Travel Air Mystery Ship 1/72 Scratchbuilt

The issue #102 (April 2013) of Skyways has a long article on the Mystery Ship, so concurrently I decided to post this.
“Scratchbilt” brand kits could be qualified as the most optimistic kits of all times.

Their #3 Travel-Air Mystery Ship I was gifted by Keith, The Inexcusably Phosphorescent from Silver Spring is portrayed in one of the accompanying photos. The contents are as follows: three printed sheets with a 3 view, patterns, several drawings and depiction of the construction. Also there was a decal sheet by Microscale, two plastic rods and two vacuformed canopies.

In this particular case the review should start: “You are on your own” (you were anyway, don’t worry) since the method given to build the model (keel, many half bulkheads, stringers, strip covering, puttying and sanding) could have worked on a larger scale or for a galleon, but it is hopeless in 1/72. The instructions also advise you to ruin other kits by cannibalizing spats and cowls that are an ill-fit anyway. The depicted method for building the stab and wing was used by the Spanish Inquisition to yank bogus confessions from troubled souls. A truly remarkable kit, this “Scratchbilt”. Their logic and business model are equivalent to giving someone a box of rivets, the directions to an iron ore mine, a sketch and a piece of Camembert cheese and tell them to build the Eiffel Tower. I have to concede that they have a sense of humor, though, and that their brand name, “Scratchbilt”, does not hide their purpose.

That being said, you still have those decals. Or do you?

When David The Irrefutably Unbound from Glen Ellyn sent me some material related to the Mystery Ship, I exhumed the “kit” from the dungeons where it was kept under lock inside a coffer marked “evil”.

As you can see in the photos I followed my own path here using wood for the fuselage and spats’ vacuforming plugs, the traditional one-two styrene punch for the rest, and white metal engine, prop and wheels from -a now sadly absent from the Internet- Aeroclub The engine had to be modified to fit the plane’s one, which had a particular front case.

The short wing struts and landing gear struts were made from brass “Strutz” stock, for which I am indebted to Andrew of England, The Slightly Iridescent.

An interior was scratched as per photos, some was structural and some pour la galerie. The first Microscale decal I used was for the instrument panel and it was the source of momentary panic as I had to wait about twenty minutes for the decal to come loose from the backing sheet.

Once all the main components were ready, the puttying/sanding/priming/repeat cycle ensued. The painting stage -which involved a good share of masking- required attention. At this point I tried to use the rest of the decals, but the first ones shattered in myriads of little pieces. The ones that remained in the backing sheet were treated with Testors decal bonder, but later on a few more shattered anyway as they were applied. The few remaining ones were given a few coats of Future, but again to no avail.

Now, this is not Microscale’s fault, the decal must have been between 20 and 30 years old, and not properly stored.

I printed the decals that failed and had a great time (really?) cutting the regs from white decal stock. The transparency was cut in three parts, the frames depicted with metal-painted decal strips, and arranged in its open position. The underwing oil coolers were made of thin aluminum sheet, engraved, cut and glued. The two Venturi probes were attached after the photos were taken (the photos of course made me realize that they were still unattached).

Regarding real kits, I am aware of the 1/72 Dekno resin model of the Mystery Ship. This is a new release since the company was revamped, so who knows, may be it would be better than its previous –old-, ill-reputed kits.

Many, many pages have been written about the Travel Air Mystery Ship but I can’t tell you anything because of its inherent mystery.

No ostriches or people from outer space were harmed during the construction of this model. We would like to extend our thanks to the sponsor, The Intergalactic Soenkish Empire.