied from a dar ker shade of
the British Sky Type S to a rich sky
blue. with a slight greyish tint. An
authentic example of this richer blue form
can still be seen, on the underside of
a n Argus engine in the Power Plant
Muse um at the College of Aeronautics
at Cranfield .
The blue undersurfaces were usually
co ntjn ued about three-qua rters of the
way up the fuse lage sides of the bombers,
a nd mottled with mid to dark g rey, which
therearter merged into the to p surface
of the ai rcra ft. The latter was often
dark green, so metimes painted in the
splinter scheme. Again there were va ria-
52
When painfing )'ollr model He J I JZ, llo 110
o ~'erlook the /tIel ,hal operational aero-
planes are freqllently oil alld exhaust
stailled. Such finishes lead /0 increased
realism.
lions of style, for on some machines
the grey patches were more distinct than
on others. By the end of the war, bomber
H e Ill s, in common wit h man y German
bombers in the West, had thei r u pper
sll rfaces a light grey-bl ue mottled with
patches of dark g rey; their lmdersllr-
faces were usua ll y black.
Whi chever finish YOll apply to yOllf
H einke l models, ensu re th at it is ex-
tremely ma ll , fo r the immed iate im-
pression one had when exam ining any
Luftwaffe bomber was its dull pai ntwork .
the pattern of which was sometimes in-
dete rminale. A greater imp rovement in
accu racy wi ll result from libera l use of
turps sllbstitute-or better still that in -
valuable Humbrol F lattening Agent-
a long with thin black pa int to represent
oil and exhaust sta in s, without wh ich no
Ge rman aeroplane seemed to be happ y.
And if you succeed in making your
model slllell like a real Hei nkel. well
then you will rea ll y have achieved per-
fec tion ! An yone who inspected these war-
time aircraft will te ll you tha t they all
had 'that smell .'
Code letters were usua ll y black, somc-
times white or grey, and in the later
war years often small er than hitherto.
A lett er and number identified the
Kam pfgeschwa der, and two othcrs indi -
ca ted the individual aircraft and Gru ppe
an d StaITel. H e Ill s ope rat ing with KG
26 during the Battle of Britai n, for in-
s ta n ce~ carried the unit coding I H (for-
wa rd on the port and aft o n the star-
board sides of the fusel age crosses) and
KO 55 used 01.
Since ea rl ier ve rsio ns ca ll for drastic
modifica tions to the nose a nd wi ngs,
the Airfi x kit offers scope mainly for
mod ifi catio ns to produce va riants of th e
HI.! 1111' and IIIH. The H e 1111' was
the firs t to have the pil ot in the extreme
nose, wherein the gun position was off-
se l 10 afford a good pilot's view. Powered
by two Daimler-Bcn z DB-60IA s, it en-
tered production late in 1938, and was
in se rvice when the war commenced. T he
He IIIH had Junkers Jum o 2 11 A
engines, to re lease the OB-601 s for fighter
aircra ft. Sub types had modifica tions to
their armament, radio and engines and
changes in roles.
The first H e I11 shot down over the
UK was a n H e J IIH-I , which crashed
near Edi nburgh , on October 28, 1939,
a lmost intact. Ano th er, shot down in
1940, was He IIIH-3 Werke N r 6353 of
th e Lio n Geschwader. She became a
comm o n sig ht as AW l 77, a nd was ex-
tensi vely fl own at the RA E and AFDU
DlI xford . wea ring pro totype co louring.
The H -3 had JlIm o 211D- 1 engines as a
disti nguishing feature. The H 4 car ried
o nc 2,200 Ib bomb o n an und er fuse lage
rack. The H -6 was fitted to ca rry two
----
53
to rpedoes extcrnall}, and was used by
KG 26 in Norway. Two of these aircraft
we re the basis (or the glider tug va riant.
The He IIIZ Zwilling (or ' twin') was
produced in prototype (orm in 194 1 as
a tug for the large Messe rschmitt glider.
Foll owi ng the two prototypes, ten pro-
duct ion ai rcraft were produ ced in 1942.
T he pi lot new the aircraft from the port
fuse lage . Projects existed for a lo ng
range reco nnaissance version , and ano ther
to ca rry fo ur Hs 293 glider bombs.
Other simple conversions would be to
the H -16. widely used late in the wa r
as a bomber in the East, or to th e H -23
tra nspo rt, the final production va rian l,
an examp le of which was shown at the
RA E display of German a ircraft in Nov-
ember 1945. Equall y attractive would be
onc of the black and g rey He IllHs used
to ca rry a n FZG -76 fl ying bomb under
the port win g roo t. Such a ircra ft were
operated first by Ill / KG 3 (unit code 5K)
from Jul y 1944, against the Bri tish lsles
from a irfields in H oll and . Su bsequently
they moved to North-West Germany and
Denmark whe re they were tben in the
ha nd s of KG 53. Their operations proved
hazardous, 4 1 H e 1 J Is being lost on
operations , wh ich were halted in the
middle o( January 1945.
M. J. F. Bowyc.r
With ca,.e, a good replica of the He llJZ is
a possibility, aud one call imagine what all
impressil'e sight Olle of these aeroplanes
IIIlIst have bee" .
 SHIPPING
NOTES
by A. J. Day
ASofis theso often the casc today, some
really important people in
o ur na ti ona l life stay sombre ly in the
backgro und, the ir deeds unsun g and
the ir names known onl y to the few. So
it is with sh ipping. Those sma ll er ves·
sc ls- thc tugs, th e lenders. the ri ve r
ferries, and the like- receive but litt le
pub lic accla im . Yet the importance of
some of them to world shippin g i s be-
yond measure. Take, for instance, the
lighthouse tenders- a nd there co uld be
nothing more a ppro priate to sta rt a n
a rticle abou t ;thc litt le sh ips' than a
vessel named Wi"stml Churchill.
The WillS/Oil Ch urchill is the latest
lighthouse tender built for the Cor pora -
lio n of Trinity House, London . She is
of 1,425 tons ne t, and will be used pri -
!11ari1y for transpo rting stores and carry-
Ing crews 10 and 'from iso la led light-
houses a nd light -vesse ls. She will a lso
tow li ght-vessels 10 and from po rt for
ove rhaul a nd re pair, ma int a in lighted
a nd un lighted buo ys a nd. on some oc-
casions, disperse wrecks wh ich are
judged to be dangerous to shi ppin g. The
WillSIOIl Churchill. the fourth in a se ries
of modern te nders for Trinity House
to be delivered by 1. Sa muel White a nd
Co Li mited , Cowes, Is le of Wight , is
based at the Trinil y House De pot a t
East Cowes, from whe re she wi ll te nd
the scama rks from Dun gencss to P ort-
land. Sir Winston himse l[ h:1s bee n a n
, the United Towing Co limite d, Hu ll,
..
. Bottom , left : The W I NSTON CH U RC H1LL-
,
-
~:"'::'
...::' \ .
"
"', "~'-,~~~::JI
J --. - '--
~
Irt·- ~
......_ _
"".~ '"
....L..
/,-*¥~"
- - -rW'
":'. ~,
Th e lIIotor-dri!lell hopper barge A 1G BURTlI
(top) alld a model of the ZWA RT E ZEE, the
mosl powerflll oceall-going mOlor fug of her
type ill the world.
Honorary Elder Brothe r of Trinity
House for more tha n half·a -ce ntury.
Ocean'-going m Olo r tug
The ocea n·go ing motor tug ZlI'iIrlC Zee.
the la les t tu g to joi n the ocea n-going
flcct of L. Srnit e n Co's Int c rnati o na le
Sleepdienst. Ro lterdam , is the most
powerfu l vesse l of her type in the wo rld .
She has a n engine o utput o f 9.000 ihp.
She was built by J . en K. Sm it's Schce p-
swe rven NV, Kmderd ij k, and is a singlc-
screw vessel o[ 1,539 tons gross, with a
length o[ 254 ft 3 in , a mo ul ded breadth
o f 40 ft 6 in. a moulded de pth of 22 ft
8 in a nd a draught of 18 fl 10 in .
Giv in g a free-ru nnin g speed of 20
knots. the vessel's main propul sion
machinery, insta lle d am idships com -
prises two Smit/ MAN turbo-'charged
fo ur-stroke oi l e ngines with a combined
outp ut of 9.000 ihp which drive the
si ngle screw thro ugh V ulean fluid coup-
lings and reduction gear. Include d in
the eq uipment aboard is a towing wi nch
whi ch ha s two drum s. eac h with a capa-
city of I,OOOm o f stee l wire cab le of
7t in and 6t in circumference. O ther
heavy towing equipment comprises
manila hawsers of 25 in circumfere nce
an d nylo n h;1wsers of do uble 15 in cir-
c umfere nce.
Twi n-screw mO IOr iug
A recent ly-com ple ted twin -sc rew motor
lUg is the Headman. She was built for
Top, left : The new double·ellded w4licle/
P(US{'IIger ferry JOH N BU RNS. built for fhe
L CG's Woolwich Free Ferry Service .
the /(1/('51 liglllhollse tellder bllill for Ihe
Corporatioll of Trinity HOllse.
 by Cochrane and Sons, Li mited , Selby.
Of 230 tons gross, the H eat/llum has a
lengt h oa of 104 fl 9 in, a mo ulded
bread lh of 28 fl, a nd a mo ulded deplh
of 12 ft. During tria ls her bolla rd pull
proved 10 be over 16 Ions, while
her aslero bo llard pull was 11 tons
and her free run ning speed lOt
knots. T he lu g's twin screws a re
each dri ve n by an 8-cylinder Li ster-
BlackslOne o il engine of the ERS8MG R
type, each develo pin g a continu o us rat-
ing of 660 b hp at 750 rpm .
Motor hopper vcssel
A not her type of vessel in the sma ller
size ra nge whi ch has been deli ve red re-
centl y is the moto r-d rive n ho pper barge
Aigburtll . built a t th e G la sgow ya rd of
A. and J . Inglis, Limited , fo r the British
Trans po rt Docks Boa rd at Ga rston . Sh e
comp letes the repl acement a nd modern-
isat ion progra mm e of the G arston
dredging fleet. The Aigburtll has been
desig ned for ca rryin g out to sea from
the Mersey the spoi l dredged by th e
bucket dredge r GarstOll ia working in
the a pproach cha nnel to the docks at
Gars lo n. T he new vesse l has a ho pper
ca pacity of 1.200 cu yds a nd ca rries a
crew of 10. She is prope lled by a 12-
cyl inder Crossley o il engine which de-
velops 2,400 bhp al 600 rpm.
New Woolwich rerry
Many o ( o ur rea ders may have a lready
used the new do ub le-cnded ve hicle/pas-
se nger fer ry Jo II" 8 11rlls, fo r she bega n
o perating o n the Londo n Co unt y Coun-
cil 's Woo lwich F ree Fe rry Se rvi ce some
weeks ago. She is the first o ( th ree new
vesse ls whi ch will repl ace the fo ur
pa ddle stea mers tha t have been operat-
in g the servi ce for mo re tha n 30 yea rs.
T he Johll l1urns was b uilt for the LCe
by the Ca ledon Shi pbuildin g a nd Engin -
eering Co Lim ited, D undee. Her two
sister-shi ps, the Ernes! /Jevill and Joh ll
N ewmall, have been la unched at the
Du ndee yard and shoul d be working
a t Woo lwich from some time in August.
The 10hn Burns has a length oa of
185 ft 7 in, a moulded bread th of 61
ft a nd a moulded depth of 8 ft 9 in .
She ca n carry 1,030 passe ngers a nd 200
tons of vehic les on a dra ught of abo ut
6 ft. T he vessel has been design ed for
end-loading, but this fac il ity w ill no t
be used until new a pproaches a re com-
pleted at Woo lwi ch in 1965, whi ch wiJl
ena ble vehicles to dri ve o n a t o ne end
of the ship a nd d rive o ff th e ot her. The
pro pul sion sys tem o[ the Jo IIII Bums
compri ses two 500 bhp Mirrlees Na ti onal
7-cy lindcr oil engines. each dri ving a
Vo ith-Sc hneider propelle r a t o ppos ite
ends of the vesse l.
Two more warships launchcd
The eleve nth Obe ro n-class subma rine
and the sixth l eander-ciass friga te were
laun ched towa rds the e nd of May. The
subm arine, HM S O possum , is bei ng
built at the Birk enh ead shipyard o f Ca m-
mell Lai rd a nd Co (Shipbuilders and
Engineers), limited , a nd will be powered
by diesel-electri c machinery of t he Ad -
mira lty Sta nda rd Range type. s upplied
b y British Po lar Engi nes, limi ted . The
ma in pro pulsio n gene rato rs, main
moto rs a nd mai n contro lling swit ch gear
a re bei ng supplied by English E lectric
Co Li mi led , Stra tfo rd. T he new s ub-
marine will be a rmed with the la test de-
tectio n equipment a nd homin g tor-
pedoes.
The fr iga te, HM S Galalea (2 ,000
tons), will carry two full y-automa tic 4.5
in gun s in a twin mo untin g. two 40 mm
anti -a irc ra ft guns in sin gle moun tin gs,
a nd a triple- ba rre lled a nt i-s ubm arine
mortar. She will a lso have a Westl and
Wasp he li co pter o perat in g fro m a sma ll
fli ght deck situated a ft. Her stea m tur-
bine machinery is be in g s uppli ed by
the Wallse nd Slipway and Enginee ring
Co Limited . a nd Ihe gea ring by Parsons
Mari ne Turbine Co Limited.
The t will-screw m%r tug HEAD MAN.

SOME NEW BOOKS
Unique collection
UNITED STATES NAVY AND MARINE CORPS
FIGHTERS 1918·1962. Compiled by Paul
R . Matt and edited by Bruce Roben-
SOli. Published by J-Iarleylord Publica-
liOIlS, Ltd, Letcllworth. H erts. Price 60s.
LL enthusiastic aircraft model makers
A will admire the way in which these
Harley(ord publications have those ex-
tremely usc[ul sca le plans at {he end.
This latest edition, a com panion to the
United States Army llnd Air Force
Pig/liers, is no exception a nd a lthough we
ha ve o nl y had this book for a few weeks
it has al ready done yeoman service in
providing long-sought details of camou-
flage schemes and individual insignia on
certain obscure types.
Apart from this, Ih e author has brought
together a unique collection of photo-
graphs and information on a subject
\', hich has for a long time needed elabora-
lion. Much of the early pages are devoted
10 S avy aircraft of the pre-1939
era- the days of the ' Bocing Sipcs' which ,
with thcir colourful paim schemes, bring
back memories of early movies and one's
first interest in aviat ion.
The post-wa r period of United States
naval aviation has not bcen fo rgotten and
wc found much of the detail about the
experiments wit h the first jet aircraft,
a nd their subsequcnl develo pment into
the present day M ach 2 plus types like
the F-4 Phantom, of great use, as much
of the info rmation has hitherl o nOI
a ppeared in print. An interest ing chapter
is devoted to the ai rcraft carrier and
illu strations arc gi ven of most of the
prc-war giants and their post-war con-
tempo raries.
Absorbing story
THE FELTHAMS-TH E STORY OF THE UN ION
CONSTRucnON co. Published by Dryllilrsl
Publications, 113 Squires Gale Lane,
Blackpool. Price 55.
THE Felthams were perhaps some of
London Transport's best known a nd
best liked trams. ]n comparison with most
o ther tramcars in the fleet they were far
and away ahead in comfort and appear-
ance and they outlived other LT tramcars
when 92 of their number were sent to
Leeds during 1949-5J.
The Feltham trams were, however, onl y
o nc itcm of passenger-carryi ng rolling
56
Reviewed by
THE EDITOR
stock produced by the Union Construc-
tion Company, and this book a lso describes
the experimental trams leading up to the
Felthams, the Underground tube and
District line stock and the early London
trolleybuses known as the "Diddlers' which
were also products of this firm. The story of
the UCC is itself m ost absorbing and is
ably told in this well ill ustrated 56 page
book.
Book for beginners
M ODERN A EROMODI!LLlNG, by R . C.
Moullolt. Publislled by Faber and
Faber, 24 Russell Sq uare, LOlldon,
WC!. Price 18s.
LTHOUGH (he hobby of flying
A model aircraft goes just a little
beyond the scope of thi s magazine, much
can be learned from the flying enthusiast.
R. G. Moulton's book gives several hints
and lips that a rc of use to our own
hobby. including as it does a chapter
on plastics and another on moulding
canopies for the co nve rsion enth usiast.
'Vc can recommend this book to any-
one who thinks that the rather static
sol id model cou ld well do with a little
more action , as it is a book for begin-
ners. Mr Moulton's expert treatment of
a complex and painstaking subject is well
written and adequately ill ustrated.
A fitting record
T HE LONDON TROLLEYBUS. Publis11ed by
Dryhurst Publications, 1 t 3 Squires Gate
t ' /IIe . IIIflckfJoo l . Price SS.
ES PITE London Transport's pre-
D occupa tion with standardisation, the
trolleybus fleet, even until its final days
in 1962, was most interesti ng to the trans·
po rt enthusiast. ] n its heyday immediately
b ~ f()n' the last war. 1.244 trolleybuses
we re in service over 235 route miles and
they were rapidly being extended and re·
placing trams all over London. Aftcr the
wa r, LT decided that diesel motor buses
best suited London 's needs, and a gradual
policy of conversion began to extinguish
trollies from London .
Fortunately this book covers the story
tho roughly and com pletely and has as-
sured this form of public transport in
London a fitting a nd permanent record .
The book has 60 pages, 27 ill ustrations,
a route map and is an absolute mine
of information.
 Above: W inner of this month's pict ure of the month

PICTURE award is A . Howa rd, of l o ndon , W4, who took this

photo,~ph of his A;rfix B-type (le(t) aloollide his
conversio n to a LGOC K-type. ~Iow: J. G. Gaylard,
of Cowes, sen t this photo of a " ...",- un it, ultn.-huvy
duty lon,-distance transporter. 801(Qm: Reader Lars
Henrik Konlsbak Arvedst_n. of Denmark, took th is
picture of the Danish vessel Vindhunden.

D. Paseail, of Guildford, took this picture (below) of a

N orwecian diesel locomotive in Oslo. 8onom: This
1901 DecauviUe was photocraphcd by T, Latimer, o f
Northampton.

Xe", build ings series
A ncw series o f 2 mm scale buildings,
which should soon be in the shops, is
an nounced by Lo ne Star Products. Known
as the Gul1iver Cou nt y Series, there are
ninc d ifferent bui ldings- an inn , church,
fire stat ion, ranc h-style ho use. shop and
car park , garage and filling station . pair of
shops, two-storey house, and th.lIched
cottage.
The bui ldi ngs arc moulded in vi nyl. wi th
a base measuring approx imately 5t inches
by 3 inches, and incorporating pavcmcnt,
ga rdens, co urt yard or car park, depending
o n the individual model. They a re ful1 y
painted , clearly showing deta il , and are
individual1y boxed. They cost 3s 6d each.
and more 000 scale vehicles and figures
wil1 shortly be available. D .R.
O utsta nding car, outslanding kit
Wc last had the pleasure of reviewing a
Monogram car kit a year ago. in thc Jul y
1962 issue, when we spoke e nthusiastic<t1l y
about the 1934 Ford coupe/convert ible.
The latest Monogram kit, submitted by
BMW Models, o f Wimbledon, sets an even
higher sta ndard , and is a reall y magnificent
I :24 scale Duesenberg. To be precise, and
onc can ta lk of nothing else but precisio n
in this kit, the car is a perfect replica of the
1934 Model SJ , with a Weyman- built
Torpedo- Phaeton body.
The 150 pbstic parts are beautiful1y
moulded in black. tan for the bodywork,
white, chrome a nd clear plastic . The
moulding is sharp and clear-cut , leavi ng
hardly any ' Hash ' a nd there is a perfectly
smooth fini sh to every part. Very little
pai nting is required, but a delightful fealUre
o f the instructions is the pain ting chart,
which lists every part req ui ri ng attention.
All the painti ng can be accomplished in
advance before construct ion begins. and
there are therefore none of those irritating
58
New kits
and models
LATfST PRODUCTS
ON THf MARKfT OF
INTfRfST TO MODf LLfRS
delays that can sometimes come about
when parts have to be left aside while the
paint dries.
The inst ructions ,He incredibly detai led
and complete and illustrate every stage of
construction by clear reproductions of
act ual photographs. At no stage was 1
left in doubt during asscmbly, a nd the
perfect fit of every part ensured steady and
trouble·frec progress. It is din1cull to single
o ut particular features, but mcntio n must
be made of the perfcct chrome wire wheels.
beautifully shod with black rubber tyres,
into which fit plastic white-wall inserts ; the
imitation wood grain fin ish of the fl oor
boards. as seen from under the chassis:
the fine ly-detai led inst rument pane ls in
both front a nd rear cockpi ts; the twin
wi ndscrcens, wit h dummy wi ndscreen
wipers a nd wiper mo tors; the pcrfl'Ct fit of
the detachable bonnet , which s hows the
superbly-detailed straight-eight e ngine: the
curved c hrome ex terna l exha ust pipes:
the sprung front and rea r bumpers; the fine
delai l of the clear plastic head a nd side
lam p lenscs~and so 0 11 ...
Not the least admirable feature of the
kit is the handsome appearance of the
finished model. M onogram ha ve done a
fine job adding the ' Ducsic' 10 the ir range,
as sllch a c haracter car deserves the Mono-
gram perfection treatment. This has been
acco rded in ple nty and J ca n thoroughl y
recommend this quite outstanding kit of
an equaJly outstanding car. It is vcry
good va lue for 34s 6d . N.5.
Two for one
I can" t talk so enthusiastically about two
ITC Midget Model kits. also submitted
by BMW Model s. Each kit contai ns pans
to bui ld two models. each mode l being
abou t three inches long when assembled
and containing anything from about 14- 19
parts. In onc kit there are two cars- a
Ferrari a nd a Jaguar X K 120, and in the
o ther, two boats- a C hinese junk and a
Viking ship.
The parts are c rudely cast, lack de tail
a nd are not ve ry convincing when assembled .
This is not so crit ica l with the ship kits.
where extreme accuracy of out line and
absolute precision is hardly required a nd
a colourful painting scheme can add appea l
to the mode l, but the two cars a re very
disappointing. Construction is simpl e
enough , as the d et~liled instruct ions a re
very helpful. It is considered that these kits
are more appropria te to the junior modeller,
who wa nts to try his ha nd before tackling
the mo re detailed and expensive kits. Both
these kits, co nt ai nin g two models, each
cost 5s J Jd .
Due short ly to be available from BMW
Models is the '55 C hevrolet customising
ki t, which will sell fo r 23s 6d . N.S.
Re::l lislic f:lrm buildings
Another excellent Faller building kit,
submitted by BMW Models, conta ins parts
for two fi ne farm bui ldings. The wooden
barn is a perfect example o f Faller's arti stic
excelle nce in representing ancient and
tu mble-down structures that ca n give
cha racter to a model scenic layout. The
wa lls arc made to re present rough-cut
timber, wit h daylight showing between
a lmost every sec tion , giving <l delicate
la ttice tracery efrect to the fini shed model.
On the roof arc representcd wooden tiles.
ma ny of whic h have slipped out of place,
leaving holes in scvcral places. Also included
is a ladder, S<lW, sawi ng trest le. axe. length s
o f timber. planks o f wood and wood
chippings to scatter a round to gi ve a
perfect ly rea listic appearance to the finished
mode l.
The second mode l in the sa me kit is for
a stable . In contr<lSI th is is a sound, plain
wooden struct ure with a tiled roof, but
Fullcr's artist ic sense has gone int o play
wit h the rustic fencing whic h beautifully
portrays a natural broken-down and some-
what dilapidatcd <lppcarancc. Both these
models come in the onc kit which is vcry
good va lue for the price of 6s li d. N. S.
Model Merc
Sole importers a nd distributors of the
French So lido range of die-cast models
(Auto· Models Ltd. of 70 Finsbury Pave-
ment , Eel) ha ve now received supplies of
the new Mercedes 220SE, which has
suspension . opening doors and Reutter-
type folding seats. Price is 10s 6d (plus
)s postage and pac king) . D .R.
Six of :1 series
The first six models in the new Revel\
1:72 sC<lle series of plastic model aircraft Top to bottom: Iv/ollogralll Duesenberg :
arc now availa ble. Ret ~l i llin g at 2s l id [TC Fermri/Jag llar alld Chil/ese jUl/k/ Vikillg;
each, a nd individua ll y boxed , they are the
Thunderbolt. Spi tfire. Messerschm itt .Bf Fallcr farm blli/dings; al/d NOn/by set for
COlltilll/ed Oft lIext page beginners.
59
New kits and m odels-Colltinlled
J09E, Focke Wulf FW 190, Hawker
Hurricane llD, and Japanese Mitsubishi
Zero.
Though somc modellers might have
preferred to ha\ c seen the new series
devoted entirely to kits of previously-
un modelled aircraft, we have been able to
build sam ples of the firsllhree to be released
and found them to be good models. We
pa rticularly liked the clean mouldings and
the quality of the transfers.
Instructions are extremely clear and easily
read, while construction of the samples
we received should present no difficulty,
while the fini shed models will appeal lO all
J:72 scale collcctors. D.R.
Smaller sc.11c
Another aircra ft kit manufacturer that
has followed Airfix and Helier and turned
over to making a smaller scale series is
the American ITC company. A sample
o f some of thei r new mode ls was supplied
to us this month by BMW Models, and
consists of a twin-pack con tai ning Lind-
bergh's 'Spirit of St Louis' and the Wrigh t
Brothers Biplane.
Once agai n, the smallness of the scale
makes the rivets far lOO large, and such
things as struts and engi ne detai ls are
tota lly out of scale. The Wright Biplane,
for example, is onc of the last subjects
o nc wou ld have thought suitable for reduc-
Top to bottom: Solido Mercedes 2205£;
Corgi PrieSll1lQII 'Cllb' and Masse)'-Fergllsoll
'65' with fork.

tion to a length o f only three inches. I t

makes the complicated arrangement of
'sticks and string' look altogether wrong
and brings with it thc haza rd of a very
delica te assemb ly and poss ible breakage
after the model has been completed. Great

~jr~
care must be taken with this model to
ensure that its 24 minute parts don't get
great blobs o f glue on them duri ng assembly.
as the resu lts wi ll look ghastly and cou ld put
- ~--.= the model m"ker off buying "ny morc
products from ITC in the same scale.
The 'Spirit of St Louis' is at least a little
more robust, but ' found that thi s miniature
kit had a great dea l of 'flash' to clean up
first and the very de licate nature and
thi nness of the plastic was difficult to
handle. It. too. is just three inches long
and has 17 parts. Both models are moulded
in a da rk red plastic, which needs two coats
of silver. in the case o f the Lindbergh
'plane, to com pletely obscure. Why the
Three I : 72 scale kits from Revefl. Top to manufacturers have to add to our diffi-
Bottom : Spitfire, M essersch mirt 8 /109£, culties in the finishing of their kits by using
and Tlllmderbolt. such a dark colour is rather beyond me!
60
 If yo u arc interested in the smaller scales, NEWS FROM AIRFIX- ColI/bUled
and both these models will fit quite well America . The first 20 kits fo r the American
into a 1 :100 scale collection , then they market will all be 1:72 sca le aircraft. Airfix
~\ re worth purchasing. The price is Ss li d
kits have, fo r some time, been popul ar in
a nd BMW Models o f Wimbledo n have a the United Sta tes, but owi ng to the high
stock. A . W.H . tariffs and transport costs they have been
For beginners at a price disadvantage compared with
Mcccano have introd uced a new Hornby home-produced kits.
elcctric trai n set specially intended fo r N ot only have Airfix kits proved po pula r
youngsters just starling to ta ke an inte r~ t with the modelling public o n the o ther side
in model rai lways. Priced at £4 9s 6d, It o f the Atlantic, but the Smithsonia n
incl udes a fo ur·wheeled loco motive, three Institute in Washington, which is America's
wagons and a powe r control unit. A three· natio na l aviation museum, chose A irfix
[oot circle o ( track is provided. I :72 sca le ai rcraft kits fo r its large collection
Al so added to the H o rnb y· Dublo range o f model aircraft- many of t hem of
is a new Si mplec ha nd .a peratcd po int , America n a ircraft.
price 7s 9d. Left· a nd right· hand ve rsions When this init ia l development is estab·
are a vai la bl e, whil e the poi nts a re self· lished, it wi ll give scope fo r the introduc-
isola ting, whieh obv iates the necessit y for t io n of ma ny other Airfix products into the
lIsi ng d oubl e iso la ti ng rails when th e Uni ted States.
poi nts a re em bod ied in a l a~'oul. E lec·
trica ll y-ope rated versions o[ this point
\\i ll be ava il ab le later. D .R.
Automatic excavation
A fai thful replica of the Priestman 'Cub'
excavator has been added to the Corgi
Toys range. Besides looking like the rea l
thing, it operates like it as well. The correc t
sequencc o f luffing, digging, discharging
and automatic return to the begin ning of
the cycle is achieved by rotat ing a single
ha nd-wheel in the side o f the C<lb casing.
A fi tted penda nt o n the boom opens and
closes the bucket automat ically at the
appropriate stage of operat ion. By means of
a ratchet system the whole movement
can be suspended at any stage in the
sequence, which itself works in ei ther
di rection ,
The boom is rigged with elast ica ted
th read and provisio n is made for sim ple
replacement o f t hi s sho uld the necessity
a rise. Slewi ng is possible through a fu ll
360 degree arc, but a locking pin is prov ided
to secure the body in the fo re-a nd-a ft
position for travell ing.
Free·running rubber crawle r tracks are
fi tted to the chass is, which has t urned
a luminiu m wheels and side plat.es of the
co rrect pattern . The machine is fi nished
in Priest man orange, yellow and grey, wit h
the ' Cub' emblem on the doors. The driver
is also represen ted, sitti ng at the controls
in his enclosed cab. T he model is 6t inches
long, and costs 15s.
Al so released by Corgi is a Massey-
Ferguson '65 ' traclOr with fork. The ma in
fe ature of this model is a deta iled manllre
4.
fork which ca n be raised and tipped by
lever action. The inch lo ng model is
fi nished in authent ic red and cream, with Top 10 bottom : I :50 scale k its by Helle,.-
the fork in 'a lum ini um"-fi nish, has a driver tile A/ouelte Ill, Mirage III alld Etelldm·d
and costs 7s. D .R. t V- oil reviewed lasl mOIllIl .
61
Readers write • •
Why no Nelson'!
The Airfix range of kits being one of the
best and most complete I know, I would
like to join all those who have already
congrat ulated you o n you r choices, cs·
pecially naval and army. Onc of the most
in teresting features is the unifo rmity of the
scale used which, in my opinio n, is a great
advantage not fo und with other makes.
On the other hand , J suppose you must
receive lots o f suggest io ns as to the pre-
parat ion of new models and, although it is
understandable that every wish ca nnot be
fu lfilled , there is, however, a poim 1 cannot
understand: yO ll have been making many
d ifferent historical figures and- although I
wi ll not discuss the historic value of say
Napoleon or Joa n of Arc- I confess I do
nOI scc why a Brit ish firm does nOI include a
Nelson or Wellingt on in its collection. While
a visitor in Pa ris ca n find a hundred different
kinds of Napoleons in all sizes, positions
and materials, I ncvcr saw a single elson in
London!
Don' t you think , therefore, that both these
rcputed British figures should have their
place amidst your modcls?
To end, I would like to add that 1 find
AIRFIX MAGA Z INE very interesting in all
aspects.
E. PI ETERS, Bcrchcm/Anlwerp, Belgium.
Firsl-hand facls
There must be many thousa nds o f wa rtime
aircrew, like myself, who, wit h the aid of
Airfix, a rc building up a co llect io n of
1:72 scale mode ls of the ai rcraft they flew
du ring the war. To find a model resplendent
in one's own sq uad ron markings is an
even greater delight, as was my case with
the Halifax . Bcnea th the bombs painted
below the port cockpit wi ndow to show
the number o f 'Ops', (over 100), 'Ol d
Charlie' also had painled the 'Gongs'
won by crews who had flown that particu lar
aircraft. This a ircraft a lso wen t on a display
tour of Engla nd aft er V-E D ay.
I feel sure there must be many ex-aircrew
wa iting with bated breath for kits of that
wonderfu l old marvcl of aeronaut ica l
engi neering, the Short Stirling, 10 appear
on the shel vcs. It muSI be only a matter
of time. and when it does, may I suggest
the kit incl udes an alternative pcrspex nose
for the long-nosed Mk V transport version ?
Ano ther suggest ion I wou ld like to offer
is that an Avro York kit could be produced
from the presen t Lancaster moulds with
on ly the fu seln ge and th ird tai lfin different.
And then I'd have to sta rt praying that it
62
LETTER S TO TH E EDITO R
the Editor ca n only be ans" ercd in the
L ElTERS to Howen!r,
ma~a'Zint'. wc a rc a l"'ays pleased to
rece i" e your comm ents and pict ures ..... hich ....iII be
considcr('d for publication. Reade rs .... hose lellers
I
a re published ea("h rec~i " e a free Airli:\": pl a~ ti c
cons truction kil of their choice. Submitted material
a nd pictures un only be re lUrned if accompanied
by a sta mped addressrd ('n.-clop('. and the Editor
cann(lt accept responsi bilit y for safe keeping of
any such conl.ributions. neither does he necessaril y
agree ...ith co mm ents e"pressed by co rrespondents
in the lell('rs ("o lumn .
would come out in 51 Squadron, Transport
Command lettering, 'T B-J' ! The Lockheed
Hudson, o f ea rly Coasta l Comma nd fa mc,
would also make a ve ry attractive model.
P. J. MCARTHuR,
Wellington , New Zea land .
Tank topics
With all due respect, I cannot help being a
little am used by the passage. 'the Stal in had
poor crew comfort and finish, but thi s lack
of refinement .. : which appeared on page
324 of your M<lrch isslle , in the description
o f the new Airfix kit.
Compared with other tanks, th e JS3 had
qualities far mo re important than cushions,
curta ins and conec. This stand s out if <l
compa rative table is made out of the fo ur
AFVs in the Airfix range. I am quite sure
that , had I been .1. tank man, I should have
been happiest in the Stalin. It had the best
speed of the four (always an acceptable
feature for those occ'lsions when withdrawal
is the wisest course), it s wide tracks would
make soft ground non-troublesome, it s
200 mm of armour at the front was surely
the mOSI comfort ing th ing for those inside,
while the 122 mm gun ensu red the ability to
hit back when annoyed . Even the shape of
the turret was the most effcctive in de-
flect ing hits. I n case it is po int ed out that
the Stalin was of 1945 vintage, whereas thc
ot hers were up to four yea rs o lder, L would
advance the theory that the Russ ians knew
how to build tanks all a long si nce. accord ing
to Alien and Muratov's Campaign on the
R ussian Frollt , the T34 (and their art illery
in general, for that matter) came as an un-
pleasant surprise to the Gcrmans.
In con trast, the Sherman, with which a
good share of the Angle-American ar-
mo ured work was carried o ut, appears very
light in the bone. It is credited wit h only a
maximum of 76 mm of armour, this pre-
sumably at the front , and I ca n not bring
myself to believe that this was o f much
value against the high· velocity 88 mill gun
used by the German~ in 1944. According to
a Lt Schmidt, aut hor of a book describin g
hi s experiences in the Afrika Corps. the
Sherman was fonni ·.:a ble against the
 cQuipment-starved Rommel in the last
weeks in North Africa in 1943 . But against
the Tiger, an uneven match, in my view. lis
gu n, a 75 mm calibre, was not of great
hitting power. Its barrel of o nly moderate
length, unadorned by a muzzle brake,
betrays its modest muzzle ve locity, whi le r
can fall back on persona l experience when I
mention its cartrid ge easc's lack o f length
showed a com parative ly light propellant
charge. Other tank and anti- tank rounds
that I saw had cartridge cases sometimcs
twice the length of the projcctile, possibly
morc, to give a tremendous mu zzle velocity
and hence striking velocity. l am quite
willing to stand corrected by someone with
experience of the veh icle it se lf in use, but
until then I shall go o n with the impression
of an inadequate instrument.
While on the theme of inadequacy. [
would add that the most pathetic of all must
su rel y have been the Amcrican Stuart with
its thin-skinned rivell ~d hull. In 194 1-2 the
Germans had an AP 75 mm high-explosive
shell which went right through a Stuan
without exploding, so little was the resis-
tance offered! And a hit o f any son would
make the rivets 'pop' and Hy aboll l inside,
so I understood. 1 do hope that your
developmcnt people do not waste any time,
sk ill , or mate rial on a Stuart kit. If you want
o ther tanks on the list thcrc's always the
T34, the Tiger, the Patton , and the Cen-
turion.
J. SnLwELL, Croydon, Surrey.
Plcn for pictures
May I appeal to your readers for help?
I am Hon Secretary of the Rossi ngton
A via tion En thusiasts Club, and Edi tor of
Tile RossillgtOIl Air Historial/. J ust over
three years ago, our group suffered a
disastrous fire, which dcstroyed thousa nds
of photographs and nearly all o ur docu-
mentary files- the results of ten years'
work.
We arc urgently in need of photographs
to replace at least a small part of our hean-
breaking loss, a nd enable LIS to carry on.
J f any readers have a ny spare aeronautica l
photographs which they no longer require
I wou ld be most grateful if they wo uld
ki ndly forward them 10 me at the address
below, where they will be most gratefully
received.
E. BAc KwELL, 26 Grange Field Terrace,
Rossington, Nr Doncasler.
Zero COlI\'er1ed
I have just fini shed doing a ra ther interesting
job on the Airfix Zero, which I conven ed
into the Nakajima A6M2- ' Rufe' float-
plane fighter, utilising all Airfix parts.
For the main fl oa t, I took one from the
Supcnnarine S-6B, and for the sma ller
63
wing flo.'HS I found that those of the
Goslling sufllced very well. For the main
struts I used pieces from J oan of Arc's
sta ndard , and fOf the large faired strut
attaching the ma in Hoat to the fuselage
undcr the cockpit I used <l piece of win g
from a Sea hawk, sawn ofl' and sandcd
down . As a guide 1 used Famolls Fighrers of
thl' Secol/d World War, by William Green .
1 then bored holes in the wing Hoats
at the appropriatc places a nd in the under-
sides of the wi ngs themselves and , c utting
two pieces o f plastic from the rod ullowing
for fitt ing into the wi ngs and floats them-
selves, I fixed o n the wing floa ts. In this
way I countersank a ll my joints, thereby
making 1:\ much st ronger model.
Then I fixed the large faired str ut to the
underside of the fu selage a nd filted the
bracing bars to the rc.'1( of the main float.
The ends o f these bars had an angled cut ,
so that whc n they were set o n thcy were
r~ughly at an anglc of 45 degrccs to the
wlllg.
L."l.stly. I fixed a pitot tube to (he lefl
wing and a sma ll rudder to the mai n fl oal.
I finished the model matt grecn·grey uppcr
surf;:lces ,lIld malt sky under s urfaces, a lso
outlini ng thc uppcr surfaced ' Hinomarlls'
with ycl low.
TONY Flsu ER, H al1worth, Middx .
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condition. Offers ? 218 Stoney Lane,
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Wi\l" 'lTED
A1RFlX MAGAZINES Nos. 2 a nd 5. Will
pay 2/- apiece. John Evans, Elmira,
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O BSOLETE Dinky toy buses pre- and

post-war. Expccially pre-war STD type.
D ouble decker. Details to Baker, 35
Windermere R oad, Birkenhead, Cheshire.

'AURORA' 'Plast ic K its. I\VWI ('Gotha';

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64
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lif e 12" model of my Space Shi p ' Fireball To: Steve Zod iac, Glacie r House,
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XL5 '. T his kit contains: Pl ease send me my Kl1mllSter ' Firebllll XL!)' K It.
I enclose 1""0 W'''PP(lI' h om ZOOM and a Pos tal
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