Voir et Savoir – 1/144 scale projects

The finished models:

More finished models:

The passion:

Around 1940, Hergé decided he wanted to use Tintin as a vehicle to explore a comprehensive history of the world, from the lives of ancient peoples, to most exotic of cultures and countries, to the science and engineering marvels of the modern world.  Although that ambitious plan never really took shape, in the late 1940s a series of chromolithographs focused on the history of transport started appearing in the weekly Tintin publication – alternating between highlighting naval and aviation technologies.

Later, after Jacques Martin replaced Edgar P. Jacobs the project became formalized under the title of Voir et Savoir (meaning “See and Know”).  In the mid-1950s, under the direction of Hergé and featuring the work of Jacques Martin, Bob de Moor, Roger Leloup and Georges Fouillé, five collections (each comprised of 60 illustrations) were released under the following sections:

  • The Automobile, from origins to 1900
  • Aviation War, 1939-1945
  • Aviation, from origins to 1914
  • The Navy, from origins to 1700
  • The Navy, 1700 to 1850

In total, 300 chromos were published.  Although long out of print and hard to find, they have been collected and published in book form twice.

The Voir et Savoir chromos:

Voir et Savoir PLUS:

Why limit yourself? Hergé and friends may have only done 60 chromos as part of the “Aviation War, 1939-1945” collection, but there are a lot more WII-era planes (give or take) that could be featured.  So this collection is basically an expanded version of my Voir et Savoir 1/144 project… only there’s no boundaries! Be warned – the list grows at random.

  • P01: Mitsubishi A7M2 “Reppu” (Sam)
  • P02: Polikarpov I-16 “Ishak”
  • P03: F4U-4 “Corsair”
  • P04: Lavochkin La-5
  • P05: Macchi C.200 “Saetta”
  • P06: Nakajima Ki-44 “Shoki” (Tojo)
  • P07: F6F-5 “Hellcat”
  • P08: Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-3
  • P09: Kawasaki Ki-45 “Toryu” (Nick)
  • P10: Nakajima B6N2 Type 12 (Jill)
  • P11: Kawasaki Ki-48 “Sokei” (Lily)
  • P12: N1K2-J “Shiden-Kai” (George)
  • P13: Messerschmitt Bf110E
  • P14: Aichi B7A “Ryusei” (Grace)
  • P15: Aichi D3A Type 99 (Val)
  • P16: Aichi E13 (Jake)
  • P17: Arado Ar 96
  • P18: Bell P-63 “Kingcobra”
  • P19: Brewster F2A “Buffalo”
  • P20: Consolidated PBY “Catalina”
  • P21: Curtiss SB2C “Helldiver”
  • P22: Dornier Do 17
  • P23: Henschel Hs 126
  • P24: Junkers G.38
  • P25: Junkers Ju 52
  • P26: Junkers Ju 88
  • P27: Kawanishi H8K (Emily)
  • P28: Kawasaki Ki-61 “Hien” (Tony)
  • P29: Kugisho P1Y “Ginga” (Frances)
  • P30: Kyushu J7W “Shinden”
  • P31: Messerschmitt BF110E2
  • P32: Mitsubishi A5M4 (Claude)
  • P33: Mitsubishi G4M (Betty)
  • P34: Mitsubishi Ki-21 (Sally)
  • P35: Mitsubishi Ki-46 (Dinah)
  • P36: Mitsubishi Ki-51 (Sonia)
  • P37: Mitsubishi Ki-67 “Hiryu” (Peggy)
  • P38: Nakajima A6M2-N (Rufe)
  • P39: Nakajima B5N (Kate)
  • P40: Nakajima C6N “Saiun” (Myrt)
  • P41: Nakajima G10N “Fugaku”
  • P42: Nakajima J1N “Gekko” (Irving)
  • P43: Nakajima Ki-43 “Hayabusa” (Oscar)
  • P44: Nakajima Ki-49 “Donryu” (Helen)
  • P45: Nakajima Ki-84 “Hayate” (Frank)
  • P46: U-2/PO-2
  • P47: Yakovlev Yak-1