In 1947 the aircraft
depicted here, Supermarine Seagull V (Walrus Mk. II) HD-874, was painted all
over yellow and issued, by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), to the
Department of External Affairs for their Australian National Antarctic Research
Expedition (ANARE). It only flew one survey mission before being wrecked on
Heard Island by an Antarctic storm. It remained there until 1980, when it was
salvaged by the RAAF and returned to Point Cook RAAF base for storage until
restoration by a group of volunteers began in 1993.
Restoration finished
this aircraft is on display at the RAAF Museum, Point Cook, Victoria, Australia
and is one of only four survivors of the type in the world.
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The SMER kit can be described,
at best, as unrefined. The moulding is rough with details such as rivets, which
are depicted as sunken into the surface. Comparing it with the original aircraft
this is wrong. The rivets should be slightly raised. SMer have also eyched the
outlines of the decals into the fuselage. This would have taken significant
filler and sanding to correct so I just built it out of the box.
The canopy was also
very thick. Coats of Finish inside and out after painting helped to disguise
just how thick the canopy plastic is.
The extras that I added to the kit were
the rigging and antennae wired, made from stretched sprue and I made my own
decals. The paint used was a Humbrol flat yellow, brush painted with Humbrol
silver for rear and engine struts.