'KIN Small! Pavla 1/72 Miles Messenger G-AKIN & full size !

[TEXANTOMCAT]

Something a little different from me - as normal it has a Sywell connnection but a personal one too! Also I think I deserve an 'I built a Pavla kit without being sectioned' badge.

 

So this is the 1/72 Pavla Messenger - pretty much the only game in town if you want one of FG's lovely aeroplanes. I picked this up cheap at Newark - a paltry couple of quid - mainly because it has the markings of G-AKIN - a 1947 Messenger 2A which has been based at Sywell since 1951 - and which I helped form a Trust to preserve - so I guess as a Trustee I own it!

 

Fairly crude IJ parts, some nice etch and resin. LOTS of scraping on the sides of the fuse to let the cockpit fit (detail of which was very nice) then lots of filler for the mainplanes. The central fin is way too tall and needs filing down. One of the UC legs was short shot - so I had to scratch another from the spares box, not entirely successfully. You are told to make UC leg braces from wire and an exhaust pipe. Then to the elephant in the room - the Vac Canopy. You get two - one military (square windows) and one civillian (with teardrop window) both were crushed in Pavla's crap box. Ulp. With KIN - the whole cockpit is canopy so I carefully trimmed and masked it - it didnt fit too well but some filler helped. On the fullsize the door bottoms are pronounced.  I replaced the prop which was crap in the box and added a pilot. sprayed Rustoleum plastic primer  (which is superb) with a couple of thick coats which had the benefit of giving depth to the window frames - on KIN the inside is white  so this helped then three coats of Humbrol Matt 73 Wine - applied by brush. decals were very good indeed - they were too wide for the fins and their size is wrong (I have the advantage of being able to look at the fullsize) for her current scheme and because of this when the central  fin is shortened they are incorrect in number (3 not 4)   -( NB   I've since spotted that prior to her recovering about 20 years ago she did have four on the outers and three on the inner so its right for then!) as they are the same size on all fins I overlooked this.....   but they were opaque and settled well with no silvering over two coats of Klear.

 

The finish on KIN is patchy and semi-matt, we should wax her more often...!

 

Made in memory of Norman Spiller.  For more on the Sywell Messenger Trust see here:

 

http://www.sywellaerodrome.co.uk/messenger.php

 

The build...

 

The cockpit - very nice once fuse  sides thinned to fit. Had to built up sides so canopy had something to fit to.

 

The IP is correct - there are two cubby holes to lose your maps in

Two very delicate sticks are provided - the spur on which it fits is shown here - mine was missing on the port side. This didn't bother me as a) I was going to fit a pilot and b) KIN doesn't have dual controls which is a pain when we convert pilots on her. 

 

DE33F2A4-E1FE-4FF1-AED5-0388993B2EEC by Ben Brown, on Flickr

 

 

25965887-6D37-435C-B09E-DE080E21D292 by Ben Brown, on Flickr

 

Pavla would have you use some tiny wedge shaped PE brackets folding in half to fit the flaps. As I am not mental I pinned them instead.

 

That canopy. GULP. Don't screw it up - there's only one!

 

98BFB33B-32AC-4966-BDC2-089370C9837B by Ben Brown, on Flickr

 

 

Much filling and sanding later... can't speak too highly of Rustoleum Plastic Primer

 

 

 

Brushing the Humbrol Matt - I used matt cos its easier to paint and after a couple of coats of Klear at the end looks very accurate as a semi-matt doped finish.

 

B0E7D623-A3BC-4C0A-A755-B8206082C882 by Ben Brown, on Flickr

 

 

 

 

And then the decals and final bits!

 

 

50A2B96B-3391-4E45-95F0-188F337E0BAB by Ben Brown, on Flickr

 

F44D5A87-79BC-4F89-B348-1BF7CDF71C08 by Ben Brown, on Flickr

 

I added the race numbers we put on her for an Old Warden Race Day the other year ... 

 

And here is 'KIN in the flesh. After Richard Shuttleworth's Moth, she holds the UK record for being the aircraft based continuously at one airfield for the longest period 1951-2020 

10390282_10152110084805976_1092956175561772979_n by Ben Brown, on Flickr

 

Note - post late 90s resto she grew an extra white stripe on each fin - 5 outer 4 inner - but  before that she had 4 outer and 3 inner - in writing this I've only just noticed this..!

10352258_10152110084980976_1559766768748324998_n by Ben Brown, on Flickr

 

10425368_10152110085505976_4589336758239176169_n by Ben Brown, on Flickr

 

Thanks for looking - I now need to build her sister racer Proctor III G-AHFK also raced by Johnny and Norman Spiller....

 

ATB

 

TT

 

 

 

 

Edited April 29, 2020 by TEXANTOMCAT

[Bangor Lad]

What a gorgeous little aircraft. Great build.

[Wulfman]

Great modelling, well done.

 

Wulfman

[Dave Swindell]

'KIN small, and 'KIN nice!

[John Aero]

Lovely to see, I was fortunate to be able to fly in KIN last year. The Messenger has always been one of my favorite aeroplanes.

 

John

[TEXANTOMCAT]

Thanks chaps! 👍
 

You were a very lucky man trying out our aeroplane John who flew you? We VERY rarely take pax! ATB TT

Edited April 30, 2020 by TEXANTOMCAT

[John Aero]

The name has slipped I'm afraid, but it was at the DH Moth Club Charity event last year. A privilege and a pleasure.

 

John

[fjaweijfopi4j48]

Beautiful model of a beautiful plane!

Very nicely done!

Cheers

[SAT69]

You got excellent results from a kit that fights back. It's nice that you have such a good association with the real airplane.

[chrisbob12]

That's lovely.

[Lightningboy2000]

Very impressive build, & I chuckled at your comment about attaching those flaps with pins! I can equally relate to that as life's too short! 😆

Really do like the old Miles aircraft.

 

Martin

[TEXANTOMCAT]

Thanks chaps! 👍

 

TT

[Vulcanicity]

That's lovely that is! Having built a Pavla kit once and never having been quite the same since, I feel your pain! Very jealous of you getting to play in the real thing, although I remember the Shuttleworth display well