Hungary? I Nardi knew her.
This is the 1/48 Special Hobby Nardi FN 305. It was purchased nearly two decades ago at the Hannants store in person during a trip to England (it was a thrill as a kid to walk through the Sunderland at Hendon), started, then very nearly thrown out due to a gulf between visible model skill improvements. But with significant breaking, readjusting, sanding and hacking, it was recovered from the Bin of Misfit Toys. There's some improvements here, small details mostly, but besides the 17+ gestation period it was a "quick build."
If anyone can tell me how that landing gear is supposed to fold, by all means. It appears to be that way from surviving photos I found.
Neat result for all that work. The undercarriage is interesting to say the least.
Great model. The pun...
You two obviously run in the family, don't you? 🙂
Lord knows I tried...
Nah, that aircraft never existed...can´t have. Looks like something from the cover of a Biggles or other boy´s adventure book.
I´m positive someone got the undercarriage all wrong. If it is you, kit designer or aircraft manufacturer I have no idea, but someone fouled up. You made the model into a stunner anyway, really nice paint job.
Kyle (@kopperhed). First off; nice result! I have been thinking of getting one of these for long, but the stash. . . .not sure I would ever get it done.
The landing gear does not really fold - that is the outer portions does obviously, but the two innermost of the aft struts are actually telescopic. That is, there is a intricate wiremechanism that makes it "shorter" to enable the other two to turn in, and the entire wire is a loop. All operated by hand! Actually rather well thought out - try to shorten the mentioned strut in your mind - then the other two has nowhere else to go but in.
It should have been molded as a row of tubes going into each other, not an oleo, but more or less the same principle. (there was a later version that worked by air, in french it is called "oléopneumatiquement")
Fascinating. Glad i get to leave mine the way it is.
Nice save on a weird model.
All punning aside, that is one ugly plane. Nevertheless you did a beautiful job.
Nice work. I’ve always wondered what that kit looked like.
If we call it ugly, then it's so ugly it's beautiful!
This is such a nice, clean job on an udoubtedly difficult kit. The result is simply stunning!
Nice info from @airbum for the landing gear folding sequence.
Nicely done!
Great build on this unusual aircraft, Kyle.
The engineer who created this landing gear was really thinking out of the box.
Well done Kyle that landing gear looks like it was designed by a committee. She looks nice.
Wow - that is an unusual bird! That was a nice save, and great to see something I've never seen modeled before!