Sikorsky S.38 - CMR 1/72 resin

 

 (For the completed model please go here:

https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2021/12/inter-island-airways-kauai-sikorsky-s38.html

 

The Sikorsky S.38 of 1928 was the big brother of the S.39 of 1930, being of greater size, having two engines instead of one, and capable of carrying 8-12 people instead of the 4-5 of the smaller brother. The S.38 is also a sesquiplane, that is it has a bottom wing of about half the span of the top wing, unlike the S.39 that was a parasol monoplane.

Extremely popular and used by several airlines and private owners, 120 were produced in several versions.

The one presented by the kit is a later version, with the windshield inclined, instead of the older vertical one.

The S.38 CMR kit is in line with all the observations made for the two S.39s:

https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2021/09/sikorsky-s39-cmr-172nd-resin.html

the good and the not so good, but in general I would say it is a desirable kit if you have the necessary modeling experience (and not just "some" experience). I refer you to the S.39 builds for all the general observations, and will deal here with some particularities.

 The bagged contents:

Two sets of vacuformed transparencies for the side windows, one for each window arrangement, but just one cockpit transparency:

Extensive decal sheet with several subjects, some photo references, instructions with drawings that are in many cases too small and very uncountable to be seen properly:

Two fuselages are provided, almost identical for what I can see, but for the last window, circular in one casting and curved in the other. Now, this is definitely a kit for the experienced modeler, so why just not provide a pattern for re-shaping that aft window for the modeler to just file it? One of the Deep Mysteries of the Modeling Universe:

The wing, which is no doubt a challenging casting, came warped, seen here trailing edge on:

It is also a bit curved (bananized):

The two hull sets are cleaned up

There were two portholes on the front deck, one cast has them correctly:

The other set has them filled with resin excrescence:

This is fixed by drilling them clean:

The boarding steps had air bubbles and were a little crumbled down, they will be replaced by tabs more to scale anyway:

First bag:

That bulkhead no doubt should have been a separate part, now is crushed by the packaging:

One control horn ok, the one on the other side of course didn't survive:

Bulkhead straightened with hot water, all parts cleaned up:

The lower wing has two locating pips, the location of their locating holes is marked, but needs drilling:

Second bag of parts:

These are handed, but I don't understand why, as they seem to be exactly the same casting:

Two types of Wasp, with and without reduction gear and front shield:

Cast in one piece and not as good a casting as in the S.39's multi-part engines:

More broken bits, in any case these are better replaced with metal Strutz:

Spokes represented as relief:

All parts cleaned up, the engine nacelles requiring extra care because of the dangling bits:

The lower wings have two pips that should insert in two holes that need drilling, the fit is good:

More parts of what we technically call "The Fiddly Bits":

These worries me a bit:

Curved struts, a new modeling fad?

One prop axle broke and was replaced by metal.

In removing parts from their sealed pouches, always check for broken bits remaining behind. Here we see that minuscule handle that in any case will be replaced by wire, as it wouldn't stand a sneeze:

A malformed cabin ladder:

You need only four of these, six are provided, which is good, as one came already broken:

Scratching a replacement ladder:

And presto:

First set of struts cleaned up:

Second set of struts cleaned up:

Third set of struts cleaned up. The thin ones are what I will mercifully call "wishful thinking", as they are impossible to clean and in any case have to be replaced with firmer wire:

Now all the parts have been separated from their casting blocks and webs, a task that took a few hours, and are ready for a wash and assembly:

What could one do with a spare hull? You never know, so taking advantage of the still not installed interior, a basic one is reproduced, just in case:

Matching the locating notch on the hull with the part that will later be inserted in it, in order not to have to mess with it when the hull is completed creating debris:

Many of the engine exhaust ring locations were plugged with resin, and had to be drilled. The front shields, in case they are pertinent for the chosen subject, are thinned down and their vents drilled too, to improve appearance. They are not really true to reality, as the ones on the planes didn't have "ridges":

My friend David, the Ineffably Logarithmic, was reluctant to make a choice regarding the color scheme of the model, the task being passed to his dog, Toby the Relapsing Rascal. If Toby made a choice, we may never know which one, as it's hard to tell "woof" from "woof". To be honest, I liked the NYRBA option provided with the decals, and also Osa's Ark, for which very unfortunately the "zebra" motif -that is drawn in the instructions- is not provided on the decal sheet. I also acquired, just in case, the aftermarket Draw Decals sheet for "Inter Island", as I am very fond of Hawaii, a place we visit as much as we can. The Inter Island planes had Townend rings on the engines almost always (but not on their christening day), and those will have to be scrounged from somewhere or made. So a decision needs to be made, as it impacts minor aspects of the build. Meanwhile, here is an interesting finding for the Hawaiian Inter Island planes (there were four: Maui, Kauai, Hawaii and Molokai). The sliding hatch for the entrance seems to be a clear panel! I love it when a bit of research can throw some light (pun intended) into the build:

You can also see the wicker chairs: 

The interior -and especially the cockpit- of the S.38 kit is not as well provided as the S.39's, and the molds are in some aspects more basic (engines, for example), but again, not much can be seen once the fuselage is closed.

Comparison between the two Sikorsky, S.38 to the left:

The kit's wheels with their solid spokes are replaced with O-rings and photo-etched spokes:

A coat of primer:

The kit as you can see above provides only six passenger seats, but the instructions only show four passenger seats, (the other different two are for the cockpit). This is not according to references, which clearly show eight pax seats, although other special arrangements can be seen in privately-owned planes. The kit provides a drawing of Osa's Ark, as mentioned before, but does not provide the interior, which was completely custom. The back cabin bulkhead was also neglected, and some planes were equipped with a very small toilet after it.  

The landing gear tall legs (they insert in the engine nacelles) were already a bit bent:

They are severed and replaced by aluminium tube, drilled in one end to accept an axle:

Thus:

Meanwhile, the other side of the spokes is glued on, using a centering device:

And something like this it shall look, once in the model. Little improvements that add interest and visual appeal:

The notches on the wing for the booms were too big as they came, so they had to be shimmed:

The shims are trimmed flush, and now the fit is good (dry-run):

 Booms and stab are aligned and then glued. As I mentioned, the fit is not precise, so you can't trust the parts, but rig them carefully::

Some time ago I made several vac cowls for scratch projects. These two, once properly shortened, will be a good fit if the Inter Island livery is chosen:

Part of the tailbooms structure is on to help with stability:

The float short struts (some of which arrived already broken) are replaced by much stronger metal ones:

The tailskid/suspension unit is also replaced by metal components:

Base color is airbrushed to many internal and external parts:

 A coat of primer on the wing/booms/tail sub-assembly. It revealed many blemishes on the leading edge and a couple air bubbles:

The little rail that goes over one of the removed tabs is given that tab back (it will be cut to size later) and primed:

The toilet is fabricated, the missing bulkhead behind which it is located has to be yet fashioned:

But a closer look at references revealed that the toilet did not have the conventional shape, but was actually just a hole in a plank with a can below, so an accurate one is fabricated, together with the other needed parts:

The wood effect is created with oils:

The transparencies are cut. The fit seems good:

The intakes are carved a bit, carefully, as they are at the end of a long resin stalk:

I can't see any marks or reference points for the many struts that go here, which will make things very difficult. The only notches are for the LG at the bottom and the central "+" strut to the side of the nacelles. Bummer.

I am replacing the access sliding hatch as photos show a clear panel (at least in the Inter Island ads). I am making two, just in case:

The metal colors applied (exhaust, aluminium, polished aluminium, etc):

The kit parts for the holding retractable pole and handle are replaced (dry-run):

The interior is ready:

Dry-run checking that everything fits after the modifications:

Now the transparencies will be added from inside, and the fuselage halves can be glued together.

Blemishes were dealt with, and a last coat of primer is applied to the wing sub-assembly. Both sets of engines are not ready, whichever is finally chosen, the other pair will be ready as spares for other projects:

A set from Draw Decals arrived today, in case we go for the Inter-Island livery. Depending on the choice, you may have to add some missing thin line "boxing" clearly seen on the booms in photos surrounding the text:

 

The decals have the four registrations (you will have to mix and match a bit) for the 4 planes used by the airline, but their list in the instructions omits: 4 (NC4V, "Molokai").

Acrylic bath for the vacuum-formed transparencies of the two S.39 and the3 S.38:

Size comparison with the in-progress S.39s:

The vacuum-formed transparencies are glued from inside. One of the aft portholes wouldn't conform properly, so it was cut off. The space will be later filled with "window maker":

The fuselage halves are glued together:

The seam line all around is masked on both sides, leaving a 2mm gap. This is filled with putty. Once the putty has set, the masks are removed and the seam carefully sanded avoiding marring detail:

Plugged and ready to be primed:

A friend got into a program that certifies you as a pilot:

Nice sunset, if a bit Tarkovskian:

The hull has been primed, sanded, and primed, and sanded, etc. Still the not so good hull moldings are giving me fuss at the upper seam. If I would build this kit again (which I very much doubt), I would have sanded the seam smooth obliterating all the detail, as it is far easier to reproduce the surface detail than maneuver around it and try to make for the not so symmetrical halves and the really uneven seam they create:

(looking now more like a sailing boat with its mast)

More corrective sanding ensues. The cockpit transparency (dry-run) was about 1mm wider than the fuselage, one more problem to solve. Sigh...:

After much pondering, photos showed the side windows open, so I did, fixing the issue:

Small details that were incompletely molded in my sample are restored (sliding hatch stopper, and three steps, the last one part of a long handle). The two lower wings, partially seen to the right, are (and how many parts already?) "bananized", and yet again the hot water and straightening treatment will have to be employed. No kit is perfect, and I don't mind correcting a few things, but continually having to pause the build to fix stuff, is not my idea of happy modeling, at all:

So, what was I saying about fixing kit's problems? Oh, yes, the lower wings form an inaccurate angle when joining the fuselage, as their roots are not angled as they should to accompany its shape. This is a really silly oversight:

The locating pips are removed, and the root angled to follow the fuselage contour;

The pips are replaced by metal tube:

Still one more thing to correct: the holes for the pips are on the fuselage right about 1mm misaligned towards the back. Thus they need to be enlarged for the leading edges to align.

Finally in place (dry-run). Can we now please proceed with the build instead of having to fix stuff? I hope so:

Compressed air is used to blow any possible debris and dust from the interior, before masking the side windows and add the cockpit transparency:

A bit more more masking and we should be on our way to start airbrushing the base color:

Coat of primer, now I can see the cockpit transparency seams to tidy them up:

The tail is airbrushed white, as the Inter Island Airways vertical twin tails where white, red and blue, and the Draw decals set does not provide them (reasonably so, as it's better to paint them). The lower wings, as we explained straightened and metal-pinned, are primed:

The white color on the vertical tails is masked, and red and blue applied:

Hull and floats airbrushed with French grey. Lower wings with aluminium. The former will be later masked to apply the underneath black (looking gloss in photos) and the top of cabin black (looking satin in photos):

The wing/tail sub-assembly is painted aluminium, and the vertical tail masks removed. The bottoms of the hull and floats are painted black:

Hull bottom and hull top painted now in gloss black and satin black respectively, masks removed:

Most components are ready, now I have to prepare the 23,845 struts for the final assembly:

And what are the chances, at the next table during a lunch out:

After a hiatus due to vacations and:

(nope, no Photoshop, just snorkeling reality -although a grouping like this one is unusual), the build will recommence.

The struts are now prepared for painting, together with those of the two S.39:

Meanwhile, friend David the Logarithmically Tall (future living-room and bathtub pilot of the S.38 and one of the S.39) sent an anticipated Holydays present:

I am now giving a closer look to the Draw Decals set. Compared to photos, it seems that one pinstripe is missing (it goes all along the fuselage at a short distance below the windows). This is not included in the nice graphics that accompany the decals:

 As these planes went through some changes (the already mentioned presence or not of the Townend rings, among other details), some photos show the plane number (they were number from 1 to 4) prominently on the fuselage nose. Others don't, and the decals do not include these somewhat large numbers:

 The mail service related lettering is also either present or not:

None of the photos I have shows the high-vis yellow area on the top wing, but this is depicted in the decals graphics:

Again, there were changes along the service of these planes, so may be they had, or not, at one time or another, the features described as pertinent in this decal sheet. I will try to walk the line based on what photos I have (not many, really).

Here is where the build stands today:

Experienced modelers know that the most difficult parts is still ahead, to get together those parts with a profusion of struts. I think that a key element would be the cruciform part that unites wing, hull and engine pods. 

To which extent it could be used as a starting or aligning point, we will see. Where is Yoda when you need him...

The Draw Decal set went on without any issues, but the fuselage black pinstripe (actually molded in the kit, as it is some sort of batten) will have to be added from spares. If any feedback at all, it would be to give more space between the small lettering. There is quite a bit of real estate on the sheet, but all the small lettering is clumped tightly together for no reason (the names of the planes, for example), making cutting the individual subjects a difficult operation. No spares whatsoever are provided, if you mess up a small bit, you are done. The model has now been given the name of Kauai (of the four options available), as I vacation there and have become very fond of the place:

The other side of the struts will now be painted. The area of fuel tanks will be given a different metal hue, as it was not doped fabric:

 The pinstripe is added:

Masks removed showing the subtle hue change on the tanks:

The home-made vac Townend rings are painted black. The photo I am using as reference for Kauai shows them:

The nacelles are glued to the cruciform main struts, my hope is that this will help with alignment and facilitate the addition of the upper wing:

The lower wings are glued to the fuselage:

Exhausts are added:

And the engines are glued to the nacelles:

Houston...we have (yet another) problem. The V struts that connect the top of the fuselage with the wing interfere with the engine nacelles. Here I am sort of forcing them to open (with a temporary wood spreader) to the width needed to set on the fuselage, which of course forces them to curve a bit, and pushes down the horizontal bar of the + strut, also slightly curving it. It seems that it's impossibly to completely trust many kits. The easiest solution would have been to add a bit of length to the horizontal component of the + bars, thus separating a bit the nacelles out from the center, clearing the V struts. Not so neat a solution would be to carve the nacelles or the V struts where they make contact until no tension is induced. But, as you know, you have to use either epoxy or superglue to deal with resin, and now all is very firmly glued in place. So here we are, stuck with another kit-induced shenanigan:

Fortunately, the nacelles, after some delicate prodding and wiggling, were separated with just some very minor breakage at the ends. Then the V struts were displaced and re-glued to clear necessary gap to span the fuselage, which, as you can see, puts them at the very edge of that horizontal strut:

The sockets in the nacelles were cleaned, and a piece of styrene carved to match that horizontal strut. That horizontal strut and the styrene bar were then drilled to accept a wire reinforcement, in order to achieve a firmer fit. Only two slivers of about 2mm are necessary to expand that horizontal strut. Don't you wish you wouldn't have to deal with this issues, as the build is challenging enough per se:

An eye has to be kept as this slight displacement may affect the landing gear struts and nacelle struts, all of which are keyed to engine nacelle. We'll see.

The extensions:

The extensions ready to be added at the ends of the horizontal strut:

And glued. With bit of paint later, even if not perfect, it should do:

Two sets of four parts (three of them "V" struts) represent the engine nacelle struts. They are overscale and unrefined, and lack the angles necessary to make appropriate contact with the nacelle surface. The nacelles lack their locating holes or marks, but their anchoring points are marked on the wing. Their fit is vague and imprecise, I think I may replace them with more-to-scale and properly sized metal items.  Granted, this is a complex array, and not easy to render in kit form; still, I expected a better, more precise solution. Here are the kit's bits:

As the final stages approach, it's good to have a look at the details that might be missing from the kit. Photos revealed a group of small teardrop fairings. These are made sanding the end of a leftover plastic strut to shape, and then cutting it off. I discarded the ones -to the left- and made smaller ones:

Nav lights are prepared form the CMK set:

The home-made nacelle struts now inn place:

The aileron linkage, missing in the kit, is added form a P.E. set:

The little fairings in place. Notice that the fuel caps have been drilled to accept later the vents:

If CMR's S.39 kit has exquisite surface detail, their S.38 is somewhat lacking in that department, and has to be added by the modeler. 

At this point it was obvious that the very flimsy and deformed tailbooms "V" strut wouldn't do, thus another one was made from metal. Below is the kit's flawed part. Hot water baths cured the curve for a few days, and then it will return to a banana shape, besides the flimsiness:

And what do you know, in spite of being exactly as the original part, when offered to the rest of the airframe, it was 7 mm short. My oh my. Another one, with the correct measure, will have to be fabricated (tomorrow, though, as it's nighttime at the moment). I don't mind pouring some effort into a kit, most kits are not perfect; but having to check and re-do a lot of it, it's not my idea of entertainment:

 Here is the new "V" strut this time with the proper length, measured in position with the model propped:

 The two sub-assemblies were connected using the main + strut and the "V" strut behind. Once that was secured the inner wing struts were added. Here I had to replace the kit struts as they were a tad shorter than needed (as was the original V strut). Then the outboard struts were added, trying not to induce tension (and thence warps):

A dry run of the Townend rings. The plane flew with and without them, but I like them. Still to add are a number of other struts and connecting parts, plus the main landing gear and wheels, wing floats, props, nav. ligths and misc. details:

All the struts, small and large, are now in place. The original ones were either short or long, besides being not rigid enough, so most have been replaced. The fun continues.

And guess what... the landing gear legs, of which I had previously replaced the lower part with metal tubes as the kit rendition was poor and flimsy, now show to be short. So new legs were made, something I have should have done at the beginning. You live...and many time don't learn:

The model now has a considerable weight, a common drawback of some resin models, so I am glad I replaced those struts and LG legs.

While work continues on the mainframe, additional details are dealt with. Photos show a short mast on top of the wing with a light. I have seen this feature once in a while on photos of other planes:

The part is fabricated:

A cleat can also be seen in contemporary photos on top of the hull nose:

And again the part is fabricated:

Rigging mostly done:

Floats are on, a few walkways on lower wing and hull top:

Landing gear, Townend rings, props, nav lights, cleat, and other details are on:

Photos show the props without any logos, with the old HS logos (the stripe with the airfoil), with new HS logos (the oval with the prop in the middle), with red tips, without red tips, with different props on the same plane, etc. So I didn't apply any logos to it yet.

Now the fuel vents, and this baby will be ready to splash. When weather allows it, a photo session will be done and the completed model uploaded as new post. See you there.