Roden 1/32 Stearman PT-17 Kaydet IDF
The Stearman was a trainer in the early days of the IDF. The iconic aircraft received several schemes during its decade long service. I chose two of the more common schemes while in service.
Roden'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.
You did an amazing job on this troublesome kit, Rafi @blackmopane
Both Stearmans look great in Israeli scheme.
Thank you John.
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.
Thank you Neil.
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!
Thank you Spiros!
A pair of beauties! They both look wonderful.
Thank you John!
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.
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.
Thank you John.
I had to insert metal rods in the main struts and replace the rear strut with fashioned metal rod.
Nice work Rafi. Now thinking of getting a 1/48 Revell PT-17 and making that camo bird with Suez markings. Must resist!
Thank you David.
I trust that your build will be enjoyable.
That is not a common scheme seen on the stearman , its nice to see something different. Good job on a challenging kit.
Thank you Mark.
Love that silver finish - your builds are so beautiful, Rafi @blackmopane!
Thank you Felix.
Nice builds - the Stearman is my all time favorite flying machine!
Thank you Chas!
Two beautiful builds! Love the schemes. Well done.
Thank you Greg!