Jump to content

Karaya Supermarine Sea Lion II - 1922 Schneider Cup winner - 1/72nd resin


Recommended Posts

IMG_8649+%25281280x960%2529.jpg

 

Well, after the not very nice experience with the noticeably inaccurate and problem-riddled Savoia S.65 by the same manufacturer, and because fellow modelers stated that their other kits were good, I decided to purchase another Karaya kit and give it a go.

 

Today it arrived.

All in all, this seems indeed a much better kit than the S.65, but we are still in the early stages of the build.

 

These are the things that I like very much:

 

-Subject, very appealing.

-Price, fair.

-Well detailed kit, convincing surface details, a number of detail parts that enhance the build.

-Reasonable casting pouring blocks, making the parts not really difficult to remove and clean (one exception to be discussed later).

-Reasonable engineering.

-An exquisitely detailed engine.

-The cockpit area has fine side wall detail (besides the natural components, included too)

-Parts in general well cast (with exceptions, again to be discussed later).

-A commendable non self-flattening box, if not a paradigm of rigidity either.

-Thin trailing edges and flying surfaces, well represented, with nice detail, and in general highly commendable.

-So far (we'll see as we go) an appearance of fidelity (not like the Savoia S.65, the misses of which could be spotted from miles away).

-The wings have the panel separations, but are in one piece, making it very easy to produce the dihedral with little effort by just pushing carefully the outer panels up. That is a clever solution that deserves praise.

-The location of struts, control cables, etc. is well marked and already prepared for insertion.

-The struts are stamped on their pouring blocks with Roman numerals, making IDing them easier

 

IMG_8649d1+%25281280x960%2529.jpg

 

IMG_8649d+%25281280x960%2529.jpg

 

IMG_8674+%25281280x960%2529.jpg

 

IMG_8649e1+%25281280x960%2529.jpg

 

IMG_8649e2+%25281280x960%2529.jpg

 

IMG_8649e3+%25281280x960%2529.jpg

 

IMG_8649e+%25281280x960%2529.jpg

 

IMG_8649g+%25281280x960%2529.jpg

 

IMG_8649h+%25281280x960%2529.jpg

 

IMG_8649i+%25281280x960%2529.jpg

 

IMG_8676+%25281280x960%2529.jpg

 

 

 

  • Like 22
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Things that I didn't like:

 

-All parts crammed in a plastic bag.

Heard of "shake and bake" kits? Well, this is a "shake and break" one.

-The plan that accompanies the kit is not to scale (useless for taking measures, as with their Savoia S.65).

-There is no parts map, so you are left to guess what the heck the tiny bits are and where do they go.

-Some of the diagrams are too fuzzy and small (engine).

-A number of air bubbles, some opened to the surface and marring parts.

-A few parts are too fragile to resist any load, like the wheel forks, of which one already came malformed and broken. Interestingly enough, photos of at least one other kit in the Net show exactly the same problem, so it's a mold issue that was left unattended, creating a delicate situation for the modeler that now has to scratch a very fiddly part.

-You get solid wheels (not accurate) or alternatively just the tires, but no spokes for them, you are told to make them.

-The four-blade prop came with one tip broken. Then front side of the blades -this is a pusher- is a little marred by the casting webs, the other is fine.

 

IMG_8649b+%25281280x960%2529.jpg

 

IMG_8650+%25281280x960%2529.jpg

 

IMG_8651+%25281280x960%2529.jpg

 

IMG_8652+%25281280x960%2529.jpg

 

IMG_8657+%25281280x960%2529.jpg

 

IMG_8658+%25281280x960%2529.jpg

 

IMG_8658b+%25281280x960%2529.jpg

 

IMG_8659+%25281280x960%2529.jpg

 

IMG_8664+%25281280x960%2529.jpg

 

IMG_8665+%25281280x960%2529.jpg

 

IMG_8675+%25281280x960%2529.jpg

 

None of these nitpickings present, so far, a real challenge or impediment. But they are a bit annoying nonetheless.

 

Regarding this plane, in spite of it having been a Schneider winner, there is no abundant reference material. I have found much more for much less known types. This was a surprise. Still, I got a folder on it with what I think should be enough: photos, pages from books, etc.

 

  • Like 11
Link to comment
Share on other sites

If I still did resin kits, this was one I would think about getting, if only for the Lion engine. I'm sure you'll do your normal splendid job on the kit, Claudio! And here I believed I was the only one that thought that about time...

 

Best Regards,

 

Jason

  • Like 3
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

According to the hitchhikers guide to the galaxy time is an illusion caused by the passage of history and conversely history is an illusion caused by the passage of time :) 

 

lovely work so far. Really nice subject ( yet again tempted to add one to my list) Very fiddly looking kit and of course not my scale.

  • Like 1
  • Haha 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Marklo said:

According to the hitchhikers guide to the galaxy time is an illusion caused by the passage of history and conversely history is an illusion caused by the passage of time :) 

I thought time was an illusion and lunchtime doubly so? At any rate, back to our regularly scheduled programme... (And I've got to get back to my three pints of bitters.)

 

Regards,

 

Jason

Edited by Learstang
Additional comment added.
  • Haha 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'll follow this with much interest, being a Supermarine fan. (If the factory was still standing, I could see it from the bedroom window)

I really hope my building skills progress so I can attempt resin kits like this. (I have the Silverwings Southampton kit on my radar)

Edited by Quiet Mike
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, Planebuilder62 said:

Cracking stuff Moa, I really enjoy following your builds and solutions for fixing things. What glue due you use for joining the large parts like the fuselage halves and wing to fuselage?
 

regards Toby

Hi Toby

It depends on the size and degree of finesse of the parts: 10 minute epoxy for large parts or the ones that do no have a good fit (like the Planet B.F.W. M.20b2 that I am building on another thread) or superglue (the case most likely here).

Cheers

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, JamesP said:

Look forward to seeing your take on this. The kit was originally released maybe 10 years ago. I don’t know if the ones you can get today are new old stock or more recently made and how that effects the quality. 

This was bought directly from Karaya, so I would say it was in their own interest to be selling the better copies they could have?

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello Moa !

Sea Lion... I was thinking of an Extra Dark Sea gray aircraft....

And did'nt believe my eyes..:rofl2:...

Good start whatever !

I'll follow if you don't mind...

Sincerely.

CC

 

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

31 minutes ago, Bengalensis said:

Ah, this will be great; a racer, and in resin, probably my two favorite subjects in modelling. No, I'm not joking. Looking forward to see this taking shape with help of your skills and documentation.

Hi Jörgen

This kit seems to be pretty good, and I don't feel that there is any need of adding or correcting anything so far.

Which is a wonderful vacation from the normal struggle :phew:

 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 2/29/2020 at 10:27 AM, corsaircorp said:

Hello Moa !

Sea Lion... I was thinking of an Extra Dark Sea gray aircraft....

And did'nt believe my eyes..:rofl2:...

Good start whatever !

I'll follow if you don't mind...

Sincerely.

CC

 

You thought these racers were build at Seaworld?

Free Willy!!!

 

 

There is plenty of good detail and lovely master-making work in the parts of this kit:

IMG_8697+%25281280x960%2529.jpg

 

And since we are into maritime themes, a quasi Turner-like sunset yesterday...

IMG_8688+%25281280x960%2529.jpg

  • Like 19
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Learstang said:

I thought time was an illusion and lunchtime doubly so? At any rate, back to our regularly scheduled programme... (And I've got to get back to my three pints of bitters.)

 

Regards,

 

Jason

I sincerely hope you mean three pints of bitter or you may need to race to to emergency room to be saved from acute alcohol poisoning.

 

Maurice

  • Like 1
  • Haha 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 minutes ago, mdesaxe said:

I sincerely hope you mean three pints of bitter or you may need to race to to emergency room to be saved from acute alcohol poisoning.

 

Maurice

You are of course correct! However, since I'm no longer a drinking man, and stayed well clear of beer even when I was, I suppose I could be forgiven for this error. To be honest, though, I might actually prefer three pints of bitters to three pints of bitter beer.

 

Best Regards,

 

Jason 

Edited by Learstang
  • Haha 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The fuselage halves are united, there is a locating device on the bulkhead after the pilot, that provides perfect alignment. Thin CA was run along the seams, carefully.
Because the pouring block is attached to the keel line of both fuselage halves, that area suffers a little bit while eliminating it, thus it will need just a touch or two to obtain a good clean finish on that area:

IMG_8700+%25281280x960%2529.jpg

  • Like 16
Link to comment
Share on other sites

And now the attention turns toward the ill-fated part that was malformed due either to an air bubble or mold problem.
In any case, these wheel forks look to me like wishful thinking, and even with the pair of rods that are supposed to reinforce them, these could hardly support the weight of a resin model, let alone an accidental clumsy handling (like putting the model on the ground in any other way that with utmost delicacy):

IMG_8701+%25281280x960%2529.jpg

 

A foldable photo-etched part like this would have been perfect, combined with a small length of steel wire or discarded drill bit:

IMG_8702+%25281280x960%2529.jpg

 

In any case, let's see what can be done. First to try to glue back the separated bit to the defunct remains of the bearing (one, the other doesn't exist):

IMG_8703+%25281280x960%2529.jpg

 

 Now, to look for a photo-etched part that can be added to the orphan side of the fork...

IMG_8704+%25281280x960%2529.jpg

 

...thus. Although I think that this is an exercise in futility, since this leg is compromised, and I may look for a better solution. We'll see...

IMG_8705+%25281280x960%2529.jpg

 

 

 

  • Like 13
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...