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The long awaited and anticipated
1/48 scale version of the Tutor by Hobbycraft is certainly not a disappointment
as was their sorry 1/72 release back in the 80’s. When that kit came out, the
reviewer was an Airframe Technician at CFB Moose Jaw working on the CT114 and
eagerly awaited a correct and proper version of the Tutor. I amassed a total of
10 years working on the CT114 including a 2 year stint as Airframe Tech with 431
Air Demonstration Sqn ‘Snowbirds’ in ‘90-’91
This kit captures the overall
shape of the Tutor quite nicely and the decal sheet features two versions of the
Snowbirds scheme (the 74-76 scheme and the 77-86 version of their colors) and is
of good thin decal media. Having built the Belcher Bits Tutor when it came out
and being greatly impressed with that kit, this review might compare the two
kits somewhat and some of my observations where already mentioned by Mike
Belcher on Hyperscale previously.
This kit has the best attempt at
getting the intake shape right in all the Tutor kits in all scales. All that it
may need is a bit of sanding to round the edges. You may want to provide an
interior to your intakes with plastic card however. Nose strakes are molded in
with the fuselage and are nicely done. The Belcher kit had you make a separate
piece of plastic or brass and sandwich it in between nose halves. A good idea
for the resin would be too thin for molding those pieces. The ejection seats are
good as stock items and really don’t need too much dressing up other than lap
and shoulder belts and oxygen and Comm cords.
Now that I have praised the kit
(and it deserves a lot of praise), I do have some problems with various areas of
the kit. The windshield is too rounded up front; it does have a flat area close
to the middle. The nose cone glazing is only of the pre ‘77 variety and a
pointed nose is more aptly seen on the Tutor. The main wheel hubs are too small
and the tires too large and the nose wheel is too small entirely. The smoke
tanks included, have the conical ends too pointed, they should taper more. It
seems the Matchbox ‘trench digger’ got hired by Hobbycraft on a part-time
basis. Some of the panel lines are in the right place and others like the
wing-root luggage doors are entirely wrong. The speed brakes are too small and
the intake oxygen panels are wrong. The trenches are exceptionally deep on the
wing upper surface for some unknown reason.
The rudder’s top and bottom
edge seem strangely un-parallel. The main gear leg door is the wrong shape.
The intake splitter plates are
not flat on the real aircraft (see pictures). There is a couple of small plastic
pieces that go on each upper aileron that are supposed to represent ‘Aileron
Trim rods’ but, only the left aileron had them, and the small lump of plastic
doesn’t do it justice. The instrument shroud is molded in clear (why?) and
then the painting instructions say to paint it ‘Khaki’. They were usually
black and faded to grey with use.
These are nit-picks from a person
with many hours ‘elbows deep’ inside the Tutor, so please don’t get the
idea that I didn’t like the kit or that its a real dog. Detailers will want to
fill the cockpit with more goodies as the canopy shows everything that is in
there. Mike Belcher is making his 1/48 scale Tutor Decal sheet available and the
sheet is a beauty. I recommend getting it. This kit is a welcome addition to my
line of Canadian 1/48 scale jets and will build out--of –the –box into a
fine depiction of the CT114.
I’ve included some black &
white photos that I took back in 1988 while working in the Periodic Maintenance
hangar in Moose Jaw. Sort of a mini walk-around showing a few details of the
CT114 Tutor.
Photo #1
- -shows cockpit with side
blankets removed
- -shows seats on table with
seat removed and handles raised
- -note different able routing
and paint on handles
Photo #2
- -aft section support dolly is
a modified T-33 dolly – get it from a Monogram P80 kit
- -nose cone shows the correct
glazing and light arrangement for a post ’77 Tutor
- -small light in nose is amber
- -left bottom show aft section
bulkhead, right is fuselage engine bay with engine removed
- -color of engine bays are
dirty white or cream
Photo #3
- -interior of L/G door could be
painted AL or DarK Green both having white 1" border
- -flex brake line is covered
with Teflon – Light Blue
- -interior of nose wheel bay is
painted AL
- -interior of avionic bay is
Zinc Chromate green – door is Zinc Chromate yellow
- -avionic trays are anodized
aluminum
Photo #4
- -interior of speed brake is
black on painted Tutors, Dark Green on natural metal aircraft
- -hoses have sleeves that are
either red, black or blue
- -intake splitter plate is not
flat or dished-it is actually convex and the outer edges follow the
contours of the fuselage
- -bottom pictures show the aft
section break line and the engine bleed air outlets
Tony
Edmundson
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