Thomas To 27 Sawfly: Secret State Police Covert Operations Unit 1984

[zenrat]

Designed for the People's Democratic Republic of Victoria by South Australian émigré Brian "Damage" Thomas (responsible for amongst others the To 17 Thunderfly) the Thomas To 27 Sawfly is a four seat light aircraft originally designed for the outback Victorian needing transport with longer legs than a family sedan.
To-27 Sawfly 009 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr
An undisclosed number of Sawflies were adapted by the PDRV Sestapo (Secret State Police) for use in covert operations.  Some retain civilian paint and markings while those used at night are painted black over dark grey.
To-27 Sawfly 007 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr
The aircraft pictured is believed to be one of a number used to remove problem citizens.  It is thought that Sestapo operatives track their targets vehicle using night vision equipment until an opportunity presents itself to fly parallel to the road at low level (relatively common given the straight nature of a lot of Victorian country roads) at which point the rear seater removes the problem with extreme prejudice.
To-27 Sawfly 004 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

The model is a 1/72 Airfix SA Bulldog built OOBlister Pack.  Modified only by the addition of a machine gun and, because of the amount of weight needed in the nose, reinforcing the undercarriage.
To-27 Sawfly 001 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

[NARSES2]

Now that's a nice simple built that really looks the part 

[PR19_Kit]

I LOVE the Bulldog in any shape or form, but that's a super variation. 

[Captain Canada]

Great stuff ! I think this is the first time I've actually seen a Bulldog built. Very nice indeed ! Lovely little aeroplane, well built and finished, and I like the story. The backseater gets all the fun tho 

[zenrat]

Thanks guys.  Black is a real pig to photograph.

BTW Cap'n, that's the re-modified version of the Matchbox stand you were asking about.

And, since taking the pics i've added the landing light I had forgotten.

[Dizzyfugu]

Cute... and cool!  Small aircraft are IMHO underrepresented, this is a nice addition.
Black is tricky, also for painting, because pure black looks a little odd and leaves no room for shading or "dramatic surface effects". Adding a bit of red to the black basic tone helps. But it's still a challenging color - you see any flaw on the finish, and taking pictures is also difficult because you can easily ruin any good pic with bad light and reflections on the kit, which also reveals flaws easily...

[jsport]

Great concept (scary) and work.

[TallEng]

lovely job
I'm sure many former University Sqn students would have loved to have flown a Bulldog like that.
And strangely enough the Bulldog's roll (allegedly) in (cold) wartime would have been keeping an eye on
troublespots/potential riots or even makers thereoff, so its not too much of a stretch of imagination
too extend that 'recce' role into finding 'solutions' for certain citizens
Unfortunately the Bulldog is one aircraft i struggle to model probably because it was one of
the first Aircraft I worked on So I know 'exactly' how it looks and know that i wouldn't be able to do
it to my satisfaction

Regards
Keith (former NUAS Ground crew)

[zenrat]

Thanks folks.  It's a nicely engineered kit.  Goes together well but needs a lot of weight in the nose.
I have in the stash an Airfix Cessna O1 and a Hobby Boss Zlin Z42 so there are more small planes to come.
Probably not black though.

[DogfighterZen]

What a well disguised, mean little bird... Great work!! I love the build and the story!