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Hello everyone... This is my final entry from the Movie/TV group build. It is the Stearman flown by Walter Matthau in the movie. I used Revell’s 1/72 Stearman kit, with an Resin engine. I scratch built some details also. I built the pesticide Hopper where the forward cockpit would be. I also did a scratch built Venturi crop dusting tray and taller tail wheel strut. Here is a link to the build if you might be interested. 

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Questions, comments, and or thoughts ? 

 

Dennis

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It's a fun model and a great reminder of the film, which I need to look out again. I think the kit stands up well too despite being an oldie. I have several of them in both the new 1/48 and the old 1/72 versions and intend to do some conversion work with at least some of them. It's such an adaptable aeroplane.

 

I love your cropduster conversion to the airframe, the hopper and the spray dispenser are beautifully done.  Using an old tyre as the rear exhaust manifold was a good idea which I shall try myself one day.

 

Since you ask for thoughts - 

I see you have gone for a 1200 hp Wright R-1820 engine. Eek. The standard aircraft is around 220 hp with various engines in the R-675 class, and the big-engined crop-duster conversions generally doubled that with the 450hp P&W R-985 taken from a war-surplus BT-13.

So this one, with more than five times the original power, has enough to accelerate vertically upwards and hover off the prop at half throttle.

 

Still, they're both 9-cylinder radials. though the R-1820 is about 8 inches bigger in diameter than an R-985. A few people have done the R-985 in 1/72 and I am on the lookout for them in the second-hand market. If you ever want to modify this to R-985 configuration these are the sources I know of:

https://www.scalemates.com/kits/small-stuff-72113-pratt-and-whitney-r-985-wasp-junior-engine--1124204

https://www.scalemates.com/kits/aeroclub-e012-9-cyl-pandw-wasp-junior-and-2-blade-prop--655718

https://www.scalemates.com/kits/engines-and-things-72021-pratt-and-whitney-r-985-wasp-jr--957658

https://www.scalemates.com/kits/metallic-details-mdr7240-pratt-and-whitney-r-985-wasp-junior--1253338

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Stearmans (Stearmen?) converted to crop dusting is a rpie and rewarding field for conversion, as you have shown with your excellent model!

 

And now there's also the 1:48th Revell Stearman, just waiting to cut down and clip wings and replace engine and scratch spraying rigs on…

 

Kind regards,

 

Joachim

 

EDIT: Work in Progress, I just love your description of the potential RL effect of an R-1820 in the nose of a Stearman. Unless it took off by itself after ripping out the engine mounts.

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6 hours ago, Work In Progress said:

Since you ask for thoughts - 

I see you have gone for a 1200 hp Wright R-1820 engine. Eek. The standard aircraft is around 220 hp with various engines in the R-675 class, and the big-engined crop-duster conversions generally doubled that with the 450hp P&W R-985 taken from a war-surplus BT-13.

So this one, with more than five times the original power, has enough to accelerate vertically upwards and hover off the prop at half throttle.

Thanks for the compliments. I agree and when i revisit this someday i will definitely try to get the correct engine. I looked for the smallest 9 cylinder i could find. I know its not correct and thats one of the small reasons I'm not super happy about the build. It sat on a shelf for two months waiting for decals. 

 

6 hours ago, Spitfire31 said:

And now there's also the 1:48th Revell Stearman, just waiting to cut down and clip wings and replace engine and scratch spraying rigs on…

Thanks for the compliments. I would have preferred the 1/48th kit but budgetary reasons prevented that at the time of the purchase. 

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