Avia C2 (Arado 96B) in Czech service 1949
Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2025 5:18 pm
A clear spring morning in the Czechoslovak Republic 1949. A Czech pilot who flew Soviet types against the Luftwaffe in '45, then flew former RAF Spitfires with the post-war air force is, in a strange quirk of fate, now flying a Luftwaffe designed trainer - or will be once his trainee can get the chart the right way around....
The model is from the nice Mark 1 Models kit which, probably due to its Czech origins, as well as the typical Luftwaffe schemes, offers this boxing of Czech options (and a French marking) and includes some extra bits to make the repesented type with gun camera and an extra couple of bumps under the wings.
The one flaw is that the iconic lemon juicer prop hub is not well represented in the plastic. Fortunately Retrokit produced a resin replacement.
A blast of silver from a Tamiya can. I kept the scheme clean as many trainers are well maintained.
Decals applied. From the box, go on well. I followed the profile as I couldn't find any specific reference photos of the airframe.
The vignette was just a straightforward one. The GAZ-67 is from Paint and Glue Minatures, lovely detail although the fine windscreen didn't survive delivery and I had to remake with wire.
The figures are RAF crew from Modelu 3d, a lovely range with nice detail. I think the pilot in the leather jacket is meant to be drinking from a mug but in this scale it looks more like he is just annoyed at something, which gave me the idea for the diorama theme.
I used a nameplate from Name It Plates to complete the scene. It will be touring with SIG144 on the IPMS circuit for the rest of the year. Thanks for reading, comments welcome.
