Canadian Snowbird: 1/48th Hobbycraft CT-114 Tutor
Canada Day Special: This is my Hobbycraft CT-114 (CL-41) Tutor, an aircraft familiar to many Canadians. If you have been to an airshow in Canada, chances are you have seen this 9-plane aerobatic team. Most model makers never thought we'd see in an injection molded kit of this subject though, especially in 1/48th. Now we are looking forward to the Kinetic New Tool Release in 1/48th scale (fingers crossed, later this year).
The Hobbycraft kit didn't actually include the detail for a Snowbird version (or much other detail for that matter). The oil pipes and supports as well as the rear fairing were scratch-built and added to the underside of the fuselage.
You can see more in-depth detail of this build with additional photos at: https://www.flypastrush.com/post/canadian-snowbird-1-48th-hobbycraft-ct-114-tutor
Happy to have this one in The Hangar - especially today 🙂 Thanks for looking & good luck on your next build.
Happy Canada Day.
Glad to see one built and done well. That scheme doesn't seem to be as easy as it looks. I know there was a resin cockpit set made by a Calgary hobbyshop for it, but by the time I got around to buying it they were sold out.
Now I'm waiting for a chance to purchase the Kinetic CT-114 too.
Happy Canada Day to you as well Dan, Thanks for the compliment, I backdated the Snowbird version on this 1/48th Hobbycraft kit to the 80’s look. I have the Kinetic kit on order and will do a current livery on that one… If all goes well I’ll get another one to do a trainer. Bump up the Canadiana in my collection - Cheers eh! 🙂
A nice-looking little jet! Well done.
Thanks Greg, yes it seems it would make a nice commuter jet 😉 (Similar to the A-37)
Very cool. Happy Canada Day!
Thanks Chas, It was a great weekend spent with some of the family - Cheers
Your excellent model brings back some good memories.
I well remember the first time the Snowbirds flew a show in the USA, at the 1976 Reno Air Races. They ended their opening approach with the downward fleur-de-lis maneuver - right over the heads of the crowd! The biggest no-no possible at American airshows! The FAA had a collective seizure while the crowd loved it. I remember the Abbotsford show in 1977, when they appeared with the Thunderbirds and shamed them into running off and learning - for at least one show - how to change the formation shape in front of the crowd. I had the privilege of flying with them five years later at Reno with Snowbird #9 - Johnny Politis - the year before he was killed in the mid-air at the Vancouver airshow. Being inside the Big Diamond, you lose all sense of forward motion, while looking nervously at that wingtip six feet away to the right. Snowbirds are my favorite team ever since. Loved it when they showed up with the Red Arrows at Huntington Beach the year before the pandemic.
Thanks again Tom,
I had to work at that 1/48th Hobbycraft Snowbird to get it to turn out, and made a few errors along the way. (However very glad to have it on display as I thought that would be the last chance to ever get a Tutor.) I back-dated the markings on that bird to reflect the early scheme used in the 70's-80's.I have the New Tool 1/48th Kinetic kit on order, so I can also do an updated scheme (and maybe a trainer version after that one 🙂 Wooo-hooo!
Lost count of the amount of times I have seen the team perform. Like you my favourite memory of their display may have been when they appeared at a show along with the Red Arrows in that pre-pandemic rarity when the Arrows toured Canada.
Very impressive front seat view you got there with the team. That must have been quite the unforgettable experience! - Cheers
Happy Canada day @flypastrush
That Tutor turned out really well.
Must be great to see nine of those together during an airshow.
Thanks John, It was a great weekend.
The 9-Plane formations are nice to see as they take up a lot more real estate in the sky. They still do the singles and smaller groups to mix it up during the show, but those 9-plane rolls or upward / downward breaks of the whole team are impressive! - Cheers
Beautiful Tutor! Happy Canada Day to you sir.
Thanks John,
We had a good mix of weather here and I spent time with the family (as well as had a bit of bench time) so all good - Cheers
Happy Canada Day @flypastrush! An excellent Tutor and a really beautifully done scheme!
Thanks again Spiros,
It is nice to have the colourful jets in the collection as well. They brighten things up and present new challenges for masking! - Cheers