After working on this creature for the past nine months, it’s finally finished! Part of the reason it took me so long was because of the usual family obligations, work, etc. But the other part was due to how much work was required on this kit. For about $105 it builds up nicely but do not expect it to be a resin version of a Tamiya kit!!
For starters, the cockpit detail looked like it was carved with a chainsaw. It is very rough and blobby. What few boxes are depicted as molded in detail may be ficticious (sp?). I have yet to find any cockpit photos of this plane.
The fuselage halves do fit together nicely with no steps or warps or anything of that nature. There were a small number of air bubbles in the resin but nothing that couldn’t be fixed with either superglue or Mr. Surfacer.
The wings were nicely done with no warping. The left and right wings were each done as one solid piece. However, here is where you’ll find LOADS of tiny air bubbles and incomplete panel lines. I think I sanded, filled, sanded some more, painted, stripped and repeated this process about three times before I got rid of all the air bubbles. Be prepard to put on heavy coats of Mr. Surfacer or whatever your favorite product is and do lots of wet sanding to get rid of all the bubbles. I did my plane as the O.D. over neutral grey but if you’re going to do the NMF version of the plane, you will seriously need to put in a couple of late nights to prep the plane for a natural metal finish.
The prop blades were so poorly cast that I ditched them and salvaged a prop from a Monogram P-51.
The decals were extremely thin and brittle with practically all of them disintegrating as I slid them off the backing paper and onto the model. I contacted Collect-Aire and I barely got my sentence out when the gentleman asked me for my address so he could send me not one, but two extra decal sheets. When I received them in the mail, I actually got three sheets rather than two. These were a little bit better but I still had to be extremely gentle with them. They reacted very well to Solvaset.
So without further ado, here are a couple of pictures. Oh, one last thing, the vacuform canopy was nicely molded, clear and with good frame definition.
Enjoy!
Eric
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WOW!!! It sounds like she really put you thru the wringer! But I’m proud to be the first to tell you she looks great!!! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a picture of the bird, but your bird does look good!
Thank you Scorpr2!
I’ve been waiting a long time to give everyone here the bird. No. Wait a minute. That came out wrong. LOL! I mean yes it did take a while but anyone with average skills (like me, pretty average) will have a good time with these Collect-Aire kits. As long as you know when you plunk down your money, it’s not too bad at all. They’re the only game in town if you want a 1/48 version. I just love the U.S. WW2 X-planes!
Eric
Thanks for sharing with us, Eric! That build looks super to me! I have a couple Collect Aire kits in the stash and have not yet worked up the neerve to tackle them yet! You did a wonderful job on this one, you should well be proud! BTW, do I dtect a “pusher theme” running here [swg] ?
Brian [C):-)]
Thanks Brian!
Which Collect-Aire kit do you have? I’ve read that one kit of theirs can be a real bear while another can be quite pleasant to build. Since this was my first one, I don’t know if this was the bear or the pleasure! LOL! But it was fun because the challenges were challenging (duh) but easily overcome with some finesse and just an average set of building skills. The obstacles were not impossible or problematic. It was a great opportunity to learn and develop some skills without crushing one’s spirit. I hope you enjoy yours as much as I enjoyed mine!
Eric
And yes, there is definitely a “pusher” theme going on. Someone can please correct me if I’m wrong but I think all these planes came from the same government directive requesting unconventional pusher designs. I’d say these all sure qualified!
Beautiful work on all three of the experimental aircraft. I love the “weirdo” type machines and these certainly qualify for that category.
Darwin, O.F. [alien]
Groovy… it sure is a weird lookin’ bird, but it’s nice to see one of these kits built up.
Any chance you got a Collect-Aire XP-67 in the stash to complement these three in the future? It would be breaking the pusher theme, but what the hey…
Fade to Black…
I have a number of them and there are not of uniform quality, The XB-51 looks pretty tough, real fit problems with the aft fuselage, and the wing/nacelle area on the XP-67 takea lot of work. The P-51H looks pretty good. I think it mostly depends on who made the masters and molds, seems there are several people doing that for Collect Aire.
There is something extremely odd about members that use avatars of “Simpson’s” like characters…and oddball builds!
Witness: Lucien Harpress!
You guys are kindred spirits! Nice work…and I must paraphrase Steppenwolf…“G** B***s the Pusher Man!”
Great stuff ec! One never sees this stuff!
Looks like all the effort was well rewarded. Nice one [tup].
Regards, Rick
For a tough build it looks awesome
Nicely done Eric! Sounds like she really fought you but glad to see you were able to beat her into submission. You should be VERY proud of that one! [:D]
What, ME??? I have no idea what you’re talking about… [:-^]
But, on another note- AWESOME STUFF! I really like that you have the whole collection of experimental oddities from Proposal R-40C. I’ve started mine, but so far I only have the first XP-56…
…but hope to add the second along with an XP-55 and -54 sometime in the future. This is in 1/72 mind you, not 1/48.
What I didn’t realize is how large the XP-54 was in relation to the other two. The XP-56 is NOT a tiny aircraft (nearly the same size as a P-47), but it looks like it in your photo.
So, what’s next? An XP-69 to REALLY complete the set? Or doesn’t that exist in 1/48… whatever. Regardless, awesome work. Really.
Wow! Thank you for all the supportive responses! I liked the one statement about how you basically don’t “finish” a Collect-Aire kit, you beat it into submission. LOL!
Blackwolf, yes I do have their XP-67 and I even had the box out last night as I was watching “Band of Brothers”. I have the Anigrand one in 1/72 as well. That was a fun little kit! It was my first all-resin kit while the Collect-Aire XP-54 was my second foray into the world of resin.
I really wanted to make these subjects because, while I do still love them, I seriously needed to take a break from all the Mustangs and Phantoms in my stash. Call it “modelling ADHD” or whatever, but I was feeling a bit tired of doing the same old same old. This Collect-Aire kit was fun and a great skill builder. I’d suggest everyone should try one at least once…but wait until the next government economic stimulus check or tax return check comes around! LOL! I was only able to get mine thanks to my wife’s grandmother who remembered us in her will.
Best wishes,
Eric
PS. Lucien, I love that XP-56! Who made that kit? How was it to build? And I love the Simpson’s! Mmmmmm…airplanes (drool, drool, drool)