I received this kit
many years ago after my wife's uncle passed away. His stash of 1/72 kits was
given to my Father-in-law who passed this "1/48" kit on to me. I had
always wanted to do a biplane, and was excited about this kit. For those of you
who are familiar with this kit, you know what I was in for, for those who are
not, let me explain. This is an old kit, with quite a bit of flash, the markings
are cast into the plastic and other than 2 seats, there is no interior.
I started searching
the internet for 504 pictures and found quite a few, as well as drawings. I also
went to the Canadian Aviation Museum in Ottawa to take pictures of the 504 they
have there. I was now armed with a reasonable amount of data to begin work.
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images below to see larger images
The first step was
to remove all the cast on markings, so out came the sand paper and with it went
any rib and rib tape detail. I also removed the control surfaces at this time.
The fuselage ribs were replaced by carefully gluing lengths of fine copper wire
into scribed grooves, while the lower wing rib tape was recreated with thin
strips of decal.
Next was the
interior. This was scratch built using various sizes of Plastruct strip, copper
wire and invisible thread. The instrument panels were made by printing the gauge
faces on acetate and sandwiching it between two pieces of plasticard. When I was
happy with the interior, the fuselage was closed up and the lower wing and
horizontal stabilizer added. Some filler was required here and there but
considering the age of the kit, the fit was pretty good. At this point I took a
break from modeling as other hobbies were occupying my time. Jump ahead 5 years
and I decided it was time to finish my 504.
The struts, tail
skid and land gear were added and filled. The under side of the wings and
fuselage were sprayed with Humbrol linen while the rest of the fuselage and
upper side of the lower wing were sprayed with a home made mixture for PC10. The
nose/cowl and under carriage were sprayed gloss black while the struts were
painted linen in preparation for the wood grain oil painting.
I had searched for a
premixed PC10 but was unsuccessful. During my search I learned that many WWI
modelers mix their own, and seem to prefer it this way as PC10 did not have the
defined standards we see today. By mixing it, a slightly different shade is
achieved each time which gives a more realistic tonal variation between models
on the display shelf. With this in mind I mixed my own using Model Master
Insignia Yellow and Gloss Black with a little dark green added to adjust the
tint and it gave a nice glossy finish for decaling.
The kit had 2
marking choices, only one of which was shown on the instructions. I chose to use
the markings that were not shown as they were more colorful. I then had a
dilemma. I had no references for these markings, so I decided to use some
artistic license. I tested the unused decals on some plasticard I had sprayed
PC10 and found them to be quite translucent. I then made copies of the decals on
white decal paper and applied them prior to the actual markings. Once they were
dry (after many applications of setting solution), the model was sprayed with a
satin finish.
The elevators and
rudder were now added and the control wires connected. I then added the wind
screens. The model was then drilled for the wing and under carriage rigging
using a #80 bit. The upper wing was then attached and the rigging commenced
using invisible thread. I completed the wing rigging, trimmed off the excess on
the top, sanded the holes smooth and painted and decaled the top of the upper
wing. The ailerons were added as were the lower aileron control wires followed
by the undercarriage rigging and finally the remainder of the aileron wires. The
tires were painted a lightened flat black and attached. I then added a Copper
State engine as the kit engine was quite poor. I also added a Copper State prop
boss to the propeller and the 504 was finished.
For my first
biplane, I am very happy with the end result.
I appologize for the poor quality
of some of the photos. They were taken many years ago with a poor digital
camera.
Lloyd Curtis
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