Which Catalina ?

[mossieramm]

Hi there, in a month or two it will be 75 years of the sinking of HMS Hood and the Bismarck. I thought it would be cool to do a model of the Catalina which found the Bismarck in May 1941.

As far as I know it was an RAF Coastal Command Catalina PBY-5 (AH545 WQ-Z of 209 Squadron) which located the German battleship Bismarck on 26 May 1941.

This one ?? http://www.aviationbanter.com/attachment.php?s=2b0d55bf53ce4df8ce4ebff23b2a9d1f&attachmentid=65568&d=1377520504

Are there any kits in 1/48 or 1/72 ?? Were there any modifications made to a RAF Coastal Command PBY ??

Thanks for any info.

David.

[Mike]

The Monogram/Revell 1:48 kit is quite nice despite its advancing age, but needs a new tail that our chums at Belcher Bits can supply - I reviewed one a while back if you're interested. Can't comment on converting it to UK spec, but I do like the kit, and it's a bit of a monster when built

[Charlie Hugo]

Revell released their 1/72nd scale Catalina in RAF CC markings, may of been related to the Bismark sinking but as I dont have the kit anymore I cannot confirm

[Chuck1945]

When it initially came out I built the 1/72 Academy PBY-5 as WQ-Z. I recall there has been some discussion regarding the engine cowls and the elevator hinge lines but not any specific details

[Admiral Puff]

The Academy engines are definitely undersized - the ODs are about what the IDs should be - and the framing on the gun cupolas is wrong. The old Revell kit, while crude in some aspects, is actually quite accurate with these two. It also came with decals for AH545 in at least one iteration, and it's still around on EvilBay and suchlike sites.

[AlCZ]

In Revell 1/48 PBY-5 (This: http://s61.photobucket.com/user/janswede/media/Modeling/DSCF0001_zpsc889fb2d.jpg.html)was WQ-Z included as decal variant...

It is still a nice kit - (i don´t know what is bad with tail ? I remember was have a nice details and really nice texture of fabric ) with nice fine surface details (with riveting) but this PBY-5 are released a many many years ago (a twenty years back ?) and RoG re-released PBY-5A. But maybe you found it on e-bay...

[cossack52]

you may need a crewfigure for the then "neutral" american crew member who was reportedly on board!

[Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies]

The Revell PBY-5 kit which has the USN silver and yellow wing boxart has decals for the very aircraft above. I built it OOB like that. The tail should have a pinch at the base of the fuselage but it's not obvious from most angles and therefore is one of the things that needs to be pointed out. The Belcher Bits resin replacement is a big heavy chunk of resin which means it's hard to make a 5A stand on its wheels, but you don't have to worry about that with a 5

[Panoz]

It also came with decals for AH545 in at least one iteration, and it's still around on EvilBay and suchlike sites.

No that was the 1/48th scale kit.

The 1/72nd scale one did come with 209 squadron markings, but for VA708.

http://www.modelingmadness.com/review/allies/us/jorgensenpbypreview.htm

It was reissued a couple of years ago as Revell Classics kit 00004 PBY-5 Catalina IIA.

But the Academy one is much better (save for engine cowls)...

[mossieramm]

Thanks for the help so far. Another question though. I have a spare (if there is such a thing) 1/48 Revell PBY-5a. To convert to a PBY-5, is it just removing the landing gear and filling the gaps ??

[Admiral Puff]

Thanks for the help so far. Another question though. I have a spare (if there is such a thing) 1/48 Revell PBY-5a. To convert to a PBY-5, is it just removing the landing gear and filling the gaps ??

Yes. That's exactly what the RAAF did with a lot of its -5As in 1:1 scale. They didn't need the amphibious capability, and taking out the undercarriage (and all the weight that entailed) gave more carrying capacity.