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

Toshi, you're doing great!! Just keep at it, my friend, and keep gaining that experience. I like what I'm seeing from you.

Oh, and by the way - I regularly visit my local Hobby Lobby with my 40%-off coupon, too! Been doing it for years. I'm glad they haven't figured out how much money they're losing when I walk in to buy a model!!

To Devil Dawg,

I'm humbled that you enjoy my building of WWII aircraft, especially this kit, PBM-5A Mariner.  Thank you so much for the vote of confide, this means a lot to me.

Toshi

You're very welcome, my friend!

To my fellow forum members,

         I just spent most of my weekend on the PBM-5A Martin Mariner.  When I originally purchased this kit, it was as if I was going into a new territory.  I've never worked on a modern re-tooling product before.  I grew up in an era of which Revell and Monogram were the main staples.  So to see for the first time the non-raised lines on the aircraft was a new thing for me.  

It was also a shock to see every single piece of the aircraft put together without worrying of a gap in the seams.  This I found true from the cockpit to the fuselage as I'm sure it will continue this way.  What a relief and a breath of  fresh air this was.  As for the instructions, I think Minicraft has done well in this arena, especially choosing an unusual aircraft for it's subject.  In reality you see nothing but P-51 and F4U products in abundance, so this was a bold statement that Minicraft has made.  So far I liked everything thus far.  Here is a most recent update of my build.

To STX440,

Yes, I have yet to encounter any fit issues.  When I first saw the Mariner kit, I simply brushed it aside and went for the Revell/Monogram kits.  It holds some nostalgic memories for me yet, the issues that occur like parts not fitting right, or huge gaps are mind boggling.  

The only issue was made by myself, I did not use enough glue to keep the wheel wells in.  So when they fell out, I had to open up the whole kit in half and I went ahead by utilizing CA to do the job.

I won't be purchasing any PE or any aftermarket products.  This will be a OOB build, I want to thank you for the read and reply!

Toshi

Here is a update on the Mariner.  So far, the wings and tail have been assembled and attached to the main body of the aircraft.  I have a few more touch ups prior to the priming of this seaplane.

Yup, looks like a Mariner!

Nice work and mind those seams on top. We all learned the hard way that paint doesn't fill gaps.

You are definitely getting your moneys worth out of that stand.

To GMorrison,

Thank you, I will definitely be working on the seems for the next several days prior to the aircraft being primed.  I want to point out that I really appreciate your wisdom and that of the many forum members of this thread for their knowledge and general critiques.  Yes, I love the Tamiya paint stand.  Thank you for the read and reply.  

Toshi

Toshi,

That bird is looking really good! Shaping up nice and it's a rather large aircraft.From what I recall the only surviving Mariner is at the Pima Air Museum in Arizona.

Douglas

To roger_wilco,

Thank you, I too have heard about the Mariner in Arizona.  Thank you for the read and reply.

Toshi

looking god Toshi!

Wilco is correct, the PIMA Mariner is the ONLY one left :(

To Shawn M.,

I happened to read more of the last existing Mariner and found out that it's on a temporary loan via the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.  Thanks for the read and reply.

Toshi

yup thats correct, PIMA did the restoration and the Smithsonian Painted it for them.

Its going to be a pretty looong term loan though :)

Yes!!!!!!!!!!! That kit is now starting to look like a plane! I love this part..............hell I like all the parts!!! Good going Toshi!

To mustang1989,

Thank you for your encourageing words!  I'll be priming the Mariner later today.

Toshi

Thank you MBrindos,

I have 5 more photos below.  Although this is a plain everyday primer gray, it's significant for me.  I used a airbrush for the first time ever.  It was very exciting, and fun, all I kept thinking was that the AB is nothing more than hand painting without the brush. A fellow forum member described the AB as such.

I used Testors Model Masters Acrylic Primer.  I specifically chose the acrylic paint for safety reasons.  If I made a mistake, I could immediately wash off the primer with water, and then start the process again.  Luckily, everything went extremely smooth without any obstacles.  This job (Primer) was done with the AB from Harbor Freight Tools.  

The actual painting of the Mariner will be done with the Iwata NEO.  At this point, I'll be utilizing flat enamels to cover the Mariner in the tri-color sceme.  Thank you for following my builds, you don't know how much this means to me, and that goes with all of FSM forum whom does the same as well.  

Toshi

Toshi,

Looking really good! Any thoughts on your next project after this one?

Douglas

To Roger_wilco,

Thank you!  I have 2 choices, either the RM B-24 Liberator 1:48, that's the big one, or the Tamiya P-51 Mustang 1:32.  I think I will do the B-24 first just so I can hone in my technique better.  This will prepare me for the P-51.  How about you?  Do you have anything that's WIP?

Toshi

Very nice smooth primer job Tosh.

My first project using the Harbor Freight AB didn't come out near as good as yours.    I thought it was the AB so I broke down and bought a good one with the 40% off coupon at Hobby Lobby.  Seeing your work with the HF one tells me it was my lack of skill not the HF airbrush.   I'll keep on practicing lol.

I also had some minor issues with the Harbor Freight Tools. All I did was to adjust my paint mixture.  I tried to practice with enamels, this is a lot of work to clean the airbrush not to mention the amount of thinner needed to do so.

Currently, I've found that Master Modeler (Testors) and Vallejo acrylics in that it really makes clean up simple and straight forward.  The other benefit with acrylics is that there are no harmful odors.  

Toshi-san - Such a good job you're turning out on this one, looks really great. If you will be using the Neo for the final finish, if you have not already done so, I would recommend a look at Don Wheelers website, regarding the Neo. He did a thorough evaluation of that brush, and you can examine his detailed description of it.

You can also see how it's parts are assembled, along with his recommendations of the care needed to prevent damage, from cleaning or assembly mistakes. I had a Neo for a while, it will do a very good job for you. Best of luck with your continuing progress, I hope to see this project come along with photos of the paint job soon.

One last suggestion, if you have not heard yet, when using the Vallejo products be sure to not use alcohol, either for thinning or cleaning. Other acrylics work well with alcohol, Vallejo does not, it turns into a very gummy mess. Vallejo can be sprayed straight from the bottle, it also likes a little of their Vallejo thinner, but in my experience it takes VERY little of that thinner. If more than a couple of drops are added, it seems to require much more drying time which can be more than just a couple of days.

Usually I just give it 1 or 2 days to fully cure, when using more than a couple of drops of their thinner it has taken as long as a week. I have also used just distilled water for thinning, that worked well for me too.

Best of luck with it, thanks for posting.

Patrick

To patrick206,

Thank you, as far as the appropriate thinner, that I've been utilizing is water for the Testors Master Model as well as the Vallejo.  I love the way the acrylics blend in and when you're done, all you need to do is wash everything with lukewarm water!  

This is my first time in using acrylics to cover my scale models.  I love it.  

The next set of photos represents 2 of the 3 scale models I'll be working on.  Mrs. Toshi purchased all of these tools and kits to keep me busy and out of trouble.  She is in Honolulu, Hawaii visiting friends and family.

Since becoming a FSM forum member, I've learned so much from you all, I just want to say thank you!

Toshi

Mr. Toshi,

 A couple things on paint-

For your enamels-you definitely want a respirator (about $20-$30 at a hardware store) if you opt to use them.  I've also started using lacquer thinner to clean up enamels with, it seems to work well for me.  If you have an issue with enamels, Testor's make an enamel paint remover that works pretty well (though you may be able to use lacquer thinner, but test it on some scrap plastic first, like on a piece of sprue or something).

Also, don't airbrush/spray paint over carpet.  You have plenty of paper down, but it can end badly pretty quickly (ask me how I know, red paint DOES NOT come out of carpet).  Your airbrush will send paint much farther than you think.

Your Mariner is looking great, I'm really enjoying watching your builds!

Groot