Praga E-114 1/72 KP

Praga E-114 Air Baby (name reminiscent of successful automobile Praga Baby) was a single engine light-sport airplane, designed in 1934 at Praga factory (Czechoslovakia) by designer Ing. Jaroslav Šlechta.
It was a high wing, cantilever monoplane with side-by-side cabin seating. It had all wood construction, with only tailplane and ailerons strengthen by metal frame. The cabin was enclosed, with doors being absent. For entry, the side window had to be pulled down while the upper panel was put up alongside with leading edge of the wing.
The prototype was powered by air-cooled Aeronca E-113A engine, sporting 26,5 kW (35 hp).
This engine was later replaced by Praga E-2 engine, with output of 31-34 kW (42-46 hp).
The airplane was displayed at the 1935 Brussels salon, where it won a Golden medal.

Due to its excellent performance, Praga E-114 raised a lot of interest in home and abroad. It was exported to several states and Hillson company at England even purchased production rights. Romania did the same, however production never started.
All in all, 182 airplanes of different types were built before and after the war.

Showcased model is Praga E-114B with Praga E-2 engine. Kit was produced by Kovozávody Prostějov.
I wanted to take breather from building biplanes, but at the end I did more modifications than I originally intended.
The kit has nice surface however, the mold had shifted planes of the forms, which meant a lot of cleaning, especially in the case of small parts.
I also encountered problem with fitting the wing into the fuselage as it did not align with the cabin. The same problem occurred with the cutout in the rudder as it does not fit with the tailplane axis.
The engine was very simplified. The overall shape is reminiscent of Praga E-2, so I added intake pipes, exhaust pipes and rods for valve rockers. It would be better to make one from scratch but that would be very demanding in this ratio.

Wing and interior have the look of lacquered wood. I did not use oils but came up with my own method. First, I apply dull foundation with Humbrol 103. The wood structure is then produced with watercolour crayon and the whole surface is united by diluted brown colour in turpentine.

Used colours Humbrol and Agama, lacquer by Tamiya.
Coloured by brush.