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Thanks Chris!

Very kind, cheers!

Hi Bill May be you could write to Lars at Khee-Kha and offer to purchase separately a few (to make postage worth it). His props (several types) come with his engines, which are very good too, and I bought a number of them from him. And hey! I am so old that my friends call me Pre-Cambrian, but I like to be thought of as "contemporary" 😉 I believe people tend to think that given the span -and most of all the quick evolution of aviation- anything after WW2 is "modern", if not really contemporary -according to the definition of the word. .

The replacement proppies are ready:

Painting of the kit's engine (a little jewel, by the way) will allow me to glue it to the fuselage and proceed to join the halves. Pity just the very top will only be seen of it: Water radiator and home-made exhaust are painted too. I also prepared an anchor, although I have no idea if the plane had one, but I think it's a good accessory to have in your seaplane, in case you are in trouble in relatively shallow water and don't want to drift away to the middle of the ocean:

Slowly working with the oils to resemble wood surface:

Clear parts get their acrylic bath:

Look at the de-FormaPlane fuselage. I have not seen that shape of door in any of the photos or plans I have of the Cessna. The deeply engraved fuselage stringers are supposed to be above the surface, and those panel lines would make Matchbox very jealous! : Back to the KP kit, working on the interior and engines:

You are very kind, as the models are more the product of enthusiasm than skill. I have crossed the red thin line many times! Besides a few civil racers converted from ex WW2 fighters: Hawker Hart: https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235045681-hawker-hart-racer-amodel-arctic-decals-172nd-scale/ Hurricane: https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235045684-hawker-hurricane-racer-completed-academylifelike-decals/ Corsair: https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235045891-corsair-f2g-racer-special-hobby-172nd-scale-multimedia-kit/ And a couple of converted Avro Anson: https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235060549-avro-anson-london-school-of-flying-airfix-172-vintage-kit-conversion/ https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235058452-avro-anson-modified-airfix-172nd/ There were these: Aero Commander: https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235057303-aero-commander-680-comet-181-scale-conversion-completed/ Republkic Seabee: https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235076175-republic-seabee-highly-modified-mach-2-172nd-kit/ Tallmantz Phoenix: https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235043312-flight-of-the-phoenix-scratchbuilt-172nd-scale-timmtallmantz-p-1-phoenix/ Tipsy Junior: https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235053122-tipsy-junior-dujin-172nd-the-kit-noir-french-genre/ Fairey Rotodyne: https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235050456-fairey-rotodyne-172-airfix/ Wainfan Facetmobile: https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235050778-wainfan-fmx-4-facetmobile-1993-scratchbuilt-172/ Even a Tardis!: https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235053079-is-the-tardis-a-flying-machine/

I just realized that I had "Cessna's Golden Age", by Abel, Abel and Matt, and "Cessna, A master's expression" by Phillips. The former has several pages on the T-50/Crane/Bobcat, but not much unfortunately on the civil side of things. The latter has much more interesting things for me in general, as it features many Cessna civil types of the esoteric sort I love, but not much again on the T-50 that interested me. Who would have known that references are to be studied before you build the kit! Also: it seems that there is no such things as a quickie build, it's a modeling urban myth. Darn you, Space Rangers! 👾🚀

Thanks, Michael! I believe some radial engines do not have baffles, but it seems this one has them, as per your illustrations. The kit's engines lack detail, and doesn't have the oil sump or carb intake, hence the replacement, but thanks again for pointing out to the detail of the baffles, which I totally missed. I appreciate the generous offer, but, in this particular case, the less I know the happier I will be, given that this is a (relatively) quickie to have some relaxing fun -as stated at the beginning-. I even shunned away from performing the usual tricks, like lowering the flaps, deflecting the elevators, or opening the door. My knowledge of this type of plane is scarce -to say the very least-, and not my usual cuppa (as noted already by fellow BMers!) hence a bit outside of my sphere of interest. I have in the stash a somewhat similar project, a Percival Vega gull, a kit that I deem in more or less the same league, again not my area of interest, but potentially another "fun" project in the intervals between dealing with dragons. I think this kit in the good hands of knowledgeable modelers like yourself has a lot of potential, and wouldn't be surprised if there is -or will soon be- a nice after market resin/photo-etched set to improve it. Moreover: I have to confess that I also bought the Amodel Taylor JT-1/2 dual kit, after seeing it built here at BM. You guys are such a bad influence! I will have to pay for these "normal" builds karma working my monk's behind on some esoteric vacs/resins/short run kits later on, no doubt!

While the paint dries, a modeling monk mustn't remain idle. Therefore the horrid FormaPlane kit parts are excised and sanded down, as part of the harsh training we all commit to: The more I look at this FormaPlane vague resemblance of a kit, the more horrified I am.

Dry-run of the nacelles, the fit is actually very good, needing only a nudge here and there: Cowls and wheels are setup for ulterior painting:

😁 Nah, it's an alright kit, I am just a nagging imp. In fact, compared to similar offerings from alike manufacturers, I rate this quite fairly. Regarding the tool, they did issue a lot of military versions, and in fact the interior color calls for some of the civil decals they provide is inaccurate, serving only the previous military releases. Manufacturers releasing pure civil model are far and between (KP did), standing ovation for them! (but also a cheer to those who provide at least some civil versions). But it is true that manufacturers pretend to make mistakes to keep us on our toes! () Thanks Chris!

Base colors are airbrushed. The floats will later be given the oil treatment to better simulate wood:

Base colors are applied:

Beautiful model of a truly charming little plane. I have built the vintage Heller kit many times, a delight.

Great job, and nice throw back!

Now to shorten those legs just a bit:

One has to admit that was a truly impressive plane! Majestic, one could even say. Nice going!

The modifications I am making require as explained the addition of firewalls:

The instructions tell you to glue the side windows from inside. Checking the area I discovered a mold flaw that filled the edge of one of the windows: The offending bead is removed with a small rotary burr: I make my own lights, so their position is drilled and a couple prepared for later addition: Some parts readied for priming and a bit of paint: The cowls are thinned down, especially at their trailing edges for a more realistic look:

My modeling foray into more contemporary subjects is causing some brow raising! 😁 Before the apocalypse Mrs Moa and yours truly we were studying trying to study a bit of Japanese. Once we master it, in the next two or three millennia, we may try Gaelic or Welsh!

Thanks Chris Just aiming to a relaxing Holidays build... 😁 Mrs Moa gym bike is a thing of wonder! And after assembling it only two bolts mysteriously remained! 😆 I told her that our kits also have surplus parts! Instructions, who needs them? 🤪

Thanks Jörgen, let's hope that this is a relatively relaxed build! I was so proud after assembling my wife's bicycle without a hitch, but then she asked me if it was as complicated as assembling the car you are building! I almost cried with my pride shattered!