1964 Aurora Aero Commander: FINISHED!!!!

Another great diorama. Just amazing.

Frank,

Nicely done.

I caught the registration numbers.  Wasn't there an umbrella on the plane too.  Although, I know that might have been hard to reproduce.

Enjoyed the look, thanks,

Nice work Frank! You sure are good at photography.

That is a ver beautiful model and a VERY cool way of posing it! I find it particularly amusing since one of the courses I play is right next door to our local G.A. field. Haven't gotten buzzed by anything bigger than a bee, though!

Beautiful dio!

I too caught Bob Hoover's performance in the Aero Commander. I was a kid of about 11 or 12 and it just blew me away, great flying and then finished by doing 2 loops and landing with BOTH engines shut down and props feathered !!

I wonder how difficult it would be to turn that kit into a 500s Commander, the type that Hoover made famous. I have about 1,000 hrs. in the 500S flying as an air attack for the BLM or Forest Service. Great airplane. The only thing bad about it is it is a little underpowered for air ports above 3,000 ft. MSL. You lose and engine and you probably not get back to the airport. Other than that the airplane was great to fly.

Awesome dio, Frank! I love the two-tone blue markings on the aircraft, as well.

I never knew that Aurora kitted a Twin Commander... I may have to track one down sometime. My old CFI is now flying cargo in Twin Commanders, he absolutely loves the airplane.

Kevin

Nice job! Love the golf corse setting! Makes me want to dig mine out, and get to work on it! Dave.

Thanks Mike, Brad, Squid, Darwin, and John...

Mike, it certainly is a great feeling to be able to turn the proverbial sow's ear into a silk purse, and strange how those particular builds seem to always come out as our favorites...

Brad; from one old Scratcher to another, thank you sir!

Darwin; yes, if one of the Golfers that day worked for the FAA, ace pilot there would find himself grounded for sure!      I have had the privledge of being on the Flight Line at Oshkosh to thrill to Bob Hoover's work in person, and it's an experience I will never forget!

John, out of all the GA aircraft one can see at the airport, the Aero Commander was the one I would stare at the most!     For me, to see one taxi by, sitting low on the ground as they do, just got my attention.     It must have been great to get to fly them!

Take care and thanks again!

Frank

The whole thing looks great Frank, but I especially like your method on the props.  I made some molds from one of these kits but haven't cast any yet, the wings are going to be a challenge unless I find a way to do them under pressure.  It is a very nice kit.  The Commander is one of my favorites of all the types I've flown, I flew a 500B for a while.  It was expensive to maintain and noisy in the cabin, but from the pilot's perspective it just made me feel good.  But I never buzzed the golf course!

Beautiful work on the dio.  The golfers undoubtedly didn't appreciate the buzz job, nor would the FAA.

The USAF version of the Aero Commander was known as the U-4.  They had recip and turbo versions.

Bob Hoover used to put on a spectacular air show routine with an Aero Commander.

Darwin, O.F. 

You've done a fantastic eye catching job (build and setting) on a really handsome bird.

Kudos.

Looks Great Franks,

Brad Shinn

Way to go making a great model out of an older, less than state of the art kit.

Curiously, some of my best finished pieces started out that way too.

Thanks Kenny,

Here's how I did the props....

If you don't want to use an airbrush on the blurs, just put the base colors in the center and do a drybrush fade on either side.

Take care,

Frank

That's really cool. A great looking aircraft. I was wondering, just how did you do the props, they look real good. I've just recently used prop blur photo etched props on a project, they're pretty good.

                                                                                                           Ken

Thanks Josh,

 Yes, the old Aurora kits are expensive and short lived when they are on the market.   I got real lucky finding this one where i did.... still conflicting if I done the right thing by building it, but oh well..

I put the Commander into the dio scene late last evening and was able to make a couple photos before the inside of the case started fogging up. (lesson #297 - allow dio scenery to cure completely before taking the enclosed case into a different temprature)

Without further ado: "Foré!"





Enjoy,
Frank

Yes, I am aware. I was just getting at the fact that these old Aurora kits are ridiculously expensive. Like so: Stupid expensive

Josh

Thats not the same plane Frank is building...

Erm, maybe not. Expensive Aurora Aero something or other

Josh

That is a cool looking plane. If I find one of those kits I think I'll need to pick it up, which may be a task as it looks a little old. Is that a military version on the box cover?

Josh

Thanks Jeremy and 9.... 

     It has a detailed interior, with two female passengers in the aft bench seat and their husbands up front.           My former Dentist used to own an AERO COMMANDER 560 that he and his wife used to vacation in twice a year, and he was more than happy to take joyriders out for a trip around the patch when he'd come down to the airport to check on it.        After he died, his estate didn't attempt to sell it and it sat down there and rotted away into junk.    Sad indeed.

Take care,

Frank

Thats a nice looking plane.   Are you going to ad any details to the interior?

Awesome build Frank!

I don't know anything about the Aero Commander but it sure is a good looking plane. Looking forward to seeing it finished.