1:72 Mignet Flying Flea G-AFFI

Mignet Flying Flea with the British registration G-AFFI

This small-batch resin kit from LACI treats one particular British example of the famous homebuilt light aircraft. The set is intended for experienced modelers, because resin is worked differently from ordinary injection-molded plastic and forgives fewer mistakes.

The subject and its story

The design comes from the French enthusiast Henri Mignet, who in the 1930s wanted to offer a machine that could be built at home from wood and fabric without any aeronautical education. The layout with two flying surfaces one behind the other and without ailerons set off a wave of amateur building in Britain; the aircraft earned a nickname that can be loosely translated as sky louse. After a series of accidents it went through a design revision. The machine with the registration given in the name has survived and is part of a British museum collection.

Working with resin

First wash the parts in warm soapy water to rid them of the mold release residue, otherwise the paint will not hold. Cut the casting blocks off with a saw; do not snap them off. They are bonded with cyanoacrylate-based super glue, as ordinary polystyrene cement does not work here. Use respiratory protection while sanding and rather work wet. Given the size of the subject, the finished piece looks splendid on a small base with a figure for comparison of scale.

Who the set is for

• collectors of curiosities and homebuilt designs
• modelers with experience of resin
• enthusiasts of British interwar flying
• builders of small models for a display case

The set is supplied as a collection of resin parts without paint; obtain the super glue and the paints separately, unless stated otherwise.