This will be a retro build. I am aiming for as much of a period build as possible. In order to do that, I have to lock away everything - and I mean everything - including the air brush and CA and anything that would not be available to a casual builder in the Fifties. The kit’s provenance is from eBay. Although all parts are present, the parts are separated from the sprues and the sprues themselves are missing. The cutting away was not careful enough to avoid “dishing” the plastic so right away I have a quandary about using putty, because if I use any putty I will need to prime the surface afterwards. Already, my first rule is about to be broken, I think. Also I am planning to use internet research in addition to the old Profiles book to decipher the details. I guess that is more “bending the rules” than breaking them. Really the only way to do this right would be from a sealed box, but that is not available so here we are in a modified retro build.
Box art may be by John Steele. No! I am wrong. The box art is by Jo Kotula!!
“Josef ‘Jo’ Kotula was born in Poland. He emigrated at 6 months of age with his parents to the U.S. His father worked as a Pennsylvania coal miner. Self-taught as an artist, Kotula became widely known for aviation art.
‘Jo was a master of handling sunlight on bare aluminum,’ according to the American Society of Aviation Artists, which inducted him into its Hall of Fame in New Jersey in 1999. His cover illustrations for Model Airplane News started in 1932 and continued for 38 years. His art also adorned the boxtops of model airplane kits.
He illustrated U.S. Air Force training manuals, acquired a private pilot's license in 1936 and often delivered his work by air to clients around the country. His talent was such that it appeared in national magazines like the Saturday Evening Post, Collier's, Newsweek and Popular Science.”
(Biographical Details of Jo Kotula courtesy of the internet)
I have photographed the instructions as well - a simplified assembly sequence. This will be fun to build. Note that the aircraft can be displayed either in flight or on ground with wheel chocks and a mechanic figure.
