Dekno Models Curtiss Robin B - 1/72nd scale resin and 3D-printed parts - test parts assembly

 

 

Aviation Golden Age has regaled us with such a wide array of classics of many types, from racers to passenger transports to tourers, and the Curtiss Robin is one of such iconic machines. Holder of many records, it also operated as flying advert, personal mount, flying school plane and in other guises. In its long life (many are still flying today) it used different engines but the airframe remained basically the same, with just small mods thorough its life.

Long ago I scratched two Curtiss Robin as the “St. Louis Robin 1” (a highly modified record plane that using in-flight refueling flew for 17 and 1/2 days), one for a friend and another for the Greater St Louis Air & Space Museum -donated to it by ex curator Jack Abercrombie.

https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2015/11/scratchbuilt-172nd-scale-curtiss-robin.html

I was elated when I learned that Dekno Models will be releasing it in the near future as a 3D-printed and resin kit, with boxings offering different engine options, adding it to its extensive catalog of beautiful Golden Era planes. As it has been the case with their latest releases, the smaller and more delicate parts are 3D-printed in high definition with great detail and the bigger parts cast in resin. The kit provides a full interior and posable doors and has rich detail and realistically-depicted flying surfaces. I printed my own decal for the finish chosen.

Construction notes:

This is a build using Dekno's pre-production test parts, not the final kit

The 3D-printed parts have nice and precise detail that you have to be careful not to obliterate. The material is sturdy enough to withstand normal handling, but you have to take care not to break the parts in the process of extracting them from their cradles. Study what the part is and which are just the printing supports you have to remove. Most parts have an identification engraved on their cradles’ tabs...

...so pay attention to know what is what and where should it go. Many parts can be painted still in their supports, to be removed at the time you need to add them to the model, thus avoiding breakings and lost parts. Like with any other kit, I gave the parts a delicate wash and rinse.

To make your life easier down the road and as with any other kit, start by checking the fit of the parts that lodge in sockets (wings, stabs, struts, landing gear legs, nose, etc.) and adjust them if needed before any building commences. Take into consideration that primer and paint -if they get in those areas- could make the fit too tight. Do not force parts into their sockets, you may break something, instead make sure to adjust them carefully. Leave the smaller details for the very last, so you don’t inadvertently break/dislodge them. In releasing those smaller parts from their 3D cradles, make very sure they don’t jump into the 5^th dimension. My sample provided two different types of shock absorbers, use the adequate one for your specific plane. 

As many of you know, the Los Angeles area is being affected at the time this is posted by extensive and devastating wildfires that are causing much pain to a lot of people. The light on the photos reflects the air quality, which is bad, laden with particles and ashes.

Thinking ahead for more photo opportunities, I took a basic Engine & Things OX-5 resin engine (o.o.p. now) and added some details to it. It may be posed on a cradle with a mechanic on attendance or some similar scene. I also have a vintage white metal Aeroclub OX-5, but that one I may pose inside the nose of another Robin.