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Miles Trainers


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I took part in the Frog Squad GB with three builds of classic kits. The first was a not-very-clever build of a not-terribly-accurate Ju88, so it stays in the GB gallery! The other two were ideal candidates for my 1940 obsession, being examples of Miles trainers, the Magister and Master.

 

Miles M.14 Magister MkI

 

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The Frog 1/72nd scale Magister kit was released in about 1964. The example I built dated from around that time, and came in very bright yellow styrene, and with a price of two shillings on the box! Although lacking in interior details, the kit actually stands up very well. It's dimensionally accurate, and only really needed a little TLC and some thought to make a very presentable model. I already have an RS Models Magister in the cabinet, with the spatted main wheels, so building the Frog kit gives me a model with bare knees too!

 

I limited work to scribing the panel lines, adding stretched sprue to represent the engine cover hinges, wire brake lines for the main wheels, the reinforcing strips across the wings, and carving some folds into the night-flying hood. I didn't bother with adding interior detail, though with hindsight some simple light blocking bulkheads would have been useful. Very little filler was needed, testament to the toolmakers' skill all those years ago. The 50-year-old transfers had yellowed a little, but a few days exposed to sunlight cured that. The aircraft civilian registration is correct for the model, and I found photos of the actual plane in RAF service on the Imperial War Museum web site to prove it! The unit codes and registration transfers all worked well, with no cracking at all. What the sun couldn't cure was the out-of-register printing of the national markings, so I substituted suitable alternatives from my stock of spares. Painting was by brush, using Humbrol and Revell acrylics, with some detail painting done with Humbrol enamels. 

 

Miles M.19 Master MkII

 

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The original Frog kit of the Miles Master dates to about the same time as the Magister. This build, however, was of the Eastern Express repop. Now, I might hear you say that Frog didn't actually make a MkII, and you would be quite correct. The kit started out as a MkIII, with the Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp engine. Just for fun, I wondered if it might be feasible to cross-kit with some spares from an old Frog Blenheim to give me a Bristol Mercury and cowling to make the somewhat more numerous MkII variant. 

 

The Blenheim duly sacrificed an engine and cowling, plus a propeller. An old Spitfire kit coughed up a spinner, and also a pair of wheels to replace the rather puny and misshapen efforts on the original sprues. The rear fuselage was too deep, and with the aid of some kindly donated scale drawings, I was able to reshape it. That led to some shenanigans with canopies that nearly led to the model being consigned to the shelf of doom. In the end, with more donations, I managed to get a canopy that actually worked, with the added bonus of popping the instructor's windshield up - not because it makes a cool feature, but because it avoided having to create a complicated 3D shape from flat material! 

 

The replacement power plant was grafted on successfully, and various panel lines scribed. Some rudimentary cockpit detailing was done, and seats were sourced from an old Reheat PE sheet I found in my stash. Like the Magister, I opted to brush paint the model, and the various markings were made up from my transfers stock. It was actually quite hard to pin down MkII serial numbers, and I'm still not certain the one I've used wasn't a renumbering thing a bit later than 1940, but there you go.

 

In the end, I was pleased with the outcome. Both trainers are now in the 1940 display cabinet, and will be joined by other period trainers in time. Thanks to all those who encouraged me with the builds, and helped with material as well as moral support, and thank you for looking!

 

Build threads in the GB forum are here:

 

 

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Great little trainers!

 

I especially enjoyed the b/w photo of the Magister. The figures are so well posed – no doubt about who's the instructor, telling his pupil not to forget to steady the ball in the middle by using rudder in the turns…

 

Very good work!

 

Kind regards,

 

Joachim

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Very nice pair there Heather.

I'm curious though, was the yellow on the fuselage the same yellow as the roundals?  In real life would it have been a seamless transition on the yellow?

 

Ian

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11 minutes ago, limeypilot said:

I'm curious though, was the yellow on the fuselage the same yellow as the roundals?  In real life would it have been a seamless transition on the yellow?

Indeed it should be. My original plan had been to use masks to paint the yellow area, and place an A type roundel in it. In the end, I chickened out as I was brush painting and used roundels with the yellow outer ring. I can never seem to get the right density of yellow paint to match the transfers, annoyingly.

 

I promise to try harder when I next try a yellow-belly trainer! I’ve got a pair of Tiger Moths pending, but they can wait until I’m strong enough to tackle a biplane or two as well as more yellow paint!

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14 hours ago, Work In Progress said:

These are great to see. Your improved and modified Mark II Master is a particular pleasure to see. Thanks for showing these two!

Thank you. 

11 hours ago, Gary Brantley said:

So cool! 😎 I really dig those b&w photos too!!

I felt the B&W treatment suited the subjects.

10 hours ago, RMCS said:

Lovley 

Ta.

9 hours ago, chrisbob12 said:

Sweet builds, and very nicely photographed. Thank you for posting.

Thank you. I need to make a new grass base that looks a bit less blotchy. If anyone has some spare time they can lend me, that would help! 

9 hours ago, Pat C said:

Great builds Heather and as others have said the B&W pics with the figures are superb!!

The figures come from the Revell RAF crew set. They are nicely modelled, and lend themselves to posing around models like this.

14 minutes ago, JWM said:

Great that you've corrected too deep fuselage of Frog Master. Very good result for both builds!

I wasn’t initially aware of the fuselage error until another build highlighted it. When you discover things like that, it very hard to ignore them, so I made the decision to sort it out. I don’t think I got the fuselage cross section shape right in the end, and the problem then arose that the mods stopped the kit transparency from fitting properly. That caused me all kinds of issues when I tried to make new parts. Looking at it another way, it’s all a good learning experience, and I’m happy overall with the finished model.

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1 hour ago, Heather Kay said:

I wasn’t initially aware of the fuselage error until another build highlighted it. When you discover things like that, it very hard to ignore them, so I made the decision to sort it out. I don’t think I got the fuselage cross section shape right in the end, and the problem then arose that the mods stopped the kit transparency from fitting properly. That caused me all kinds of issues when I tried to make new parts. Looking at it another way, it’s all a good learning experience, and I’m happy overall with the finished model.

Yes, you are that if you read about an obvious mistake it is hard to "forget" so to ignore it...

BTW once I made both Master (PW engine) and Martinet (Bristol engine, new canopy and larger wingspan)  from Frog/Novo kit and Master Mk I by Pavla. Maybe I dhould follow you and do next master with Bristol engine?

Since I like to convert, I did also Miles Falcon Six and Miles Speed Six using as base Frog/Novo Magister - so maybe I will inspire you here?

 

 

Unfortunatelly I have not engraved pannel lines doing them...

Best regards

J-W

 

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1 minute ago, JWM said:

Since I like to convert, I did also Miles Falcon Six and Miles Speed Six using as base Frog/Novo Magister - so maybe I will inspire you here?

You are tempting me further down a rabbit hole, sir! 

 

My 1940 aim (to model at least one example of every operational type on all sides in the Western European theatre) is already beginning to blur. I’m being tempted by more Mediterranean theatre, and before too long that will spread into North Africa… 

 

The question is, where do I stop? I have to draw a line at some point, after all. To include every ex-civilian and one-off plane that was pressed into service starts to get a bit confusing. I think for the training and communications side, RAF at least, I shall stick with the types I have already built and have in the stash. They cover the variety quite well without confusing things too much.

 

By the way, it’s not compulsory to scribe panel lines. Do what makes you happy. :wink:

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