ICM models, Stearman PT 17 engine issue

Right now I'm building an ICM P-51B kit. It appears to be a Tamiya knock-off. Parts are similar and construction is similar. The plastic is very soft and there are no locating pins to help with parts alignment. I think it's going to build up nice although I did buy white metal landing gear for the build. The kit landing gear looks to be pretty fragile. The kit decals look nice but maybe a little thick and they are very glossy.

that is some of the softest plastic I've seen in a model. That flexibility seems to help it take the abuse of sanding and scraping on the more delicate parts........

Oh and I should have done more research........Continental R-670-5 engine, whoops, had the push rods on the firewall side.....

Yes, the Continental R-670 had the valve pushrods on the rear of the cylinders.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_R-670

Chris

What a deal, ICM is issuing this kit with the R-985, W-670, and the Lycoming R-680 in three different boxings.  An easy conversion to a duster with the R-985 boxing.

fotofrank

Right now I'm building an ICM P-51B kit. It appears to be a Tamiya knock-off. Parts are similar and construction is similar. The plastic is very soft and there are no locating pins to help with parts alignment. I think it's going to build up nice although I did buy white metal landing gear for the build. The kit landing gear looks to be pretty fragile. The kit decals look nice but maybe a little thick and they are very glossy.

 

I agree.  I laid the sprues from the 2 kits side-by-side and compared them.  I think it's a one-to-one copy.  Not a bad build, but there were 2 areas that gave me trouble.

One was that the instrument panel didn't fit.  I had to sand a bit on both sides, to get the fuselage to close at that position.

The other was that the piece that makes up the cockpit floor and the underside of the fuselage at the back of the radiator vent didn't fit.  There were ledges molded into the fuselage interior, and it looked like the floor piece should rest on top of them.  But I found that it actually fit between those ledges when the fuselage halves were assembled.

The decals were finicky, too.  Some of them had a tendency to curl as they left the backing sheet, and I had to use a brush to maneuver them around and get them straightened out.  The "Tommy's Dad" script decal, for example.

But it was only ten bucks from Squadron, and I got the boxing you show there, with a bonus set of 5 figures.  So it was worth it.

gobears01

I thought I was crazy at first, but, has anyone built an ICM models PT 17 Stearman? I just started to put the engine together and discovered the push rods are on the back side of the cylinders!

This is my first ICM model of about 60 kits i've built during this nightmare.

I'll have to get on their website and send a complaint.

Other then that, the kit is pretty clean and part fits are nice and clean. Engine detail is nice. I guess after market engine is next........ 

Do you mean this kit?

http://www.icm.com.ua/news/713-stearman-pt-13n2s-25-kaydet-american-training.html

It looks like it's a new release, so I don't think too many of us have built it yet.  In any case, I didn't know ICM was bringing out a Stearman.

Baron, they are doing 3 versions, the PT-13 you noted is not the one being built here, which is a PT-17 with the Continental W-670.  The PT-13 had a Lycoming R-680, while the one I interested in is a postwar Stearman with the R-985 as most cropdusters were retrofitted.  A surfeit of goodness!

Thanks, John!  I didn't know ICM had brought out any Stearman at all.

Yea, MY BAD...........what threw me was the box art on the PT 17 Kaydet Trainer.....Kit#32050..........The box art shows a different engine. So I did a little more research after I hastily posted my whining.........The Lycoming R670-5 engine did have push rods on the back side.

gobears01, how's your Stearman coming along? I finally closed up the fuselage on the ICM Mustang. Now i'm filling and sading the seams, before I attach the wing.