I recently received the 1/48 Lindberg kit of the PT17 for a part of a project at work. The kit is extremely basic, but for the most part, LOOKS like a Stearman (which is enough for this project). There is no cockpit detail to speak of, but that really won't show (although I will probably scratch a basic one for my own piece of mind). The big problem is the engine. It is basically a blob of plastic. Since it is a pretty prominent feature, I was wondering if anyone knew of a source for a 7 cylinder radial in 1/48? Doesn't necessarily have to be the correct Continental...I could probably even live with a 9 cylinder. I just need an engine that looks the part. I dabble in armor modelling, and have no idea where to start looking for aircraft stuff... Any help would be appreciated!

Well, I sort of have a plan now. I found a Pratt & Whitney R-1830 made by a couple of companies. I figure I can cut it down to one row of cylinders, and look pretty close. There is only a couple of inches difference in the diameters of the real engines, so it should look pretty close. My next question is which company, Aires or Vector, produces the nicer castings and which would you prefer to work with? I could not find a clear picture of the Aires part. Thanks!

Hi there

Without comparing the two sets, I wouldn't like to hazard a guess - but I will say that Sergey's work is second to none, so you won't be disappointed with anything under the Vector label.

All the best

Rowan

Thanks, that is what I wanted to hear!

Rowan, took your advice and ordered the Vector engine. Should be here in a few days. In the meantime, I have started trying to rough out a cockpit. What started as just adding a few ribs has turned into something a little more in depth. Found an image of the blueprints on line, and I am adding a little more than I had initially intended. Suprisingly, the Lindberg fuselage matches up to the prints better than I thought it would...cockpit openings are off a bit, but I will live with it.

There's a resin cockpit available from Lone Star Models. Look midway down the 1/48 cockpits page. It does a lot to make the kit look better

Thanks for the heads up on the cockpit. I'm just sticking something in there, mainly for my own satisfaction (and to see if I can do it LOL). It will probably never be seen, as this plane is going to be part of a train layout we set up at work every Christmas so perfect attention to detail is not that big of a deal (but some improvements HAD to made on this kit).

Got the Vector engine, and it is a little gem! I really hate that I need to cut on it for this project.

Hats off to you aviation modellers! I have no idea how y'all do it. Just scratching the basic cockpit on this thing is stretching my abilities to the limit. I would hate to think of messing with PE in this scale. It would be maddening! I salute you!

Hi again

Nice one! I didn't think you could go far wrong buying a Vector engine.

All the best

Rowan

Well, I finished the Stearman a couple of weeks ago. The kit turned into more of a dog than my initial impressions led me to believe, so it did not work out as well in the end as I would have liked. Will try to get some photos of it posted when I go back to work next week. Thanks for all your help.

I think you did a fabulous job on the Stearman -- in original Delta yet! Where'd you find those decals???? Thanks for sending it.

Printed them myself, working from photographs. When I saw it had Greenwood MS on the side, that was my tie into MS history (even though Delta started in LA).