Pavla Models

1/72 Culver PQ-14

Kit Number: 72012

Reviewed by  Jim Pearsall, IPMS# 2209

MSRP: $9.95 Website: www.pavlamodels.cz The Aircraft With all the attention being paid to RPVs (Remotely Piloted Vehicles) lately, such as the Predator and Global Hawk, it was timely that I received the Pavla kit of the Culver PQ-14. It's certainly an interesting aircraft, being designed as a flying target for anti-aircraft practice. Radio control was certainly the preferred mode, as it was probably hard enough to get those P-63 pilots to fly as targets for .50 caliber guns with frangible bullets, which disintegrated on impact. Flying an aircraft that's being shot at with 90 mm guns was probably a non-starter for most fighter jocks. The PQ-14 did have standard controls for ferry flights, and there are still a couple still in existence. It started as the Culver Cadet, a civil sport plane, but in 1940, in response to a US request for an aerial target, Culver modified the Cadet into a radio-controlled target. I think Pavla's drawing of a "PQ-14 pilot" is pretty clever, although most flights were made using a C-45 as a control aircraft. The Kit

The plastic part of the kit is certainly reminiscent of Airfix or (gasp) Frog kits of the sixties. One sprue, with two fuselage halves, a single-piece wing, and some small detail parts. What brings this kit into the 21st Century is the addition of PE detail parts and a vac-u-formed canopy. There's also a detail for the instrument panel. More on that later. Also, note that the helpful drawing to show you which parts are which on the sprue has no relation to the actual sprue layout. Assembly

Assembly begins with the cockpit. Here's another interesting thing about this kit. You're expected to manufacture some of the parts. Note the control stick (purple arrow). It's made from stretched sprue. OK. But once I had a stick 10mm long, it was taller than the seat. I cut it down to about 6 mm. Yes, they were giants in those days, but not THAT tall. The photoetch is sturdy, and fits pretty cleanly in the seat. Yep, far better than Frog, with their "Little Martian" pilot. The rudder pedals are nice, but once the instrument panel is installed, you are never going to see them again, which is a shame. The next step is to install the cockpit seat and floor in the right fuselage half. It's important to notice that the bottom of this floor is the top of the nose wheel well, so alignment is important here. I had to do some cutting on the bulkhead behind the seat to get it to fit. Also, the weight is added to the nose now. Quite important. Our friends at Cabela's were happy to sell me an assortment of weights, originally intended for fishing.

The other nice touch in this kit is that they provide a very nice control panel. I thought it might be a decal, but after I cut out the panel, I dipped one of the scrap pieces in water. No effect. So I used craft glue to attach the instrument detail to the panel.

Also added in these steps are the "cheeks" on either side of the cowling. Since the PQ-14 used an opposed 4 cylinder air cooled engine, the designers made provision for good airflow for the cylinder heads. But that also leads us to our next "adventure in scratchbuilding". Each of these cheeks has an exhaust pipe. You're supposed to manufacture it. I lucked out and found some .020 diameter aluminum tubes, which I picked up somewhere; probably at a train show. Those guys have the neatest tools and stuff at their shows. Anyway, I cut two 1 mm long pieces of tubing and glued them in place. Next was the horizontal and vertical stabilizers, the wing, and the canopy rails (PE). There are two little "horns" at the top rear of the cheeks. They're PE too, and I added these just before painting. I always paint and decal before adding landing gear, antennas, props, pitot tubes, etc, because I know I'll break them off while handling during these steps. Painting

Here's where this kit shines. There are three possible aircraft schemes you can build, one yellow overall and two red overall. I chose the yellow one, because it used the pre-1947 USAAF markings. The red ones are USAF and US Navy aircraft. The painting was simplicity itself. Mask the cockpit, set the airbrush on "paint the wall", and rock n roll. Then go back and paint the wheel wells interior green and the exhausts "burnt metal". Decals I put a coat of Future on the entire aircraft to make the entire finish uniform. The decals were good quality, opaque (maybe that's why I chose the yellow scheme?) and stood up to some handling. You need to be aware that with the small wing of the Cadet, the large "stars & bars" go on the fuselage. Also, the serial number was a little larger than the instructions show, and I had to cheat it down the vertical stab to keep it from overlapping. Another coat of Future protected the decals and blends them in. Finishing up I cut out the vac canopy. Pavla thoughtfully provides two, but I only needed one. I did have to use a brand new #11 scalpel blade, as the canopy is thicker than I am used to, and couldn't use my usual method of cutting with my decal scissors. I installed it, using Micro Krystal KleerŪ and except for one spot at the upper rear, the canopy fit beautifully. I fixed that spot with a drop of Krystal Kleer, and after it dried, I painted the canopy.

I assembled the prop, wheels and gear while I was waiting for the canopy to dry. Really simple; and they include the scissors for the oleos as PE parts. Unheard of on a 60s kit, and a nice detail. The prop apparently doesn't have the yellow tips, but there's a piece of PE for the hub, with all those bolt heads. CA is necessary here. Putting the gear in place was pretty simple, although the only locating feature for them was a dimple in the bottom of the cockpit floor. I had no problem with the main gear doors; there aren't any. There's only one PE nose gear door. I added the PE pitot tube, and finally the stretched sprue antennas. A quick coat of Clear Flat to get rid of the gloss finish, and the project is done! Overall Evaluation Recommended for experienced modelers. Since it's a limited run kit, there are some issues with separating parts from the heavy attachment points on the sprue. There's also the added need to manufacture some small parts. On the other hand, it was a hoot to build, really reminiscent of the fun I had with the 69 cent Revell kits when I was in high school. Thanks to Pavla for the review kit and the fun time. Thanks to John Noack and IPMS for the chance to build a little known WW2 plane.