Smer 1/50ish Avro 504K
by Lloyd
Curtis
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I received this kit many years ago after my wife's uncle passed away. His stash of 1/72 kits was given to my Father-in-law who passed this "1/48" kit on to me. I had always wanted to do a biplane, and was excited about this kit. For those of you who are familiar with this kit, you know what I was in for, for those who are not, let me explain. This is an old kit, with quite a bit of flash, the markings are cast into the plastic and other than 2 seats, there is no interior.
I started searching the internet for 504 pictures and found quite a few, as well as drawings. I also went to the Canadian Aviation Museum in Ottawa to take pictures of the 504 they have there. I was now armed with a reasonable amount of data to begin work.
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The first step was to remove all the cast on markings, so out came the sand paper and with it went any rib and rib tape detail. I also removed the control surfaces at this time. The fuselage ribs were replaced by carefully gluing lengths of fine coppr wire into scribed grooves, while the lower wing rib tape was recreated with thin strips of decal.
Next was the interior. This was scratch built using various sizes of Plastruct strip, copper wire and invisible thread. The instrument panels were made by printing the gauge faces on acetate and sandwiching it between two pieces of plasticard. When I was happy with the interior, the fuselage was closed up and the lower wing and horizontal stabilizer added. Some filler was required here and there but considering the age of the kit, the fit was pretty good. At this point I took a break from modeling as other hobbies were occupying my time. Jump ahead 5 years and I decided it was time to finish my 504.
The struts, tail skid and land gear were added and filled. The under side of the wings and fuselage were sprayed with Humbrol linen while the rest of the fuselage and upper side of the lower wing were sprayed with a home made mixture for PC10. The nose/cowl and under carriage were sprayed gloss black while the struts were painted linen in preparation for the wood grain oil painting.
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I had searched for a premixed PC10 but was unsuccessful. During my search I learned that many WWI modelers mix their own, and seem to prefer it this way as PC10 did not have the defined standards we see today. By mixing it, a slightly different shade is achieved each time which gives a more realistic tonal variation between models on the display shelf. With this in mind I mixed my own using Model Master Insignia Yellow and Gloss Black with a little dark green added to adjust the tint and it gave a nice glossy finish for decaling.
The kit had 2 marking choices, only one of which was shown on the instructions. I chose to use the markings that were not shown as they were more colorful. I then had a dilemma. I had no references for these markings, so I decided to use some artistic license. I tested the unused decals on some plasticard I had sprayed PC10 and found them to be quite translucent. I then made copies of the decals on white decal paper and applied them prior to the actual markings. Once they were dry (after many applications of setting solution), the model was sprayed with a satin finish.
The elevators and rudder were now added and the control wires connected. I then added the wind screens. The model was then drilled for the wing and under carriage rigging using a #80 bit. The upper wing was then attached and the rigging commenced using invisible thread. I completed the wing rigging, trimmed off the excess on the top, sanded the holes smooth and painted and decaled the top of the upper wing. The ailerons were added as were the lower aileron control wires followed by the undercarriage rigging and finally the remainder of the aileron wires. The tires were painted a lightened flat black and attached. I then added a Copper State engine as the kit engine was quite poor. I also added a Copper State prop boss to the propeller and the 504 was finished.
For my first biplane, I am very happy with the end result.
I appologize for the poor quality of some of the photos. They were taken many years ago with a poor digital camera.
Lloyd
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Photos and text © by Lloyd Curtis