Preparing for the steamer Venture construction & build I wanted to get my hands and fingers onto something in 1/87 scale. Changing scales like this means a whole new set of references. After all, going from my favourite scale until now, 1/16, to a scale of 1/87 is the same leap as building a 1/5 scale model!
So the approach would be to build "a model of a model", to get the feel of both of designing and hands-on building. To that end, and to keep the nautical connection, I hauled out a set of freeware floats by Tobin Vetting for the Fiddlers Green Piper Cub J3, which I had reworked to a scale of 1/25 on a previous occasion.
Building these in 1/87 was quite fascinating, since I kept all the numerous original small tabs thought to be required for larger scales, and all little doublers and details I had added. A couple of completely muddled attempts resulted in a third, reasonably decent attempt. After that, however, I decided that 1/87 required both different design & building techniques.
The floats were redesigned - all tabs were lost, and some parts rearranged. The result was a much cleaned-up design; of no less complexity, but much higher efficiency, and quite feasible to build.
I am really starting to like this building "models of models" - everything fits in so much smaller space - material, tools, the parts sheets themselves. Just for fun I've rearranged a couple of aircraft models in regular scales to 1/87, and I really do look forward trying them out. They all fit into a single A4, or very spaciously on two A4s.
The immediate concern was to find some aircraft that would conceivably fit in with the era of the Venture, and the general scope of the imaginary exploit of Skull Island. After all, an aircraft would have been quite helpful in scouting the island, wouldn't it?
My first thought was a De Havilland Gipsy Moth, with foldable wings and on floats. Several were used in all kinds of similar expeditions, like saving polar researcher Nobile. Alas, however, no Gipsy Moth to be found, so I'll go for something else. The present candidate is a very small aircraft which would fit into the Venture hold.
Meanwhile, here are the floats it will rest on in 1/87. If anybody needs them (in this or other scale) just say so, and I'll try to put something together. They are quite good, actually, also in larger scales.