In L'Affaire Tournesol Professor Calculus gets abducted by Syldavian security forces (as well as Bordurian security forces, in turns). I have always been confused by this—just a few years earlier Calculus successfully masterminded the Syldavian Moon landing project and should by all rights be a national hero rather than tossed around like a buzkashi goat. Come to think of it, in spite of their headstart, we never hear about the Syldavians continuing their space programme in the Tintinverse. Seems a massive waste of effort if they don’t even use it to bring tourists to Syldavia.
Anyway, the Syldavian spies stuff Calculus into a Beech Bonanza and escape the pursuing Tintin and Captain Haddock in the nick of time. In my Tintin aircraft building project this was an iconic scene that had to be reproduced. Now, as for most civilian subjects, there aren’t all that many model choices. There is the Eidai model from 1972, though in my case in a later Arii reboxing. Now, this represents a Bonanza V35B, which was the current model when the Eidai model was created, but the Syldavian aircraft seems to be a Bonanza A35 of 1949 vintage (the book was published in 1956). There would be some work to be done to backdate the model, but as it turns out the basic Bonanza outline has remained more or less the same even as the aircraft has become heavier. I changed the following:
- The cabin is shortened to a four-seat configuration. This also requires covering up the rearmost pair of windows. The instrument panel got a single throw-over yoke instead of the kit’s double yokes. The seats were cut down to lower backs and equipped with safety belts. The right-most front seat is folded down to give access to the back seat. The door is positioned open with an arm rest added. The handhold for getting up on the wing has been added. Professor Calculus and Boldov the pilot have been added, by modifying figures from my anonymous Chinese set of passengers.
- The tail section is reshaped with Milliput to the rounded tail of the early models. The rear air intake is removed.
- The wings are reshaped to the early rounded wing tips with navigation lights from HOBBY + PLUS. The landing lights have been cut out of the wing leading edges with Crystal Clear Tape as covers.
- The characteristic covers/deflectors for the exhaust stacks have been opened up and thinned to plausible thinness. The ends of the stacks have been drilled out. (The kit suggests just sticking the stacks on the underside, with no covers.)
- The kit landing gear is a disgrace—sticking the main gear legs right through the gear covers, the entire landing gear much too tall, so I have scratchbuilt most of the landing gear and the wheel covers with their well visible stiffening channels.
- The aircraft in the comic has no visible aerial (even though one would image a spy aircraft should have advanced communication options) so my model has none either. (We note that Hergé, as usual, has neglected to draw any engine exhausts.)
- The unnamed head spy and the driver “Stany” have been recreated with repainted Preiser figures from the sets Gehende Reisende and Japanisches Bahnpersonal.
- The lot have been glued to a section of Model Scene’s Cut Meadow—Late Summer. In the right light, one sees the wheel tracks of the aircraft in the grass. The frame is a Clas Ohlson Helsingfors. Its glass has been painted brown to represent the soil under the grass.
- For a change, I used acrylics to paint the aircraft. The cream shade is a mix of Vallejo Deep Yellow and White. The petrol shade was difficult to recreate. In the end I went for a bottle of Mission Models Aotaki Blue Green Clear Coat.
- I printed my own decals for the registration codes. Even though I realised Hergé just drew the code letters by feel I spent considerable time looking for a suitable font, but in the end I came to the conclusion that fonts that have a rectangular (or octagonal, really) O will not have a Y with the arms terminated at right angles, so I modified a suitable typeface by hand in Adobe Illustrator.
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In modifying and accurizing the Bonanza kit I had invaluable help from Leonard Wieczorek’s three-plan drawing in Model Airplane News, December 1949; the American Bonanza Society; and Graeme Molineaux’ Bonanza walkaround.
