k5054nz Posted January 30, 2023 Share Posted January 30, 2023 (edited) Hi all, Seven months ago I decided to scratchbuild a model of a Skycraft Scout microlight, inspired by Jonathan Mauchline's (chief flying instructor at my local aero club) resurrection of Mk.III ZK-RWW. When I saw how simple the real deal was I figured it wouldn't be that hard to build my own in scale... I started with a three-view drawing from the internet, suitably scaled to 1/48 (chosen because I found a seat so scaled in my spares that looked about right) and printed off to act as an assembly guide. From there it was a matter of cutting strips from corrugated styrene sheet for the wing spars and ribs, and using a rectangular section of scrap styrene for the fuselage keel. I then hunted through 30yr of spare parts for various elements I couldn't make myself - wheels and prop chief among them - and other parts that could be combined for elements such as the distinctive tapered tuned exhaust. For the wings and control surfaces I decided to roughly approximate the real deal by laying down a sheet of thin clear styrene, adding the spar and ribs, and then a top sheet of clear styrene. Originally I smothered the inside face of each wing sheet but this resulted in slight warping. I tried to fix this with hot water and a couple of books but the result was an even more warped and shrunken pair of wings. Disheartened, I put the assembled fuselage with tail and other parts aside while I focused on other projects. I then replicated the original wing idea minus the excess glue, ie only applying glue to the ribs. This means a non-prototypical open trailing edge but a much nicer appearance. When rigging a 1/1 scale Scout someone of my height can just fit under the wingtips - it turns out Humbrol tinlets are perfect for the job in this scale! I reckon rigging RWW for flight takes about half as long as it did for this model. The elastic is overscale but I feel captures the look well. Add the prop (cut down from a Fokker Dr.I) and distinctive motorbike fuel tank (in this case a blister from...something. Fw190?) and voila! Mini-RWW! I was dropping off a commissioned model at the airport this afternoon so figured there was no time like the present to reveal my secret project to an unsuspecting Jonny, who had been out Austering. He was floored and rather taken by the model, which was a very humbling reaction. He has recently returned to the hobby himself and made a couple of display bases for 1/72 WW2 fighters, one of which he quickly evicted so it could be repurposed! Now to figure out a way to display the two ZK-RWWs together...and find a come-back for those smart alecks who immediately say "Well you have to build the other two he owns..."!! Edited January 30, 2023 by k5054nz 30 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc72 Posted January 30, 2023 Share Posted January 30, 2023 Great work! Ultralights are definitely not well represented here. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandeha Lynch Posted January 30, 2023 Share Posted January 30, 2023 Genius work. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BleedingBlue Posted January 30, 2023 Share Posted January 30, 2023 Excellent scratch building. You made a very accurate and convincing model. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TEXANTOMCAT Posted January 30, 2023 Share Posted January 30, 2023 What a lovely little thing - well done! TT 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichieW Posted January 30, 2023 Share Posted January 30, 2023 Excellent scratch build, what a lovely project. You must be so pleased with the result. It looks terrific. Microlight pilots are bonkers, taking to the air in what is little more than a kite with a lawn mower engine. It does look fun! Richie 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bughunter Posted January 30, 2023 Share Posted January 30, 2023 Sweet and well built! Looks like a more modern Demoiselle Cheers, Frank 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Russell Posted January 30, 2023 Share Posted January 30, 2023 Excellent work - certainly unusual. It reminds me of the plastic and tissue paper models put out by Renwal. So, you are a full size Humbrol tinlet then! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sky Keg Posted January 30, 2023 Share Posted January 30, 2023 Outstanding!!!! What an awesome reaction to the gift as well. Mike 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
invidia Posted January 30, 2023 Share Posted January 30, 2023 Fantastic little model 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spitfire31 Posted January 30, 2023 Share Posted January 30, 2023 What a wonderfully cute li'l model! Inspired, and inspiring, modelling! Kind regards, Joachim 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k5054nz Posted January 30, 2023 Author Share Posted January 30, 2023 Wow, folks, I didn't expect this kind of response! Thank you all very much! It's very humbling. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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