1:48 Supermarine Walrus Mk.I Collection.

Supermarine Walrus Mk.I 1:48, a set of decals

The amphibious Supermarine Walrus Mk.I has its own 1:48 marking sheet from Xtradecal. The package contains the printed film only; the model itself is obtained separately.

Catapults, the sea and the rescue of downed airmen

The Walrus was a single-engined biplane flying boat with a pusher propeller, folding wings and retractable landing gear, so it could land on water and on an airfield alike. Royal Navy cruisers and battleships launched it by catapult for reconnaissance and to direct gunfire against distant targets. Its real fame, however, came from air-sea rescue: the slow and ungainly machine, which crews nicknamed Shagbat, pulled hundreds of downed airmen out of the water off the British coast and in the Mediterranean. It served from the middle of the 1930s until the end of the war, and its later examples differed from the original ones in the material of the hull.

Building a biplane and applying decals

A biplane rewards careful gluing of the struts, which leaves the easier work for the decals. Coat the hull and the floats with gloss varnish, slide the markings into place and blot the excess water. The hard-worked surfaces by the keel will take two applications of decal softener, so that the film follows the ribs of the covering.

Especially suitable for

• builders of British naval aircraft
• anyone interested in the catapult aircraft of warships
• lovers of biplanes and flying boats
• themed collections of air-sea rescue