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Rafi Ben-Shahar
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Roden 1/32 Stearman PT-17 Kaydet IDF

September 28, 2023 · in Aviation · · 22 · 458

The was a trainer in the early days of the . The iconic aircraft received several schemes during its decade long service. I chose two of the more common schemes while in service.

's Stearman is a most problematic build. Weak undercarriages, heavy upper wing, wrong placement of cockpit parts to name a few. But, it can be built to look like the real aircraft.

Reader reactions:
12  Awesome 1 

14 additional images. Click to enlarge.


22 responses

  1. You did an amazing job on this troublesome kit, Rafi @blackmopane
    Both Stearmans look great in Israeli scheme.

  2. Really interesting addition to anyone's IDF collection , you can more or less pick any allied aircraft from that era and the chances are the IDF had some ,well maybe not quite but you know what I mean they had a lot different types but I've never seen one of these let alone two.
    Great work on these as usual Rafi.

  3. Fantastic job on both, Rafi! A classic case of a lees than perfect kit that yields excellent results if built by a skillful modeler.
    Congratulations!

  4. A pair of beauties! They both look wonderful.

  5. Nice work on both Rafi. Did the camouflaged airplane see more than training service?

    The Roden defeated me - it was the weak landing gear, which broke and let the model pitch over off the shelf four feet to the hard floor. Faw down go booom!

    • Thank you Tom.
      The camouflaged versions accompanied the Stearmans during the majority of the service period. The silver scheme was adopted towards the end of service in the flying school.

  6. Nice work on both of these, Rafi. Many large scale biplane kits have wobbly landing gear. I noted that issue on the couple WNW kits that I built.

  7. Nice work Rafi. Now thinking of getting a 1/48 Revell PT-17 and making that camo bird with Suez markings. Must resist!

  8. That is not a common scheme seen on the stearman , its nice to see something different. Good job on a challenging kit.

  9. Love that silver finish - your builds are so beautiful, Rafi @blackmopane!

  10. Nice builds - the Stearman is my all time favorite flying machine!

  11. Two beautiful builds! Love the schemes. Well done.

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