Esci
S-3 Viking in 1/48th scale
Jon Chuck has just finished building the Esci S-3 Viking in 1/48th scale. The
scheme he chose shouldn’t be a surprise as he did the walk around for
the SuperScale decal release for President Bush’s “Navy One”
now permanently on display at the museum in Pensacola, Florida. Following
are Jon’s comments, images of his model, and the real Viking.
The
'slime light' decal was applied first because the Wolf's finger was painted
over part of the light as you will see in the photo of the real NAVY 1. Positioning
of the light is most important and must match the other side. The Superscale
fit was good as you can see the foot didn't go over the wing fold.
I painted the inside of
the assembled engine intake by dipping it in a Kodak film canister lid filled
with paint. Just make sure the depth of the paint is not too deep because
you want the lip to hit bottom, insuring an even paint line.
The
canopy didn't fit well, so I just tacked it with Elmer's glue for now so that
I can revisit the problem later. Oh, yeah, I still need to glue on the 3rd front
gear door.
The
square window is not a decal. Also this kit is missing a pitot tube by the stars
and bars. From my spares box, I dug up a few label decals for the rear landing
gears.
The middle 'slime light'
on the tail was positioned exactly perpendicular to the panel line underneath
the Wolf's left ear. This is an important reference point because the next
decal is the Wolf, which fits perfectly. Be sure the light on the other side
is in the exact same place.
The square flare dispenser comes from photo etched Teknics sheet that I had.
It’s 5 holes across by 6 down, perfect.
Notice the fold out steps in the kit are misaligned
Overall
paint was Testors enamel FS36375 Ghost Gray, thinned for spraying and about
15-20% gloss white added to simulate faded paint. The resulting finish was a
semi-flat surface to which I applied the Superscale decals on. I nearly got
away with almost no silvering, but in retrospect, I should have sprayed another
coat of clear. I got lazy because 'Monster Garage' was on.
This was a fun model to build (except
for the engines and canopy). It took me about 7 days and as you can see it
was closer to a 'Monster' build than a contest build.
I
hacked off the antenna on top that looks like half a boomerang and I didn't
glue on any of the other antennas (parts #41 &103). The MAD boom was also
left out. The model also needs some weights in the nose or else it will sit
on it's butt. You can also use the tail hook to prop it up too.
