Completed the "as found" Cox Golden Bee Piper Cub

A first for me.  I always wanted to do a minimum clean-up of the type of model airplane balsa or plastic that that I usually buy.  Normally I tear them down to parts and start from there.  Not this time.  I did a normal clean-up on the Golden Bee as it's not going back on, substituting instead a more appropriate vintage Babe Bee.  

I repaired the horizontal stab and elevator with the broken parts that the seller included, but I did not add the back end of the rudder as I knew that I could never replicate the finish, then wiped the whole thing down with a microfiber towel.  Any detergent, water, or solvent would deteriorate the finish especially the decals which I wanted to save.

Outside of that and the replacement Babe Bee it's as the seller sent it to me minus about a half inch of the lead-out's.  The wheels are original, and I believe they came with the kit.  Nasty, but I'm keeping them.  Had to do extensive surgery on one to remove all the bubbles maybe from fuel being dripped on it.  

Minor changes are sanding the rust off the landing gear, elevator control rod, and the lead-out's then coating them with Howard's wax.  And the wheel collars are not the ones that were on it.  Way too big for the original landing gear.  Substituted from parts on hand.  

As found.





Presently, not that much different.

Three coats of gloss clear.








Contrast






Yeah, the elevator works. Flyable.