tonyot Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 (edited) Hiya Folks, Having done the Whitley I wanted to build another Bomber Command twin and having an affection for the `Pig' I`ve decided to start up with a 1/72nd scale Ventura from 2 Group and will probably go for a 464 Sqn RAAF example with a shark mouth! This is AE854, SB-J with `Joybelle' nose art, courtesy of the excellent Kits at War sheet K7/14. Here is the kit; Here is the decal sheet; And I`m going to go overboard on the aftermarket stuff this time; This includes the Pavla resin tail, and also the resin interior update set for the PV-1, Aero Line resin engine cowlings and of course the Kits at War decal sheet. The Academy Minicraft kit has some problems and I`ve gone over the instruction sheet with some ideas to make a plan, before buying the interior set,...here are the instructions; Apart from the cockpit which needs to be converted to single pilot use with a smaller bulkhead behind, the representation of the Boulton & Paul mid upper turret is awful and there are a few choices; There is of course the old Aeroclub kit of this turret, with a constructed one seen a the top left, then the Revell Halifax has a couple of excellent renditions too which is seen in the middle and the Italeri Hudson turret can be seen at the bottom but although it is better than the Academy Minicraft effort this is still the wrong shape, although the section of mid upper fuselage may prove useful? I`ll probably go for the Revell Halifax turret,....we`ll see! Right onwards and upwards,.....I`ll get the interior painted up! Cheers Tony Edited November 18, 2014 by tonyot 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardtarget Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 Great minds think alike, but your build has gone into much more details and I didn't know the kit had so much that needed changing to make it RAF machine. might have to scrap mine as it was going to be OTB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted October 17, 2014 Author Share Posted October 17, 2014 Great minds think alike, but your build has gone into much more details and I didn't know the kit had so much that needed changing to make it RAF machine. might have to scrap mine as it was going to be OTB. Please don`t scrap yours,.....it still looks OK straight out of the box honestly, it is just that I`ve been researching Ventura`s for some time and want to make some tweaks. You can alter the kit cockpit quite easily,......just look at my doodles on the instructions, Basically leave out the right hand seat and control column and cut down the rear bulkhead and you are half way there,.....so go on keep on building it, you`ll still enjoy it. Remember to fill in the entrance door on the right hand fuselage door as it didn`t exist,.....it was a boo,...boo,...by Academy! I`m looking forward to seeing yours and don` inend on stepping on your toes in any way,.....if I can help in any way please PM me. All the best Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heloman1 Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 Hii Tony, great choice and so many add on bits too. The Acadamy kit, so I'm lead to believe is a bit of doo, in that the fus is too narrow. So what will you be doing besides adding all those goodies? Having said that I'm happy with my SAAF TT version OOB. I've got some wheelwell detail drawings somewhere if you are interested? Colin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardtarget Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 Ok as you put it that way ill carry on but will if you don't mind 'borrow' some of your alterations . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted October 17, 2014 Author Share Posted October 17, 2014 Here is the aircraft that I`m hoping to reproduce,.. note the small shark mouth on the clear nose cone framing; Copyright unknown,...fair use. Cheers Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Fleming Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 Having converted the original Academy PV-1 as an RAF one back in the 80s, the starting point offered is much better! :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted October 17, 2014 Author Share Posted October 17, 2014 Hiya Dave, I can imagine converting the PV-1 was fun,........NOT! Hat`s off to you on that one, I bet you were gutted when the glass nose one and then the fully blown Mk.I/II came out,...but happy at the same time as you could build another! Hii Tony, great choice and so many add on bits too. The Acadamy kit, so I'm lead to believe is a bit of doo, in that the fus is too narrow. So what will you be doing besides adding all those goodies? Having said that I'm happy with my SAAF TT version OOB. I've got some wheelwell detail drawings somewhere if you are interested? Colin Hiya Colin, I won`t be altering the fuselage as it will put the canopy etc out and I don`t intend on detailing the wheel wells,...life is just too short and I won` be picking it up and turning it upside down much! Cheers Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heloman1 Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 Hiya Dave, I can imagine converting the PV-1 was fun,........NOT! Hat`s off to you on that one, I bet you were gutted when the glass nose one and then the fully blown Mk.I/II came out,...but happy at the same time as you could build another! Hiya Colin, I won`t be altering the fuselage as it will put the canopy etc out and I don`t intend on detailing the wheel wells,...life is just too short and I won` be picking it up and turning it upside down much! Cheers Tony Point taken Tony, don't think I would have bothered myself, if I had known prior to my assembling the one I've built. It's just carry the TT markings. Colin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted October 17, 2014 Author Share Posted October 17, 2014 (edited) Just caught the daylight in order to take these progress shots so that I can get on and do some more tonight!; First of all I`ve painted most of the interior parts etc on the sprue. Although many earlier Hudson`s and Ventura`s were finished in the customers choice of interior colour,...ie RAF Interior Green or the closest American equivalent (Britain did pay for them afer all,...they were not Lend Lease) I decided to use the greener looking US Interior Green in this case,......I just have a feeling that they may have changed to the latter during Ventura production; Note how the arrows on the wings indicate the drop tank location parts,......these have to come off as hey were not fitted to Mk.I/II`s. And here are the majority of the interior resin parts which will be used including an opened bomb bay and a new corrected flight deck; I`m still in two minds whether to change the interior colour overnight as I`m still not 100% convinced. Thank goodness for quick drying acrylics eh! Cheers Tony, Edited October 17, 2014 by tonyot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Fleming Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 Hiya Dave, I can imagine converting the PV-1 was fun,........NOT! Hat`s off to you on that one, I bet you were gutted when the glass nose one and then the fully blown Mk.I/II came out,...but happy at the same time as you could build another! I was young and innocent - as was the Airfix Hudson that sacrificed it's nose glazing and turret! Of course latter turning up pics of mk Vs (with and without glass noses) meant I have stockpiled kits for an eventual Ventura fest! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted October 17, 2014 Author Share Posted October 17, 2014 (edited) Hiya Dave, I`m having my Ventura fest at the moment,.....I don`t know whether you`d noticed or anything?? Well I went for Interior Grey Green after all as I wasn`t happy with the colour of the interior and so I repainted everything this evening! I have also begun constructing the model by opening out the entrance door (the correct one on the left!) so that the inerior bits can be see and I`ve fitted some interior ribbing to the walls rather badly as well. Some of the resin has been added inside too but I need to detail paint everything again now. Oh yes the mid upper turret and astrodome openings have also been opened out too, although I`m not sure if the turret ring needs to be cut down further until the Revell Halifax turret is built up and test fitted. It would have to be if using the Aeroclub turret. All the best for now, Tony Edited October 18, 2014 by tonyot 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted October 18, 2014 Author Share Posted October 18, 2014 (edited) Hiya Folks, Another update; The resin engine nacelles have been separated from their pouring lugs and painted inside but still need to be cleaned up yet, note the lovely detail inside the cooling gills. With the instructions behind the part of the kit part which needs to be removed has been highlighted using a pen EDIT- THE CUT LINE FOR THE ENGINES SHOULD ACTUALLY BE FURTHER BACK; The resin tailplane was also seperated from its pouring lugs too; The interior has been re painted using Interior Grey green and the interior walls have received some framework,....it is a little overscale as I didn`t have any suitable sized plastic strip in but it looks OK through the open door and that is the main thing, better than a bare wall and with boxes and things attached to the walls it should hopefully help break them up?; And here is the rest of the interior and parts in the middle of having a watercolour wash,.......soon be ready to fix everything in place and button up the fuselage; For the bomb bay I`m probably going to use some bomb racks and bombs from an Airfix Swordfish so I`ll be raiding the spares box tonight, and as I`ve made a nice little plastic card table and drawer for the Radio Operators position it would be rude not to add a radio log here,.....plus I`ll add a navigators position and table using scrap bits in the location alongside it behind the bulkhead as well as another in the clear nose,.....so that means two maps can be included inside this model! All the best for now Tony Edited October 20, 2014 by tonyot 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woody37 Posted October 18, 2014 Share Posted October 18, 2014 I turn away for two minutes and you've knocked this together already! Great to see the abundance of aftermarket adding to the build too, great start Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Potato Pete Posted October 18, 2014 Share Posted October 18, 2014 Good to see a couple of Ventura on the production line, not one one of BC's headline bombers. And incredible progress (again) Tony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir T Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 Really nice work on that interior! I like the idea of using water colours for washes. I didn't know BC operated Venturas so I'll be watching with interest. Cheers Stuart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted October 19, 2014 Author Share Posted October 19, 2014 (edited) Next Update; I finished the interior last night and here are some pics; As well as the resin stuff I`ve added a Navigators station in the fuselage plus one in the nose and also in the nose are a seat from the scrap box and a pair of resin ammo boxes have been included for the nose guns. A bomb aimers `mat` has also been included from the Italeri Hudson and there are a few more Hudson parts scattered around the model here and there too and the turret is the Halifax turret. Time to button up the fuselage and sort those engine nacelles out,......I might even sand the seams on the Halifax to day too? Cheers for now Tony Edited October 19, 2014 by tonyot 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heloman1 Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 Wow Tony, you've been busy, it's looking good. Colin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted October 19, 2014 Author Share Posted October 19, 2014 (edited) Cheers Colin, Another update; Having hummed and ahh`ed about changing the mid upper gun turret cowlings as the Halifax turret does fit them snugly enough,....it was pretty obvious that it sat far too high and didn`t match the original aircraf, so taking a deep breath the cowling sections were cut off and the hole was enlarged! Here the left hand fuselage half has been done and the right hand half has not been touched yet just to show the difference. Also of note is the filled in entrance door on the right hand fuselage half which doesn`t exist on the real aircraft and was just a boo boo by Academy; I don`t know whether the differences stand out very well as the day light was fading when I took these pics. Having altered the other fuselage half to match the Revell Halifax turret was dry fitted and I think that it looks much better?; Tonight while watching the telly I`ve closed up the fuselage and cut the fronts of the engine nacelles off in order to replace them using the resin replacements,....I`ll post photos tomorrow, Cheers Tony Edited October 21, 2014 by tonyot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbadge Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 Crikey Tony, you are like a modelling machine !!! Great work fella. Keep up the good work All the bestChris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted October 20, 2014 Author Share Posted October 20, 2014 (edited) Here`s another update; I`ve dug out a Sqn Sig canopy and have test fitted it to the model here. The resin tailplanes have also been added and the mid upper turret is shown in place here too. The resin rudders and elevators are shown under the tail, the entrance door with its integral dinghy pack is under the door opening and the original kit canopy and turret are also shown alongside the model, as is the nose cone transparency. Unfortunately this part has the gun mounting moulded onto the outside when it was in fact underneath the glazing, so to try and reproduce this the mounting has been painted onto the inside of the glazing instead; I`ve also been busy with the engines,.....replacing the kit cowling`s with the resin ones, note how much more accurate the resin ones are; The resin cowlings are quite fragile and one of them was missing a cooling gill which was remade using plastic card. Small doors are also included underneath the cowling too; Thats it for now, I`ll be attaching the wings next, fitting the tail controls and the canopy will receive some sun shades, All the best Tony Edit- COCK UP ALERT,..........I thought that the new cowlings looked a bit long but when it came to fitting the wings it became apparent that they were,........BY A LONG CHALK! I cannot believe I walked into this one with my eyes open! The cut line shown in instructions of the resin update set isn`t actually a panel line from the Academy kit as it initially seems but a generalised cut line instead. Now that this blooper has been discovered the resin parts were removed from the wings (which was harder than it sounds!) and another cut was made along the panel line behind, which touches the inner wing leading edges and would be the firewall on the real aircraft. Test fitting the parts revealed that this was much more like it and when the propellers are fitted they just run level with the rear section of the rear windows in the nose, as per the 1/48h Revell kit and an unconverted Academy kit,....... dohh!! All the wasted work but we all live and learn SO PLEASE IGNORE THE ENGINE PHOTOS ABOVE! Edited October 21, 2014 by tonyot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul J Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 Seeing this reminds me of my lucky buy a few weeks ago of an Academy kit for a tenner. Plan to finish it in post war RCAF colours. PS: Another spot of luck was I came across a packet of Harpoon leftovers with all manner of bits in it, but a Martin turret without the gun slotswas among them as a vacform part! Hmm. That will fit my TT Ventura with black yellow finish that had the turret but no guns and the turret with the guns from the kit will go to my Lancaster B.X!!! Sorted! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted October 20, 2014 Author Share Posted October 20, 2014 (edited) I`ve just realised that I`ve ball`sed up with the resin engine nacelles so I`ve updated the previous posts! Dohh Tony Seeing this reminds me of my lucky buy a few weeks ago of an Academy kit for a tenner. Plan to finish it in post war RCAF colours.PS: Another spot of luck was I came across a packet of Harpoon leftovers with all manner of bits in it, but a Martin turret without the gun slotswas among them as a vacform part! Hmm. That will fit my TT Ventura with black yellow finish that had the turret but no guns and the turret with the guns from the kit will go to my Lancaster B.X!!! Sorted! Two strokes of luck there,....well done! Aviaology in Canada have just released a superb sheet which includes a couple of yellow and black striped RCAF Ventura`s,....or are you going to be doing a SAAF one? Edited October 21, 2014 by tonyot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted October 21, 2014 Author Share Posted October 21, 2014 Update; Well I`ve altered the cowling`s to the correct shorter size and after sanding them down the wings have been attached to the fuselage; I cannot decide whether the left engine is sticking up into the air slightly,......it might just have to come off and be redone,.....again! Cheers Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul J Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 Two strokes of luck there,....well done! Aviaology in Canada have just released a superb sheet which includes a couple of yellow and black striped RCAF Ventura`s,....or are you going to be doing a SAAF one? Nah! Its got to be the RCAF one!! I have the set in my decal stash already!! Plus another new set by Aviaeology for a number of Hudsons and another for a Beaufighter!! Just need the right moment to set about them. Its just come to me that I could, at a push, do both the Lockheeds together as a WIP..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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