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This is a model of a type that I’ve always to do, but have up to now been frustrated. All available models as far as I’m aware have been to 1/72 scale. The first two I recall date back to the 80’s and were a vac form by Gerald J Elliot and a short run injection kit by Pegasus. I have the uncompleted mortal remains of both. If I can find them, I will use them for comparison purposes. The vac form build stalled, because I’m hopeless with that medium. The Pegasus kit fell by the wayside, because it suffered from irredeemable defects from the cockpit canopy forward. I’ll explain below. At one time I was considering a Fanken-Balliol using the best bits from both, but that idea fell by the wayside a long time ago. The two recent kits are the Ali Cat resin offering. I don’t have this one, but from what I see from photos and the reputation of the mould maker, I have no doubt that that it builds into a very nice replica. I’ve never built a resin kit, so steered clear. The other offering is from Special Hobby and is the subject of this build. Why is it flying at zero feet, over rather choppy seas and with menacing clouds in the background? This is the option that I’ll build. It doesn’t get more hi viz does t? Such is the scarcity of scale drawings for the Balliol, that I’ve only ever seen two sets. The first was published in a now defunct magazine called Control Column. This was the in-house magazine of the British Aircraft Preservation Society. To my eye, everything seemed to be in proportion. The other drawing is probably the better known one and was published in Aviation News and appears to be the source of inspiration for the Pegasus kit. Unfortunately, the drawings show a squashed canopy and an engine cowling slope that ends in a notch at the junction with the spinner. A look at any front 3/4 view, will show that the canopy transparencies are rectangular and that there is an unbroken, smooth line from the base of the windscreen to the top of the propeller. The Aviation News plans are wrong in this area. I should also mention the side views drawn by the late Mike Keep for an accompanying article on the type in the original iteration of Scale Aircraft Models. As I recall, they looked right too. I’ll discuss the various differences in the development of the Balliol as I start cutting plastic, but for now let’s have a look at the contents. Etched metal and resin bits are a bit of an unknown, so let’s see how I get on. Transfers look ok. Given the amount of glass panelling in the cockpit, I don’t fancy masking from scratch so treated myself to this I’ve never used a commercial masking set, so another first. I’ll start building shortly, just as soon as I recover my notes and papers from what I euphemistically call our Den, which at the moment is a repository of half the world’s production of jigsaws and which belong to Herself. I need to burrow through that lot first. That’s it for now. Trevor