Kit: No. Cpi 006
Scale: 1/72
Manufacturer: Classic Plane, distributed by Modellbaustudio Rhein-Ruhr, Krayer Str. 10, 45276 Essen, Germany, fax 49-201-500040. Available from Model Maniac, P.O. Box 1725, New York, NY 10021.
Price: $22.95 plus shipping
Comments: Injection molded, 58 parts (7 vacuum formed), decals.
As far as I know, this is the first injection-molded kit of the Turbo Porter, a highly capable STOL (short takeoff and landing) light transport used all over the globe. This is a limited-run kit with good exterior detail and recessed panel lines and corrugations.
The cabin windows and windscreen are vacuum formed but are a bit cloudy. Optional high-flotation wheels are provided, and the interior has an instrument panel, control sticks, and eight seats. Decals are provided for U.S. Army and Royal Australian Air Force machines.
Classic Plane's instructions provide a crude exploded assembly view, three-view drawing, history, and one color and two black-and-white photos.
While there aren't many parts, the instructions aren't much help in assembling them. All the parts had rough edges and flash, so I spent a couple of hours cleaning them up before dry-fitting the assemblies. There are no part numbers on the instructions or the sprues and no parts map. Study the parts and the three-view drawings carefully.
The fuselage halves fit together well, surrounding the cabin floor and rear bulkhead (not shown on the instructions). You may want to paint the exterior of the fuselage halves, then insert the cabin windows, close the fuselage, and touch up the paint on the seams after you add the wings and tail.
There are no tabs, slots, pins, or holes, so dry-fit and adjust the parts before reaching for the glue. The double triangle landing-gear strut must be bent in the middle and attached along the center line on the bottom of the fuselage. Attach this with liquid cement to keep the bend flexible as you align the outer shock struts on the fuselage. Once you have them aligned, super glue them in place. There are no axles on the gear struts, so a glob of super glue will help hold the wheels.
You may want to drill holes in the wings and through the top of the cabin and insert a brass rod to reinforce the wing/fuselage joint. According to the three-view drawing, the kit's wing struts are 1/4" short. I used super glue to reinforce the struts.
To improve their clarity, I bathed the clear parts in Future floor polish. Cutting out and fitting the windscreen was tricky. Gradually fix the fit with sandpaper and repeated dry-fitting.
I painted the model with gloss white and olive drab, then overcoated with Future before decaling. The kit decals were poorly printed and translucent, so I pitched them and substituted items from SuperScale and AeroMaster. The markings represent a UV-20 Chiricauha of the U.S. Army's Berlin Brigade in the late 1970s.
The finished model looks convincing, but it was a struggle. I spent 30 hours on it, much of the time cleaning up and dry-fitting the parts. According to the dimensions in Stephen Harding's U.S. Army Aircraft since 1947 (Specialty Press), the model is OK in length but more than a scale foot too long in span.
If you have experience with limited-run, injection-molded kits, you may enjoy adding this model to your collection. Because of the poor fit and bad instructions, I recommend this kit only for experienced modelers.
- Paul Boyer