fjaweijfopi4j48 Posted February 4, 2019 Share Posted February 4, 2019 A build from 9 years ago: (Note: a 1/72 kit seems -according to rumor- to be in the works by Avis, but I would advise you take a chair meanwhile) (Note added on June 2019: Avis already released the kit, an image is a the bottom of the thread) (Another NOTE: I made my own decals for this one, but only through the dubious expedient of printing red on white decals paper, so I had to match the decals color. Not a wonderful way to do things, but now Arctic Decals has released a set with the corresponding white marks, so you are in luck, you youngsters that don't appreciate the efforts and hardships that your elders had to endure in order to make models! and get off my lawn!) What happens when a plane gets engine indigestion? Yes, a 1922 Bristol 72. And if -as in this case- the plane is a racer, it is all too bad. Nevertheless in the process a cartoon character may have been created. Or perhaps a flying keg that would have been the delights of the prohibition smugglers. Or simply a cute, puny-winged, chubby racer. Ok, ok, may be “racer” is an overstatement. But it wanted to! In any case, let’s not be so judgmental. It had a monocoque fuselage and retractable landing gear, it had a Jupiter radial that was advanced and powerful and was supposed to be efficiently cowled. It was also painted red, which is always a bonus in the case of racers. The Classic Plane 1/72 vac kit seems to be still obtainable, although their distributors in Germany (Modellbaustudio Rhein Ruhr) may take some time to deliver it to you (as per their own warning in their site). And when I say “some time” I mean years. Kidding. Not really. Well, just exaggerating a bit. It is a sorta so-so kit, with overstated ribbing, generous thickness styrene, two halves to make one whole wheel (see image of the sheet), no interior drawings (or parts), no engine. a thing resembling vaguely a half propeller and in the instructions a naive method to represent the bicycle wheel-like spinner structure (photoetched parts here would have been ideal). It is not big deal though to go and get a decent prop, engine, some wire for the landing gear legs and pair of wheels, so not really anything serious to cry about. And again, do you think the manufacturers of Messerschmidts by the truckload will ever kit something like this? Exactly my point, so if this is what we have, then welcome. My sample (a hand-me-down kit by generous Keith, my thanks to him) didn’t have decals, so I ignore if they are provided with the kit. And the marks are white, so watch out. The parts’ count is not high and the interior can be a simple matter. Regarding construction methods you could start by crying and shouting, so you don’t have to deal with that later on. Then separate the parts front the backing sheet, since it is not easy to build the model if you don’t. Then sand. And then proceed to sand a bit more. And perhaps later on you can do some sanding. And last but not least let’s not forget about sanding. Be careful not to oversand. The fuselage front as molded has a resemblance of the buffers that were installed between the engine cylinders. You could leave some of that detail or just bore the thing and do the detail by yourself, which I did. The spinner was allocated two spoke rims as per original and was painted wood color, since some of the flights were made with it unpainted. A wood prop was carved at this point and an engine scrambled from the spares’ bin. Some internal fuselage structure was added and a cockpit devised. Beware that the kit's marks on the fuselage to cut out the lodging positions for the retractable landing gear leg components are wrongly depicted. As they are (besides being a bit wobbly) they curve in a concave way, while they should be straight (looking perpendicular to the fuselage axis) thus producing -since they are traced over a circular volume- seemingly slightly convex legs (see image). I made the legs with “Strutz” brass airfoiled material and the oleos with some wire. Once the main parts were put together a strange whale started to emerge. It had all the appearance of a chubby antique tin toy, and the appeal started to be obvious. Priming and touch-ups ensued and acrylic paint was applied. Decals, rigging and a few external details finished the job, or so I thought. After I photographed the model for this article I realized that the Pitot and headrest were not in place, so one last photo was taken showing those. Moral: if you are racing, do not forget your Pitot. The manufacturer had a geometry conceptualizing problem as you can see: 26 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWM Posted February 5, 2019 Share Posted February 5, 2019 Next beauty one from your extraordinary review of Museum of Oddities in Aviation (that is MOA! ) I admire yor efforts Regards J-W . 1 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baldy Posted February 5, 2019 Share Posted February 5, 2019 Well that is a magical result from that kit, I guess, as you said, you have to use what is available - none of the big manufacturers will ever kit this! A fascinating little aeroplane and a beautiful addition to your collection. Cheers Malcolm 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fjaweijfopi4j48 Posted February 5, 2019 Author Share Posted February 5, 2019 51 minutes ago, Baldy said: none of the big manufacturers will ever kit this! Hi Malcolm Let´s not despair!: A post here at the Rumourmonger in BM some time ago: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted February 5, 2019 Share Posted February 5, 2019 A model to make you smile, and for all the right reasons. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyTiger66 Posted February 5, 2019 Share Posted February 5, 2019 Another gem Moa 😊 👍 . Very nicely made, I don’t kften use the word but it’s cute. It is. It really does remind me of vintage tin toys. Also of one of the mounts of one of my favourite cartoon characters: Great fun; thank you for sharing the build and the photographs. Best regards TonyT 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fjaweijfopi4j48 Posted February 5, 2019 Author Share Posted February 5, 2019 15 minutes ago, TonyTiger66 said: Another gem Moa 😊👍 . Very nicely made, I don’t kften use the word but it’s cute. It is. It really does remind me of vintage tin toys. Also of one of the mounts of one of my favourite cartoon characters: Great fun; thank you for sharing the build and the photographs. Best regards TonyT Nice! and you are right! It's definitely cartoonish. Uncharacteristic of the British known sense of decorum! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baldy Posted February 6, 2019 Share Posted February 6, 2019 11 hours ago, Moa said: Hi Malcolm Let´s not despair!: A post here at the Rumourmonger in BM some time ago: I noticed that - and it looks like AviS do produce a few kits which may interest you, though I would hardly call them a major manufacturer. Even they do some Messerschmitts, albeit early ones. I also notice that AviS are releasing a few more gems for you like the Short S.1 Cockle flying boat and Short S.4 Satellite 'Parkers Tin Kettle'. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fjaweijfopi4j48 Posted February 6, 2019 Author Share Posted February 6, 2019 11 minutes ago, Baldy said: I also notice that AviS are releasing a few more gems for you like the Short S.1 Cockle flying boat and Short S.4 Satellite 'Parkers Tin Kettle'. I took notice of that a little while ago and put down an order for them; had folders on those for years. It's nice for once not to have to scratchbuild them all! 😉 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andwil Posted February 6, 2019 Share Posted February 6, 2019 While being rather portly, it clearly shows its descent from the Bristol Monoplane scout of WW1, particularly in the wing platform. AW 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidgeRunner Posted February 6, 2019 Share Posted February 6, 2019 Superb, Moa! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bristol boy Posted February 6, 2019 Share Posted February 6, 2019 Good to see this again, I came across an image of it several years ago on a google search. I have one waiting its turn and a set of printed decals. I said once before it's the sort of plane only a mother could love! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheonix Posted February 6, 2019 Share Posted February 6, 2019 Super and almost comical. How such a plane could fly with such tiny wings is a marvel in itself. Just glad that I was not the pilot! P 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fjaweijfopi4j48 Posted June 28, 2019 Author Share Posted June 28, 2019 Got mine, it looks nice. Much better than the one I built -and posted here above- from the vac kit: 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gamevender Posted June 28, 2019 Share Posted June 28, 2019 Very Gee Bee ish. I wonder if it didn't have the same faults as that deadly a/c.? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fjaweijfopi4j48 Posted June 29, 2019 Author Share Posted June 29, 2019 1 hour ago, gamevender said: Very Gee Bee ish. I wonder if it didn't have the same faults as that deadly a/c.? From an aesthetic point of view, I find no faults in either 😉 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Holden Posted June 29, 2019 Share Posted June 29, 2019 17 hours ago, gamevender said: Very Gee Bee ish. I wonder if it didn't have the same faults as that deadly a/c.? Gee Bees were far from deadly, which is largely a myth that has been debunked in recent years. They were some of the best and most scientifically-designed racing aircraft. Delmar Benjamin who built and flew the repro R2 for years said it flew very well. Main problem is take off, where the short fuselage and high wing incidence with the tail down, means that the tail surfaces are masked by the wing, so you have to get the tail up as soon as possible. Almost certainly what did for Russell Boardman in the R-1 crash. R-1/R-2 hybrid build was not done by Gee Bee and not approved by them and crashed because of too far aft CG with full fuel load after Bendix take off. But they were 300 mph aircraft in an era when most pilots were used to flying aircraft slower than 150 mph, so there is certainly an argument that very few pilots had the necessary experience to fly them well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackson Duvalier Posted June 30, 2019 Share Posted June 30, 2019 Looks like an Angry Bird! Thanks for bringing another esoteric oddity to life, Moa. I see the Avis kit box says "only 500 pieces," but I count fewer than 40. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fjaweijfopi4j48 Posted June 30, 2019 Author Share Posted June 30, 2019 2 hours ago, Jackson Duvalier said: Looks like an Angry Bird! Thanks for bringing another esoteric oddity to life, Moa. I see the Avis kit box says "only 500 pieces," but I count fewer than 40. This is a relatively simple kit to make a more complicated kit, not a model. You are supposed to break down those 40 pieces into 500. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnHaa Posted June 30, 2019 Share Posted June 30, 2019 Moa, You did a marvelous job on this little gem. It was not the most easy vacuform kit when I looked at the plastic sheet. My compliments with the result ! Kind regards JohnHaa 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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