Tom's second build - paying the Piper **Finished**

[TomW]

So for my second build I'll be having a go at KP's rather nice Piper L-4 Cub, this was developed from the pre-war J-3 version and was mechanically identical but introduced a plexiglass 'greenhouse canopy':






The box art shows a plane in service with the USAF but it also includes decals to do a Polish civil registered Air Ambulance, and that is the version I'll be attempting:









Regards

Tom

[TomW]

Made a start on this one yesterday in the traditional sequence i.e; cockpit and internal gubbins first. A short while later and I had these:







That engine assembly was rather fiddly with my sausage fingers

Once it was all dry I tried a dry fit of the fuselage halves, then I got out the sandpaper for a lot of fettling and tweaking to get a good fit. This is as good as it got:







That last shot shows, if you look at the prop area, where I couldn't eliminate a gap no matter what I tried, so some filler will be needed (what am I saying, this is a Kopro kit, of course I'll need filler )

Regards

Tom

[MerlinJones]

Be aware that many small aircraft have real panel lines and gaps, especially around engines were access to the engine is required.

Regards,
Bruce

[ShaunW]

Good start Tom and I see that you are going to be a busy boy in this GB. The gap behind the prop is as a result of the fit of the fuselage being poor I presume. Certainly a job for the filler as I doubt any amount of sanding will eradicate that bad boy.

[TomW]

Broke open the filler this morning and got the fuselage all sanded and smooth. Then I thought I'd get the white spray out and give her a quick coat to show up any flaws, good job I checked the colour guide again for masking reference though as this one is meant to be a NMF

Well silver dope actually but who's gonna split hairs

So I got out the Citadel Chainmail and a big wide brush and got painting:







I've also squashed some fishing weights into the floats to try and get this one to sit on its 'steps' but only time will tell if this is enough:






Regards

Tom

[TomW]

So this is where the kit stands this morning:








The canopy arrangement was a bit tricky to get right but pretty well engineered once you can get your head round the instructions, the upper wing is a single piece for strength and the top glazing just slides into place between the wings forming a very solid piece.
However this butt joins on top of the two flat side glazing panels which need to be aligned perfectly ( which mine are not ). the front screen then drops into place with minimal gaps.


Regards

Tom

[Jagewa]

Great work Tom, the canopy looks good. A rather attractive little birdie.

Cheers
Jim

[MerlinJones]

Not much room for an ambulance role, is there?
Interesting aircraft, though and is it 1/72?

Regards,
Bruce

[TomW]

It is indeed 1/72 Bruce, and to give you an idea it's smaller than an Auster by approx 10mm in length and span.

How on earth it could operate safely as an Air Ambulance I'll never know, but there are a set of duplicate controls inside for the 'casualty' to amuse themselves with

Regards

Tom

[TomW]

Tailplanes on and nose painted with a first coat of red:




Regards

Tom

[ShaunW]

This is taking shape nicely Tom and I must admit that I'm agog at the casualty facing a set of dual controls!!

[TomW]

Because the locating points for the wing struts are smack bang where a very large decal is meant to go has meant deviating from my usual methods of construction.

Hence:




Starting to look the part now

Regards

Tom

[TheRat]

Looking very good! Might pick up one of those, I love the Cub. Hey, who doesn't?!

Back in the 70s I went for a summer of gliding at a club near Toronto, and they had one of those greenhouse jobs as a tow-plane. The 65hp engine wasn't up to the job, so they had installed a 150hp. It was so big they couldn't fit a cowling around it so it just hung naked on the front. But MAN, could that thing ever climb!

[Barry]

Looking very sharp Tom. Nice work on the canopy frames.

[Nax]

I've enjoyed watching this build and look forward to the floats on, looks terrific.