And the prizefor the ugliest aircraft goes to...
Well, maybe not the ugliest ever, but this one can't be that far away from the top prize..
Let me introduce you to the Breguet 270. Designed in 1929, it entered service within French reconnaissance squadrons in December 1932. 140 of them were built. By 1937, they were already in reserve groups, but were recalled for duty in September 1939, basically to provide German pilots with easy targets. Lacking more modern replacements, over 50 were still serving in front line squadrons by May 1940. The Germans scrappedthefew left at the end of the French campaign.
Not much good to say about this ugly duckling, really, other than it had a fairly modern design, i.e., all-metal, at the time of its conception. This model is built from the 1/72 Azur kit, a good quality French/Czech short-run manufacturer. The weird design, in particular the rear fuselage, is what got me interested. The kit is well detailled (lots of resin in the fuselage halves!), with very fine engraving and raised detail (wing's ribs). The transparent parts, vacuformed, are the tricky part of the build. The chosen decoration is that of a machine still flying in 1939, but its fate is uncertain after that. The kit can be built as a Chinese aircraft too, featuring a different front fuselage and suitable markings.