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`/72nd Italeri Sunderland Mk.I, 230 Sqn RAF Seletar, Singapore, 1938-39 `silver bullet'


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Hiya Folks,

                 After building the Special Hobby 1/72nd Sunderland Mk.V, I decided to build the Italeri kit and chose a silver pre war Mk.I. Compared to the SH kit, it is easier to build, BUT the interior is nowhere near as comprehensive and the surface detailing looks more like it belongs on a Hrland & Wolf built ship like the Titanic with giant plates rivetted rogether,.....and not the smooth almost seamless surface of the real thing,..... and this showed up even more on an overall silver finish,.....so much so that after painting the model I went back, filled the seams, sanded it smooth and started again! Here is the WIP in case you are interested;

 

 

 

The Italeri kit has a number of problems including the fact that the propellers only represent a handful of later Mk.I`s which were refitted with spinners during the war and many of the decal options feature aircraft that were fitted with the late style rear turret and not the early variant provided in the kit,...... so you will need to do some research. In order to build an early Mk.I I had to use a set of Aeroclub white metal propellers from my rapidly diminishing stock!

 

I chose to depict an aircraft from 230 Sqn based at Seletar in 1938-39 which was named `Sengalor' in Malay on the nose, but as a twist I depicted it in two stages of its pre war existence, one side was in the original October 1938 state with red white and blue roundels and the other was the post `Munich' state where the fuselage roundel was replaced by a red and blue B Type roundel and the MSG codes FV-X were applied, but retaining the name and the 230 Sqn insignia inside the Star shaped frame which denoted the types role as a reconnaissance aircraft.

 

Here is the model;

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Cheers,

           Tony

 

EDIT,...... I swear this model is jinxed,...... last night, 24th Nov, 2020 it took a nose dive off the shelf, hit the furniture on the way down, snapping the troublesome left wing off,..... opening up the seam of the upper fuselage and shedding props, floats and beaching gear! Having collected together what I could,..... I`m still short a set of float struts, one propeller and a few beaching gear wheels!  

I may repair it and give it a camouflaged finish,..... I`m not sure yet!

Edited by tonyot
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11 minutes ago, TonyOD said:

That is a thing of beauty.

Nah, it’s much prettier than that!

 

I like the oddness of a silver finish and low viz roundels.

 

Tony, yet another A+ from me 👍🏻
 

Trevor

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WOW,.... thanks everybody,.....  was shocked to see so many nice comments!! 

2 hours ago, TonyOD said:

That is a thing of beauty.

Cheers Tony,...... the real aircraft does look lovely in its original silver finish. 

 

2 hours ago, Max Headroom said:

Nah, it’s much prettier than that!

 

I like the oddness of a silver finish and low viz roundels.

 

Tony, yet another A+ from me 👍🏻
 

Trevor

Thanks Trevor,....blimey A+,...... I must have been looking at it for too long then!! I love the low vi roundel and grey codes and I`ll be doing a few other aircraft in the same scheme,... Gladiator, Vildebeest etc.

 

1 hour ago, bigbadbadge said:

Superb Sunderland fella.

All the best

Chris

Cheers Chris and thanks for your encouragement along the way mate,...... means a lot pal!

1 hour ago, TheyJammedKenny! said:

Definitely an A+ from Tony's workbench.  Very sharp!

I`m so glad you like it,.... and blimey another A+,..... to be fair I was glad to finish it in the end.

1 hour ago, Brigbeale said:

Absolutely stunning build!!

I hope to get that good one day.........

Thanks mate and I wouldn`t say it is that good or beyond anybody really,..... just a bit of practice,...... have a look at the WIP,.....  it is all pretty basic and the main paint was rattle can this time with brush painting,.... so no airbrushing or anything.

1 hour ago, russ c said:

Another superb Sunderland Tony, definitely benefits from getting rid of the plating. Great job

Thanks Russ,...... I just could not have lived with those Harland & Wolfe plates mate,...... especially when I realised just how smooth the Sunderland really was.

 

Thanks again everybody,

                                       Tony 

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That's very nice.  I know how hard this kit is, with mis-matching wings, fuselage halves and at least on mine the left and right side seemed to have been panelled by two different people who'd had an argument!  I felt like i used a whole tube of green stuff, apart from it being the only kit I've attacked with a full size metal working file.  At least DE/DG was an easier finish than silver so kudos for carrying that off.

 

If I might just offer one item for improvement, the lovely smooth finish on the fuselage contrasts rather strongly with Italeri's panelling of the wing-floats?

 

Cheers

Will

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That is just bloody beautiful Tony, as good as any you've turned out, IMHO.  I like that it tells a story, an important & seldom touched on part of the story of the Sunderland flying boat. :)

Steve.

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Beautiful.

Like the US and their yellow wings, this is a snapshot of a more innocent time  before WW2 when everyone thought the lessons from the Great War would lead to lasting peace.

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Lovely, lovely job Tony & good to see a Sunderland in something other than white! Your extra work on the panel lines has certainly paid off.

 

Edge

 

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7 hours ago, kapam said:

That looks excellent!

Must admit, I think the subdued panel lining looks more realistic on this.

Well done!  :goodjob:

Thanks mate,..... yeah I`m glad that I went back and re did them, wish I`d done the wing tanks too really. 

 

5 hours ago, jeaton01 said:

Very nice, but it sure sounds like a bit of work!

Thanks,..... it was only hard work because I didn`t plan ahead,.....if I had filled the panel lines at an earlier stage it would have been much easier,..... apart from those it is a pretty decent kit.

4 hours ago, malpaso said:

That's very nice.  I know how hard this kit is, with mis-matching wings, fuselage halves and at least on mine the left and right side seemed to have been panelled by two different people who'd had an argument!  I felt like i used a whole tube of green stuff, apart from it being the only kit I've attacked with a full size metal working file.  At least DE/DG was an easier finish than silver so kudos for carrying that off.

 

If I might just offer one item for improvement, the lovely smooth finish on the fuselage contrasts rather strongly with Italeri's panelling of the wing-floats?

 

Cheers

Will

Thanks Will,.... the Italeri kit is much easier to build than the Special Hobby kit,.... it is mainly those panel lines. Re the floats,....I know,.... but I was rapidly losing the will to ive and wanted the model finished,....... so having forgot to fill them and sand them when I did the rest of the kit,..... I decided to jut leave them,..... I know they look wrong but can live with it.

3 hours ago, stevehnz said:

That is just bloody beautiful Tony, as good as any you've turned out, IMHO.  I like that it tells a story, an important & seldom touched on part of the story of the Sunderland flying boat. :)

Steve.

Cheers Steve,....  the pre war Mk.I`s are often ignored and I like the fact that I have a first and last story too,...... having a silver Mk.I and a post war Mk.V,...... with an early wartime model in between,..... I have a 10 Sqn RAAF Mk.I planned,.....if I can source some more propellers,...... and at least one Mk.III,..... maybe even a French Mk.III too? In the meantime,.... I have to find somewhere to shoe horn this one into!

3 hours ago, Silver Fox said:

Beautiful work on a beautiful machine from an average kit. I really enjoyed your build thread but not all the trials and tribulations. Time for an RNZAF one now young man.

Thanks Andy,..... glad you `enjoyed' the build mate,...... the next one shouldn`t be too hard after some pre planning next time! If the SH kit was easier to build I might do a Kiwi MkV,.... BUT,.... I do have at least one Kiwi Catalina planned, so that should satisfy that itch a bit.  

3 hours ago, klubman01 said:

Nicely done.  Love the "tide mark" along the hull.

Thanks very much,....... every flying boat  model must have at least some attempt at a tide mark and I`m glad you like mine,..... I used black and brown MiG Pigment Powders brushed on and smudged along a piece of masking tape, then sealed with a squirt of rattle can varnish to help seal it. 

3 hours ago, John_W said:

Beautiful.

Like the US and their yellow wings, this is a snapshot of a more innocent time  before WW2 when everyone thought the lessons from the Great War would lead to lasting peace.

Cheers John,....... yeah the lul before the storm eh,...... and it was one of the reasons that I opted for a Far East based machine too,...... the last thing in their minds out there would have been war in 1938.

2 hours ago, Uncle Pete said:

Dunno... Wings are a bit mucky... Maybe switch to unleaded? 😜  Cracking job, mate, looks so much more elegant than the rank-and-file white ones.

LOL,.... Yeah to be fair they were kept quite clean at first but there are photos showing the exhaust streaking and tide mark,...... I just didn`t want to over do it like you see on the wartime aircraft which were filthy. I`m glad you think it looks elegant because that was what I was aiming for,...... so cheers for that Pete.

1 hour ago, beastieboy said:

wow what a build and finish

Thanks very much mate,..... nice of you to say so,....cheers.

1 hour ago, Edge said:

Lovely, lovely job Tony & good to see a Sunderland in something other than white! Your extra work on the panel lines has certainly paid off.

 

Edge

 

Thanks Edge,...... yeah it does look slightly different in silver doesn`t it,...... and I`m glad that I sorted those panel lines too,.....just wish I`d done it sooner before painting it first LOL!! 

59 minutes ago, Sky Keg said:

Tony..........your efforts have paid handsome rewards.  Very nice!!!!! :goodjob:

 

Mike

Thanks Mike,..... so glad that you like it,...... and cheers for saying so.

 

Cheers to all of you for your very kind comments,

All the best

                   Tony

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1 hour ago, robgizlu said:

Gosh - That is Lovely!!

Rob

Thanks Rob,...... kind of you to say so. 

Cheers

            Tony

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Superb model Tony - the Sunderland is an aircraft I have always had a soft spot for ( had one dangling from the ceiling as a kid).

 

However, does yours have depth charge racks that move in and out??!!!

 

Pat

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42 minutes ago, Pat C said:

Superb model Tony - the Sunderland is an aircraft I have always had a soft spot for ( had one dangling from the ceiling as a kid).

 

However, does yours have depth charge racks that move in and out??!!!

 

Pat

LOL,.... Cheers Pat and of course it has,....... it just wouldn`t be a proper Sunderland without moving bomb racks mate!! 

 

Cheers

           Tony

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