1/48 Minicraft Piper Cherokee 140

Gallery Article by Darius Aibara on Dec 15 2003

 

In a relatively recent discussion forum this kit was described as unbuildable.  Well, I'm here to tell you that that is definitely not the case.  Granted the kit is old, with plenty of flash on the smaller parts, but with a bit of effort a reasonable model can result - that to me is the fun part of this hobby.  The main problem that I had with the kit was the fit of the cabin windscreen which left a 1.5mm clear gap its base when aligned with the cabin roof.  I eventually solved this by  building up the dashboard/sill with filler and test fitting the windscreen until a reasonable fit was achieved.  Some more filler was required on the fuselage joints but apart from that the fit was OK.

 

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I painted the edges of the separate cabin windows with matt black enamel paint and fitted the glazing to the fuselage using Crystal Klear.  Once the Crystal Klear has dried the black paint looks like the glazing seals and reduces the "thick glazing" effect that you sometimes get.  I masked the windows and spray applied grey primer followed by two coats of gloss white auto paint.  

The decals went on without a hitch and were sealed with Johnson's Klear.  I masked and brush painted the black anti-glare panel on the nose.  The kit is a tail-sitter and so I needed a steel prop to keep it level.  You could replace the kit moulded engine with nose weight as an alternative.

Darius Aibara

      

Photos and text © by Darius Aibara