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Please see the full
back story on the 1/72 Shenkley write-up. Suffice it to say the Germans and the
British are working together to combat the ever-threatening Japanese/American
alliance. The one break in the hard and bitter fighting comes from the
sponsorship of the neutral country of Russia. Every year a race is held, in the
name of advancing the technology of flight. The large and insurmountable borders
of Russia
provide the perfect setting for the warring parties to meet and compete in a
non-threatening manner. Much like the Olympics, however, the annual victors took
much pride (and a great morale boost for their fighting soldiers) when they won
the race.
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Click on
images below to see larger images
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The design was intended to shock
the as-yet-jet-free Americans and their Japanese allies. There had been jet
racers previously, but they had been large and bulky, and the engines took up
much room. That was before the British and German engineers shared their
extensive jet knowledge with each other. Together they came up with
revolutionary new designs. This design separates the stages of the compression
and ignition of the incoming and outgoing air. Thus the pilots sits
"in" the engine. While it is "armed" with 2x30mm cannon, the
prime choice of the European fighters for downing long range B24s bombing
England from Iceland, the actual guns are removed and barrel placeholders are
put in their place. This was a constant threat that this plane may be seen
next time attacking, rather than racing. It was a common practice at these
races.
It backfired when the performance of a plane was sub-par.
Because of the already compressed size of the engine, this plane had to be kept
small and light. The landing gear was greatly simplified. To save space in the
already narrow wings and cowling, the gear was designed to retract half-way. The
performance loss was negligible, and that, along with an intentionally
old-fashioned canopy style, were
intended to show the Japanese/Americans that even an old-fashioned design can
outperform their most modern ones.
Note that the races are all low-level, and as such it was felt that a
pressurized cockpit was not necessary. The cockpit was left open in the rear, a
trait that the British/German designers picked up from their democratic Italian
allies.
The kits are two RoG 1/72 WW2
fighters. One is British the other German. If you have not already
guessed, they are a Hurricane and a Fw190. I took the dive brakes from an old
Pe-2 kit. I took the burner can from an old F-18.
I had originally wanted to build the Buzzby more than the Shenkley. I thought it
would really be cool to make a jet from the propeller-less nose cowling of a
Fw190. It just looked like a get intake, especially with the cooling compressor
blades in place. It took some work. I thought that this would look really
fabulous and the other (the leftover parts, which made up the Shenkley) would be
a so-so plane. Then I really got into the other plane! hah! I made landing gear
wells and redesigned the gear off the Hurricane, and got carried away, mostly
because I could NOT figure out how to make the exhaust of the Buzzby! I finally
found I had an old F-18 burner can and used that, to great satisfaction (fit
perfectly, almost).
So I was able to make the Buzzby.
However I had no gear! The Fw190 gear was no longer intact. Over the years it
had broken off. I used some old large wheels from a Bv141B and put the tail
wheel from the Hurricane under the nose.
Look for my 1/72
Shenkley, as well!
Mark Miller
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