New Build: Hobbycraft's 1:72 scale Avro Arrow

Back in the summer of 2000, I had gone on a tour of the Parry Sound Museum while spending time at the family cottage.  The draw (aside from being a rainy day and looking for something to do) was a limited showing of pieces of the Avro Arrow that survived it's destruction of the planes and the dismantling of the Arrow program under Canadian Prime Minister John Diefenbaker government in 1959, in which most of the scientist went on to work for NASA.  There are conspiracy theories surrounding around the true reasons for the dismantling of those planes, which were beyond state of the art at their time - something I'm not opening up for discussion on this blog.  Regardless, a very important piece of Canadian history, especially as Remembrance Day nears.

At the conclusion of my trip to the Parry Sound Museum, I bought this model kit of the Avro Arrow CF-105 with the intention to build it. 

At 1:72 scale, it's a bookshelf sized model, with fine detail and more or less of a static model.  All the control surfaces are in a fixed position.  Low part count (under 25) and a simple decal sheet.  Having done a bit of research apparently the wrong font was used (as often happened with this vintage of model kit) and the 'Old Canadian Flag', the red ensign is very crudely done and is in two parts.  I will be making my own replacement decals (if I can figure out the correct font).

 

The first step I take with any model I start to build is to wash it in dish detergent to remove any mold release on the model.  This is critical as paint and glue may have a difficult time adhering to the surfaces.

Then I start to "play" with the parts, figure out how they go together and begin to primer them so I can see any defects.

I've used a grey primer for both inside and out as light block so you can't see light through the model but I'm also lighting the model.

There will be 3 parallel circuits: engine lights, running lights/markers on the wing tips and tail and finally a glow from the crude cockpit.

I will be using a 9V battery as a power source and will be mounting the model on an extra Round 2 dome base with a hollow aluminum tube to the bottom of the aircraft. 

Stay tuned for more on this build...

To learn more about the Avro Arrow, wiki it http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avro_Canada_CF-105_Arrow or these other fine sites:

Aerospace Heritage Foundation of Canada http://ahfc.org/
The Avro Arrow Homepage http://www.avro-arrow.org/