a paper Westland Whirlwind fighter in winter camo

[Paper Kosmonaut]

I have built models by paper model designer Gerard Methorst before and his recent stuff is very good and well measured out. But this is an older one (2008) and I already experienced that Gerard's older models aren't that precise. However, I really wanted to do this model because I really like the Whirlwind fighter. Gerard was inspired by his painting friend, the late Serge Stone, who in fact was a very prolific painter of aviation subjects. (tip: click on a painting and at the next page click the + for a full view)

I started this model around my birthday, in the end of October. The original scale was 1/50 which I changed to 1/48 to fit in with the regular scale sizes but I decided to build my Whirly in 1/72 since all my paper WW2 planes are in that scale. The fuselage wasn't giving me any troubles at all. But soon I discovered this kit had some serious flaws I couldn't redo myself. I already changed the canopy to have a better shape but when I got to the engine nacelles, I saw they were more or less pointing down instead of perpendicular to the fuselage. I mailed Gerard about it and he very kindly provided me with redesigned parts for a new nacelle but also for a newer, much better looking nose cone. I still had to tinker with it to get the nacelles exactly right but with this new template, it was much easier.
After a while I got inspired and decided to do a couple of variants of the Whirly. And so I did one with one wing underside painted in black (which was actually used for a while in 1940) but I also made one in fictitious winter camouflage. Now I didn't even know the RAF never used winter camo in WW2 but it looked nice and I have a thing for winter camo. So here is my Westland Whirlwind fighter in wnter camoufage (all the markings are genuine). The regular Whirlwind has the black wing.











The model is of course made out of paper and the propellers can spin because I made a sewing pin and beads construction in the forward facing parts of the nacelles. The wheels were made from layers of cardboard which were sanded round the edges to round the tyre a bit, and I used small rods of welding wire (?) to reinforce the landing gear struts.

There is not so much of a back story to it, I just like the looks. (-;

[Tophe]

good!

[chrisonord]

They look amazing, I would never have the patience to do something like that.
Chris

[PR19_Kit]

They look amazing, I would never have the patience to do something like that.
Chris

What Chris said, plus even if I did have the patience I'd never manage all that precision cutting! 

[Rheged]

Impressive!!

[loupgarou]

Very good  . Aircraft are the most difficult subjects in paper IMO. All compound curves.
I am building a flat-bottomed river gunboat at the moment and I'm swearing enogh: 

[The Rat]

Just, wow! 

[zenrat]

 

[Paper Kosmonaut]

A humble thanks for all your kind comments. It really isn't that hard, guys. Just a little experience helps a lot. This model was a bit troublesome in ways of getting the shapes right in the design but the fit and the coming together part were, as we Dutchies say, a one-cent whistle, easy-peasy. A model I really had a struggle with in terms of complexness and immensely delicate parts was this 1/25 Soyuz salvage and transport vehicle of which I designed the Soyuz capsule by myself.

[major]

Having built a few paper models myself in the past, not very well I may add, you've done a nice job on the Whirlwind.

Your ZIL!!! My god, it's cracking! I'd have been happy just to have completed ONE wheel that well. 

[NARSES2]

Just, wow! 

To put it mildly