When I was younger I used to build a fair number of models, usually fighterjets, and Star Trek models. I ran out of teenage years, and life kicked in (aka work your ass off to pay the rent). This was all about 5-6 years ago.

Recently I came to the realization that if I dont get some project going at home to make me look forward to comming home, I was going to go postal at work. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy! We all know what happened after that! (If not, watch 'The Shining').

In the past, I have build a good few 1/72, including 2 CF-18A/B Hornets, 3 F-15E, a F-4, 10% of a SU-37, and a CF-105. These were all at diffrent levels of skill, often rushed.

So I recently got a 1/48 scale of my favourite military aircraft, the Avro Arrow CF-105. The kit is the Hobbycraft 1:48 scale CF-105 "Arrow", and they have a little star thingie pointing out that this kit uses new tooling. Hobbycraft Avro Arrow (http://www.hobbycraft.com/product.php?id=179)


Anyways, nuff history.


I want to do this kit some justice. I am going to take my time, research alot, learn how to do stuff before hand, take my time, and take my time.

I used to use those tiny bottles of Testor enamel paint, but what a pain in the a... butt. I hate painting with brushes :drunk: It never works right when covering large areas. I want to buy a decent beginner airbrush, some good (and forgiving) paints, and any other tools that would be helpful to me.


Please list what you think would be the most approiate stuff to use. I live about 45mins from the closest hobby shop, and I havent even been in there, but I dont think they will have a huge selection of stuff, so I will proably be doing alot of my buying from the internet, thus I have access to most everything you suggest.

I built the first incarnation of the 1/48 scale Arrow kit a couple times. The "new tooling" version is about 85% the same. Anybody who has a collection of Fine Scale Modeler magazines can find a picture of my Arrow in the May '94 Reader's Gallery.

There's good news and bad news about the paint job. The good news is that the Arrow is one of the few planes you can paint without an airbrush. The bad news is that it's overall gloss white which is a miserable color to work with. I'm going to assume you're Canadian*. So go to Canadian Tire and buy a can of Motomaster Scratch Filler and Primer. Don't buy regular primer...you want the Scratch Filler and primer in the spray can. You'll need a fast drying white paint. Buy either one of the auto lacquers at Canadian Tire or Krylon. Do NOT buy Tremclad or one of the no name enamels...they are soft, take a long time to dry and white requires too many coats to be screwing around. Expect the paint job to take a few coats with the occassional wet sanding to remove blemishes.

Airbrushes have been discussed on the various Hobbytalk boards in great detail. A search will reveal a wealth of info. Briefly, my preferences if you want to got cheap and basic is a Badger 350. If you want a serious, versatile double action brush that won't break the bank, get a Badger 155. But do a search at Hobbytalk to get details.

For extra Arrow details, do a google search on something like "hobbycraft arrow resin". I found this:

http://ipmsusa.org/Reviews/Details/Aircraft/NorthStar_48_Avro_Arrow_cockpit/NorthStar_48_Avro_Arrow_cockpit.htm


*There is place in your profile to enter your location. For some reason, a few people don't use this or they invent some fictional location. It's actually a useful thing to know because it's easier to direct people to specific resources if we know where they are.

Thank you for the advice. I didnt even bother with google, thinking that in the world modeling, the CF-105 would be a unknown.

I have already noticed that the new tooling version of the kit has a much more detailed cockpit, but that resin one from Mississauga is definatly worth getting. I dont mind pouring some extra $ into this kit on parts and supplies. Hopefully, this kit will turn out well and I will have the confidence to move onto another. I also noticed that this kit does not come with the missles and drop tanks refrenced in THIS (http://www.avro-arrow.org/Arrow/models.html) site.

Yes, I am Canadian, and like every good Canadian town, there is a Canadian Tire. I am a little surprised that you are suggesting using automotive paints... I always though there was something special about model paints. (I updated my profile to match).

Like I said in my previous post, I intend on taking my time on this, I dont expect to have it done untill atleast eairly winter.

It is funny you mention FineScale Modeler... I just went out and bought a issue last night :p I have lots of refrences for the arrow, I have a framed print signed by Jim Floyd, I have that big blue book about the arrow with the RF 205 on the cover, and a zillion sites about the arrow with pics and details. I really want to get out to Ottawa to the aviation museum and get some pics of the nose and gear of the RL 206.

I will look into those airbrushes. I hope you dont mind if I PM you for some advise on details (or I might just start a picture thread detailing my progress).

The Arrow has such a huge profile among Canadian modelers that there is an astounding amount of info on the 'net.

The lack of missiles and drop tanks in the new kit is just as well. The missiles in the old kit were laughable and the Arrow never flew with drop tanks. I note that the site you link to was created in '96 and updated in 2002 so they would be dealing with the older kit.

That Arrowheads book with 205 on the cover is and excellent reference. It's probably the best single book on the subject. There are a lot of good Arrow books and the "Rollout" series are especially impressive but outrageously expensive.

I like automotive paints IF they are appropriate for the subject. Not a lot of planes can be painted with a can of touch up paint. You can't paint a Spitfire with a spray can. But it does work for the Arrow. White doesn't cover particularly well and by the time you thin it for spraying in an airbrush, you'll end putting on about eight coats. It's not worth the trouble. But, if you paint palstic, you need the Scratch Filler and Primer because the normal, plain grey primer will craze the plastic. The Scratch Filler and Primer will bond to the plastic without damage and then a touch up lacquer will bond to the primer. Even at that, white is still not easy.

The movie about the Arrow was filmed (for the most part) a few hundred yards from where I live. It was quite bizarre because they had the full size Arrow mockup inside the Manitoba Government Air Services hangar at the end of the street. The hanger is glass walled and, at night, you would walk past it and see the Avro Arrow (all 80 feet of it) sitting in there looking ready to fly.

Yeah, I seen that mock-up that was used to film the movie, at the Red Flag exercize in Cold Lake back in '99. I think I have a pic I took back then somewhere (carbon copy).

Yeah, I guess that it would be a popular subject among Canadian aviation enthusists.

The drop tanks and missiles would be pointless. I have always kinda wanted to do a 'what if' Arrow, what it would look like now if it had been produced and there would now be dozens of Arrows on static display rather than Voodoos.


I am thinking of doing a website of my (mis)adventures of building this kit. Website design is my other hobby.

Gee great info Brent about the Arrow. So any pictures of your Avro Arrow guys? I have one of these put aside for me at a hobbyshop. I should pick it up this week. Is Hobbycraft still producing the 1/48 and 1/72? I guess they do 'cause they show it on their site. And BTW, how big is the 1/48? The box is HUGE so I expect it to be pretty big for a 1/48 plane. Finally is this kit worth the $$ even if lots of details are missing, a crappy cockpit and other stuff that I can read on reviews.......

Steph