Review

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Wright brothers' historic flight, Revell-Monogram reissued its model of the Kitty Hawk, the 1903 Wright Flyer .

Amazingly, this plastic model kit has been around for nearly half a century. First released in 1958, the original issue date is molded in the engine block and the bottom wing.

Even so, the kit still builds into an accurate model. It is molded in more than 60 pieces of plastic in two colors - ivory for the wings and control surfaces, and tan for the rest. A clear-plastic stand also is provided, along with an easy-to-follow set of instructions with step-by-step illustrations, and more than enough thread for rigging wire.

A pamphlet by Joe Porter with tips on building dioramas is a bonus. It features the Kitty Hawk and shows how, with a little more effort, it will make an impressive model, as well as suggests how to make an interesting display with it.

Considering this is an old model, it was well molded, with little flashing and good detail. One example is the stitching in the fabric, which is subtle and not overwhelming like the large rivets that were common in other plastic kits of that time. It was produced in what was called "box scale," which comes out to 1:39, a somewhat awkward size.

When I used dimensions from an engineering study done by the Smithsonian on the original aircraft to check the size, it was right on the mark for that scale, which is printed on the box. The only modification I made was to thin the prop's hubs.

This model will be attractive for the first-time modeler who wants a little piece of history or wants the plane as part of a display for a school project. It also provides a good base for the more experienced modeler who would like to add more details.

This model is rated as a skill-level-2 kit. When the modeler opens the box, however, the forest of struts may be a little frightening, as well as the prospect of running the thread to simulate rigging wires.

These two tasks were not as bad as they first appeared. While the struts' location holes on the wings are not to scale, they make the job of installation very easy.

To speed the process, I applied a small drop of Bob Smith's Insta-Cure + CA with a toothpick to anchor the thread. Then I could continue running it through and around the model and secure it at the other end.

Rigging took about an hour, with a total build time of about 5 hours. On the plastic parts, I used Testor's Model Master liquid glue. It quickly cemented the kit together, which also sped up construction.

Since the ivory color of the wings was close to the original aircraft, I did not bother to paint them. For the plastic parts that represented the wooden structures, I used Testor's Acryl medium brown. I brushed this on and went over it with thinned amounts to achieve the uneven look of natural wood. This was done during the subassembly stage and after the model was together.

I followed the color instructions and used Model Master's solvent-based paint to complete the painting. After it was done, I gave the model an overcoat of Testor's Dullcote to give the unpainted parts a flat finish and the model a uniform look.

The Kitty Hawk, named after the location in North Carolina where the first two flights took place, comes with figures of the Wright brothers. Also molded in plastic are some of the tools and a wooden track that represents what the brothers used for the first runway.

While I did not use those pieces in a diorama, I painted and installed Orville onto the model and finished Wilbur so that he could take his place next to it.