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Very glad fellow modelers enjoy these less trodden paths! Cheers!

Very kind, Jörgen!

Thanks! I think the idea behind it was a safer plane, delaying the stall (at the expense of induced drag). But hey, it flew like a charm! Appreciated! Well, that's the general ebil plan!

Thanks very much, JR! Another Payen admirer! What are the odds! In case you haven't seen it when first posted many moons ago: (EDIT: I see now that you visited that post already at the time!)

Thanks! Odd is beautiful! 😄

Some scholars state that conventional designs are not necessarily the best for all uses, but more unusual arrangements would scare passengers and investors off. Look at Rutan: admired, but seldom copied or really mass-produced. You know humanity: lowest common denominator. And we still have a soon-to-be ex-president (several, actually) to prove it!

Nice choice! (I am biased!) I suggest you change the photo into a link, as there may be some issues if you just post the photo, it happened here before.

Thanks, Frank! One of my preferred models because of that cuteness. Cheers

Thanks, Chris. This was posted almost two years ago -of a model built 13 years ago-, but still one of my favorites.

Thanks, Gary, and I have to agree: one would like to pinch that little wingtip and say "coochee-coochee"

Appreciated! Strangely enough, besides making now some progress with the Fokker F.32, I have no idea of what is next. So many interesting candidates...

Thanks, SAT! I would go into hibernation now, but Mrs Moa has a one of those "To do before year's end" list. Sigh... Thanks again, Chris, you all are very patient with me!

Thanks! I think at least it looks slightly better than the part in the box! 😄 You are biased! We all know you play with little ducks in the bathtub!

Very kind of you! Cheers!

I have to confess that I have a tendency towards the bizarre in the field. Cheers!

Thanks Homer Unusual doesn't quote say it!

Found a newsreel of it!

And the second model, the land version, is posted here:

A civil plane, in spite of its cockades (as explained below), the Fokker C.IV C was one of the protagonists of a rather eventful world-renowned saga. (I am replicating here the text written for the seaplane version, as it's pertinent to both models). Here is the step-by-step building article: And here is the seaplane version model completed: A country at the southern tip of South America, still partially in its agricultural/ranching-economy slumber, far away from the hubs of financial power and technology, dared to dream of an almost mythical feat: to circumnavigate the world by airplane, in 1924. The dream proved bigger than the available resources, and in spite of strong popular support, certain dose of chivalry, and a number of strong wills put together, the dream ended up sinking, literally, in Tokyo Bay, a long time after departing east-bound from Amsterdam. A Fokker C.IV and a C.IV W planes were involved, a third reputedly left in storage in Canada as a replacement for the last leg of the attempt, that a source states was a low wing Fokker T.IIIW. The two Fokker C.IV were the landplane Ciudad de Buenos Aries and the seaplane Provincia de Buenos Aires. Of the three crew members that were initially chosen to fly, only two would do the trip: pilot Pedro Zanni and mechanic Felipe Beltrame; the third, Nelson Page, that was supposed to be the navigator, having fallen ill. Zanni's strong desire to accomplish the task may have led to some questionable piloting decisions involving weather judgment that cost him his first plane -demolished in China- and eventually the second, seen sadly in photos ignominiously half-submerged in the water sticking its tail up. Many accounts veil the final shame, and state that Zanni "decided to abandon the enterprise due to weather and financial concerns". All this, as said, after a series of mishaps involving possible misjudging of terrain and weather. It could be argued that you can't fly a plane only with your will and bravery, you also need a cool mind, and a knowledge, financial and technical support, and skill comparable to the enterprise you want to tackle. Be that as it may, Zanni and Beltrame made a prodigious journey, again considering their lack of resources and feeble tactical support. And so Argentina was for a while featured in newspapers that followed the progress of these commendable men. For some reason, it was decided to keep the standard factory finish, catering for the military market, as we know an absolutely terrible choice for a civil flight if an emergency occurred, when finding and rescue may have been impaired by that standard camouflage. The plane wore the country's cockades and rudder colors, not necessary -or perhaps not even legal- as the plane did not belong to the Argentinean military, nor was it sponsored by it, if indeed the pilot was an active military pilot. The fact that was paid be popular collect and sponsored by the Aero Club Argentino (a civil entity) is the reason I decided to build these planes, as there was no military ownership or sponsorship, and the planes of course were exclusively used for (and spent in) this around the world flight attempt. As stated in the building article, this is a project we took up together with my older son, also a modeler, and decided to build one of them each. At one point it was obvious that many mods were needed and the kit was extremely poor (to say the very least), so I was supposed to build mine and prepare an "improved and modified kit" for him to build, to save him time. Well, guess what, daddy ended up building both and gifting one to the son, as son became a father himself in the interim with additional responsibilities and certain restrictions regarding modeling time, and daddy became a grandfather. Still, each of us will have now one of these twins on display, which is, after all, very nice. I (almost) always enjoy working on basic kits aspiring to make of them more accurate and better detailed replicas, but there are limits to that approach. In this case the kit was so lacking that it would have been immensely easier (not to mention more satisfying) to scratch the two models from the start, instead of having to deal with re-working almost every part of it, in part of course to obtain a different version, but mostly because the parts were so poor to start with. The two planes, for land and sea, were the same plane, but not completely identical: besides the obvious landing/alighting equipment, other small differences are present. On top of that, the machines changed details as they progressed in their trip, with differences most notably on their noses. As usual, one version has to be chosen for the model, in this case the machines as they were in their last legs (figuratively and literally) of the trip. It is of note that Zanni's -that news agencies often spelled "Zani"- flight was contemporary of that of the USA pilots in their four Douglas World Cruisers, that even counting with vastly superior support -technical and financial-, had nonetheless their fair share of serious difficulties. It's not surprise then that Zanni and Beltrame had to abandon their enterprise midway, and yet still they were hailed -and fairly so- as heroes in their native country. The two machines, used consecutively, in the around the world flight attempt: Some articles with varied information, a few bits of it not totally accurate (Zanni dismissed Italian and British plane, and ended up adopting Fokker's): Page, Zanni and Beltrame. As explained, Page became ill and remained behind in Amsterdam, not taking part of the flight.

Oh, lucky you! Starkness and solitude!

Keep that bum warm! Yes, a pane of thin glass, the model on top, held with one hand above my head, camera on the other, anxious about the glass braking, or the model sliding away and not being able to achieve sustained flight and safe landing, trying to avoid reflections from the grass and tiles, concerned about the neighbors watching me as I contort into the strangest poses, not being able to scratch my nose as it of course now starts to itch, and generally avoiding stumbling on something as I move around for the better angles, and trying not to keel over due to sheer disorientation. I call it -in this particular case- a "Zanni" (pun intended) afternoon.

I can see all the pictures. HP and Firefox.

Thanks, but I think I made up for the rigging fabricating in metal all the struts and that spidery floats arrangement! 😄

That's the most detailed, sophisticated, well-built, realistic model I have seen on my very long modeling life. From now on is Lego for me in my spare time.

We, multi-talented, ductile Argentinians. (Not sure the ladies were pleased with those disrespectful gaijin fooling around with their shamisen. I can almost hear them asking to their suffered hostesses: "Tea? Fish? Where is the yerba mate and the carne asada?")