Van Melle's GAL ST-25 Monospar- Azur/Special Hobby 1/72nd scale + Arctic Decals + Dekno's Pobjoy

 

Here is "Double Eagle", the elegant plane purchased in 1935 by the Van Melle confectionery of the Netherlands as a company transport, to deliver merchandise and as a promotional plane offering rides to their customers. Transporting candy and happy children instead of bombs, what a concept! 

I only wish this kit could be released yet again but with an injected transparency and masks, as the vac canopy and its complex masking are a bit of an Achilles heel that may make the not-so-experienced modeler shy away from it.

This is a nice little kit of a relatively unusual plane that nonetheless I have seen built in numbers by the modeling community, especially in civil guise. This is a rare occurrence in the modeling universe, so a hurrah for Azur / Special Hobby civil releases (and those of other hobby companies, like 72Topia, Khee-Kha, Dekno, SBS, Avis, Amodel, Dora, Williams Bros, Clear Prop, etc.). It brings hope to my heart, so much needed now.

This kit won’t give you much trouble in spite of its short run nature, and if you are interested, the step-by-step build post -and some historical notes- can be found here:

https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2024/08/gal-monospar-st25-dubbele-arend-of-van.html

I mentioned in the building post that I have built before another Monospar:

https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2021/09/gal-st-25-monospar-azur-172nd-injected.html

And recently in parallel with this one a third:

https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2025/01/gal-monospar-st-12-airlines-of.html

To add interest I prepared an interchangeable "in service" engine using a Dekno Models 3D-printed engine. It can be removed to plug-in the normal cowl and prop provided with the kit.

A very beautiful Arctic Decals set was used to complete the model.

 

Now, if it’s not too much asking…could we have a civil ST.18 Monospar? Any takers?

And exchanging the kit's cowl for the Dekno Pobjoy engine:

 I had forgotten to add the wheels' lettering, so here are a few more:

These planes were never together, but it's still nice to see them side-by-side: