Floatplane/Seaplane Group Build 2012

stoutfella

Greetings,

Which do I hate more -- sanding or canopy masking? Toss up.

Five canopies? Are you kidding me? If my sanity holds up, I might get some paint on this beast today.

Len

Greetings,

Which do I hate more -- sanding or canopy masking? Toss up.

Five canopies? Are you kidding me? If my sanity holds up, I might get some paint on this beast today.

troublemaker66 - I love the good old Albatross (as I'm sure I've said before).  I'll be following along with interest.

Helo H-34 - Finally got myself read up on the Martin PM6 SeaMaster.  Similar story as the SeaDart, just a few years later.  Successful jet seaplane, to the point of production, then - nothing.  What a shame.  The rationale for killing the jet seaplanes was two-fold:  the SeaMaster was whacked because the Polaris submarine gave the Navy nuclear bomb capability (hence, no need for a multi-engine jet seaplane bomber), and the helicopter was thought to be adequate for search and rescue (show me a helicopter with the range of a PBY, or a SeaMaster for that matter, and I'll eat my dixie cup).  We all know the real reason was to use the money elsewhere, but whaddayagonnado?  The seaplane era ended way prematurely, IMHO.  Oh, well ... SeaMaster photos below:

Hey all,

Started my Albatross kit..1/72 scale from Monogram. Got some painting done and temped it up with one piece of tape! Seems to be a good fitting kit,so far...

I`m still hating this "new" format...text was supposed to be above the pic...lol...

Oh well...I guess I`ll figure it out someday...had it cold on the old site...now I`m lookin` like a noobie!

Thanks for looking....

Len

Helo H-34,

Please do finish your Sunderland for us.  You may contribute as many builds as you wish.  I know I'll enjoy seeing the finished floaters.

Ordie

Well , I'm only one year shy of turnning 50 but I thing I might  already be going senile !

I just spotted under the bench a long since stalled 1/72 Airfix Short Sunderland build I was doing for the Korean War GB . It's about 50% complete but I do have the original WIP pic's I can post

This first pic shows all the parts with the fuselage halves tapped together just to check how the ancient Airfix kit was going to fit

Next I airbrushed the fuselage interiors with some Gunze H-58 interior green ;

The cockpit floor didn'y quite span all the way across to sit against both fuselage insides

So I added a small piece of plastic strip to one fuselage inside

Here's the fuselage closed up

I then added the wings but this is where the build stalled as I discovered that the dorsal turret wasn't fitted on Korean War versions , so I had to remove mine . there are also some blisters that fit on the outer section of the underside of the wings , which I'm yet to try and locate some to buy . I also purchased Squadrons vacuform canopy as the near invisable panel lines on the Airfix canopy are too hard to see for masking .

Anyway , here's the Sunderland as she sits of today

I need to fill the hole where the dorsal turret use to be , I also need to trim the vacu canopy to size , I lost one of the struts that support the wing floats , so I'll need to make a replacement one and there's some work to do one the wheels  etc .

If it's okay to continue on and include the Short Sunderland into the GB ; It will be a good way of finishing off one of my many stalled Korean War birds as well as adding another Sea Plane to my display cabinet

John .

Ordie ; There's no problem about having plenty to do for 2013 .

I've been saving my pennies for a while now and today I ordered the 1/72 Mach 2 P6M2 Sea Master kit

I like the box art on the Mach 2 kit , especially the Sikorsky HSS-1 plane guard in the back ground . The Sikorsky S-58 series helicopter is my absolute favourite helo and with 12 completed H-34's , another 24 on-going builds with yet another 24 H-34 / wessex kits in the stash , I can't get enough of 'em . I don't know if the Sea master box art is more of artistic license but it would be great if such an actual picture did exsist of a Sikorsky HSS-1 and P6M2 sea master together .

I had a few pennies left over and spied a 1/72 Hasegawa SP-5B Marlin kit on ebay and bought it ;

Both these two newly aquired gems will be Christmas presents from the family to me , so it will be New Year starts for both of them .

A little more self indulgence on my part is this completed 1/72 Mach 2 PBM-5 Mariner I built for the Korean War Group Build

John .

Helo H-34,

You be jammin' on the floatplanes, my man!  The Widgeon and Duck are great little waterbirds.  Build away, John (but save a kit or two for Floatplanes/Seaplanes Group Build  2013 ).

Ordie

I only managed to get 15 minutes on the bench this evenning , so I took a pic of the Sprues from the 1/72 Airfix Grumman Widgeon kit

I hurried out to the spraybooth for several light coats of interior grey

And sadly , that's all I got done today ...

I did spy , in between coats of paint , the Airfix 1/72 Grumman Duck kit

I forgot I bought this kit earlier this year and the build instructions are similar to the Widgeon , so the 'Duck' looks quite straight forward enough

So what the heck , I'll throw her in as well as I do like the red , blue and silver finish for a USAF OA-12 Duck , 10th Rescue Squadron , Elmendorf , Alaska 1948 .

John .

Old Ordie

troublemaker66 - Dude!  I was just kidding about the cherry bombs and lighter fluid, and using my stashed Revell kits as guinea pigs in horrible experiments.  In fact, I highly recommend the Revellogram Texan/SNJ kit - it's a heckuva nice, fun kit for $12 street.  (I hope von Hammer reads this part first ... )

LOL!  Later,

Ordie

P.S., I think I'm going to like 'shake and bake' ...

 

Len

stoutfella

Ordie: Actually, my first two builds upon returning were Revellograms. First was the SBD, which, face it, is more toy than model kit. It was a fun way to get back in, but I mucked up the finish with a nasty orange peel. Next was the P-47 Razorback, and it's not bad. I did a lot of prefitting and sanding before assembly, which paid off. I was pleased with how that one turned out, despite some off-register kit decals. Then the three Tamiyas in a row -- the A6M2 Zero, the P-51D and the Spitfire Mk I. All very nice, with the Mustang being an absolute wonder and the Spitfire not far behind. Tamiya decals are dreadful, but the Mustang came with a Cartograph set, which was sweet.

In my already too large stash, I've got three other Revellograms -- the F4U-4 Corsair, the P-38 (I built a couple of those back in the 60s and 70s) and the F-80 Shooting Star my son gave me for Father's Day. I know all three of those kits have their, um, challenges, but I'll get to 'em. After the Kingfisher, though, I'll do the Tamiya BF109 and F4F Wildcat, as I've committed to group builds for those.

At any rate, I hope to have a few more peaceful days for modeling in the near future, as I gave notice this very day that I'm retiring in about three weeks (though I do plan to find a low-stress part-time job after a decent interval for decompression).

stoutfella,

Congratulations on your retirement!  You won't be sorry.  I retired a few years ago, and can't imagine ever going back to the rat race. 

I saw your Razorback, very nice. 

I know the SBD is a toy (though I've left out those parts and paved them over, mostly), but I built one all slap-dash, glue and decals only, back in '60 or '61, when it first came out, and it was a favorite.   I bought it and the Revell Hellcat, another toy-like kit from the same era, for the founding kits of my stash (now also reaching near-epic proportions, LOL!).  Actually, some of my Revell kits are newer, like the Ventura and the SB2C, and I read they're quite nice. 

troublemaker66 - Dude!  I was just kidding about the cherry bombs and lighter fluid, and using my stashed Revell kits as guinea pigs in horrible experiments.  In fact, I highly recommend the Revellogram Texan/SNJ kit - it's a heckuva nice, fun kit for $12 street.  (I hope von Hammer reads this part first ... )

LOL!  Later,

Ordie

P.S., I think I'm going to like 'shake and bake' ...

Thanks for the encouragement, guys. I'll keep on keepin' on!

I agree with the others , that the cockpit on the Kingfisher looks awesome and the rest of the build seems to becoming along okay , hopfully any major fit issue's are behind you Stoutfella and everything will go smoothly here on end .

John .

Old Ordie

checkmateking02 - You're welcome.

taxtp - Saith The Master, "Journey to Wildcatfish begins with single propeller."

Helo H-34 - I like the double ski SeaDarts, too.  The single foil apparently beat the daylights out of the pilot on takeoffs and landings, which the double foil arrangement alleviated a good deal.  Also, I like the way you worked in the B-58 photo.  Yeah, yeah, I know - it's on the cover of the book ... .  If I ever get to command a squadron, I want you for my supply officer.

stoutfella - I'm hoping for one of those outcomes with your Kingfisher, too.  On the upside, I like the PE in your cockpit a whole lot.  In fact, I'm mildly jealous.  I know I've said this before, but my first four builds since my long hiatus from model building ended have all been old Revell kits.  So, I'm kind of viewing your experience from the other direction - if the Tamiya, etc. kits are that much better, then whoopee!  In fact, when I finish the Revell Dauntless I'm working on now, I'll be building my first "newer/better" kit, a Hasegawa P-40E (the only non-US Navy/IJN kit in my stash).  After that, I'll be building a Tamiya Rufe for this GB right here.  Then, after that, I may be taking some cherry bombs and a can of lighter fluid to the rest of the Revell kits in my stash, I don't know, LOL!  (Not really - I'll probably just build them as prototypes for other builds, prove out newly learned techniques, stuff like that, LOL!)  Anyway, seriously, we're all with you, mate.  And we feel ya.  Now, whip that kit!

Later, gents,

Ordie

Congrats on the retirement Stoutfella. Keep going with the OS2U, it will be worth it in the long run.

Ordie - regarding your planned builds, I've built the Hasegawa P-40E, it is a good one. The Tamiya Rufe is an older molding, and won't show you what they are really capable of now, although it's still OK.

Anything from Tamiya post the mid nineties is brilliant, in my opinion.

Cheers

Tony

Ordie: Actually, my first two builds upon returning were Revellograms. First was the SBD, which, face it, is more toy than model kit. It was a fun way to get back in, but I mucked up the finish with a nasty orange peel. Next was the P-47 Razorback, and it's not bad. I did a lot of prefitting and sanding before assembly, which paid off. I was pleased with how that one turned out, despite some off-register kit decals. Then the three Tamiyas in a row -- the A6M2 Zero, the P-51D and the Spitfire Mk I. All very nice, with the Mustang being an absolute wonder and the Spitfire not far behind. Tamiya decals are dreadful, but the Mustang came with a Cartograph set, which was sweet.

In my already too large stash, I've got three other Revellograms -- the F4U-4 Corsair, the P-38 (I built a couple of those back in the 60s and 70s) and the F-80 Shooting Star my son gave me for Father's Day. I know all three of those kits have their, um, challenges, but I'll get to 'em. After the Kingfisher, though, I'll do the Tamiya BF109 and F4F Wildcat, as I've committed to group builds for those.

At any rate, I hope to have a few more peaceful days for modeling in the near future, as I gave notice this very day that I'm retiring in about three weeks (though I do plan to find a low-stress part-time job after a decent interval for decompression).

They not only walked the earth, I fancied myself one of them!

I, dunno, stoutfella.  Your efforts look good to me, and I think they are paying off.

Hmm, you mean, when that Kingfisher was first created, Hippies still walked the earth??

checkmateking02 - You're welcome.

taxtp - Saith The Master, "Journey to Wildcatfish begins with single propeller."

Helo H-34 - I like the double ski SeaDarts, too.  The single foil apparently beat the daylights out of the pilot on takeoffs and landings, which the double foil arrangement alleviated a good deal.  Also, I like the way you worked in the B-58 photo.  Yeah, yeah, I know - it's on the cover of the book ... .  If I ever get to command a squadron, I want you for my supply officer.

stoutfella - I'm hoping for one of those outcomes with your Kingfisher, too.  On the upside, I like the PE in your cockpit a whole lot.  In fact, I'm mildly jealous.  I know I've said this before, but my first four builds since my long hiatus from model building ended have all been old Revell kits.  So, I'm kind of viewing your experience from the other direction - if the Tamiya, etc. kits are that much better, then whoopee!  In fact, when I finish the Revell Dauntless I'm working on now, I'll be building my first "newer/better" kit, a Hasegawa P-40E (the only non-US Navy/IJN kit in my stash).  After that, I'll be building a Tamiya Rufe for this GB right here.  Then, after that, I may be taking some cherry bombs and a can of lighter fluid to the rest of the Revell kits in my stash, I don't know, LOL!  (Not really - I'll probably just build them as prototypes for other builds, prove out newly learned techniques, stuff like that, LOL!)  Anyway, seriously, we're all with you, mate.  And we feel ya.  Now, whip that kit!

Later, gents,

Ordie

Greetings,

Not much modeling lately. I've been busy and, frankly, this old Kingfisher kit just isn't much fun. As I've said earlier, I've gotten spoiled by Tamiya. I remember the Monogram Kingfisher was state of the art back in the day, but the art has come a LONG way. The plastic is brittle, the fit is not good and the engineering is, well, so '60s, especially this whole slide-the-wing-assembly-through-the-right-fuselage-then-slide-the-left-fuselage-over-the-wing-assembly thing. Sheesh! I'd pretty much decided that if that step went badly, I was going to call it quits and move on to the Tamiya BF-109 that's next in the stash.

After putting the wings together (LOTS of sanding to follow) with superglue and sliding it through the right fuselage, I took a deep breath and applied good old Testors tube glue all around the fuselage edge and quickly slid the left half on. Much to my utter amazement, it didn't turn out as badly as I expected. There's still going to be plenty of sanding and filling, but it looks do-able at this point. So I'll press on, but honestly, I just want to get this thing over with.

One thing I've learned is that you shouldn't judge a build and give up until the end, because there have been plenty of times that I thought everything I was doing was pure crap every step of the way until it was finished and, gosh, it turned out OK. So I'm hoping that's what happens here.

Anyway, here's a few pics of the latest:

Greetings,

Yes, interesting discussion and info on the Sea Dart, which I'd never heard of. Nice work so far!

Helo H-34

Some progress on my Mach 2 YF2Y-1 Sea Dart

Sprue shot ...

A hobby saw is best for removing most of the parts from the sprue with Mach 2 kits

Lot's of sanding to clean up all the pieces

Mach 2 supply a nice tub , seat and control stick  as well as an instrument shroud , no decals for the cockpit though .....

The instruction say the cockpit interior is flat black so I airbrushed the cockpit pieces accordingly and I also gave the insides of the two long intake pieces that fit onto the upper fuselage sides a few coats of flat black as well

With the wings and tail fin halves glued together , later tonight I'll glue the cockpit tub in place and close up the fuselage halves .

John .

 

Len

Very nice little Seabee.  The Israeli camouflage and markings make it stand out.

Very interesting discusin on the Sea Dart.

I've finally made a start on the 1/72 Wildcatfish. It's just athe prop, but at least it's under way.

Cheers

Tony

That's great info and pic's on the Sea Dart , Ordie . oddly for some reason I seem to like the Sea Dart in full flight above the water rathering than skimming along the surface . Late last year I did buy the Bill Yenne book "Convair Deltas" from Sea Dart to Hustler

I have a nice stash of 1/72 Hasegawa F-102's and F-106's but at the time I had just picked both of Mach 2's YF2Y-1 Sea Dart and XF-92 kits and I thought the book might be a good sorce of info . There is only a small chapter on the Sea Dart and most of what I had read dealt with the first prototype with the single hydro ski ; Here's a comparision pic between the single and twin ski aircraft

I much prefer the twin ski arrangement myself . The book I mentioned also covers the XFY-1 Pogo which should make for interesting reading , I have one of those 1/72 kits in the stash .

Back to flying boats , I had forgotten about the Israeli's using several flying boats in the early years and I found both the Academy PBY-5A and Airfix Grumman Widgeon kits in the IDF stash

I already had built the Mach 2 RC-3 Seabee finished in Israeli brown and green camouflage

As far as I'm aware the IDF only used 3 different types of flying boats , so It will be nice if I can build and complete the Catalina and Widgeon to sit along side the Seabee sometime over the next few months .

John .

Thanks, Ordie.  That splashdown makes quite a picture.

Helo H-34 - Most certainly you may build a Catalina instead of an Albatross for your second build. Everyone's second build is up to them, I'm only holding you all to your first builds.  After that, it's all gravy, and I'll be as pleased as a plate of mashed potatoes to see it coming down ... !  Around here, extra builds = extra fun, pure and simple.  (Besides, I have that same Academy kit in my stash, so I'll be following your PBY build with much interest.)

Tale of the SeaDart

YF2Y-1 SeaDart, Bureau Number 135763
(on loan to the San Diego Aerospace Museum from the US Naval Aviation Museum)

In 1948, the US Navy issued  a design call for a jet seaplane fighter capable of mach .95, and of operating in seas of up to five feet.  The specs were finalized in 1950, and in January, 1951, Convair was given an initial contract for two XF2Y prototypes.  Several serious issues were overcome during testing and development, producing what is perhaps the most successful innovative aircraft never to be produced - that's not a typo:  In spite of meeting and exceeding the issued specs , including ultimately achieving good marks in its sea and flight trials -  and despite Convair's producing several additional YF2Y service trial aircraft, the SeaDart was never put into production.   The end of the hot phase of the Korean conflict caused Pentagon budgets to plummet, and a number of promising military projects were cancelled, including the YF2Y.  Moreover, the fatal crash of a service trial SeaDart into San Diego Bay in 1954 cast a pall over the program (undeserved, IMHO).  The SeaDart's final (and successful) trial took place on January 16, 1956, and the plane quietly faded into the recesses of aviation history.

Convair had previously been awarded a development contract by the US Air Force for what became the F-102 Delta Dagger, and the influence of that design on their Navy project is readily apparent.  The SeaDart would, however, beat the initially problem-plagued F-102 into the air.  The innovations Convair's engineers came up with were astounding - doing away with floats altogether in favor of a floating fuselage plus hydrofoil, and finding a way of keeping water out of the engine, among others - and the plane was shown to be entirely capable of operating in the open ocean.

Four SeaDarts still exist, three of which belong to the US Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, FL, (all three are on loan to other institutions), and one of which is currently being restored by the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.

The SeaDart is one of my top five favorite floaters ever (though I love every last floater of any kind ever built), which is why I know a bit about it.  If you are interested in more info about the XF2Y/YF2Y, the June, 2012 issue of Air Classics (Vol. 48, no. 6) has a very nice, fact-filled article about it, with a lot of great historical photos.  I was happy to see John pick it for his qualifying GB kit, and look very much forward to seeing the finished product.

That's it for now,

Ordie

The Sea Dart is coming together very nicely.  Good job.

Well , I managed to find an hour's spare time this afternoon , so i glued the wings , tail fin and engine intakes into position and the Sea Dart is looking good

The slots in the side of the fuselage halves where the wing tabs fit didn't quite line up with each other ; One wing sat higher than the other . I filed one of the slots along the top edge and filed the other slot a little on the bottom edge to get both wing a close to looking even and in line with other as best as possible . The fin fitted nicely in place as did the intakes . I dry fitted the canopy and it sits okay , I left out the seat and instrument panel for the time being until everything is puttied and sanded . Once that's done , I'll add the seat and consol and glue the canopy in place . So far the kit has gone together okay , shouldn't be too long before I can get her into the spraybooth .

Is it okay if I change my second build , I'm now thinking of building Academy's PBY-5A , finished in an overall gloss sea blue for the Israeli Air Force . They operated three Catalina's from 1951 to 1956 in the maritime patrol role .

John .

Helo H-34 - Good to see progress on the Seadart.  I'm a floater fan, obviously, and the Seadart is one of my favorites, up there with the Albatross and good old Goose (no Geese in the gb, something for someone to rectify ... ).  Also, it will be great to see the 'Nam Albatross alongside the Albatross troublemaker66 is building.

M9130 - Welcome back!  Looking forward to seeing more progress photos.

checkmateking02 - Thanks for the look at the Wisconsin home of your Kingfishers.  I just a few minutes ago mentioned in a PM to you how much I was looking forward to seeing it, then I came here to the thread, and there it is!  Thanks.  Also, I have some info on the Seadart here in the office, and I think it's about time for another "Floater Tale".  I'll whip one up soon focused on the Seadart - a very interesting tale ... keep an eye out for it!

Later,

Ordie