The Beechcraft C-45F was produced from 1937 to 1962 and over those years more than 9000 were built. Used both by military and civil sector proved to be well designed aircraft. It made it from army through smuggling to movie making (remember James Bond fighting with the villain using the antena to get rid of him?)
More about Beechcraft C-45F on wikipedia
I bought this kit basically for two reasons. First, it is a beauty, second, Being a bit of a musician I played for some time with an Starhip One idea. Anybody remembers the golden age of hard rock when groups like Led Zeppelin where flown from gig to another in Boening 707? So here you have it. And you won't get seven-o-seven these days, especially when nobody knows about your group, so the Expeditor was my choice :).
I started, wonder, with the cockpit. I wanted to try DYI molding, and this was the oportunity. Musicians would not like to sit in rows, so let them to sit sideways facing themselves. I sculpted the sofa like seat of miliput and and used that for making mold of Blue staff (it is really blue) and then made two of another putty. I found quite funny the factm that you cannot really see much of it, when the fuselage is closed.
The I went for the wings, tail parts engines (here I was playing with the idea to by some aftermarket R&W availeble but left the original ones at the end). There is not much trouble with assembly as the fit is quite good, and was quickly in the fase painting the main part (leaving separate painting of props, whells and doors and clear front windshield).
I tried few shades of tan with blue combination and then the pain started. How the hell I do nice gloss surface? It took me definately longer than the built itself. Few coats of clear gloss, decals (I had them made by one guy I had found on FB), polishing, another coat of gloss and so on. finally I'd said to myself that enough is enough and went to a pub.
The Windshield is supposed to be fit in the place before glueing the halves of the fuselage together. It has a good reason, because you have three parts, front, left and right side of it. Yet, I ignored it, for the sake of comfortable spraying. Well, much less comfy assemble of the screen. I sprayed masked parts first with grey (for interior], and with blue (exterior). Then after some fidling, cleaning and scrabing I managed to put all parts one after another to its place without damaging the paint and aprayed the whole model with gloss paint again,
And after that painted wheels came to a place, propeler and two antenas and passenger door, left open. I might do some diorama stand with the musicians, but have to find some figures for it.
The Beechcraft C-45F is nice neat kit with nice details in cockpit and surface. The weakest part on that side are the engines, that are actually very basic in spite of fact, you can see quite a lot of them.
As I've said. The colouring is mine and I think it looks nice. I did only a bit of dirtying and shading. Who would like to fly to the concert in dirty, crumpy machine...
Well I am pleased with how it came out, And despite of few problems that I put in myself mostly, it os quite easy built.
Here we go :)
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April 2020
