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Marui 1/35 Cessna 172- 'The most excellent aircraft' (if not kit)


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More of a marker than anything for a few weeks, but I've retrieved this from the stash

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Sorry Spitfire/ Mustang/ Boeing 737 fans, but the Cessna 172 is the most produced aircraft in the world, which I guess warrants 'The most excellent aircraft' tag on the box. Not sure this kit will claim to be most excellent and that's before I even start mauling it. Suspect it's a fit the box scale because a few years later Matsui issued a 1/36 version.

 

Bi-lingual instructions...

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Could be helpful because the English on the box exhorts me to 'Try the beautiful floor- (with legs for the floor). There again, the English translation is on carbon paper - remember that? and very faded with the passage of time, so it might be a case of staring at the parts and pictures in turn.

 

Fortunately not too many parts to stare at

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Free tube of glue, classic build or not, I won't be risking it and it's out already.

 

Key reference book

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I'll measure it sometime and hazard a calculation of the scale, but suspect it'll be 'variable' if the accuracy of the dorsal profile is anything to go on

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Back in the hanger for a while now.

 

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Nice choice, great to see a bug smasher on the mix. Which reminds me I have a Cessna 337 lot in the stash from a Japanese manufacturer which might be eligible. I am away from home at the moment but will check it out on the weekend

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On 2/14/2023 at 12:34 AM, JOCKNEY said:

another less well known manufacturer

I'll put that down as an understatement! Though Scalemates (of course) lists them as quite a producer. Often in go it alone/ eclectic/ fit the box scales- 1:45 lunar module? or a  1:22 McLaren? Nice range of Japanese warships in scales from 1:740, 1;870 or 1:880.

 

Whatever scale it is, this version of the Cessna dates from 1969, and entered my stash around 1999, so it's long overdue it's moment of glory...

 

2 hours ago, Grandboof said:

Nice choice . Are you doing the JA reg ? I believe Pat will give you a bonus point if you do.

 

The age might be a problem as I think the decals will be shot but as well as the bonus point for a JA reg, how can I resist that it's for the Red Arrows Flight Club!

 

1 hour ago, Romeo Alpha Yankee said:

Nice choice, great to see a bug smasher on the mix. Which reminds me I have a Cessna 337 lot in the stash from a Japanese manufacturer which might be eligible.

Setting scale and accuracy to one side! I think the classic Japanese kits are a great source for GA models, I've done SO many Eidai and Aria Cessna and Beechcraft over the years.

 

The other thing about Japanese classic era, be it planes, tanks or cars is that they seem to suffer from a bit of a 'is it a toy, is it a model' syndrome with the bits for electric motors, battery boxes etc. Just think how many classic Tamiya tanks have a battery casing moulded in place.

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  • 1 month later...

I got this out of the box last night for some sprue fondling and put it straight back!

I'd clearly under-estimated just how 'toy-like' it is; hopefully it'll not be so intimidating in the cold light of day this afternoon.

The Arii 1/72 Cessna's have more detail than this. the wheels look like they're the balloon type sand tyres and oh the fit, or maybe misfit of it all.

Not to be taken too seriously, it'll be pretty OOB with a few tweaks and, I suspect, a catering pack of filler!!

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@AdrianMF that laugh emoji might be hysteria in reality: I glued some pieces together and scratch my head a lot last night...

 

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The scale on the wingspan comes out at about 1/39 so even the 1/36 rebooting wasn't much closer to correct. but IF ONLY that was the only problem. Did I say OOB? Guess it becomes a case of how much or little of this I can live with.

 

Admittedly I only spent a couple of years hanging around with Cessnas and it was mainly C206 and C210, but I never noticed that the tip of the fuselage was actually part of the rudder assembly. Nor that Cessna had been pioneers of variable wing technology- It may not show too clearly but the movable surface is in a completely different place to the actually control surface on the tail.

 

Cutting the front 'bench seat' into two separate seats will be a doddle, but possibly irrlevelant because the transparencies are a very funky blue tint! Oh and there's the whole thing about the wingtip shape and the dorsal fillet being miles adrift....

 

Curiously glad to go to work on a Monday for a rest!!!

 

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On 2/15/2023 at 8:23 AM, Romeo Alpha Yankee said:

Nice choice, great to see a bug smasher on the mix. Which reminds me I have a Cessna 337 lot in the stash from a Japanese manufacturer which might be eligible. I am away from home at the moment but will check it out on the weekend

Ray- how long is an Australian weekend?!!! Did you check out your C337? I did the Arrii one a decade or more ago and it was good fun (hint hint because thew world ends more bug smashers)

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12 hours ago, Mjwomack said:

Ray- how long is an Australian weekend?!!! Did you check out your C337? I did the Arrii one a decade or more ago and it was good fun (hint hint because thew world ends more bug smashers)

As long as I want it to be, being semi-retired now :D I am also just back from sipping Mai Tais in the Aloha state for the last 2 weeks :D :D 🍸

 

I did find the kit and as a bonus, it had 2 kits in the box, one released by Arii (civil) and one released by Entex (USAF). The USAF decals are not good so I might see if I can cobble something more decent up for that one.

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The 337 is such a curiosity of a plane that I just had to build one. Even though I've never seen a real one

Classic nostalgia for a classic kit GB, and I just checked out what kingkit had in stock for arii; not much and outrageous price! When did they become so collectable?  Or maybe they're not and that's why they've got them at that price. Ip aid nothing like that sort of money 20 years ago for sure 

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6 hours ago, Mjwomack said:

The 337 is such a curiosity of a plane that I just had to build one. Even though I've never seen a real one

Classic nostalgia for a classic kit GB, and I just checked out what kingkit had in stock for arii; not much and outrageous price! When did they become so collectable?  Or maybe they're not and that's why they've got them at that price. Ip aid nothing like that sort of money 20 years ago for sure 

I've had my kits for some time, not sure what I paid for them. It was not too much, maybe $10 each at the time?

 

There is an 0-2 flying for a museum in central NSW which I have seen a few times.

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Part of the problem is that, even more than normal, I don't know what I'm doing🤪. I keep flip flopping between throwing it together in recognition of its toy like roots, and then wanting to try and make something half-decent from it. I've decided the cabin isn't worth a lot of effort because of the 'funky' tinted windows and the complete paucity of detail. So far, I've settled for splashing some paint around...

 

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Just look in awe at how much filler those doors alone are going to need!

 

For a bit of classic Japanese, here's the Eidai C172 in 1/72 scale (see what I did there), modified into a taildragger and cargo pod for a previous GB, this was one that I worked with in the mid 1990s

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On 26/03/2023 at 20:23, Mjwomack said:

I keep flip flopping between throwing it together in recognition of its toy like roots, and then wanting to try and make something half-decent from it.

Absolutely! The perfect statement of the classic kit builder's dilemma. 
 

Looking forward to seeing which way you go 🍿

 

Regards,

Adrian

 

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All classic kis should be treated as Character building, which we modellers like to use instead of "what on earth was I thinking when I started this !"

 

Good luck

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  • 3 months later...

Even for mew, this is embarrassing. But I feel that for a DNF it rivals the 'dog ate my homework' sort of apology. Simply, I've lost the kit!!!! I admit it; this may be the KUTA needed to clean my workbench because that's where I last saw it, but I can now find no trace of it.

 

Wonder what else I'm going to find, on, under, beside the workbench, very little money I imagine.

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Ahhh, the carpet monster was taunted in a different thread I believe, and now you must pay the price.

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  • 4 months later...

What goes through the vortex, doesn´t come out again. Hope you can retrieve the kit one day. Put an Apple tracker on it next time. 😁

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