billn53 Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 (edited) I present to you my modeling homage to the horror writer, H.P. Lovecraft, in the form of a Ford Tri-motor from the ill-fated Miskatonic University Antarctic Expedition of 1930 described in Lovecraft's novella, "At the Mountains of Madness". I readily admit that my inspiration for this project is due 100-percent to Greg "Thorfinn". I encourage everyone to check out his most excellent build, here: I am also indebted to Greg for graciously sending me the graphics he used for his decals. I have only made a few small additions and modifications. Thank you, Greg! Details of my build can be found in the WIP, here: On to the pics! First, some beauty shots: Next, selected details from my build: I replaced the kit's three engines with highly-detailed, resin items from Small Stuff. Each engine consists of 47 separate parts. I built the exhaust manifolds from scratch. I also had to reverse the props, as Airfix molded them with the concave side incorrectly facing forward: I completely re-built and detailed the engine pods beneath the wings: I removed all of the molded-in control horns and replaced them with new ones: Elevator and rudder horns on the nose: and the control horns on the ailerons, elevator, and rudder: Most of the tri-motor's control lines run external to the fuselage. Lines for the elevator & rudder run from control horns under the cockpit to the underside of the wing. They then exit the upper-rear of the wing and run down the fuselage to the empennage. Control line fairleads on the rear fuselage were constructed from thin tubing, using CA-reinforced paper for the mounting brackets. I separated and re-positioned the rudder and elevator for a more natural appearance: The wing trailing edge had to be thinned down from its original, 12-inch thick molding: The skis I borrowed stole from the Monogram/Revell Tri-motor kit: The rear ski is also from the Monogram kit, but I had to scratch build its mounting hardware: I re-built the landing lights on the leading edge of the wings. The main lens is constructed from UV-activated acrylic gel. The light behind the lens is a stick-on fingernail "jewel" from my local beauty shop: I also scratch built the navigation position lights on the wingtips and rudder. Like the main landing lights, the lenses for these lights were made using UV-activated acrylic: The decals, as I mentioned at the beginning of this post, are mainly from Greg "Thorfinn" I did modify one of Greg's decals, changing the name of the airplane's owner to "Marsh Air Charters". In Lovecraft's world, Captain Obed Marsh owned a shipping line in the 1800s that traded with south Pacific islanders. I thought it reasonable that Obed's descendants would have expanded the family business to include air transport. I also created the decals beneath the cockpit, listing various cities and towns serviced by Marsh Air Charters. The names include both real and fictional destinations from Lovecraft's stories: Based on photos from an actual Tri-motor, I detailed the passenger door with a handle, pull-rope, wood paneling, and a lip around the door's outer edge. The name "Sumatra Queen", over the door, was one of Old Man Marsh's original sailing ships: I did a wee bit of engraving, for the nose engine access panels and the topside hatch behind the canopy. For a final touch, I added an Easter Egg, which can be found on the co-pilot's seat: Thanks for viewing! I'm currently building a suitable base/diorama for my Tri-motor, complete with giant mutant penguins and a shoggoth. If interested, I humbly invite you to follow that endeavor here: Edited February 7, 2019 by billn53 73 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milesburchell Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 Superb build, some really creative little scratch built details! I love hypothetical models like this, there's so much room for fun and interpretation in the building process. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Procopius Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 23 minutes ago, billn53 said: In Lovecraft's world, Captain Obed Marsh owned a shipping line in the 1800s that traded with south Pacific islanders. Among other things. Phenomenal build. I'm in awe of all the work done. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitchen Modeller Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 As expected, this is a triumph - very well done. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learstang Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 Brilliant work on that Ford Tri-motor! And PC, you continue to amaze. Lovecraftian punk - now that's not a genre I would have thought of. Regards, Jason 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fjaweijfopi4j48 Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 What a pleasure to see such wonderful model! Congratulations! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CedB Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 Beautiful job Bill and a great WiP - thanks for sharing it with us. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 A wonderful build Bill & superb photos, all making for a cracking RFI, most enjoyable. Steve 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 Loved the build and all the detailing and improvements! Breath of fresh air... Regards, Adrian 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baldy Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 Absolutely superb in every way! Wonderful details and beautiful finish. Stunning! Cheers Malcolm 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vinnie Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 One of the best Trimotors I've seen here.👏 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil.C Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 Wonderful Bill. Love the attached story too. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caerbannog Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 Brilliant build. I have the kit in stash and can wholeheartedly say you did an outstanding job. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russ c Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 Great job on that old kit, never thought I`d see one Lovecraft based build let alone two. Really nice work 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opus999 Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 Phenomenal! I am so impressed with the attention to detail and the amount of work. The photography really makes it come alive too! Plus, all the Lovecraftian details make this such a fun build to look at. Fabulous job! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BKirwan Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 Cthulu approves 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billn53 Posted February 7, 2019 Author Share Posted February 7, 2019 One more pic, just playing around with my photo editing software: 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWM Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 Excelent work on this Tri-Motor BTW- the Airfix Tri-motor was my very first model posted on BM five years ago, so I have a soft spot on that Airfix oldie... Cheers J-W 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveyGair Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 Someday I'll have the patience to add all the detail and obtain a result like this with at least ONE of my models, beautiful build. Davey. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidgeRunner Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 Beautiful work, Bill Martin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troy Smith Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 On 07/02/2019 at 03:52, Learstang said: Lovecraftian punk - now that's not a genre I would have thought of. Did you forgert my digression in the WIP Jason? @billn53 That is a stunning bit of modelling and beautifully photographed too 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learstang Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 Troy, there truly is nothing new under the sun! Regards, Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silenoz Posted February 16, 2019 Share Posted February 16, 2019 Splendid, on some pics you need to look twice to be sure it's a model 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
busnproplinerfan Posted February 16, 2019 Share Posted February 16, 2019 I'm glad I found this just now. You have done a ton of research on the tri motor. I have one I need to make. This one looks amazing, glad you found a good source for the engines. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IrritableRabbit Posted February 16, 2019 Share Posted February 16, 2019 From the ribbed metal, down to the finish on the ski undercarriage... An absolutely top job with an astounding level of attention to detail. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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