Baby Blender: SB Stearman

My brother bought me a speed build Baby Blender kit for my birthday this last April. What a great gift! This was my very first “Swappable” and it was this gift that really launched me into this great hobby (thanks bro)! Flite Test had a deal where he could get two at a discounted rate. Because of this we got to build them together!

Now, I should mention that he and I live about 700 miles apart; all of our “build time” happened over Skype. Talk about a long distance build!

Before building and flying the Baby Blender we both cut our teeth on the FT Old Fogey, FT Bloody Wonder and even dabbled in some scratch-building of our own. Finally though, within the last week or two, I finally finished painting my Baby Blender, put it together and flew it!

When deciding on a paint job, I decided I wanted something bright and colorful. It didn’t take too long to think of the 1946 Boeing Stearman that we maintain where I work. I decided to name my iteration of the Baby Blender the SB (Stence Bros.) Stearman.

I used the cheap ($1 or less) acrylic paint and foam brushes from my local Walmart store to paint the entire plane. I also used a smaller tipped brush for some of the fine detail work. Has anyone had experience with this paint? I would enjoy hearing your experience for or against using this paint, as well as any recommendations. I prefer to brush the paint on, even though I have a small airbrush – paint masking and hooking up air hoses seem like too much of a hassle compared to careful brushwork. Any thoughts?

Thanks to FliteTest for such a cool looking plane to work with and most of all to my bro, Matthew, for the great gift!