Modified Testors 1/72 Ryan NYP

[fjaweijfopi4j48]

A build from 6 years ago. You youngsters have it easy now, with new 1/72 and 1/48 Ryan NYPs at you disposal.

We used to have to distill petroleum, make our own plastic, build our own presses, fabricate our own tools, and build a kit in a life time, IF WE WERE LUCKY!

 

After much debate, it is still undetermined when the first 1/72 kit of the Ryan NYP was issued. Although the later incarnations are known, in the form of kits from Frog, Hawk, Airlines, Novo, and the like, the first fossil kits clearly show up in the Cambrian strata, together with trilobites and algae, before even the most primitive dinosaur dared to show its ugly snout. Some scholars go as far as placing them as contemporaries of the first stromatolites. We may never know; but what we do know is that they survived al the cataclysmic extinction events that wiped out other kits, and we know too that in these, our times, the kit re-popped under the Testors brand.

I hear you, in all those eons the kit did NOT evolve: the same recessed engraved lettering, the same chunky engine, the same strange prop blades, the recessed ribbing on all surfaces, the even more mysterious interior filled with the horror of nothingness...

BUT, is there any other, more evolved 1/72 kit specimen around? Nope. There is no other contemporary kit in the market of one of the most iconic planes of all times. The scholars found out that most of the kit manufacturers are too busy churning out infinite versions of the same warplanes. Talk about dinosaurs...

The kit: you will need only your fingers to count the kit’s parts. Scale-Master decals are included, as well as a clear base, which is something like your appendix, still there after all those millennia, just in case, but of no real use. Attached to the clear base, by the way, are the not-so-transparent transparencies. The word “HAWK” in tiny font can still be seen under the base.
One of the photos shows an obscure statement engraved inside the fuselage sides: "Made in USA". Archeologists and paleontologists are still debating about what that could possibly mean.

So, what do you do with your Testors kit? Well, it is long list. First, forget about that tail skid and the anemometer post protruding from the fuselage halves, they will be inexorably obliterated anyway during construction when you try to smooth the fuselage joint. Second, get out the putty and cover that hideous, unsightly recessed lettering –and the ejector pin marks under the wing since you are at it-. Third, get another, better engine, chop the cylinders and replace the kit’s ones.

Fourth, figure a way to produce a credible fuselage and flying surfaces ribbing. You may replace the sort of chunky tail feathers if you feel like. Fifth: hey, scratch some interior. Not much can be seen of it, but you can cut and pose the door open to help with that. Do not fill the recessed lines on the nose when you deal with the lettering there, those are panel lines and are sort of OK.

And, did you know that a second machine (Ryan NYP-2) was built and sold to Japan? Aha. It was registered J-BACC and went through a few color changes. There, another option for your frozen-in-time, primeval Testors kit.

Now, a confession. Long, long time ago when I was young-er, naive and inexperienced, I built the thing, out of the box, in all its tragic crudity. I know.

So as said before the stringers and ribbing effects were dealt with, a nice interior fabricated for it to show through the open door and windows, and a few external details prepared for later addition. The engine was replaced by an Aeroclub white metal item and the kit's "engine" reworked and used as a master for a vacuformed part . Holes were drilled for the control cables, fuselage handles and stab struts (all missing in the kit). Other details that may be added are the fairings of the wheel hubs, the carburetor intake, a better representation of the anemometer, control horns and cables, the periscope, etc. Different shades of metal paint were used, and a combination of home-made and the kit's decals applied. Beware -to add insult to injury- that the kit's decals' instructions have the position of the rudder ones (3 and 4) reversed. Besides the other mentioned details, the kit is missing a diagonal brace strut that bridges the rear leg attachment of the LG to the fuselage and the top of the suspension mechanism.
So, can you build a decent, accurate replica from this kit? only if you commit a great deal of time to research and fabrication, and you become a Shaolin modeling monk..
Can a 10 year old have fun with this simple kit without any kind of accuracy concerns? you betcha.
But if you are a serious modeler, you know what you are up for. I would not hesitate to scratch-build this one, since the time involved should be actually less than the time I employed here in accurization and detailing. As long as the results are good, then is all fun.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Unfinished project]

Fantastic as always Moa I can’t say any more than that 👌

[72modeler]

Jeez, Louise! Another masterpiece- and it's a very small airplane, too. How in the world did you do the engine turning on the cowling? Awesome, Dude, as they say in your neck of the woods. Need a 1/72 Jimmy Stewart figure and a teensy-weensy fly in the cockpit to complete the effect! (Yes, I already know I'm one sick puppy!)

Mike

[fjaweijfopi4j48]

4 minutes ago, 72modeler said:

How in the world did you do the engine turning on the cowling?

Hi Mike

I first applied Bare-Metal chrome foil, then thin clear decals with small "whirls" printed, all in sections trying to follow the panel lines.

The kit (in its latest re-pop only) comes with decals to do that, but they are sort of lacking.

[theskits62]

Another beauty ! How on earth did you blend those wires (?) into the fuselage/wings to show the ribbing underneath the skin ? 

[Uncle Pete]

1 hour ago, 72modeler said:

Need a 1/72 Jimmy Stewart figure and a teensy-weensy fly in the cockpit

Don't put it past him... He already puts ladders in the stockings of the stewardesses on his 1:144 airliners!

[fjaweijfopi4j48]

1 hour ago, theskits62 said:

How on earth did you blend those wires (?) into the fuselage/wings to show the ribbing underneath the skin ? 

Those are lengths of stretched sprue. Once glued, putty was applied to soften the edges, then sanding, etc.

 

[Courageous]

Great work Moa...love the work with the stretched sprue.

 

Stuart

[Eric Mc]

4 hours ago, Moa said:

Hi Mike

I first applied Bare-Metal chrome foil, then thin clear decals with small "whirls" printed, all in sections trying to follow the panel lines.

The kit (in its latest re-pop only) comes with decals to do that, but they are sort of lacking.

Did you print your own decals?

[fjaweijfopi4j48]

11 minutes ago, Eric Mc said:

Did you print your own decals?

Frankly, not sure, it's been six years and many, many models after that one.

I recall I printed the cowl ones because I also used them with other projects (SM79, for example) and had to print and try several until I got the right size, pattern, transparency, density, etc.

The kit came with "new" decals, I may have used some of those and some that I printed myself. Kit decals, especially the ones not manufactured in Eastern Europe, tend to have too thick carriers that I do not appreciate.

[Spitfire31]

Again, an against-all-odds per ardua ad astra job! 

 

Kind regards,

 

Joachim

[Massimo]

Your collection of unusual and beautiful subjects never ends!!!
You start mostly from some sort of  nut shells and every time there's something to learn about Aviation History and new techniques!!!!!!

That engine cowling is a real gem!!!

Edited November 14, 2018 by massimo2

[Britman]

Very nice job again as usual Moa. I wonder if given your interest in this period if you have come across a model of the Travelair 6000? In 2001 I flew in one at Katchamak in Alaska and would quite fancy building that aircraft. I will soon be posting the last of my Alaska Canada photos on here soon and the Travelair features quite a bit.

 

Keith. 

[Dazey]

Lovely Moa, and you've really shown me the way (to St. Louis).

 

Regards,

David

 

[fjaweijfopi4j48]

8 hours ago, Britman said:

if you have come across a model of the Travelair 6000? I

Nope, but it is a simple volume, and shouldn't be too difficult to scratch.

 

[Britman]

Luckily it is quite a simple shape.

 

Keith. 

[Eric Mc]

On 13/11/2018 at 22:51, Moa said:

Frankly, not sure, it's been six years and many, many models after that one.

I recall I printed the cowl ones because I also used them with other projects (SM79, for example) and had to print and try several until I got the right size, pattern, transparency, density, etc.

The kit came with "new" decals, I may have used some of those and some that I printed myself. Kit decals, especially the ones not manufactured in Eastern Europe, tend to have too thick carriers that I do not appreciate.

Thanks for the reply. I have a Novo 1/72 NYP (ex FROG, of course) in my stash and it's how to replicate the rolled aluminium cowling that has stopped me from building it.

[fjaweijfopi4j48]

10 hours ago, Eric Mc said:

Thanks for the reply. I have a Novo 1/72 NYP (ex FROG, of course) in my stash and it's how to replicate the rolled aluminium cowling that has stopped me from building it.

You need a reflective base (Metal Foil -chrome or such-, or a very shinny Alclad chrome paint on gloss black base) and then sections of decals with a light swirl pattern. If you google "swirl metal pattern" on Google images, many will appear. The trick is to scale it to size and give it the right density. I printed and applied many until I was satisfied with one. Has to be a good printer and a decentl resolution, otherwise the image will just be a dot matrix without detail or a black aggregation of melted-together blobs.

 

[Eric Mc]

Great help - thanks.

[tomthounaojam]

Standing Ovation