gear up or gear down

How could you...?
You...you...you...canopy-painter you...!

I'm certainly not a religious man, but that should be commandment no.11:
Thou Shalt Not Paint Cockpit Canopies

If I do a plane "gear up",I almost always paint the canopy.
For some reason a seated figure in the cockpit looks kind of dumb to me, but so then does a "flying" plane without someone in the seat. So I eliminate the problem by just painting it out. Saves time detailing a cockpit too!

I would say that I enjoy doing both gear up and down. Most of my models end up in the gear down, most likely because of the added detail and complexity it creates in the model. But every once and a while I like to go for the in flight model, if for no other reason than it is easier to do. When the gear is up (especially if you plan to hang the model) you don't have to worry about detailing the cockpit or gear bays. And if the closest anyone is ever going to get to the model is three feet from its home near the ceiling, then you can get away with a lot of mistakes that would otherwise make for an ugly model.

But remember, airplanes are ment to fly. The only reason they have landing gear in the first place is to give them a break every once and a while. There is nothing better than a beautiful airplane in clean flight.

I'm a "Gear Down and Locked!" type, but I did salvage an old Revell B-25 B I had built in the early 70's that I had wired for the landing lights and electric motors for the props. Had a crude scratch built plug in the bomb bay the wires ran out of. I took it and inserted a thick bulkhead just behind the top turrent and another in the end of the tail. I had two parallel pieces brass tubing runing betweent the two and was able to attach my internal wiring to them. I then drilled two holes in the tail cone simulating the two "fake" fiftys. I used two pieces of tempered steel rods that inserted into th brases tubes of the tail section to support the model and provide the path for the batteries behind a picture of the "Meatball Insignia". I used plexiglass so the steel rods slipped into two more pieces of tubing in the center of the picture. A set of 4 AA's powered the props and landing light by using a micro switch at the base fo the picture frame. You end up with B-25 "flying" out of the "picture" and by pressing the base, the props spin and lights come on. I wanted to do a whole set of the 1/32 fighters and maybe use the pictures of some of the Ace's as the pictures behind the modes. Using the "telescoping" tubing methood you can easily remove the models from pictures hanging on the wall. Sorry I don't have any pictures to post. Not up to speed on how to do it yet! An alternative to desk top and ceilign hangers!

Wayne, try the Hasegagme 1/200 C-130 kits. They are really nice for their small size and would be perfect for what you want to do. As regards talent, you can do anything if you only try. I say go for it, it certainly would be unusual and you'll have something tangible to remember that moment by.

And you reminded me of a little jokiness passed on to me by a phormer Phantom phlyer...

What 2 words does the GIB hate most to hear from the GIF? "Watch this!", which is sometimes followed by the next 2 words the GIB hates most to hear from the GIF, which are "OH S***!"

LMAO, military humor is sometimes the best on Earth.

Fade to Black...

The only times i remember building a gear up aircraft it was the Airfix Marauder but it had quite a bit of flack damage and was sat in a field Also i did a piper cherokee on a hillside with an 202sqn air sea rescue seaking hovering over it. that one got loaned to the local RAF careers office. Didn't get that one back in one piece as they dropped it down some stairs. i used a perspex disk with the outer part tinted yellow to simulate the prop on a Spitfire that i did taking off with the u/c partly retracted it didn't look too bad but i did not try it again...Gregers

I build mine gear down. I don't do gif's or gib's very well, and don't like them messing up my cockpits. I do have an idea for a diorama that would require gear up. I just don't think I have the talent. Long ago in a galaxy far away, a typhoon ran our 130's to Japan. Whe they returned, 3 came back together. When they came over the base, they were in a v formation.. I'd never seen 3 together. As they flew over the runway, the leadpulled up and banked away to start his approach. The other 2 did the same at suitable intervals. That initial movement would make a great scene. I just have to get some kits small enough it won't take the whole basement floor to display.

I still hate gear-down planes...

Ricardo,

Good man! The Detail & Scale markings are superb!

And yes, Microscale/Superscale does fall short quite often. They may make alotta sheets, which are mostly decent, but sometimes they fail miserably in the accuracy department! Such is life... (They are still my sentimental favorite for decals though... Ah, memories!)

YES! I'd love to see some photos of this project when it's finished. I'd even like to see in progress shots, but that's up to you. Keep us posted on this, please!

Fade to Black...

BlackWolfscd

I've got the Detail & Scale decals and Also the Microscale one's, but i'll use the Detail ones, since the Microscale is wrong!!!!!

If you want, i'll send a pic of the when finnished, O.K.????

I mostly agree with DJ's post, but I've built 'em gear-up. The take-off idea is great though... I wonder if I won't do that with the F-117 I'm building now... :D

Heck, 50 years ago-ish, my Dad built Lindberg's P-47N in his own plane's markings, and built it with the gear partially retracted, as if just after takeoff. Hung in his cellar workshop that way for decades.

Ricardo,

You're a modeler after my own heart! I built Fast Eagle 107 a long time back; as a teenager, actually. I used the Monogram kit as that was the cream of the crop in F-14 kits at the time.

Lotsa work involved to get the thing to fit well in general, but the gear doors do seem to fit better than most. (I was contemplating building mine gear up, but then decided to build it as it looked just after it landed, with the one missing AIM-9and the remains of the umbilical and all that.)

The nose gear doors will be a bit tough, though. A bit of surgery may be required. Also, what decals are you using?

Someday I'd like to build this one again, as the original fell to the cat's claw many years ago...

Fade to Black...

Well, i've gonne in a "mad" task:
Recreate the two VF-41 "Black Aces" Su-22 killers, that shot down the two Lybian's in back 1981, at 1/48!!!!!
So, i've decided to build them at the engagement time, and they'll be built with the gears up...
The crucial decision will be the kits, since some of them are better fitted for gear up than other kits, so i've almost decided for a Revell/Monogram...

What do you think????

Yes, Steve, it's the Academy/Minicraft kit. The 1/72 Esci kit is just too big for me! Sigh!

As one person here said about gear-up, I can honestly say that I have never made a gear-down plane, and probably never will! The thought of an aircraft just sitting there, doing absolutely nothing but costing taxpayers' money simply DISGUSTS me to no end! I LITERALLY find gear-down planes VISUALLY OFFENSIVE. So, I have gone to rather long ends to make certain all my planes, regardless of difficulty, are displayed proudly with their gears UP IN THEIR GEAR BAYS, where those ugly jumbles of metal and tire are supposed to be!
It really isn't that hard, some model kits have special gear doors or some other doo-dad designed to allow the gears displayed up with the doors closed. And, if your kit doesn't have that option, simply cut the attachment parts off of the doors, fill the bays with Testors Contour Putty(leaving just enough of a recess for the gear door to fit flush with the aircraft!), and slap those doors on with model cement! Every now and then the bay doors don't fit quite right(because most model companies still discriminate against us gear-o-phobics!), but that can be fixed by either taking away some plastic, or adding some Testors Contour Putty!

As for displaying models, mine perpetually look like they have just gone through a belly landing! They usually sit up in my bedroom or at my hobby table, leaning to one side most of 'em(centerline fuselage points do this!). I'll probably never hange 'em up on the ceiling, but some of 'em might just go into a diorama or display base someday!

I always build gear down. I don't want a pilot blocking the view of a cockpit I have spent so much time working on. On the rare occasion when I have built gear up it was because the gear was broken off or some other mishap made me do it. I don't have many places I can hang them, being five feet, fiveteen inches tall and low ceilings in my house.

I love to see aircraft in their element - gear up and hammering along, with a little guy (or gal) under the glass. The only problem is I like the older propellor driven aircraft - they always look awful with everything but the prop in motion, and decent pilot figures are few and far between.
I also prefer to see grounded a/c with dropped flaps (if it was a typical operational or mechanical feature - as in the hydraulic pressure bleeding off on the P-51) or slightly off centre ailerons or rudders. It adds realism and makes a more "scale replica" instead of a "model".
LeeTree

Well Inwas an armourer in the RNZAF, so I like to build mine gear down because thats how they appeared when I worked on them.

I mostly build gear down. But now and again, I do build gear up just for something different.

The last one I finished was a Bf 109G-10 which I've posted shots of in another thread sometime back. If you'd like to see it, here's the link to the thread:

http://www.finescale.com/fsm/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1551

Right now I'm in the middle of doing another gear up bird, an La-5. I built it for a demo that I did at our club's regional in the beginning of May and am having a ball with it. So much fun, in fact, that I may start doing more of these!

DJ, I like that Backfire. Is it, by chance, the 1/144 Minicraft kit? Or is it the 72nd ESCI?

Fade to Black...

Hello,
I'm in the process of building the first gear up planes I've done in 30 yrs,
BUT I have to admit I'm cheating because they are a Widgeon, Goose and
Albatross!
Good Hunting
rdxpress

I alway build landing gear down regardless of where the final product will be displayed. I believe, however that the display you have in mind would look best with 'em tucked away. At my last unit before I retired I had the opportunity to build several models for display in a corridor. They wanted the airplanes displayed in flight and I did have some problems building these models with the l/g up.

I can honestly say that I've never done a gear-up plane. I guess I just have that incredible fear of ceiling fans bringing about the inevitable "unpowered aerodynamics test" on my unfortunate B-17. At least if they're on a desk, they don't bump into each other...

Every kit I have seen recently has allowed for an up option, though. As dj said, it may take a bit of creativity to make it look airborn, but is definately worth the effort.

demono69

I keep thinking I'd like to try a gear up plane, but never seem to get there. I don't think I'll hang it by fish line, but the acrylic rod or brass tube sounds good.

I build my planes gear down (sometimes I take great pains in doing everything down!) and I haven't put a plane up close to the ceiling in over 25 years now. The reason is that models, in particular paints and decals, get damaged by light and dust. After having spent so many hours on a model, I'm not ready for those two to destroy my efforts (without counting the accidental mishaps such as removing a shirt and get it caught by the pitot tube or other bit sticking out of the plane...).

Of course, it means that most of my models are boxed up and will only see the light at shows or when it's their time in my display cabinet...

As to gear 'up', well, it's always possible to do it. Most of the time, of course, kits have not been designed for that kind of display and some surgery is required, but that's not that hard work. Some of the nicest models, and certainly some of the most visualy pleasing have been models in the gear up position, artfuly placed on some kind of stick coming out of the base. Aerobatic team aircraft, in particular, can be very attractive that way, with the 'stick' camouflaged into 'smoke'...

However, there are still ways to combine gear down and have a jazzy display... Take offs and landings are spectacular times in any flights and, as far as we are concerned, usually call for a bit of challenging research and surgery...

Fishing line is probably the best option. But why not build them gear up?, especially if you're going to hang them anyway. Somewhere else on the forum I suggested putting clear acrylic rod into a block of wood and sticking the other end up the jetpipe of a jet. I've also done a similar trick with a prop driven plane. Just drill a hole underneath to fit the rod, insert the rod into a piece of wood ( which can have a nameplate on it) and then display on a tabletop. Okay, so your model now has a large hole underneath, but once it's mounted like that, are you going to decide to hang it in the future?, probably not. It's your model, display it as you will, as long as you are proud of what you've built, that's all that counts.