Fly Baby

Grunau Baby IIb

- Colin 'Flying' Pickett

The Grunau Baby II really is the archetypical, being simple,with a beautiful wing shape that mirrors that of a bird in many ways. So successful was the design that it saw service with many nations long after the end of World War II as a basic training tool, and still continues to be enjoyed by a good many private glider pilots today.

There has been a steady stream of injected plastic 1/48 glider kits of late and these are very welcome indeed. Fly’s kit arrives as a pair of beige plastic sprues accompanied by an etched fret for the seat belts and instrument panel, and a small sheet of acetate, which provides the windscreen and instrument dials.

As you’d expect for a glider of this era, the cockpit is a basic affair and just required painting to add a wood grain effect. To add a bit more detail I had a trawl through the Internet and found a couple of images of the cockpit sidewall showing some additional bracing, which I added from plastic strip, though it was a bit of a waste as it really can’t be seen.