1/48 Smer Supermarine Seagull V

Walrus Mk II 

by Scott Brown

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  Australia Day 

 

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.

Scott

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Photos and text © by Scott Brown