1/32 Monogram Piper Tri Pacer VH-OLD

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1/32 Monogram Piper Tri Pacer VH-OLD

Postby Ericg » Wed Oct 10, 2018 9:45 am

Haven't posted any builds on here for a while, but considering this is a civil aircraft forum here is a civil build!

This is my Monogram Piper PA-22 Tri Pacer. This vintage kit was manufactured from 1957 onwards and is listed as 1:32 scale although there is some opinions that it is 1:33 or 1:34 scale. It was close enough to meet my needs however and when I saw the kit for sale at a model show, it immediately appealed to my esoteric taste in large scale model aircraft. The kit boxing that I have appears to be similar to the earliest release of the kit, although it was still shrink wrapped and in excellent condition for its apparent age.

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The decals were not quite up to scratch and having a mask cutter, I set out to find an appropriate and attractive scheme upon which to apply to this model. I wanted to have it retain its classic Piper looks but have a modern take on it. The one aircraft that was jumping out at me was VH-OLD, a Western Australian based Tri Pacer. I was able to tick a few boxes here; Australian subject, beautiful retro scheme, great Rego (with the emphasis on the OLD part!) and of course some nice clear photos of the aircraft which would enable me to use my Silhouette Portrait mask cutter to full advantage.

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I recently made contact with the owner of VH-OLD, Philip Maley and he was able to send me a comprehensive history of the aircraft which I have partially reproduced here. The aircraft started out as VH-RST, purchased brand new by the Royal New South Wales Aero club in Bankstown in 1958, where it was unpacked from a shipping crate and assembled. It then changed hands in 1963 and became VH-BST, based in Queensland where it also carried out flying school duties. Sometime after that it then moved to Western Australia where it was owned by various farmers. During this time, it was repaired after striking a sheep in 1969, and then unfortunately being blown over on its back at Wongan Hills in 1981. The aeroplane was then comprehensively restored by Mr R. Devenish to the state that it is in now, then passed along to another owner before being purchased by Philip in 2006 where it has been ever since. (photos from the Geoff Goodall collection)

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Some historic images of the aeroplane:

As VH-RST

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As VH-BST at Wongan Hills

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During restoration:

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After restoration:

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Whilst wanting to keep this model as out of the box as possible, there were a few details that I felt needed to be added. I was keen to retain the retro look and feel of the original release as I know that a lot of the older generation of modellers would have cut their teeth on these kits many years ago, and it was important to me that it would bring back memories of a far simpler time in modelling to someone who had built it in the past. The openable doors had to stay although I filled and rebuilt the hinges, losing the `snap fit’ nature of them. I retained all of the raised detail.

I scratchbuilt:

exhaust pipe
spray deflector and torque link behind the nose wheel
tail bumper
anti collision light
bell cranks to the ailerons and rudder with corresponding rigging
antenna
wheel covers
landing lights.
pitot tube
diagonal bars inside cockpit
seatbelts from metal foil.
tailplane rigging with knitting in elastic
I flattened the kit tires to simulate the weight of the aircraft.

The model was finished with Gunze Sangyo acrylic over white Primer.

Enjoy!

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Re: 1/32 Monogram Piper Tri Pacer VH-OLD

Postby RayS » Wed Oct 10, 2018 12:36 pm

Followed your build elsewhere Eric, you have done another fine job and I was impressed with you mask creation for the paintwork.
Ray

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Re: 1/32 Monogram Piper Tri Pacer VH-OLD

Postby F-27pax » Thu Oct 11, 2018 5:46 am

An impressive and beautiful built. Congratulations.
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Re: 1/32 Monogram Piper Tri Pacer VH-OLD

Postby Graeme H » Thu Oct 11, 2018 4:37 pm

Really top notch job
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Re: 1/32 Monogram Piper Tri Pacer VH-OLD

Postby modelbear » Fri Oct 12, 2018 12:34 pm

Great job on this build. I saw the kit at QMHE and the kit just looks fantastic. It is great to see the history of the plane as well as it shows the era of the plane's life that is being represented.
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Re: 1/32 Monogram Piper Tri Pacer VH-OLD

Postby Wedgetail » Sat Oct 13, 2018 1:22 pm

An absolute work of art Eric. I also followed the build elsewhere and there's some mighty impressive work put into that lovely old kit.
The history of the aircraft was an added bonus and enjoyable read.
Wayne.
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Re: 1/32 Monogram Piper Tri Pacer VH-OLD

Postby Uros » Mon Oct 15, 2018 6:02 am

Wow!
Cheers!
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Re: 1/32 Monogram Piper Tri Pacer VH-OLD

Postby Adam the Akrodude » Tue Oct 16, 2018 11:28 am

Absolutely flawless and stunning "Pie Chaser" mate - and interesting story to go with it.
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Re: 1/32 Monogram Piper Tri Pacer VH-OLD

Postby Ericg » Fri May 10, 2019 11:28 am

Thanks for all the comments.

I was able to take the Tri-Pacer across the other side of the country on the weekend to attend the model show in Perth. The highlight of the trip was being able to take to the air in ‘Oscar Lima Delta’ for a joy flight with Phil, the owner at the controls. It was pretty cool to fly across the continent in a Boeing 787 then jump into an aircraft 60 years older a few hours later, a very different contrast of technology. Phil was pretty stoked to see the model of his aircraft, but not as stoked as I was to be able to enjoy the smell of AVGAS, the noise and feeling of actually flying in something that I have recreated. I was lucky enough to meet Matt and his family on the weekend as well. Matt’s father Robin was the person who restored VH-OLD into its beautiful current state after it was written off as per pictures earlier in my thread. Robin is visible standing behind the tail of the partially rebuilt aircraft in an earlier photo.

Enroute to Western Australia.

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Me looking pretty bloody happy upon introducing the two different sized aircraft. (And relieved that the blue paint colour was in the same ballpark!!)

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A sense of scale

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1500 feet AGL and loving it. Phil kindly agreed to allowing one of my best mates Tony to come along for the ride.

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Phil with model. I think we worked out that I had forgotten to scratchbuild the IPAD mount in the model. Otherwise, Phil was pretty happy with it!

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Matt and family pretty happy to see their father and grandfathers hard work recreated in miniature

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Post flight debrief with Tony at the RACWA bar.

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An enjoyable and cherished memory.

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Re: 1/32 Monogram Piper Tri Pacer VH-OLD

Postby tor lives » Fri May 10, 2019 4:43 pm

Love the model and love the photos with the 1:1.....this is what modelling is all about.
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