Shelton AG-4 Crusader completed

[fjaweijfopi4j48]

Congratulations to Avis for releasing this fantastic, futuristic plane of the Golden Age of aviation. Not only a civil subject to break the routine of drab military machines, but a plane with a revolutionary design and a very appealing shape.

The kit itself requires thorough cleaning and some prodding here and there, nothing extraordinary, though, and something we modelers are used to with these kits from smaller manufacturers.

I replaced the kit's nose decals, with Arctic Decals items. Otherwise the kit's decals and masks behaved very well. I cut and lowered the flaps, added a couple of missing mass balances and elevator control horns with their cables, besides a Pitot probe and navigation lights. I also discarded the kit's exhausts parts and made new ones from metal tube. The engine nacelle fronts that came plugged in the kit were hollowed and mock engines were added inside.

I am pleased beyond words (although I had nothing to do with it) that a subject that I scratched many years ago for sheer love of the machine, is now available to the modelers in the form of a fairly detailed, affordable kit.

So here it is a plane that may have looked like a space ship in its time, when biplanes were aplenty on the skies.

Shelton, the designer, was no doubt a refined visionary, unfortunately hindered by the financial doldrums of his time. He created a memorable plane that whispered "streamline" to the ears of the incredulous bystanders.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[stevej60]

Never heard of one,never seen one,glad to have seen such a fine modekl of one now though,beautiful finish!

[fjaweijfopi4j48]

25 minutes ago, stevej60 said:

Never heard of one,never seen one,glad to have seen such a fine modekl of one now though,beautiful finish!

Oh, the hidden treasures of the Golden Age!

There are so many.

They are usually buried under layers upon layers of WW2 types and similar.

Modeling archeology is a very rewarding field 😉

[fjaweijfopi4j48]

Hum, forgot the "in flight" photos.

Here a few:

 

 

[celt]

Never heard of the aircraft before but the model is well tidy.

[stevehnz]

Me 3, also firmly in the never heard or seed of it camp, but also impressed with the job you've done, quite exquisite is, I think, not too lavish for praise. Funny looking little thing though, I reckon there is a wee bit of Flash Gordon lurking in its design.

Steve. 

[fjaweijfopi4j48]

Just now, stevehnz said:

Me 3, also firmly in the never heard or seed of it camp, but also impressed with the job you've done, quite exquisite is, I think, not too lavish for praise. Funny looking little thing though, I reckon there is a wee bit of Flash Gordon lurking in its design.

Steve. 

Thanks, Steve, you are very kind.

Yes, a comic book-looking little things this is.

It's adorable! 😉

Cheers

[Sgt.Squarehead]

You build some odd things dude.....Beautiful, but odd. 

[Kevin Callahan]

I had only heard of it once the kit was announced. I have one on the boil right now. Just getting the fuselage together. Had to buy a bottle of Alclad copper colored paint to finish it off. Seems to build ok so far, though no one will mistake it for Tamiya. At least I have a good standard for what the kit should look like. Congrats! 

[Learstang]

Now that's one I've never heard of before. Rather Art Deco. Brilliant job as usual Moa!

 

Best Regards,

 

Jason

[RidgeRunner]

That is delightful, Moa.

 

Martin

[fjaweijfopi4j48]

 

2 hours ago, Sgt.Squarehead said:

You build some odd things dude.....Beautiful, but odd. 

 

3 hours ago, stevehnz said:

Me 3, also firmly in the never heard or seed of it camp

 

4 hours ago, celt said:

Never heard of the aircraft before

Commendably kind fellow Britmodellers:

Ahem. Let's see, this is normal:

And THIS is less normal.

Now, if the perfectly palatable Crusader looks strange and odd to you, what would you say of these other models I built, I ask myself rhetorically?:

 

Scroggs Last Laugh

 

Flick Reinig Apteroid (1911)

 

Ben Brown SC Diamond Wing (aka "Potato Bug")

 

Caproni-Stipa

 

Lee-Richards Annular Wing

 

Leigh-Avro Baby (1920)

 

Riout 102T Alerion

 

We may agree that those above are perhaps a bit unusual. And I have built literally dozens more of them.

But the Shelton Crusader should not make you raise an eyebrow, gentlefolk.

Steady there.

😉

 

 

[Uncle Pete]

Lovely plane and a cracking paint job.  Very unusual too, as are the oddball additions (and I'm a big fan of "oddball").  That Alerion.... Is that an ornithopter?

[Courageous]

What they all .

Fantastic collection of 'oddballs'. Did they all fly?

 

Stuart

[Sgt.Squarehead]

2 hours ago, Moa said:

Now, if the perfectly palatable Crusader looks strange and odd to you, what would you say of these other models I built, I ask myself rhetorically?:

TBH after seeing that lot I'm suspecting you may be making some them up as you go along.....The 'Flick Reinig Apteroid (1911)' for instance, is quite clearly a car wearing a hat. 

[celt]

What a wonderful if not oddball collection of aircraft,all of which I have never seen before.Well tidy mun.

[Learstang]

Ah, the magnificent Caproni Stipa - now that's one I've heard of and long loved for its beautiful streamlining and grace. I even have a photograph of it flying, so it appears that thing could actually haul itself into the air (some have theorised that it didn't fly so much as that the ground repelled it into the air out of horror). The other oddities you've posted I'm not so sure about their flying abilities, Moa.

 

Best Regards,

 

Jason

[fjaweijfopi4j48]

10 hours ago, Uncle Pete said:

That Alerion.... Is that an ornithopter?

It is indeed, Uncle Pete

A French one.

The real thing is in the process of being restored in a museum there.

[fjaweijfopi4j48]

10 hours ago, Courageous said:

Fantastic collection of 'oddballs'. Did they all fly?

 

Stuart

Stuart, surprisingly perhaps to you and others, most of them did.

When back at desktop I believe I have some links to footage and photos.

 

[cngaero]

11 hours ago, Moa said:

We may agree that those above are perhaps a bit unusual. And I have built literally dozens more of them.

They are some of the most diverse and interesting models I've seen in many a long year. 

The Shelton is stunning and I love the colour scheme. 

Out of the collection you've shown, my particular favourite is the portly Caproni. 

 

Thank you for sharing them here and I for one would love to see more of your superb creations. 

[invidia]

fantastic looking collection of interesting aircraft.

[fjaweijfopi4j48]

3 minutes ago, cngaero said:

hey are some of the most diverse and interesting models I've seen in many a long year. 

The Shelton is stunning and I love the colour scheme. 

Out of the collection you've shown, my particular favourite is the portly Caproni. 

 

Thank you for sharing them here and I for one would love to see more of your superb creations. 

Thanks Chris.

I was mulling about the possibility of posting one of those every few days as RFIs. I have a large number of models of those mostly unknown planes. Fellow Britmodellers seem to like them, at least as a curiosity. They are fun, and informative, and many of them I have never seen modeled, ever.

But since many are builds from some years ago, not sure if that is proper protocol, or would be considered clattering the space. If a moderator is reading this, perhaps would consider the possibility?

Cheers

[fjaweijfopi4j48]

9 minutes ago, invidia said:

fantastic looking collection of interesting aircraft.

That's not even 5% of them.

I have a particular affection for off-the-beaten-path flying machines, and modeled many through the years.

[fjaweijfopi4j48]

Yee of little faith.

Here is one of the many newsreels on the Net showing many of these creative planes flying, although as you will see some did not:

 

 

[djos]

Esoteric collection of beautiful and strange aircraft's.

Every model is masterpiece for itself.

BRAVO!

Best regards