My Scientific Red Devil!

Anytime one buys a kit from afar and it has been started and is also incomplete along with some  noticeable damage, one can be in trouble! Generally I stay far away from such animals! Far away! Even if no damage is evident... I think you all understand.

I bit on this one and came up good.

The description was very good and said the wing was missing (not a big deal on one of these)
The rudder had broken off and the stab was broken off as well.

Here is what I got:
Painted fuselage (red!), fin, rudder, stab and elevator. These parts had been assembled and painted once upon a time. The hinges are stiff and will need to be replaced. The control horn is also painted and in place.

Original instructions dated 1955. Some yellowing, a few light pencil marks and some razor cuts but otherwise in pretty good and definitely usable condition.

All the hardware! This includes the rubber wheels, Formed LG, bellcrack, Firewall, wooden button for bell crank, engine mounting screws, plastic pilot, and a bubble canopy. All in brand new condition. No scratches or yellowing on canopy.

The original decals! Maybe not a great big deal since it is so old. but there appears to be no cracking like you sometimes see. The paper is yellowed and stained and it looks like there is some noticeable yellowing of the decals themselves but the decals seem  to have really good color.

To top that off it also came with tank which has never been used but the top and bottom nipples appear to have been shortened non-professionally. Assuming this was done to make it fit in the fuse.

The instructions show a top view of the plane in miniature. Very helpful in shaping the wing!

The first pic shows Most everything in the kit except for a few balsa scraps, sandpaper, the torn glassine bag that held the hardware and a very short, green pencil.

Second pic is the same as the first but I now show the wing I cobbled up for it including the 1/16" sheet TE pieces.

It should not take too long to get this one airborne...

Any comments or suggestions of course will be welcomed.

Robert

I saw that auction and thought it really cool but could not afford to be in that one. I have the pictures from that saved showing the instructions in the box and good pics of the engine mounted.
 With Mr. Marcucci's permission I will post some or all of them.

I search and find pictures of many of these cool kits that I cannot afford myself. My picture library is growing slowly. I didn't take these pictures myself so is this wrong?

All the pictures I have of the Red Devil are either pics I have taken or scanned myself.

Robert

Hello Robert,
                  The little pencil is intriguing! Do you think
it actually came in the kit? Maybe the first owner flew
in the parking lot of the local Mini-Put.
Another C/L flyer lost to golf!

   All kidding aside, your original wheels and decals got
me thinking about Concours judging.
 A nice new set of modern foamies or spun aluminum wheels
might look better than the hard rubber tires that came from
Scientific, but when judging Musciano, should we be giving
extra credit for original equipment? When judging old
motorcycles they do give points for original anything.
I myself would certainly award higher points to a plane
with a real Scientific canopy than I would to an identical
plane with a modern repro.
What do you think gentlemen?

I've been fingered by the Powers That Be to run this year's
Toronto Musciano. I'm waiting to meet with the Brass so that
we can hack out the details, but you can visit the first
draft of my Musciano blog at...

www.musciano-rules-toronto.blogspot.com

I don't want to hijack Robert's thread, so if you think we need
a new one to discuss this, let me know. (Or start one.)

Robert,
There is a product called Micro Scale Decal Film that one can brush over old decals to give them a fighting chance when used. I would buy some and apply a coat before dipping them in the water.
Cool little model, good luck.
Chris...

Hello Currell,
                 I agree about not messing with
rules that have been tested and had a chance
to evolve. This is more of a "beauty in the eye
of the beholder" thing.
I like the idea of a special award.

Thanks for the compliment on the MAAC Musciano
logo. I spent the first twenty five years of my
working life labouring in advertising agencies.
   The drawing of the plane is a bit rough but
I think it looks dynamic.

Cheers!

Agree with Bill re the decals. Also, you can avoid buying the decal paper simply by using very low weight paper in your copier for your decals, or light vellum paper, and carefully cut out the decal with an Xacto or scissors. Besides cost, this approach has the advantage of allowing you to apply clear paint directly over the copied emblem,  thereby protecting them from fuel. No more messy (and kind of conspicuous) fuel proofer.

Scientific decals are in the Public Domain, and certainly can be legally copied for whatever use. They are early/mid  70s in origin, at absolute latest.

There are plenty of websites that offer all sorts of insignia. Just google "airplane insignia" (as one example) and lots of stuff will come up. And you can use your little magnifying icon to increase or decrease size. This will help on the military Scientific models, such as the SE-4, F-100, P-40, and lots more.

One nice thing about using vellum paper in your copier is image quality, by the way.

It is a great idea to create a Scientific decal libaray. I have hundreds of Scientiific decals, covering about 3 dozen models. What I don't have are the computer skills to post them here (or anywhere), so I would need to send them to someone. Some are in quantities of one, some are maybe 20!

What anyone care to see a list of what I have?

So let's work on this.

Currell (keep 'em flying, as Walt says) Pattie

Agree with Bill re the decals. Also, you can avoid buying the decal paper simply by using very low weight paper in your copier for your decals, or light vellum paper, and carefully cut out the decal with an Xacto or scissors. Besides cost, this approach has the advantage of allowing you to apply clear paint directly over the copied emblem,  thereby protecting them from fuel. No more messy (and kind of conspicuous) fuel proofer.

Scientific decals are in the Public Domain, and certainly can be legally copied for whatever use. They are early/mid  70s in origin, at absolute latest.

There are plenty of websites that offer all sorts of insignia. Just google "airplane insignia" (as one example) and lots of stuff will come up. And you can use your little magnifying icon to increase or decrease size. This will help on the military Scientific models, such as the SE-4, F-100, P-40, and lots more.

One nice thing about using vellum paper in your copier is image quality, by the way.

It is a great idea to create a Scientific decal libaray. I have hundreds of Scientiific decals, covering about 3 dozen models. What I don't have are the computer skills to post them here (or anywhere), so I would need to send them to someone. Some are in quantities of one, some are maybe 20!

What anyone care to see a list of what I have?

So let's work on this.

Currell (keep 'em flying, as Walt says) Pattie

Yes, let's!

I have a scaling program that works very well. What I would need is for you to scan the decal with the edges marked (or a background) that shows a scale in quarter inches for example so that they can be printed as close to original size.
Scaling up or down becomes easy as well as the image can be assigned a percentage, ie. 10%, 25%, 30%, 33.3% etc. for instance use as a backdrop some of that paper with a quarter inch grid!

I say, start on the non military first but that is simply my opinion. One exception might be the Piper Rescue plane.

There should be a way to do the white parts.Cut them from white vinyl material?

Robert

Thanks for the pics Goerge.  The Space Bug was my first glo engine.  A Christmas present from my oldest brother back when it first hit the hobby shop.  I can't remember if it was 52 or 53 either.  I know I ran a lot of fuel thru it just starting it and listening to it run.  Having fun,  DOC Holliday

Here are both sides to the ad that came with my Red Devil kit.

Just makes you want more!

Robert