JimmyZ Posted November 27, 2018 Share Posted November 27, 2018 I'd like to join this GB with this kit. I intend to build a WWII SAAF Ventura with it. I have only done about 45 mins of research so far, but I think that I should be able build a SAAF Ventura from this kit, with relatively minor modifications. I do believe it was used for maritime patrol, so should fit nicely into the criteria of this GB. I'll post the mandatory sprue shots as well as some reference photos later. Cheers Jimmy 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Stuart Posted November 27, 2018 Share Posted November 27, 2018 Sounds good - and appropriate. 2 minutes on Google showed the type was used by SAAF coastal command 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theplasticsurgeon Posted November 27, 2018 Share Posted November 27, 2018 I've just completed this build of that kit. Take a peruse. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmyZ Posted December 1, 2018 Author Share Posted December 1, 2018 (edited) On 11/28/2018 at 12:38 AM, theplasticsurgeon said: I've just completed this build of that kit. Take a peruse. Thanks, that's a nice PV-1! Hope I can get to a similar result. So I've unpacked the kit, and here are the sprues I was surprised at the size of the size of the kit. I know it's a big plane of medium bomber size, but alas I was surprised. This is the reason why sprues need to be washed before hand. These plastics are particularly oily. Don't tell my wife that I've used this dish to clean the plastic... Lukewarm water with a few drops of dishwasing liquid I then left the plastic to fully dry after rinsing it off with clean cold water, and patting it dry gently with some paper towels. This is the decals that comes with the kit. I was pleasantly surprised with the quality. Maybe a bit thick but looking really nice! Almost a pity that I wont be using it. These are the two decal options I have for a SAAF Ventura. First is a WWII scheme. Don't know about the size of those top of wing decals 🤔 And second is a post WWII set. Lovely scheme but think I'll be doing the WWII option. And this is the instructions. Doesn't look too bad, but all of it condensed in 3 pages, maybe I'll have to figure a few things out for myself. Next up.... Subject photos! Till then. Cheers Jimmy Edited December 1, 2018 by JimmyZ 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmyZ Posted December 2, 2018 Author Share Posted December 2, 2018 Time for some reference photos! This is the general reference I'm using for this A/C. And this is the subject I'll be building And here's some photographs of a WWII SAAF Ventura from a SAAF Museum. http://www.sa-transport.co.za/aircraft/military/lockheed_pv1_ventura_6447_01_dvdb.JPG http://www.sa-transport.co.za/aircraft/military/lockheed_pv1_ventura_6447_03_dvdb.JPG http://www.aviationmuseum.eu/Blogvorm/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Lockheed-PV-1-Ventura-GR.5-6647-V-South-African-Air-Force.jpg 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmyZ Posted December 5, 2018 Author Share Posted December 5, 2018 (edited) It's all wrong! Okay let's take a step back. I've started cutting out the cockpit parts, and did a dry fit when I thought to check it's accuracy against some reference photos. It's all wrong! The seats are the wrong shape and placed incorrectly, the control sticks are wrong, the control wheels are wrong and the rear bulkhead is wrong. *sigh* what did I get myself into?! I didn't plan to spend much time adding detail to the cockpit, but before I realised I was fixing the errors. First up, the bulkhead is solid and separates the cockpit from the rear of the plane, which is wrong. See below reference photo. Luckily is was easy to cut out the opening. However the entryway isn't exactly in the centre of the bulkhead, so I had to add in a section on one side. And a bit of surface primer added to make the seam smooth Next up, the placement of the control columns. As the control stick doesn't attach the wheel from centre below, but from the outboard sides, I had to fill the fitting holes. These photos show what the the control wheel and stick should look like. So onwards to cutting up the control wheel Before and after. Improvement? I don't know 🤔 Guess it is what it is. Added some surface primer, looks a bit better So then the seats. This is what they look like. This is what they should look like So onto fixing it! Before and after As for the copilot seat (SAAF PV-1 Ventura's had dual seats and controls), it would be more like this So onto fixing it! Here's both seats. Guess I'm happy with it sort of looking more accurate than OOB. I feel like I could have closed the canopy already if I just built the kit as is! Ah well.... Cheers Jimmy Edited December 5, 2018 by JimmyZ 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted December 5, 2018 Share Posted December 5, 2018 (edited) Very similar design to the P-38’s control column. Edited December 5, 2018 by Corsairfoxfouruncle 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romeo Alpha Yankee Posted December 5, 2018 Share Posted December 5, 2018 Impressive scratchbuilding Jimmy, your attention to detail is great. I have a Minicraft Ventura kit but minus instruction. Mine will be built as a RAAF MTO aircraft. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted December 10, 2018 Share Posted December 10, 2018 Looking really good so far Jimmy. I`ve built a number of Ventura`s including a couple of SAAF ones here on BM if you want to have a look at them, https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/search/&q=ventura &author=tonyot&search_and_or=or Could I remind you that the entrance door moulded onto the right side of the fuselage needs to be filled in as the door was only on the left,...... also, the bulkhead behind the pilot was just that,.......a section behind the pilot,...... there was no arched door way! If it helps here is a cockpit that I converted in 1/48th scale; 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmyZ Posted December 16, 2018 Author Share Posted December 16, 2018 On 12/10/2018 at 12:08 PM, tonyot said: Looking really good so far Jimmy. I`ve built a number of Ventura`s including a couple of SAAF ones here on BM if you want to have a look at them, https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/search/&q=ventura &author=tonyot&search_and_or=or Could I remind you that the entrance door moulded onto the right side of the fuselage needs to be filled in as the door was only on the left,...... also, the bulkhead behind the pilot was just that,.......a section behind the pilot,...... there was no arched door way! If it helps here is a cockpit that I converted in 1/48th scale; Thanks for the info Tony! I appreciate it. I wasn't aware of the port door, so I'll make sure to correct that. Remember, SAAF Ventura's all had duel controls, so would the above then still be true regarding the bulkhead behind the pilot? Cheers Jimmy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted December 16, 2018 Share Posted December 16, 2018 1 hour ago, JimmyZ said: Thanks for the info Tony! I appreciate it. I wasn't aware of the port door, so I'll make sure to correct that. Remember, SAAF Ventura's all had duel controls, so would the above then still be true regarding the bulkhead behind the pilot? Cheers Jimmy Hiya Jimmy,.... no worries mate As for the bulkhead,...... it doesn`t matter whether they were dual or single pilot fitted,...... the dual conversion was a US Navy kit which provided a new floor section, seat and controls,..... but the bulkhead remained the same,..... it was made into the kit style on the Harpoon. Here is the US Navy conversion kit; Here is the bulkhead diagram; The cockpit bulkhead diagram; And the cockpit, seen from behind the Wireless compartment,..... which does have a doorway; And here is the Wireless Ops position if you are interested; Cheers Tony 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmyZ Posted December 24, 2018 Author Share Posted December 24, 2018 (edited) Even though I haven't posted in a while, I did some work for the interior. I had to make "legs" for the co-pilot's chair, which I cut out of plastic card. Then I closed the original placing rectangular holes for the seats. And placed a few blobs of surface primer on top to sand smooth when dry I then sprayed the floor and bulkhead, but luckily Tony saved me (thanks Tony!) from making a mistake, as the bulkhead was only the "half" behind the pilot. That meant I had to break it off and cut it to size I felt that the bulkhead was a little narrow compared to reference photos, so I added a plastic strip. Still needs to be sanded flush. I also added some scratch built pedals. I decided to make it easy on myself and place it on the floor, even though it's not supposed to, but I am okay with it. I've drilled new holes for the control sticks, since they needed to move away from the centre of each seat. Hopefully I'll have more soon! Cheers Jimmy Edited December 24, 2018 by JimmyZ added more info 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmyZ Posted January 3, 2019 Author Share Posted January 3, 2019 (edited) I'm making some progress, albeit slow. These photos were taken over the past couple of days. I'm currently getting ready to close up the fuselage, but before that, here's some pictures leading up to it. Spraying the inside of the fuselage. Dry-fit of the cockpit section Another dry-fit showing the rear section I've added behind the cockpit which I scratch-built And the completed cockpit floor and section behind I've also started doing other preparations for closing the fuselage. Painting the outside areas where the windows will go in. Since the windows need to go in before I close up the fuselage, I've painted those sections on the outside while the windows were not yet glued in, since painting those areas will be harder with the windows in-place. I've also filled the panel lines for the starboard door, as there was none on this aircraft. I should soon take the final photos of the interior and then close up. Cheers Jimmy Edited January 3, 2019 by JimmyZ more info 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romeo Alpha Yankee Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 Looks good Jimmy, nice work there. I am enjoying the modifications you are making and taking notes! I have a Ventura to build as a RAAF MTO operated aircraft one day, though my kit has no instructions. So I will have to hunt some down when the time comes. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zebra Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 Looking good Jimmy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmyZ Posted January 6, 2019 Author Share Posted January 6, 2019 (edited) I've spent quite a bit of time on the Ventura this weekend. Firstly I needed to get the fuselage closed-up, since I was spending too much time on the cockpit and interior. Well arguably one cannot spend too much time on it since these scratchbuilding really improves on the OOB, but relative to the quality that is possibly achievable with this kit that has questionably accuracy to begin with, one is to reach diminishing returns on hours spent adding detail to the interior while the bigger outer bits (fuselage, wings etc.) which is actually visible remains of questionable accuracy (shape etc.), but I digress. Below are the final photos of the interior before I closed it up. As stated above, I decided not to add detail aft of the section behind the cockpit. And glued up. Do not worry, I've modified the turret to glue it on later. Can't be adding turrets at this stage as it's guaranteed to break off in handling. The fit of the halves aren't great, to put it mildly. One day later I've removed the tape that kept the halves in place while the glue was drying. This photo doesn't show it well, but there is a huge step at the rear of the bomb bay and the fuselage which is supposed be be flush. Another example of poor fit. I thought I'd check to see how the windshield fits....it doesn't. Just a preview of the work that awaits me. After sanding the bottom of the fuselage, which had green overspray from the interior on it, shows the uneven-ness. Not only at the seams, as the photo illustrates. To address the step behind the bomb bay, I've added thin plastic strip. Also visible in this photo is me marking in blue areas which needs filler. After the glue dried and after sanding the strip that I've added, it already looks better, but we're not there yet. I needed to add another thin plastic strip to get it closer to flush (will require thorough sanding) I also worked on closing the wing halves, which meant I needed to paint and insert the engines. I sprayed it with a few layers of black to start it off. Then I dry-brushed silver onto the cylinders, as well as painted the centre part (reduction gear?). And the result. The first wing half glued. I've already started applying filler here, but another example of poor fit at the area joining the wing root and engine nacelle. To fix it I've again added thin plastic strip. then applied more surface primer then sanded it smooth. Already looking better. A few rounds of applying surface primer, waiting for it to dry, sanding smooth and it should look great. Somewhere in-between all this I've also glued the nose halves together. This photo shows the window surrounding areas pre-painted before I glued the window. It was (mostly) in vain, since I needed to apply surface primer to smooth the seams, which means I'll need to sand and paint in close vicinity to the window in any way. That's all for now. Cheers Jimmy Edited January 6, 2019 by JimmyZ spelling and typing errors 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dazey Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 You're making great progress, and I really admire your attention (and devotion!) to detail. I also find myself getting sucked into trying to be accurate when I think that I won't. Regards, David 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmyZ Posted January 12, 2019 Author Share Posted January 12, 2019 (edited) I have a few more photos of progress made. I took a bit of a risk, and attempted to give the wheels that slightly low pressure look. Maybe I overdid it a bit, but it should look okay in the end. I basically used a lighter, held about 8cm below the wheel (which was held with pliers to reduce risk of burning myself), and held it there for about 10 or so seconds to start melting the plastic. Then press is down lightly on a flat surface to bulge the tire to look like there is weight on it. I've done it before with great results, but I tend not to do it, since if I screw it up, I'll need new wheels! I also have a photo of the results of the area I had to build up aft of the bomb bay doors. Looks alright now, only minor smoothing out left to be done. I knew the SAAF Ventura inlets were a bot different. I don't know if it was done as a field modification or what, but there's plenty evidence showing the different inlets (see below) so I just started with the modification. I had a good look at the kit inlet's and decided I needed to cut off the front section, make it a bit thinner, then build up the remainder of the inlet and shape it a bit rounder at the top. This is what it looks like OOB I then proceeded to remove the front part with a saw And done. Cleaned up a bit here Then added a strip of plastic on the top Applied some surface primer Then waited for it to dry. The next day I sanded it, and I like the result. Next I just need to smooth out the upper part of the cowling, and re-add the inlet front. I post some updates soon. Cheers Jimmy Edited January 12, 2019 by JimmyZ added more info 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmyZ Posted February 17, 2019 Author Share Posted February 17, 2019 It's been a month! I'm starting to worry about not finishing by the end date. Although I didn't post, I did work on this a bit. I built up the section behind where the windshield comes on. Not pretty but I can smooth it out a bit. Now the windshield fits a lot better After smoothing it out it looks ok. Then I went back to the engine intakes. This after cleaning it up a bit Glueing back the cut off front of the intake Then I added a piece of plastic that will help adding a lot of surface primer easier And after sanding it smooth, the result looks pretty ok to my eyes Cheers Jimmy 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romeo Alpha Yankee Posted February 18, 2019 Share Posted February 18, 2019 The detail work you are doing looks great Jimmy, I am taking notes for my build. Though I expect I won't have to go to the lengths you are on my build. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmyZ Posted March 9, 2019 Author Share Posted March 9, 2019 (edited) I've been spending some time on this build in between studying for an exam. Since I work in IT, I guess I will never really be done with studying 😑 My aim was to finish the gear bay this week, and I did. Here can be seen the OOB gear bay (I've also started applying coats of white to the wing underside). I've used these photos I took of a PV-1 at the Swartkop SAAF Museum for reference. There's a section effectively splitting the bay in two (I'm guessing it's the main wing spar), which I tried to replicate Then I started adding thin strips of plastic Then painted it I could have done a lot more in here, but I decided it's enough, I'd rather move on and see if I can finish build in time. The OOB exhaust pipes didn't look great at all... so I drilled it open. Before and after Lastly I've glued on the nose. I'm currently trying to fill up the seam a bit. Hope to have more to show soon. Cheers Jimmy Edited March 9, 2019 by JimmyZ Wrong photo link corrected 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted March 15, 2019 Share Posted March 15, 2019 You are doing a fine job and the mods look great. Cheers Tony 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dansk Posted March 15, 2019 Share Posted March 15, 2019 Great work jimmy with fantastic attention to detail 👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmyZ Posted March 23, 2019 Author Share Posted March 23, 2019 Hi all. Unfortunately I'm not going to make the deadline for this GB. I will however continue the build and post updates here. Thanks for everyone's support. Cheers Jimmy 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Stuart Posted March 23, 2019 Share Posted March 23, 2019 Sorry to hear this won't make the deadline Jimmy You have put a lot of work into the build, and I'm relieved to hear you will continue with the project. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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