Hughes Spruce Goose Airplane

Nicknamed the "Spruce Goose" by the media for its all plywood construction, the HK-1 Hercules is the largest airplane ever to fly. Designed to carry 700 troops across the Atlantic, the project started as a joint venture between Henry Kaiser and Howard Hughes but Henry Kaiser pulled out and Howard Hughes continued on thoughout the war. Criticized by Washington and scorned by the press, he made believers out of everyone when on November 2nd, 1949, with Howard Hughes at the controls for a taxi test, he advanced the eight throttles and took off for a one mile flight across Long Beach harbor, its only flight. For the next 35 years, the Spruce Goose was hidden from the public in a locked hanger at the Hughes Aircraft factory in Culver City, California. When its imminent destruction was rumoured, a group of aviation enthusiasts rescued the plane and made arrangements for it to be displayed in Long Beach. Now in McMinnville, Oregon the Spruce Goose awaits completion of a new aviation museum which will house the plane.

This model by MiniCraft is very nicely detailed. In scale 1/200.