Warbird Information Exchange

Just finished this up last night for the local NorthWest Scale Modelers show at the Museum of Flight this weekend.

I screwed up plenty stuff on it but overall I enjoy having it in my collection. I will try again someday with what I learned on this one.

Wow!

Very, very nice job!

Looks like a nice clean job. On my monitor your pics show the model at about 2x actual size and if a model can survive being viewed at that magnification, it has to be pretty good.

August

Does Bud Granley have gear door on his Harvard?

That's a beautiful model. I can't even build one full scale that looks that nice!

bdk wrote:Does Bud Granley have gear door on his Harvard?

That's a beautiful model. I can't even build one full scale that looks that nice!

Thanks everyone!

Yep, he's got gear doors.



I'm not sure if it's super noticable but the wheels are actually aftermarket P-40 wheels as no Texan kits have spoked wheels in them. They're a little bit big and I would definately sand them down more if I try this one again. There is also some sort of clear plexi over the spokes and I cut some circles of clear vinyl to replicate that.

Nice job Al! The finish looks outstanding.

What kit is this - the Academy one? I've got the Heller kit in my stash but have heard nice things about the Academy kit...

-Derek

viking73 wrote:Nice job Al! The finish looks outstanding.

What kit is this - the Academy one? I've got the Heller kit in my stash but have heard nice things about the Academy kit...

-Derek

This is the Academy kit and it's a real beauty (considering the other options). I was also working on the Heller kit and have to say it's a real P.O.S. Not the worst (definately no Emhar Fury!) but i'd rather spend a couple bucks extra for the Academy. As for a quick build the HobbyBoss kit is pretty fun but lacks alot of interior detail and wing dihedral.

Al,
If you consider the HELLER to be a terd, someone needs to gift you with a HAWK T-6 in 72nd-ish scale!

The Inspector wrote:Al,
If you consider the HELLER to be a terd, someone needs to gift you with a HAWK T-6 in 72nd-ish scale!

Oh, i'm familiar with that hunk as well. Nothing like molded in markings

Very nice! Where'd you get the deckuls? (note that I used the proper Canuckian pronunciation..us uncultured Yanks insist on calling them "dee-kals.")

I've built a couple of those Academy T-6 kits, and they're definitely the best of the lot in 1/72. The Heller kits aren't bad, other than the raised panel lines.

I remember when my friends and I visited the USAF Museum for the first time back in 1978. They had a huge model selection then, and we were completely blown away. There was a huge stack of MPC reboxes of the Airfix Harvard. We were thrilled, as we didn't even know anybody made a T-6 in 1/72. I think we each bought two, with the plan of converting them to Zeroes (this was in the heyday of "Black Sheep Squadron" on TV, and we'd just seen the CAF "Tora!" group at an airshow the previous summer.) I actually completed one conversion. It's long gone now, but I'd still like to build models of all three of the "Tora!" movie conversions.

The old Airfix Harvard isn't too bad. It's pretty basic, with no real cockpit (just seat and pilot figures.) It's got raised panel lines and rivets, but they're not overdone, and actually appropriate for the T-6.

SN

I agree, this is one subject where the trademark Airfix rivet pattern looks right. The Academy looks too clean.

What the Academy, Airfix, Heller, and Hawk kits all share in common is that they are T-6s, not Harvards, and are difficult to convert into Harvards, especially around the canopy and cockpit. That's fine for Granley's plane which is a T-6 but a general headache for Canadian modelers.

August

The decals are Whiskey Jack Decals. I found them 5+ years ago and I think they may have been out of print even then.

What the Academy, Airfix, Heller, and Hawk kits all share in common is that they are T-6s, not Harvards, and are difficult to convert into Harvards, especially around the canopy and cockpit.

I think one of the Falcon vacuform canopy sets includes a proper Harvard canopy. Unfortunately you have to buy the whole set to get it.

SN

Aeroclub made one, and I think you can still get it. I have several of them, but between conforming the cockpit cutout to fit it and doing the other necessary mods, it's a conversion I've never gotten around to.

August

And this is how things got better.

I ran into Bud at the model show on Sunday and had him scribble on it.





Not a bad weekend. Not a bad weekend at all