The order was for a F2A Buffalo, a Fiat G.50 and a P-40F Warhawk - all candidates for my little Finnish air force. Of all of these aircraft it is perhaps the Buffalo which is most closely associated with the Finn's dogged defence of their country. Indeed, they did far better in this much maligned obsolete American fighter that did any of it's other users (particular the RAF) scoring a good number of 'kills' with it.
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| "The Brewster Buffalo earned a reputation in Finnish Air Force service as one of their more successful fighter aircraft. In service from 1941 to 1945, Buffalos of Lentolaivue 24 (Fighter Squadron 24) claimed 477 Soviet Air Force warplanes destroyed, with the combat loss of just 19 Buffalos, an outstanding victory ratio of 26:1." Source: Wikipedia |
The Raiden models are actually 1/285 scale and I'm afraid - unbelievably - you can tell the difference between these and the 1/300 aircraft I got from Scotia Grendel, Raidens being somewhat larger. A shame really as I was hoping the difference would be negligible.
Quality wise I think the Raiden planes may just have the edge with a lot more fine panel-line detail. The amount of flash and quality of white metal used is about on par with the UK firm's models.
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| Raiden's 1/285 scale planes (top) compared with a couple of Scotia Grendel's 1/300 aircraft. It's hard to tell, but the Raidens are just a tad larger. |
I was particularly looking forward to receiving the P-40 Warhawk as the P-36/P-40 Hawk family of fighters is one of my all-time favourites.
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| Piloted by Sub.Lt.V.A.Ruevin form 191st IAP on 27th December 1943 a P-40M made a forced landing on the frozen Lake Valkjarvi, Karelian Isthmus. Finns captured it in perfect condition. It was overhauled at the Mechanics' School and delivered to HLeLv32 on 2 July, 1944. It was used till 12th February 1945. Artist: © Jouni Ronkko 'Jones' - Source: Wings Palette web site |
The last little plane is a very cute little Italian Fiat G.50. Once again the Finn's squeezed every last drop of effectiveness out of this obsolete design gaining a unprecedented kill/loss ratio of 33/1 [Wikipedia].
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| Source: Wikipedia |
As with my earlier Scotia Grendel delivery these little models are just a whim on my part and not really part of a serious project. They are just something fun to do when I need a rest from my current 1/72 models!
With the kill ratio so high flying obsolete planes, the Russian pilot must have been poorly trained.Or the Finn pilot was good. a little of both I suspect.The P-40 was built here in Buffalo N.Y.My grandfather helped build them so yes it is my all time fav fighter, but I didn't know the finns flew them so thanks .
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