MK Champion Project

As a 45 year old, I am celebrating my 38th year as a modeler. I define modeler as one who builds, attempts to build a balsa wood model. My first model was a Guillow's Arrow from the infamous Olie Olson's Hobby Center. The long timers may recognize Olie as the columnist for American Aircraft Modeler's column "Multi-Wing Things", the founder of the National Multi-Wing Championships and a leader among leaders in our world of toy airplanes in the Omaha area. Art Schroeder of Model Airplane News has given credit to Olie as the father of IMAC and attended the very popular event in the early to late 70's.

American Aircraft Modelers were at the local library which allowed me to check out (7) hard bound magazines at a time. Many, many, many times I checked out the maximum (7) and poured through them page by page, reading every word and dreaming of some day actually being able to buy one of the special model kits or an engine or maybe even one of the Kraft or Pro-line radios.

School, girls, college, girls, career, more expensive girls, more complex career, really expensive girls, kids...my interest and passion for modeling has grown as well as the connection with my modeling past. Nostalgic for the models and respectful of the friendships shared. Each year, for the last (12) or so years, I have built/acquired a model of significant emotional connection to my past. The first choice was the Gator Flea and I even tracked down Rhett Miller for a special personal conversation.

The MK Champion Project

The MK Champion was a kit I looked at each Saturday morning at Bud's Hobby Shop of Council Bluffs, IA. Dave Drumm and Dick Gillette, picked me up every Saturday morning to visit Bud's and have lunch. I was the luckiest 12 year old in the world. The kit finally was sold, never to be seen again until...Buy-Bay!

About 33 years later and $122 plus shipping, the orangish red plastic molded fuselage was mine! An old school Enya .60 III was found on Buy-Bay for $55 plus shipping.

Details:

Fuselage is molded of a plastic similar to a plastic poly ethyl something drinking glass in crazy orange. It was also available in red and blue.

The cowl is made with a die-cut piece of aluminum that is hand formed. I applied orange trim Monokote prior to forming which worked very well. Trim Monokote white and black stripping tape completes the "box" color scheme.

It is an MK kit, so the wood is fantastic, even 35 years old. Built up wing, fully sheeted and a flat built up fully sheeted stab. The fuselage has a plywood crutch which is bolted to the fuselage. The firewall is a precision molded (2) piece design that perfectly keyes into the molded fuselage.

This is not a part by part discussion, just an overview of things I find interesting.


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