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Walt
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1/48 Classic Airframes Grumman Duck

December 3, 2012 · in Aviation · · 10 · 3.2K

After seeing all the Wildcats with the beautiful medium blue over gray. I thought I would post pictures of my Grumman Duck. I finished it earlier this year. It was my first biplane, but I got the bug and wanted to finish a model with the oversided stars that were present during the early war years. I purchased the kit knowing that it was a limited run kit, but that said I have to say it was by far one of the worst kits I have ever built. The resin was marginal and did not fit properly, many of the parts for the wheel wells were mear suggestions of what should be, to be modified and formed to actually fit along with numberous other fit issues. Plus, one of the lower wings when the upper and lower halves were put together, touched at the ends and in the middle, but in bewteen those three contact point I had a 1/8" gap along the leading edge. Still I persevered and when I finally got to the painting point I had fun with it. I tried to vary the shades of the blue and in general considering the rough quality of the kit I was quite happy with the end results, and honestly I had fun, being challenged and finding solutions. It was nice to overcome the challenge, but you can bet the next kit was a ...the little Komatsu bulldozer. 🙂

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10 responses

  1. I'd say from what I can see, you overcame the many adversities you described and produced a nicely finished rendition of the a/c.
    I'm no expert, but I see absolutely nothing wrong with any aspect of your build. Looks like it came out quite good, in my opinion. Good job.

  2. Thanks Craig, I am happy with it, It is not a perfect build but it looks good on the shelf and I really wanted to build one. I build too slow to worry about getting it perfect.

  3. I doubt anyone has built the "perfect" kit. I don't think it exists. I just use the old adage, "...it looks good from far, but far from good..." when I refer to MY stuff.
    Remember, it's a 'hobby' - enjoy it for your OWN satisfaction.

  4. Having build one of those monsters and not been unhappy when one of the cats sent it to Awful Kit World before I wasted more time on it, I commend you for your Perseverance. It actually looks like a model, for which I give you a "10" for skills over outcome.

  5. While the Duck is a difficult one, Classic Airframes will be sorely missed for subject matter choice and what they provided in the box- limited run or not! They got increasingly better (check out the Widgeon), and they released a 1/48 TA-4J before Hasegawa did! go figure! Anyway, that aside, you did a great job, learned some "real" modelling skills 🙂 along the way, and have something awesome to show for it! Can't wait to do my two!

    • You're right Dan, limited run kits offer us subject matter that most other companies will never offer. I appreciate that and realized that there will be challenges in the building process. I just sometimes suffer from that human condition of complainoritis. The kit was pretty bad, but I did have fun, I did improve my modeling skills, and I have a nice kit to show for my effort.

  6. Well Done Walt.
    As someone who lives & breathes Grumman Amphibians (and owns 5 Grumman Waterbird Yahoo groups) I gotta tip my hat.
    You beat a tough kit into submission.
    I can only see a couple wee small things that you missed (& they're easy to overlook), the bow cleat and the float rigging wires.
    Aside from those, Man - you nailed it.

    • Thanks Bill, I have a great respect for Grumman aircraft. They really are built tough. I am currently working on the restoration of a Grumman Goose, and I can tell you that after all the years of service this plane has given, it is in remarkably good shape. Just an unbelievable number of rivets! We had to shoot the new rear keel in one day...12 ft of keel, ~470 rivets! The forward keel should be real fun, it is a few feet longer!

  7. That is a beautiful job of a seldom seen kit. Very nice! I actually enjoy short run kits as they sharpen your skills and give you something unique!

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      Walt said on July 5, 2020

      Thanks so much Colin @tail-dragon I appreciate the kind words. It is true you often get subjects you can't get from main stream kits. I agree the challenge can make you a better modeler too. Its also nice to know someone is looking at an eight year old post! Thanks again

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