WW2 props with lots of rigging?

[Mark M.]

Anybody have an suggestions on WW2 warplanes that have a bit of rigging on their wings, fuselage, tail?

Biplanes welcome as much as monoplanes.

I'm just curious. I have a hankering to do some more craft with decent rigging, but those early WW1 planes don't capture as much of my attention as the WW2 ones do.

I'm already working on a Ar-196 with a bit of rigging, I'd like a Ar-95W (more rigging!!!!) but what other suggestions for a 1/72nd kit would you all recommend?

No hurry, no rush, just kind of getting ideas.

Edited October 7, 2010 by Mark M.

[FlyingSnowmew]

Swordfish. Both Tamiya and Trumpeter make great kits of it, but neither in 1/72. Tamiya sells a PE set for all the rigging, though.

Edited October 7, 2010 by Snowy

[Joe Hegedus]

Hasegawa makes a 1/72 Curtiss SOC Seagull biplane, in either a wheeled land-plane version or a floatplane version. These saw service until the end of WWII. Then, there's always the old Revell PT-13 Stearman kit, too.

[Chuck1945]

Also:

Gloster Gladiator

Gloster Gauntlet (East Africa I think)

Vickers Vildebeest only a resin kit so far

Supermarine Stranraer (Matchbox kit)

Italian: Cr 32 and Cr 42 fighters although the strut arrangement minimized rigging. Also the Ro 37.

[ThatJeffGuy]

Airfix makes a Supermarine Walrus in 1/72 apparently

[Hal Marshman Sr]

I believe there's a kit available of the Mitsubishi Pete, a biplane floatplane. Revell markets from time to time, a Stearman trainer biplane. Hal Sr

[Army_Air_Force]

dH 82 Tiger Moth

Grumman Duck

Fiat CR42 Falco ( has a little rigging )

de Havilland dH89 Rapide

Bucker Jungmann and Jungmeister

Supermarine Wallrus/Seagull

Beechcraft UC-43 Staggerwing

[MikeC]

He-51 (in use during WWII as a fighter-trainer)

Avia B.534 (ditto)

Fury (ditto)

Hart trainer (ditto)

Gladiator (still used operationally by 247 Sqn at Plymouth during the Battle of Britain, and for meteorological reconnaissance up to 1944)

Stearman

[Grey Ghost 531]

Polikarpov Po-2/U-2 - lots of rigging there. A number of kits in 1/72 available.

The Japanese trainer K5Y "Willow". There's a kit or two of that.

[ross blackford]

:unsure:, Hi Mark,

How about the Heinkel He-59 twin wngined floatplane and the He-60 single engined biplane. Also there's the He-51 in both float and landplane versions. Most of the Plikarpov biplane fighters saw some kid of service in the GPW at soem stage or another. The monoplane Yak UT-2 has some rigging on the undercarriage and tail. Perhaps yuo could google for WW2 biplanes, that should give you a good starting place. Then there's always the haker pre-war fighters and light bombers that were used as trainers for a while during WW2. I also believe the US armed froces did the same thing, used obselescent pre-war frontlie types as traiers, communications aircraft and hacks. There's probably more types out there than many people realize.

,

Ross.

[Mark M.]

Edit: Whoa! Bunch of responses while I was typing a reply heheh, all are noted!

Hrm... interesting suggestions. I like the stringbag, but I would want a float version, and in 1/72nd.... Seems unavailable. The Revell kit is apparently a very old Matchbox mold, as well. The Airfix boxing is very very ancient. I've done some semi-old Airfix before, but I would like a bit more recent. The Matchbox is probably better, but again no floats.

I also think I saw a He-51W float version in 1/72nd scale from ICM, but I have no idea what kind of quality this kit is.

As for PE, I'm interested in doing the rigging myself. Be it nylon thread, actual wire, stretched sprue, I'd really like to "practice, practice, practice" as they say, and that of course needs planes with lots of rigging on 'em.

Plus, when pulled off, it's a smashing display piece!

All great suggestions, folks, but so far top of my list from those are:

Stranraer: Wowzers! What a plane to model! Now, could I make it look good?

SOC3: maybe... Would fit a seaplane collection I want to build up, but not much to rig

Ones not too interested in right now:

Gladiator: Already have one, would like variety

Gauntlet: Similar to Gladiator above, but a possibility

Vildebeest: too much like swordfish. Would much rather have swordfish!

Stearman: For whatever personal reasons, this plane just turns me off.

I guess as a follow up I could ask if anybody has any comments about the ICM He-51W, the Hasegawa E7K1 (aka Type 97) recon plane with catapult -- have had my eye on that -- or the Planet Models He-114?

I'm making some notes for future reference, but I may have to move to more pre-war type stuff. Just not that many WW2 planes with rigging!

Edited October 7, 2010 by Mark M.

[Ham]

Whoops, I see now that you don't like the Stearman Kaydet. "Move it along folks, nothing to see here."

Stearman Kaydet (PT-13, PT-17, PT-18, etc.) Revell 1/72 kit is available on eBay for pretty cheap. Makes a nice build. Lots of possibilities and variations.

Here's one I did.

Clicky

And some very nicely by Brian Baker.

Clicky

Edited October 7, 2010 by Ham

[BoroDad]

Eduard has a real nice Avia B534 that I believe may have seen combat...if anything, it's a beautiful plane from the '30's...

Academy P-26 is an interwar plane with minimal rigging...

[BoroDad]

Eduard has a real nice Avia B534 that I believe may have seen combat...if anything, it's a beautiful plane from the '30's...

Academy P-26 is an interwar plane with minimal rigging...

There's also the Luftwaffe float plane ... can't think of what it's called...probably not much of an idea since I have no details at the moment but I thought I saw articles about it here recently...

Edited October 7, 2010 by BoroDad

[Aaronw]

Special Hobby has the F3F-1, -2, and -3 "flying barrel" in 1/72. I know the F3F-2 kit includes markings for some planes used during WW2 as well as some 1930s yellow wing markings. Not a lot of rigging but it is a biplane so there is some. The kit is a limited run so a bit fiddly but not too bad. It includes PE and resin so the cockpit is very detailed for 1/72.

ICM has several Soviet Biplanes that saw use during the Spanish Civil War and WW2, I-5, I-15, I-153 etc. I don't know how good their He-51 is but I have their I-5, I-15 and I-16 kit and they look nice. I haven't built them so can't say how they fit, but they look as good in the box as any other modern kit. They do include reasonably detailed interiors.

KP did a PO-2 which is a Soviet biplane bomber, best known for its use as "bed check Charlie" during the Korean war. It's not a bad looking kit, about equal to an Airfix or Matchbox kit.

If you want to really stretch your rigging abilities, have a look for the old Matchbox Handley Page Heyford, Revell recently reissued the kit so it shouldn't be too hard to find.

If WW1 doesn't do it for you, have a look at the interwar period, there are a ton of advanced biplanes and mono planes with rigging that you might find more interesting. Curtis P-6E Hawk, F11C-2 Goshawk, Boeing P-12E / F4B-4, Boeing P-26, Grumman F3F, Armstrong Whitworth Siskin IIIa, Bristol Bulldog, Hawker Fury, Hawker Demon, Fiat CR.32, Dewoitine D500 / 501 / 510, Morane Saulnier MS225, I-5, I-15 etc.

[Mark M.]

The flying barrel! Why didn't I think of that!

Also, on the P-26, are those braces on the wings and tail planes "rigging wire" or are they rigid rods? I can't quite tell from the gallery entries here at ARC.

P.S. The Heyford has been a passing interest as far as kits go. I didn't think it had any rigging, though?

If it does, that'd bump it up my list a few notches.

[peebeep]

I didn't think it had any rigging, though?

More rigging wires than you can shake a stick at:

If you can find one, the Frog Swordfish has the floatplane option. It does turn up quite often in Novo/Eastern European boxes.

peebeep

[Mark M.]

Peebeep: AWESOME times 2!!!

Okay, the Heyford just made top of the list ;)

I won't hold my breath for the old Frog swordfish, but I'll keep an eye out.

Edited October 7, 2010 by Mark M.

[ross blackford]

:), HI again Mark, the old Frog/Novo/Chematic Swordfish/whatever else is now doing this old Frog kit has optional floats. Another ancient biplane used as a transport in the Western Desert campaign was the old Vickers Valentia which my father saw used as a troop transport/ambulance/freighter. Another possibility were the DH 86s used by No. 1 Air Ambulance Unit RAAF in the western desert. a couple more De Havilland types used during WW2 were the DH82 Tiger Moth, DH84 Dragon and the DH89 Dragon Rapide/Dominie. There are also the Arado biplanes, the Ar-66, Ar-68, the Buckers, Bu-131 and Bu-133. There must have been tens if not over a hundred rigged biplanes or monoplanes served during WW2. A US type I have just thought of, although a monoplane has plenty of riggin and that's the Ryan series of trainers.

;),

Ross.

[Aaronw]

I think the P-26 has some rods between the landing gear, but mostly it's rigging wire. I don't know if anyone makes decas for a Phillipine P-26, but some were used against the Japanese in 1941.

Peebeep thanks for the tip on the Frog Swordfish, I built a Swordfish with floats as a kid and had no idea what kit included that.

[Mark M.]

I don't know if anyone makes decas for a Phillipine P-26...

I think they must... They have everything from OD with colors to BMF with colors to all-blue with colors. With yellow wings, without...

Here are some interesting ones in 1/72nd:

http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com/Rev3...er72119/00.shtm

http://modelingmadness.com/scotts/decals/s...ghter/72118.htm

http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com/Rev3...er72117/00.shtm

Okay, so the P-26 is officially on the list

Not the very top, but it's on it!

Edited October 8, 2010 by Mark M.

[Grey Ghost 531]

If you can find one, the Frog Swordfish has the floatplane option. It does turn up quite often in Novo/Eastern European boxes.

peebeep

The Frog Blackburn Shark has floats. I don't know if NOVO or any of the others re-released it. Pretty nice kit if I remember right.

[Mark M.]

I'm seeing a number of possible FROG clones of that kit.... but it seems the PE or the resin add-ons are rare.

Are they scarce, or are they just much-hoarded? Can they be found for decent price or should I just "settle" for the all-plastic kit with worse details?

[peebeep]

Personally I wouldn't recommend the Shark unless it was a subject that you really want in a collection. The components are agricultural and the fit poor. The fabric sag is grossly exaggerated and other details are poor - the radial engine, for instance, is represented by a disc with raised lines to represent the cylinders! By comparison the Swordfish is by far better and more refined, although some modellers would advocated mating a Frog fuselage with Matchbox wings as the Frog wings are afflicted with fabric sag. Both kits have a folded wing option if you like that sort of thing.

peebeep

[Chuck1945]

I'm seeing a number of possible FROG clones of that kit.... but it seems the PE or the resin add-ons are rare.

Are they scarce, or are they just much-hoarded? Can they be found for decent price or should I just "settle" for the all-plastic kit with worse details?

I am not sure which Frog kit you are talking about, but the demise of Frog pretty much preceded the PE and especially the resin era. There may have been Airwaves sets for some of the last Frog issued kits but there really hasn't been much demand for the majority of Frog stuff that has been re-issued under various labels.

I have (or probably had) a half built Frog Swordfish I started perhaps 30 years ago. From what I can remember, the shape was pretty good, but the wings were in multi-parts giving you the possibility of doing one with the wings folded and I had an awful lot of filler on the wing joins trying to get them fitting properly when I bagged the project.