1/72 scale Canadair CT-114 Tutor (top)

Here is a profile-scale model I made of a Canadair CT-114 Tutor painted as a member of the CAF Snowbirds precision aerobatic team. I chose this subject in tribute to all the wonderful Canadian model builders I keep in touch with.

I cut the parts from thin plywood, then glued them together and filled the grain. After coats of primer and then white paint, I was left with a blank canvas of an airplane. This was back in January 2008.

I finally decided that rather than try to paint all the color stripes and then glue on small pieces of paper with the roundels, flags, and logos ("paper decals"), I'd cheat a bit and use really large paper decals.

I printed the covering in 12 sections and carefully pasted them on. Then I mixed paint to match the colors as best I could and painted the edges of the plywood to match. This gives a "wrap-around" appearance and really helps make the model look realistic.

Total time was 6 hours, including computer time drawing the decals.