The idea for this model
came to me several years ago when I came across a story and photos of a Piper J-3 landing atop a 1930-40's era sedan.
This was a stunt that many brave pilots and drivers performed back in those days
to entertain at state fairs, air shows and the such. The stunt
involved the airplane landing and then taking off again as the car sped down a runway
or any long stretch of road. In my research for this project, I
discovered that there are still two or three of these acts performing today at various
airshows across the country. They are using newer vehicles such as
pickup trucks and even a motorhome but the planes are almost always Pipers.
This project set on the back burner for a couple of years while I pondered what
scale that I wanted to build in. Then Tamiya released their P-51with staff
car in 1/48 scale. An inventory of my stash revealed that I had a
HobbyCraft 1/48 Piper J-3 on hand. I knew then that I had what I needed to
complete this build.
Click on
images below to see larger images
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I started the build with
the staff car. Using Alclad, I chromed the grille, headlight bezels and
hubcaps. BMF was used for the trim work. I scratchbuilt interior
door panels and then added an antenna and rearview mirror to the exterior.
Side windows were added using clear styrene sheet.
The Piper was built mostly out of the box. I did add some detail to the
engine, tailwheel and a couple of small items in the cockpit. The checker
board pattern on the wings and tail were masked and sprayed on after the main
color had dried for a couple of days.
The landing/take-off ramp was scratchbuilt using basswood and styrene rod/square
tubing. The World's Smallest Airport sign was made with sheet styrene and
press-type lettering.
I built the "tarmac" using
cork gasket material. After I painted it with enamels, I used pastel
chalks to give it a weathered appearance.
This was one of my most enjoyable builds and the model gets alot of attention
whenever I display it.
Enjoy the photos.
Terry Davis
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