1:72 Westland Lysander Mk.III Special Duties Opearations

The aircraft that landed where there was no airfield

The high-wing machine with fixed landing gear looked at first like a failure: for reconnaissance over the front it was too slow and too vulnerable. It was saved by a quality nobody had planned as its main strength, namely the ability to take off and land within a few hundred meters of soft ground. That turned it into the transport of the secret services: in black paint, with an auxiliary tank under the fuselage and a ladder to the rear cockpit, it carried agents into occupied France and came back with people who had to be got out.

What the sheet offers

Nine options cover the whole range of its service. You will find a trials machine from the British test establishment, several aircraft from the pair of special duties squadrons that operated from a base in eastern England, and alongside them machines from units used over Italy and in Burma. Each entry lists the serial number, the year and, for some of them, the name of the pilot, including men who later wrote about their night flights.

What to watch out for

The markings of night machines lie on a very dark base, so thin decals are easily lost. Polish the base first and varnish it to a gloss, otherwise a matte outline will form around every code. Lay them down in good light, because a dark surface deceives the eye about colors. Once dry, go over the model with a matte varnish and dust the edges of the codes lightly so that they blend with the battered surface of the machine. On the options with an auxiliary tank under the fuselage, think the order of work through in advance, because the tank covers part of the area the subject would otherwise go onto.