1/72 Avia R-9 Prototype

[Brian da Basher]

At the 1929 Paris air show, the Czechoslovak Air Force stunned everyone with the unveiling of their Avia R-9 prototype. The R-9 was a wickedly fast and maneuverable parasol fighter of fabric covered, aluminum tube frame construction, graced with a very sweet spatted undercarriage and armed with two 20 m.m. cannon in the wings. In the hands of the debonaire, world famous pilot, Major Jan Hogski, the R-9 thrilled the crowd with amazing aerobatic displays. A member of the Polish PZL company, one Stanislaus Kielbasi, took detailed notes of the Avia R-9 and this led to the PZL P-11 series. The R-9 was very advanced for the day and proved to the world the skill and talent of the Czechoslovak aircraft industry. The original R-9 can be seen today at the Czech Museum of Industry in Brno.

Brian da Basher

[Brian da Basher]

This project started when the ever-generous HOG sent me an Arado 96/Avia C-2 model. This aircraft's claim to fame is probably it's brief appearance in the film The Eagle has Landed when it takes Donald Sutherland to England. Of course, there was no way I was going to build it so it would look like it's supposed to. Here's a picture of an Arado 96/Avia C-2 so you can see how seriously I mangled this kit.

Brian da Basher

[Brian da Basher]

The kit HOG sent me had the fuselage already put together. It took me a bit to figure out what I was going to do with it. Then I noticed the wing/fuselage join would be especially difficult. I chopped the fuse off right behind the rear wing root and cut the wings so they'd work in a high-wing configuration. Then I found some spats I'd made from plastic spoons and the engine and cowling from a Nieuport 28 in the spares box. I swiped some struts from that Willow kit Baz sent me eons ago. I made the underwing gun blisters from sprue and the gun barrels from landing gear struts. I cut a sliver from the C-2s canopy for the windscreen and aftrer brush-painting the model in Testor's Light Ghost Gray and Dark Gull Gray acrylics, used the C-2's kit decals for the markings and scrounged the R-9 codes from my decal stash.

Brian da Basher

[cthulhu77]

cool!  dig the wings and even more, the scheme.

[John Howling Mouse]

Hat's off to your creativity, Brian.  It's amazing what you come up with.  Can you get Wallace and Grommet figures in 1:72???  That's what I thought this was, at first.  How you could turn the original kit into this whimsical little beauty is beyond me but it definitely shows real kitbashing skills.     

I'd like to strafe that dang cat with this one!

[HOG]

Hi Brian
Do you ever stop. You must sand in your sleep to keep up this level of production.
Great kit bash on another kit which has sat wasting on my shelf for a good ten years and a lovely scheme.
Have you recieved the last post yet?
Keep it up
Gary

[Maverick]

Gads Brian,

When I first read Ar-96 I thought it was a typo!!  Too cool and just right all in one.

Mav

[B777LR]

Cool! I made this kit as a non-whiff some months ago, and it was rather hard (especially since it had no canopy). Now i know what i should have done, spats build!

[Brian da Basher]

I'm really glad you guys like this little beastie. I had a lot of fun putting it together.

Nothing's arrived yet, HOG, but I'm keeping an eye out. Every so often I look at the pic of those spare parts you were kind enough to drop in the mail for me and think of what I'm going to do with them.

I may get one more project together in the last 9 days this group build has left. Stay tuned.

Brian da Basher

[GTX]

Brian,

I don't know whether to praise you for your imagination and skill in doing this or curse you for defacing such a beuty (I've always liked the Ar-96 series).

Regards,

Greg

[John Howling Mouse]

I may get one more project together in the last 9 days this group build has left. Stay tuned.

Brian da Basher

You're not kidding about this, either, are you?  Puts me to shame!