Welbike Dragon 1/6

In 1942 and 1943, the British designed the Welbike for the airborne troops, a light folding scooter that could be stored in a container and then dropped with a parachute.

The Welbike weighed 70 pounds, had a range of 90 miles on a 3.7 liter fuel tank and its maximum speed was 50 km/h. The frame was designed extra strong to absorb the shocks after a parachute drop. The motorcycle was placed in a 4'3"x15'x12' container for a parachute drop, where the saddle, handlebars and handles had to be retracted or folded up. When loading the CLE container, the rear wheel was pointed towards the ground to prevent a hard landing of the container not to bend the front fork. The motorcycle was equipped with a 98cc Villiers Junior-de-Luxe engine block that was constructed horizontally. No War Office tests are known about actual use. To start, one had to start (start up) of the machine, first pull up the saddle and tighten the lock, unfold the handlebars and tighten the central nut, then open the fuel tap and build up pressure in the fuel tank with the hand pump mounted in the tank. Then float and start running with the decompressor retracted, the Release the compressor and the motor should start.

The construction kit.

The kit was without figure. The fit of the parts is a matter of searching. Parts such as the entire cabling and decals are missing. The construction manual is also quite confusing.

The model in the kit is a Type 2. They were only available in red-brown. The green ones were Type 1. Type 2 is the one with rear fender.

Dragon is apparently sloppy with their info.