Below are photos of my Revell 1/48 scale Ryan NYP model named “Spirit of St. Louis”, and used by Charles Lindberg in his solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean in 1927. The kit is excellent and went together without any problems. There is not much of an interior, but you cannot really see inside the model anyway. I built it straight from the box and used the kit decals. The total project time was 30 hours, which is quick for me since I am a very slow builder. The exterior was painted Model Master Metalizer Aluminum, and then coated with Model Master Metalizer Sealer. The sealer dulled down the bright finish, added a protective barrier and provided a good surface for the decals to adhere to. A weak wash of flat black was airbrushed at random over the “fabric” areas as the finishing touch. Doing this was critical as it created a worn and dirty look, which is very realistic. The nose spinner and propeller were polished with aluminum powder to give contrast against the rest of the model. A highly recommended kit! I hope you enjoy the photos.
I built this kit about month or two back. Looks like you had better results with the topside decal, than I did. I couldn’t get all of the carrier film to settle down correctly, so it looks silvered. I had pull my decal off, re-design it and now I Need to print it out on decal paper. This should allow me to eliminate most of the extraneous carrier film.
He had a compass, altimeter, airspeed indicator, fuel gauge, etc., for instruments - very elementary stuff, nothing like what a pilot would take for granted today as a minimum. He had an observation window topside for checking his bearing against the stars. Lindberg stuck his head out of the side window so he could see where he was going. Seriously. That’s the way it was, aviation in 1927 …
Also, I believe the area where you might expect the cockpit - and windshield - to be, instead contained a fuel tank, which is why no forward view. The plane was a flying gas tank, actually … it was specially designed and built for the trans-Atlantic attempt. It was never intended to be a practical, everyday aircraft.
There is a movie from the late '40’s or early '50’s called The Spirit of Saint Louis, starring Jimmy Stewart as Charles Lindberg, that will give you a good general idea of the design and building of the plane, and of the historic flight itself. Not saying it’s a historical document, mind you, only that it will give you a good general sense of that plane and the flight.
Again, very nice build of a very special airplane.
jschlechty-The following information from Wikipedia answers the question concerning no forward visibilty, “The large main fuel tank was placed in the forward section of the fuselage, in front of the pilot, which improved the center of gravity. While locating fuel tanks at the front reduced the risk of the pilot’s being crushed to death in the event of a crash, this design decision also meant that there could be no front windshield, and that forward visibility would be limited to side windows only. A periscope was installed to provide a forward view, as a precaution against hitting ship masts, trees, or structures while flying at low altitude; however, it is unclear whether the periscope was used during the Atlantic flight.” Since Lindberg worked with the Ryan designers, he must have been okay with this. I know I would have wanted a front windshield.
Gigatron-I had good success with my decals because I cut away nearly every bit of the decal carrier film before the decals were applied. Doing this requires a little extra work to get the spacing and alignment right, but it is worth the effort. I always cut away the carrier film on every project. Removing the carrier film not only eliminates possible silvering, but since it is not there you do not have to worry about the carrier film turning yellow months or years later. Good luck on your replacement decals.
Thanks, Phillip1 … I had forgotten about the periscope. Also, he improvised a small mirror with some chewing gum or something, near the port window the morning of the flight, so he could see the tail - or so legend has it.
