And why the Heller Illustrious kit?
All the models that I will build are somehow connected with family history. With the Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle completed (my wife’s uncle), I now return to my mother-in-law’s wartime boyfriend, Tony Wray, who was an observer on a Fairey Swordfish during the Fleet Air Arm’s raid on the Italian port of Taranto on November 11, 1940. Tony was the subject of my first project when I built his Swordfish in 1/72.
Tony died on January 10, 1941 during a blistering Stuka attack on his carrier, HMS Illustrious. The Illustrious was covering a convoy bound for Malta and after the attack, limped into Malta for repairs. Illustrious subsequently spent the rest of the year under repairs in Norfolk, Virginia.
So, as a project, I decided to do the Illustrious as she was in November 1940.
You would think that after two planes, I might want to apply what I learned and build another plane. But no, back to newbie status with a ship model. I wonder if this will give me grief?
Kit choices weren’t great and I settled on the Heller Illustrious 1/400 kit. Heller is a French company and this kit was produced in the 1970’s so it would need considerable updating. In the years hence, kit manufacturers have settled on 1/350 and 1/700 as the primary scales. As such, there is a limited aftermarket of 1/400 accessories and updates – notably from White Ensign Models and L’Arsenal.
I will need to do some research.
Cropredy Illustrious Project 