1/72 Ben Brown SC Diamond Wing

-aka Potato Bug or Baking the Brown Potato

by Gabriel Stern

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   Calling a plane a “potato bug” doesn’t seem to be very polite, does it?
In any case, the prominent canvas surface ribbing caused by the underlying tubular structure in a sort of beetle-like fuselage prompted the nickname.

   Unusual and beautiful are two qualities that seem to go together when dealing with designs from the Golden Era of aviation. These unrecognized, sometimes ridiculed daring steps into the unknown spawned decades later “cutting edge” designs and in doing so ridiculed the ridiculers.

   The Ben Brown SC Diamond Wing is, as part of its name indicates, a jewel. Aerofiles has some notes on it: http://www.aerofiles.com/_bo.html scroll down once there to find the entry.

   And since we are at it, Aerofiles is one of the many sites that provide you with quality information and fun in the same large amounts. These sites are usually the work of love of unrecognized individuals or groups, so let’s take a minute to thank them and, if you can, support them too.

Long hours on the Internet finally paid off when I found this Youtube clip showing the SC flying wonderfully, among many other creative designs of the time:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7gDnrQ3jWc&feature=related
Funnily enough, in doing the research some sources stated that the “Potato” –and many of its clip companions, by the way- never or barely flew. Or perhaps made a “hop”. Well, hop my building board, if I may say so. These guys REALLY flew.

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   Structurally an aerodynamically sound (hey, have a look at the “new” designs around) the so called Potato Bug also flashes its attractive lines that make it a wonderful scratch project.

As you can see in the accompanying images first a Sculpey master was made, then detailed, and promptly Vacu-Mattelized.

   A 15 minute engine was fabricated to replicate the inverted Cirrus and an interior was added, taking in consideration that the control column was hanging from the roof, as seen in the clip.

   The flying surfaces of this biplane…sorry, tandem…err..triplane? well, whatever this may be, were made from styrene sheet and rod, as well as the vertical stabilizer.

   Wheels came from a generous vac donor and metal tail wheel and prop were acquired across the ocean. Struts came from the same source.

   In the clip you can see the SC with registrations at least on the fin (X682H). The fin/rudder area and presumably the flying surfaces are of a lighter color than the fuselage. In other images it appears of a uniform color and has a very light color stripe running longitudinally on the fuselage sides, ending in a diamond at the nose.

   As a starting point I used a two-view drawing in nuricom.de. It needs adjustments in a few areas; most noticeably is the absence of the aft elevators (visible in many photos) and the windows area. The missing –“other”- side view should show the cockpit door and a different engine panel/cover. Notice that you may add a Pitot tube as per photos. A frontal view should show the particular arrangement of the landing gear struts and the “V” formed by the “Bellanca” type, airfoiled struts joining the lower fuselage in a sort of inverted pylon.

   The clip also shows an air “scoop” intake on the left fuselage side, immediately after the engine cover. Why you need airflow after the engine area, I don’t know. Perhaps a radiator or cooler was involved, located after the engine inside the scarab-like fuselage.

Another missing detail is a window on the cockpit roof, visible in photos. Engine covers were made of alu sheet. Had to make each three times until I got it right (experimenting with the alu thickness).    Construction miscellanea aside, this was an interesting project to work with. The strange configuration and the remarkable esthetics kept the flame going.

   What did you say? Beatles song? "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"

   A note to the ARC forum members:
By chance, I discovered a number of messages with comments on the articles and models posted on the ARC forums. I am not a member of the forums, so if you guys feel like writing, you could use the link provided in the articles. I am nevertheless thankful for the kind words that were posted at the ARC forums.

Gabriel Stern

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Photos and text © by Gabriel Stern