CAC Ceres Topdresser

[mstokes]

Hi all,

I am new to forums and how they work, but I have found this one fascinating. Thought I would contribute some images of a 1/72 scale Cere's I built earlier this year. It is a coversion from a Harvard with modifications made to the rudder, cockpit, main wheels, wing and wing tips as well as the slats and elongated flaps that the ceres had.

I have done it as ZK-BSQ when she was a Wanganui spreader.

I hope to do my old man's fletchers one day, I am currently working on a 1/48 scale Piper Pawnee which is getting close to completion.

I hope these images work!

[corsair67]

Very nice work there.

It's good to see a type that doesn't feature in modeling too often.

[Bruce]

Very cool, nice work.

[yak2]

Nice work. A 1958 pic of the real thing.

[mstokes]

Thanks for all your comments. I tend to do dabble a bit in less mainstream modelling fields, particularly aerial topdressing and NZ themes. I will keep adding more as I go along. Currently in the stash is

Piper Pawnee (nearly competed as the old man's VH-SRC which he flew in Aussie in the late 80's)
Lodestar (for the old airland scheme)
DC3 todresser (Fieldair or James)
Piper Super Cub (Airwork)
DHC Beaver (Fieldair)

I also have the obligatory skyhawk on the side as well!

The images I used for the above were from the WAW website







The ultimate dream will be a Fletcher...

[Dave Homewood]

Welcome to the forum! The is a really neat model, and some nice old photos. I'd love to see photos of your other models.

[FlyNavy]

That last photo of the 'load drop' is a beauty. What happened to the camera/man? ;D

[30sqnatc]

Great work. I'm building a Ceres to. Well sort of, I have a 1:48th Havard, two issues of Australian Plastic Modellers Association Magazine (No 2 1994 and No 2 1995) describing Ceres and model construction, and a few photos from various books. It's just that I haven't actually cut any plastic yet.

Paul

[flyjoe180]

Beautiful model, and nice to see a different subject. Pool Guy will love the ag theme

[silverfox]

Fabulous work, great see a non mainstream model. Looking forward to the Pawnee.

[fletcherfu24]

Pool Guy will love the ag theme

"Oh, oh…oh baby yes. Oh yes. Yes! Yes! Yes! an agplane.......



Wot about a Fletcher model too.........

[Peter Lewis]

Great modeling work. I wish I had the time/patience/skills to do modeling but unfortunately . . . so I'll need to make do with the real thing.

ZK-BSQ at Wanganui 17th February 1966, colours recorded as natural aluminium with red trim:



Another pic (possibly at an air show) date unknown but probably around the same time:



At a later date at Wanganui, now repainted white with red and black trim:



This Ceres Type C is the one that force-landed at Coleman's strip, Raetihi, 24May68 and has since been reported to be with Ken Jacobs at Riverhead.

There was a Ceres stored in the No.7 hangar at Ardmore for some years - anyone know if that was BSQ or the MoTAT one ZK-BPU?

[mstokes]

Thanks flyernzl for your pictures, this is the type of gold I was looking for when I started the project.

That last scheme looks brilliant and if I have a go at a 1/48 scale version I might just do that one.

I might just let the errors on my current one slide... if that is ok with everyone

[Peter Lewis]

No problem. Any errors (I can't see any) add to the uniqueness of the project.

For any other Ceresphiles, here are the others that came to NZ:

ZK-BPU CAC.28 Ceres Type B, arrived Jan1960, Damaged in F/L Korima 13Feb70 & WFU. To MoTAT 1972.
At Taumaranui 7Oct67 (in the Aerial Farming scheme, after the James Aviation takeover):



ZK-BVS CAC.28 Ceres Type C, arrived May1961, WFU & B/up at Hamilton late 1969
Feilding 4Feb67




ZK-BXW CAC.28 Ceres Type C arrived late 1960, WFU at Palmerston North & B/up late 1969
Te Kuiti 1961



ZK-BXY CAC.28 Ceres Type C, arrived late 1960, Cr near Turangarere, Taihape, 3Feb61
Taumaraunui 1960



ZK-BZO CAC.28 Ceres Type C, arrived early 1961 WFU after F/L from fuel exhaustion near Pahiatua Track, Tararua Ranges, 17Jan72. Stored Wellington; to M Nicolls at Ohakea for rebuild as Wirraway. Lately reported as to Australia for Paul Wheeler, Qld.
Gisborne 16Feb66

[mumbles]

Aug 13, 2008 16:37:09 GMT 12 FlyNavy said:

That last photo of the 'load drop' is a beauty. What happened to the camera/man? ;D

Probably the same thing that happened to me last year when I snapped this Cresco operating near my place. My car and I wound up with a fine coat of superphosphate...... 8-





Very nice mstokes, welcome aboard

[30sqnatc]

Oh no more fantastic Ceres pictures. I just don't need this sort of temptation as I'm already in the middle of a major kit bash - a 1:24th Jeep into a Series 1 Land Rover. Well actually a set of jeep wheels and axles into a Land Rover.

[Dave Homewood]

I note the rear canopy could open, was there a back seat for the farmer to ride along and point out paddocks, as with the Fletcher?

[fletcherfu24]

The passenger faced backwards.

[mstokes]

The Ceres is quite an easy conversion, especially compared to the resin pawnee!!!

Good news is (and what I am waiting for) is that Special Hobby will be releasing a 1/48 scale CAC Wirraway this year which will make the conversion a lot easier. I had all sorts of fun trying to lay stringers down for the "ribbed fabric" effect and actually resorted to ribbed card to get this effect.

The wheels were from the CAC mustang and these can be sought easily through Redroo models for that extra bit of accuracy.

The cockpit and fuselage appeared to be full of a frightful amount of stringers. Some nice detailed pictures are available here

www.apma.org.au/reference/aircraft/ceres/ceres.html

Hope this helps, I am getting myself distracted again, might have to wrap the skyhawk project in latex for a while...

[Dave Homewood]

Aug 14, 2008 22:40:40 GMT 12 @fletcherfu24 said:

The passenger faced backwards.

I feel sick just thinking about that. Surely no-one sat in the back while it was actually topdressing?