Scratchbuilt 1/48 Skycraft Scout

[KiwiZac]

Hi all,
Seven months ago I decided to scratchbuild a model of a Skycraft Scout microlight, inspired by Jonathan Mauchline's (chief flying instructor at my local aero club) resurrection of Mk.III ZK-RWW. When I saw how simple the real deal was I figured it wouldn't be that hard to build my own in scale...

ZK-RWW Whanganui 080522 Zac Yates by Zac Yates, on Flickr
Untitled by Zac Yates, on Flickr

I started with a three-view drawing from the internet, suitably scaled to 1/48 (chosen because I found a seat so scaled in my spares that looked about right) and printed off to act as an assembly guide. From there it was a matter of cutting strips from corrugated styrene sheet for the wing spars and ribs, and using a rectangular section of scrap styrene for the fuselage keel. I then hunted through 30yr of spare parts for various elements I couldn't make myself - wheels and prop chief among them - and other parts that could be combined for elements such as the distinctive tapered tuned exhaust.
1/48 scratchbuilt Skycraft Scout Mk.III by Zac Yates, on Flickr
1/48 scratchbuilt Skycraft Scout Mk.III by Zac Yates, on Flickr

For the wings and control surfaces I decided to roughly approximate the real deal by laying down a sheet of thin clear styrene, adding the spar and ribs, and then a top sheet of clear styrene. Originally I smothered the inside face of each wing sheet but this resulted in slight warping.
1/48 scratchbuilt Skycraft Scout Mk.III by Zac Yates, on Flickr
1/48 scratchbuilt Skycraft Scout Mk.III by Zac Yates, on Flickr

I tried to fix this with hot water and a couple of books but the result was an even more warped and shrunken pair of wings. Disheartened, I put the assembled fuselage with tail and other parts aside while I focused on other projects. I then replicated the original wing idea minus the excess glue, ie only applying glue to the ribs. This means a non-prototypical open trailing edge but a much nicer appearance. When rigging a 1/1 scale Scout someone of my height can just fit under the wingtips - it turns out Humbrol tinlets are perfect for the job in this scale!
Untitled by Zac Yates, on Flickr
Untitled by Zac Yates, on Flickr

I reckon rigging RWW for flight takes about half as long as it did for this model. The elastic is overscale but I feel captures the look well. Add the prop (cut down from a Fokker Dr.I) and distinctive motorbike fuel tank (in this case a blister from...something. Fw190?) and voila! Mini-RWW!
Untitled by Zac Yates, on Flickr
Untitled by Zac Yates, on Flickr
Untitled by Zac Yates, on Flickr
Untitled by Zac Yates, on Flickr
Untitled by Zac Yates, on Flickr

I was dropping off another commissioned model at the airport so figured there was no time like the present to reveal my secret project to an unsuspecting Jonny, who had been out Austering. He was floored and rather taken by the model, which was a very humbling reaction.
Untitled by Zac Yates, on Flickr
Untitled by Zac Yates, on Flickr

He has recently returned to the hobby himself and made a couple of display bases for 1/72 WW2 fighters, one of which he quickly evicted so it could be repurposed!
Untitled by Zac Yates, on Flickr
Untitled by Zac Yates, on Flickr
Untitled by Zac Yates, on Flickr

Now to figure out a way to display the two ZK-RWWs together...and find a come-back for those smart alecks who immediately say "Well you have to build the other two he owns..."!!

[Borsos]

Very nicely done! A scratch built model is always something really special . Congratulations!
Andreas

[hrcoleman66]

What an awesome little model!

Well done!

Cheers,

Hugh

[Rob Hart]

Outstanding! I really like your treatment of the fabric surfaces.

[pepperman42]

Very cool!

Steve

[lcarroll]

    What a great little model, and unique one as well Zac, well done! There's got to be a lot of satisfaction in a project like this, making a classy replica from raw materials! I have never scratch built an aircraft model but am determined to do so some day ...... your success here is encouraging me to get on with it!
Cheers,
Lance

[lone modeller]

Welcome to the world of scratch building! What a debut too... First class in every way, and you made sufficient mistakes on the way to make the experience worthwhile!!

A lovely model of an unusual type - you have really captured the delicate looks of the original. Looking forward to seeing more scratch builds from you Zac.

Stephen.

[DaveB]

Good scratch building work on a very different subject matter!

Regards

Dave

[Flamingo]

A nice scratch built of an ultra exotic type!
Lovely. Sort of Grade Demoiselle. 
Joachim

[KiwiZac]

Thank you folks, your words and reactions are very humbling!

The Scout is very Demoiselle - like a proper aeroplane, it even has wingwarping!

[RAGIII]

Wow Zac! That really turned out Terrific! Pat yourself on the back, you deserve the kudos! Lovely results on a unique subject!
RAGIII

[KiwiZac]

Thank you Rick!

[Rookie]

Well done Zac, I like it very much!

If this is your first scratch build, I hope there will be more to follow soon.

Cheers,

Willem

[KiwiZac]

I have plenty of ideas for future scratchbuilds, it's a matter of having the raw material and motivation!

[PJ Fisher]

mini gem.