This
an old kit from “APEX” was built in Turkish Air Force markings. This kit was a
gift from Mehmet Sekercioglu owner of PM models. The original planes (3 of them)
were donated by the Soviet Union on the celebration of the 10th year of the
Turkish Republic (29 October 1933) and used for training and maneuvre purpose.
They were called “Erpet” because of the Russian pronounciation of R-5. The
original photo is shown below.
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images below to see larger images
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The
plastic surface and details were excellent. I had to reshape the nose cowling
using some putty and doing some sculpture work!
Details were added to the cockpit and a scratch
built instrument panel built. Original Russian enamel colors from Model
Master were
used for painting since there were no colour change on the plane after they were
brought to Turkey. The national insignia were painted by masking except the
crescent and star on the rudder. For rigging 0,1 mm steel wire cut to exact
length was used. I could find that wire from Sopwith Hobbies in Florida, but
unfortunately its not available any more.
This
is my first article in ARC and I like building biplanes very much. Now I've started
building a series of Turkish biplanes and vintage planes from WWI, independence
war and after.
Fuat
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images below to see larger images
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