Farman F.231 1/72 SBS Model

The Farman F.230 and its derivatives were a family of light touring aircraft built in France in the 1930s. They were low-wing cantilever monoplanes of conventional configuration, with fixed tailskid undercarriage and two open cockpits in tandem. The thick-section wing used on these designs was a distinguishing feature.

Like every year, I have to build something from SBS model. This year I reached for a novelty, which I bought traditionally at the Mosonmagyaróvár show. Almost every year in spring I visit the SBS booth, buy the new products and have a few words with Csaba, who is the most famous face of the SBS team 😊

I started on the model immediately after returning from Mosonmagyaróvár, but only managed to clean up the model parts and then shifted my attention to another model. Farman then waited until December to be finished.

This is a classic from SBS, few parts, perfectly cast, everything fits together. I found print marks in a few places, but nothing tragic. What I don’t quite like is the surface on the ailerons. I could imagine a better representation of the canvas surface, but that’s about the only criticism I would have of the model.

The challenge was the painting, because keeping the sprayed red paint without dirt on the surface was almost a superman task for me. I used Gunze H for the base red and acrylic from AK 3gen to bring out some of the detail. The decals are good to work with, although I added a few extra hours of work due to my clumsiness. Varnishes from Microscale and a light patina with AK stuff.

I’m happy with the result, and this little Tintin‘s airplane has nicely fitted to my collection of French-made sport planes. If you want a break from Messerchmitts and Spitfires, buy a Farman from SBS and enjoy!