by George Grasse

LONE STAR MODELS 1:48 SCALE RESIN LX0355 OF THE NORTHROP A-17 USAAC BOMBER OF THE 13th ATTACK SQUADRON, 3rd ATTACK GROUP, c. 1937

LONE STAR NORTHROP A-17 KIT #LX0355 CONTENTS

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NORTHROP A-17 PHOTO

This photo is taken from The Official Monogram US Army Air Service & Air Corps Aircraft Color Guide, Volume 1: 1908-1941, page 196.  The caption reads as follows:  The Northrop A-17 of the 13AS (Aero Squadron), 3rd AG (Attack Group), Barksdale Field, LA, was photographed at National Guard Airport, Griffith Park, CA, in April 1937.  It is finished in the light blue and yellow finish with white cowl.  At this time the unit command stripes were carried across the vertical fin; they were red in this case.  Number "51" was in black. 1

THE NORTHROP A-17 MODEL TO BE BUILT

This image is taken from Wings of Stars, page 62, representing the model to be built - Northrop A-17 black "51" from the 13th Attack Squadron, 3rd Attack Group, c. 1937.  The artist has referenced the same photo from this source as shown in the above panel. 2

 

UNDER CONSTRUCTION PHOTO #1 14 April 2014

FUSELAGE BEGINNINGS: The main fuselage component as shown above less the tail surfaces and engine, is a single resin casting.  The interior of the cockpit is detailed on both side walls.  The engine is composed of two identical pieces, the rear piece having its propeller housing cut off and then glued to the back of the front piece.

UNDER CONSTRUCTION PHOTO #2 22 April 2014

WING CENTER SECTION ATTACHMENT: The wing center section includes the bottom of the cockpit which was detailed as for the fuselage described above.  The fit was made easier by sanding down a spot or two on the front and rear of the center section.  After that, I applied super glue and mated the center section to the bottom of the fuselage.  The propeller has dark maroon painted on the outer portions of the blades and served as a non-reflective surface to prevent glare.

UNDER CONSTRUCTION PHOTO #3 24 April 2014

LANDING GEAR: There are two lugs on the underside of the center section onto which are glued the landing gear housing.  There needs to be a little putty fill and sanding but otherwise the fit was good.  I reinforced the landing gear by drilling straight into the top of the main gear and into the lugs.  I inserted a brass pin in each and super glued them in place.

 

UNDER CONSTRUCTION PHOTO #4 29 April 2014

BASIC PAINTING: The fuselage was masked off and Tamiya TM 85046 Light Sand was sprayed as a base coat.  Three light coats of TM 85034 Camel Yellow was sprayed over the Light Sand.  The fuselage was hand-painted with my mix of army blue.

 

UNDER CONSTRUCTION PHOTO #5 29 April 2014

MORE HAND-PAINTING: The rudder was painted white in anticipation of the red and white rudder decals.  This model will represent a section leader's aircraft from the 13th Attack Squadron based on a photograph from The Official Monogram US Army Air Service & Air Corps Aircraft Color Guide, Volume 1, 1908-1941 and a color profile from Wings of Stars - US Army Air Corps 1919-1941 (both shown at the top of this article).  Note the black semi-gloss wing-walk.  The area of the propeller visible from the pilot's cockpit is painted maroon used as an anti-glare non-reflective coating.

 

UNDER CONSTRUCTION PHOTO #6 10 May 2014

WORKING THE UNDER SURFACE: Prior to the application of decals, I oversprayed the surfaces, upper and under, with satin polyurethane.  Decals shown above are from the kit.  The dive flaps are nicely cast in resin and did not require any prep other than a light sanding around the edges.  They were painted in the same manner as the wings: one coat of Light Tan but only two coats of Camel Yellow.  The dark lines were hand-painted using my mix of dark brown/black.  Machine gun barrels are aluminum tubing.

 

UNDER CONSTRUCTION PHOTO #7 12 May 2014

FUSELAGE DECALS: Surfaces shown were oversprayed with one coat of satin polyurethane.  All of the decals are from the kit except black "51" and the section leader's two red stripes on the fin.  Another coat of satin poly was applied to seal the decals.

 

UNDER CONSTRUCTION PHOTO #8 18 May 2014

FUSELAGE DETAILS: Dive flaps, pilot's gun sight, gunner's .30 calibre machine gun, radio mast, and Pitot tube (barely visible on the left edge of the photo.  The dive flaps were glued open for show.  The pilot's front gun sight was scratch-built from brass rod.  The radio mast was a length of the old "Strutz" material and ground down on my bench grinder for a tapered look.  The kit's machine gun was enchanced with scratch-built items and an Eduard gun sight.  The kit's Pitot tube is a metal casting and was used as is and painted natural steel.

 

UNDER CONSTRUCTION PHOTO #9 18 May 2014

FUSELAGE DETAILS SHOWN FROM THE RIGHT REAR

FINISHED PHOTO SECTION

 

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FOOTNOTES

¹ Archer, Robert D. The Official Monogram US Army Air Service & Air Corps Aircraft Color Guide, Volume 1, 1908-194, page 196.

² Freeman, Peter and Mike Starmer.  Wings of Stars - US Army Air Corps 1919-1941, page 62.  Unfortunately, the Aviation Workshop Publications is no longer in business.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Allen, Richard Sanders.  The Northrop Story 1929-1939.  Atglen, PA: Schiffer Aviation History, 1993.

Doll, Thomas E.  Air Force Colors, Volume 1: 1926-1942.  Carrollton, Texas: Squadron/Signal Publications, Inc. 1995.

Archer, Robert D. The Official Monogram US Army Air Service & Air Corps Aircraft Color Guide, Volume 1, 1908-1941. Boylston, MA: Monogram Aviation Publishing, 1995

Freeman, Peter and Mike Starmer.  Wings of Stars - US Army Air Corps 1919-1941, On Target Special. Ardington, North Wantage, Oxfordshire, UK: The Aviation Workshop Publications, 2009.

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