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1/72 RAAF SP-2H Neptune


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Next off the shelf is the very old (maybe original?) boxing of the Hasegawa P-2H Neptune. I've washed the sprues and resin bits. Here they are drying amongst the Scout WIP.
 

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Soon to be joined by the Eduard bomb bay and general detail kits, the Aeroclub props and landing gear and PD Decals, amongst others. Not too many plastic parts but heaps of resin and etch. Lots of rescribing to do as everything is raised detail.

 

I'll paint everything this week when the wife goes back to work as she hates the smell of enamel paint through the house!

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With the PD Decals in hand,I guess you will be building a RAAF P-2H Neptune.I myself have long been planning to build a P2V-5F Neptune of No.11 Squadron using the  Hase/Falcon combination but I just can't get the decal sheet for it nor an accurate drawings for the Neptune as I prefer to engrave it.I hope your build will entice me to start doing mine soon.

 

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I had the FROG boxing which I made some 45+ years ago. Gave it a refurb 18 months back using the Hawkeye Models sheet, plus some details from Caracal.

No aftermarket back in the day, but brushes up OK

 

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I lost the clear glazing where the top turret went during the refurb, so blanked it off. Found it about 2 months later. It can wait another 45 years before I do it again and fit the glazing. :clif:

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On 4/21/2020 at 1:22 AM, Kampartiger said:

With the PD Decals in hand,I guess you will be building a RAAF P-2H Neptune.I myself have long been planning to build a P2V-5F Neptune of No.11 Squadron using the  Hase/Falcon combination but I just can't get the decal sheet for it nor an accurate drawings for the Neptune as I prefer to engrave it.

Yes, I'll be doing the 10SQN version (SP-2H). The PD Decals sheet has both squadrons on it.

On 4/21/2020 at 6:38 AM, bentwaters81tfw said:

I had the FROG boxing which I made some 45+ years ago. Gave it a refurb 18 months back using the Hawkeye Models sheet, plus some details from Caracal.

No aftermarket back in the day, but brushes up OK

I forgot Frog did a version - I wonder if Hasegawa's is a repop? Pete at Hawkeye does great decals (he should - he's an ex-RAAF Painter!); I may have to get a set from him if the PD Decals don't stand up to being in the box for almost 30 years!

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  • 3 weeks later...

Made a start. I realised I've bought the earlier version of the R-3350 but, given what can be seen, I don't think it will matter much.
 

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I'd finished the first row and then realised I needed to remove the accessories from the front of the Reduction Gearbox Housing and reposition them. I may need to pull the front of the kit engines off and use them here as the SP-2H has fairings over the RGB Housing. I'll also likely need to remove the rear accessories housing as that's normally behind the firewall and will prevent a good fit in the nacelle. I'll check after the build up.
 

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I won't bother detailing the rear of the rear bank of cylinders as they'll never be seen. While the engines are nice, not much can actually be seen anyway - probably should've saved my money and just detailed kit offerings a bit...

Looks like I've picked up a bit of resin dust on the cylinders, too!

 

I will be referencing Moggy's build for the nose details, too. While I have the Eduard detail set, I know some of it is wrong. I need to get some more matt white enamel paint next time I'm out, too.

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Very exciting start to what will be a complex build, and the P-2 is one of my favorites.  Aha!  So that's how you paint one of these resin corncob engines in which the cylinders are separate from the crank-case!  It should have been obvious to me, but wasn't, and now I know.  This will come in handy for a future project.  

 

Looking forward to seeing updates!

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  • 1 month later...

Here's what I've done on the last couple of nights on the Bomb Bay.
 

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I decided to solder the basic framework together which went okay, but not as well as expected. I think the metal isn't as receptive as brass etch would be to solder but it is strong, nonetheless. I stupidly cut out the light inserts, as I thought the recessed panels fed in from the inside of the inside of the Bomb Bay, rather than stuck to the outside. The result is not neat but probably won't be noticed once the Mk44 torpedoes are in the bay anyway.
 

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More to come - there's a lot in this set! I've glued the smaller bits in with a combination of PVA and CA glues. The entre beam is drying at the moment and the attaching 'Y' forks are very fiddly. I'll show you once it's in.

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  • 1 month later...

Slow progress on this - the AP-3C and USS Enterprise have monopolised my time.
 

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I realised I'd added a couple of the bays in backwards, so I removed them and refitted them correctly. I'm not sure anyone will have seen the difference with a couple of Mk44s in there but it's fixed anyway! Still more to do before returning to the engines.

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I actually have made a bit more progress than I've posted here. Been working on the nose and landing gear as well as the engines. Modelling space is more limited here and I have to do one project at a time. The Vampire's consuming all the bench space atm.

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  • 1 month later...

Just to prove I have actually done more than I've posted here lately, here are a few shots I took on the weekend.

 

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The bomb bay fitted to the RH fuselage.

 

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One of the engines with all the cylinders fitted (more details still to add)

 

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Making the radar screen display for the instrument panel (the later RAAF SP-2Hs had a display up front between the two pilots' panels)

 

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Flight Deck in work

 

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Modified nose wheel well

 

The white Mr Surfacer hasn't worked too well as a primer for the white areas, so I'll need to get the airbrush out again on my next session. I'll also need to paint a few more internal areas grey and pay some attention to the rear observer stations as they're fairly visible in the real aircraft, as I noticed walking around our three at HARS last weekend.

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Hello Rob,

 

You are doing an great job, and I am watching with interest how you have done the bomb bay with the PE Eduard.

I was thinking of making an Eduard bomb bay using cyanoacrilate glue, as I don't know how to solder. Do you use a specific liquid to accentuate the welding?

I engraved two copies of Neptune Hasegawa ( I intend to decorate one in the colours of the French Navy, the other for the US Navy ), then the motivation went for a walk elsewhere. 

Engraving plastic is a bit tricky, as it is hard and brittle. But we can do it!

I'm thinking of using the engines of the boxes, as you can't see much in the covers.

 

Have fun in modelling the Neptune!

 

Regards,

Eric-Snafu35

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Nice to see another Neptune in work!

It's one of my residents on the Shelf of Doom. Got the wings and nacelles pretty much sorted and now they're just in for a *lot* of re-scribing.

 

The engines are almost impossible to see with the cowlings installed. i checked, LOL.

 

To me, the heavy lifting is really with the fuselage, what with detailing the cockpit, attack station and re-positioning the nose wheel well off to the side. If there's any good news, the empty cavity which is the radar fairing makes a great place for nose weight.

 

david

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On 5/3/2022 at 6:46 AM, David H said:

The engines are almost impossible to see with the cowlings installed. i checked, LOL.

Yeah, David; totally agree. I'll just be detailing the front of the engines after I fit the propeller aft spinner fairings to see what is actually visible.

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On 5/2/2022 at 6:38 PM, Snafu35 said:

Do you use a specific liquid to accentuate the welding?

G'day Snafu35. I'm not quite sure what you mean but I usually just use a medium viscosity CA glue for jobs like this. I only tried soldering because I thought it might be a better option. It is stronger but it's at least as fiddly as gluing.

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An interesting build for me as I have a hoard of Neptune bits (kit, PE, conversion set, resin, vac form, decals)  stashed away. It is intended to be an OP-2E when I get the time and inclination. Having seen @Moggy’s part build a while ago, which was a master class in P-2 building, I need further encouragement! ;) Your build  could be that! :) I then need space! 

 

Martin

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Yeah, I saw @Moggy's build, too - very inspirational! There was another on here somewhere that detailed the nose gear changes, too. Luckily, I don't think I need to shorten the nose gear on mine as the Aeroclub replacement seems to be shorter.

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  • 4 weeks later...

So, latest results from the past few weeks.

 

Looking at my references (and crawling around and through one of the HARS Neptunes), there are some interior items that need to be added to the model. I started with the sonobuoy storage rack, located below what was the mid-upper turret. I needed to make this from scratch, so out with the punch set:

 

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I needed to add some floors to sit stuff on, so these were added from plasticard.

 

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Also did some work on the nose section.

 

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While the cockpit detail set is nice - I really hate moulded-in seat belts. My painting skills are rubbish in this area!

 

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Pretty happy with how this turned out, after making the radar display screen and fitting it to the centre of the instrument panel. Not much will be seen after I fit the overhead sunscreens, anyway.

 

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Moving the nose wheel well off-centre made the tunnel area a challenge. I've closed up a fair bit of it here.

 

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I really didn't like the nose observer's seat (all the kit seats are rubbish), so I modified it and used the seeker head from an AIM-9 Sidewinder as a new base. Looks much more like the original now.

 

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There's a lot of work to do in the nose area:

 

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I decided to add some of the hydraulic lines and wiring looms for some interest. The hyd lines are stainless steel lockwire, the wiring looms are represented by a single strand of copper wire, painted off-white.

 

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It's a bit hard to see the difference in this shot! I realised I put the lack box on the starboard wall too low, so I've moved it since this photo was taken.

 

Observers' seats here (forward and port and starboard aft). I also found some unused etch seats (unpainted at the moment) I'll use for the sensor stations visible from the upper and side windows.

 

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Lastly, the sonobuoy rack sans the upper mount (seen next to it in this shot) and filling. Some Mr Surfacer 500 has tidied it up well and I'll post a pic after I paint it.

 

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Almost done with the interior. Some paint and then fit some bits and it's onto the main wheel wells, which are also woefully under-detailed, even with the Eduard set.

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Just realised I probably need to do some rescribing on this, too. I'll wait until the fuselage halves are together or it won't line up!

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  • 2 weeks later...

More, slow progress.

 

Pretty much done with the interior now:

 

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The rear observer seats will do the trick when viewed through the windows.

 

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Close up of the sensor station workstation and seats which will be barely visible through the windows but noticeable it not there at all.

 

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Lots of weight to make sure she's not a tail-sitter! Hopefully it's not so much the Aeroclub gear collapses under it...

 

Sonobuoy storage rack.

 

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Unfortunately, this isn't as good as I'd hoped when viewed from above but looks much better than the void that was there otherwise!

 

Fuselage joined.

 

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Lots of gaps on this; partly due to the add-ons and partly due to my incompetence. Looks like a fair-sized filling and sanding session coming up - my least favourite part of the hobby. Although I had intended to rescribe this, I don't think I will. The detail on it now is very fine and I quite like it the way it is. I lost some bits that popped off during the joining of halves - you can see the Bomb Bay Pylon next to the model that will need to go back in, along with the other small bits from the nose observer's station.

 

Next in line, while the fuselage dries, are the Plus Model flaps. Some exquisite fine detail in this kit!

 

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Lots of tiny ribs to add to the etch base - watch me stuff it up!

 

Looking at @Moggy's Argentinian P-3, I can see the main gear wells will need a lot of work. The flap kit may stop me doing as much as he did as it may well weaken the structure too much. I'll reassess when the flaps are done.

 

That's all for this update.

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On 01/06/2022 at 02:04, Bell209 said:

I really didn't like the nose observer's seat (all the kit seats are rubbish), so I modified it and used the seeker head from an AIM-9 Sidewinder as a new base. Looks much more like the original now.

Genius! I’ve had to make seats like that several times and it’s a real pain fiddling with a bunch of card triangles.

 

Regards,

Adrian

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Coming together nicely. I remember seeing the Frog boxing, sometime in the mid to late '70s. I purchased the Hasegawa kit but alas, don't know what happened to it!

I fancied building a Norwegian aircraft after seeing one at RAF Ballykelly NI, when out on a flight in a Sycamore.

Sadly, I'll never get to it!

 

Colin

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  • 2 weeks later...

Flap details complete on the underside of the top of the starboard wing.

 

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During the sanding process, I managed to snap the top of the port wing. I realised after I'd cut that my cuts along the engine were too wide, too. Had to glue the bits back in and add some reinforcement to the wing where it snapped and a bit further out where there's a suspicious-looking crooked line in the plastic.

 

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The cutout at the rear spar area in the lower wing will make modifying the wheel well as @Moggy did a no-go as the wing will be too weak. I'll have to think a bit about how I approach this as I'd like to add some more detail than it currently has but don't want to have the wings snap under the load.

 

 

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