Cessna 150 - Revell 1/48

[CedB]

Yes, you read that right, 1/48! It's not my WWII Europe main theme either, but I allow myself 'specials' and this is certainly one, if only for me.

 

John ( @Biggles87 ) will be happy I hope as he's been tempting me to leave 'the Gentleman's scale' for some time. Not that this is a permanent change... it's just that I can't find a 'proper scale' Cessna 150 (which would be tiny).

Actually I wanted a 152 Aerobat to model G-BHJB but this site says that "... all Cessna 150-152's are derived from the same airplane, and essentially the same." Good enough for me.

 

Why model Juliet Bravo? Because I have fond memories of learning to fly in her:

 

 

1986, good grief. 

OK, you can probably see from that page that I also spent time (and passed my PPL exam) in 'Victor Uniform' but she was a sort of bile green, bless her, and not 'our favourite'. Sorry VU.

 

Juliet Bravo not only had a 'cool' registration (remember the TV series?) but she was very well looked after.

It was in Juliet Bravo that I did my 'aerobatics'.

At that time they'd just removed the need to train on spin recovery but my instructor, David Maxwell (great chap), thought that was wussy. So we did that.

It was in Juliet Bravo that I hit my own prop wash practicing tight turns (scary).

In any event, she's the prettiest, so there.

 

These kits are quite rare and I had asked the owner at Salisbury Model Centre if he could stock them as 'quite a few people' would like to model their trainer. When I last visited he had a Minicraft one in stock but £30+ was a bit steep for me, although I did feel guilty (sorry Declan). Turns out that, according to Scalemates, that's a re-box of this kit anyway, first tooled in 1973.

 

I was lucky to win this one on eBay:

 

 

… in a sealed bag:

 

 

Nice. The transfers are shot but I won't be using those anyway.

Looks like a simple build:

 

 

 

 

 

Should be fun.

[HAMP man]

how many cutting mats does this man have? Last time I looked there was a whopping great Vulcany thing on it.

Box on

Strickers

[Hamden]

 

Should provide some light relief 

Looking forward to seeing this come to life

 

  Roger

[Brandy]

This should be interesting!

 I also did plenty of spin training (not required for PPL in the USA, but it is for Instructor training), and made a point of doing at least one with every student I taught. As far as I can recall, the only real visible difference is the full harness fitted to the airobat.

 

Ian

[keefr22]

Good grief Ced, you don't hang about do you?! I did the necessary extra training for my PPL after the UWAS Bulldogs on a Fuji 200 (lovely aeroplane) G-BAPM & a 150 which unfortunately I can't recall the full reg of - just that it was Yankee Foxtrot. And my log book went missing years ago. I do have a piccie of her somewhere which I hope to find one day! I've got 48th scale kits of all three of 'my' trainers to do too!

 

As to stall/spin training, it was still required in my day & I was glad of it too, when my instuctor demonstrated how vicious this otherwise docile little machine could be. I'd been a bit sloppy on one downwind leg during some circuit training & pulled a little hard to try & get back onto base leg. After another touch and go the instructor took us out into the general flying area & took us up a bit (lot!) higher than circuit height. He then did the same as I did but kept pulling harder & next thing she'd stalled & spun! We lost more height recovering than the 800 ft circuit altitude! I learnt a little bit more about flying from that!! 

 

Look forward to seeing this one come together, will she go on the ceiling or a nice little base on your desk?

 

Keith

 

Edit - the more I think about it, I'm sure 'my' 150 was G-AYYF. If it was she came to a sad end, but (very) luckily with no serious damage to the pilot;

 

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5422ff52ed915d1371000a13/Cessna_F150L__G-AYYF_03-91.pdf

[_frequentflyer_]

Not the best to get a right 150! Find the Heller kit at affordable price on Ebay! Much much better! Good luck

 

Alex (PPL owner as well)

[giemme]

47 minutes ago, keefr22 said:

Good grief Ced, you don't hang about do you?!

Indeed!  Slow down please, will ya? We can't quite keep up! 

 

 

 

Ciao

[Ben Brown]

I need to build one of those! I spent almost 500 hrs teaching in them, and flew one my company had purchased across the US, from California to eastern North Carolina. We taught spins as part of our PPL program, plus it was required as part of CFI training. A friend and I nearly killed ourselves trying to replicate Bill Kershner's spin films (he had one where he did 23 turns in a C-150!). We learned you lose a lot of altitude in a hurry, and the prop really does stop after 8 turns, every time.  😱  Oh, to be young and stupid again.

 

IIRC, the only difference between our Aerobat and the vanilla 150s were the afore-mentioned seat harnesses, the rooftop windows, and the doors had quick release handles. Pull the handle and the entire door came off. Ours also had a faint aroma of vomit....

 

Ben

[Azgaron]

Looks like a nice little kit! Nice to build a plane you have flown!

 

Håkan

 

[Biggles87]

So, 1/48 at last, even if it is only a spam can.

I did my PPL training on a Piper Colt ( yeah really ) and my stall/spin training in an Auster, which was another example of a docile aircraft turning viscous. If you tried to pick up the dropped wing with the stick, it did half a barrel roll and span like a top, losing a lot of height in the process, we usually started at about 3500 ft.

Oops, another story.

 

John

[huvut76g7gbbui7]

9 hours ago, CedB said:

Looks like a simple build:

Uh oh! Where have we heard that before?  Cue super detailed interior and 1/48 @CedB in the left hand seat.

[Tony Edmundson]

Just be aware that this kit of the C-150 is a mish-mash of features found on different models of the 150.  It has the cowling and flat doors of a mid 1960, the extended fin fairing and wheel spats of a post 1970, among other numerous particular items.

Still looks sorta-like a Cessna 150, though.

 

Cheers, Tony

[Courageous]

Our Ced looks like he's in a marathon.

Am I to take it that this bird is taking to the ceiling, and if so, what are you using for a pilot?

 

Stuart

[TheBaron]

 

9 hours ago, CedB said:

Should be fun.

Not without a 1/48 Ced at the controls....

[philp]

I have a 172 in 72nd in the stash but haven’t seen a 150 in our scale.

 

So Kay, can still watch.

[The Spadgent]

Nice choice Ced. I still find it bonkerers to do two builds at once but I’ll enjoy watching you do just that. Carry on sir.

 

Johnny.😀

[CedB]

On 15/06/2018 at 10:32, HAMP man said:

how many cutting mats does this man have? Last time I looked there was a whopping great Vulcany thing on it.

Box on

Strickers

Hi Strickers - I have one bench but an obsessive tidiness... two models isn't my preferred route to be honest - I may move the Vulcan to another bench to avoid cross-contamination during sanding and bashing. Maybe  

 

On 15/06/2018 at 11:00, Hamden said:

 

Should provide some light relief 

Looking forward to seeing this come to life

 

  Roger

Thanks Roger  Certainly light... I remember a nervous passenger (a friend of a friend) pre-flight wondering how these things could fly. I put my back under the strut and lifted the wheel off the ground saying something wise like "They're designed to fly and very light." Their ashen face taught me this was NOT a good demonstration!

 

On 15/06/2018 at 11:09, limeypilot said:

This should be interesting!

 I also did plenty of spin training (not required for PPL in the USA, but it is for Instructor training), and made a point of doing at least one with every student I taught. As far as I can recall, the only real visible difference is the full harness fitted to the airobat.

 

Ian

Thanks Ian  Harness? Hmmm... can't find any pictures of the things in situ and my memory isn't up to remembering, sadly.

 

23 hours ago, keefr22 said:

Good grief Ced, you don't hang about do you?! I did the necessary extra training for my PPL after the UWAS Bulldogs on a Fuji 200 (lovely aeroplane) G-BAPM & a 150 which unfortunately I can't recall the full reg of - just that it was Yankee Foxtrot. And my log book went missing years ago. I do have a piccie of her somewhere which I hope to find one day! I've got 48th scale kits of all three of 'my' trainers to do too!

 

As to stall/spin training, it was still required in my day & I was glad of it too, when my instuctor demonstrated how vicious this otherwise docile little machine could be. I'd been a bit sloppy on one downwind leg during some circuit training & pulled a little hard to try & get back onto base leg. After another touch and go the instructor took us out into the general flying area & took us up a bit (lot!) higher than circuit height. He then did the same as I did but kept pulling harder & next thing she'd stalled & spun! We lost more height recovering than the 800 ft circuit altitude! I learnt a little bit more about flying from that!! 

 

Look forward to seeing this one come together, will she go on the ceiling or a nice little base on your desk?

 

Keith

 

Edit - the more I think about it, I'm sure 'my' 150 was G-AYYF. If it was she came to a sad end, but (very) luckily with no serious damage to the pilot;

 

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5422ff52ed915d1371000a13/Cessna_F150L__G-AYYF_03-91.pdf

Thanks Keith  Great story. Yep, I remember an instructor telling me that the most dangerous time was during final approach when you had a cabin full of tired passengers, especially kids.

I haven't decided where to store her yet - it greatly depends on how the build goes!

 

23 hours ago, _frequentflyer_ said:

Not the best to get a right 150! Find the Heller kit at affordable price on Ebay! Much much better! Good luck

 

Alex (PPL owner as well)

Thanks Alex - I could only find this one and I'm just bashing the kit here but I'm sure others will appreciate your views  

 

22 hours ago, giemme said:

Indeed!  Slow down please, will ya? We can't quite keep up! 

 

 

 

Ciao

Thanks Giorgio  

 

21 hours ago, Ben Brown said:

I need to build one of those! I spent almost 500 hrs teaching in them, and flew one my company had purchased across the US, from California to eastern North Carolina. We taught spins as part of our PPL program, plus it was required as part of CFI training. A friend and I nearly killed ourselves trying to replicate Bill Kershner's spin films (he had one where he did 23 turns in a C-150!). We learned you lose a lot of altitude in a hurry, and the prop really does stop after 8 turns, every time.  😱  Oh, to be young and stupid again.

 

IIRC, the only difference between our Aerobat and the vanilla 150s were the afore-mentioned seat harnesses, the rooftop windows, and the doors had quick release handles. Pull the handle and the entire door came off. Ours also had a faint aroma of vomit....

 

Ben

Thanks Ben - great story  

 

21 hours ago, Azgaron said:

Looks like a nice little kit! Nice to build a plane you have flown!

 

Håkan

 

Thanks Håkan - yep, nice to have a 'memory jogger'  

 

19 hours ago, Biggles87 said:

So, 1/48 at last, even if it is only a spam can.

I did my PPL training on a Piper Colt ( yeah really ) and my stall/spin training in an Auster, which was another example of a docile aircraft turning viscous. If you tried to pick up the dropped wing with the stick, it did half a barrel roll and span like a top, losing a lot of height in the process, we usually started at about 3500 ft.

Oops, another story.

 

John

Good story John - keep 'em coming  I'm finding the scale OK... but I guess such a small subject isn't giving me much of an idea; you'll have to wait until I start the Lysander to further encourage a change  

 

16 hours ago, Scimitar said:

Uh oh! Where have we heard that before?  Cue super detailed interior and 1/48 @CedB in the left hand seat.

Thanks Scimitar  I'm not sure it'll be super detailed but I may have a play... I can't find any suitable pilot figures though, sadly.

 

16 hours ago, Tony Edmundson said:

Just be aware that this kit of the C-150 is a mish-mash of features found on different models of the 150.  It has the cowling and flat doors of a mid 1960, the extended fin fairing and wheel spats of a post 1970, among other numerous particular items.

Still looks sorta-like a Cessna 150, though.

 

Cheers, Tony

Thanks Tony  Useful info. Is the Heller any better do you know? Not that I'll be buying one but it will be good for others to know.

 

16 hours ago, Courageous said:

Our Ced looks like he's in a marathon.

Am I to take it that this bird is taking to the ceiling, and if so, what are you using for a pilot?

 

Stuart

Thanks Stuart  Can't find a suitable pilot, sadly. I'll have another look though. 

There is some nice engine detail and the hood comes off so I could stick it in the cabinet. Trouble is, the engine's probably wrong for my subject  

Not that I have a clue...

 

15 hours ago, TheBaron said:

 

Not without a 1/48 Ced at the controls....

Gah Tony, another vote for a crew member! I'll have another look on the 'net  

 

14 hours ago, philp said:

I have a 172 in 72nd in the stash but haven’t seen a 150 in our scale.

 

So Kay, can still watch.

Thanks Phil - crikey, that 1/72 172 must be tiny! There was promise of a kit from AZ some time ago but I bet they're having problems working out how much to charge...  

 

13 hours ago, The Spadgent said:

Nice choice Ced. I still find it bonkerers to do two builds at once but I’ll enjoy watching you do just that. Carry on sir.

 

Johnny.😀

Thanks Johnny  I thought it was bonkers too but, actually, it's nice to have a break from boring sanding and filling. Trouble is, if I start doing that as 'normal practice', I'd probably end up with lots of models waiting to be sanded...

 

 

Some progress. I/P done:

 

 

Not my best work and not a 152 panel as far as I recall so that'll do for me (with some Kristal Klear for the glass).

Internals painted the-closest-grey-I-have:

 

 

… and almost ready for close-up.

[Spookytooth]

Hi Ced, I will join in the fun if I may.

Pringles anyone?

 

Simon.

[keefr22]

6 minutes ago, Spookytooth said:

Pringles anyone?

 

 

Cream cheese & Chive Simon? Yes please!

 

Keith

[HAMP man]

Someone's brought Pringles! 

Almost as yummy as the work on the pristine workbench.

 

Note to self tidy up workbench...find tools....throw away rubbish....don't shop at Aldis (they don't sell Pringles)

[Spookytooth]

9 minutes ago, keefr22 said:

 

Cream cheese & Chive Simon? Yes please!

 

Keith

Got them, plus Hot & Spicy ones too.

Beer chilled?

 

Simon.

[keefr22]

Yep, big cooler box full of ice & beers!

[Spookytooth]

8 minutes ago, keefr22 said:

Yep, big cooler box full of ice & beers!

Good man, need them in this warm weather.

 

Simon.

[AMB]

Ah, a  1/48th Spam Can - now this will make a refreshing change to see in production. That reminds me, I must get on with my Revell 1/32 Piper Super Cub.

[huvut76g7gbbui7]

8 hours ago, CedB said:

I can't find any suitable pilot figures though, sadly.

You're not getting away with it that easily 

I expect your inbox to be filled up with offers quite soon.