(New pics) Blue Goose French Navy Potez 25 TOE. "Pink Cruise", November to December 1934. Somewhere in the Sahara

[HubertB]

So, this is my entry in the Sandbox Group Build. This is quite a first, as it is the first time EVER that I complete a kit within the time frame. This is also my first completed build of the year, a sign that I could focus on modelling lately, after a beginning of the year under major clouds on the family health side. I can say that I had a blast throughout this build, which seems apt for a "sand" theme .

I have explained in the background history in the build thread, the genesis of the so-called "pink cruise", a nickname that was invented when Admiral de Laborde took his wife with him, to lead a three-aircrafts flight from Bizerte in Tunisia to Tumbuctu, "replying" to the "Black Cruise" that took place one year before to celebrate the birth of the French Air Force as an independant Corps, also using the workhorse of the time, the Potez 25.

I started from the Lukgraph 1/32 resin kit, but it represents, with some mistakes by-the-way, the "A2" version. The "TOE" (for Théâtre d'Opérations Extérieures ) was quite different, and I embarked on a significant conversion work, using parts I designed and printed in the process.

The detailed build thread is here :

The concept of having Navy aircrafts, with their "fish-hook" on the roundels, and somewhere in the Sahara was already irressitible. But I found pictures of the local fuel replenishments in the Sahara, where the "bowsers" had four legs and a hump. So I had to show this, as I had to show Countess de Laborde with her husband. As a final comment, Admiral Laborde's "BZ 65" carried his admiral 4-star penant on the fin, so that made "BZ 65" a true Blue Goose aircraft as well.

Now, on to the pics. They were taken outside this afternoon. The shadows are strong, but somewhat low. And you may have a glimpse of a cork-tree, which is totally irrelevant for a desert setting (sorry about that)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One final note. The French organised a network of roads and airfields at regular intervals in the Sahara in the 20s and 30s. Some were significant, with shelters, fuel pumps for cars AND aircrafts, etc. Some were more spartan, but a characteristic of the French airfields in the Sahara was the windsock visible on many pictures of the time. So, I had to have a windsock ! I designed one and printed it in transparent resin. it was then painted with light coats of red and and white, before receiving a general mist of sand ... I feel pretty happy about the effect achieved on the windsock :

 

 

 

I hope you like it

Thanks again for your interest and support throughout the build.

Hubert

[Martinnfb]

What can I say, BEAUTIFUL ! 

Cheers

Martin

[Landlubber Mike]

I love it Hubert!  Really well done!!  

I like the camel - I'll have to add one to mine if I can get mine done in the next three weeks.

[Fran]

wow!!! Really Love it Hubert!!!

 

[BlrwestSiR]

Absolutely fantastic there Hubert. Love the build, the setting and the story behind it. 

[belugawhaleman]

Wonderful ! Everything has come together beautifully.

[HubertB]

Thank you for the kinf words, guys.

Actually, I rushed to take pictures yesterday before the dusk, and I felt the pics I took were sub-par, with a bluish tint to everything. Plus the mast of the windsock was too thin to prevent the windsock taking a bend under its own weight.

So I have corrected the mast with a beefier tube, going higher, and took new pics this morning, in a less "rushed" setting, and I feel they are much better now.

So, without further ado, here are the (many)pics of this morning ...

 

 

 

One closing note to this build. The desert sand is essentially AK "Desert soil" and "Desert sand", plus some "Sandy soil". But I also used some of the "sand" I brought back from my trip in Marrakech in September. It is actually some curry I bought specifically for this on the souk. Not only does it give a realistic color to my desert setting, but it also has a very nice smell permeating through my workspace

Hubert

[KevinM]

Looks wonderful Hubert!

The new pole looks better

[HubertB]

1 hour ago, KevinM said:

 

The new pole looks better

Indeed …

[DocRob]

A sure GB winner, i would say Hubert. I love the Potez, looking fantastic and the setting as well, somehow you managed to let it look like a snapshot. The dio could have easily gone south with it´s relatively widely spaced items, but the composition is great and tells a story of a wide desert area and the windsock adds to the real feeling.

Cheers Rob

[HubertB]

13 minutes ago, DocRob said:

A sure GB winner, i would say Hubert. I love the Potez, looking fantastic and the setting as well, somehow you managed to let it look like a snapshot. The dio could have easily gone south with it´s relatively widely spaced items, but the composition is great and tells a story of a wide desert area and the windsock adds to the real feeling.

Cheers Rob

Thank you for the nice comment, Rob. Everyone keeps reminding me it’s a competition, when I see a GB as just an occasion to have some modelling fun with my buddies on an « imposed » theme.

I like to pose my models with a figure, to give a sense of scale. For instance Patricia was thinking that my Potez was of a larger scale than my other finished kits, when it is just a fairly big aircraft.

For my bases, I buy some (cheap) frames in the local Chinese shops that abund in Portugal. For the Potez, I bought a 50x40 cm frame (the wingspan of the Potez is almost 45 cm), and initially thought that, whereas 50 cm was Ok, I could probably reduce the width of 40 cm to 37/35 cms. I finally decided it was too much hassle to modify the frame, for a marginal gain in the end. And the addition of the windsock, even in a corner, implied to keep some « breathing » space. Plus, you are right, the feeling I got from looking at the pics of various Sahara raids of the time was one of space, which I wanted to find a way of conveying.

My only interrogation is whether the 4th figure, the Beduin watching over « Cleopatra » - this one is for Martin - after she unloaded her fuel drums is really necessary. It was an interesting painting. exercise, but I could always remove it. What are your views ?

Anyway, thanks again for watching and commenting so generously.

Hubert

[KevinM]

1 hour ago, HubertB said:

Everyone keeps reminding me it’s a competition,

It;s an opportunity to liquidate Ernie's Stash Hubert it's huge methinks!

[HubertB]

Just now, KevinM said:

It;s an opportunity to liquidate Ernie's Stash Hubert it's huge methinks!

Then we need 12 GBs a year, with 20 winners in each case, for 20 years … at least 

Hubert

[DocRob]

14 hours ago, HubertB said:

Thank you for the nice comment, Rob. Everyone keeps reminding me it’s a competition, when I see a GB as just an occasion to have some modelling fun with my buddies on an « imposed » theme.

I like to pose my models with a figure, to give a sense of scale. For instance Patricia was thinking that my Potez was of a larger scale than my other finished kits, when it is just a fairly big aircraft.

For my bases, I buy some (cheap) frames in the local Chinese shops that abund in Portugal. For the Potez, I bought a 50x40 cm frame (the wingspan of the Potez is almost 45 cm), and initially thought that, whereas 50 cm was Ok, I could probably reduce the width of 40 cm to 37/35 cms. I finally decided it was too much hassle to modify the frame, for a marginal gain in the end. And the addition of the windsock, even in a corner, implied to keep some « breathing » space. Plus, you are right, the feeling I got from looking at the pics of various Sahara raids of the time was one of space, which I wanted to find a way of conveying.

My only interrogation is whether the 4th figure, the Beduin watching over « Cleopatra » - this one is for Martin - after she unloaded her fuel drums is really necessary. It was an interesting painting. exercise, but I could always remove it. What are your views ?

Anyway, thanks again for watching and commenting so generously.

De nada, Hubert and you are absolutely right, it´s fun to just take part in a GB with some buddies and has to ponder about a given theme. Your rendition couldn´t be more sandy and the figures tie everything together to my eye.
Verdict: Balls or no balls, the camel has to stay and the Arabian guy as well . They complete the story, supplying the Potez with precious fuel.

Cheers Rob

[PanzerWomble]

That is a lovely rendition Hubert . Winner, Winner Camel Dinner!!!! . 

I love all the details , and the feel of the 'between the wars' Saharan expeditions . One of my favourite films is the English Patient and this has the same vibe to it . 

 

I guess I'll have to say 'nice pole too" 😀

[HubertB]

17 minutes ago, PanzerWomble said:

I guess I'll have to say 'nice pole too" 😀

Hubert