The 45 was a refinement of the Wedell-Williams line of racers, upgrading to a cantilever wing and retractable landing gear. In the onset it had a smaller engine (P&W R985 Wasp Junior) and a smooth cowl, but eventually got the bigger engine it needed (P&W R1340) necessitating those characteristic blisters around the cowl to clear the rockers at the top of the cylinders. It came second in the 1934 Bendix and 3rd in the Thompson at the hands of Johnny Worthen.
The step-by-step build is here:
https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2024/02/wedell-williams-45-racer-dekno-172nd.html
Dekno has developed an extensive line of attractive racers and civil planes -genres somewhat neglected in general by the mainstream- for which modelers that are drawn to such machines are grateful. The kits combine resin, 3D-printing and vacuformed transparencies, plus in the later releases nice sets by Arctic Decals. They require a bit of work and are better suited for builders with a modicum of experience in the media. The resin can be easily carved and the 3D-printed parts have good mechanical strength if treated adequately. The latest on the line is this Wedell-Williams 45 racer. I have built several Dekno kits and they are all posted in this blog:
Junkers A-50:
https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2023/07/junkers-a50ce-junior-dekno-172nd-scale.html
Comper Swift (Joint venture with Arctic decals):
https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2023/01/comper-swift-arctic-decalsdekno-joint.html
Mr. Mulligan:
https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2022/12/howard-dga-6-mister-mulligan-bendix-and.html
BFW M.18:
https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2023/01/bfw-m18d-dekno-172nd-resin3d.html
Boeing Monomail:
https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2022/12/boeing-model-200-monomail-dekno-172nd.html
Laird Super Solution:
https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2021/09/laird-super-solution-racer-172nd-dekno.html
Northrop Alpha:
https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2022/09/northrop-alpha-dekno-172nd-resin.html
BA Eagle II:
https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2021/09/b-eagle-ii-england-japan-flight-dekno.html
I am looking forward to the next civil releases by Dekno, a small but productive outfit that has become better and better with every new kit, presenting civil subjects of great appeal and beauty.
Claudio, your build link points right back to this article.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Matt, already fixed!
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