Heinkel HD24 "Silberkondor"

This is a Broplan vacuform kit. A very good representation of this exotic subject. Why I got engaged with the idea of build a project with it? Because there is a great history with a particular He24, additionally, involve my home land...the Patagonia.

The first man to explore by air and film Tierra del Fuego island was a german former navy official stationed in Tsingtao, China, at the beginning of the WWI, named Gunther Plushow. Plushow was an heroe in Germany because he was a successful pilot in 1914 against chinese army that surrounded the german navy base in Tsingtau. He flew the old Taube machines. When the Tsingtau garrisons surrended, he got away from China returning to Germany after an incredible journey (he was the only german prisoner in british hands to scape to go back to his home).

Man with an adventurous spirit, in mid twenties, he decided to go to Patagonia with a He24 packed in crates on board of a little schooner named "Feuerland" (Tierra del Fuego in german). Arrived in Punta Arenas, he and his mechanic, Ernst Dreblow, assembled this plane in the chilean Armada facilities for ship maintenance (still exists today) located in the south part of the city.

From there, they flew extended areas of the Tierra del Fuego island an continental Patagonia (in Chile and Argentina) and return to Germany to show his material in various scientific societies and conferences.

After a while, both aviators return to Punta Arenas and, against the local authorities advises about the poor maintenance conditions of the aircraft, they continued to fly...until their death when the plane disintegrated in air because strong winds.

Remarcable note...the plane flew in Chile and Argentina using his german registration number "D-1313". There are a lot of pictures in internet about this theme.

By the miracles in this world, Broplan produced a He24 kit with vacuformed main parts and struts and minor parts in sprues. The project required a lot of scratchbuilding but the final result is superb. Of course, part of the fun was to do the decals.

Till to the next project!!!

Spitfire F.22  1/48 Airfix....

Airfix forever!!!!...this kit, a 1996 edition, was one of the first up to date kits by Airfix, today known as "new tooling". Really good and a pleasure to work. I don't know if it is a very accurate representation of the real thing, but is exquisite molded, all pieces fit well and the result is impressive.

My model begun 20 years ago, and finished just last week.

The only criticism about the kit, is the low density of the white color of the decal sheet...not usual in Airfix's kits in any time.

 

DFS-230 hochbein

Dear friends, you know, I have a special relation, a soft spot, with strange and weird planes.

When I saw this special glide for first time, I fell in love. The distinctive aspect of the "hochbein" (long legs) was an immediate motivation to build a model of it. This glider was prepared for pilot training before piloting the Me-321 glider.

Well, the 1/72 DFS230 Huma kit is a must to start the project. Then, wee need electric lead used for rings and a bit more gross wire to do the cradle below the bely of the glider and some plastic scratch to complete the legs.

 The main complexity is to determine the right dimensions of the different elements in the frame.

There are a scarse number of pictures and sketches in the web, but some of them are very useful to calculate a set of proportions of the frame.

The wheels of the kit are useless, because are too big...I used a set of discarded wheels from old kits.

Distance from ground to the belly, in my model is 3.5 cm, representing app. 2,5 meters...very close to real "hochbein" I thing.

Till to next project!!!....