Even as it first entered service with Nos. 800 and 803 squadrons aboard HMS Ark Royal, it became evident that the Blackburn Skua was hopelessly outdated as a fighter and might well face challenges in the dive bomber role as well. Despite these deficiencies, Skuas were operational when the Second World War started and remained in service until August 1941. In fact, it was a Skua conducting patrols off the Norwegian coast that scored the first British kill when it downed a Dornier Do 18 on 26 September 1939. The Skua is also credited with a rather more significant 'first', that of becoming the first aircraft to sink an operational warship when on 10 April 1941, aircraft flying at their extreme range from Orkney attacked and sank the German cruiser Königsberg at Bergen.

Although photography of these little gems is a challenge for our equipment and limited skills, check out the well proportioned model including the detailed canopy, wings, engine, tail assembly which even includes a tiny arrestor hook(!) and landing gear (neither of which were ever attempted on the WEM resin model!).

While the surfaces are not perfectly smooth (3D printing is done in layers), the plastic used can be sanded and painted much the same way you would handle resin or styrene.

NOTE: We currently maintain limited inventories of most items but some may have to be "printed on demand", which usually requires 10-15 business days from order to shipment.