Lockheed Vega on Floats
This was a fun project to research. I have the markings accurate, but the colors are my best guess.
On the Modeling Madness website, (https://modelingmadness.com/review/civil/genav/sumveg.htm) I wrote: Introduced in 1927, the Lockheed Vega was the first product of the newly reorganized Lockheed Aircraft Company. The designer was Jack Northrop and the chief engineer was Gerard “Jerry” Vultee. (Both of whom later founded their own companies.) It sported a cantilever one-piece spruce wing and a spruce veneer monocoque fuselage, which increased overall strength and reduced weight. A NACA engine cowling and wheel pants reduced drag and provided streamline style.
Notable pilots who flew the Vega were Jimmy Doolittle, Amelia Earhart, and Wiley Post.
Courtesy the Ketchikan museums Tongass Historical Museum and the Totem Heritage Center
Alaska-Washington Airways, 1929-1932
Southeast Alaska's commercial aviation really blossomed during the spring of 1929. On the heels of International Airways' Boeing flying boat charter survey flight to Ketchikan and Juneau that March, came the historic arrival of owner Joe Carman Jr.'s Seattle based Alaska-Washington Airways' modern Lockheed Vega 5C floatplanes, powered by reliable air-cooled radial engines. On April 15, 1929, Alaska-Washington Airways made the first non-stop flight from Seattle to Juneau inaugurating the company's ambitious air charter operations in the Panhandle region. Chief pilot Anscel Eckmann, accompanied by co-pilot/navigator R. E. 'Bob' Ellis and mechanic Jack Halloran, completed the 940 mile flight to Juneau in seven hours and thirty-five minutes, flying the Vega appropriately dubbed the "Juneau" (NC432E). They flew over Ketchikan at 12:53 p.m. and landed in Juneau harbor an hour later. Carrying same day edition copies of Seattle newspapers, it well demonstrated the great potential for airmail service for Alaska.
For a professional appearance, Alaska-Washington Airways pilots wore full navy style dress uniforms with a flight mechanic aboard as crew. The airplanes, mounted on Edo Mod. 4650 pontoon floats, were uniformly painted in attractive dark blue and cream schemes. Charter rate was $44/hr. for moving passengers and freight. Twice-weekly scheduled flights to Seattle were also offered. Fish trap and cannery patrol duties were very lucrative, along-with mining, hunting, and fishing charters. Using their two Vegas "Juneau" and "Ketchikan", Alaska-Washington Airways carried more than 1,500 passengers during the five months of the 1929 season (4/15/29 - 9/21/29).
Capitalizing on their great early achievements, Alaska-Washington Airways augmented their fleet to six different Vegas in Southeast Alaska for the 1930 season. Each plane was named after Panhandle towns: "Juneau" (NC432E), "Taku" (NC102W), "Skagway" (NC103W), "Wrangell" (previously named "Ketchikan" NC657E), "Sitka" (NC974H) and "Petersburg" (NC336H). The "Wrangell" and "Petersburg" sported bright new flashy deep orange schemes. Full NACA speed engine cowlings were fitted onto some of the Vegas. Alaska-Washington Airways constructed seaplane maintenance floating hangars that summer in Ketchikan and Juneau. One-way ticket fare from Seattle to Ketchikan was $75 and $135 roundtrip (4 hr. 30 min. flight). One-way ticket fare from Seattle to Juneau was $105 and $189 roundtrip. In July, RKO Film Studios chartered the Vega "Skagway" for on location shooting logistics on their Rex Beach saga film production "The Silver Horde" in Ketchikan and Loring. Strong steady business allowed the Vegas to extend seasonal operations into that fall.
Fate impacted Alaska-Washington Airways' fortunes on October 28, 1930 when the Vega "Skagway" went missing with three aboard while flying from Seattle to Ketchikan in bad weather and darkening skies. The Vega "Taku" was previously written off on October 4, 1930 due to fire, following a precautionary water landing outside Hood Canal near Kingston, Washington. Three Alaska-Washington Airways Vegas returned for the 1931 season: "Petersburg", "Sitka", and "Wrangell". In December 1931, fishing cannery baron Nick Bez announced purchase of Alaska-Washington Airways' assets (Vega "Petersburg" and the Juneau hangar), to form Alaska Southern Airways with Anscel Eckmann as Vice President. Alaska-Washington Airways held a receiver's sale of its remaining assets in Seattle in March 1932.
This particular kit has an interesting history. It was gifted to me earlier this year with assurances that it was purchased from the inaugural production in 1970. At some time during its storage, it became water logged. It was still wrapped in cellophane and mold had grown on, and inside, the box. While unwrapping it, the cellophane disintegrated into pieces.
Inside, the parts were sealed in a bag. Unfortunately, the instructions and a promotional flyer, plus the decals were packed loose. The decals were stuck to the flyer and beyond salvation. Some kind of mold/foxing had grown on the instructions. I opted to wear gloves while scanning them to print a fresh copy. The box and paper were disposed of.
Excellent model and very interesting history. I always find that researching a particular prototype is one of the great pleasures of model building and very much enjoyed reading your research.
Thanks. I'm glad that you enjoyed reading the history. I enjoy other modelers research too. I always learn something new.
@jsummerford I love the uniqueness of this build. It inspires a romance of the early years of aviation. Very cool. Since the decals were toast, how did you arrive at the decals used?
Matt,
I saved two photos into my file that, along with the text, gave me enough information to send a PDF
to Bedlam Creations. ( https://www.bedlamcreations.com/custom-waterslide-decals/custom-model-plane-waterslide-decals/ ) The PDF included font and color specifications and a scan of a chip of the cream color. (this website won't allow me to include the PDF.) The decals are just for the lettering, the fuselage stripes and flares are paint.
Feel free to ask for more details.
2 attached images. Click to enlarge.
Great job on this, John. That kit waited quite a long time to be built.
Thanks. I didn't know that a Vega on floats kit was ever produced. I was very happy to receive it.
Excellent result and a really unique subject, John! Excellent article, too!
Thanks. It was an interesting, fun project.
This is a wonderful result, John @jsummerford
Thanks for sharing the interesting history behind it.
Thanks. I find bush planes and airmail planes interesting subjects.
Very cool build. Happy that you could find after-market decals for this unique subject.
Thanks. To be clear, I had the letters and numbers custom printed by Bedlam Creations. The fuselage stripes and flares are paint. I received an email from Bedlam to asking permission to print another set for a modeler in Canada who viewed my article on Modeling Madness.
Looks great! Hadn't seen a Vega on floats that I remember.
Thanks. I was unaware of a float option for the Vega either. I was surprised to find as many photos on line as I did.
Great job on this kit, John (@jsummerford). This is a really simple kit that builds into a very nice model. It must have been very interesting to get the parts cleaned up from the years of moldy storage. I have built this model several times and have enjoyed it every time. Well done.
Thanks. It is a simple kit and the floats add a level of complexity. Dora Wings does the Vega in this scale and is much more detailed, which means more fiddly parts.
Great build John! I really love the Lockheed aircraft especially the Vaga. Back then they put floats on a lot of planes you wouldn't expect. That's how Wylie Post, and Will Rodgers died. The Lockheed aircraft they were flirting in Alaska was build from a few different Lockheed types and had floats fitted. The first floats fitted were to small so larger one were installed but the plane was nose heavy and a crash on a takeoff from a lake caused there deaths.
Keep up the good work, I love seeing models with history's behind them.
Thanks. As I understand it, a Lockheed engineer warned Post to not mate the wings of an Orion to the Vega because of balance issues. The trip originated near Seattle at the seaplane base near the present location the (now idle) 737 assembly plant. It is surprising the they didn't crash earlier in the trip.