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Williams Bros 1/53 "The Lost Electra"


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I've started work on the Williams Bros 1/53 "The Lost Electra". It includes decals for Earhart's NR16020 as well as EAL (Eastern), Delta, and USCG versions. All AC have bare metal flying surfaces; the USCG version shows a blue fuselage.

The kit itself is rather simple with very pronounced rivet detail. The cockpit consists of two generic seats, an instrument panel, control columns, and wheels. If you look carefully, you can see the control columns were identically molded, with one to be flipped. Sadly, they are assymetrically molded, so the forward surface on the port column and aft surface of the starboard column are flat.

Electra-1.jpg

The cabin detail for Earhart's aircraft is just an empty floor, while the others would install 10 seats. There's a wing spar running across the fuselage that's not provided in any version, though there is a gap between the 1st and 2nd row of seats where the spar would be.

Electra-2.jpg

There's also no aft bulkhead.

My Google-fu found cabin detail for Earhart's aircraft, which, as you would expect, was mostly filled with fuel tanks.

Photographs of the forward bulkhead show an odd wedge-shaped opening to the cockpit; the kit part has a rectangular opening and parallel sides. After shaping 0.020" sheet to fit the fuselage sides, I cut a more correctly shaped opening.

Electra-3.jpg

In the above image, you can also see the texture of the kit part is quite, um, uneven and pitted. That's not a problem with the kit--it's what happens when you spill Tamiya Thin Cement on your cutting mat. :bandhead2:

Oh well, the collateral damage to the fuselage from that episode sealed the deal on redoing all the excessive rivet detail since the starboard side exterior was badly damaged. :deadhorse1:

There are apparently two types of fuel tanks, one type is prismatic, spanning across the cabin and the other type is vertical with a truncated surface matching the slant of the forward bulkhead. I made both tank types using 0.080" quarter-round and 0.020 sheet. My NWSL Chopper came in quite handy getting all those parts properly cut and sized.

Electra-6.jpg

Electra-7.jpg

Here's the jig I used to glue the sides up

Electra-4.jpg

Just aft of the fuselage door is a bulkead with a door to the WC

Electra-8.jpg

The chink in the left side is clearance for the window that was blanked on the actual aircraft yet left clear on the model.

When I was done, I had quite a pile of bits for the cabin

Electra-5.jpg

You can also see a forward walkway, walkways above the tanks, heater ducts, transmitter, battery, and map table.

Those went together as so

Electra-9.jpg

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Thanks.

It is an odd scale, and I was ambivalent when I bought it. And, it's been sitting in my stash for a while, but for whatever reason, now is the time.

But, I suppose it's close enough to sit next to other 1/48 inter-war AC, such as the Williams' Super Ace and Pitcairn Autogyro, Revell Spirit of St Louis, Testor's (nee Hawk) R3C-2, Gee Bee Racer, Travel Air Myster Ship, &etc. With the exception of the Revel Spirit of St Louis, the Williams Super Ace, and (maybe) Pitcairn, these are all, um, well, projects to get beyond the minimal/non-existant detail. The Gee Bee Racer and Myster Ship will be quite the masking jobs...

I guess I really do have a jones for that era.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Dave,

I have been reading this and following it with great interest as I have not seen a model of this unique qualities and this scale being built.. :coolio:

Good start.. I hope you post more progress updates pictures..

Keep it coming.. :salute:

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