Estes LTV Scout

Estes - LTV Scout {Kit} (1287)

Contributed by Jay Roberts

Length: 36.10 inches
Manufacturer: Estes
Skill Level: 3
Style: Scale
Estes- LTV Scout
(by Jay Roberts courtesy) 

[Picture]Bought this monster from Bob Craddock for a fairly reasonable price. I had one when they were in production, but never finished it. Thought it would make a good Sport Scale project for the Hobbytown Classic. The kit goes together well, with the typical well illustrated instructions. The main degree of difficulty comes from making the thing into a better contender (surely the only folks still building these rare kits...). The injection molded parts fit the tubes well enough for flight safety, but leave serious gaps between the part and the tube end. The parts in my set were also slightly out-of-round, but sitting in some hobby shop basement for 15yr could be the cause of that! Luckily, I've had some experience building plastic models. The gaps were filled using Squadron White Putty. The main effort on this kit was cutting & sanding down the curved wooden strips that model the long conduit covers on the prototype. Just for grins, I used some little photoetched rings for some of the exterior detail. It'll never be seen from a judging distance, but it looks great close-up! Had to use two sets of decals, my original set was off-register, and of course the other set has the cracks of age. Despite what it sounds like, I really enjoyed the thing. It's 1

24 scale, and looks VERY impressive. Hey, it's almost 3ft. tall! Besides, most of the work was bringing what was a mass-produced kit to some kind of overachievement. Around here, we joke that I built it in 5 hours, and spent the other 25 sanding it!! 

....And the contest? Well, it  won! Even without fancy flight tricks, it looks great in the air. I think this, combined with  the size of the model and it's rarity, worked for me in the judging (won by only 5pts over a beautiful Merc

Atlas-and the Scout flew better). If you're going to build one, even if it's just a sport flier, don't even think about using the C6-5 originally recommended. The Scout will make the largest BP lawn dart this side of a Mean Machine! The added weight of the filler & primer used to make one a contender will make it even worse. Use the C5-3. This great little locomotive of a motor chugs along  for so long that I'd recommend it for anyone flying a heavy, delicate (sounds like Scale, don't it!) model w/an 18mm mount. Highly Recommended for anyone wanting something different. Big thanks to Harry Holmes (who lent me Alway's book for judging), and Greg Burke for suggesting the C5! 

Flights

comment Post a Comment