I was doing a spring clean in my model room when I came across half of Set 1 of Tamiya’s 1/350 USN aircraft. I have no recollection of where or when (let alone why) I acquired these tiny Vikings and even smaller Intruders. At first I debated about throwing them out but gave it a second thought. Surely I could make something with these?

Inspiration came via Squadron’s ‘Ladies in Waiting’. Assembly was easy, as the Intruders are made up of 4 parts, the Vikings 6. To make it a bit more intriguing, I left the engines off 1 Viking and the landing gear off 1 Intruder. All 4 aircraft received a coat of dark gray from the rattle can. Decals came from the spares bin.

Thick white craft paint was used to represent the Spraylat. To add further interest, I mixed up the amount of the “spraylat” on each jet.

Click on images below to see larger images

I made the base by using a 4”x 6” picture frame. I spray painted the glass a tan colour and while the paint was still tacky, I sprinkled on some railroad turf. With the small scale of the scene, I felt it was good representation of the terrain I saw in photos. 

Once the planes were superglued to the base, I called it finished. I was happy with how it turned out, especially as how these little jets were originally destined for the bin!

Mack Main