Pander Postjager

The Pander S.4 -known also as Postjager and Panderjager- was a very stylized Dutch trimotor designed by Theo Slot that first flew in 1933. It was built by the furniture company Pander & Zonen as a high speed mail plane. Only one was produced and after some mail flights it entered in the MacRobertson air race, during which it crashed and went up in smoke. The accident had nothing to do with the plane or its pilots; it was a collision with a vehicle on the tarmac.

The Pander was equipped with three Wright Whirlwinds and retractable landing gear, its construction material being mostly wood, and its lines were advanced for its time. It sported flaps and “park bench” ailerons.

A good deal of research was carried on before attempting actual modeling. After extensive exchanges with fellow modelers, historians, aviation scholars and the like, it became obvious that some circulating representations of the colors of the original plane may not be accurate. There has been some debate in related forums about a number of issues. The model presented here reflects the best of my understanding regarding those issues, and in a couple of items personal choices given the fact that hard data on certain topics is at this time unobtainable. The color of the markings and the nature and color of the areas underneath the plane are the main points of discussions. Photographs represent the plane at different times, and changes can be observed there too. For example, in some images the fuselage registrations and rudder marks are absent. In others the fuselage registrations are there but not the rudder marks. In some images the word Panderjager is on the side of the nose (in small characters) and in others Postajeger is written in a bigger font (associated with a prominent antenna, earlier in the life of the plane). Some images show no nose inscriptions. Some faired bumps that are present on the lower part of the engine gondola aligned with the LG legs are absent in later photos.

Execuform molds of the Pander S.4 are in line with its philosophy, simple and robust, providing a starting point for the modeler to build upon and achieve a nice replica. The kit includes –besides the vacuformed parts- resin wheels which come in halves, material for the transparencies and printed references.

As said, the modeler will have to add decals, interior detail, engines, propellers, tail wheel and external detail at will. Separation lines for the control surfaces are also to be engraved. All this extra work is not that difficult to accomplish and the reward will be an unusual and very sleek reproduction of a pioneering design of the Golden Age of aviation.

I purchased a resin trimotor set from Khee-Kha Art Products and used a few parts from the spares’ bin, scratching most of the detail otherwise and printing my own decals. Navigation lights came from the CMR resin set (item 7031).

Work started by creating an energy field around the workbench, thus preventing any interference from the exterior, including rays coming from secret lairs somewhere in Europe. A carpet monster zapping device was next installed. Then enough Argentinean empanadas, yerba mate, pastries, Mark Strand poetry books and Edgar Meyer’s CDs were stored in order to endure the rigors of model building.

Look at the photos and if you have doubts go to Greece and consult an oracle. Their answers could be vague –to say the least- but the food is excellent.

Some engineering thought was given and applied to certain areas. Especially when dealing with vacuformed kits or scratched models thinking ahead is a must, to avoid as much as possible trouble later on. It is convenient to build the interior of the model before joining the fuselage sides, the other way around may prove difficult, but otherwise very entertaining -for your fellow modelers-. I decided to make new cowls creating a cylinder with two layers of styrene sheet and a wood part glued to it to carve the front. I did it three times until I was satisfied. The cowls on the original plane are divided in quarters, the upper one is wider than the other three. They are separated by quite visible strips of metal.

There are some details on the plane that you may like to reproduce: a sort of “stacked pancakes” radiator under the nose immediately after the engine cowl. The three exhausts exit through the cowls, central downwards and a bit to the left, and side engines upwards and to the right –from the pilot’s point of view-. Look at photos. The park bench ailerons align -when viewed from the front- with the leading edge. Some photos show a Pitot on the left wing. Most photos show no manufacturer decals on the center prop. Do not forget you have to make the parkbench ailerons. I used styrene sheet and some modified contrail airfoiled material for the supports. Notice that they have mass balances in the shape of rods. Other than control surfaces’ separations I did not engrave other lines, since the machine was praised for its smooth finish. The tail of the Pander requires some elements: struts, nav lights, some sort of cable that runs from mid-fin to fuselage and a conspicuous system of connected elevator horns.

These sort of long-haul projects are better combined with less demanding endeavors, like climbing the Himalayas or making a fortune in a week. But, once finished, there is that extra satisfaction knowing that you put into it a little bit of you.

I would like to thank Kees Kort from Holland as well as other friends (you know who you are) for their kindness and help.

Modified Execuform vacuformed kit.

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.