Revell 1:48 Stearman PT-17 Build

This kit is now on my must have list! Seems like it's a kit that can be built out of the box for a great looking model, or superdetailed for an outstanding one. Hmm...maybe a contest entry?

Alan, great job! She looks fantastic!

Very nice.  I like the weathering.

That's some nice stuff Alan !  Really enjoyed watching this one come together. 

Allan,

She looks great!  As I had said in an earlier post, I have this model in my stash, so thanks for doing a build log.  I am a ship builder mainly so all the help I can get is greatly appreciated.

Steve

10/10!!

She's a stunner!  Thank you for sharing that.

The fuselage frame reminds me of an OH-13.  

Impressive work Revell did on this kit.  I wish theyd make a 1/72.

That looks really good! I'm scared to do the rigging on mine. I realize after looking at your picture that the styrene rod I bought is going to be too thick but maybe It will be better for me since I've never done rigging before.

Overall it looks pretty good, Alan.  Every time I do rigging I do it a little better but I have yet to do the job I see in my mind's eye.

DONE!  I made it through the final push to finish the Stearman.  She is a bit dirty. 

It wasn't a bad build but there were (are) problems.

The struts don't fit quite right. It may have been my doing as I rigged it before applying the top wing but they are bent a bit. I didn't see this during test fitting so the rigging might have done it.

I'm not happy with the rigging. Next time I'll drill some small holes and insert the rigging in them and then seal with a drop of superglue.  I don't like the effect with the glue on top. It didn't come out the way I hoped. While more painful, I think I'll rig the next one after putting on the upper wing.

All that nice engine detail is hidden. I'll probably open up the next one so it can be seen.

I definitely plan on building another.

Sorry for the lack of posts, April was a busy month.  Last night I wanted to make a major push to get this build done so I finished the rigging. However, I ran into a snag. Somehow, I lost a few decals. (I'm blaming the dog. He ate my decals. LOL).  Anyway, if anyone here is building the all Yellow Stearman and wouldn't mind taking pity on me, I could use the #21 (small 456 for engine cowlings) and #24 (tail registration numbers) decals that are specific to the Army version.  If not, I'll go ahead and complete the model without them and add them when I get another Stearman because I plan to build the Navy one with what I learned during this build.

Hi Guys, I have been reading with a lot of interest here and I am overjoyed to see a new model of Stearman hit the market.  Just a couple of quick notes:  The McCauley is NOT ALUMINUM but is a ground adjustable STEEL prop.  TIn the past they have been chromed, but this is no longer legal.  They should be painted black with Yellow tips.  Also, the PT-13 used a Lycoming 9 cylinder, the PT-17 used the Continental, and the PT-18 was powered by a Jacobs.  The model looks great!

Don't know of a plastic kit, but there was a balsa flying model that was quite detailed and close to scale, though horizontal empennage was likely larger than scale.  I think it may have been a Sterling kit.

I think you're correct, Don, but I think it was destroyed on the ground, after Fort had landed and as the Japanese fanned out to attack the outlying airfields and installations.

There's a good question--was the Cadet ever kitted by any maker?

I believe there were several light planes and  trainers on training flights during the attack- including both the Stearman and some other plane which may have been the Interstate.  Air and Space magazine ran an article about this several months to a couple of years ago- I don't remember the issue.  But, it had the names of all the people involved. If I remember correctly the Stearman and its crew survived, the Interstate did not.

Beautiful build!  I really like the wood effect on the prop, too.

Regarding the rigging, has anyone ever thought of using Evergreen strip?  I think in this scale, the thinnest strip in the catalog gives you a good look of the aerodynamic cross-section of the steel RAF wire used for rigging.  That came to me, after I first saw Accurate Miniature's F3F kit, back in the day, with the PE rigging, and after I took a good look at Stearmans at the Mid-Atlantic Air Museum in Reading.

Oh, and a bit of trivia about "Tora! Tora! Tora!" and the scene with the civilian trainer.  In the movie, they used a Stearman, but the actual incident involved an Interstate Cadet, if I'm not mistaken.  The lady instructor was Cornelia Fort, who went on to join the WAFS.  She died in a mid-air collision, sadly.

Nice effect, Don

Okay, got my fuselage interior sides masked and painted. Lots of fancy masking but I hope it is worth it.  The bare painted fuselage side has some big variations in stringer width, but with the tubing framework sitting over it I think it looks okay.

That is the bare painted fuselage side.

This is after the frame structure laid over it. I think it looks okay.  The light whitish color represents the covering, the green the formers and stringers.

patrick206

Alan - Airplanes that used flying and landing streamlined bracing, incorporated stainless steel I think. The round stock was reshaped in a streamlined appearance, except at the outer attachment points where it would thread into a clevis. Rarely have I seen any that were of highly polished appearance. Perhaps a medium gray or steel would replicate actual bracing color, my wife gave me a colored marker set that has dozens of colors, metal included. I've used them on a number of different rigging jobs and I was pleased with the results, they build up less material than paint does, so the lines retain proper thickness.

The job is coming along beautifully, thanks for all the photos, it looks great.

Patrick  

This is a problem of whether to build a model as a restored object or in its original service condition.  I see a lot of restored  Stearmans with highly polished flying wires, kept very clean.  However, even in original service stainless does not weather to too bad an appearance. It may not have looked like chrome, but as I remember older unpolished flying wires, they look like quite mildly weathered aluminum, no duller or darker than that. I personally find those aluminum or silver markers do a very nice job of representing the forged stainless flying wires.  For the older, stranded wire used in WW1, I do use a medium gray, but for stainless I like it a little brighter.

Alan there are four additional wires that go from the center of the fuselage to the top of the front cabane struts, two on each side, close together.  The instructions don't show these.  You can't see them with the layer of paint on, but in most every case there are little raised spots where wires terminate on the model.  It takes an optivisor to see them and it doesn't hurt to rub over them with a pencil lead to highlight them either.  I drilled holes part through on mine.

Alan,

Model looks great!!! I am seriously considering building one of these very soon.

Tom

Alan - Airplanes that used flying and landing streamlined bracing, incorporated stainless steel I think. The round stock was reshaped in a streamlined appearance, except at the outer attachment points where it would thread into a clevis. Rarely have I seen any that were of highly polished appearance. Perhaps a medium gray or steel would replicate actual bracing color, my wife gave me a colored marker set that has dozens of colors, metal included. I've used them on a number of different rigging jobs and I was pleased with the results, they build up less material than paint does, so the lines retain proper thickness.

The job is coming along beautifully, thanks for all the photos, it looks great.

Patrick  

Sorry for the lack of posting, but I haven't made a lot of progress. It's been so nice out that I've been doing a lot of hiking and nature/landscape photography (and of course processing those photographs) during my off time. Thank's for the kind words regarding the prop.

I would love to see what you do with the belts Don.  I was going to do some masking tape ones but just went with painting them.  

On rigging, my first rigged plane was done using wire and it was way out of scale so I went with thin EZ-Line here. The main problem is that in some places there aren't any locator holes or depressions to show where the rigging goes, so it's some guess work. When I make another one of these, I will drill out some holes for the rigging, but on this one I decided to try just superglue and EZ-Line.  The stretchy nature of EZ-Line can be a curse or a blessing - I'm not sure which one it is.  Call me crazy but I decided to start the rigging with the top wing off, which I think, this plane lends itself too.

Here's my start:

I'll probably paint the rigging a neutral/dark grey or maybe NATO black.

I hope to finish soon.

I'm going to try leaving the lap belts, but I have already filed off the shoulder straps from the seats, and will use masking tape straps.  The molded-in straps just do not look convincing.

I'm going to agree with Alan and say that this kit needs PE seat belts or some resin seats, Maybe I'm just not a fan of hand painting seat belts, but I really don't like them.

Alan,

Thanks for posting your build.  I purchased mine last week due in part to your thread.  You are doing a great job, although you are building the Army version (3rd generation Navy here).  My plan is to build every plane my dad flew during his 25 year career, and this is what he started in.

Steve

Beautiful work so far! The prop decals look amazing.

Actually, stainless steel would work fine if you used bus wire. It's very stiff and perfectly straight. I've purchased it in two widths, .005" and .007".  However, it has no give in it whatsoever, and any slight torquing of the wings can cause it to pop out of one of its mounting holes.  To eliminate that, I make sure the mounting holes are sufficiently deep and only glue one end, thus allowing the line to 'slide' a bit should the wings twist through handling of any kind.

Why not use Wonder invicible Thread?  Comes in different thicknesses.

I know all about the new Revell decals, I ran into the same problem with the CH-53 I don't know what they're using for decal film but its impervious to everything I've tried too