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Khee-Kha Art Products 1/72 Waco YKS on Floats with Decals

By Jim Schubert

History

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This is a major update, re release of the earlier YKS kit reviewed in detail in the March 2008 issue of this magazine. I will not go into the basics, focusing instead on the included floats and decals, which distinguish this release from the original, which is still available sans floats and decals.

The extensively illustrated instructions for the included decals have this brief history of Ellis Air:

In 1936, pioneer aviator Robert Ellis established Ellis Air Transport with a single Waco YKS-6 (c/n 4417) float plane.  In 1938 the airline finally had a hangar supported on logs.  In south east Alaska, float planes were a big convenience.  They were able to land in, or near, the centers of towns, where stores and hospitals were located.  Ellis was one of the few airlines in the world to operate exclusively from water.  Ellis Air was incorporated in 1940.

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Through the late 1930s and early 1940s Ellis' Waco hauled mail, ice cream, consignments of cash, expectant mothers, hunters with gunshot wounds, tourists and all manner of other payloads.  in the unusual, and difficult, geography of south eastern Alaska, it was many things to many people.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, Ellis Air Transport became part of the war effort.  Ellis sold two Wacos, one Bellanca and one Stinson to the US Navy for military use.  Bob Ellis flew this Waco on anti submarine patrol out of Ketchikan.  A hole was cut in the floor, through which a 100lb. bomb could be dropped.  A rifle was also carried.  Ellis also consulted for the Navy during the war years.

The Kit

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The kit is as it was when first released; see above.  What is new with this release is the addition of the Edo P-3300 floats and the Arctic Decals for Ellis Air Transport.  The addition of the floats includes two floats and six deck cleats.  As you only need two cleats you have four extras to feed to your pet Carpet Monster or to your spares box.  The pale cream resin floats are perfectly cast in typical Khee-Kha style and quality.

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The decals included with this release were produced by Arctic Decals of Finland are very complete, providing markings for three iterations of the slightly changing colors and markings on NC-16210 from 1936 until the beginning of WWII.  The gold pinstripe that outlines the blue trim on the plane is provided on a separately printed sheet to ensure sharpness and opacity.

Conclusion

Another outstanding release from Khee-Kha, producer of the best vac kits ever.  Lars Opland, owner of Khee-Kha, and Mika Jernfors, owner of Arctic Decals, have done a splendid job with this joint effort.

This kit is available from the manufacturer and selected resellers.  The kit costs $40.00 plus $5.00 for shipping in North America.

Go to http://www.mtaonline.net/~zdk/ to see the Khee-Kha web site; you may contact Arctic Decals by emailing Mika at mika.jernfors@ippnet.fi

Our thanks to Khee-Kha for providing the kit for this review.

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