right : Author's model of 1:48 scale Gladiator built from a Lifelike {formerly Inpact) kit, one of a very fine group produced in this scale. No correction was needed and extra work consisted of replacing certain parts and refinement of others. The propeller was sharpened and the rear edge of the cowl reduced as suggested in the text. The ends of the exhausts were bored to a short depth sufficient to give the impression of hollow pipes. The junction of the undercarriage legs with the fuselage required much filling and shaping and the cockpit canopy is made entirely from thin acetate sheet to replace the transparency supplied in the kit. Framework on the canopy is painted decal, cut into fine strips. The trailing edges of the rudder and elevators were sharpened and the two items separated from the fixed members. This required careful cutting with a sharp bladc. The shape of the ailerons and the hardness of the plastic precluded the cutting away of these components but a cut was made in the groove and the inner edges of the ailerons were cut right through. Landing and navigation lights were made from moulded acetate sheet. The cockpit side panel was cut away as shown and fixed in the open position.

Improving Plastic Kits

Whilst improving plastic kits manufacturers continue to raise the standards of accuracy of their kits, mass production methods do entail certain limitations which are unavoidable. These limitations are mainly seen in the simplification of some detail and, in some instances, the heavy moulding of small components. This section is concerned with the assembly of plastic kits and ways and means of improving upon the commercial product.

(a) Checking and correction.
(b) Refining and substitution where necessary.
(c) Additional detailing.

CHECKING AND CORRECTION

The first thing to consider is the overall accuracy of the kit by which is meant the correctness of the dimensions and the shape of the components. Fortunately there is today an ever increasing selection of reference books dealing in whole or part with vintage and World War 2 aircraft. The hobby is also well served in the magazine field, indeed it is easier to locate information on aircraft of almost any type today than it has ever been before. Nevertheless it is surprising how many mistakes manufacturers make and these should be corrected. The selective list of kits given in Section I mentions the major errors in relatively few 1:48 scale kits, but there may be minor ones in almost any kit which can only be discovered by careful checking. Nothing is more infuriating than to spend time and energy on building a model only to have an error pointed out afterwards. Most model plans of aircraft are printed in 1:72 scale, this is because this is still overall the most popular scale with collectors where space is of importance, but it is also generally the most suitable size for reproduction in magazines and books. Anyone working from a 1:72 scale plan, but building a kit in another scale, must usually take measurements from the 1:72 scale plan and compute them into the necessary dimensions for the scale of the model. If you want anything more precise than this, you may be lucky enough to have a print or copying firm in the district who can produce an enlarged ( or indeed reduced) print to your chosen scale. Take heed of the laws of copyright, however. Most publishers allow you to photostat from an original for your own modelling or research purposes, but not for distribution to others.

Drawings reproduced to 1:50 or 1:48 scales seem to be gradually on the increase, especially for vintage aircraft, as their increased size enables a large amount of detail to be presented, which is of course the principal advantage of 1:48 scale (or larger) models. Modellers should beware of drawings appearing in very old magazines as they are often inaccurate (with some exceptions). It is worth mentioning here the well-known Aeromodeller Plans Service, mainly consisting of plan packs of reprints from Aeromodeller and Scale Models drawings in a variety of scales. A catalogue is available from the publishers of this book.

Generally speaking, the older kits, many of which are still available, do not have the same degree of accuracy as more recent ones. This is partly due to the fact that manufacturers in earlier days aimed their product mainly at the juvenile market, and relatively little time and effort was expended in research. Some early kits of contemporary and 1939-45 aircraft were quite appalling but curiously enough the models of old-time aircraft were not generally too bad.

Correction to a kit may involve the cutting away of inaccurately shaped wingtips (a common error) alteration or substitution of tail assembly, and the filling in of gaps such as mounting slots and wide grooves which are meant to represent panel joints. It may also mean the paring down of an entire fuselage top which will mean the subsequent restoration of panel lines, stitching and any other detail such as louvres or scoops. In some cases, when a component is moulded smaller than it should be, it will be necessary to replace the part completely. When all the kit components are correct in dimension and shape you are ready to move on to the next step.

REFINING AND SUBSTITUTION

A model cannot be described as being true to scale unless all of it is. There are many assembled plastic models sitting on the shelves which are neatly built, and superbly finished but which have the same faults that many of the old wooden solid models had. These faults are principally, oversize struts, booms and undercarriage members, and blunt trailing edges to wings and tail assembly. These faults are all too often present in plastic kits, but it should be appreciated that the manufacturer cannot always avoid the heaviness of some components. This sub-section deals with the items which need refining and the methods of achieving this.

EMBOSSED MARKINGS.

The bane of the plastic modeller, this type of raised marking must be removed and this includes exaggerated panel lines, exaggerated lacing and egg-size rivets. If a finished model still retains inaccuracies of this type then it can rarely be taken seriously as a scale model at all.

Fuselage and rudder markings usually entail only scraping and sanding because they are more or less flat in most cases. The difficulty is in removing the markings from the upper wing surfaces because of the rib spines. The safest method is to wrap a piece of plastic foam around a pencil and a piece of sandpaper around the plastic foam. This forms a sanding tool which flexes to the camber of the wing and is not too harsh. The important thing is to keep the strokes parallel and even. Finish off with a very fine grade of sanding paper ('wet and dry' lubricated with soap is commended). Aileron lines may vanish but this is of little importance for they are best cut away from the wing in any case. This cutting should be carried out with a very sharp blade, preferably a new single-edged razor blade guided by a steel rule, or a craft knife or scalpel with a new blade. Make one light initial cut as a guide and sever the aileron by several strokes, this will prevent cracking or splintering of the plastic. However, the aileron should not be cut away until the under surface of the wing (or horizontal tail surfaces, for elevators should be cut away also) is treated.

left : Removing embossed markings: for the final finishing the pencil can be removed using the plastic foam only as support. This is the upper wing of the Aurora (K & B) Breguet 14 and the typically heavy markings can be seen. As the wing ribs are moulded at the wrong angle (they should be parallel to the line of flight) this particular model would best be skinned with thin plastic card but it serves as a good example here of a typical task involved in improving old kits

Markings on the under surface of the wing can be obliterated in the same way but where there is considerable under camber this requires care. A large piece of sand-paper should be wrapped around a suitably shaped block (eg. a rolled magazine or telephone directory) so that the sanding surface will reach the centre of the wing. In this case it is easier to ride the wing over the sanding block. Obviously all under-wing features will be removed including the rib spines. This is no loss as most of these on kit models are incorrect. The most prominent feature on the full-size aircraft were the rib tapes which can be represented by lightly scoring double lines with a knife ensuring that the 'tapes' correspond with the rib spines on the upper surface.

At this stage it would be well to consider whether or not the surface detail on a very inaccurate kit is worth preserving at all. It may be easier and far more satisfying to replace the old surface with a system of plastic skinning as described in the exercise on the Nieuport 24 bis. This is entirely up to the modeller but the skinning system, although involving a considerable amount of careful work, is infinitely superior in the long run. The wing of the Breguet 14 is used in the illustrations to show the removal of markings because it is of dark plastic.(note the thin white paint line to act as a sight guide to prevent over sanding)
In actual fact the ribs as reproduced in the kit model are incorrect inasmuch as the ribs of the original aircraft were parallel to the line of flight. In the Aurora kit the ribs are reproduced at right angles to the leading edge. In consequence in building this model it would be best to re-cover the wing completely with thin plastic card.

Whatever system is used one thing must be done and that is that the trailing edges of wings and tail assembly must be reduced to as sharp an edge as possible. Blunt trailing edges have spoiled countless models and still do, and indicate that the modeller has never taken the trouble to study an aircraft or even look closely at photographs Sharp edges are essential in large models and they are even more so in 1:72 scale. The writer makes no apology for stressing this point for it is one of the most overlooked features amongst plastic modellers.

Additional Detailing

The great advantage of the larger scale model lies in the wealth of detail which can be incorporated. Whilst the later plastic kits provide more detail than previously, many things are missing and it is up to the modeller to create them. Small detail such as gun sights, flare brackets, bomb racks and bombs, gun rings and clips, camera apertures and racks, Very cartridge racks, pitot tubes, generators, stirrups and steps, aileron levers, radiator water pipes, air scoops, manhandling grips, fuel tank caps, and so on, are supplied either as crude mouldings or not supplied at all. It is the addition of detail such as this which converts an assembled plastic kit into a fine scale model.