1:700 British Carrier-borne Aircraft No.1 8 x Swordfish

1:700 British Carrier-borne Aircraft No.1 - eight Swordfish from Aoshima

According to the manufacturer the set contains eight British Fairey Swordfish carrier aircraft in 1:700 scale. It is not a kit of an aircraft or of a ship: it is an accessory with which the flight decks of models of British aircraft carriers and the surfaces of dioramas in the same scale are populated. In 1:700 scale one such aircraft has a span of around two centimeters, so it is worked with more as a detail than as a model.

The real subject

The Fairey Swordfish was a British carrier torpedo biplane that first flew on 17 April 1934. Its crews called it the Stringbag. It looked obsolete already at the start of the war, yet it has to its credit two of the most famous actions of the Fleet Air Arm: the attack on the Italian fleet in the harbor of Taranto in November 1940, which the aircraft led from the carrier Illustrious, and the hit on the battleship Bismarck on 26 May 1941, when a torpedo from an aircraft taking off from the carrier Ark Royal jammed the rudder and the ship lost the ability to maneuver.

Building and painting tips

Paint the aircraft while still on the sprue and cut them off only at the end; a part of this size, once dropped, is hunted for in vain. For such tiny surfaces thin your paint and apply a thinner coat, or the engraving will disappear. Suggest the bracing between the wings with a stroke of dark paint rather than with wire. Use washes sparingly and only into the engraved lines.

Who the set is for

• builders of British aircraft carriers in 1:700
• modelers whose original ship set lacks aircraft or has too few
• makers of dioramas and scenes with deck activity
• collectors of naval equipment of the Second World War

This is an accessory for ship models, not a kit on its own. The aircraft are supplied unassembled and unpainted; glue and paints are not included in the package, unless stated otherwise.