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 t' Hobbytown Classic. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! T' kit goes together well, arrr, with t' typical well illustrated instructions. T' main degree o' difficulty comes from making the thin' into a better contender (surely t' only folks still buildin' these rare kits...). Arrr! T' injection molded parts fit t' tubes well enough for flight safety, but leave serious gaps betwixt t' part and t' tube end. Aye aye! T' parts in my set were also slightly out-of-round, ya bilge rat, but sittin' in some hobby shop basement for 15yr could be t' cause o' that! Luckily, I've had some experience building plastic models. Arrr! Avast! T' gaps were filled usin' Squadron White Putty. Well, blow me down! T' main effort on this kit be cuttin' & sandin' down t' curved wooden strips that model t' long conduit covers on t' prototype. Ya scallywag! Just for grins, I used some little photoetched rings for some o' t' exterior detail. Aye aye! Aye aye! It'll never be seen from a judgin' distance, me hearties, but it looks great close-up! Had t' use two sets of decals, me bucko, me original set was off-register, and o' course t' other set has the cracks o' age. Ya scallywag! Despite what it sounds like, I really enjoyed t' thing. Avast, me proud beauty! It's 1

24 scale, and looks VERY impressive. Hey, me hearties, it's almost 3ft. tall! Besides, shiver me timbers, most of t' work be bringin' what was a mass-produced kit t' some kind of overachievement. Well, blow me down! Around here, we joke that I built it in 5 hours, ya bilge rat, and spent the other 25 sandin' it!! 

....And t' contest? Well, it  won! Even without fancy flight tricks, it looks great in t' air. Avast! I think this, matey, combined with  t' size o' t' model and it's rarity, worked for me in t' judging (won by only 5pts over a beautiful Merc

Flights

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