Dave Adam, Christchurch, New Zealand
Using Frog’s 1/72 scale kit, Dave modeled the Fokker VIIB-3M Southern Cross, flown by Charles Kingsford Smith on the first trans-Pacific flight from the U.S. mainland to Australia, which landed in Brisbane on June 9, 1928. The same plane made the first trans-Tasman flight, from Sydney, Australia, to Christchurch, New Zealand, landing on September 11, 1928. Dave added tail struts and external cables. “I had new decals made, as old kit ones had perished,” he says. He airbrushed with Humbrol midnight blue gloss, used Tamiya bare metal/silver from a spray can, and finished with Humbrol matt clear mixed to a satin finish. His diorama base is graced with a postcard commemorating the Tasman crossing.