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Spirit of St Louis FINISHED!


ericg

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Recently I was contacted by John Simons of Marsh Models asking if he could use photos of my recently completed 1/32 DH-88 Comet for publicity of the forthcoming re-release of the Comet kit. I was only too happy to agree and in return he very kindly offered me the choice of his range. I chose the Spirit of St Louis kit, as I have had my eye on it for quite a while and I feel that it will sit well in my collection of completed kits.

Now, I know I have heaps of kits started but they are mostly jets and I like to mix things up a bit. Thinking about next years shows that I plan to enter I realized that I needed to get things started on a civil (non airliner) aircraft.

Firstly a look at the two Aerotech kits that I have finished. They are fairly basic kits that build into impressive display pieces if care is taken in assembly and finish. You certainly don't see many built but they make for very nice alternatives to the many 109's and Spitfires that clog the forums and display tables at shows. To be honest, if my great mate Brent hadn't handed me the box of the Supermarine S4 a few years ago with an offer of a great price and a `lets see you mess this up' style grin on his face, I may have not have embarked on the challenge of getting these kits into my display cabinet. Thanks mate!

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The kit. Upon hearing the postman at the door with a model shaped parcel, it is always a race between me and my 4 year old son to see who can get to it first. Of course he always wins, and he gets the pleasure of unwrapping a parcel from afar, whilst hopefully I inspire the younger generation into getting into our very rewarding hobby.

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The long box was very well packed and full to the brim of resin, metal parts, decals and more.

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I was curious as to how big the model would be, especially the wingspan. I was surprised at how big the wingspan is, although it is quite heavy being think solidly cast resin. Luckily, Aerotech have cast the weight bearing parts of the undercarriage in Zinc.

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The fuselage fits together quite well, with some very nice detail cast into the cowling.

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The instrument panel is white metal with photo etch instrument dials.

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The built up instrument panel. I forgot to include the fret of photo etch in the first pic that includes the brass instruments. It is quite accurate to the reference pic that I have of this area.

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Cockpit interior. Mostly white metal with the resin fuel tank. Once again, it is a little basic and could benefit from some further wiring. I am still tossing up whether to do some more work in here or leave as is. I would like to TRY and keep this out of the box.....

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The fuel management system has been well cast in white metal.

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Edited by ericg
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Will be following this one closely ... I have to say I was eagerly awaiting this one, and felt a bit underwhelmed when opening the box. I frankly expected much finer detail ... and a hollow wing to avoid the weight issue. I felt surface detail was a bit heavy, and the parts to be very thick (when one considers the flimsiness of the real aircraft's fuselage :( )

 

I am sure you will, as usual, turn this one into a masterpiece, and this WiP will certainly be my guide when tackling mine ...

 

Hubert

Edited by MostlyRacers
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You guys are in for a treat, I visited Eric's lair today and saw this beast a little further along in its journey, amazing how much better white metal looks under a coat of paint!!

 

Aerotech kits need a bit of extra loving and this one will look spectacular in Eric's hands.......just make sure you finish her, tic tock!!

 

Cheers

 

Brent

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Certainly looking forward to this one Eric.  Interested to see how you'll tackle the hammered metal surface for the nose.  Glad you let your son help open the packages, has he built anything yet?

 

 Matt  :frantic:

He has built a snap together kit so far, but he prefers murdering zombies on the PlayStation at this stage in his life.

 

Eric

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