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PBY-5A Catalina/Cansa


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I already have one Catalina build ongoing in this GB and that represents a standard PBY-5A Catalina; however, I would like to build another kit but something like this type.  Note the redesigned nose and lack of side gun sponsons.

 

As before, I shall be using a Minicraft 1:144 scale kit of the Catalina.

4435_pby-5a_catalina_box-art.jpg

 

I haven't decided on exactly which firebomber markings to complete this in yet, although it will probably be bright colours and so I'll start with a white primer base.

pby-5a_firebomber_01.jpg

 

I need to find a good profile plan which shows the re-shaped nose contours correctly; then I can start to build the new nose.  In the meantime I can start filling the sponson openings.

 

Thanks for looking.

 

Mike

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Hi Mike,

 

Welcome to your third entry in the GB! As they say, we can't have to many Catalinas! :D

 

Great choice, of course, and a firebomber scheme is very welcome and eye catching!

 

Cheers

 

Jaime

 

 

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Thanks Jaime.

 

This phase is to seal off the port and starboard gun/rescue sponson openings and re-shape the nose area with Milliput.  The sponsons have been done and sanded smooth and work is ongoing with the nose.

pby-5a_firebomber_02_sponsons_filled.jpg

 

Here is a comparison with the standard PBY-5 that I am currently doing in parallel for this GB.

pby-5a_firebomber_03_compare_both_pbys.j

 

I hope to show more progress soon.

 

Mike

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Hello Mike,

Procrastinating Modeller's club... Not a lot of procrastination on here !

Congratulations !

This will be a huge Catalina and Dornier Model show seemingly !

Thanks for sharing.

Sincerely.

Corsaircorp

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No, the white lines are the residue from the first priming, with Tamiya white primer, that got worn away while sanding the Milliput.  I shall clean all that out, once I've finished re-shaping the nose, and then re-prime to check all contours are correct.

 

Thanks for the comments folks. :)

 

Mike

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Thanks Paul.  For the sponsons, I just glued a thin sheet of styrene card (10thou/0.25mm) on the inside of the fuselage, mixed and added the Milliput, and then after 24hrs sanded it flat with wet 'n dry.  The nose area was just built up with Milliput and then sanded to shape as seen in photo's I googled.

 

Mike

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7 minutes ago, bootneck said:

Thanks Paul.  For the sponsons, I just glued a thin sheet of styrene card (10thou/0.25mm) on the inside of the fuselage, mixed and added the Milliput, and then after 24hrs sanded it flat with wet 'n dry.  The nose area was just built up with Milliput and then sanded to shape as seen in photo's I googled.

 

Mike

Ah!  A bit like I did my Peas and Carrots Canso.  Cheers mike.  Any thoughts on a scheme yet? I have seen nice pics of yellow ones but trim and other markings could be a challenge

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I've just looked at your Peas and Carrots, I hadn't realised you had done that (I've been too busy trying to get mine looking like a Canso), it looks really good!  I had thought of doing a Buffalo Air but I might go for the red livery now, having seen yours; although I don't think I will get to that level of detail with mine.

 

cheers


Mike

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  • 3 weeks later...

After much searching around, I have decided to have a go at the Buffalo Air Canso in yellow and red, as in the image below:

Canso_of_Buffalo_Air_NT.jpg

 

I have been trying to find decals for this, especially as Paul J had some on his green and orange Canso of Buffalo Air, but it transpires that the company who does those decals as stopped.  That's not too great an issue as I shall try to make up my own.  The main decals to make are:  The green "Buffalo AIR" logo; black with white surround 708 for the nose and tail;  heraldic shield of Northwest Territories, on the tail;  flower emblem of Northwest Territories; 708 on orange band on tail. 

 

I have drawn the heraldic shield, like the one under the tail in the above image, and it is ready to print onto decal sheet:

pby-5a_firebomber_05_heraldry_of_northwe

 

 

 

Here is a view of my progress so far, with the yellow and red areas painted.  The colours are not as bright and vivid as this picture infers, it is more of a golden yellow, it's just the lighting.

pby-5a_firebomber_06_yellow_paint_done.j

 

I'm still experimenting with my airbrush and I've notice a couple of areas of red seeping through the taped areas onto the yellow.  I'll clean those up before moving onto the next step.

 

cheers

 

Mike

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Most of the drawings for the decals are now done.  Here is a view of how they should look on the model.  The fuselage and red stripe are shown just for positioning only.

pby-5a_canso_buffalo_air_yellow_for_deca

 

I think I have them all lined up correctly.

Canso_of_Buffalo_Air_NT.jpg

 

It just needs all the words, numbers and badges to be brought together and printed onto a decal sheet. They should look something like this:

pby-5a_canso_decals.jpg

 

The elements that need white backgrounds do have them, they're just not visible on this white page.

 

  Here's hoping it all works!

 

Mike

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Thanks Jaime.  Yes, those decals with white in them will have to have a white backing decal, to the same outline size as the coloured parts, which will be on transparent sheet and then be placed over them.  The difficulty will be to cut the backing decals exactly to size; that badge looks large but in fact the complete badge is only 2.5mm x 2mm!

Another method I might try is to print the whole decal as one, onto white sheet, and then put a matching surround colour.  In the case of the badge, this would have a yellow surround; however, that also has its problems trying to match the yellow.  What you see on the screen doesn't always match what is printed.  It could turn out to be expensive on paper and decal sheet, mainly as paper doesn't produce as good a sample as actual decal sheet.

 

I'll so some experimenting and report back on which choice I will use.  Meanwhile, I still have three floatplanes to finish!

 

cheers

 

Mike

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I have printed out the decals onto glossy photo paper as a dry run.  The markings appear to be clear and to the correct scale size so I shall have a go at printing onto decal sheet tomorrow.

 

The upper set of 714, with the black outline, is just for me to identify the edges for the white backing decals.  I can't get the outer edges to be any thinner (this is 1 pixel wide) so I'll have to do some more work on that.

pby-5a_firebomber_07b_decal_test_400.jpg

 

I may have to add a background rectangle, around the 714 decal, so that the white can be seen.  As I mentioned earlier though, this needs quite a bit of calibrating of the background colours to match the model's paintwork and striping.

pby-5a_canso_decals_2.jpg

click to enlarge image

 

Mike

 

 

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Hi everyone,

 

I hope you all had a good festive break and got most of the things you wished for.

 

I have finally managed to complete the decals and have applied most of the fuselage ones; I just have the tail numbers to apply next.  I have made an additional set of black decals, for the walkway on the upper wing and the 714 serial for the port upper wing area.  The sheet has been sealed and I am just waiting for it to dry completely, ready for applying tomorrow.

yZod6Pf.jpg

 

The Buffalo Air logo and the mid-fuselage hatch decals are in place and look quite good.  The black and white 714 on the nose was a little trickier, especially trying to blend the yellow with the fuselage colour. The yellow actually blends better to the naked eye, as compared to this photo.

MOccLSP.jpg

 

The badge and emblem under the tailplane also look fine and I am quite pleased with the result.

4IqR6S8.jpg

 

Once all the decals have been applied and checked, I shall touch up the the various colour bleeds before giving the model a coat of Klear.  After that, the wing and wheels will be installed ready for completion.

 

For info: the decals were drawn up in Inkscape and printed onto inkject decal paper and printed out on a standard inkjet printer.  The decals were then sealed with Testors Decal Bonder Spray.

 

Cheers

 

Mike

 

 

 

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Mike,

 

You have missed the script on the tail between the crest and the flower. Not that it's a big deal in this scale...

 

But FYI, see it here: https://farm8.static.flickr.com/7737/18235828880_26a2acb601_b.jpg

 

Cheers!

Edited by Scott Garard
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