Search the Community

After almost a year, I can now finally present the completed Phoenix models vac form of the T21 Sedbergh glider. Those of you that followed the WIP will know that this model took an immense amount of effort, with much of the fuselage being rebuilt in my quest for accuracy. I am particularly grateful to @stringbag for much very useful reference material and advice at the start of the build, a big thank you Chris! Also thanks to all those of you who followed the WIP with much encouragement. It was originally completed for Telford last year, but post that show I decided to re-do the cockpit windshields, and also replace the main wing struts with more accurate and stronger representations. At first my intention was to build an aircraft dated around the late 60's early 70's, in silver doped linen and dayglo, similar to the T31 I completed last year. In the end I decided to do a slightly later era white and red scheme. I used a mixture of Xtracrylics and Tamiya paints. Decals are Modeldecal for the roundels and home made for the rest. The original WIP can be found here: And finally some shots with her slightly older stablemate: Thanks for looking. Terry

A build from 10 years ago: What about another beautiful sailplane? First flight,1934!! Victor Nikolaevich Belyayev was part of a group of visionary designers that created innovative, ahead of their time planes. The BP-2, or TsAGI-2 was a high-efficiency, 20 meter span sailplane that used a variation of the “Babochka” –butterfly- wing. It was practically a flying wing, with “positive arrow”. As usual, not much exists around regarding this beautiful design, but I got enough from the Net to build the model. This plane seems to have been flown with and without a horizontal stabilizer mounted on top of the two fins. Some changes in the painting can be also detected. A year later another variant was created, the BP-3 or TsAGI-3, a two-place machine with changes mainly in the area of the “tail” and with the “centroplan” with a remarkable dihedral. Savvy modelers would have already noticed the resemblance with another plane from the same designer, the DB-LK twin-fuselage project of the WW-2 period. This is a relatively simple project, but you have to pay attention and aim for a sound engineering. I can’t tell you how much I enjoy scratching these designs. It takes me no more time than a normal kit (after a little practice, of course) and my potential subject horizon widens immensely. You can see the parts breakdown in the accompanying images. The “centroplan” actuated as the main “anchor” part to which all other sub-assemblies were attached. The pod, as said before, was provided with an interior and a minuscule vodka flask for the comfort of the Russian pilot in case cold weather has to be faced. Gliders/sailplanes are a growing segment of the modeling subject spectrum, which is a welcome alternative to what you usually see -again- in at the shelves in hobby stores and contests. This one in particular offers a daring design, a strong appeal and a relatively easy engineering. I am sure you can find many more.

A build from 11 years ago: Yet another glider! At about 5.5 meters span the Louis Clement triplane seems like something you can take on your carry-on bag to the nearest airstrip. It was first presented at the Paris Aero Salon in 1919 with an Anzani engine behind the pilot on top of the aft fuselage, transmitting power through an extension shaft to the propeller on the normal front position. One could say it was the ultra-light of the time. It reappeared in the Salon in 1921 without the engine. The Clement triplane was made of a rather complex tubular metal construction it was also braced outside with a number of wires that would make the delights of the 1/72 model builder. As you can see on the model, a tricycle landing gear was provided, with a nose wheel recessed in the front and the other two being located on the wingtips of the lower wing; an unusual arrangement for the time, no doubt. The pilot, its only occupant, had the plane built around him, the only way he could get in. Anyway, by 1922, with the engine removed, the plane was presented at the Combegrasse gliding competition where, according to press reports, managed quite well considering its cumbersome design and aerodynamics, but ended up having a too close and sudden encounter with the ground. I saw a youtube clip where you can see this thing actually flying, but unfortunately I lost the link to it. As you can assume, in 1/72 it is indeed tiny and somehow vaguely resembles the Fokker DR1, save that is far less famous and it is not red, for which it is unlikely to be kitted in the next 300 years. Nevertheless, even small as it is, it consumed a certain amount of parts, time and patience. For the ones with shelf space issues, some leftovers in the styrene bin and perhaps a certain sense of humor.

A model from 11 years ago: Let's try with another glider: French extravagance and flair is not just limited to fashion, as this Alérion Peyret of 1922 demonstrates. Of tandem-wing configuration and with a fuselage in need of a corset, it nevertheless won the soaring competition –at the hands of Maneyrol- at Itford, England, in 1922 setting an endurance record of 3 hours 22 minutes. Some time later Maneyrol pushed the record beyond the 8 hours mark with the same plane. The model: At 6.6 meters of span it is small in 1/72 scale. Images will walk you through the building process. An interior, as succinct as conjectural, was provided. Wheels from Aeroclub, struts were from Contrail and Strutz!, but you have to eat Liverwurst as you use the latter, which guaranties success.

A build from 10 years ago: Why not an unusual glider to break the routine? At the beginning of the 20’s German students grouped in associations to promote gliding. One of those was located in the Berlin area and gave birth to a number of designs, the fist of which is presented here. It is not clear if this tail-less design had such economy of materials because of the tough after-war times or perhaps due to the influence of the Etrich zanonia-type gliders. In any case the attractive lines of “Charlotte” were enough for me to have a go at her. I was introduced to this remarkable lady by fellow modeler and friend Sönke Schulz. The number of gliders in my collections tends to increase noticeably, perhaps –besides their undeniable aesthetic qualities- due the fact that they do not have engines, propellers, wheels... or tails as in this case. But do not fool yourself; this one is made of more than fifty parts. Fellow modeler and friend Jim Schubert from Puget Sound told me that indeed the Akaflieg B1 was designed after the experience of WWI, when pilots had their enemies attacking almost invariably positioned at their tails. The absence of such tails, says Jimmy, would have deterred enemies from attacking. Hum. Being this a small article I will compensate by passing on some modeling wisdom in the form of 12 ½ suggestions: 1) Forget about what you painfully learned with your previous models. There is always room for invention –and oblivion. 2) Collect a reasonable number of references. Don’t even look at them until you are finished. 3) If you want to try something risky, and you got that very complex and time-consuming model almost ready, now it’s the time. 4) Write-down a suitable sequence for painting and gluing parts that will alleviate your burden during building and save you time. Leave it underneath some reference books and forget about it (see 2) 5) Very sparingly glue the interior parts. Knock the model against a hard surface when close to completion. You will get a very pleasant, maraca-like rattling effect. 6) Set-apart the more delicate parts in a separate container. Go and do something. Anything will do. Come back and sit on top of them. That’ll teach’em. 7) For painting your painstaking, beloved masterpiece, choose a windy, dusty day. Do it out there, on the balcony or out the garage. Ah, fresh air. You may feel as if you were Lawrence of Arabia making models in the wild dunes. And you will probably obtain alike results. 8 ) Do start a model and once you are half-way, meticulously store the thing in the darkest crag of your closet/cabinet. Come back to it by the time you have forgotten all the insights you had regarding construction and ways to correct/improve it. 9) Scratch-build that nightmare that you always wanted, and carefully finish it by the time a kit is finally mass produced and on the shelves for a ridiculously low price 10) Need the right tool but is out of reach? Nah, use the other one that’s just on the table. It won’t work the same, or probably won’t work at all, but in the process you will manage to ruin the part. That will give you the chance to get more practice time doing it all over again or even learn how to scratch-build it!. A similar procedure could be used for materials and almost all modeling supplies. 11) Get carried away and glue all the pointy/fragile bits before you are completely finished, let’s say before painting or decaling. Then look at the model in a state of dismay until the next season (see 8). 12) Run out of the paint you were using in the middle of the job? May be you can use that suspicious other one at the bottom of your drawer; then you will achieve two things: the colors will never match and the coat underneath will crackle/blister/melt and/or otherwise produce remarkable –although not necessarily desired- special effects. 13) back to 1)

To contribute with more gliders, a build from 2 years ago. Szybowiec Bydgoszczanka.... Not an easy name for me to pronounce, but otherwise a beautiful machine. The first word means "glider", and the second -I surmise- means "from the city of Bydgosz" or "Bydgoszoan", if I am wrong please let me know. I have built a number of Polish planes, remarkable how that little country can produce such an amazing number of significant planes (Note: as I repost this I currently have a WIP of the RWD-5). Photos show a version with landing skids (not snow skis) and another with wheels. Images also show a few changes in the rudder position and minor details, so study your photos before committing. I made the wheels but as exchangeable items, gluing the skids on sleeves and barely fixing them with white glue. Searches rendered a very nice plan, courtesy of some Polish modelers to whom I am grateful, at least one model I don't have to make the building plans for! I saw on the Net a 1/48th scale version and a 1/72nd scale version (the latter in paper), and also a radio-controlled model. With all the info gathered I started to think about the engineering of the model and opted for a pre-formed aluminum boom and modified airfoiled brass "Strutz" (courtesy as we know of Andrew from the Foglands). Several other elements were done in various metals; a Fotocut chair was prepared, and the flying surfaces were constructed the usual way. Other necessary parts were scratched from styrene. If it's true that this model does not have an engine/prop to worry about, it does have lots and lots of rigging and a very complex exposed fuselage structure. Rigging, as we know, is a word whose mere mention will give even the most experienced builders a case of the jitters. The model will need a few decals, which I commissioned as usual from Mika at Arctic Decals.

A model from about a year ago, to add some variety to the pool. SZD-9 Bocian https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SZD-9_Bocian Among the oldies but goldies kits there is this Polish glider, OOP now of course that nevertheless is frankly quite good. The kit had many incarnations, and it is relatively easy to find. I comissioned a set from Arctic Decals to complete the model, having found a more appealing scheme than the kit offered online. This Polish kit of very good molding depicts the 1D variant, SP-1862, so if you want other liveries just be sure you get the variant right, since many were created with changes in the airframe, some subtle, some very evident. The surfaces, where applicable, are highly polished (well, this is a Polish kit after all) or show a fabric effect. The meaning of the text on the box and in the instructions remains hidden to me, but there are clear enough schematics to guide you. Decals seem fine, instructions are simple and in a size that doesn't require a microscope to interpret them, the transparency is quite ok and even a display base is included. All in a plastic sleeve and in a sturdy, Russian era, two-component cardboard box, than more than anything else, elicits sympathy for the Polish people, who with scarce resources, hardly any capital, and a small market, managed to create a very good kit that some contemporary (circa 1980) US mainstream kits (backed by capital, resources and a huge market) would have liked to have. I am not really that much into gliders (I have scratchbuilt three so far, IIRC) but I loved building this one, simple and good and appealing and well engineered. I made a vac canopy and added a few details. The commissioned decal set is seen here:

Another glider also from about a year ago. Second of the four vintage kits of Polish gliders of the fifties that I purchased at Palm Springs desert is the "Gil" (bullfinch). The first one, The Bocian, is posted here: As with the Bocian, I started by gathering references, of which I found a decent number in Polish websites to cover for details like the instrument panel and such. The same sort of naive box illustration is present, as well as decals, a very nice transparent canopy and the reasonably-sized instruction drawings and the -seemingly customary for the manufacturer- display pedestal. The kit has seen a couple of re-boxings with new graphics.

Here is Sir George’s flying carriage in all its kite-looking beauty. I made this model some time ago, but thought of posting now here for the fellow BModelers. I followed neither the “flying” replicas nor the modern renditions but the original Cayley’s drawings. In his description he states that wire or rope may be used for the rigging, so I used “rope”, more accordingly to contemporary ballooning and nautical practices. In his drawings the fore mast does not protrude above the sail, and so it was depicted here too. The sight of such aviation dawn designs is refreshing and helps us understand and appreciate the hard labor, keen minds and ingenuity of the aviation pioneers.

I built this model some time ago, but the subject popped in conversation as the result of the posting yesterday of the scratchbuilt model of the Cayley Flying Carriage Yet another multimedia kit from DR Design of Brazil, like the Clement Ader Avion III I just posted, with its pros and cons. Caveat Emptor. I decent model can be made of it with patience and persistence.

And the last pioneer machine for today, yet another Lilienthal design, a biplane. Also made long ago, but in the same vein. The comments are the same as the ones made in today's related pioneer posts. A tricky multimedia kit, but nice to have a kit of these more arcane designs.

Yet another pioneer machine, one of the many Otto Lilienthal's designs, a kit I made some time ago and also related to the post of the scratchbuilt Cayley's Flying Carriage. The DR Design kit from Brazil presents its challenges, and requires patience and skill, but can be turned into a decent model:

1:50 & 1:60 gliders from Hasegawa November 2016 unknown types for me http://www.hasegawa-model.co.jp/16ajhs_s/

1/72 SG-28 gliders from KP. They come two-in-a-box, and there are several boxings with different markings and options, though all of the spurs are the same. Really simple kits – the Polish version with the gondola only had 11 parts. (I admit the camo on the Polish version is somewhat spurious, the KP instructions were quite vague and I couldn't find any other references.) Rigged with Uschi van der Rosten fine thread, turnbuckles are from Bob's Buckles. SaveSave

Good Morning everyone! Attached you can find a few (non professional) pictures of my latest model as part of the "old stash clearup" Nice and simple kit released by Revell about 10 years ago. The paint was Revell's enamel protected by a good few layers of Humbrol Clear. I still have to learn and practice with the airbrush as the surface was very "sandpapery" Thanks for watching and any comments welcome. Roland

This build is going to be a model of the K-21 that I learned to fly and soloed in Not sure which of these two is the aircraft I soloed in as I neglected to record the GGA reg No in my logbook. Recording on Red K-21 Long Mynd. I know that the K-21 I flew was later in an accident but not sure if she was scrapped or replaced Bungee launching from the western slopes of the Long Mynd, this is a fun way to be launched or being a member of the launch crew, especially when the bungee rope snaps! Looking forward to this one

Grob Viking Glider 1:48 Heritage Aviation Models The Grob G103A Twin II, or Viking T.1 in RAF service is a high performance twin seater sailplane or glider made by Grob Aircraft of Germany. The aircraft is made of glass fibre featuring a T-tail configuration. It has a six inch main wheel fitted behind the centre of gravity equipped with a hydraulic brake, and a nose wheel. Approach control is handles by top surface Schempp-Hirth type airbrakes. A total of 549 aircraft were produced with 100 being bought by The Royal Air Force for it's Air Cadets training programme. The aircraft is also used in the same role by The Belgian Air Cadets. The kit There is not much to this one. The kit consists of a one part moulded main fuselage, including the rudder. The two main wings, the tailplane, two seats, two instrument panels and two control columns. Care will be needed in cleaning up the main fuselange as the landing wheels are moulded on. The resin casting is good with no short shot areas or pinholes visible anywhere. Clean up will be minimal with none needed on the main wings. Canopy The canopy on this one is vacformed, its good that there are two because if you are like the reviewer you invariably stuff one up. The canopy is clear and well moulded. Decals The decals are printed by Fantasy Printshop and look up to their excellent standards. It looks like you are able to build any glider currently in service with the serials provided. The orange stripes for the nose and rudder are provided, however the rest of the orange areas on the wings will have to be painted. Instructions To quote from the Instructions "Its not exactly rocket science this one, so we'll let the pictures do the talking". Well they say a picture is worth a 1000 words but not here I am sorry to say. While fitting the main parts is no problem you are faced with different sized seats, and different sized instrument panels. No mention is made of which goes in which cockpit. I am told by someone who has flown one of these that the larger items go on the rear cockpit. A colour match for the orange to match the decals would also be helpful. Conclusion I think this is the only kit available of the Grob, with good resin casting and excellent decals the kit should make up into a nice model. Recommended. Review sample courtesy of Ian at

Using 3D designing tools, Kovozávody Prostějov (KP) is working on a new 1/72nd SG-38 Schulgleiter kit. Source: http://modelweb.modelforum.cz/2014/09/05/kovozavody-ve-3d/?lang=CS And MPM/Special Hobby is working om the same subject... http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234973208-172-sg-38-schulgleiter-sk-38-komar-by-mpm-productions-test-shots/ 1st box art - Other versions and boxing announced: K-38 Komár, Swedish G-101, Finnish SG-1 etc. V.P.

About time I start this. This is the kit: And here's proof of purchase: The picture links to the record of the original purchase on eBay, which won't remain there for much longer. You can also see the nice box, before it was shipped in a padded envelope... Good thing I'm not a hardcore collector. So what do we have here: The plastic is the well known Modela model that was sold under a few other brands as well. Detail is rather indistinctive and of the raised lines variety (The funny shape at the cockpit wall is supposed to depict a pouch...). Some improvisation will be called for here. Especially so as the cockpit of a glider is about the only opportunity to show some detail and the large canopy gives a clear insight. (The new AZ / Admiral model is much nicer here. But that would have been more than a Tenner...) This edition differs from the Modela offering in the marking options. Decals are printed by Propagteam. There is a quite nice white variant in blue and red trim (the Czech national colours), and two more Czech markings in more standard livery (one of those with the top-mounted engine; only three of these were ever built). And then there is the variant I intend to build: A natural metal bird (most Blaníks were NMF for the most part) of the British Air Training Corps. Looking at the Instructions you can see that there is not a lot to be built on such a glider. Main points are detailing a nice cockpit and duplicating the smooth skin that you try to maintain on these birds. I first thought about giving the Blaník a few dents and dings, but looking at pictures online I found that most of them are kept in pristine condition. On the lower side of the fuselage and the outer lower wing panels some wear and tear probably can't be avoided, but other than that they usually look spotless. This already brings me to a cry for help from the nice folk on this board: Have any of you been in Air Cadet training? I have no information whatsoever on the inside of this plane. I can make it fictious, but I'd rather stay close to the original. Questions in detail: Colour of the textile paneling an flooring? Colour of the seat cushions? Colour and style of seat harness? Colour and style of parachute used? Would an air cadet during flight training wear a uniform? Standard glider-issue pot-hat or Air Cadet beret? Thanks for any help you might be able to offer. Also entered in the Training Types GB

OK, so here goes: This is the kit: What do we have here: The plastic is the well known Modela model that was sold under a few other brands as well. Detail is rather indistinctive and of the raised lines variety (The funny shape at the cockpit wall is supposed to depict a pouch...). Some improvisation will be called for here. Especially so as the cockpit of a glider is about the only opportunity to show some detail and the large canopy gives a clear insight. (The new AZ / Admiral model is much nicer here. ) This edition differs from the Modela offering in the marking options. Decals are printed by Propagteam. There is a quite nice white variant in blue and red trim (the Czech national colours), and two more Czech markings in more standard livery (one of those with the top-mounted engine; only three of these were ever built). And then there is the variant I intend to build: A natural metal bird (most Blaníks were NMF for the most part) of the British Air Training Corps. Looking at the Instructions you can see that there is not a lot to be built on such a glider. Main points are detailing a nice cockpit and duplicating the smooth skin that you try to maintain on these birds. I first thought about giving the Blaník a few dents and dings, but looking at pictures online I found that most of them are kept in pristine condition. On the lower side of the fuselage and the outer lower wing panels some wear and tear probably can't be avoided, but other than that they usually look spotless. This already brings me to a cry for help from the nice folk on this board: Have any of you been in Air Cadet training? I have no information whatsoever on the inside of this plane. I can make it fictious, but I'd rather stay close to the original. Questions in detail: Colour of the textile paneling an flooring? Colour of the seat cushions? Colour and style of seat harness? Colour and style of parachute used? Would an air cadet during flight training wear an uniform? Standard glider-issue pot-hat or Air Cadet beret? Thanks for any help you might be able to offer. The build is also entered in the Less than a Tenner GB.

A few firsts for me here. I've never made a glider before, and I've never made a resin kit. I bought it a fews years back on a whim at Telford, and thought it would be good for this GB I couldn't make up my my on what to make next so a quick look in the GB area and decision made. First job, to straighten those wings! Hopefully it will be a quick build...........