1/72 Academy Fieseler Storch

Gallery Article by Greg Kerry on May 1 2019

 

      

This dio began with a trio of Preiser figures - the ones standing near the plane - one of whom seems to have been modelled on a well-known photo of a famous North African ace. The Storch was chosen as I just happened to find it in my local model shop.

Must be about forty years since I made an Airfix Storch - glue all over that tricky canopy. This time around the model turned out better but that canopy/wing construction was still tricky. I painted the fuselage, wings, and canopy parts (all 5 of them) separately. Then the main canopy parts were glued to the fuselage and left to dry before the wings went on. Still got it wrong. 

Canopy off, big breath, another day, try again. It just about worked out the second time except that the wings ended up with more dihedral than they should have. Didn't notice till I took the photos.

Bugger.

Click on images below to see larger images

More trouble: the complicated landing gear arrangement which the kit instructions do not explain at all clearly.

And while I'm whining, why is it Academy cannot include some form of swastikas on their decal sheet? I'd used the last of my smaller spare examples so I had to use decal strip/hand-painting. Somehow got the one on the port side back to front. All your fault Academy.

Otherwise, this is a decent kit, especially if you want the post-war French MS500 version.

Other figures here are ancient Airfix Afrika Korps at the front with a nurse from a (bad) modern Israeli set behind the also pretty ancient Esci Blitz ambulance. Building is from CD case transparency; groundwork is sandpaper; base is insulation board. All paints Tamiya acrylics, washing and drybrushing courtesy of tubed acrylics.

Greg Kerry

Photos and text © by Greg Kerry