Fw 190 Papageitaucher - Hellhound on my Tail

[zenrat]

Originally conceived to provide fighter cover for Air Sea Rescue Dorniers 23 Focke Wulf 190 Papageitauchers (Puffin) were built before the Luftwaffe changed their mind and cancelled the order in favour of land based aircraft.
Despite being ideally suited for operations along the Dalmation Coast against communist partisans all 23 aircraft were instead crated up and shipped out to German backed Western Australia who were crying out for aircraft to replace their ageing Heinkel He 51s.
As WA needed land planes a kit of parts to retrofit the undercarriage was packed into each crate.
Somehow, in the chaos that followed the end of the war at least one of the Puffins regained their floats and fell into the hands of The Sky Pirates of the Nullarbor Coast.
Fw 190 Puffin 4 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr
The aircraft depicted is that of Herman "Big Jobs" Ironhand a former commander of the German East African air force renowned for his love of the Blues and hatred of the colour yellow.
Fw 190 Puffin 3 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr
Fw 190 Puffin 7 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr
The model is an Airfix FW 190 which comes boxed up as a Mistel with the horrible ex PM models Ta 154.  Floats are from a Hasegawa He 51.
Fw 190 Puffin 1 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr
Fw 190 Puffin 5 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

[Dizzyfugu]

Nice! 

[Captain Canada]

What ?



LOL....beauty build ! She does look great in those colours. Looks like a crop duster from the front shot. Nice work !

[Tophe]

Pleasant!

[zenrat]

Thanks folks.

[pyro-manic]

Brightly coloured and slightly silly - the best kind of Whiffage!

[dumaniac]

love the colours - nice build

[ericr]

beautiful floatplanization!

but why "hatred of the colour yellow"?

[zenrat]

Thanks folks.

Hatred of yellow? No reason, just the first thing that came into my head while I was typing.  I've been listening to a lot go Goon Shows and was trying to channel Spike Milligan & Eric Sykes.
Ying tong, iddle I po.

[VickersVandal]

This thing is brilliant! I like it so bad I want to eat it.

[zenrat]

I wouldn't recommend that VV.  It's been on the floor of my shed...

[McColm]

Great build, I can see Bluebottle ace pilot and brown paper sick bag flying it.

[zenrat]

You rotten swine!  You have shot me down again!

This is the first of at least 3 similar sky pirate builds I have planned.  Next is a white and pink Kawanishi N1K1 with a lady pilot and 3rd will be a white and green P39 which may or may not get floats.