Interwar French abomination II - Potez 540 (OOB)

Let’s give the whacky French designers a break, they were geniuses compared to some Russian inter-war competition. Exhibit A – the Kalinin K-7 heavy bomber, first flight August 1933, crashing after its 7th test-flight due to (a) terminal instability (b) a tail boom fell off…

:exploding_head:

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Designed with the goal to empty out the spare parts box.

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Well, You know what You have to do now,
right?

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Only Russia could out Fugly the French!

That K7 is an abomination of abominations. El Crappo del tutti crappi, if you will…

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Yet so nearly a war-winner! Imagine only having to make one weapon – put floats on it and it’s an airborne battleship, put free-wheeling tracks on it and it becomes the ultimate tank. I’m sure the Russians were working on a submarine version too…probably still are…

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The Potez 540 kit is so old, my father has built it when he was younger than Im today . And it already was a re-box by that time !

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I give you the Blackburn Blackburn -


image

And the Blackburn Blackburd -


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I need a kit of that Blackburd!! Makes the Overstrand look graceful! :scream:

Here’s the main source of inspiration for all these flying monstrosities

H.P.

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Here you go
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Or the late version
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Saunders Kittiwake


Well its a flying boat. What did you expect ? Look at Grumman Duck… also its not like people have stopped building silly looking planes. When A10 first appered , nobody would call it a gracefull design…

You Beat me to it. I was going to post the Blackburn Blackburn as one UGLY plane

I’m a bit late on parade here but there was one of these on a trader’s stand opposite to where I was exhibiting this last Sunday at Yeovil model show; it was going for £100.00. In conversation with the vendor he informed me that they normally retail at around £300.00.

I’m no aircraft modeller so can’t really comment but it implies that one on sale for £100.00 was a bargain - perhaps?

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What tha Fug???

100 Quid for a Heller Potez? Shoot, first person who wants to give me $100 can have it! I think that guy was as high as his prices. I saw a few on ebay for like, $30 or so. That seems more reasonable.

If it was worth that much, I can guarantee you I’d sell it!

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Indeed, but there should be some small print on the side of the box advising that the £15,000 hangar required isn’t included. :disappointed:

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I have a tiny suspicion that the £300 price tag MIGHT just possibly have been referring to this kit:

$300 from PM Model Store in Ukraine …

That makes a lot more sense!

Still a lot of jack, but that would be a big kit!

General characteristics

  • Crew: 11 (2 pilots, navigator/bombardier, radio operator/gunner (nose 20mm cannon), flight engineer, 4x gunners (twin DA machine-guns in four gondola positions), 2x gunners (20 mm cannon in tail boom tips)
  • Capacity: (120 passengers / 7,000 kg (15,432 lb) cargo, in civilian configuration)
  • Length: 28 m (91 ft 10 in)
  • Wingspan: 53 m (173 ft 11 in)
  • Height: 12.4 m (40 ft 8 in) (estimated to top of engine nacelle)
    53 m = 73.6 cm wide, almost 29 inches, 2 feet 5 inches
    3 m = 38.9 cm long

More pics here

H.P.