Sikorsky S-39; 1/72 CMR

[vacant]

This is a resin kit, which is a bit of a departure for me. It is one I was donated. In all my years of making models, the number of resin kits I have built still number several under ten of which I have only ever bought one.

In spite of the degree of detail that resin can give, it can be very hard to work with when parts are small or thin. This kit came with a single piece for the individual engine rods, almost all of which I managed to break. The struts likewise, were a bit of a challenge. This kit came with a very good level of cockpit detail. The canopy had gone so yellow, it had turned brown, so I used a combination of clear plastic card and clear resin, so nothing of the interior can be seen.

As you might imagine, getting the wing to sit at the right height and angles was a rather taxing procedure. I tried to use a jig but resorted to eyeball.

The decals were in poor condition. They broke up in water, though coating them with Klear did help. The end result is a combination of broken decals, hand painting and printing on my inkjet printer.

Building the vacform Esoteric S-38 was easier!

[DavidWomby]

Turned out well, despite the challenges you had to overcome.

david

[JamesPerrin]

At the best of times this is a challenging subject in 1/72. Considering the issues you inherited with the kit you’ve done an excellent job.

[ShaunW]

Sounds like a challenging build, Vacant, but what a great result. I have never built a full resin kit and have only used the medium in the form of accessory sets and not very often at that.

[RayS]

Its nice to non run of the mill builds shown and finished. It's rather a nice scheme as well. Great work

[B4en]

That's a very interesting seaplane I'd never heard of Vacant. Shame the old kit was such a mess - a great result under the circumstances. I've only ever done resin vehicles and they can be challenging.

[PaulBradley]

Nice work, V!

[VickersVandal]

You were easily equal to it. The end result is excellent!

[Lone Modeller]

It does not seem to matter how crude a kit is or how many parts are missing: you always turn out an excellent result. Another type I had not heard of - good to see one.

[Migrant]

I’ve bought, then sold, this kit twice. It’s such a cool subject, then I look at the fragile resin parts and vacform clear parts, and on to eBay it goes. Twice. You’ve done an amazing job with it, though I refuse to believe a vac kit could be easier.