1:32 Supermarine Walrus Mk.1

The flying boat that came back aboard

The Walrus was a single-engine amphibious biplane with a hull built as a boat and with the engine carried between the wings, its propeller pushing. The arrangement looks unusual, but it had a practical reason: the propeller stayed out of reach of the spray. The wings folded back, so the machine fitted into the cramped hangar of a cruiser.

Service at the water

Originally it served for reconnaissance and for spotting naval gunfire. It won its fame elsewhere, though — as a rescuer that literally settled onto a rough sea for shot-down crews. It was precisely this role that made it one of the most likeable machines of its day, even though it was among the slowest.

Building notes

Struts and wires. A biplane stands or falls with the geometry of the interplane structure. It pays to try the seating of the struts dry first and only then to glue. Rigging the wires comes last, after painting.

The size of the package. In 1:32 scale this is a massive model with a span of around half a meter; count on that when choosing a display case and a base.

Setting it in a scene. The machine looks best on a stretch of water or on a deck, that is where there is something to measure its size against. A figure of a crew member at the fuselage door or a rescuer in a dinghy gives the scene a story and at the same time gives away the real dimensions of the machine to the viewer. Watch the height of the figure: the deck of a biplane is high up and a badly judged figure will ruin the whole impression.

Because of its scope the set is intended for experienced modelers with the facilities for large models.