This auction is for the Chematic Supermarine S.6B Floatplane Racer, Schneider Cup Trophy winner, kit # 72164, in 1/72 scale. The original molds for this kit were produced by the British model company Frog.
This kit is complete. All parts are still in the original factory bag (see photo).
I recently acquired a number of model kits that had been damaged in a basement waterpipe leak. The owner was just going to chuck them, but I took them off his hands. The boxes display staining of varying degrees, ranging from hardly noticeable to significant. The good news is that most are complete; most instruction sheets are unblemished – all are readable. Perfect for the builder at a major discount. Collector? Pass them by. Builder? Snap them up before they’re gone. Classic kits at a major discount.
Following Charles Lindbergh’s epic solo flight across the Atlantic in 1927, few aviation events captured the imagination of the world’s youth like the international competition for the Schneider Trophy Cup for seaplanes. It was intended to encourage technical advances in civil aviation but became a contest for pure speed with laps over a triangular course, initially 170 miles, and later extended to 220 miles. The contests were staged as time trials, with aircraft setting off individually at set intervals, usually 15 minutes apart. The contests were extremely popular and some attracted crowds of over 200,000 spectators. In order to win the Cup, a contestant had to win three consecutive races. This proved a daunting task. Despite first being raced in 1913, the requisite three consecutive races were not won until 1931. Despite having won in 1927, flying the Supermarine S.5, and 1929, flying the Supermarine S.6, the British government withdrew support for the race in 1931. A private donation of £100,000 from British philanthropist Lady Houston allowed Supermarine to compete. As funding was only secured 9 months before the race, designer Reginald J. Mitchell, who later designed the immortal Supermarine Spitfire, focused on improving the S.6 rather than pursue a new design. The principal differences between the S.6 and the S.6B were the increased power of the Rolls-Royce R engine and redesigned floats. Mitchell retained the majority of the S.6's design, his efforts being principally focused on improving the prospective aircraft's heat dissipation; speaking on a radio broadcast, he later referred to the S.6B as a "flying radiator.” To improve the engine performance, the use of an exotic fuel mix was necessary, as well as the adoption of sodium-cooled valves. The fuel mixture consisted of 20% aviation gas, 70% benzole, 10% methanol, and 4cc/gal tetra-ethyl lead fuel dope. The Rolls-Royce “R” engine was designed to achieve 1,500hp; these modifications allowed 2,350hp for the race. Only two S.6B’s were built. On 13 September 1931, the Schneider flight was performed by S.6B S1595, piloted by Flt. Lt. John Boothman, attaining a recorded top speed of 340.08 mph and flying seven perfect laps of the triangular course over the Solent, the strait between the Isle of Wight and the British mainland. Seventeen days later, another historic flight was performed by S.6B S1596, flown by Flt Lt. George Stainforth, breaking the world air speed record by reaching a peak speed of 407.5 mph.
This kit was first released by Frog in 1964. The Frog model company was one of the great pillars of the international modeling industry. Its Penguin kits were the first plastic kits on the market, dating back to before WWII. Frog was primarily responsible for giving the world the international standard scale of 1/72. It was a dominant player in the world market until its collapse in 1977. When Frog passed into history, most of its molds were acquired by the Russians who would market many of the Frog kits under various labels. The Supermarine S.6B was one of these kits. A misconception over the years has been that the Frog kits issued under the Novo label were these Russian issues - Novo was actually a British company, a partner of Novoexport, its Soviet trading partner. Over the years since then, these molds have made the rounds of a number of Eastern Bloc companies. Chematic is a Polish company which released this kit in the 1990's.
This kit is complete. All parts are still in the factory bag (see photo).
The box, while structurally sound, shows water damage, particularly to the back of the box (see photos). The parts, decals, and instructions are in excellent shape. Decals provide markings for only S1595, the Schneider Cup winner. If you want to model S1596, the world speed record holder, you will need to source aftermarket decals. Own a piece of history at a fraction of the cost!
USA bidders only. Buyer pays shipping and handling of $9.95 for priority mail shipping. All sales are final - if you have an issue you wish to discuss, please contact me.
Payment withing 3 days.
