Ansaldo SVA 5 (Savoia-Verduzio-Ansaldo Scout 1918)

Vacformed polystyrene kits sit at the extreme fringe of modeling craft. Only the very basic elements of an airframe are provided to a modeler (and i don’t think i have encountered a completed kit in real life).

A couple of years ago i inherited a large collection of unmade bi-planes made in this manner from a business called Airframe (Aeroplanes of Yesteryear) from Burnaby BC Canada. Airframe seems to have operated from 1971 to 1989 by a chap called John Tarvin.

In between the dull summer task of spreading 6 tons of compost, i am determined to finish at least one of these.

The Ansaldo SVA 5 is an Italian scout, conceived in 1916, manufactured in 1917 and delivered in 1918.

The airframe is provided molded into uncut flat plastic sheets. None of the smaller bits that will be needed to build the finished model are provided (they need to be sourced from other conventional kits).