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Barkley-Grow T8P-1 Passenger plane - Execuform, 1/72nd.


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What is a thing that looks like a Lockheed Model 12 Electra and a Beech 18, but is neither?

A 1937-born Barkley-Grow T8P-1, of course!

Continuing with the vacuum-formed building trend, here is a product from Execuform, that gives you the basic shapes as a sort of base onto which you have to add the detail you want. Only the main shapes come in the kit with some leaflets containing a plan, images and information. The decals and accessories (engine, wheels, cockpit and cabin detail) are to be provided by the modeler. I have built products from this brand before and they should be considered a white canvas onto which you can express your modeling artistry, on subjects most of the time nowhere to be found as injected or resin kits. If do some scratch-building, Execuform saves you a lot of time by producing the masters and pulling the styrene shells, but they are not meant as complete kits.

The Barkley-Grow was not a particularly successful design, although it managed to operate with a number of airlines and private owners. Three airframes seem to be still today being exhibited at museums.

The Barkley-Grow was operated on wheels, skis and floats, making it especially useful as a bush plane in Canada, where it saw a bit of recognition, negated to it in the US.

The seaplane version had an additional, smaller, central vertical stabilizer. The land version had a fixed landing gear with characteristic pants.

Of pleasant lines and uncomplicated design, especially on wheels, it makes a good candidate to try your skills at this somewhat neglected media. It teaches you in the process quite a bit.

Notable operators were Canadian Pacific, the US Antarctic Service, Yukon Southern Air Transport, Pacific Western, Northland, Prairie Airways, Associated Airlines, a private individual: Alexander Papana (YR-AHA, Trăiască Regele "Long Live the King", same exact registration by the way wore by Papana's Bellanca 28-92 trimotor), and the Peruvian government (OB-GGK, Cruz de Chalpón).

 This is what you get in the Execuform package. The basic shapes and reference material:

39907726224_edf0378649_b.jpg

 

Outlines with a permanent marker to easily located the edge of the parts:

39907726064_f11d015b4e_b.jpg

 

Parts off the backing sheet (keep the scraps. they will be used later):

39907725964_1a1a608be4_b.jpg

 

Parts sanded up to the line previously traced:

39907725734_bccb661feb_b.jpg

 

Excursion to the spares bin and aftermarket parts drawers to find engines, props, wheels, etc.:

39907725554_7045a56b30_b.jpg

 

Separating the future cowls:

39907725334_8c8e665bb4_b.jpg

 

Gluing the cowl and float halves (not sure yet if I will present the model on floats are panted wheels):

39907725144_1a4f51baee_b.jpg

 

Floats and cowls with a cursory tide-up (notice the roundish stern on the floor, that has to be sawed off:

39907724984_153c91f646_b.jpg

 

Stern sawed off to real shape (the floats are a few millimeters longer to allow you to do this):

39907723924_5707b6a202_b.jpg

 

Float noses also come with the kit, in case you feel you need them to achieve a better shape -or mess-up):

39907724784_d57ab46c83_b.jpg

The kit provides cowl fronts:

40576363592_4f21228d4c_b.jpg

 

Carburetor intakes from unknown donor. As they are hollowed and firm in the drill bit, the mold edges are cleaned up:

39722916495_e94bd4d6e1_b.jpg

 

Just in case the struttery for the floats is being prepared (I WANT MORE CONTRAIL AEROFOIL MATERIAL!!!!):

39907724424_0c3a0b84dc_b.jpg

 

Inner "N" float struts assembled. Passenger seats scratched, pilot-copilot seats and control wheel from spares box:

39907724294_07ce4bccdd_b.jpg

 

Remember I said do not discard the scraps? here a cockpit/cabin floor is made of from a piece:

39722913255_3de4f0d323_b.jpg

 

Dry run of the setup:

39907724114_c2539e49a9_b.jpg

 

To deal with the roundish (inaccurate) finish of the float step, a cut is made:

40576363182_e8cc2e38c9_b.jpg

 

A styrene sheet piece is inserted in the cut with glue:

39722915785_aaafa7ef2d_b.jpg

 

So the blobby area can be later on removed:

40576362992_633432c410_b.jpg

39907721234_3218acdc1c_b.jpg

 

After the glue has set, then you can cap the stern:

40576362812_7648d94be7_b.jpg

The float bottom flutes will have to be "sharpened" a bit using sandpaper wrapped on a dowel of appropriate diameter.

 

Edited by Moa
to correct typo
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The tail surfaces have to be thinly sanded, without excesses. The two parts on the left still need some thinning down:

40622220731_00cd82da65_b.jpg

 

Correct sanding is the clue to any vacuum-formed model:

40622220381_a1bf7f0f7f_b.jpg

 

Pants are separated:

39911856794_7244cf10cd_b.jpg

 

Using a contour gauge the bulkheads are made from the scrap plastic. Some of the halves are glued together. Demarcation of windows and doors begins:

39911856594_10c8448b8b_b.jpg}

 

Separation lines for all control surfaces will have now to be engraved. The tail has a complex assembly, and that will have to be taken care of too.

Edited by Moa
to correct typo
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Wow, another one I've never heard of. Those basic sheets are the worst use of plastic sheet I think I've ever seen in a vac kit. There seems to have been no thought given to part spacing and minimising wastage!

 

Ian

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I also had never heard of this aircraft, and the very fact a real one and a vacform exist of it is more than enough motivation to build it, personally not a great lover of Execuform vacs though, haven't built one for more that 25 years, and that didn't turn out well.

You on the other hand are doing a great job, will be following this one.  

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2 hours ago, limeypilot said:

Wow, another one I've never heard of. Those basic sheets are the worst use of plastic sheet I think I've ever seen in a vac kit. There seems to have been no thought given to part spacing and minimising wastage!

 

Ian

Hi Ian

I think that the separation of the molded parts has to do with providing a good and even plastic thickness throughout the sheet. If you put the parts too close you generate on one side wrinkles, and may be too-stretched styrene in some areas.

At least that was my experience using the Mattel vacuforming machine.

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Never knew a vac or any type existed of this aeroplane. looks like a very basic vac form kit and your work on it so far is looking good. But I did know of its existence following my very first visit to Canada and the Aerospace Museum at Calgary, Alberta, just by the airport.  They have one there and what was interesting is the construction technique use in the building of it. Some kind of truss/trellis work to the wings and hexagonal spars. Something like that.   

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9 hours ago, Moa said:

Hi Ian

I think that the separation of the molded parts has to do with providing a good and even plastic thickness throughout the sheet. If you put the parts too close you generate on one side wrinkles, and may be too-stretched styrene in some areas.

At least that was my experience using the Mattel vacuforming machine.

That makes sense, I've just never seen anything looking quite so random!

 It looks as though you're doing a fine job on it so far too!

 

Ian

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7 hours ago, Paul J said:

Never knew a vac or any type existed of this aeroplane. looks like a very basic vac form kit and your work on it so far is looking good. But I did know of its existence following my very first visit to Canada and the Aerospace Museum at Calgary, Alberta, just by the airport.  They have one there and what was interesting is the construction technique use in the building of it. Some kind of truss/trellis work to the wings and hexagonal spars. Something like that.   

 

The one you saw at Calgary is the same one that's in Edmonton now. I first saw in Calgary during a Family visit, in 1999. A dew years late it was moved to Edmonton.

Here's a picture from that '99 visit.

 

Calgary'99 007

 

And here's another that was also at Calgary at that time, but I didn't get it's registration.

 

Calgary'99 001

 

 

Chris

Edited by dogsbody
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CF-BLV was NOT the one at Calgary when I went there in 2002. I would have remembered the yellow registration letters. It was CF-BQM on floats if I recall right.  The images above sgow the wing structure I was trying to explain. Nice to know there are more than just the one or two existing.

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You are all more than kind.

Thanks for posting the photos, Chris, they will give fellow modelers an idea of the type.

That's right, Paul, and you can see that unusual wing structure in the photos posted by Chris.

 

I continue to build the fixed landing gear and the float version, jut to give an idea of the process for not so experienced modelers, but I think I almost made my mind on seaplane "Belvedere", which eventually became one of the museum airframes.

Belvedere (CF-BQM) had a blue fuselage and white flying surfaces and logo, with the floats painted in aluminium.

My other options were also a seaplane flown by Pacific Western, with and attractive scheme, and a more traditional Canadian Pacific machine on wheels, just because long time ago my grandfather flew Canadian Pacific from Argentina to the US.

 

Here the cowls are dry-fitted to the nacelles. So far, if you did things right, the fit is good and the outlines are correct:

38829154000_9d2bd2434f_b.jpg

 

 

Edited by Moa
To correct mistake
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Work continues on the floats:

38831767930_4ef6160156_b.jpg

 

Belvedere had its intakes on the exterior upper quarters of the nacelles, the usual lower intake being absent.

I made the intakes already for the land version, and here the other ones are being made from a sprue leftover, first heating and bending (be careful):

38831767840_1e4e2ef40e_b.jpg}

 

Then cutting off the elbows:

26770301088_2d8f4afd2a_b.jpg

 

Then flattening the area closer to the nacelle (base of the intake mouth), and later carefully hollowing out the intake a bit:

26770301008_34634988d7_b.jpg

 

 

 

Edited by Moa
To correct mistake
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11 hours ago, Courageous said:

More excellent work from 'Mr Vacform' :yes:.

Hi Courageous:

,-)

I am, though, an equal-opportunity builder, and actually love them all: injected, vacs, resins. Bring them on! ;-)

Vacs, though, were for me especially important, since they helped me develop many skills later applied in many, many, scratch-building projects.

Vacs teach you enormities. And they help push your modeling boundaries, subject-wise and skills-wise.

But again, I love them all.

And of course, there are out there so many modelers much more qualified than me, true masters indeed. Once again I point (among many others) to the exceptional work of the Queen's subject Roger Holden.

I just like to play, and have fun. And in the process hopefully achieve a decent enough model.

 

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Now is a good time to look for things that need to be drilled, patched, reinforced, etc, before the parts are put together. In this case the holes for the exhaust tubes:

26790338588_e656d0e8a5_b.jpg

 

The kit presents a conundrum, since the aft-wing surface is represented both in the fuselage and the wing itself. You can't just glue to wing on, the area becomes way too thick, so one has to go. I opted for trimming the fuselage bit, since it was thick anyway:

26790338838_9e8063f0a7_b.jpg

 

26790338538_9e5febc853_b.jpg

 

Dry fit:

26790338458_5965d9b73f_b.jpg

 

Piece for repair:

26790338358_1fca77587d_b.jpg

 

Now, after all those openings...

25791761237_28b9bf4a38_b.jpg

 

First the openings are drilled, then, VERY CAREFULLY, enlarged using other bits on the Dremel, step by step...

25791761077_b2ba727c2f_b.jpg

 

Maintain symmetry where needed:

40620310692_c60d19d661_b.jpg

 

Hand tools are better for the final approach:

25791761037_0f53092645_b.jpg

 

Mold blemish, perfect to show that there are solutions for most things (like the little triangular bit above to patch the fuselage bottom too large cut):

40620310592_bd211859d1_b.jpg

 

40620310472_aa638e607e_b.jpg

 

Thin part fabricated to reinforce the area from the interior:

40620310402_ef61542505_b.jpg

 

Glued on:

25791761007_7f1bdd3e67_b.jpg

 

And once the patch is dry, may be Milliput (better than trying to build up with putty, which sometimes tends to soften the plastic) on the affected outside area and then sanding/contouring.

 

Edited by Moa
correct typo
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The floats are given a coat of primer to detect blemishes:

38853168780_5d356c86a2_b.jpg}

 

One good thing about this kit is that the plastic is wonderful to work with, and its gauge is conveniently thick (not overly) so sanding and repairs are easy, and structural integrity is preserved (no flimsiness).

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