fjaweijfopi4j48 Posted January 27, 2019 Share Posted January 27, 2019 A build from 10 years ago: (May be of interest to Aussie members and those inclined to a country life, that is bon sauvages) Agricultural planes constitute a special chapter of civil aviation that is in general not well explored in modeling, in spite the appeal and usefulness of the many subjects that were created for that purpose. These beaten-up work horses are exposed to stressful tasks and hostile environments with the only purpose of helping us. The Bauhaus school of design popularized in the 20’s the “form follows function” motto, and this is especially applicable in the case of the Ag plane. Surely with a taste for the unorthodox, Mr. Luigi Pellarini designed the PL-7 cropduster around the product tank located in the center of the fuselage. To this element the engine support members were bolted as well as the remaining after part of the fuselage. An array of struts transmitted the loads from the diverse parts of the airplane to the same central element, the tank. The lower wing had straight leading edges while the upper wing leading edges were a bit angled back. The result of such elaborate load distribution was a very attractive machine that was ready to fly in 1955, a bit out of my usual subjects’ time envelope but nevertheless strange enough to merit some extension of boundaries. Mr. Pellarini continued to surprise and amuse the aeronautic world with other creations, like the Waitomo / Bennett PL-11 and the Transavia PL-12 Airtruk, which no doubt I want to model too. I had the PL-7 project in the back burner for a time; nevertheless its appearance had me looking at the references I could gather mainly on the Net and some material sent by the late Jon Noble. His help was instrumental in materializing many projects. Wherever you are now Jon, thanks. The model started as a plug that was used to vacuform the fuselage sides and the canopy transparency. Some internal structure and details were fabricated before closing the pod. A cowl was made to lodge the Armstrong Siddeley Cheetah aftermarket resin engine while wheels were from Aeroclub. A styrene lamination was made to replicate the Fairey-Reed propeller, which has a particular twist to it (pun intended) being almost a warped chunk of flat metal. As the parts were being produced a put-together strategy had to be devised, a must when the dreaded strut forest is present as in this case, and even more so given the pod-and-booms configuration. So once the flying surfaces were made some sub-assemblies were created as per photos to make the final put-together more manageable. As with almost all front tricycle landing gear arrangements there is a potential for tail-sitting, so a disk of metal was added to the firewall just in case. Isn’t it an interesting twist of faith that a machine conceived to fight bugs ends up resembling a bug itself? Mr. Pellarini, what a beautiful and strange thing you created. 27 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWM Posted January 27, 2019 Share Posted January 27, 2019 Very nice! And much newer then others... J-W 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Courageous Posted January 27, 2019 Share Posted January 27, 2019 Ooo-eerrr, that's a weird little thing, looks cute though. Can I ask, how did you mate the tail booms to the main wings? Stuart 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baldy Posted January 27, 2019 Share Posted January 27, 2019 What a curious contraption! As you have described it, I guess it makes sense but it doesn't look quite right. Anyway - it is a gem of a model and only someone with your skills would be able to contemplate scrachbuilding something this complex. Cheers Malcolm 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fjaweijfopi4j48 Posted January 27, 2019 Author Share Posted January 27, 2019 9 minutes ago, Courageous said: Can I ask, how did you mate the tail booms to the main wings? Stuart Hi Stuart Hum...10 years ago...frankly I don't remember. I guess (since the wing is an "envelope"), that I marked their locations, cut some material away from the top skin, inserted them applying some glue -resting them on the lower skin of the wing for alignment- (they seem to be styrene rods) and filled with some putty. Not sure this answers your question. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spitfire31 Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 Superb model! I can't wait for your Airtruk… Crop dusters are indeed a rich field for modelling subjects, and also for film making… This one is a favourite – a little jewel of a documentary about John T. Walton (that's right – the son of Walmart founder Sam Walton!), flying a converted Stearman in the 1970:s. It's well worth seven minutes of your time, and perhaps a few minutes more for contemplation… In a rather different genre, a hair-raising 1950's b/w short film about cotton spraying in the mountains: For some modelling inspiration… Kind regards, Joachim 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roginoz Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 What a stunning model of an iconic crop-duster ! My immediate reaction was "father of the Airtruk" which we used to see crop spraying on the Upper Murray. Moa, are you aware that Sharkit have developed a resin model of the Airtruk, but in 1/48, so I'm sure you'd prefer to apply your scratch building skills to a 1/72 version which, by comparison with the 48, would end up the size of a large wasp........ Must get mine out and build it ! Rog 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fjaweijfopi4j48 Posted January 28, 2019 Author Share Posted January 28, 2019 9 minutes ago, roginoz said: Moa, are you aware that Sharkit have developed a resin model of the Airtruk, but in 1/48 Hi Rog Sharkit actually produces the Airtruk in 1/72, but it's above my modeling ceiling. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeaton01 Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 Another nice one, C. Mr. Pellarini learned a lesson on this one, it's very inconvenient to load. On the PL-12 the loader can drive right up from the back, between the tailplanes. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fjaweijfopi4j48 Posted January 28, 2019 Author Share Posted January 28, 2019 57 minutes ago, Spitfire31 said: a little jewel of a documentary Wow! I have witnessed this first hand in Argentina, and the pilot was so "funny" that he made a pass at us, if we wouldn't have ducked you would have been talking now to a torso. Nobody, ever, seems to use protection, but I have seen aging cropdusting pilots with shaky hands and flying no more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roginoz Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 Having been involved in weed spraying, although not by air, I'm horrified at the lack of protection those guys use. A local farmer is in terminal decay through failing to "cover up & clean up" over countless years of farm chemical use, and he ain't a pretty sight. Can't imagine how those guys will end up in a few years time. Anyway, we're moving [as usual] off topic of Moa's inspiring build. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spitfire31 Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 30 minutes ago, Moa said: Wow! I have witnessed this first hand in Argentina, and the pilot was so "funny" that he made a pass at us, if we wouldn't have ducked you would have been talking now to a torso. Nobody, ever, seems to use protection, but I have seen aging cropdusting pilots with shaky hands and flying no more. I've shot a Piper Pawnee air-to-air from a Cessna 172 in Kansas for a documentary series about the world food situation. As I can recall, those guys handled the chemicals with a bit more care than in that b/w Pathé clip (sloshing DDT into the hopper using an open bucket!) So, your next project? It's cool – utilitarian in absurdum! Kind regards, Joachim 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fjaweijfopi4j48 Posted January 28, 2019 Author Share Posted January 28, 2019 26 minutes ago, Spitfire31 said: So, your next project? It's cool – utilitarian in absurdum! Well, the Sharkit is a bit expensive for me, and I rather favor the PL-11, which has a less modern flavor (and therefore is more likeable to me): 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wlad Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 Yes, the PL-11, made with Harvard (T-6) spare parts. Lovely airplane. Wlad 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spitfire31 Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 Radials rule! Kind regards, Joachim 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheonix Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 I really like this one - anything with booms and multiple vertical tail surfaces appeals to my arcane tastes! Simply wonderful model - the more so given that it is rather small. P 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianwau Posted February 16, 2019 Share Posted February 16, 2019 (edited) and the PL7 in 1/48 - a recent build inspired by MOA and a work in progress - the PL11 Airtruck also in 1/48 and and old one from 1994 - the PL12 Transavia Airtruk - also 1/48 scratch Edited February 16, 2019 by ianwau trying to get image to display - Plan C 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fjaweijfopi4j48 Posted February 27, 2019 Author Share Posted February 27, 2019 On 2/16/2019 at 2:49 PM, ianwau said: and the PL7 in 1/48 - a recent build inspired by MOA and a work in progress - the PL11 Airtruck also in 1/48 and and old one from 1994 - the PL12 Transavia Airtruk - also 1/48 scratch Very nice models, why don't you post them as individual RFIs in that section? Cheers 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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