Old Scale models I built...

I like old 40's, 50's and 60's Scale models and have built a few. Here is a 1947 24" Scientific kit of the Beechcraft Staggerwing I restored, modified and finished for my father in the same markings as his Staggerwing he taught me to fly in when I was a kid back in the 70's. Also a 1950 Paul Plecan plans built 52 inch Tigercat that I built for VSC in 2007 because all Olde Time designs are ugly and I wanted to have the Olde Time Stunt design that was anti-ugly.

Beechcraft; Hollow log kit, sheet tail, built up wings, made for ignition but equipped with a McCoy Sportsman .36 rear rotor engine which was the first engine designed by Dick McCoy for the glow plug, also in 1947. Froom spinner, Grish Plasticote prop, Champion glow plug, Veco wheels, Perfect wheel collars, Veco tank and bellcrank with piano wire controls and sheet brass around piano wire hinges. The gear doors are plywood, I covered it with PolySpan and dope, the fuselage and sheet was carbon fibre veil and dope, and finished it with LusterKote. I would've been better off with dope because the LusterKote ClearKote crazed after a year and made bad Aerogloss look good. The decals were custom made for me by Keith Robinson of Red Pegasus Decals in Ohio. The little McCoy and Beechcraft decals with a tiny gold backed Scientific logo under the Beechcraft logo were beautifully made and customized by Keith, and the whole model was built under the motif of how my father might've built his own "dream ship" in the 40's when he was a teenager. I presented it to him for Christmas and he loved it.

Tigercat; Plecan plans were provided full size by Keith Trostle and I built the fuselage, fin and nacelles/cowlings by the plans by using a carbon paper trace and trimming and sanding to proper fit, glued it together by the keel method as described in the plans, and the wing and stab were foam cut by Bob Hunt of Stunt flying and foam and lost foam wing construction fame. I planked the fuselage and nacelles like the olden days and it was a lot of fun, it all sanded together nicely. The cowling drawings were of concern because the 1/2 inch balsa I used was 4.5 pound density and I wanted the drawings to be accurate and all of the layers actually meet when it got down to the size and shape while shaping them. Paul Plecan drew some good plans because it worked perfectly. Bob Whitely made the tanks, and the original engines were OS 15 FPs with APC 9x5s. The model was painted with LusterKote over LustreKote white and the stencils were made by Emily at CLC in New Mexico. After about a dozen flights at two contests I retired it and retro'd it's look with McCoy 19 redhead engines from my long ago youth, Veco 2 inch spinners, 8x5 Power Props, Veco main wheels (later with Perfect wheel collars), and a Perfect nosewheel and wheel collar. The canopy and windshield were flat plastic glued around a plywood frame and the pilot a Williams Bros 1" to 1' WWII type. The finish was turning by the time I took these pictures in 2010 and this is the problem with LusterKote, it isn't a stable or reliable finish and I cannot recommend it to anyone, I threw all of my remaining cans in the trash. I would stay with dope or urethane car paint from now on.

Hope you all like a little blast of the control line past. (I have a couple more coming up, a Sterling Corsair Carrier model and a Top Flite P-51 Form Flite Scale ship with 60's racer paint scheme.)

Chris...