Stinson Trimotor

Don, is your kit a high-wing or a low-wing? I've seen both one time or another at Sun n Fun at Lakeland-Linder Airport over the years. Those old airliners are such beauties. It's a joy to see them fly.

BTW: Not my pictures. Internet grabs.

Excellent score!

Ideal's plastic models were better-known under the imprint ITC, and were a quite extraordinary range of kits---including rarely-seen civil a/c which unfortunately haven't been re-released over the years as some of their more 'manstream' offerings have been.

I happened to be looking at one on an auction site the other day, so the links are still fresh; here is the Scalemates page, that shows it apparently dates from 1957. This is another interesting page I found, which includes some background and photos of a gentleman's very-nicely-built version of the kit.

Should be a great project!

Hello Don!

Our good old scalemates states this kit's original date as 1957!

The link here:

https://www.scalemates.com/kits/938091-itc-model-craft-3722-tri-motor-stinson

Good luck with your build and have a nice day!

Paweł

WOW! An amazing treasure! Looking forward to seeing this one built!

Thanks, guys.  Greg, the two photos are planes both in the museum up here that I mentioned.  The high wing is the Stinson T, the one of the kit.  The low wing one is the Model A. I would love to build that too- maybe a scratch project, unless anyone knows of a kit for that.

And yes, Pawel,  that box is the kit I just got.  1957, huh!  That is about the era I was assuming.

Looking forward to building it!

Ah, Greg Herrick's trimotors! He has had a few Fords in his collection, not sure, but I think he still has 4AT#10, the oldest Ford still around. It has the rear sloped windshield of the very early 4ATs, and the one modeled in Revell's 1/77nd release from the last century!

Can't wait to see the Stinson build! Now, if only I could find a larger scale Boeing....

Ashley

Ah, Greg Herrick's trimotors! He has had a few Fords in his collection, not sure, but I think he still has 4AT#10, the oldest Ford still around. It has the rear sloped windshield of the very early 4ATs, and the one modeled in Revell's 1/77nd release from the last century!

Can't wait to see the Stinson build! Now, if only I could find a larger scale Boeing....

 

I missed the Blaine Aviation Days this year, but last year he still had the Ford.

Don ; 

 With nothing else to do but heal , I got into my stash . By Gawd , If'n it ain't fate , I got that same plane ! Box still sealed ! Like you , I always had a soft spot for planes that occassionally flew over when we were wee tads .  T.B.

Hi ;

    Aircraft Modelers , Listen up !! I see in these photos a slow  ,patient , Kit Bash . Engineering wise it is not simple . But in Model form ya'll don't need to worry the Nuts , Bolts and Rivets .

    Based on the photos , I see a lot of original Kit parts being used ! T.B.

Tanker - Builder

Hi ;

    Aircraft Modelers , Listen up !! I see in these photos a slow  ,patient , Kit Bash . Engineering wise it is not simple . But in Model form ya'll don't need to worry the Nuts , Bolts and Rivets .

    Based on the photos , I see a lot of original Kit parts being used ! T.B.

 

Is somebody suggesting we lower the wings on a certain Trimotor? Of course, when I say we, Stauffer is going to do all the work, all we have to do is prod him electronically to keep him on task, and gleefully await the results!

Got a start on the Stinson yesterday, now that my B-47 is in the painting phase (slow drying enamel).  I had started painting the passengers provided.  I also glued in the windows.  Turns out they are so distorted you can't make out much of the interior, so I won't spend too much time on the interior.

Here is a shot of it this morning.  All ready to close up the fuselage.  Don't know why I spent such care on passengers and crew.  The windows are so bad the figures are just a blob.  But I know it is there, right :-)

Well ; Gee Whiz , Don !

     I think you should consider this . Next time Find some Crystal clear plastic from , say a small Cabinet drawer . Use the plastic from that . Probably the same thickness but , clear and visibility is excellent ! 

 I buy stuff like that at garage sales .The case might be cracked but the drawers are useable for other stuff . Oh , By the way it's looking great !

Yeah, Don - I think you could easily swap the kit windows for something beter, made by yourself. Or alternatively I have some practice with the "old-Airfix" windows that had a nice sinkmark each, right in the middle of them. Those still could be sanded flat, polished and coated with future - and after that you could see through them all right. So there's still hope! Good luck with your build and have a nice day

Paweł

Yet another idea is to make the windows with Micro Krystal Clear, if they're small enough.  That's what I did with the windows on my 1/144 Boeing 314 Clipper.

kensar

Yet another idea is to make the windows with Micro Krystal Clear, if they're small enough.  That's what I did with the windows on my 1/144 Boeing 314 Clipper.

 

 

The side windows are pretty large- I was afraid they wouldn't form very well.  In some spots the windows didn't fit the opening, leaving a hollow.  I am going to try Krystal Clear there.

I save the clear plastic package stiffeners from my shirts, for things like this.  They consist of a long strip, usually about 10"x1.5", that is stuck around the inside of the neck or collar, and a little butterfly piece that goes under the front of the collar.  It's good plastic.  I've used it for smash-molding windscreens, as well as cutting it for window panes.

The clear plastic packaging used for food can work, too.  You just have to look for the clearer pieces.

And this is a sweet build, too, by the way!

Baron - I used to take that plastic, too, but then I've found out the hard way some of them have a bad tendency to yellow with time, so now I only use them for secondary things. Some time ago I have bought some Vivak - that is good stuff, very clear, resistant against cracking and also vacuforms very well, so I recommend it, if you can get some, of course.

Hope it helps, have a nice day

Paweł

Have those little butterflies all over the closet floor.

Thanks for the tip.

I use the flat middle of lids from salad bar boxes.

was an old school technique to put some kind of temporary backing with a release agent behind(actually in front of) opening and fill with clear epoxy. Never tried it.

I used clear epoxy on a 1/100 727, it was viscous enough for those small windows to just pour from the backside and sand flush on the outside after curing.  The best clear plastic I have found is old CD cases.  It is thick enough to glue in with it protruding to the outside and then sand and polish to contour.  Best to make the windows a little larger and mask to the proper size.

Got a couple of color coats on.  This is Testors dark blue from a spray can. I often do the first color coats from a spray can if a color is close to what I need.  The final coat will be a darker blue (I have it already mixed for airbrush) and will put it on when I am sure I have all the hairs, dust and defects sanded out.  The final color is a very dark blue, like the engine cowlings shown in front of the model.

I have added striping tape for the rib cloth strips.  The kit wing is perfectly smooth on top.  Yet I believe the real plane had fabric covered wings.

Is this blue a basecoat or part of the color scheme?  I didn't see this color on the pictures in the previous posts.

Nice to see some in-progress pics.

kensar

Is this blue a basecoat or part of the color scheme?  I didn't see this color on the pictures in the previous posts.

Nice to see some in-progress pics.

 

 

It is a basecoat.  I wanted to use a spray can to avoid mixing up so much stuff for airbrush.  The entire plane will be the very dark black that is on the cowlings in front, except for a red ring on the front of the cowls.  It is an old AA scheme- will need to make some decals.  The lightning stripe is red and white, rather than the later red and black, so will have to create them from scratch rather than copy decals from a newer plane.

You Know ;

 I flat forgot about C.D.cases . They can be bought in convenient packages of ten .That's a lot of clear sheet

Tanker - Builder

You Know ;

 I flat forgot about C.D.cases . They can be bought in convenient packages of ten .That's a lot of clear sheet

 

You can also by them in packs of 50 or 100.  My wife runs a very small video business.  That glass is pretty thick for models, and very brittle.  If I need transparent stuff bigger than that PVA window material, I prefer the flexible acetate or celluloid.  Plastic from blister packaging is good- I get enough from stuff I buy to always have some stock.

Got the preliminary color coats sanded out and about ready for the airbrushing.

Had to sand off a lot to get rid of the flaws in the spray can layers.  Don't know if I'll do that again- I think I will just start with the airbrushed paint over the primer next time.

Yikes! Been there. Done that. A couple of times.