And another one, yellow-winged : Fisher Ryan ST-M

[HubertB]

This is another of my completed builds : the beautiful resin kit in 1/32 of the Ryan ST-M / PT-20, by Fisher.

As usual with Paul Fisher's kits, the quality and fit are outstanding, and I had a blast building this one.

Sticking to my old super-detailing syndrome, I redid the Menasco engine and the details of the cockpit. Not much can be seen in the end, but "I know it's here"

This kit was an opportunity to try foiling the fuselage. Foiling is not as difficult as you imagine, provided you use the proper glue, and there is no better alternative than Microscale's Metal Foil Adhesive. The glue comes fairly thick in its bottle, but can be diluted to a thinner consistency without losing its properties. I used alcohol to thin it. Some have even tried spraying it, successfully, but I did not dare try this method and risk clogging my airbrush. Finally, whilst Microscale advises putting glue on the foil, I found it easier to brush the glue on the panel to be foiled : it allowed me to put glue just where I wanted it, and thus avoided having to cut and lift unwanted foil that has adhered to some other part of the airframe.

In this case, the difficulty came from the raised rivets. I was not sure the foil would conform easily around them. It worked pretty well in the end. I used cheap, therefore thin, kitchen alu foil. With hindsight, thicker foil is probably better as it stretches better when burnished, without risking tearing it. Rivets lost in the sanding of some joints were restored with Archer rivets.

The wires are round 0.3 mm monofilament. Not quite authentic, as the original ones were streamlined wires, but I had then not found flat monofilament. Fisher provides flat rigging in the form of PE, but even he advises not to use PE as it is too sensitive to temperature variations, and will sag. Tensioning the monofilament is done by passing an incandescent toothpick in its vicinity. You will see the wire tension itself. Be careful with the distance : a little too close, and the wire will melt and snap.

The markings were painted for the numbers, and I used the kit decals on the wings and tail. I was weary of having decals with a big carrier film on alu foil.

Finally, the base is a home-made one, using a cheap A4 picture frame with some painted-on foamed cardboard inserted. "Earth" on the side of the tarmac is pigments sprinkled on white PVA glue smeared on the cardboard.

Now, on to the pics :

Hubert

[GazzaS]

Beautifully done!

[Martinnfb]

Gorgeous , natural light makes it look real. Thank you for sharing Hubert.

Cheers

M.

[DocRob]

Beautiful, one of the examples where the technique of applying foil perfectly matches the streamlined subject. Putting foil on a plane seems to be 'en vogue' in the moment. Having used Bare Metal Foil only for some detail work, I might got tempted to jump the wagon and try a little project. 

Back to your Ryan, which is a stunner and the contrast between metal and the yellow wings opens the eyes

Cheers Rob

[mozart]

Love the way the sun sparkles on the silver fuselage Hubert, very convincing!   A real show-stopper.

Max

[Mikester]

Just beautiful, Hubert!  the NMF and yellow really make for a striking scheme.

[HubertB]

Glad you like it 

You can’t get enough yellow wings IMHO ...

Hubert

[Clunkmeister]

Hubert, that’s truly stunning! 

As per usual.

[Bomber_County]

She’s pretty........