When the French say “Vive la Difference!”, I doubt they were talking about the difference between aeronautically sound and advanced airplanes and whatever kind of flying aquaria/blimp gondolas the various French designers of the ‘20s and ‘30s were thinking about. However, one can’t deny that there is a difference there… and it is a big one!
Since I already have the Amiot 143 from Heller, it should come as no surprise that I also have the nearly-equally-hideous Potez 540 in my collection! So, with spring about to sprung (or something) I thought it would be good to have a look at what is one of the ugliest ducklings to take to the skies of interwar Europe.
Check out the 1/72 Potez 540 at the link below, and remember, someone, somewhere, thought THIS was a great idea. There’s a reason they don’t make ‘em like THAT anymore!
My great love for Heller was always that array of aerodynamically-misbegotten ‘art nouveau’ French designs from post-WW1 to the late '30s. They all seemed to share a sort of cartoon/fantasy look – almost like ‘Sky Pirates,’ but much more elegant. Or just plain weird…depending on how much Pinot I’ve consumed. [t$t]
LOL Let’s keep in mind that hindsight is 20/20 but through WW1 and for a few years after that the French designed and built aircraft ruled. The US flew almost nothing but French aircraft in WW1. Pretty sure there was something like one American built plane type used in combat.
Everybody had some funky designs during that period since anybody with a pencil could be an aircraft “designer”.
If nothing else some of the things any country came up with are pretty funny by today’s standards. It is nice that at least Heller recognises their countries past and models the off beat stuff.
The B-10 although fast was bizarre looking and not exactly pretty
The P-26 is not exactly a beauty in the fighter category
I actually have the whole set of the Heller French menagerie in the stash. I have this idea to do them all on a shelf with a tag saying “All things weird and Wondeful.”
Some French interwar aircraft looked more like flying furniture than airplanes! They continued their weirdness postwar too - LeDuc ramjets and the SNECMA Coleoptere to name just two.
But they developed the Mirage III and IV, so all is forgiven. [:)]
