The Officially Shameless PBY/Halloween '09 GB

simpilot34 wrote:

NAMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!! WB MATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The BVD has returned!!!!!!!! WOOHOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

Thanks guys, very much!

Mike! You bet! TYVM! A very nice Revell Mk II Spitfire in 1/48! I choose to view it as a housewarming gift as it was the first piece of mail I received after moving here! Thank you!

I believe Frankie was having a joke about a tropical paradise. Probably based on the hideous weather CT has been seeing until recently.

A couple kwik-notes:

Sean! The PBY is underway as of what?.....oh, the 15th of Feb....YAY!

Eric: So much great help and info you dispense! Your updates are very motivational.....and the photo refs!

Tony: Doing a great job and making it look easy! Fab detailing!

Bondoman.....(J/K) Your progress is heartening.....gives me hope for meself! Thanks for helping hold the fort! I have a used copy of The Mediterranean Caper by Cussler you can have....it's a one-nite read and it's kind of tame by today's standards but still is great fun.

We used to pass Cussler books around the berthing compartment while at sea.

Lastly, for those who missed it and want it.........my address is the same except for the house number and street.

It is now #19 Meadowbrook Dr.

Wingtip floats deployed!

What the heck is Nammy doing up so early on a Saturday?  Well maybe it was cuz he got home really late! Hope your Voice returns to normal soon!

 Letter in route now that your all settled!  Better get that bench together quick!

 Now what was I working on?

namrednef wrote:

Sean! The PBY is underway as of what?.....oh, the 15th of Feb....YAY!

Lt -  Actually the 1/72 PBY is moored up waiting in line for the paintbooth and the 1/48 PBY office had been started.  Didnt want to go and finish everything up while you were away on Holiday.

Glad to see you back and posting,  by the Way did you get that Helldiver finished from the Classic Kit gb ? 

namrednef wrote:

simpilot34 wrote: NAMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!! WB MATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The BVD has returned!!!!!!!! WOOHOOOOOO!!!!!!!! Thanks guys, very much! Tony: Doing a great job and making it look easy! Fab detailing!

Great to see ya back in fine form Nam! Thanks for the fine words, but it's never easy.

I'll post some more pics soon, slowed down myself on this build last couple of weeks, but I have the fuse closed up and have been gluing the wings together. Ghosh...is it just my kit that's a headache here? The wing pieces just don't line up well front to back on the 1/48 PBY. Took me probably a week of gluing and re-gluing to get something acceptable and it's still gonna need putty. EEeek.

Tony

Summit wrote:

namrednef wrote: Sean! The PBY is underway as of what?.....oh, the 15th of Feb....YAY! Lt -  Actually the 1/72 PBY is moored up waiting in line for the paintbooth and the 1/48 PBY office had been started.

Close up the fuse and the wings, Next big chore is the new nose, and cowlings.

How does someone LOSE a control yoke!??? (Well, I did "lose" a canopy once that was made so transparent with Future that.......heck, it was right in front of me all the time....I just couldn't see it!) Why are we working in Stamford?......because it's all that's available.....at least we are working while others in our trade are slowly dying!

Aaron..... Cool Good Guy avatar! The BVD was up early because current working hours on this new job require meself to get up at 4 a.m. in order to beat the CT Turnpike traffic to Stamford. I allow meself an extra hour on the weekend to try and maintain the sked.......and to allow for a little imbibing!

Sean! Puh-leeze! Me finish a GB on time???? The Helldiver is begun and I shall leave it at that!

Tony! I think I posted something about the wing-half troubles! I've felt your pain! Almost an inch-by-inch process. Glue, adjust, clamp.......glue adjust clamp.......glue adjust clamp....etc! Be sure to paint hidden areas of the W/T floats if showing them undeployed.....I caught that potential mistake just in time!

Sheesh! I recall the weirdest things.........

Nam! New Job? What happened to your gig at the Play Boy Groto?  Bummer you looked real Eastery in your bunny suit! You have to ask Frank about that Good Guy award. It is actually a punishment for being naughty! I still think Bondo Framed me though!

 Out of repect for it being Sunday and all I shall have no comment about Bondo's control Yoke!

sfcmac wrote:

Out of repect for it being Sunday and all I shall have no comment about Bondo's control Yoke!

Doesn't matter what day!!!! LOL

simpilot34 wrote:

sfcmac wrote:     Out of repect for it being Sunday and all I shall have no comment about Bondo's control Yoke!   Doesn't matter what day!!!! LOL

Found something that might be of intrest to some of you.

Hit this link to Seawings.

Can't post a direct link for some reason so just follow this. 

On the side bar hit references

Next Flying Boats Manuals Gallery

Than PBY-5 Catalina 

There are some pix of installing Bombs and Torpedos as well as a lot of interiors.

No updates on my builds as I have been working on something else the last 2 weeks. 

Eric... 

Division 6 wrote:

Found something that might be of intrest to some of you. Hit this link to Seawings. Can't post a direct link for some reason so just follow this.  On the side bar hit references Next Flying Boats Manuals Gallery Than PBY-5 Catalina    There are some pix of installing Bombs and Torpedos as well as a lot of interiors.   No updates on my builds as I have been working on something else the last 2 weeks.  Eric...

What a splendid find Eric! Well done! This will be very useful for me.

Tony

Hiya folks, haven't posted an update in a while on this glacial build of mine. I've had to put it aside for a bit and am only now just getting back to it. So...good news first. I got the fuselage closed up and the wing mostly together and then filled and sanded most of the nasty gaps. I should be able to prime and pre-shade these soon and then assemble the wing to the body. Here are a couple of pics, the wing is just placed on top for now. Ghosh, the weight I had to add not to have this tailsit was horrid!

 Now the bad news. I had the intention of adding two Vector resin R-1830's to this. They are just gorgeous, little models in their own right. I have started assembling these, not done yet, and have come to the nasty realization that the engine cowlings are too small to fit once the pistons are installed. Waaaaaaaa!!!

So anyone have any suggestions for me? I did a little search for cowling that might be slightly larger diameter with no luck. The other option might be to cut the existing cowlings and try and enlarge them with some plasticard. Anybody have some suggestions for me? Ghosh...where's the torpedo juice when ya need it.

 Tony

Tony,

Just checked with about everyone I could think of and no joy.  If you built divine scale (1/72), Quick Boost would have you covered.  Can you take the Dremel to the insides and thin it out enough?  This suggestion will hurt, but perhaps trimming the tops of the cylinders and thinning the cowls will get the engines to fit.  I know it's painful because you did a great job on the engines, but that might be your only way out.  Unless Quick Boost or NEOMEGA comes out with some 1/48 stuff real quick.

Might have to do what this guy did to make them the correct size.

Eric... 

Division 6 wrote:

Might have to do what this guy did to make them the correct size.   Eric...

Hi Eric,

yeah...I came across that as well and I'm leaning in that direction. Getting the cuvature of the cowl right will be interesting.

Tony

lewbud wrote:

Tony, Just checked with about everyone I could think of and no joy.  If you built divine scale (1/72), Quick Boost would have you covered.  Can you take the Dremel to the insides and thin it out enough?  This suggestion will hurt, but perhaps trimming the tops of the cylinders and thinning the cowls will get the engines to fit.  I know it's painful because you did a great job on the engines, but that might be your only way out.  Unless Quick Boost or NEOMEGA comes out with some 1/48 stuff real quick.

Thanks for looking lewbud. Trimming the cylinders is an option. Thinning the cowl unfortunately won't do it, pretty big difference. Jorge Wolf (Eric links to his site above) points out in his scartchbuilding of this kit that he ended up modifying the cowlings because his measurements showed that their outside diameter is smaller than the diameter of the real engine scaled down! I suspect most likely the Vector engines are scaled more accurately than the cowls in the kit.

Tony

Hot-Pb wrote:

Now the bad news. I had the intention of adding two Vector resin R-1830's to this. They are just gorgeous, little models in their own right. I have started assembling these, not done yet, and have come to the nasty realization that the engine cowlings are too small to fit once the pistons are installed. Waaaaaaaa!!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pratt_&_Whitney_R-1830

Or make them, which wouldn't be hard either. I really wouldn't chop the heads, they look great and better to work around them. If all else fails. make a rubdown of the kit cowls with tin foil, handle them with tweezers and promise yourself never to touch them. It works well.

I've been working on the SuperCat alot as she's at the top of the GB list.

Aaron- yes this is the next project that is done "in the dark."

In no particular order, I've made up a new rudder and started to put on ribs with the correct profile, minus the skin thickness. more about that later (Bondoskin). I could not find any drawings or other references for the SLAFCO PBY conversion.

Oh; Bondo thought and it's a rare good one. Remind the reprobates on the www at 11 pm what it is you're chattin to yourself abt! It's the PBY-5a converted to a SuperCat and featured in the movie "Always".

So the rudder is a shop-built item; I took the profile from the AM decal  sheet and the various thicknesses are only a match for where it meets the kit.

The nacelle modifications started with a set of R-2600's from an B-25 donor kit cheap off eBay. Measuring inside the Mitchell cowlings created plastic discs, glued to the nacelle after it had been cut back about two scale feet. Drawings and photos suggest that the SuperCat conversion moved the engines upwards a total of half the increased diameter of a R1830 to a R2600, ie about 5" and the bottom of the cowling remained in the same place in elevation. So I've built the nacelles up behind the new firewall discs on the top only. Final step is Bondoskin.

The deck forward of the cockpit loses it's turret and the fairweather deck that led to it. The Supercat has a very homade looking new nose over stringers and frames. I've made new ribs, and will be laying in Bondoskin.

Three locations of modification. The stumper is the cockpit, which is a pure POS. There is nothing at all about it that's salvagable, the floor is about 18" below the canopy, the seats are tiny and located under the deck tumble-home. At first I thought I'd litter it with beer cans and A1 jackets, but that's insulting to those who flew her, so I'm to paint the canopy black from the inside.

So what is Bondoskin? Something thats 0.050, malleable in three directions, and paintable. Dave, it's all your fault, Frank your thoughts, Aaron, drop that beer can, and Jeaton; you'd know.

Your faithful correspondent, Billybondo, USN

bondoman wrote:

Hot-Pb wrote:  Now the bad news. I had the intention of adding two Vector resin R-1830's to this. They are just gorgeous, little models in their own right. I have started assembling these, not done yet, and have come to the nasty realization that the engine cowlings are too small to fit once the pistons are installed. Waaaaaaaa!!! If I were you, I'd look around for replacement cowlings. Cowlings follow the engine, not the airframe so if you wiki airframes with 1830's; and there's one that's really obvious (the DC-3), you might find what you need. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pratt_&_Whitney_R-1830 Or make them, which wouldn't be hard either. I really wouldn't chop the heads, they look great and better to work around them. If all else fails. make a rubdown of the kit cowls with tin foil, handle them with tweezers and promise yourself never to touch them. It works well.

Bondo,

When you speak clearly in the Queen's English, you make sense.  I don't think I'd have hit on the idea of using cowlings from another a/c (but then according to some, thinking's not my strong suit anyway).  Nice work on the Super Cat.  You gonna do a dio of the scene where she lifts off the lake just as the fisherman dive out of the boat?

ARRRRRGH! A great video that!

Ahem! Oops! Wrong GB!

The BVD has relocated Dell RU-235 Modeling Deccelarator closer to its wi-fi moorings. I should not be kicked off-line in mid page anymore!

Now to catch up......AGAIN!

(Heck! I haven't even read all of chukw's new build!)

Cheers to all you scrappers!

Next, the cowlings.

 Impressive stive there Bondo!  Just from looking at the picture(s)!  Very Cool!  Quite a show your giving us!!!  Congrats on the School trip as well!  You should well be proud of Miss Bondo Jr!

 Ah yes! The PBY's are buzzing!

 Eric have I missed any of your updates?

 Anybody?

 Well Bondo I think your work is grand and in 1/72 very tricky to get to look right. I have always found 1/72 to be a tough unforgiving scale so your talents in design are showing!

Bondo, you are doing some amazing work on your supercat!!!! Really looking the part!!!!

If all goes well mates, yours truly might just be assisting in the restoration to static display of a Catalina at the RAAF Point Cook Museum here in Oz. The fuse sans wing is on display already but the wing is in the shops. Had no boody idea how big that wing is until I was close to it!!! Here is a pic of the fuse thats on display.

Way Cool!!!

Take lot's of pictures.

I'll have some updates later today or tomorrow.

At the moment I'm making some seats and computers for one of the planes.

Kind took a brake and was spending time on another project.

Eric... 

O.K. here's a small update.

I made the passanger seats and computers this morning.

Originally I made some seats a week ago but made them to small so that wasted half a day with assembly and painting.

Computer screens are pix clipped from a catalog. 

The tube on the left is for mounting the model on a brass rod for display.

Aft section has some strips of nonskid installed (600 grit wet/dry sandpaper painted black)

Items in view but not attaced yet, canvas tarp and re-breather dive tank. 

more stuff will be added later as I make it.

This one has some cargo in the aft section.

life boat, backpacks, sleeping bags, duffle bag and ladder.

This tiny stuff takes forever to make especially when parts decide to feed themselves to the carpet monster.

Eric...