Hi All, I have recently completed a pair of Revell 1/48 Stearmans, 1 each with US Navy and US Army markings. I’d like to share a few pics with you. This marks my first attempt at rigging a biplane. Aside from a few frustrating moments and a few stray CA glue marks, it turned out fairly well. I had plenty of choices for rigging material, but I ended up choosing .2 mm nickel silver wire (Albion Ind.) as I agree with other posters that this gives a realistic and in-scale appearance compared to EZ Line. It was a bit tricky, I will say, however. I considered light fishing line too, and if I ever do another biplane (not holding breath) I may go that route. As for the kits themselves, I have to give kudos to Revell for putting together a very nicely engineered kit. As others have noted, the fit was excellent in just about every way. They may not be to the level of Tamiya as far as detail, but not too far off. I only encountered issues with the aftermarket detail and photoetch parts I bought from Eduard. My fat fingers were not made to wrestle with such delicate items. I spent way too much time with these, and I’m not sure it was even worth it, tbh. Decals were a mix of kit and Caracal. All laid down nicely. The wooden prop decals did not quite cover the entire surface so touch up was needed, but I like the end result. For paints, I tried MRP lacquer for the first time and was impressed, to say the least. They offer a True Blue FS15120 which seemed to me, at least, to be an accurate color for the early army version. As others have noted, it does spray a bit thin, but it looks great in the end. For all wings and the navy fuselage, I just used Tamiya rattle can Camel Yellow. In keeping with my “style” a few mistakes were made here and there and if you look hard enough, you will find a bunch. But I love these little planes a lot and they look great on my shelf, although they are dwarfed by some of the larger planes. Hope you enjoy! Thanks!
@Binspin That is great work on your Kaydets. I love the look of those pre-war birds. And I will say as one who built that one myself (only one), it just about builds itself unlike most biplanes I have either successfully or unsuccessfully built.
Great looking pair of birds. I like the Navy yellow best. I’ve considered picking this kit up as I’ve heard great things. Well done.
Thanks aggieman, yes they are delightful to build. I wish all Revell stuff was this good.
Thank you keavdog, I don’t know which scheme I like best. I guess that’s why I had to buil both lol. The only problem with buying this kit now would be the aftermarket parts. Eduard has discontinued their accessories. I bought the last ones I could find on eBay, and had to get one set from a hobby store in Australia! Maybe more will show up on eBay but I’d check first, if you intend to customize. Decals are still available.
Both of them look great. The flying wires as well. There should be javelins where the flying and landing wires cross mid span.
Two beautiful builds. Rigging looks great. Nice finish on the wings.
Thanks jeaton01. I know about the javelins but tbh, I don’t like the look (clutter?) on the real plane so I took a bit of artistic license and just left them off. There were a couple of other areas that could have stood a bit more detail, like the engines, but that’s for maybe down the road a little. I haven’t been back at it that long so I’m still taking smaller steps so as not to get too overwhelmed.
Beautiful work! Thanks for sharing your photos.
Thank you Cbowling and MarineGen3.
Yeah, I can sympathize with your reasoning, it’s supposed to be fun. The reason for the javelins is to keep the streamline wires from vibrating against each other. If they do they can make nicks that can cause the wire to break at that point. At certain airspeeds they can really move. In the early open cockpit days the pilots could tell their speed from the sound of the wires.
Probably more than you wanted to know 
BinSpin, your Kaydets turned out great. For your first biplane rigging, they look fantastic.
Thank you mr_tom. I spent a lot of time on rigging, much of it replacing wires that popped out while placing others (I suppose I didn’t give the CA enough time to dry). Surprisingly, the four directly in front of the cockpit (not sure what they’re called) were the easiest to place.
Thanks jeaton01. I love learning about these planes and this was welcome information.
Binspin, this kit was my first, and has been my only, biplane build. I thought it was a fun little build. Seeing how well yours came out makes me want to snatch up another one. I really like the yellow bird. Great job on both!
Cheers!
-O
Ahoy Binspin. Two biplanes with rigging at the same time? Sounds like cruel punishment to me. But you did a super job on them both. I have to throw in with those who like the all-yellow Navy version only because I’m a Navy guy. Well done on both classic paint schemes.
Thank you so much, oortiz10.
Thank you, strongeagle, and more importantly, thank you for your service!!! I like them both (my dad was army air corp in WWII) and that’s why I wanted to do both. I’m always thinking of service people when I build any warbird model. It’s a way of paying tribute while enjoying this hobby.
Lovely! That kit is one of Revell’s real gems.
BinSpin, have you considered trying the 1/32 Kaydet from ICM?