Catalina PBY-5A - Airfix 1/72

[giemme]

16 minutes ago, CedB said:

Props are currently straight:

They look good now   - did you go with boiling water in the end, or what else, please? TIA

 

Ciao

 

 

[CedB]

Just our hot-tap water Giorgio. As Mark said 'if you can't hold your hand under it, it's hot enough' and our boiler is set to 70^o I think, certainly too hot to put your hand under.

HTH  

 

Just finishing watching that documentary on Cruikshank - VC well deserved if you ask me, a real hero.

[giemme]

7 hours ago, CedB said:

Just our hot-tap water Giorgio. As Mark said 'if you can't hold your hand under it, it's hot enough' and our boiler is set to 70^o I think, certainly too hot to put your hand under.

HTH  

 My daughters can stay a good hour under the shower with the water mixer to full hot, so I don't think we get more than 45°C - unless they have snake's skin ...   

 

It does help anyway - thanks Ced  

 

Ciao

Edited May 20, 2020 by giemme

[Dave Swindell]

1 hour ago, CedB said:

mine's a PBY-5A. Shame

If you want a VC connection you could do  David Hornell's Canso

https://www.aviaeology.com/store/p73/AOD72024.html#/

[keefr22]

3 hours ago, CedB said:

The usual classic Airfix flash and wobble:

 

Fnaar....!!

 

That lathe does look fun!

 

K

 

[hendie]

6 hours ago, CedB said:

…but there's flash and a nasty gate residue on the ?weights:

 

Vestige Ced, it's called gate vestige.  

 

nice lathe work, particularly as I'm being blamed for said modeling accouterment.

[bbudde]

8 hours ago, giemme said:

My daughters can stay a good hour under the shower with the water mixer to full hot, so I don't think we get more than 45°C

My advice: As I said before. Just use your coffee machine  for that and for an excsessive brunch, when they board and block  your bath for half a day.

[CedB]

8 hours ago, giemme said:

 My daughters can stay a good hour under the shower with the water mixer to full hot, so I don't think we get more than 45°C - unless they have snake's skin ...   

 

It does help anyway - thanks Ced  

 

Ciao

Thanks Giorgio  An hour! What the heck are they doing? Oh, sorry, probably better not to think too much about that

 

6 hours ago, Dave Swindell said:

If you want a VC connection you could do  David Hornell's Canso

https://www.aviaeology.com/store/p73/AOD72024.html#/

Thanks Dave  

Another brave man with a Wiki entry and another sad story. I find these stories so emotional… better stick with the kit transfers I think (which I know nothing about, yet)

 

4 hours ago, keefr22 said:

Fnaar....!!

 

That lathe does look fun!

 

K

Thanks Keith! Good to have a backup Finbarr around  

The lathe is good but is FAST, even on the slowest setting, so one needs to be careful not to melt the plastic…

 

1 hour ago, hendie said:

 

Vestige Ced, it's called gate vestige.  

 

nice lathe work, particularly as I'm being blamed for said modeling accouterment.

Ah thanks Hendie, got it.

Blamed for the lathe? Well, in good humour, obviously, I'm always up for tool suggestions  

 

 

Talking of tool suggestions, Giorgio told us how he uses board markers as a sort of 'Engineer's Blue' so I gave it a try:

 

 

Don't worry, it is a wipeable dry board marker. Those who've used a non-wipe one on a whiteboard will know how careful we old blokes are about that sort of thing. And remember the buzz you get when you take the top off!

 

I'm after a flat join but it doesn't have to be flat all over so this is good enough:

 

 

You can see how good the technique is at highlighting any dents.

These'll do:

 

 

The replacement Touch-N-Flow arrived today so I could join up tomorrow.

Progress!

[CedB]

2 minutes ago, bbudde said:

My advice: As I said before. Just use your coffee machine  for that and for an excsessive brunch, when they board and block  your bath for half a day.

Thanks Ben  

Sorry, crashed your post.

[The Spadgent]

8 hours ago, CedB said:

9 hours ago, The Spadgent said:

 

Thanks Johnny - sounds like mixing old and new TET is a no no? How's your sticking?  

Sticking is fine. I haven’t noticed any difference. Is that what’s meant to happen? Tack loss? Any way. Lovely progress Ced. Coming along nicely.

[keefr22]

8 minutes ago, The Spadgent said:

Is that what’s meant to happen? Tack loss?

 

I think I may have spread that rumour messing about earlier in the thread....sorry!

 

I've certainly poured old TET into new bottles too, and also noticed no difference in stickiness TBH....

 

Keith

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

11 hours ago, giemme said:

.... and now I want one too ....   

 

  

 

Ciao

So do I but to have Ced’s tool box I’d need to win the Lottery. 

[Avereda]

On 5/18/2020 at 10:16 AM, CedB said:

Thanks Bill  Yep, Dr Pod. I think his full name was Podkowlinski so you can see why…

When we first moved we both got sniffles that wouldn't go away so we went to register and see him.

"Just moved here? It'll be Salisbury bug."

"What's that?" we asked.

"No idea" he replied "but it'll be something you didn't come across in Bath and your system needs to build immunity to it."

Did he have a pronounced accent? If so I think he may have ended up doing occupational health at Porton Down, said doctor told me to drink more whisky for either back pain or mild depression (possibly both). He also asked me once what my line management thought of me, I mumbled something along the lines of “we get on ok, I suppose”, he leant back, harrumphed and then bellowed “YES, BUT DO THEY LOVE YOU”. I left puzzled but feeling slightly better.

 

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

My annual aircrew medical once fell due when we were at sea in Ark; we should have been home by then but had been extended to chase some Victor III or similar - can’t remember.  You cannot legally fly with an out of date medical, so I went to see the “Baby Doc” (Deputy PMO - as opposed to his Boss, who was known as Papa Doc, obvs), a wonderful man called David Hett. He didn’t have the whizzy hearing tester machines etc. they have ashore.  He started whispering questions from across the room. 
 

“David, why the f*ck have you started whispering?”.

 

“Good; bugger all wrong with your hearing, Crisp.  I see you every day at dog watch circuits, I know how much you drink, I'd tell you to stop smoking but know I’d be wasting my breath.  Stop wasting my time; you’re fit as a fiddle; where do I sign your logbook?”

 

An aircrew medical ashore took a good couple of hours.  I was in and out in under 5 minutes.

[Biggles87]

I see you’ve got some hi-tech clamps like mine. 🤣  Great job on the props.

 

John

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

On 5/18/2020 at 12:06 PM, CedB said:

 

Untitled by Ced Bufton, on Flickr

 

Flight Lieutenant Hokey and Squadron Leader Cokey, I believe...

[CedB]

17 hours ago, The Spadgent said:

Sticking is fine. I haven’t noticed any difference. Is that what’s meant to happen? Tack loss? Any way. Lovely progress Ced. Coming along nicely.

17 hours ago, keefr22 said:

I think I may have spread that rumour messing about earlier in the thread....sorry!

 

I've certainly poured old TET into new bottles too, and also noticed no difference in stickiness TBH....

 

Keith

Thanks Johnny and Keith - perhaps I'll tip mine in too then…  

 

16 hours ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

So do I but to have Ced’s tool box I’d need to win the Lottery. 

Thanks Dennis - there's always Christmas and birthdays!

 

15 hours ago, Avereda said:

Did he have a pronounced accent? If so I think he may have ended up doing occupational health at Porton Down, said doctor told me to drink more whisky for either back pain or mild depression (possibly both). He also asked me once what my line management thought of me, I mumbled something along the lines of “we get on ok, I suppose”, he leant back, harrumphed and then bellowed “YES, BUT DO THEY LOVE YOU”. I left puzzled but feeling slightly better.

 

Sorry John I don't remember if he had an accent, but that seems like his great advice to me!  

 

15 hours ago, Ex-FAAWAFU said:

My annual aircrew medical once fell due when we were at sea in Ark; we should have been home by then but had been extended to chase some Victor III or similar - can’t remember.  You cannot legally fly with an out of date medical, so I went to see the “Baby Doc” (Deputy PMO - as opposed to his Boss, who was known as Papa Doc, obvs), a wonderful man called David Hett. He didn’t have the whizzy hearing tester machines etc. they have ashore.  He started whispering questions from across the room. 
 

“David, why the f*ck have you started whispering?”.

 

“Good; bugger all wrong with your hearing, Crisp.  I see you every day at dog watch circuits, I know how much you drink, I'd tell you to stop smoking but know I’d be wasting my breath.  Stop wasting my time; you’re fit as a fiddle; where do I sign your logbook?”

 

An aircrew medical ashore took a good couple of hours.  I was in and out in under 5 minutes.

Great story, thanks Crisp  

 

14 hours ago, Biggles87 said:

I see you’ve got some hi-tech clamps like mine. 🤣  Great job on the props.

 

John

Thanks John - nice flat jaws they have and quite gentle. Sometimes the old ways are the best ways  

 

13 hours ago, Ex-FAAWAFU said:

Flight Lieutenant Hokey and Squadron Leader Cokey, I believe...

 

 

Finally got some primer on:

 

Untitled by Ced Bufton, on Flickr

 

I always remember nowadays that the primer (Stynylrez in this case) is to provide an even colour across different materials as well as a base coat.

In this case I'm hoping to get away with the white underneath, with some messing for variation, so I wasn't looking for an even finish, honest!

Sometimes difficult to tell the difference between a nice, varied base coat and a rubbish spray job

 

Of course my 'supports' stuck in the wing holes broke the seam:

 

 

Easily fixed though.

 

During cleanup I remembered Keith's advice on cleaning the cup first. The Stynylrez does a great priming job and sticks like, er, primer:

 

 

I certainly don't want this stuff to get into the nozzle:

 

 

Fingers crossed!

 

I'm in a nice position now being able to either join up the fuselage (glueing and sanding) or painting the camo on the wings.

Always good to have a choice!

[keefr22]

8 hours ago, CedB said:

perhaps I'll tip mine in too then…

 

Only reason I stopped doing it Ced is that being a messy so and so and as I keep using my TET to thin down putty, there's always residue in the bottle bottom of the jar - which again I've never noticed to have any effect on its gluing abilities, it just looks messy. So rather than dirty a brand new pot, I do as Giorgio said above, and use a separate brush in the old pot till its all gone!

 

Primer coat looks good from here!

 

K

 

Edit to change bottle to what I meant to say!

[CedB]

Thanks Keith - brush it is!  

 

 

Wings and struts primed, prop hubs AK pasted:

 

Untitled by Ced Bufton, on Flickr

 

 

Now the nightmare starts.

Old Airfix kit, wobbly warpy fuselage, complex shapes and thin plastic do not lead to a good close up:

 

 

 

There's nothing keeping those bits apart except the warpage - you can push them together only for them to spring apart again before the TET Quick dries.

Frustrating.

Clamps don't work either, even the big ones:

 

 

One of the crew bailed out too.

Don't blame him.

 

I'll try again later, maybe with some better tape, when I've calmed down…

[Heather Kay]

I tend to use tube glue for tricky joints like that. Gives you some wiggle room while you clamp things together. 
 

The downside is you might need a bit of seam tidying, though by the looks of you’ve got a fair bit to come anyway.

[perdu]

THIS STUFF

 

Ever heard of it?

 

i think we get too clever by half with our superstuff and mix-n-match compounds to give adhesion under 500 fathoms of water and acrylic paints.

 

This stuff is of the exact same vintage as the Airfix Catalina and is as sticky as you need with clamps, vises and obscure forms of origami hold-em-tights.

 

As Heather suggests, use tube glue and abandon the ways of the tool modelling ninja.

 

Just on bloddy awkward fits like this if nowt else!

[Heather Kay]

I’ve got a couple of those tubes squirrelled away. I think they came from an Airfix gift set. My usual preference is Revell Contacta, the one with the metal tube to help you blob it in the right place as long as you don’t squeeze too hard.

[keefr22]

Superglue and accelerator would be my choice, even though I hate the stuff as I'm allergic to it. Do a small section at a time making sure it's correctly aligned, tack it with a couple of spots of superglue hit immediately with accelerator, hold together a second or two and once it's stuck together well 'flood' the joint with more superglue and again hit immediately with accelerator - job jobbed! The c.a. / accelerator mix will often be good enough as a filler too, if not you can always skim over with some more c.a. and bicarb/flour to choice.

 

Keith

[Terry1954]

Great progress on this old girl Ced.

 

Terry

[Max Headroom]

1 hour ago, perdu said:

THIS STUFF

 

Ever heard of it?

 

i think we get too clever by half with our superstuff and mix-n-match compounds to give adhesion under 500 fathoms of water and acrylic paints.

 

This stuff is of the exact same vintage as the Airfix Catalina and is as sticky as you need with clamps, vises and obscure forms of origami hold-em-tights.

 

As Heather suggests, use tube glue and abandon the ways of the tool modelling ninja.

 

Just on bloddy awkward fits like this if nowt else!

Still unparalleled for but-joining large flat areas.

 

Trevor