1:48 LN-40/401

A gull wing and one desperate mission

At the end of the 1930s the French Navy wanted a dive bomber of its own and got an elegant machine with an inverted gull wing, retractable landing gear and dive brakes under the flying surface. The aircraft carrier it was intended for never entered service, though, so the machines operated from land. In May 1940 they were sent against bridges and advancing columns in the north of the country; without fighter cover and against dense anti-aircraft defenses it ended in losses that practically wiped the units out. The prototype series carried a lower numerical designation than the production machines. In color it was an inconspicuous machine: muted tones on the upper surfaces, a light underside and prominent bands on the vertical tail, which were the only colorful spot on the airframe.

What is in the envelope

An outer and an inner outline of the glazing and one national insignia with them. The films match the moldings of Special Hobby.

A final varnish evens out the sheen

A sprayed marking has a different degree of sheen from the area around it, because the paint lay on it in a different number of coats and dried under different conditions. Seen from the side that shows as a lighter island even when the shade matches. The remedy is simple: after unmasking, go over the whole model with a single matte or satin clear varnish. It unifies the surface, seals the edge and at the same time prepares a base for later panel line emphasis. Apply it in one direction and in one session, because even a pause for drying can leave a visible transition.