North American Harvard: 20 SFTS S Rhodesia 1944

[galgos]

My completed Harvard, originally started as part of the Trainer GB earlier this year.  Kit is the HK T-6 1/32nd scale, modified to reflect the RAF version:

 

 

 

Max

[Greg Law]

Good to see a well built Harvard. Best one I have seen for some time.

[fubar57]

That is very cool

[John_W]

Can't beat a yellow Harvard.

Lovely build.

[Paul J]

Looks great!   But Tongue in cheek comment about pic size removed due to other comments and lack of sense of humour.

[Spitfire31]

Thorouhgly impressive Harvard in an evocative attitude!

 

And the photos are thankfully big enough to do this beautiful model justice…

 

Kind regards,

 

Joachim

[galgos]

Thanks Joachim, there's no pleasing some people!!! 

[85sqn]

That's excellent, really conveys a sense of dynamism and action. Beautifully made too. I think I may have to get one of these at some point. 

[petetasker]

Superb - love the way you’ve displayed it

[Rabbit Leader]

That’s just beautiful in every way possible. The flying attitude is so dynamic and the crew look excellent as well. Love it! 

 

Cheers and well modelled.. Dave 

[galgos]

Thanks for your kind comments chaps, very much appreciated. There is a little history with this aeroplane since my father flew her on many occasions. She features in a couple of extraordinary colour photographs taken in 1944 leading a “balbo” of Harvards. In her all yellow livery she’s clearly an earlier Mk II in the AJ serial number range, later ones were natural metal finish with broad yellow wing bands and serialled EX. 

 

 

[gingerbob]

Superb finish- it looks like a real, slightly (for a radial) dirty aeroplane!  Congrats, Max.

 

bob

[F-32]

Superb work, perfectly done

[galgos]

Thanks G'Bob and F-32.  The Harvards were real work horses, flown on a daily basis at Cranborne.  Careful study of Harvard pictures suggests them being reasonably clean, but then Harvards are innately dirty aeroplanes anyway! 

 

[kapam]

Excellent Harvard - I love the dynamic pose you have achieved.

Looks great, particularly with the undercarriage at mid-travel.

👍

[Luiz]

Excelent!... very nice presentation!

 

Luiz.

[roginoz]

That's really nice, beautifully posed.

Generally a bit ambivalent about blurred props, but it really sets your build off.

Rog

[MattieR]

What a beautiful result. I wasn't aware of a 1/32 kit of the Texan/Harvard. Is this the KittyHawk kit? (you mentioned HK..). Did you use the AlleyCat canopy? 

[72modeler]

Very nice build and very creative display! Thanks for sharing the period photos with us. I have one hour of stick time in a Harvard, gotten back in 1997; wanted to see what my father went through when he was in flight training at Randolph Field in '44- he was right; better not unlock that tail wheel until you are parked on the ramp!

Mike

[galgos]

2 hours ago, MattieR said:

What a beautiful result. I wasn't aware of a 1/32 kit of the Texan/Harvard. Is this the KittyHawk kit? (you mentioned HK..). Did you use the AlleyCat canopy? 

Thank you Mattie, yes Kittyhawk not HK, I always get those wrong! Yes I used the Alleycat canopy but not without issue if it’s to be posed open like mine. The thickness of the resin means they do not sit happily on top of each other, so I used the middle section of the three as the aft section and made a blank frame on my Silhouette cutter, which I then painted and fixed inside the “slid back” section, I’ll post a picture later to illustrate.

 

 

The kit’s tail wheel set up is horribly wrong so I made one from scratch.

[galgos]

1 hour ago, 72modeler said:

Very nice build and very creative display! Thanks for sharing the period photos with us. I have one hour of stick time in a Harvard, gotten back in 1997; wanted to see what my father went through when he was in flight training at Randolph Field in '44- he was right; better not unlock that tail wheel until you are parked on the ramp!

Mike

Me too! I’d been used to flying Tiger Moths and the sensitive touch needed to fly them, but my immediate impression of the Harvard was how chunky and agricultural it was, especially with the huge rudder pedals. A pretty stable platform to fly, though with the very restricted view from the rear cockpit when taxiing and taking off, it must have been a risky business at times being an instructor!  

[72modeler]

On 7/24/2019 at 11:10 AM, galgos said:

it must have been a risky business at times being an instructor!  

My Dad used to tell me whenever a cadet taxied to the ramp in either a T-6, PT-17, or BT-14, the instructor would  examine each wingtip for grass or scuff marks to see if there had been a groundloop- the PT-17 being notoriously bad in that regard. He always marveled at how  hundreds of  planes could be in the air at the same time, with very few  radios, and that there were so few mid-airs! Those were the days! Following railroad tracks when lost on a cross-country flight to buzz a train station or water tower to see the name painted on it to find out where the h--- he was! (Try that in a T-38 or Hawk T1 nowadays!) If you'd ever been to south or west Texas back in the day and seen what the countryside looked like, you would understand- miles and miles of nothing but miles and miles!

Mike

Edited July 28, 2019 by 72modeler
corrected spelling

[Brandy]

Absolutely gorgeous, one of the best "spinning props" I've ever seen.

But I do have to question the full flaps with gear in transit.... gear should be down before full flaps are selected! (Unless the Harvard is a rare exception!)

 

Ian

[galgos]

1 hour ago, limeypilot said:

Absolutely gorgeous, one of the best "spinning props" I've ever seen.

But I do have to question the full flaps with gear in transit.... gear should be down before full flaps are selected! (Unless the Harvard is a rare exception!)

 

Ian

Let’s just call it “artistic licence” shall we?  Thank you for your comment about the prop, hard call about best representation but I think it’s the best for me. 

[IvanVasili]

That'a how a flying model should look like. Impressive model and so realistic !