Belcher Bits PBY-5/5A Tail (for Monogram 1:48)

[Mike]

PBY-5/5A Tail (for Monogram)
1:48 Belcher Bits

The Monogram/Revell Monogram kit of the famous Catalina Flying boat has been around for a while, and it's still quite an impressive kit, especially if long wingspans are your thing. There's a bit of a misjudgement hidden within the parts though, that might not look that obvious when you first look at the kit, but once you've seen it, it is glaringly obvious.

It has a fat tail! If you don't mind or care, then you might as well stop reading here, as this won't be the correction set you. If you do mind, and want to go the extra mile for accuracy however, and are prepared to do a little surgery, then read on. The kit arrives in a thick gauge ziplok bag with instructions printed on blue A4 paper. The resin included in the bag consists of the two large tail parts, separate rudder, and two tail extensions. The short one is the standard tail, and a longer one with an extension with ventral fin is the MAD Boom equipped option. There is also a small insert that you can fit to the tail to depict the de-icing intake that was fitted to some airframes. You could be forgiven for missing the small strip of rod that has been supplied in the pack to use as the rudder hinge. I missed it entirely, and found a random piece of strip on my desk, which I've since lost. Doh! Fortunately, I'm not short of Evergreen strip, so when the time comes, I'll grab a length of 1.5mm x 2.5mm rod from my supplies.

The cut in the fuselage is required just forward of a panel line (conveniently), and cures the excessively bloated tail profile that you can see on the picture above, kindly supplied by forum member Mark Stanton, which can be seen in his excellent build here. Once the tail has been liberated, the new one is glued together and slid into the fuselage, fettling as you go to improve the fit. If you are using the scoop, which was a late war addition, you will need to cut a chunk out of the tail's leading edge just 1.5mm in front of a panel line. This can be done with a file or razor saw, taking care to keep the shape square and level as you do. The kit elevators can be re-used just by cutting off the tabs at their bases and trimming the root square, leaving the resulting holes as the new slot for the moulded in tabs on the new tail. The rudder hinge is cut to shape and installed at the step near the top, and the rudder itself can be added, with a little deflection either way if you desire.

Clearly there will be a little clean-up and sanding needed to blend the new tail with the kit fuselage, but this also gives you the opportunity to harmonise the panel lines to the kit while the tools are out. To see exactly what's involved, check out the PDF instructions here.

Conclusion
A worthy upgrade for any Cat in 1:48, curing a mistake that's easily missed until you really look at the airframe. Whilst not a new update, it's worth mentioning because of the recent re-issue of the kit by Revell in Europe, and the improvement that it offers in the process. You might need to add a little extra nose weight to balance your Cat out, but it's worth the effort.

Very highly recommended.

Review sample courtesy of Mike Belcher at

[Shar2]

That last photo certainly shows the need for this conversion. I'd best get one.

[Uncle Uncool]

On ‎3‎/‎25‎/‎2015 at 2:15 PM, Shar2 said:

That last photo certainly shows the need for this conversion. I'd best get one.

Quite right, as the shape on the right looks like the next thing to Patrick Star in Spongebob Squarepants, no?

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Great correction set, even though im prepping to finish my Cat as i write this. I wont be getting one as im just building for me, and i can live with the issue. However if your a competition builder and need 100% accuracy in a kit, i say go for it. 

[Uncle Uncool]

You should get it, CorsairFoxFourUncle, my mate. It's not that expensive, and it really makes a difference. Great cast, as well. Got mine last week.