Craftmasters 1/48 Unlimited Hydroplanes

Overview

In the dark ages(1950's & 60's), before the Seattle Mariners, Seahawks, & Sonics, the only major league sports the Seattle area had was unlimited hydroplane racing. The annual event in Seattle was(and is) an event called Seafair, with parades, shows, and concerts, concluding with the annual Seafair Trophy Race(or Gold Cup race) for unlimited hydroplanes. Fans were positively rabid about the sport, attracting upwards of 500,000 at the shores of, and on, Lake Washington. All 3 local TV stations that broadcast on a daily basis had coverage of the time trials and the race itself. Kids carved hydros out of wood and raced them on the grass in their back yards or towed them behind their bicycles. Housewives knew about quillshafts and nitrous oxide. As far as Seattleites were concerned, the hydros from Detroit were the "bad guys" and were better off at the bottom of the lake. Our heroes then were Mira Slovak, Dallas Sartz, Bill Muncey, Lou Fageol among many, many others. When Slo-Mo IV, the first hydroplane from Seattle, was destroyed in an accident, thousands of people turned out to view her remains. The hydroplanes of the time were built of wood and aluminum and powered by Rolls Merlin or Allison engines, which were in great abundance after WWII. They were loud and some had a tendency to break down, but when the one minute gun went off before the start of every heat, it was  a very exciting time. Today, the boats are different, powered by turbines (they "whoosh", instead of roar), are made of exotic materials, and run really fast. But, it's just not the same...

The Kits

When Shawn McEvoy of CraftWorks Models announced a series of vintage unlimited hydroplanes in 1/48 scale, I could hardly contain myself (wipe drool from chin). I saw his first efforts almost a year ago and now the first 2 kits have been released under the Craftmasters label. My patience has been rewarded with a 30' round bow and 30' pointed bow unlimited kits, with 3 more versions due for imminent release. The models are resin kits with alternative parts including different cowlings, tails, and engine exhausts, a vacuform windscreen, plus decals for several versions in each kit. The instruction sheet is a very basic exploded view drawing. There are color 3 view drawings illustrating the different color schemes you can build, although there are no callouts specifying colors.

The resin parts on my examples were reasonably well cast, with very few bubbles or flaws, however, the main hull will require a fair amount of work to remove seam lines. Mating surfaces on all parts will also require sanding and filing to achieve a good fit. On my examples, the cowlings were slightly warped and will require slight bending to conform to the shape of the upper deck.

Where the kits shine are the decals.  Markings are provided to build nine different schemes for the pointed bow and eight different schemes for the round bow kit. The decals are very concise and appear to be very accurate colorwise. It will be very difficult to choose just ONE color scheme. These models are definitely designed for someone with modeling experience, especially with resin kits and working with gloss paints. Some schemes require a natural wood finish hull which will also be a challenge to some modelers. The kit is packaged in a very sturdy box, perhaps a bit small considering the size of the decal sheet and the numerous pages of color schemes but well packaged nonetheless. If you have even the slightest interest in vintage unlimited hydroplanes, then these are the kits you need.

The models retail for $45 and are available directly from CraftWorks Models, 872 SW 174th, Seattle, WA 98166 or from The Hydroplane & Raceboat Museum.