INDIAN CANBERRA

Chester Model Centre received an unexpected customer enquiry all the way from Bangalore, South India.

Arun Swaminathan was looking for an elusive die-cast model to add to his collection in memory of his late Uncle, Wing Commander Padmanabha Gautam, a highly decorated Indian Air Force pilot who flew the English Electric Canberra during his distinguished career.

Paul Boyland, the owner of Chester Model Centre, says: “We’ve been running our shop in Chester for over 10 years, and we couldn’t do it without so much local support. Having said that, the modelling community is global and we were really happy to help Arun get his hands on the Corgi model of the Canberra that his Uncle Gautam had flown.”

Arun says:“I cannot tell you how grateful I am to you. This model means a lot to me especially as this English Electric Canberra has been etched in my heart after my Uncle Gautam was killed in a crash in 1972. My father always wanted to take me to Poona with my Uncle Gautam (see picture) so he could put me in the cockpit of every aircraft under his command.

Unfortunately, my uncle died before this trip happened. When I miss him I go and stand by the Canberra at the HAL Museum near my house in Bangalore. I am writing his biography and this model will feature as my most treasured model in my collection.”

Arun is hoping to make a trip to the UK in the future with a visit to Chester Model

Centre on the top of his list of places to see.

Paul says: “We are quite a traditional hobby shop and giving people a hands-on experience on the high street is really at the core of what we do. We had been digital dinosaurs but we realise it’s important that we evolve as a retailer. We launched our website during the first lockdown (Spring 2020) and are now active on social media. We’ve been contacted by customers from Australia, America, France and Italy. The attention from across the globe has prompted us to think bigger. We are currently planning to make international delivery available to our customers and hope to have this service up and running in the next few weeks. As a local independent shop this opens up a big market for us.”

The English Electric Canberra is a popular model and it is thanks to Wing Commander Gautam’s story that we can appreciate this incredible aircraft even more. You can learn more about his life and what makes the Canberra so special by visiting Chester Model Centre’s website: https://www. chestermodelcentre.com

After Santa Cruz

Our regular Portuguese correspondent Arnaldo Correia, who keeps us updated on scale projects being undertaken in Iberian countries, has sent in details of the latest seaplane project being built by his friend Mário Vilaça:

“Please find attached a photo I received of Mário’s newest project. It’s a four engined flying boat with ‘a little under 3m’ wingspan. I think you’ll recognise it as a Martin JRM Mars, one of the two used for firefighting in

Canada and the USA until a few years ago. It will be equipped with four HK Grumman Albatross power sets (motor/ESC/propeller), with a 4S battery (probably 5000mAh) being used as the power supply.

It will be a ‘quickie’, or a sports model if you prefer, so Mário is looking forward to having it flying this year. After Santa Cruz (see Dec 22 and Jan 23 issues) it’s understandable he may want a simpler model! On the other hand, Mário being Mário, from a few feet away it should look lovely.”