This was my first civil aircraft I built (I build military aircraft primarily), and I painted it to look like the Cherokee that I had a flying lesson in earlier this summer. The model is Minicraft's 1/48 kit, and boy is it tiny! I didnt realize how small of an aircraft it was....my P-51 models dwarf it!
The kit had some rather soft plastic, and didnt give you an option of removing the pods around the wheel.The kit was also a tail-sitter and I had to be creative in finding places to stuff enough weight to get it to sit properly. I added some detail in the cockpit and even scratched together a log book from little plastic squares for the binding, and tape for pages (the book is only about 3 mm across). To show off the interior I cut open the entry door. The flaps were also cut apart and dropped, and the stabilator was positioned slightly upwards. The clear pieces didnt fit all that well and Im still not happy about their final appearance....
I have no way of making my own decals, so the markings had to be cut out and painted by hand. The paint scheme on my model is the same as the plane I flew, but due to my limited skill in cutting out letters and numbers and having them look nice, I changed the ID code to easier shapes. I added static discharges and antennas from wire, as well as a thin stick of plastic from by spares box.
But enough chit-chat, here are the pics:
![](http://i1024.photobucket.com/albums/y309/callsignOWL/Piper%20Cherokee%20140/DSCN4252.jpg)
![](http://i1024.photobucket.com/albums/y309/callsignOWL/Piper%20Cherokee%20140/DSCN4251.jpg)
![](http://i1024.photobucket.com/albums/y309/callsignOWL/Piper%20Cherokee%20140/DSCN4248.jpg)
![](http://i1024.photobucket.com/albums/y309/callsignOWL/Piper%20Cherokee%20140/DSCN4243.jpg)
![](http://i1024.photobucket.com/albums/y309/callsignOWL/Piper%20Cherokee%20140/DSCN4242.jpg)
![](http://i1024.photobucket.com/albums/y309/callsignOWL/Piper%20Cherokee%20140/DSCN4241.jpg)
![](http://i1024.photobucket.com/albums/y309/callsignOWL/Piper%20Cherokee%20140/DSCN4240.jpg)
![](http://i1024.photobucket.com/albums/y309/callsignOWL/Piper%20Cherokee%20140/DSCN4239.jpg)
![](http://i1024.photobucket.com/albums/y309/callsignOWL/Piper%20Cherokee%20140/DSCN4238.jpg)
as always, comments are appreciated!
OWL