1/48 Corben Super Ace -- Williams Bros.

Here we have the 1/48 scale Corben Super Ace by Williams Brothers. She is tiny even in this scale—she sits comfortably in the palm of my hand. I really appreciate Williams Brothers unique lineup of kits. They tend to focus on golden age aviation subjects—stuff that other manufacturers won’t touch. Back to this model…all the parts are on one sprue, which makes it a simple quick build. However, I thought it was too generic and too toy-like OOB. Therefore, I tried to jazz it up by adding a leather head rest and seat cushion (scrap sprue sanded to shape). I also replaced the exhaust part with 4 individual short pieces of brass. These looked more realistic than the part which was impossible to drill out. I also added control horns and push rods to the ailerons, which were also separated with a saw blade. I added the appropriate tail bracing cables with stretched sprue after dropping the elevators. The prop was finished in a simulated laminated wood scheme. I also added the control cable that sticks out the bottom attached to the control stick. A little exhaust staining and light weathering rounded it out. If you want to try something way outside the box, give this one a go. I’ve seen it all over Ebay for less than $10.00, sometimes $5.00. Hope you like it. BTW, I do sincerely appreciate any and all comments.

Love to see the ‘classics’…both as regards the aircraft itself, and the kit! Really lovely job on a rarely seen gem!

Cheers

This is a really well done little model. It was interesting to read the web article too.

I love WB kits because of their subject matter. I have not built the Corben yet, but look forward to it. Did the Ford Flivver several years ago- that too is a tiny bird.

I love their large scale engines. While I have built their Wasp, I want to build another, using paints that were not available then. Had a hard time finding one of their kits. A place called Sporty’s Pilot Shop advertised them and I ordered one. They said it was back-ordered, and they expected to ship March 26. Have not gotten it yet, but hope springs eternal…

Nice model, I like the added detail. One in the stash, and years ago I did plans for an R/C kit that was published in Scale R/C Modeler. For that article I interviewed a fellow who built and flew one. He was a crop duster so he knew his stick from his rudder and said the ailerons were very heavy and not too effective. The model was a rudder elevator ship, no ailerons, and flew fine, electric powered way back then.

The full size article plans were published in Mechanics Illustrated, as I recall. I have a copy of those in the files.