This
kit has a poor reputation. And as this is my first aircraft kit, I was curious
to see if it had earned its reputation. And I can say, objectively, that ... YES
it has!
This
was a bear of a kit. Along the fuselage, the gap was 3 mm. And almost
nothing fit well. Lots of patching and filling and sanding with this kit.
But,
it was still a lot of fun! It's a good thing I've begun to love scratchbuilding.
So, I decided to show it with the cockpit and clamshell canopy open ... and
NorthStar had one ... I also added some detail to them. I scratchbuilt an
Iroquois engine from references I had. And built the weapons bay where the
removable palette was located. In addition, I built both Main Landing Gear from
aluminum tube and styrene ... detailed the Nose Landing Gear adding the drag
strut and placing the door on the correct side. The ladder and dollys for the
engine and the palette, were also built from styrene sheet using references. The
nose radar, which was based on the type used on the F4 Phantom, was also built
from scratch.
Click on
images below to see larger images
I've
been interested in this aircraft for 30 years. It was designed and built
in Canada, and was the most advanced interceptor in the world in 1959.
And-d-d the Canadian government decided to, not only cancel it in 1959,
but destroy and cut up the five flying aircraft. It breaks my heart to
this day. It was, and is, a very controversial action.
Arrow
Graphics provided the excellent and accurate decals. I weathered this Arrow with
a thinned oil wash, after a coat or two of Future and then used pastels for the
final touches.
It
won a 3rd place at the recent IPMS National show in August 2009.
Thanx
very much Steve, for continuing to offer us an opportunity to show our models
and providing a very professional site for us!
Pete Malaguti
Click on
images below to see larger images
|