The 1/72nd Italeri WACO CG-4A glider is finished. For those of you who don't like long-winded explanations about the build, here are the pictures.
The model represents a CG-4A of the 301st Troop Carrier Squadron which was towed aloft on June 7th, 1944 behind a C-47 for "Mission Hackensack", taking off from Merryfield, Somerset. Onboard were 1st lt. Hammitt E. Porter, pilot, and 2nd lt. Howard M. Thompson, co-pilot. Cargo was 5 extra personnel (either the 325th Glider Infantry, or 401st Glider Infantry); water-can, 5-gallon; trailer, 1/4 ton; cl 60mm HEL; AT mines (Boxes) and a mine detector. No losses were recorded for this mission, so I assume the glider landed okay.
Concerning the model, it went together decently, and except for my own mistakes, there were no major problems. I do suggest a couple of things:
1. The cockpit is nothing like a real WACO glider. With such an open canopy, I suggest doing a bit of scratchbulding. There are no pilot and co-pilot figures for this model, so if you want those you'll have to scrounge some up.
2. Leave the cargo floor out until the two fuselage halves are together. I made the mistake of gluing the cargo floor to one fuselage half, and then had a real problem getting the seams to match up. I never did get the bottom seam done to my satisfaction.
3. Some of the parts are delicate and easily broken. Leave as much off as you are able until the final steps. You will be glad you did.
4. I skipped the slide mechanism for the cockpit. The front of the model is supposed to be able to open and close, but it's fiddly and since I was going to pose this particular model in a take-off position, I left the mechanism off and glued it shut.
5. If you care about such things, Italeri left the rear support struts and suspension cables off. You will have to scratchbuild these if you want to show them.
Oh, and I would leave attaching the cockpit until last as it allows you to fix problems with the windows and doors in the fuselage.
I have noticed in these pictures that I've probably added a bit too much mud on the frame and wheels (one reason there is no shot of the bottom). It was raining lightly that morning, so you would expect some mud and being behind a C-47 you would get some kicked up in the backblast. But it doesn't look right to me, and I'll clean her up a bit before she goes into the diorama.
Since the CG-4A is cloth covered, she should look a bit different from a regular OD aircraft, and I tried to get some variation in the OD paint job. But, these were fairly brand new aircraft, and they were only flown once, so I doubt they would have faded very much in the time before D-Day. The mud would probably only come from the grass field in which they were sitting during their time awaiting use, from rain, and the tow aircraft props.
Meanwhile, the next project for this is a 1/72nd "Follow Me!" jeep. I wonder if I should just make it plain OD, or really drive myself crazy and do red and white squares?
Thanks for looking!
Gary