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Preliminary inquiry - correction for Academy Catalina.


Admiral Puff

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Gingerbob, potential warp/weight is exactly what I had in mind when thinking of the entire center section... which is why I was recalling the way CED did their Privateer conversion.  Less chance of warp and weight when only dealing with nacelles.

 

Plug-n-play is nice, but sometimes just not totally possible/practical... and I look at it from the standpoint that SOME sort of conversion is better than NO conversion at all.  I like having at least some sort of base to even attempt working with.

Edited by J.C. Bahr
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18 hours ago, J.C. Bahr said:

SOME sort of conversion is better than NO conversion at all.  I like having at least some sort of base to even attempt working with.

I agree! Since there are correct props, engines, and exhausts already out there in the aftermarket, as far as I'm concerned, if I had a decent set of cowlings, nacelle fairings, and oil coolers, I'd be very happy. The nacelle fairings, which don't really have anything in the way of details, just a few panel lines, could be done as vacforms, which I am betting would then fit over the existing underscale kit fairings, which could be filed down or even removed, if need be. What do you think?

Mike

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OK, I'm back from Canberra and things have progressed.

 

Red Roo have indicated that they will market the conversion if I do the masters, so that's my task for this week ...

 

As things look at present, the set will involve new nacelles to replace the Academy ones; ditto the cowls. The "no cut" alternative doesn't stack up as far as price is concerned. No decision yet on whether we will include engines ... I will need to do some more work to establish exactly what needs to be done, including a visit to HARS at Albion Park to photograph and measure the Catalina down there. As this will involve a trip of at least three days (probably four) from where I sit, I may not be able to do this in the immediate future, but I will get onto it as soon as I can. Keep watching for more thrilling episodes!

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14 hours ago, Admiral Puff said:

OK, I'm back from Canberra and things have progressed.

 

Red Roo have indicated that they will market the conversion if I do the masters, so that's my task for this week ...

 

As things look at present, the set will involve new nacelles to replace the Academy ones; ditto the cowls. The "no cut" alternative doesn't stack up as far as price is concerned. No decision yet on whether we will include engines ... I will need to do some more work to establish exactly what needs to be done, including a visit to HARS at Albion Park to photograph and measure the Catalina down there. As this will involve a trip of at least three days (probably four) from where I sit, I may not be able to do this in the immediate future, but I will get onto it as soon as I can. Keep watching for more thrilling episodes!

Admiral,

 

Sounds like a plan! I have attached a link that gives good views of the cowlings, props/hubs, and oil coolers, which are a very distinctive feature of the PBY- scroll down to see the photos. The second link shows the oil cooler and the early production props- later production used paddle blade props like the ones fitted to R-1830-powered C-47's. The Squadron/Signal In Action and Color Walkaround are both excellent sources of detail photos. Can't wait!

Mike

 

http://warbirdinformationexchange.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?p=169688

 

http://www.skytamer.com/1.2/2003/3504.jpg

 

Edited by 72modeler
added second link, corrected spelling
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Thanks, Mike, those photos are most useful. Just a pity that some of the WIX stuff has been botophucketed ...

 

The next couple of weeks are going to be pretty busy for me, so I probably won't get to HARS before some time in December. From then it should be possible to get the masters done by the end of the year, so hopefully there will be product available in the new year.

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There is a new Revell one due out soon. From a quick glance at Telford the engine cowlings seemed a bit small.  Whether this was a genuine impression or a bias introduced by this thread I don't know!  It may be the Academy in a new box, perhaps?

 

The Airfix was pretty good, for its day.  Generally it was thought better than the Revell one, although this was partly because the outer wings on the Revell one has an awful droop.  I'd say that the Academy can be guaranteed to be better than either overall, but for the engines.  If I was looking for a Catalina I'd wait for comments on the new Revell one.

 

I must admit having a liking for the 1/144 one from Minicraft.

Edited by Graham Boak
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2 hours ago, Matave said:

Since I don't have an AC Cat I must ask, which is the most accurate one on the market? 

 

The short answer - there isn't one. The basic shape of both the Airfix and the Revell kits is reasonable, but both are now showing their age - not much detail, such as there is is crude. Both suffer from a surfeit of rivets, especially the Airfix one. The Academy one is newer, and much better in that regard, but it has its problems - the engine cowlings and nacelles, the observation blisters on the -5s, the observers' windows on the earlier variants. As I have remarked above, the "new" Revell looks (from published pictures, at least) to be a re-pop of the Academy kit without the faults having been addressed. We need a new, state of the art PBY in 1:72, and I would be more than happy if either Airfix or Revell of Germany were to give us one! With  bit of clever planning it could cover the field from the PBY-1 to the -6A/PB2B-2.

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1 hour ago, Admiral Puff said:

The short answer - there isn't one. The basic shape of both the Airfix and the Revell kits is reasonable, but both are now showing their age - not much detail, such as there is is crude. Both suffer from a surfeit of rivets, especially the Airfix one. The Academy one is newer, and much better in that regard, but it has its problems - the engine cowlings and nacelles, the observation blisters on the -5s, the observers' windows on the earlier variants. As I have remarked above, the "new" Revell looks (from published pictures, at least) to be a re-pop of the Academy kit without the faults having been addressed. We need a new, state of the art PBY in 1:72, and I would be more than happy if either Airfix or Revell of Germany were to give us one! With  bit of clever planning it could cover the field from the PBY-1 to the -6A/PB2B-2.

For what it's worth, I looked at the cowlings in my Esci and Italeri C-47 kits and they look pretty good and are real close to the ones in the old Revell PBY-5A cowlings in diameter, which are a lot more accurate in dimension than the anemic Academy ones; the C-47 nacelle fairings are different, though, so not usable for a PBY.

Mike

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On 11/13/2018 at 9:33 PM, Graham Boak said:

There is a new Revell one due out soon. From a quick glance at Telford the engine cowlings seemed a bit small.  Whether this was a genuine impression or a bias introduced by this thread I don't know!  It may be the Academy in a new box, perhaps?...

Just saw it announced on Aviation Megastore as Revell (Ex Academy), so... https://www.aviationmegastore.com//?action=prodinfo&parent_id=&art=158774

 

/Finn

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On ‎11‎/‎12‎/‎2018 at 8:08 AM, Admiral Puff said:

I probably won't get to HARS before some time in December.

I'm not sure how (or if) they differ but HARS use the same engines in the Dakotas and the Cat. The cowls may differ from the originals?

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Thanks, Rob. I know that the second aircraft they bought had R-2000s, and so different cowls, but I thought the first one was original. I'll have to check that - it would be terrible to spend all that time going there only to find that it wasn't what I wanted!

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I've got the Academy kit waiting to be bashed into shape as New Zealand's only intact and airworthy example, complete with semi-clipper nose, and I wasn't terribly aware of the cowl issues. I'd be keen for a set but the cost - and postage! - may rule me out as a customer.

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Admiral,

 

Found this photo of Cosford's ex-Danish AF PBY-5A; it's a good detail photo that shows the oil coolers, narrow-chord props, and engine/crankcase details. Thought it might prove a useful reference for your project. Maybe a BM'er who is close to Cosford could take measurements or photos that show the cowlings, exhausts, oil coolers, and nacelles. Wishing you success and saving money for at least two sets.

Mike

 

http://www.airliners.net/photo/Denmark-Air-Force/Consolidated-PBY-6A-Catalina-28/5286675/L?qsp=eJwljEEKwkAMRe/y191YQWF21QPowguEmdAWqhmSLCyld28cd4/34G3I8nH%2B%2BmutjARj0jyhQyWltyFtqJO43Ml5FF2R%2BmsHE/VbMEroIWeuzgV//9DC%2BktsuX3G%2BJ4CWJ%2BNcb6EL7PVhdqDneYF%2B34AMzUusA%3D%3D

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19 hours ago, 72modeler said:

Admiral,

 

Found this photo of Cosford's ex-Danish AF PBY-5A; it's a good detail photo that shows the oil coolers, narrow-chord props, and engine/crankcase details. Thought it might prove a useful reference for your project. Maybe a BM'er who is close to Cosford could take measurements or photos that show the cowlings, exhausts, oil coolers, and nacelles. Wishing you success and saving money for at least two sets.

Mike

 

http://www.airliners.net/photo/Denmark-Air-Force/Consolidated-PBY-6A-Catalina-28/5286675/L?qsp=eJwljEEKwkAMRe/y191YQWF21QPowguEmdAWqhmSLCyld28cd4/34G3I8nH%2B%2BmutjARj0jyhQyWltyFtqJO43Ml5FF2R%2BmsHE/VbMEroIWeuzgV//9DC%2BktsuX3G%2BJ4CWJ%2BNcb6EL7PVhdqDneYF%2B34AMzUusA%3D%3D

Thanks, Mike - that's very useful indeed. I wish I'd got the inspiration to start this job earlier - I was at Cosford in July, and could have had a field day! (Incidentally, '866 was on display outside when I was there, and looked a bit faded - even the English sun is unkind to Dayglo panels!)

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On 11/7/2018 at 6:21 PM, Admiral Puff said:

Academy's Catalina kits are nice, but spoiled by some silly mistakes. The most egregious of them is the engine nacelles, which are clearly undersized. I am looking at preparing a set to correct the problem. As I am presently thinking it will consist of an entire new centre section based on the kit parts but in resin with correctly sized nacelles, and new resin engine cowls of the correct diameter. Engines will probably need to be provided separately - I'm thinking from one of the many 1:72 R-1830 sets on the market. I will require a number for my own use, but if there is enough interest I am prepared to run off some extras. To see how viable this might be, I would appreciate some indication of whether there would be any interest out there in such a set, and if so the sort of numbers involved.

I would be interested in buying one set, possibly a second depending on price. My preference is for "no-cut", because my hands are Christmas hams.

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