Getting a little bored during the
Covid Quarantine I decided to build something different. I wasn't sure what to
build and then I found the old 1967 edition of the Monogram Ford Tri-Motor kit.
The box and instructions claim it is in 1/72 scale; however ScaleMates lists it
as 1/77. The decals I ended up using also claim it to be 1/77. As for me, I have
no idea; I just wanted to do something different.
In 1956 Monogram produced its first
kit of the Ford Tri-Motor, complete with skis to represent the airplane Admiral
Richard E. Byrd flew during one of his Antarctic expeditions. Some parts were
added to the kit in 1965 and the 1967 version that I had was the same as the
1965 version but with different decals. The kit is very basic with no cockpit
interior provided and nothing in the passenger cabin except a lot of empty
space. The kit is typical of those developed in the mid-1950s with young boys as
the target market. Make the airplane quick, play with it awhile, blow it up with
a firecracker.
Click on
images below to see larger images
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The
decals in the kit were beyond redemption. I didn't think there would be any
aftermarket decals for this airplane, but I was wrong. A quick search led me to
Draw Decals. It seems they mostly do decals for airliners. I chose set
72s-Trimotor, a sheet depicting a Ford Trimotor run by Jefferson Airways. The
route flown by Jefferson was from the Twin Cities (Minneapolis-St. Paul,
Minnesota) to Rochester, NY. The instruction sheet is pretty basic, as are the
actual decals supplied: NC numbers, a choice of including Rochester or not for
the fuselage, a Ford Company logo and a Walk Here marking.
The
instruction sheet claims the decals are the "Next Generation" of
decals called Digital Silk. They are printed on a continuous, clear film. While
durable, they are very thin and easily fold over onto themselves. I had a
little trouble with the "Walk Here" decal, the first one I applied.
After that, no major problems as long as you take your time to be sure the decal
doesn't fold over.
Construction
of the kit is straightforward. For such a dated model, the fit is very
good. This is especially true when tackling the 2 Wright J-6 900
horsepower radial engines suspended from the wing. The horizontal
stabilizer supports fit in nicely with the fuselage locating holes. The
complicated looking landing gear struts fit onto the fuselage before the
bottom is applied. Fit was perfect...not bad for an ancient model. The
only real fit problem I ran into was with the cockpit window. I had
decided to paint all the glass gloss black since there is no interior
provided in the kit. The black window band and front fuselage were done
with a flat black. The photos show the gap between the cockpit window
and the fuselage. Since the plane was already painted when I inserted the
cockpit window, I decided to leave well enough alone. The only other
painting was the main color of the Tin Goose. I opted to use Model Master
non buffing stainless steel.
All
in all this was a pleasurable build. The corrugated aluminum wing
poses some match-up problems but overall the result is acceptable. A fun
break of pace from all the rigging associated with World War I airplanes.
Mike
Muth