Schneider Trophy Races 1941
![Album image #1 Album image #1](/albums/img/8/8/0/987880-48972-35-720.jpg)
Let's get this party started🙂 Floats taken from Trumpeter An-2, spats are leftovers from Special Hobby Northrop Delta.
![Album image #2 Album image #2](/albums/img/8/8/1/987881-48972-51-720.jpg)
So far, so good...
![Album image #3 Album image #3](/albums/img/8/8/2/987882-48972-57-720.jpg)
But some heavy equipment will be necessary here.
![Album image #4 Album image #4](/albums/img/9/1/1/993911-48972-89-720.jpg)
Surprise, surprise!!! Resin turbine diameter is too big...
![Album image #5 Album image #5](/albums/img/9/1/2/993912-48972-66-720.jpg)
...and prevents closing the fuselage.
![Album image #6 Album image #6](/albums/img/9/1/0/993910-48972-22-720.jpg)
Even the "rotor blades" needed to be filed...
![Album image #7 Album image #7](/albums/img/9/1/4/993914-48972-85-720.jpg)
...in order to fit inside
![Album image #8 Album image #8](/albums/img/9/1/3/993913-48972-51-720.jpg)
Still, these have not much similarity to the original - but I will leave it as it is.
![Album image #9 Album image #9](/albums/img/0/0/1/994001-48972-34-720.jpg)
And here is the source of my inspiration
![Album image #10 Album image #10](/albums/img/2/0/9/995209-48972-52-720.jpg)
Turning into a single seater...
![Album image #11 Album image #11](/albums/img/2/1/0/995210-48972-33-720.jpg)
means repeated puttying and sanding. The cockpit will be installed later from below (I hope 🙂)
![Album image #12 Album image #12](/albums/img/2/7/8/998278-48972-96-720.jpg)
Mmm...I love the smell of putty in the morning...
![Album image #13 Album image #13](/albums/img/2/7/9/998279-48972-56-720.jpg)
I decided to give horizontal stabilisers some dihedral, even though in the original plane these were mounted horizontally. But this is a floatplane that needs some more directional stability. I am pondering the idea of adding also a ventral fin.
![Album image #14 Album image #14](/albums/img/9/6/9/1013969-48972-90-720.jpg)
Pilot's office assembled - a piece of sprue will be removed after installing the whole inside the fuselage. I am not going to give it too much care as not much will be seen through the canopy.
![Album image #15 Album image #15](/albums/img/9/7/0/1013970-48972-36-720.jpg)
I had to fabricate the instrument panel backing from thick plasticard as the kit's piece did not match the photo etched face at all (left for comparison on the right...)
![Album image #16 Album image #16](/albums/img/9/6/8/1013968-48972-85-720.jpg)
Empennage puttied and sanded to fit, panel lines and riveting restored.
![Album image #17 Album image #17](/albums/img/7/9/8/1016798-48972-91-720.jpg)
Cockpit installed. Control wheel is way oversized so in a hindsight maybe some kind of a control stick would be better here. Nevertheless, since I plan attaching the canopy closed not much will be seen...
![Album image #18 Album image #18](/albums/img/7/9/9/1016799-48972-81-720.jpg)
Taking shape. Fit of the main parts is...hmm...
![Album image #19 Album image #19](/albums/img/7/9/5/1016795-48972-93-720.jpg)
Determining the position of floats...and kind of a proof of concept 😉
![Album image #20 Album image #20](/albums/img/7/9/6/1016796-48972-77-720.jpg)
Take notice of the gaps where the wing roots are...
![Album image #21 Album image #21](/albums/img/7/9/7/1016797-48972-39-720.jpg)
In the meantime I am pondering on a painting scheme...
![Album image #22 Album image #22](/albums/img/6/7/4/1031674-48972-90-720.jpg)
Puttying...
![Album image #23 Album image #23](/albums/img/6/7/3/1031673-48972-14-720.jpg)
And more puttying and sanding...
![Album image #24 Album image #24](/albums/img/3/6/1/1037361-48972-81-720.jpg)
Spats and water rudder installed - puttying in progress...
![Album image #25 Album image #25](/albums/img/3/6/3/1037363-48972-24-720.jpg)
Proof of concept again... I am pondering on the way of installing the floats: in flight (parallel to the fuselage) or "take off mode" - as shown.
![Album image #26 Album image #26](/albums/img/3/6/4/1037364-48972-57-720.jpg)
Proof of concept again... I am pondering on the way of installing the floats: in flight (parallel to the fuselage) or "take off mode" - as shown.
![Album image #27 Album image #27](/albums/img/3/6/2/1037362-48972-49-720.jpg)
Water rudder is a leftover rudder from Me 209 kit 😉
![Album image #28 Album image #28](/albums/img/6/6/4/1725664-48972-39-720.jpg)
![Album image #29 Album image #29](/albums/img/6/6/5/1725665-48972-79-720.jpg)
Canopy installed.
![Album image #30 Album image #30](/albums/img/6/6/6/1725666-48972-99-720.jpg)
After a failure with the Baby Dragon I decided to resume this build in an 'easy' mode 😉 Though installing the canopy was not easy at all...
![Album image #31 Album image #31](/albums/img/3/5/7/1728357-48972-36-720.jpg)
Approaching the finish line...
![Album image #32 Album image #32](/albums/img/3/5/5/1728355-48972-28-720.jpg)
Approaching the finish line...
![Album image #33 Album image #33](/albums/img/3/5/6/1728356-48972-52-720.jpg)
Approaching the finish line..
![Album image #34 Album image #34](/albums/img/9/8/1/1728981-48972-66-720.jpg)
I announce her finished.
![Album image #35 Album image #35](/albums/img/9/8/3/1728983-48972-60-720.jpg)
I announce her finished.
![Album image #36 Album image #36](/albums/img/9/8/5/1728985-48972-96-720.jpg)
I announce her finished.
![Album image #37 Album image #37](/albums/img/9/8/4/1728984-48972-43-720.jpg)
I announce her finished.
![Album image #38 Album image #38](/albums/img/9/8/2/1728982-48972-19-720.jpg)
I announce her finished. Next in the line soon 😉
Commentaires
70 27 April 2021, 07:55
![](/profiles/img/23842-243-s.jpg)
Interesting subject! You seem to be conquering the difficulty of the main kit.
6 May 2021, 14:07
![](/profiles/img/10003-343-s.jpg)
I've built this kit a few years ago and encountered the same problems. So you are going to ad floats?
6 May 2021, 16:31
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Welcome! I feel encouraged 😉 In the meantime I have been wondering what would be the other contestants. What do you think about Vought F4F Corsair and maybe Martin-Baker MB.2 on floats? 😄
8 May 2021, 06:59
![](/profiles/img/78784-523-s.jpg)
What a sleek looking aircraft.
I'd say go for the MB.2 as the other contestant.
Or do you plan to give the Corsair floats, too?
8 May 2021, 16:45
![](/profiles/img/48972-166-s.jpg)
@WhiteGlint: these are just some loose ideas, but IMHO Corsair is best suited for floats - if there was Spitfire on floats, Bf 109 and even Wildcatfish... it is a pity however that there is only a resin (read: quite costly) kit of MB.2 available. And I would have to purchase two, as I do really like its look on wheels. Nevertheless, I have run out of spare floats for the moment (at least in 1/72nd scale... 😉)
8 May 2021, 19:27
![](/profiles/img/48972-166-s.jpg)
Thank you, Guy 🙂 It needs a lot of repeated (read - tedious) puttying and sanding...
14 July 2021, 20:03
![](/profiles/img/48972-166-s.jpg)
Thank you, WhiteGlint, for your suggestion. I think it would be cool to make some dynamic-looking "water" base, but I have never tried to make one and I am afraid I am not able to...🙁 Instead, maybe I will try to make floats movable on some kind of hinges and with actuators... It is just a loose idea for now, of course 😉
24 July 2021, 15:43
![](/profiles/img/78784-523-s.jpg)
If it is resin you fear, you don't have to use it go make great water bases.
I used air-dry clay and AK Water Gel and it looks okay for a first try.
There is also another method with aluminium foil, white glue and some other stuff. Scale-a-ton made a nice video about this method.
Youtube Video
![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/aoAaodEqO0g/maxresdefault.jpg)
24 July 2021, 21:14
![](/profiles/img/48972-166-s.jpg)
Thank you very much, WhiteGlint, for this tutorial 🙂 I think, I will give it a try as soon as I will finish my Caproni Schneider Racer (successfully...I hope 🙂 ) I just reminded myself that once I made a simple water-based dio with Kami-de-Korokoro Piaggio-Pegna kit... 😉
25 July 2021, 09:22
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I have started to collect aluminium wraps from chocolate already... I think I will need a whole lot of them 😉
8 August 2021, 06:43
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Can't miss that video, I have a bunch of seaplanes waiting to set sail. Thanks!
8 August 2021, 08:59
![](/profiles/img/48972-166-s.jpg)
I keep tools and models in dedicated boxes that I carry, forth and back, to the desk 😉
13 October 2023, 15:02
![](/profiles/img/104687-298-s.jpg)
I like to watch it happen. Interesting original, I've never seen it before. good luck robert👍
8 May, 19:09
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Nice work Robert. I'd love to see it take off...if you could see it though all the steam it would produce. 😄
13 May, 06:57
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Thank you, Gorby! I suppose there would be a lot of steam and water spray behind 😉
13 May, 07:13