1/72 Rareplanes Ryan ST

Gallery Article by Dirk Schenk on Oct 9 2018

 

      

Here is my Ryan ST in SAAF livery dating from the late 1930s. The kit is a vacuum formed model from Rareplanes. I could not find any photos of the Ryan in SAAF service but found a list with civil and subsequent military registrations of the planes and used one of those numbers. Roundels are from MAV Decals. 

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The Ryan STs were sport aircraft, as well as trainers used by flying schools and the militaries of several countries. At the start of World War II, South Africa impressed many private civil aircraft into the SAAF to train pilots and staff on the repair and maintenance of aircraft. Many of these aircraft were also used for communication duties between HQ and the air schools and operational training units.

The vacform kits are always a challenge, especially regarding fit and alignment of the parts. This is not one of my better builds but the result was not too bad considering the challenges. The rigging was also a challenge but eventually worked out OK. For painting, I used Tamiya Silver Leaf for the metallic finish. Since I could not find photographs of this nimble little plane in SAAF service, I based the scheme on photographs of other civilian planes enlisted by the SAAF at the start of WW2.

This little plane adds to my series on the SAAF's trainers. I hope you enjoy the pics.

Dirk Schenk

Photos and text © by Dirk Schenk