Sadly, with simply dreary snowy weather and a small membership turnout (33) we had only five models in competition.
From everyone at IPMS Ottawa we wish you a hobby-filled merry Christmas and a great new year of building whatever you like. Enjoy your hobby.
THIRD PLACE
This is a Special Hobby 1:72 kit of the Douglas B18 "Digby" as flown by the 10 Squadron RCAF in 1943. The aircraft was a militarized version of the DC-2 commercial aircraft which would later become the DC-3. This particular aircraft would briefly be based in Ottawa after the war. This is 751 0410BR. On 30 Oct 1942 a Digby commanded by FO Raynes attacked and sunk a Nazi submarine (U-520) east of Newfoundland.
The aircraft was hideously underpowered and under-armed, and was quickly replaced by Liberator bombers in the maritime patrol role.
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| An RCAF Digby |
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| U-520 before it met the RCAF Digby |
SECOND PLACE
This is a 1:72 scale kit from Art Model of Ukraine. The Mikoyan-Gurevich (MiG) E-8 was an experimental supersonic jet fighter under development to replace the MiG-21. Only two prototypes were built in 1960-61. The original MiG-21's air intakes were moved under the fuselage, freeing up the nose where a larger and more powerful radar, able to deliver longer range air-to-air missiles, could be built in. Canards were built to both sides of the nose. The two prototypes flew in 1962. Twenty-five test flights were made (24 were completed). The design was abandoned in favour of work on the MiG-23 and the MiG-27. The basic problem was that the highly modern and advanced airframe exceeded the power and ability of the computers to control the aircraft. This shape and configuration are now common, putting the E-8 a few decades ahead of the competition.
On 11 Sept 1962, the Tumansky R-21F-300 engine, then under simultaneous development, exploded in midair at a speed of Mach 2.15. Test pilot Georgy Mosolov, a leading Soviet test pilot, was severely injured by debris from the compressor and had to eject at Mach 1.78. The cause of the crash was disk destruction of the sixth stage of the compressor.
Mosolov lay in a field not far from Moscow for three hours until found by a farmer. Despite massive injuries to his head, left arm and leg which would leave him hospitalized for a year, he had the farmer memorize all the details of the flight so the information could be passed back to the MiG design bureau in case he died. He died in early 2018 at the age of 92. Model built by John Clearwater.
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| The actual MiG E-8 at the Zhukovsky test facility at Ramenskoye airfield near Moscow in 1962 |
Georgy Konstantinovich Mosolov (1926-2018), Hero of the Soviet Union, and Honoured Master of Sport of the USSR, shown in 1960, and recently in Moscow.
FIRST PLACE
Nazi bomber from Airfix in 1:72 scale. HE 111-P from the German Luftschlacht um England ("Air Battle for England) period (mid-1940). Over 6500 were built over a nine year period. It had poor defensive armament, but could sustain horrible damage and remain airborne. By the later stages of the war it was removed from bombing and became a transport aircraft. Three actual aircraft are on display in Madrid Spain; Gardermoen Norway; and London UK.
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| Nazi scum in an HE 111 having a very bad day over the English Channel |
OTHER ENTRIES
This Polish Air Force PZL.23 Karas (meaning "carp") from PZW-Siedice in 1:72 scale has been airbrushed and then the markings were all hand-painted. The decal sheet was not used. Even the clear canopy has been painted to resemble blue reflective glass panels. The kit dates from 1964. Notice how the wing markings are offset differently on each wing. The model builder described working on this ancient kit as "polishing a turd". And what a fantastic job he did, this being only the second aircraft kit of his adult life.
The light bomber and reconnaissance aircraft was built between 1936 and 1938 and used briefly in WWII. It holds the distinction of being the first bomber to strike a target inside Nazi Germany (a factory in Ohlau on 02 Sept 1939). Nearly 90% of the entire Karas fleet was destroyed in the first three weeks of WWII.
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| #11 Sqdn Karas (carp) in 1939 |
This is, of course, a 1:72 scale kit from Special Hobbies of the Nazi propaganda aircraft called the Me-209 V1. The name was supposed to strike fear in the minds of the enemies of the Third Reich, but in fact it was a one-off, and built only to challenge (and win) the world single-engine propeller aircraft speed record. It first flew in August 1938, and only four were finished. It broke the speed record on 26 April 1939 when flown to 756 km/h by Fritz Wendell. The remains of the record-setter, once in Nazi leader Hermann Goring's collection, is on display at Krakow's Polish Aviation Museum.
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| Remains of the Me-209 in the museum storage facility in Krakow |
Large bomb in a small boat by fearless leader who was re-elected to his post by a stunning 114% of voters at the meeting.
