Kit History,

As quoted from the mold cutter and master modelerand Aeroscale member himself Peter Plattner (Golden Arrow);

". . .The making of the kit was a long story. I was nearly finished with the master when I presented it on Scale Modelworld in Telford. It was highly appreciated and I could return home with a nice amount of preorders. In Telford I also met Tim Kershaw runnig the Gloster archives . He provided me with all the information possible to get. Basicaly I started with published drawings by Harry Robinson. Very accurate and helpful drawings. But with the excellent pictures and detail information of Tim I had to rework the whole master and the release date of the kit was heavily delayed.

I truly fell in love with this beautiful aircraft. And as I think the kit looks rather simple it was extremly difficult to master. The most challenging part was the wing root. Not to difficult to master but almost impossible to cast have been the suppoting struts. White metal was to weak supporting the heavy floats. So i decided to cast them from brass. But these struts are almost to thin so we had to do this with pressure molding... You can imagine what these means.

All in all I am happy with the result. Of course the next will be better."

Box Contents,

Limited run. (I received #7 of 500.)
18 resin cast parts.
55 brass PE & metal parts.
decals for 2 aircraft
high quality 16 page instruction booket with colour profiles.
The kit box is a sturdy jeweler's type where the cover fits over the bottom at its top edges.
Cost = € 88.80 in Europe but for export = € 74.00

History,

Two Gloster aircraft (in the 1929 air race) were registered with RAF numbers N249 & N250. They showed promise and high speed, but also had significant problems with fuel supply when banking that led to engine cut-outs. For such a risky business as low-altitude air-racing, this was an unacceptable risk and the aircraft were withdrawn from competition in the 1929 Schneider Trophy, leaving the way clear for the Supermarine S.6 to win. An alternative theory for the withdrawal is rumoured to have been an accident to the lorry delivering the engines from Napier, and insufficient time to repair the damage until the day after.

On 10 September 1929, the day after the Supermarine S.6 had won the Trophy, N249 returned to flight. Flight Lieutenant George Stainforth flew her over a measured mile course for a top speed of 351.3 mph and a ratified world absolute speed record, averaged over four of 336.3 mph. This record was held only briefly, as a later run by Squadron Leader Augustus Orlebar in the S.6 managed to raise it over 350 mph.

During the final Schneider Trophy in 1931, the Gloster VI was still in service with the High Speed Flight for training purposes. (From the Wikipedia free encyclopedia.)

Comments,

An excellent kit with no warp in the resin. Definately a high quality kit. The float / pontoon struts are poured brass instead of typical white metal found in other kits. This is a great boon as it will add strength and longevity to the over-all build.

References,

The Schneider Trophy Story by Edward Eves (Hardcover - Jan 2002).
Air Sports: The Complete Guide to Aviation Adventure by Norm Goyer (Paperback - Sep 26, 2003).
Gloster Aircraft Company by Derek N. James (Hardcover - Oct 1999).