Aero commander 680, Comet 1/81 scale

 

Models some times come to our hands via strange and winding paths.

So it happened that I got this one as a gift from Liz and Jeff (thanks again!) from their Palm Springs hobby store that I frequently buy from. The kit was a "rescue" kit, since at some point during the many years of going from one home to another, it lost and engine front.

Perhaps knowing that I like a challenge and that I would take care of the missing part, they were kind enough to put it in my hands.

So I had to honor the gesture by building it, of course!

The Commander is too modern a plane for my usual modeling ventures, but one had to concede that it has nice lines and undeniable charm. I am extremely reluctant to build in any other scale than 1/72nd, so I had to overcome the queer feeling of tackling something in 1/81st. too.

Now, this kit comes from the prehistory of the hobby,so there is no interior or even landing gear, and the surface, otherwise fantastically detailed, is marred by the engraving of the decals' position. 

Other than the points already discussed, this is a wonderful little kit, and a jewel considering its age.

  The unfortunate images of the decals engraved:

 Nice transparencies:

 Great surface detail, an example for many contemporary kit makers:

 I mean, look at this: 39 cents:

 And even better: remember when the customer was king? the time when agencies and even private entities would advocate for consumer rights? Yes, young ones and fledglings: once upon a time customers were not, like now, the slaves and best enemies of the merchants and corporations, they were people with rights. Imagine that. So as you can see in the box "Good Housekeeping" will grant his seal and warranty to those merchants of quality goods willing to give a damn about their customers. Amazing, n'est pas? 

A proof-of-concept trial run for making the replacement for the missing part (engine front):

 Fixing the unnecesary engraving:

 Removing the "wheel":

 Opening the exhausts

 Fabricating an interior:

 Fabricating the landing gear:

 Adding bulkheads:

 Adding the housings for the lights:

 Adding instrument panel:

 Excellent fit of the transparencies:

 Filling the "stand" hole:

 Fabricated tail cone for the Questor Surveys airframe:

 Masking transparencies:

 Priming:

 Assembled:

 First coat of white:

 Ready to mask and airbrush the red color:

The decals arrived! the project will continue soon:

The masks are applied without any issues, and the areas not to be painted red are further masked>

Red color is airbrushed, also on the prop blade tips:

Masks are off:

 Decal application begins:

 Other details like anti-glare panel, props, wire antenna, Pitots, lights, exhausts, etc., are added:

 Tomorrow hopefully when all is dry I can take some photos:

To be continued....