KG Wings - LS 1:72 scale Pitts Special S2A Canadian Reds Aerobatic Biplane

Pitts S2A
Light Aerobatic Biplane

Canadian Reds Display Team
Abbotsford International Airshow
1976

LS Models

This model added to kgwings.com on November 10, 2013

LS Pitts Special Canadian Reds 1:72 scale model

In 1945, Curtis Pitts designed the first Pitts Special biplane for his own personal use. Over 6 decades later the Pitts Special is one of most recognizable icons of Aerobatic display/competition in the world.

LS Pitts S2A Canadian Reds 1:72 scale model

The Pitts Special was made famous by aerobatic pilot Betty Skelton who won the US Female Aerobatic Champion in 1949 and 1950 flying "Lil' Stinker", a dramatically painted red, white and blue Special that was hand built by Curtis Pitts.

My kit represents CF-AMS, a factory modified Pitts Special S-2A of the Canadian Reds aerobatic team. Flying the 260 hp. biplane has been described as "holding a wildcat by the tail".

As you can see here this kit is tiny with a wingspan of less than 3.5 inches (8.5cm).

LS Pitts Special S2A Canadian Reds 1:72 scale model

Although the decals were printed perfectly, time and moisture had taken it's toll on the backing sheet and it would not absorb water and soften at all. I had to soak each decal then use a sanding stick to gently sand away the backing paper then repeat the process until the backer finally pulled away. It was a painstaking and stressful to say the least. All the decals worked well eventually except for some unfortunate silvering of the large white SKIL POWER TOOLS logo.

I added some cockpit framing using rods of Evergreen round styrene.

I used stretched sprue to make the rigging. There are supposed to be double flying lines and double landing lines but due to the small scale I had to opt for single lines and not too many people called me on it.

The kit was airbrushed overall with Tamiya X-7 Red then masked and painted with Tamiya XF-2 White. Johnson (Future) Acrylic floorwax was sprayed overall then decals applied and a final coat of floorwax applied.

Some of my added cockpit framing is visible here.

I used strips of masking tape to make the seat harness and buckles.

It was a nice change to work with glossy colors after building so many drab camouflage schemes.

Masking the red outlined wings was a bit of challenge but and I was pleasantly surprised with how well they turned out.

There's quite a bit of detail packed into this little kit. The fit is very good overall and I didn't notice any major inaccuracies. I'm very happy with the kit overall.

Kit: LS #01042-9

Scale: 1/72

Assembly:

The kit includes two sprues of 21 parts molded in red plastic, one clear sprue with the windscreen and an optional full bubble canopy, a decal sheet and a 1 page double sided instruction sheet.

The interior is made up of a fairly descent seat/floor piece with a control stick. No side details or instruments are included. I created interior framework around the cockpit using pieces Evergreen round rod styrene. I used masking tape to create the seat harness and buckles. I used bits of plastic to represent instruments on the main panel. The fuselage and wings fit together very tight with very little filler required. I had no problem at all aligning the wings and struts due to very good kit engineering.

No engine or firewall is included so I inserted some spare engine parts to avoid seeing the empty void through the cowling intakes.

No indication is included for the location of the rigging (landing and flying lines) so you'll have to do your own research.

Aftermarket Parts:
None.

Decals:

Markings are provided to build CF-AMR or CF-AMS of the Canadian Reds display team. Decals are sharply printed, perfectly in register, placed on a thin sturdy carrier. The Canadian roundels were the only decals that required a white undercoat, the rest were opaque and had no bleed through.

My decals had apparently been effected by age and moisture and did not want to separate from the carrier sheet. I had to soak for extended time and use a sanding stick to sand away the paper backing so it would accept water and soften.

Painting:

Airbrushed with acrylic Tamiya XF-7 Red and Tamiya XF-2 Flat White.

Value:

This kit is out of production however it can often be purchased at online auctions for under $12 (US) which is a very good value in today's market.

Recommendation:

This is a great kit for a beginner because of the low number of parts and the excellent fit. An experienced modeler should also appreciate this kit for it's good level of detail and reasonably good accuracy. I would recommended highly for the fan of stunt planes and demonstration teams.

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