Jump to content

Revell 1:72 Consolidated PB4Y-1 Liberator


Navy Bird

Recommended Posts

Now those do look rather smart, don't they? Obviously made on a CNC multi-axis machining center. Turn the diameters and steps on brass, and then what looks like a tiny ball end cutter to sink the cooling jacket holes. They probably spit them out of the CNC by the hundreds.

Hmmm, I could set-up a government job at work, have the mechanical engineers design these up, and have the shop make them. I could even have them sent out for plating. And I could charge the whole project to "tooling." No, wait a minute, probably best just to buy these bad boys from Master Model - it's no doubt cheaper than the IRS fines. :)

Cheers,

Bill

arrr there he goes and spoils it for me!!! And here I thought they were done by vestal virgins slaving for weeks over each piece...sweat dripping off their budding naked bodies.......slaving away as they lovingly crafted each piece by hand.....finished each with a kiss! :wub:

Thanks for shattering my dreams..... :chair::crying:

Oh and the B-24 looks awesome!!!!!! :thumbsup:

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 2/16/2014 at 06:43, trickyrich said:

arrr there he goes and spoils it for me!!! And here I thought they were done by vestal virgins slaving for weeks over each piece...sweat dripping off their budding naked bodies.......slaving away as they lovingly crafted each piece by hand.....finished each with a kiss! :wub:

Thanks for shattering my dreams..... :chair::crying:

Oh and the B-24 looks awesome!!!!!! :thumbsup:

 

You misunderstand. Vestal virgins slave away for weeks writing and de-bugging CNC code, sweat dripping off their naked fingertips as they bang away on their keyboards crafting exquisite syntax. All this while consuming litre after litre of Jolt Cola, and shredding Doritos by the kilo. Only then do the brass barrels fly out of the machine tools.

 

Your dreams are altered, but still intact! :beer:

 

Cheers,

Bill

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi mates,

 

Between cooking, cleaning, and caring for my wife (whoever knew that being a housewife was so difficult?) I managed to finish the dorsal turret for the Libby. I cut a disc out of plastic sheet, punched a hole through it, and used that for the base. Then I added some plastic rod, an old instrument panel coaming cut in half, two resin Browning stocks, some leftover PE ammo belts (I found them! In the fiddly bits drawer, where they should be!) and two barrels made from plastic rod and PE cooling jackets. Authentic? Well, not exactly, let's just say that it evokes the "mood" of the PB4Y dorsal turret. :)

 

100_4441

 

I've decided to use the clear part from the kit, namely because it has nicely formed "frames" or "ribs" that are visible without painting them. You see I can't paint them, 'cause they were part of the formed perspex or Plexiglas or whatever they were made of back then. No framing here, even though you see a lot of modellers paint the frames. But you should be able to see the ribs, as they are quite prominent on the actual turret. Here's what she'll look like with the clear part installed:

 

100_4442

 

See what I mean about being able to see the ribs? The vacuform part from Squadron (Falcon) has no ribs at all, it's nicely formed of course, but the ribs aren't there.

 

Test fitting the turret onto the fuselage (sorry for the dust - my wife normally dusts the model off before shooting, and now that I'm my wife, well, I forgot):

 

100_4443

 

I think the interior of the turret looks busy enough. Yes, I know that the elevation of the guns should be at zero degrees, but I'm modelling the plane as it was when it was posing for my model. The crew was quite creative that day! :)

 

It looks like I'm also test fitting something else in that last photo...100 points to the laddie or lassie that can point it out and properly define its purpose!

Hmmm, that also reminds me that I've got to do the bulging side windows. This build will never end!

 

Cheers,

Bill

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Bill,

It looks great as it is, but if you 'did' use the Falcon part, you could paint the ribs using some matt varnish to give the effect of the overlap (or add a dash of white to the varnish). Not tried it myself, just thinking out loud like I do!!

Nearly in RFI now :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 2/18/2014 at 04:33, woody37 said:

Bill,

It looks great as it is, but if you 'did' use the Falcon part, you could paint the ribs using some matt varnish to give the effect of the overlap (or add a dash of white to the varnish). Not tried it myself, just thinking out loud like I do!!

Nearly in RFI now :)

 

Now that is a thought, innit? The matt varnish might do a nice job of simulating the areas where the Plexiglas pieces were glued together (I've just learned that was how it was done, it wasn't moulded in one piece). But I've got a photo that, to me anyway, shows what looks like moulded-in ribs that you see clearly through. Hmmm. And I thought I was done with the top turret!

 

On 2/18/2014 at 04:37, martin hale said:

Nice work on the turrets Bill! I hope your wife is progressing alright.

Martin

 

Thanks, Martin. Wifey is at least getting some sleep, which is nigh impossible to do in a hospital. Although I keep waking her up to show her how the turrets are progressing...

 

On 2/18/2014 at 09:46, Shalako said:

I agree. If you can, give it a try.

 

Well, you've all got me thinking now. Maybe I'll try something with the Falcon part. Lucky for me I glued the Revell clear part on with white glue, so it will pop right off. The better clarity of the Falcon part will mean that I've got to do a better job on the details though. Ah, the burden of building an ancient kit - the work never stops.

 

And I still don't have a definitive answer to the antennae routing, although I at least have a plan that should pass muster if asked by one of those pesky IPMS judges.

 

Cheers,

Bill

 

PS. And to think I thought this would be finished by December 15. Ha! :):):)

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

100_4443.jpg

It looks like I'm also test fitting something else in that last photo...100 points to the laddie or lassie that can point it out and properly define its purpose!

Cheers,

Bill

Retractable dorsal sense antenna (the green blob)?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 2/18/2014 at 17:17, dr_gn said:

Retractable dorsal sense antenna (the green blob)?

 

I'll give you 75 points, as you correctly identified the green blob, but only partially guessed what it's for.

 

I was fooling around to see if I could come up with something to use as insulators for the locations where the Command and Liaison antennae enter the fuselage. (Or, as we like to say in the biz, something to glue the other end of the wire to.) And silly me, I forgot it was there until I was posting the photo.

 

The green blob is actually the tip of a resin rocket that came with my CMR Scimitar kit. My biggest problem in identifying a suitable part for this usage is that I have absolutely NO IDEA what the insulators looked like to begin with! :)

 

Cheers,

Bill

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 2/18/2014 at 21:20, Jessica said:

Antenna lead-in for the HF antenna leading from the port fin tip?

 

That would be it, in my book a combination of an insulator and a grommet. If only I knew what it actually looked like! Got any pictures? :)

 

Cheers,

Bill

 

PS. Location of the lead-in seemed to be different depending on serial number, etc. Consolidated Mess, as the book says.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A buddy over at Scalemates directed me to these photos:

 

insulator1

 

insulator2

 

These were identified on a warbird site as "B-24 antenna insulators." Are these the lead-ins? Does the cone sit on top of the fuselage, and the antenna wire comes down through the cone and into the interior? If so, this is the biggest piece of dumb luck I've ever had, as the "green blob" setting on my model is almost exactly this same shape!

 

dr_gn, when you referred to the sense antenna, that is the whip antenna, correct? Any idea what fuselage station that was at?

 

This build is turning into an exercise in aviation archaeology. But that's fun, too!

 

Cheers,

Bill

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 2/18/2014 at 04:33, woody37 said:

Bill,

It looks great as it is, but if you 'did' use the Falcon part, you could paint the ribs using some matt varnish to give the effect of the overlap (or add a dash of white to the varnish). Not tried it myself, just thinking out loud like I do!!

Nearly in RFI now :)

 

OK, you were right Woody. The turret looks better with the vacuform part and matt varnish to represent the overlap areas. The pint's on me. :drink:

 

I staged it on some black paper so you can see the matt varnish lines better. They didn't show up well against the blue, but they're quite obvious in real life.

 

100_4447

 

100_4449

 

Cheers,

Bill

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Bill,

Just caught up with your fun and games here, truly amazing work Sir, even more so in 72nd :hypnotised: :clap: Seeing this has removed doubts from my mind with my 24 D Im arguing with, so a big heartfelt thank you :worthy:

Bexy

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 2/20/2014 at 02:12, bexwh773 said:

Hi Bill,

Just caught up with your fun and games here, truly amazing work Sir, even more so in 72nd :hypnotised: :clap: Seeing this has removed doubts from my mind with my 24 D Im arguing with, so a big heartfelt thank you :worthy:

Bexy

 

Thanks, Bexy! Fun and games it is, until somebody gets hurt. Then it's just fun! I love that old Monogram B-24 you're arguing with. It makes into a very impressive model, and not just because of its size. Lots of nice detail, and having had a look at your WIP, you're adding even more. Can't wait to see it finished! :)

 

On 2/20/2014 at 02:14, woody37 said:

I've never tried this Bill, you was my guinea pig, lol!!!!!

That looks 100% better, will fit right in with the other clear bits now, this is a true masterpiece of a build :)

 

Thanks for the suggestion, ol' Lard Head here wouldn't have thought of that on his own. It does look better - if you have any other crazy ideas, send 'em over. I can be a guinea pig anytime!

 

On 2/20/2014 at 02:37, HL-10 said:

There's some very skilful modelling going on here! :goodjob:

 

Really? Send me a link, I always like looking at some skillful modelling! :) Seriously, thanks!

 

OK, if you've been following along, you know that I'm hung up on this antenna thing. I can't get myself to add any wires if I don't know what they're attached to. A colleague on another site described the insulator/lead-in as a white cone with an eyelet at its apex. Sounds a lot like the photo in post #139 that was supplied by another colleague.

 

I searched for days last night looking for a photo reference for this. Here is the best I found:

 

Insulator Found

 

The plane, of course, is the famous Blue Streak. At the center of the red circle is what I have decided to believe is a small white cone, conveniently located where the liaison antenna lead-in should be. Also in the circle, below and in-line with the top turret, is a small dark circle which I believe is the original location for the lead-in (prior to a radio mod) that has been repaired.

 

So am I nuts, or just plane crazy (pun intended)?

 

Cheers,

Bill

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great stuff Bill, just looks better and better !...hope this helps, sorry it's a bit fuzzy but scanned off a slide a friend of mine took for me a while back......the lower white casing seems to be conical in shape..........looks suspiciously like a spark plug !

ScreenShot004_zpsaf79dbc2.jpg

Melchie..

Edited by general melchett
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 2/22/2014 at 08:37, woody37 said:

I think you're just teasing us Bill, get the damn thing in RFI :D

 

I want to get the antennae right so there is no RFI!! (RFI, radio frequency interference, you know...oh bother.)

 

On 2/22/2014 at 10:05, general melchett said:

Great stuff Bill, just looks better and better !...hope this helps, sorry it's a bit fuzzy but scanned off a slide a friend of mine took for me a while back......the lower white casing seems to be conical in shape..........looks suspiciously like a spark plug !

Melchie..

 

By Jove, you've got it!

 

Yup, that is definitely the thing in Post #139. In lieu of the eyelet on top that is directing the antenna wire down through the insulator, I shall instead use a glob of glue. You won't know the difference, trust me! :)

 

Cheers,

Bill

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi mates,

 

Short update for today. First up, we gotta do something about the pitot probes, the ones supplied in the kit are not usable. So I took some very small diameter hypodermic needles (it pays to be a drug addict!), cut them to length, and glued them to some styrene cut to shape. I determined the length and angle of the pitot probe support by measuring photos - in other words, I didn't determine it at all. I guessed! In reality, this support would have had an airfoil cross-section, but I think that's a bit crazy in 1:72 scale. Wait a minute, this whole build is crazy!

 

Here's how the pitot probes came out - looks a bit nicer than the Revell part, don't you think?

 

100_4450

 

I figured while I was working on parts that I could hardly see, let's make those antenna insulators! I made one previously, from the conical nose on the rockets provided with the CMR Scimitar kit. I cut off a bunch more, painted them white, and added to the fuselage in the appropriate locations.

 

Next, I guessed that the side windows (which I planned on cutting out of an additional vacuform canopy that I had) would not be tall enough for the opening on the kit's canopy. So I devised this cool idea - add a "channel" at the bottom of the sill for the side window to slide on. It would reduce the height of the opening, and then I could trim the windows to fit. I used some small plastic extrusion, cut and fit like so:

 

100_4452

 

I was so proud of my brilliance! Then I actually cut out the vacuform side windows, measured them and found out that they would fit perfectly into the original opening! Ha - what an idiot! Luckily, I only glued the channel in with white glue. Pop! They were gone, quicker than they went in.

 

After I finished laughing about that silly waste of time, it was time to add the rest of the gun barrels. So I did.

 

100_4455

 

We're getting close, mates! What's left? Mount the turrets, add the side windows, add the command and liaison antennae (I use 0.005" Nitinol wire), add the "sense" whip antenna, add that other antenna post towards the back (whose function I don't know), mount the pitot probes...and I think that's it.

 

I want the side windows open, but the type of bulged window that was on Subduer doesn't open very far. So I'll pose it that way. Technically, the fixed part of the side window should also be added, but you won't see it and there isn't much room on the sill anyway.

 

So I did all that stuff, too, and I think we can call this one finished. I just took about 40 pictures, but while I'm preparing the RFI thread, here's a sneak preview of the finished beast. Here is the link to the Ready For Inspection thread.

 

100_4481

 

Cheers,

Bill

 

PS. Maybe I should open up the bomb bay, and add some ordnance. Not!

  • Like 12
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...