Roden T-28B

[flypaper2222]

I have ordered this kit and am hoping up and down waiting for it. During my first 2 years in the USMC I both in a maintenance section preforming engine checks on the T-28, and a flight line puke were I an 2 others would preform engine start ups and preflights on the 10 T-28s stationed at USMC HQ Flight Section, Andrews AFB, Washington DC.

I have only seen the part sprue's on line, but one thing that sticks out big is the over simplified engine front.

As you can see Roden really slacked off here. To me the biggest omitted part is the oil sump at the 6 o'clock position. This is where the oil is drained before every hanger check. (some useless non model information)There is a magnet in the sump plug that collects any metal shavings and if large enough close a gap in the sump plug and red light the engine for metal fatigue and the engine is pulled. Also missing at 12 o'clock is the prop adjusting housing.

As far as after market replacement for the engine I checked out the series sold by QUICKBOOST and I'm sorry to say they also left off these two very visible engine parts. VECTOR on the other hand got it right, but will need the baffle plates between each cylinder to be installed, and $16.00 + postage is a bit much for a piece of resin the size of a walnut.

And something that surprised me, when I cracked open my first T-28 cowl was the the color of the exhaust pipes, They were Ganny Apple Green! See the 2nd photo, they were covered in some high gloss heat resistant covering, and they kept that color.

Hoping the kit comes soon,

Flypaper

[DonSS3]

That green looks a lot like the "Zinc Chromate Green" we see from Modelmaster.

[B-17 guy]

Interior green would be better in my opinion, closer to how it would weather.

[dragonlance]

Flypaper, check out Hobby Easy, the Vector single-row engines, when in stock, are about 10USD, and the shipping is reasonable.

Vedran

[flypaper2222]

Flypaper, check out Hobby Easy, the Vector single-row engines, when in stock, are about 10USD, and the shipping is reasonable.

Vedran

Hello Vedran

Thank you for the tip, they are beautifully done, but most dealers overprice them.

Flypaper

[Hawk10]

No matter what scale you build in, you will rarely find a radial engine that has the the baffeling correct (read none), has the lower sump shown correctly (again read none) or has anything other than a set of mags anywhere on the nose case (if indeed that was where the mags were installed on the real thing). And how about twin row engines (eg R-1830, R-2000, R-2600, R-2800 etc) that you have to modify because if you assemble the engine straight out of the box, the rear row cylinders are directly behind the front row cylinders, not between them like on the 1 to 1 versions.

[EDWMatt]

Nice summary, flypaper. I was disappointed in the Roden engine and the Quickboost replacement. I can maybe understand the missing prop governor (few kits have them) but how they can miss something like the oil sump is beyond me.

Have 50 or so hours in T-28B's. All our aircraft had Lycoming-built -86B's. Our engines were overall silver lacquer - crankcase, pushrods, baffles. I think the depot painted them that way when they came out of overhaul, as the ones we got in cans from the Navy depot were that way too, and a lot of the Studebaker 1820's I've seen in Stoofs were all silver. And ours had the green exhaust collectors too. I've got an open-cowl shot somewhere - I'll post if I can find it.

Really enjoyed the T-28- it was pleasant to fly and very stable, and you felt like the "World War 2 Flying Ace" in it and you could open the canopy in flight (we usually had it open when we were doing pattern work if the weather was nice). We used to say it was the only the best 1940's technology :D . Loved the "Harley Davidson" idle of the 1820. But boy was that a loud airplane. Right up there with the H-34 (well, same engine!). I couldn't hear very well for about an hour after a flight if we had been doing any high-power work. I think one of our aircraft might possibly have come from Andrews. It was a real cream puff, as it was never a trainer, but had spent it's entire Navy life as a Marine station hack.

You'll like the Roden kit in general - it's a big improvement over the old Monogram. It's not perfect - the cockpit's pretty sparse, the gear wells are pretty much fantasy and it's not an easy build, but it looks much more like a T-28 than the Mono kit. And I really liked the separate flaps so you can pose them down, which they were most of the time on the ground (since that's how you got in). Get the SAC metal gear - the kit gear is weak and you'll need to put a fair bit of weight in the nose. And the decals are poor quality, so you might want an aftermarket set.

[flypaper2222]

Loved the "Harley Davidson" idle of the 1820. But boy was that a loud airplane. Right up there with the H-34 (well, same engine!). I couldn't hear very well for about an hour after a flight if we had been doing any high-power work.

Hello EWDMatt,

After 2 years standing by the exhaust with a fire bottle I know how loud they were, I suffered partial hearing loss in my left ear and have a constant whistle in both, they never issued us any ear protection! After Andrews I went to New River and as you said the same engine with the same ear splitting noise.

I back seated on a few local weekend hops when the pilot took pity on the line crew. On one over Chesapeake Bay the pilot threw it around so quick I kept slamming my head against the canopy,left,right,left right thank goodness for the 'brain bucket'. He even let me hold the stick for 2/3 mins. Hot sh*t for a 19 year old city kid.

If you got an Andrews bird you got a pampered machine, both us and the Navy crews kept them in the best shape possible, we never knew who might come down from HQ USMC or the Pentagon to get their time, one Major Glenn had a locker with us.

I'm looking forward to the kit I will finish it as one of the birds from my old flight line and fondly remember when I had my hearing ;)/>.

One thing that made me chuckle was when cleaning out the a/c after a flight was 'checking the ash trays' for some reason an ash tray in a cockpit just struck me as strange.

Flypaper

Edited March 31, 2013 by flypaper2222

[flypaper2222]

Although I still havent seen the kit I've read that some detail in the landing gear is on the soft side. This photo should be of help. Although I doubt any service a/c was/is this clean!!!