the more delicate parts are attached
to their sprues by substantial
sprue gates, and much care is
required when separating them.
But also immediately evident
is the quality of the plastic –
beautifully moulded raised
stitching detail along the wings,
subtly recessed panel lines, and
wonderfully sculpted and hollow
louvres on the engine cowls. The
styrene is matt in appearance
and very slightly textured.
I began by cutting the majority
of the parts from the sprues and
sorting them into painting order: all
the pieces to be painted in a wood
efect in one pile, all of the metal
pieces in another, and so on. This
to me is the most practical way to
approach a vintage aircraft with
its mass of disparate components.
There was no lash evidentanywhere and only the merest
of seam lines to clean up, so the
parts were quickly ready for paint.
I began with those items to be
painted in a wood efect, such as
the cockpit wall and loor panels,
the interior spars, and the prop.
These were base coated in an
orange-brown enamel mix, which
when dry was oversprayed in a dark
brown mix. The dark brown was
then streaked using a fan-headed
paintbrush dampened with white
spirit to create a grain efect.
The propeller was inished with
a little more care; it too was base
coated in orange-brown before
being masked with thinly cut strips
of tape. This created a laminate
efect along the length of the prop,
over which was airbrushed the
dark brown enamel mix. Once
this had dried thoroughly andthe masking had been removed, I
washed the prop with black enamel,
brushing the wet paint into streaks
to create a pleasing wood grain
efect. The propeller would later be
varnished and polished to a high
shine using Micro Mesh cloths.WOOD WORK
The cockpit is simply furnished
but the detail is pleasing. Metal
struts are delicately moulded
and the separate wooden spars
that line the curved fuselage
walls are also nicely replicated.
There are several small70 • DECEMBER 2018 • SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL