Revell/Matchbox PB4Y2 Privateer 1/72 - Finished (at long last)

[TonyTiger66]

I just caught up with this. I bought the Matchbox kit a couple of weeks ago. It arrived two days ago from the UK in all its bright blue glory. Love it !

I hope you get started with this again, lovely work on the interior.

Best regards

Tony

[Sgt.Squarehead]

Oh wow.....That's some splendid work Adrian, will be following your progress.

[theplasticsurgeon]

Missed this build first time round - has it progressed since Oct 2015??

I built this kit twice, with no after market extras.

First the Matchbox offering built about 1997 or 8.

Next the Revell kit, built here in 2015.

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234984478-tims-ry-3-liberator-express/

and both together.

[Greif]

Lovely build!

I had the Matchbox Privateers when I was kid.... Lot of souvenirs!!!

[AdrianMF]

Looks like I will have to do some more work on this! I'm away this week and I have three builds ahead in the queue, not counting the *really* stalled ones

Regards,

Adrian

[zebra]

Great work Adrian. I built one of these a long, long time ago. Would love to do it again.

[AdrianMF]

Hello All,

 

Well I need this build done. I am going to make it a Christmas (2016) present to my pal.

 

I had got to here:

 

The cockpit is done but I need some additional seats for the observers, made from plastic card with green epoxy putty cushions:

 

With red wine bottle foil seat belts they look quite Christmassy:

 

Some Humbrol 78, 155 and 27 and a black wash will take care of that:

 

Fuselage is washed and chaired and ready to close up and I've started painting the white undercarriage bits:

 

Chairs from left and right. They are swivel chairs so I've refrained from having them both face forwards:

 

The Privateer is not short of humps and bumps! Looks like a dinosaur kit:

 

The first moulded plastic picture window is in:

 

I thought the front bulkhead looked a bit bare (I don't want to know what should be there!) so I drew a little paper map and popped it in through the other window:

 

The engines have these funny pushrod thingeys in front of them that look more like turbojet fans. I cut them down to show just the front row of pushrods:

 

And painted:

 

And filler has been liberally applied as a prelude to some serious sand-fill-prime-repeat sessions:

 

And it's now time to pack for a week and a half away for work.

 

Thanks for looking,

Adrian

 

[AdrianMF]

This weekend was vac-form weekend. High tech vacforming equipment duly deployed:

 

Rustled myself a nice two part front observation nose cone moulded over a modified kit part. The framing will cover the join:

 

All stuck on nice and everything:

 

And then I nudge it whilst reaching across the bench. It falls off, like this:

 

Bounces off its tail, then gently lands on its nose. Phew!

 

But. The nose has split and the right half has cracked:

 

I won't try to write down what I said. It would be a good test of the new forum naughty word filter. As a diversion, I went and did some Christmas cooking, made my son a birthday cake (it is his birthday) and cooked some dinner.

 

To further divert myself, I had a go at making a second DF loop cover:

 

I fixed and painted the canopy from the kit:

 

Finished (almost - one strut to go) the undercarriage:

 

Put all the engines together. I didn't modify the blades, which are apparently the wrong shape. The real thing had silver blades with yellow tips - I would have thought a silver blade would be visible enough:

 

Then I had another go at vac-forming. Using thinner plastic, I made an observation tail cone from a balsa and superglue mould:

 

And finally I managed (fourth try) to get a right hand half of the nose:

 

This is only taped together so far - sticking it all together is for another day. It's late and I like to make all my stupid late night mistakes in the daytime when I can appreciate them more!

 

Thanks for looking,

Adrian

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Sgt.Squarehead]

Magnificent stuff Adrian. 

[AdrianMF]

8 hours ago, Sgt.Squarehead said:

Magnificent stuff Adrian. 

Thanks Sarge! Sadly it isn't going to make it into the 2016 finishers but I should get it all done before I go back to work.

 

There is some sort of structure inside the nose cone. I assume it is some form of binocular stand and have scratched something up:

 

And the transparencies are now blended in. The back one is by no means perfect so there is still more to do:

 

You can see the outline of the original side turrets around the picture windows on pictures of the real thing so the faint traces around the transparent insert can stay.

Thanks for looking,

Adrian

[AdrianMF]

O.M.G.

 

I just added some Future to my Revell acrylic grey 57 as an undercoat to the whole airframe. It covered like a dream and it is smo-o-oth. Is there no end to how useful that stuff is?

 

Regards,

Adrian (being dragged away to shop...)

[woody37]

I can imagine the creative language you used, but loving what you've done so far. Your friend will have a very special belated Christmas present.

 

Never added Future to the paint, I've always added it after so must try this trick. Approximately, what proportions did you use?

[tonyot]

This is coming along really well Adrian,.......its a brave conversion!

 

Cheers

           Tony

[AdrianMF]

3 hours ago, woody37 said:

Never added Future to the paint, I've always added it after so must try this trick. Approximately, what proportions did you use?

 

Thanks chaps. I've never seen a model of a Coastguard Privateer on the web, and there are only about half a dozen photos of the real thing on the web, although there is now a heavily photographed full size rebuild flying in that configuration with different engines in circular cowlings.

 

My paint mixes for brushing are very much "a drop of this and a drop of that until it works", but I guess it was about 10% Future and 10% water to the neat paint. I am starting to like Revell acrylics a lot!

 

Regards,

Adrian

Edited December 31, 2016 by AdrianMF
More info

[AdrianMF]

Well, an aeroplane is starting to emerge from the plastic and the paint but it won't be in the 2016 yearbook.  

 

A happy new new year to all you Britmodellers out there!

 

Regards,

Adrian

[mungo1974]

How have I missed this?.....Excellent work so far.

 

I have bitter sweet memories of this kit,first tried and failed to build it as a kid back in the 80's after getting it as a gift.

Finished another in the early 90's as USN Reserve aircraft in the overall Gloss Blue with Orange Reserve band...

Always fancied doing another as a Drone,but the thought of battling that Matchbox/Revell kit again puts me off..lol

 

[AdrianMF]

That orange colour scheme does look right tasty!

 

I wrapped this up a week or so ago but was away. I took some pictures on my back step in fading daylight after getting back today, so I can call it done! Started 2012 so it's been a lo-ong build, even by my standards.

 

Here's one pic, more in RFI:

 

 

Thanks for looking,

Adrian

[rob85]

She's a corker, great to see her finished

 

Rob

[AdrianMF]

20 minutes ago, rob85 said:

great to see her finished

Thanks Rob - it's so nice to have my workbench back!

 

Regards,

Adrian

[David H]

Wow- That's splendid!

[71chally]

Superb, really shows what can be done with this old kit!

[stevehnz]

That looks a bit nice Adrian, I'm off to have a drool in RFI.

Steve.

[Markh-75]

No matter what i do on this thing it fights me all the way; now the wings dont fit level, one is up and the other is down, makes the fuselage look as if its at an angle. What a pile of poop! Left wing goes one fine, sits very nicely; the other one may as well be flapping. Sits too high at the wingtip; i cant set it with glue until i know they are both level. I finally got the canopy to fit and the side windows in it by using tape to support and hold things in place while the glue sets. Now the wings are duff. If the wings aren't level it wont sit properly when the landing gear is fitted; one i know if it will ever sit level i can attach the landing gear.

 

Until then and failing this they only destination this is going is the bin.

[AdrianMF]

FWIW when I made mine I built a spar from inner engine to inner engine out of a few offcuts of sprue stuck together, and then I gradually added slices of card at the ends and test fitted until it was relatively even and wedged in. I also shimmed the tailplane tabs for the same reason. It had to disassemble because I was carrying it from the UK to the USA in hand luggage.

 

I don't have a picture of what I did there, but I did a similar thing to an MPM Wellington:

 

 

Hope that helps. Don't let it beat you!

 

Regards,

Adrian

[Markh-75]

I'm afraid it already has. The recesses for the wings on my aborted attempt are about 3mm deep; the wings are supposed to fit in the recesses and one wing sits nicely, the other goes in but wont sit level and when i try to make it level it pops back out. If this cannot be finished successfully i doubt i'd be able to start another kit no matter how simple it was. This is a mess now.

 

Thank you anyway. I'm not gonna be able to save this one.

Edited May 18, 2020 by Markh-75