The Blackburn Skua

Blackburn Skua
the 1/72scale Frog kit
by Michael Morrow

Ever since I saw an old Earl Stahl rubber-powered flying model plan for the Blackburn Skua, I've wanted to build one. When I finally discovered how inaccurate that old flying model plan was, I was disappointed, and I determined to do a better one. This would require accurate drawings, and as I soon discovered, none such existed. I came across numerous articles discussing how to correct all the errors in the old 1/72 Frog kit, which I also had, but no definitive scale drawings to work from.

Then one day, I saw a review for the new (at the time) Matthew Willis book "Blackburn SKUA & ROC" (ISBN 978-83-89450-44-9, Mushroom Models Publications, 2007). I immediately ordered it, and was very pleased with the book. Not only did it have an excellent historical overview of the aircraft, it had lots of good pictures, and most important for me, good scale drawings to work from.

I'm not sure when it happened, but at some point, I switched from wanting to do a flying scale model to doing a plastic model . . . and there was that Frog kit just sitting there, and I had all these great cockpit interior photos, and engine photos, and external detail photos, and color plates with color schemes, and all of a sudden, I was scratch-building an interior, and making plans to finish my Skua in the markings of the Fleet Air Arm's first "Ace", Lt. William P. Lucy, who had seven victories and a DSO, all with a Skua.

So here is my Frog Skua. Sadly, I didn't have a digital camera when I did this build, so you're stuck with external shots, which is a shame, because the interior, complete with fuel tanks, seats, bulkheads, fire-extinguishers, etc., etc., etc., is quite nice, but is also quite hidden under that long green house canopy.

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