MOONEY MITE Olin/Lindbergh 1/48th SCALE Kit Early 50s. NOTES: This kit consisted of ten parts (counting the two piece stand). It had no clear parts and casting standard was poor compared to what is available today. There were no decals. Outlines for cheatline, registration numbers and panel lines were all raised. At that time, to add the stripes and numerals the modeler painted inside the raised outlines. In spite of this, the basic parts (Fuselage, wing, and stabilizers) provide a good foundation for a model. CONSTRUCTION: 1. Cockpit/canopy A. Fuselage was assembled and canopy cutoff to make a mold for a vacuform. New Canopy was molded twice in order to cut one and make a frame and also to have a clear glass section. B. Fuselage sidewalls were detailed with plastic rod and strip. A floor, rear bulkhead and rudder pedals were added. C. Instrument panel, switches, throttle, flap lever and stick were scratch built with wire, plastic card and sprue. D. Seat is scratch built. Tape seat belts were added. 2. Airframe: A. All raised panel lines, numbers and outlines sanded smooth and rescribed as needed. B. Radiator under the wing was scratch built with plastic card and wire mesh. C. Landing gear was scratchbuilt using wire and tubing. Wheels came out of the scrap box. D. Propeller was reshaped and brass bushings used to make it turn and allow removing for transport. E. Landing lights and Navigation lights added using model Railroad lens sets. F. Drilled out oil cooler intake and added fuel drain line. G. Wing walks are sandpaper strips. 3. Finish: A. Exterior is about 12 coats of Dupont Corvette White acrylic lacquer. Rubbed out between coats. B. Final finish is Future floor wax. 4. Decals: A. Superscale International Solid Blue sheet was cut to shape to make the cheat line and the tail stripes. B. Press type was used for the registration numbers on the tail. C. Old "HISAIRDEC" sheets were used for the registration codes on the wings. 5. Comments: A number of manufacturers are bringing back old molds like this kit. I started modeling in the late 40's with Olin Kits. As well as I can remember, my first kits at the age of 10 were Olin. I recall building the Midget Mustang, Knight Twister, Mooney Mite, Pete, and Swee' Pea. Those kits cost about 29 cents then. Later the 79cent specials came along. The Navion, SeeBee, and Eurcoupe were in this group. John Burns Kit Collector's Guide lists these at about 1520 dollars now. The new copies make them more reasonable. I got a lot of pleasure out of these kits in the 50s. They assembled with tube cement and were painted with whatever I could find in the Tool shed. I flew them all over my Grandfather's yard. This kit should have probably been built straight out of the box and painted with aluminum and black window screen paint. That would have made it pure nostalgia. But taking into account the age of the kit and the modeler, I wanted to see how far my modeling skills had come. I am glad to see that the kit and the modeler both aged well. Now, Where did I put that Eurcoupe and Navion. The SeeBee is available from Pegaso also.
