I didn't want a Canberra. I didn't need one. I've already got one. But this was a low ball Ebay bid that actually won. For a mere £11 I can't possibly complain.
I do like this kit. It's chunky, very easy to build, has plenty of options and the results are pleasing. This one, however, was not without problems. Someone had started the kit and glued the wrong halves of the ailerons together which made them almost impossible to salvage. They had to be filed down and reshaped with filler, and they're never going to look right.
A thing to note with this kit is it actually needs considerably more weight in the nose than the instructions say so that it will sit on its own wheels, Like the real thing, it has tendency to fall on its tail. The kit even includes a small plastic prop on the assumption that it will. This time I compensated and it does sit well, but the undercarriage is unlikely to take the whole weight of it for very long.
The photo here doesn't do it much justice but this is quite a nicely finished silver grey of my own creation. The instructions recommend an aluminium coat but but in my view it's a metallic grey and the aircraft itself does not appear in the bare metal.
I've been pondering why I like it so much and then it occurred to me that in the gloss white with the circular bubble canopy looking like an astronaut's helmet, along with the 1950's lines, there is something quite space age about this one that gives it a real presence.
If I had the space and the money I could easily do a dozen Canberra's because they always appear in interesting schemes, and though it's by no means a sexy aeroplane, or even an interesting form, there's just something about it. Though it was the first jet bomber, it was one of the last proper bombers in the conventional sense. It serves as a bridge between the ages where you can tell where bombers has been and where it's going next. You either get it or you don't. You really need to see one in the sky to fall in love with the Cannie.
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