1/72nd. PBM-5A Martin Mariner Seaplane

That looks like a great kit Toshi. Just take your time and ENJOY it.  :)

To MBrindos,

I'll definitely take your advice and apply it.  Why rush through, this made sense to me.  I have seen this kit at Hobby Lobby for almost two months now.  It seemed like nobody was building seaplanes nor did not like seaplanes.  It also could have been the cost related to the subject at hand.  Who wants to pay $87.00 for a PBM.

I was sticker shocked until Mrs. Toshi pulled the digital version of the Hobby Lobby coupon from her iPhone 6plus.  With 40% off, I was most excited.  The kit has little to almost non-existence of flash.  The spruce tree is as sturdy as the plane itself hence nothing was loose.  Just the parts alone felt like some strange version of carbon fiber.  It was absolutely gorgeous!  I can't wait to get this kit started.  I'll be looking into PE for this particular build.

Toshi

Good mornin' Toshi!

Looking forward to this build there buddy!!! Looks like a great kit.

To Mustang1989,

Yes, I agree as well as this model kit is superb.  Thanks for the read and reply.

My Hobby Lobby here in Florida has the same kit and by the looks of yours it is a very good kit.   As I love seaplanes I wanted to buy this one but alas, had no coupon.  I shall be watching your build with great interest ,and hope by the time I find a coupon, they will still have the kit so I can build one also.

Toshi,

This is a subject close to my heart as my Grandfather flew them in late WW2.

if you have any questions about the kit or research for the aircraft, please let me know.

Shawn

To Jay Jay,

See if you can pull the coupon information via the Internet, that's how Mrs. Toshi got her 40% coupons.  You can't print out the coupon, you must show that the coupon is on a smart phone and or tablet.  Then the cashier will punch in the four digit code.  Good luck and thank you for the read and reply.

Toshi

To Shawn M.,

Wow, that is so cool!  I will take you up in the offer if I get stuck somewhere in the build.  Thank you for the read and reply.

happy to help, its a fascinating aircraft that lacks the notoriety of the PBY but has a rich history and combat record.

Good variety of paint schemes available as well if you dont build the amphibian version.

All Black, All blue, 3 tone, RAF costal colors or you can do the amphibian in all aluminum or many other schemes.

To Shawn M.,

I am going to apply the three color seaplane.  It's the one with the dark blue, sky blue, and white.  Thank you Shawn.

Toshi

great classic color scheme!

I saw your post am I am really glad you did not get the Mach 2 kit, which was the only game in town for ever. Wouldn't be at HL anyways, but it's a piece of junk. I'll be interested to watch you build this.

Since you welcome advice, here's a couple of thoughts.

Mike Brindos made a seemingly simple comment that actually has a lot of experience behind it.

Take your time. Especially on your Hawk, I was amazed that you got three colors of enamel and clear down in as many days. I'd have probably taken as many weeks. Paint is funny stuff, sometimes it seems like it's never going to cure. there's nothing wrong with being enthusiastic and working fast and it seems like it's doing you good moodwise, so don't let me be a bummer. Just be careful about finish flaws as they can be a time waster to fix.

Also, consider starting a collection of reference materials. I know that Squadron has a pretty good edition of "in action" on the Mariner. Can be had for little money, and a good start on the basics.

Looks like a fun build.  Enjoy!

Mike

As mentioned the Mach 2 kit is terrible, I have one in the mariner stash.

The squadron book is 'ok' in my opinion. The Ginter book is the best reference book out there at the moment.

There is a lot of incorrect info in some of the books published.

I've been collecting Mariner information, books and pics for 12+ years now. Still incomplete but I've almost got everything published on the subject.

Still trying to get the full Martin blueprints, they're in storage at the NASM and they wont scan them :p

The Warplanes 01 PBM book has some great info, but a lot of wrong info too.

To GMorrison,

Yes, I'm guilty of pushing forward too much.  I've been like that since a child, I now must utilize my mind to calm down.  I'm always going at break neck speed as if the world was going to end tomorrow.  I purchased another kit from HL.  Apperntly, the digital coupon of 40% off can be used everyday, once a day, and like myself on a kit product.  Thank you for the critique and support.  I'll be building a RM P-38 Lighting at 1:48 scale.  You can view it on another thread.

Toshi

This is a fine kit. I got it a couple Christmas's ago and put it together last year - until disaster befell me. I warn you to pay attention to the wheel wells. They are attached to the interior of each fuselage half. I apparently did not get enough glue (I use Tamiya's liquid solvent) on these parts. I had the entire kit assembled and painted in a nice rendition of the tori-color scheme. I was attaching there are struts, which had to be pushed into those wells, and both popped off. They were then loose inside the model with no way of re-attaching outside of fuselage disassembly. I did not have it in me to trash it but I also did not have the desire to open up that fuselage. Maybe one day I will get back to it. Be sure to ensure those wells are secure, and consider bracing them internally as well.

Yes it is Mr. Buckeye, it's seems to be a very fun build.  I also noticed how the fit and finish are flawless.  Thank you for the read and reply.

To Shawn M.,

Wow, that must have taken a long time in gathering that much information on the PBM!  What discipline.

Thank you for the read and reply,

Toshi

To aggieman,

Thanks for the tip and heads up.  I'm sorry that the PBM turned out that way.  I'll be purchasing metal landing gears for this build.  Thanks for the read and reply.

Toshi

Its been 12-14 years of hunting the internet, book stores and contacting folks.

Its also been a fascinating journey into history.

To Shawn,

That is absolutely some serious dedication.  What's nice about this scale model kit is that you've put so much time in research, it's very fulfilling.  Thank you for sharing your journey!

Toshi

Good Luck with your Mariner, Mr. Toshi! I have been looking to buy this kit, and now that I've seen the pictures of your's, I do believe that I will! I hope that your's comes out well.

A great story of survival and endurance is the crash and rescue of Mariner George 1 in 1946 during Operation Highjump.

The Revell Pine Island kit comes with a nice Mariner.

To Devil Dawg

Thank you, if you have a Hobby Lobby by you, get it from there.  You can get a 40% discount via net.  Then just take your smart phone and show them the four digit code.  Thank you for the read and reply.

Toshi

I'll see if I can find the article.  Thank you for the information.

Toshi

To my fellow forum members,

The following photos are of the cockpit of the PBM-5A Mariner. I had some extra PE leftover from my Revell/Monogram P-61 Black Widow. So far, I was able to use the extra instrument panel of the Widow and transfer that PE to the Mariners instrument panel, once the PE was centered, (I had to center the PE as the Widow had only one pilot as oppose to the Mariner having a pilot and a co-pilot) I was confident enough to do a little more experimenting.

Some of the PE gauges and switches were easily transferred, I then started to cut the surrounding PE into little strips and use those strips as seat belts for the Mariner. Absorbing some of the real life Mariners cockpit from photos, I then replicated that to the Mariners interior as close as possible. What will be left will go into the other compartments itself. This is where my "The Bug" PE bender came in handy.

For those purists, I will apologize for taking some artistic liberties and tried to make the Mariners cockpit feel really busy with tight and cramped quarters. I felt that this replicated a real life wartime aircraft, and yet, not to make it too busy but to make things very efficient. I also still have copper wire left from my previous builds, I am going to add the wires to represent electrical lines. Other than this junction, this next step will be a make or break scenario for Minicrafts PBM-5A. What I'm talking about is the fit and finish of the main body of the aircraft. Am I going to be spending a day adding putty to the imperfections all the while sanding and sanding the Mariner? So far the fit and fininsh for the cockpit was next to flawless. Until my next progress, here is what was completed on Friday and Saturday. Thank you in advance to the members of FSM forum, for their knowledge and assistance in this and other past builds.