RCNFAN Posted December 30, 2020 Share Posted December 30, 2020 Working on my 1/48 Hobby Craft Tutor and looking for some expertise out there, I'm doing the Military Trainer version and thinking about the paint. I am looking at pictures on the net and in my references and I see ones that look bare metal and others that look like a silver paint. Were bare metal ones early schemes and painted ones later schemes? Thanks Ray Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantom Posted December 30, 2020 Share Posted December 30, 2020 For the most part, yes, except on Tuesdays and when its dark out. Back in the day when they took the paint off the Golden Centennairs they painted the airframes white to stop corrosion. Hence Snowbirds. Time goes on different airframes go in and out of 431 squadron. When the white paint came off they painted them silver. I "thinK" but can not confirm that later in life "most" of the Tutors were indeed painted. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RCNFAN Posted December 30, 2020 Author Share Posted December 30, 2020 Thanks phantom, that squares with what I am seeing. In my Canadair book you can see new ones definitley in bare metal then later on a row of them that looks to be silver paint. There is also an interesting photo of an all white Tutor that was involved in a race from London Ontario to Victoria in the book. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
skyhawk174 Posted December 30, 2020 Share Posted December 30, 2020 Well not too sure about the early ones but the later ones were definitely painted in some sort of silver lacquer. I have been up close and personal with several Tutors at many air shows and my last visit was at CFB Cold Lake in 2016. I too have a Hobbycraft Tutor I would like to build but the kit sure makes you hesitate. I see all the work involved to make it a nice replica. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dylan Posted December 30, 2020 Share Posted December 30, 2020 when I worked on the Tutors in Winnipeg in the early 90's we had a mix of bare metal and painted airframes. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RCNFAN Posted December 30, 2020 Author Share Posted December 30, 2020 For sure the Hobby Craft kit needs work, I'm lucky in that I picked up an Uncle Bills interior in Calgary when they were still available so that helps out a lot. The surface of the plastic is also a little textured, I'm dealing with this by using Stynelrez primer "love this stuff" and sanding it down which is working. I have another kit in the stash and depending on how I feel after this one it may end up on the trading block. Thanks for the insight dylan, i'll be looking at my decals and some more photos and make the decision on which way to go whether bare metal or paint as both would be correct. Leaning more towards older and bare metal right now. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Faust Posted December 31, 2020 Share Posted December 31, 2020 I can remember seeing silver painted ones at the London International Airshow back in the day a few times. I did see one white one at one of the couple Sarnia Airshows that Walsh put on (it might have been the same year as the Sea Fury crash, but I can't be sure). I've never seen a bare metal one, but I must be a wee babe, I guess, and they were before my time. 🙂 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Scooby Posted December 31, 2020 Share Posted December 31, 2020 Later in service they were painted silver, a good rule of thumb if they had the newer FIP markings they were painted in the silver lacquer. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Snowbird3a Posted January 1, 2021 Share Posted January 1, 2021 ex-Snowbirds when rotated back to the school in Moose Jaw, would be painted Aluminum. All other jets on the line were bare metal. Starting in the mid-80s when the FIP scheme was introduced then one by one they started to receive the Aluminum Lacquer paint job(as Gary mentioned). But the majority of the fleet stayed in bare metal til retirement. So it all depends on what serial number you are doing and the time frame. I have a bit of experience on the CT-114, so don't be shy in asking any and all questions in a PM or here on the forum Cheers, Tony Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Scooby Posted January 1, 2021 Share Posted January 1, 2021 8 hours ago, Snowbird3a said: ex-Snowbirds when rotated back to the school in Moose Jaw, would be painted Aluminum. All other jets on the line were bare metal. Starting in the mid-80s when the FIP scheme was introduced then one by one they started to receive the Aluminum Lacquer paint job(as Gary mentioned). But the majority of the fleet stayed in bare metal til retirement. So it all depends on what serial number you are doing and the time frame. I have a bit of experience on the CT-114, so don't be shy in asking any and all questions in a PM or here on the forum Cheers, Tony I knew you would add your wealth of experience. What I’d do is find an image of the Tutor in the era I am building and build to that particular airframe/image/serial. It is very easy to tell natural metal from painted. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RCNFAN Posted January 1, 2021 Author Share Posted January 1, 2021 Hi Tony Thanks for replying to this and giving the most definitive answer, always good to get the intel straight from the guys who flew and worked on these. Great community on here for getting info on almost anything. I just finished up a twin seater CF-18 that my girlfriend got a ride in back in cold lake in the 90s, good thing she had pics because all she could tell me was that it was fast, grey and she didn't puke. Cheers Ray Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BillS Posted January 3, 2021 Share Posted January 3, 2021 FWIW, I was stationed at Reese AFB IN Lubbock, TX. From May 78 to June 81. For some reason the Tutor guys liked stopping there. They were shiny bare metal during that period. Frequently saw Canadian ‘101s as well come to think about it. Must have been the loads of cute girls at Texas Tech! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jay Chladek Posted January 5, 2021 Share Posted January 5, 2021 On 1/3/2021 at 1:28 AM, BillS said: FWIW, I was stationed at Reese AFB IN Lubbock, TX. From May 78 to June 81. For some reason the Tutor guys liked stopping there. They were shiny bare metal during that period. Frequently saw Canadian ‘101s as well come to think about it. Must have been the loads of cute girls at Texas Tech! Certainly the flying weather was better in Lubbock than back in Canada depending on the time of year. 😉 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Snowbird3a Posted January 5, 2021 Share Posted January 5, 2021 47 minutes ago, Jay Chladek said: Certainly the flying weather was better in Lubbock than back in Canada depending on the time of year. 😉 Moose Jaw's flying weather has gotta be the best in the country. More hours of sunshine per year on the prairies than the rest of Canada, resulting in not many 'washout' days. Even in the bitter cold of winter, it's usually clear as a bell. Cheers, Tony Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantom Posted January 5, 2021 Share Posted January 5, 2021 7 hours ago, Snowbird3a said: Moose Jaw's flying weather has gotta be the best in the country. More hours of sunshine per year on the prairies than the rest of Canada, resulting in not many 'washout' days. Even in the bitter cold of winter, it's usually clear as a bell. Cheers, Tony And you can watch your dog run away for three days. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Colin K Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 On 12/30/2020 at 10:54 AM, RCNFAN said: I have another kit in the stash and depending on how I feel after this one it may end up on the trading block. If you decide to put the other kit on the trading block, I'd definitely take it off your hands. I have been building custom Snowbird models for current and past team members, so I am always on the lookout for other kits.....just in case. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AlienFrogModeller Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 (edited) Evening Gents, At AETE (2013-2016) we had 5 ac, 1 in AETE markings (White,Black and Red) and the remainder was in silver lacquer finish. As per the others, as you can see the evolution of finish on this aircraft greatly depended in the life cycle of the aircraft, the intended end life of specific airframes and where they were located. As Scooby suggested, select a particular airframe number (a couple back up choices couldn't hurt) and/or the time frame you wanted and then lets see if this group of Tutor lovers can help you with specifics. Cheers AFM Edited February 4, 2021 by AlienFrogModeller Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cajun21 Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 A F M. Great pic. Would love to see another pic of the black, white and red one. Looks really sharp. Thanks for posting it. Cheers, Itch Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RCNFAN Posted February 4, 2021 Author Share Posted February 4, 2021 Hi Colin I'll let you know before I put any trade requests up on here. It is the Trainer version not the Snow Bird , I will also be including the nose wheel well and the airbrakes from the Uncle Bills set as I didn't use them. Cheers Ray Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Snowbird3a Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 6 hours ago, Cajun21 said: A F M. Great pic. Would love to see another pic of the black, white and red one. Looks really sharp. Thanks for posting it. Cheers, Itch Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cajun21 Posted February 5, 2021 Share Posted February 5, 2021 Snowbird3a, Thanks for the photos. Really sharp looking a/c. The leading edges appear to be polished natural metal, the upper and lower surfaces are not very visible and do you know if they are white with the same red panels as the other a/c pictured above, or silver paint, or . . . . . Now have to get a 1/48th Tutor kit, or a 1/32nd if any makes one, and see if decals are available. If not I'll have to sharpen up my painting skills. Thanks, Cheers Itch Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Snowbird3a Posted February 6, 2021 Share Posted February 6, 2021 14 hours ago, Cajun21 said: Snowbird3a, Thanks for the photos. Really sharp looking a/c. The leading edges appear to be polished natural metal, the upper and lower surfaces are not very visible and do you know if they are white with the same red panels as the other a/c pictured above, or silver paint, or . . . . . Now have to get a 1/48th Tutor kit, or a 1/32nd if any makes one, and see if decals are available. If not I'll have to sharpen up my painting skills. Thanks, Cheers Itch Just Google 'AETE CT-114 Tutor' and a few more images show up. J-BOT did have decals but he has retired due to health reasons. Tony Quote Link to post Share on other sites
martin_sam_2000 Posted February 6, 2021 Share Posted February 6, 2021 On 2/5/2021 at 9:22 AM, Cajun21 said: Snowbird3a, Thanks for the photos. Really sharp looking a/c. The leading edges appear to be polished natural metal, the upper and lower surfaces are not very visible and do you know if they are white with the same red panels as the other a/c pictured above, or silver paint, or . . . . . Now have to get a 1/48th Tutor kit, or a 1/32nd if any makes one, and see if decals are available. If not I'll have to sharpen up my painting skills. Thanks, Cheers Itch also good luck finding a kit. There are no 1/32nd kit and the old 1/48 Hobbycraft kit is going for north of $100, if you can even find one. We desperately need a new one on the market (Come on Trumpeter!!!). the 1/72 can be found here and there sometimes for a decent price. Sean Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Colin K Posted March 14, 2021 Share Posted March 14, 2021 On 2/6/2021 at 10:20 AM, martin_sam_2000 said: also good luck finding a kit. There are no 1/32nd kit and the old 1/48 Hobbycraft kit is going for north of $100, if you can even find one. We desperately need a new one on the market (Come on Trumpeter!!!). the 1/72 can be found here and there sometimes for a decent price. Sean God no on Trumpeter doing a Tutor in any scale. Truth be told, I am currently gathering reference material and will be making a pitch to Kinetic. If they can do something as eccentric as a Pucara, a Tutor shouldn't be out of the realm of possibility. So hopefully I am successful. In the meantime, I am still gathering references. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
martin_sam_2000 Posted March 14, 2021 Share Posted March 14, 2021 38 minutes ago, Colin K said: God no on Trumpeter doing a Tutor in any scale. Truth be told, I am currently gathering reference material and will be making a pitch to Kinetic. If they can do something as eccentric as a Pucara, a Tutor shouldn't be out of the realm of possibility. So hopefully I am successful. In the meantime, I am still gathering references. Im in!! If you need any ground floor support let me know. Im sure you have research covered, but im willing to help if needed!!! sean Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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