1/48 Miles M.14 Magister
First, some background on the 1:1 Magister:
The Miles Magister (nicknamed "Maggie") was designed to meet an Air Ministry requirement for a primary trainer. There are several firsts associated with the Magister: It was the first monoplane trainer in the RAF, as well as the first RAF trainer with flaps. The plane was built almost entirely of wood, which became particularly important when the war made strategic materials scarce. It was soon discovered that the flight characteristics of the Magister made it particularly valuable for transitioning pilots into the Spitfire and Hurricane. Miles eventually built 1,203 Magisters. Following WW2, the Magister was exported to 13 other countries. There aren't many Magisters still flying today. It was discovered that the glue used to build the plane would break down in a relatively short time. Following the war, most of the planes simply came apart and were not rebuilt.
The Model:
If you want to build a 1/48 Magister, you will be building either the Special Hobby kit or one from a company named Flashback. I had never heard of Flashback, but I found the kit in a consignment sale for just a few bucks. It is a limited run kit that was released in 2001, but the plastic looked good, it had a nice set of photoetch (made by Eduard for this kit), and it had a nice set of decals. I was wondering how the Flashback kit would compare to the Special Hobby kit, which came out several years after the Flashback kit. According to Scalemates, both the Flashback kit and the Special Hobby kit use the same molds, so they should be almost identical.
The Build:
This kit was a pleasure to build. The only modification I made was to cut out one of the crew entrance doors on the starboard side. The wings and horizontal stabilizers attach to the fuselage using a butt joint. This is probably the worst way on earth to attach a part, but everything went together well. I started the painting process by spraying Vallejo white from a spray can over the entire plane. When it was dry, I sprayed Vallejo yellow from a spray can over the entire plane. The brown camo is Tamiya Dark Earth sprayed from a can. The green is Tamiya RAF Dark Green 2 sprayed freehand from my airbrush. Prior to starting the build, I discovered a set of decals for a Magister at Number 25 Elementary and Reserve Flying Training School, White Waltham, Berkshire in 1939 from LF Models that had a really attractive scheme which combined trainer yellow and camouflage. The decals had a warning that they were made with a continuous clear film and needed to be carefully cut out. They also warned not to use anything but acrylics to seal the decals.
With all this in mind, I decided to use the kit decals for everything I could. The kit decals performed flawlessly. I used the registration numbers from the LF set. I had a few problems hiding the clear film on the LF decals, but perseverance finally won out. The LF decals also had vinyl masks for the demarcation between the yellow and the camo on the wings, as well as masks for the large registration numbers under the wings. The wing masks worked well with no paint bleed. I wasn't so lucky with the registration numbers, which bled all over the bottom of my wing. I ended up removing the paint on the bottom of the wing and repainting the yellow. As I feared, the clear film on the decals for the registration numbers proved impossible to hide, which is why you won't see any photos of the bottom of the plane. This is a nice kit to build, and any problems I had were self-inflicted. If I had chosen one of the kit schemes and just used the kit decals, I wouldn't have had any problems at all. The blow by blow description of the build can be found in the Aircraft Work in Progress Group. Cheers everyone.
An amazing result, George, of a very neat looking plane. The scheme chosen is really nice. Your build thread was, as always, nice and informative .
Well done!
A truly outstanding result, George @gblair.
The interior is nicely detailed and well visible with this open cockpit.
Chosen scheme is indeed perfect for this aircraft, it really gets the deserved attention even more.
Thanks for sharing your progress in the building thread.
Nice to see the Magister here in Headlines, George, and looking good. The yellow/camouflage scheme suits the plane very well.
@gblair - if you take a #11 blade and slice the daylights out of the underwing serial decals and then flood them with Solvaset - set the model upside down so the solvent doesn't run - it will get rid of the silvering and when the decal melts down into the surface you won't see any of the cuts.
It's a really nice little kit and you made the most of it with this very nice model.
Looks really nice, George.
Thanks for the kind words, Spiros (@fiveten), John (@johnb), George (@chinesegeorge), Tom (@tcinla), and gary (@gwskat).
Thanks for the advice, Tom (@tcinla). I have used Solvaset before, but never tried letting it sit on the decal. I once had Solvaset dissolve some decals on a model, so I try to test it before I use it on a model. The LF decals had some warnings that led me to believe they might be really fragile. In this case, the decals are out of sight under the wing, so I shouldn't be any worse off to try it.
1 attached image. Click to enlarge.
1. Warning on decal instructions.
Nice work, George! Attractive result on an unusual kit.
Nice work George.
The Miles Magister is a classic and beautiful looking aircraft .
Thanks, John (@j-healy) and Bernard (@bernardbedeur). I spent 15 years as an instructor pilot in the Air Force, so I have a weakness for trainers, especially if they have a cool paint scheme.
Great result of a unique subject. Great job
Thanks, David (dbutlr). It was simple and fun. Can't ask for more than that.
That is a really cool scheme, and your work on this short-run kit paid off nicely - looks great!
Thanks, Greg (@gkittinger). I like yellow trainers, but yellow and camo is even cooler. I have the new 1/48 Avro Anson on the way that also has some cool schemes.
Ah - I have an Anson in my stash - I'll have to see what you do with yours for inspiration!
I think the Anson looks cool. Which version do you have? I think both Classic Airframes and Special Hobby had one in 1/48. The 1/48 Airfix version is really nice. I have some decals coming for a Fleet Air Arm version.
Cool build @gblair ! I love learning about history & vehicles here on iModeler.
Very nice build! Unusual!
Thanks, DJ (juan2six) and Bernard (@lis). I appreciate your comments.
Awesome build George! I love the scheme you picked, looks great.
Hmmmm, odd….. I thought I’d replied to your build George @gblair but it’s not there! Nonetheless, a beautifully finished model of a very attractive WW2 trainer, many congratulations. I too have a weakness for trainers since my father after gaining his pilot’s wings in 1944 spent some time as a flying instructor, then latterly staff pilot logging many, many hours on Ansons! I too will be building the new Airfix one.
Thanks, Bob (@v1pro). I am always looking for something a little different, and this combo of trainer yellow and camo fit the bill.
Thanks, Max (@maxw). I never thought I would say it, but we have a lot of Georges on iModeler. At least once, that I know of, I replied to the wrong George. Throughout most of my life, I was the only George around. The new Airfix Anson will be awesome, and the aftermarket decals, photoetch, and so on is just starting to appear. Being an instructor in an Anson must have been cool, and I'll bet that it was fun to fly. Cheers.
George R Blair Jr (@gblair)
I have not been too terribly active on Imodeler recently. This one almost slipped under the radar and I could have easily missed it. Sorry.
I like these trainers too. I have a soft spot for the PT-19 which looks similar. It might stem from my childhood when I had a Cox .049 powered U-Control flying model. It was plastic, had an excessively large wing (out of scale) that was done to improve the flying qualities. It was held together by rubber bands, and I had a lot of flights in my second one... The first only lasted three flights.
It seems that some models we build tend to fight us every step of the way. I have a 1/48 Monogram Panther jet painted up as Brubaker's jet from the Bridges of Toko-Ri that I think of in this category. I'm happy that you continued on and finished this one up. It looks really nice !
I made sure to check the "like" button too. Well done my friend.
Thanks, Louis (@lgardner). Glad you jumped on to this build. The model was a really inexpensive consignment that I got. You hit the nail on the head, this plane really reminds me of the PT-19. Having flown trainers I have a soft part in my heart for other trainers, especially ones painted in "trainer" yellow. I had the same Cox PT-19, but yours lasted a lot longer than mine. "Bridges" is one of my most favorite war movies, especially when I think of all the great flying scenes with the Panthers and the helos. Mickey Rooney and his green hat..priceless.