did they were very thin and didn’t
want to move on the surface of the
model. I had to put more water
on them to get them to slide into
position, and then the first side-
flash settled too low and did not
want to move any further. So both
the side-flashes are a bit too low.
The ‘“Cub” emblem is made up
from four separate decals, one for
each layer, although I didn’t use
the top layer as I felt it was so badly
printed that it risked ruining what
had gone before. The fin number istoo large to fit as the instructions
suggest; indeed, I could not find
a single photo of a real Cub with
a fin number as large as this. But
in the end, the decals settled well
and look fine under a finishing
coat of Tamiya TS-13 Gloss Clear.
The propeller and exhaust
pipes were brush painted and,
along with the main and tailwheels, were the final parts to
fit. The rigging wires for the tail
were fitted using elastic thread.
In the end, after a bit of a battle,
I think I’ve ended up with a pretty
neat representation of one of the
most successful light aircraft
designs ever, the Piper J3 Cub.The finished
model alongside
the SMER L4, the
militarized version
of the Cub.86 • NOVEMBER 2017 • SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL
PIPER J3 CUB
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