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Shorts Sunderland MR5, RNZAF 1960's


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Hi All,

 

Only a few days to go, and the GB kicks off officially.

 

My entry will be a a Lincoln/Kader Kit 1/154 scale, my choice of size means within the four months, I should finish, as opposed to 1/72 scale.

 

This year marks the 50th Anniversary of the retirement of the Sunderland from RNZAF service, after some 22 years of service

(both Mk III and MR5) starting in 1944 with the brand new Mk III Sunderland transports arriving from Britain, to the later arrival of the MR5's

early 1950's.

 

The Sunderland's served both with No's 5 & 6 Squadrons, eventually just 5 Squadron. My Dad served with 5 Squadron both at RNZAF Lauthala Bay

Fiji (spelt Lacala in Fijian, but pronounced Lauthala), and RNZAF Base Hobsonville (here in Auckland).

My Dad introduced me to these grand Ladies at a young age, taking me on board a number of times, and I was privileged to see and do things

that aviation buffs can only dream of today :D

My Dad was always willing to pass on his technical knowledge, and after many discussions with him and others who served on the Sunderland,

I have built up quite a knowledge base of the Sunderland and how she worked B)

Today not much remains of both bases, but my memories are bright and great, as is my love for this aircraft.

Lauthala Bay was the epitome of all things Flying Boat and South Seas Islands - This movie clip recently became available posted by Dave Homewood

of RNZAF Proboards, of Lauthala Bay - the music is cheesy and OSH would have a heart attack today, but hey it was the 60's

 

 

Many of the scenes in the movie, were similar/same as the slides  we used to watch as children from Dad's time at Lauthala Bay -

By the way the cheesy "Isa Lei" song is actually a Fijian farewell song sung at ship departures usually.

 

On to the model - Ignore the Box art ;)

FILE0739.jpg

 

Required Model photos - this is really just the Airfix kit reduced in size

FILE0741.jpg

FILE0743.jpg

 

Airfix kit and Kader size comparison

FILE0750.jpg

 

Clear parts

FILE0746.jpg

 

Instructions

FILE0742.jpg

 

Kit Decals - I won't be touching these....... Will go with a set of Oldmodel decals designed interestingly enough for this scale

http://www.oldmodelsdecals.com/442_500_csupload_68482816.jpg?u=721011540

 

Hope you enjoy, and see you in a few days

 

regards

 

Alan

 

 

Edited by LDSModeller
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7 minutes ago, Romeo Alpha Yankee said:

I would never have guessed you would have joined this GB with a Sunderland Alan! ;)

 

I was not aware of the Kader kit, looks nice and compact. Looking forward to seeing a Kiwi Sunderland grace the Gallery

Hi Ray,

 

I do have other Flying boats/Seaplanes kits (Martin SP-5M Marlin/Grumman Hu16 Albatross/Curtiss Seahawk/Catalina etc), but with my

glacial build rate, I figured this would be the easiest option to actually finish the GB.

Should I finish with time to spare, maybe the Martin Marlin......

 

Regards

 

Alan

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Excellent choice! And the photobucket extension seems to be working at the moment, so I can now see your photos (having just downloaded Chrome and installed said extension).

 

Will be following this with interest :).

 

Cheers,
Alex.

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Hi Alan,

 

Welcome to the GB! A Sunderland is a superb choice of subject and it will be very interesting to see the tiny kit being built.

 

Cheers

 

Jaime

 

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Hi All,

 

Thank you for your comments :D

 

Well it's 19:32 hours, Saturday Sept 2 here in New Zealand, time for a quick update

 

I always like to add in some historic/technical info with my builds, so here are some shots from a Mk V Manual, I own,

and as you look at the Photos you will see it was at RNZAF Lauthala Bay, so my Dad most likely used it.

 

Sunderland%20manual_zpsjndpry13.jpg

Sunderland%20manual%201_zpsttatodcl.jpg

Sunderland%20Manual%202_zpsr1mmofm8.jpg

 

Some of the pages

Sunderland%20Manual%203_zpsfxj5flb4.jpg

 

Cockpit/Flight Deck

Sunderland%20Manual%204_zpse6ktlpt2.jpg

 

Upper Hatch over Flight Deck - Been up through that when our Sunderland's were in Service

Sunderland%20Manual%206_zpsclkyn7tj.jpg

 

 

This one always gets a smile from me, Bilging the float while afloat,  you have to wonder what that chappy did to end up here^_^

Sunderland%20Manual%205_zpsnmjjzjy9.jpg

 

All Sunderland's had to obey Maritime Law while on the water -Hence the Mooring Light

Sunderland%20Manual%207_zpszjduhfjp.jpg

 

Manual Photo Links

Manual 1

Manual 2

Manual 3

Manual 4

Manual 5

Manual 6

Manual 7

Manual 8

 

Onto the Model - this what I would like to end up with

Sunderland in Braby

 

Using some spare Balsa, I measured up to see how the model will sit in the Braby

Model%20in%20Braby_zpslf9tphde.jpg

 

Braby

 

Sanded off the fuselage rivets

 

FILE0754.jpg

Rivets

 

Areas I need to address - The Kader kit suffers from the same issue the Airfix kit does with the forward edge of the

Bomb Bay door too far back - need to add in the  Beam gun hatches also

 

FILE07411.jpg

Areas to fix

 

Need to add in the Hump where the upper turret once sat

 

FILE07691.jpg

Dorsal hump

 

More to follow soon - Hope you enjoy

 

Regards

 

Alan

 

 

 

Edited by LDSModeller
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46 minutes ago, SleeperService said:

No pictures here Alan. Linux and Firefox :(

 

7 minutes ago, AlexN said:

Same here - ipad and safari.  (Visible on my imac via chrome and the pb plugin, though - when I chance to expose myself to google ;).)

 

Cheers,

Alex.

Hi Guys,

 

 Have added links into my post for the photos, so you can see them^_^

 

HTH

 

Alan

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Hi All,

 

Another segment to my Build. Please note I will add a link for any photos I post just in case you can't see the Photo Bucket one

 

This week I have been busy "manufacturing portholes from sprue as below

First off drilling out the centre to create the porthole (using 1.6mm drill), and when set re-drilled to 2mm (actual size is 1.98mm)

which equates to 30.5cm in actual 1:1 size.

 

FILE02001_zps3lmuqmfa.jpg

Photo Link

 

I'm glad the skills I learned in School wood working shop class turning wood, can be scaled downB)

 

FILE0201%201_zpsyar37iyt.jpg

Photo Link

 

Measuring to get 2.4mm with my calipers (The 2.4mm is outer dimension which equates to 37.5cm in 1:1 size)

 

FILE0202%20copy_zpssek9b7dt.jpg

Photo Link

 

I have done the Starboard side, you can see where I have added the tooled sprue to the aft potholes, the white sprue you see, is to block

the hole for the beaching gear pin, and note the filled in Bomb Bay door windows to move the doors forward (too far aft like Airfix kit)

 

1_zpssnh3vafy.jpg

Photo Link

 

I have created a Bomb Bay door template to scribe in the new doors in correct position

 

FILE02121_zps7qet3oiu.jpg

Photo Link

 

Just a piece of Technical info, from Sunderland manual and Bomb Bay door dimensions

 

FILE0214%201%20copy_zpseuowjgpy.jpg

Photo Link

 

For those interested My Airfix Sunderland build link showing how I dealt with the Portholes and bomb bay doors

Airfix Sunderland

 

More soon, hope you enjoy, and thanks for stopping by :D

 

Regards

 

Alan

 

 

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  • 4 weeks later...

Hi all,

 

Something of a update ^_^

 

I have to say folks, some really AWESOME builds going on in this GB!!!!!:yes:

 

What I have been up to........... I have new Image storage site.......

 

First off, I have re-scribed the bomb bay doors in more correct position, along with two portholes, along with the stern

Gunners hatch and Galley hatches, along with the Beam hatches and drilled porthole The Beam porthole is slightly larger

in Diameter (40.6cm) than the straight porthole transparency (30.5 cm).

 

27afdc70-47c4-44c3-a159-799243387b2e.jpg

 

What the Beam Hatch looks like from the inside

7f0cd86d-80ce-44d3-a263-4322bf36cf71.jpg

 

 

I have also started the Upper Dorsal hump, where the upper turret once sat, once the turrets were removed

(either for production or deletion due to no need for them) the round hole for the turret was replaced by a

hatch

e4738d99-ebc6-412b-92b0-1da42698a5b3.jpg

 

This is the fairing with filler and sanded to proper profile

81f55cc9-50fd-478a-a4d3-3f39d5087559.jpg

 

This what the hump looks like from the side on the real thing

e1551478-05a1-4f03-bfca-de9d4bb22538.jpg

 

What it looks like from inside, notice the hatch

ca4ce986-bbf6-4e09-8189-ec08be74ed47.jpg

 

While I won't be using it the forward part of the fairing where it would sat, and in relation to the hump

155363b9-a3d9-4916-b5df-3d1ecd4869e3.jpg

 

I have started on the interior, filling in the wing wells

532a29ac-8238-4ff0-a61b-7722e8776f82.jpg

 

Also I have started a basic interior, so there is not a "See Through" effect - you can see behind the Bomb bay forward

Bomb bay bulkhead/flight deck floor, the wing well filled and sanded.

 

0311f3da-043f-4123-a7bd-581a43777b4f.jpg

 

More soon, thanks for looking in :D

 

Thanks/regards

 

Alan

 

 

 

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  • 3 months later...

Hi All,

 

This hasn't ended quite like I had planned (Mice & Men concept here I think^_^)

 

Work before Christmas and not being able to log onto BM over the Christmas/New Year period didn't help

either but hey roll with punches (make lemonade.....)

 

On top of that the kit in some parts just didn't allow to build how I wanted, the floats were far too wide, the

Props broke while trying to thin etc etc.

 

So rather than just toss the kit and forget the group build, I decided to make lemonade and reduce to produce

some parts of the kit (floats /props etc) and re-think my diorama - needless to say I won't finish by tomorrow, but

here are some photos of my work thus far

 

My new diorama  will be based on one of these photo links - All these I recall quite well seeing them at Hobby

NZ4118 Rotton Row Hobsonville

 

NZ4119 far end of Airfield Hobsonville

 

Did up a basic interior Structure

dc918a3c-a5ec-4c6f-8af4-9b957ef98902.jpg

 

Interior Structure and internal walls painted -the lower floor colour too blue - ah well .......

7ae530f9-7e82-4bdc-afcc-4644e631d8cc.jpg

 

Exterior wise, I have added correct entry hatches fore and aft, the cut outs are real, the triangular one for

crash axe, and oblong for fire extinguisher (with clear pexiglass panels)

aeb3a439-67aa-42d2-85d3-0dc47fdf1b63.jpg

 

688e5c43-3cec-4935-9257-33db19f9b764.jpg

 

With above links, you can see NZ4118 and NZ4119 both had the forward gun slots, so I added these

6a18410c-4fba-4155-903a-38b30340117e.jpg

 

Cleaned up with Tamiya putty

4013d98d-610a-4fff-b6f1-9cebfc61f16b.jpg

 

I Cut out the flaps to install the flapwell

37c94790-0e55-4616-8edc-b1cdd9d267e6.jpg

 

Fuselage all sealed up - note i have cut out the bomb bay doors

8cd455f7-95a6-4945-acff-936330f215e7.jpg

 

Finally, wings glued together, but my initial attempt to thermo form a flapwell didn't work out so well ;)

47c54625-5103-4205-b56e-8fe2c09311bc.jpg

 

That's my update, hopefully more within the next few days, so I can finish her..........:D

 

Thanks for looking in.

 

By the way some truly awesome builds on here folks, we truly have some very talented people

here on BM - Well done All!!!!

 

Regards

 

Alan

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Hi Alan,

 

Sorry to know about your build problems but your diorama idea is good to make use of the model with its limitations! Looking forward to seeing further updates!

 

Cheers

 

Jaime

 

 

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  • 5 years later...
On 1/13/2018 at 6:26 AM, LDSModeller said:

Hi All,

 

This hasn't ended quite like I had planned (Mice & Men concept here I think^_^)

 

Work before Christmas and not being able to log onto BM over the Christmas/New Year period didn't help

either but hey roll with punches (make lemonade.....)

 

On top of that the kit in some parts just didn't allow to build how I wanted, the floats were far too wide, the

Props broke while trying to thin etc etc.

 

So rather than just toss the kit and forget the group build, I decided to make lemonade and reduce to produce

some parts of the kit (floats /props etc) and re-think my diorama - needless to say I won't finish by tomorrow, but

here are some photos of my work thus far

 

My new diorama  will be based on one of these photo links - All these I recall quite well seeing them at Hobby

NZ4118 Rotton Row Hobsonville

 

NZ4119 far end of Airfield Hobsonville

 

Did up a basic interior Structure

dc918a3c-a5ec-4c6f-8af4-9b957ef98902.jpg

 

Interior Structure and internal walls painted -the lower floor colour too blue - ah well .......

7ae530f9-7e82-4bdc-afcc-4644e631d8cc.jpg

 

Exterior wise, I have added correct entry hatches fore and aft, the cut outs are real, the triangular one for

crash axe, and oblong for fire extinguisher (with clear pexiglass panels)

aeb3a439-67aa-42d2-85d3-0dc47fdf1b63.jpg

 

688e5c43-3cec-4935-9257-33db19f9b764.jpg

 

With above links, you can see NZ4118 and NZ4119 both had the forward gun slots, so I added these

6a18410c-4fba-4155-903a-38b30340117e.jpg

 

Cleaned up with Tamiya putty

4013d98d-610a-4fff-b6f1-9cebfc61f16b.jpg

 

I Cut out the flaps to install the flapwell

37c94790-0e55-4616-8edc-b1cdd9d267e6.jpg

 

Fuselage all sealed up - note i have cut out the bomb bay doors

8cd455f7-95a6-4945-acff-936330f215e7.jpg

 

Finally, wings glued together, but my initial attempt to thermo form a flapwell didn't work out so well ;)

47c54625-5103-4205-b56e-8fe2c09311bc.jpg

 

That's my update, hopefully more within the next few days, so I can finish her..........:D

 

Thanks for looking in.

 

By the way some truly awesome builds on here folks, we truly have some very talented people

here on BM - Well done All!!!!

 

Regards

 

Alan

Alan, this looks like your last post on the build. Did you finish it? If not it would be good to get it off the shelf and continue- you have already done a lot of excellent work 😊

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18 hours ago, Adrian Hills said:

Alan, this looks like your last post on the build. Did you finish it? If not it would be good to get it off the shelf and continue- you have already done a lot of excellent work 😊

Hi Adrian,

 

Thank you for your kind words :)

 

No I haven't finished it, but I have pulled it out from my model cupboard this morning, and will look to

finish it off over the next month. Probably more a post in RFI, than continue with a WIP

 

Thanks

 

Alan

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