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Thursday, December 12, 2019

T is for Two - Of The Few!

As we lose the forth-to-last remaining Battle of Britain fighter-pilots, here's a couple of really very interesting model 'planes, the first is the less fascinating maybe, being a chunk of Alli', the other is a real treat. Both shot on Adrian Little's Mercator Trading table at Sandown Park, but photographed several months apart.

B&S; Barratt And Son's; Bergan Toy Company; Beton; Bolton-Paul Defiant; Bristol Blenheim; De Havilland Comet; Die Cast Toys; Fighter-Bomber; Lead-Alloy; Metal Aeroplanes; Metal Models; Palitoy; Slush-Cast; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Supermarine Spitfire; Toy Aeroplanes; Toy Aircraft; Toy Airplanes; Toy Planes; Whitemetal Model;
I think this is probably a 1st-year or 1st-term (Christmas) an apprentices or engineering student's test-piece, due to its crudity and lack of true mirror-symmetry . . . and the fact that the engines point outward, or that it lacks a notable or noticeable cockpit!

However, one or two people who saw it at the show thought it might have had a more commercial aspect, remembering similar stuff from their childhoods. Being older than me I'm not going to argue with them and will leave it to your judgement.

It's an aluminium casting, but appears to have been poured, not pressure-injected, resulting in softer lines and a rougher surface, and might be trying to be a Bristol Blenheim fighter-bomber?

B&S; Barratt And Son's; Bergan Toy Company; Beton; Bolton-Paul Defiant; Bristol Blenheim; De Havilland Comet; Die Cast Toys; Fighter-Bomber; Lead-Alloy; Metal Aeroplanes; Metal Models; Palitoy; Slush-Cast; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Supermarine Spitfire; Toy Aeroplanes; Toy Aircraft; Toy Airplanes; Toy Planes; Whitemetal Model;
We know what this is because it's written on both wings! A De Havilland Comet, but issued in a natty army-green, rather than the more famous racing scarlet! It's also marked with the B&s cipher of Barratt and Son's - similar to the cipher of the Bergan Toy Company (Beton)!

What I find so fascinating about this slush-cast lead-alloy (whitemetal) model is that it's almost identical in production values or properties to the early Supermarine Spitfire and Bolton-Paul Defiant models from Palitoy, not because it's copying them, but because they were aping the previous technology, prior to discovering the full potential in the properties of the new materials.

The way the propellers are fixed on with nails set into the casting, the whole profile of the wings and fuselage, even the marking position and style is similar!

Thanks to Adrian again, for the photo-op'.

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