1/72nd Academy PBY-5 Catalina, 6 Sqn, RNZAF, Halavo Bay, Florida Island, near to Guadalcanal in the Solomon`s, early 1944

[tonyot]

Hiya Folks,.... Another one from the Australia & New Zealand GB,...... and one which I often spoke about building with Andy (Silverfox) before his untimely and tragic death. I finally got around to starting and finishing this 1/72nd Academy PBY-5 Catalina as part of the GB in his memory , wearing the markings of 6 Sqn, RNZAF, based at Halavo Bay, Florida Island in the Solomons, 1944. On 4th February 1944, while flown by Flying Officer Beauchamp and crew, this aircraft, NZ4017 made a very risky mid ocean pick up of five survivors from a USAAF B-24, which was especially dangerous as their radio had failed and they were unable to inform anybody of what they were about to carry out. This earned the Captain a well earned DFC,.. and five `Dumbo' elephant motifs` were added to the nose (although were they mission markers,..... accounts vary and I must admit I think that they could be?),..... Dumbo being the code name for Air Sea Rescue missions. 

Sister aircraft NZ4007,.... I do like XX-C behind it, wearing a coat of white paint on the sides and undersides and would like to model that one too!;

 

Here is the WIP ,.... the model was brush painted using old Aeromaster acrylics and the decals came from Aeromaster too,.... special set 72-10 which features a number of RNZAF aircraft from WW2;

 

The model;

 

Cheers

           Tony

Edited March 2, 2021 by tonyot
Edited to correct some typo`s,..... my keyboard has seen better says and some keys need a bit more of a tap than others!ITED TO

[Vinnie]

Lovely 'Cat', Tony. I hadn't realised Academy did the float only version. Mine had undercarriage and needed a shed load of ballast in the nose to stop it sitting.

[Navy Bird]

Nice work Tony! Do you do anything other than build scale models? Your output is amazing.  

 

Cheers,

Bill

[stevehnz]

That has come up beautifully Tony, I really like the look of it & would aspire to do similar to the one I've got come the day, Andy would be impressed too I'm sure. Fwiw, I think maybe you mean Segond cannel.

Steve.

[Ian]

Beautifully done, Tony.

 

Is it OK if I share the link to the Kiwi Model Builders FB page ?

 

 

 

Ian.

[bigbadbadge]

My word Tony another one over the line and a great job too  looks fantastic fella.

Chris

[tonyot]

1 hour ago, Vinnie said:

Lovely 'Cat', Tony. I hadn't realised Academy did the float only version. Mine had undercarriage and needed a shed load of ballast in the nose to stop it sitting.

Cheers Vinnie,.... yes they do the PBY-5 plus the earlier PBY-4 & 3 too,.... as well as the PBY-5A amphibian. The straight flying boat versions are becoming hard to find these days unfortunately.

 

1 hour ago, Navy Bird said:

Nice work Tony! Do you do anything other than build scale models? Your output is amazing.  

 

Cheers,

Bill

LOL..... Cheers Bill,..... yeah I do loads,..... I just tend to build in batches,... plus the workforce of elvs in the cellar do help too!

1 hour ago, stevehnz said:

That has come up beautifully Tony, I really like the look of it & would aspire to do similar to the one I've got come the day, Andy would be impressed too I'm sure. Fwiw, I think maybe you mean Segond cannel.

Steve.

Thanks Steve,..... and yes I`ll change the spelling,.... I copied it from the Errormaster sheet and did mean to double check it....... to be fair RAAF & RNZAF ops in the Pacific are not exactly my pet subjects and the locations are a bit of a struggle! I did double check and Errormaster got the loction totally wrong as the unit had moved to Florida Island near to Guadalcanal! I appeciate what you say about Andy too,.... very kind. 

1 hour ago, Ian said:

Beautifully done, Tony.

 

Is it OK if I share the link to the Kiwi Model Builders FB page ?

 

 

 

Ian.

Thanks Ian,.... and yes no worries mate,.... but I`m no expert on RNZAF history and have read and heard a number of stories about this aircraft. I had assumed that the Dumbo markings on the nose were ASR mission sorties but I`ve also read that it was due to picking up 5 B-24 crewmen,.... so I went with this as it seemed the most popular account! If you just credit it to me,..... Tony O`Toole,.... that would be OK,.... just take into ccount that I could well be wrong with the history,... I`m a Brit with an interest in British & Commonwealth Air Ops,....not a Kiwi with an expert knowledge! 

1 hour ago, bigbadbadge said:

My word Tony another one over the line and a great job too  looks fantastic fella.

Chris

Cheers Chris,.... yeah got three over the line today,..... more to follow soon!

 

Thanks Fella`s,

                      Tony 

Edited March 1, 2021 by tonyot

[Wulfman]

Lovely looking “Cat”, great modelling !

 

Wulfman

[tonyot]

4 minutes ago, Wulfman said:

Lovely looking “Cat”, great modelling !

 

Wulfman

Cheers Wulfman,..... much appreciated mate. 

[LDSModeller]

1 hour ago, tonyot said:

This the Captain a well earned DFC,.. and five `Dumbo' elephant motif` were added to the nose,..... Dumbo being the code name for Air Sea Rescue missions. 

 

Copy of DFC Citation for Lieutenant Mackley - Aircrfat Commander

DFC Citation

 

For Those Interested, some info on the rescue

NZ4103 B24 Rescue

 

B24 Crew Disembarking from NZ4103

NZ4103 B24 Rescue safely home

 

Unfortunately NZ4103 was lost not long after this while under tow

 

Dumbo Missions were completed by both US and RNZAF aircraft , Dumbo being the Flying Elephant from

the Walt Disney Movie

One Elephant for each mission

(RNZAF Official - RNZAF Museum - Used with Permissions)

 

[tonyot]

3 minutes ago, LDSModeller said:

 

Copy of DFC Citation for Lieutenant Mackley - Aircrfat Commander

DFC Citation

 

For Those Interested, some info on the rescue

NZ4103 B24 Rescue

 

B24 Crew Disembarking from NZ4103

NZ4103 B24 Rescue safely home

 

Unfortunately NZ4103 was lost not long after this while under tow

 

Dumbo Missions were completed by both US and RNZAF aircraft , Dumbo being the Flying Elephant from

the Walt Disney Movie

One Elephant for each mission

(RNZAF Official - RNZAF Museum - Used with Permissions)

 

 

Edited March 1, 2021 by tonyot

[pacificmustang]

great work Tony, and always interesting to read the history of the men and actual aircraft behind  the model

 

Bruce

[tonyot]

Just now, pacificmustang said:

great work Tony, and always interesting to read the history of the men and actual aircraft behind  the model

 

Bruce

Thanks Bruce,.... but looks like I`m being pulled up again above,....... seems you cannot show an interest without being expected to be an expert! As I`ve previously said,.... I`m interested in the RAAF & RNZAF in the Pacific,.... but my knowledge is poor and I have to rely on what I read!

[steh2o]

Like this one too Tony! I'd be curious to see a panoramic photograph of your whole collection! Great job!

[2996 Victor]

Another fantastic model and what a great back story as well! Superb!

Cheers,

Mark

[noelh]

It's interesting Tony how you tend to seek out the different the obscure indeed. Not in the aeroplane but in the subject. Your subjects are typical as often as not. The PBY is no back number. But that scheme is different. Same with your middle east subjects. 

 

I wonder how you come to your ideas. I read a lot but you must read extensively? I don't buy your ' I know nothing' defence. By the way. 

 

I really enjoy that many of your finished models have a back story. I like that because in my view every model is a little bit of history. 

 

Keep it up. 

 

 

Edited March 1, 2021 by noelh

[tonyot]

2 hours ago, steh2o said:

Like this one too Tony! I'd be curious to see a panoramic photograph of your whole collection! Great job!

Thanks mate but I`d need a very gucchi bit of camera equipment with a wide angled lens and a large wide open space,.... not to mention the time to get them arranged! I do have a wall cabinet for my favourite models,..... plus a cellar full,.... but I`ve still run out of room mate! 

 

2 hours ago, 2996 Victor said:

Another fantastic model and what a great back story as well! Superb!

Cheers,

Mark

Thanks Mark,.... that is if my back story is correct,..... there is at least one doubter on my case I`m afraid,... niggling at details.  I cannot be an expert in every subject I model,.... but I do my best to research them. 

1 hour ago, noelh said:

It's interesting Tony how you tend to seek out the different the obscure indeed. Not in the aeroplane but in the subject. Your subjects are typical as often as not. The PBY is no back number. But that scheme is different. Same with your middle east subjects. 

 

I wonder how you come to your ideas. I read a lot but you must read extensively? I don't buy your ' I know nothing' defence. By the way. 

 

I really enjoy that many of your finished models have a back story. I like that because in my view every model is a little bit of history. 

 

Keep it up. 

 

 

Cheers Noel,..... glad you like the more obscure subjects,..... it would be boring if we all stuck to the same thing. I totally agree that we are reproducing a little part of history and I try to research my subjects the best I can,...however I cannot be an expert on every single one like some people seem to expect,.... but hey! I do like to represent the entire British Commonwealth contribution to WW2,... as opposed to just British, Canadian, Aussie, Kiwi, South African, Indian etc,..... but my detail knowledge is of course not up to the same standard as one who concentrates on just one of these aspects,.... especially those who can be rather anal about it, pulling people up on minor details or wording and then getting all huffy about it. People like this won`t be happy until they have the subject all to themselves.     

[Ed Russell]

Very nice Catalina and backstory. It's always nice to present the history as well as the model.

[Alan P]

This is an excellent model, really fine work 👏👏👏

 

Thanks for fleshing out the backstory as well, it always adds a lot to a build to know something significant about the subject. That's something else about this hobby, I enjoy the research as much as the building!

 

Alan 

[Dunny]

Lovely finish Tony, and a great back story - love it!

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

[Team Aer Lingus]

Another one of your fantastic background / modelling builds.  Outstanding work as always Tony this one is another cracking combo

 

Many thanks for sharing

 

Eamonn

[swralph]

A realy beauty Tony.😀

[F-32]

Superb, very very nice work!

[tonyot]

4 hours ago, Ed Russell said:

Very nice Catalina and backstory. It's always nice to present the history as well as the model.

Thanks Ed,..... glad you like it mate. I have a few RAAF models on the go too for the GB.

 

4 hours ago, Alan P said:

This is an excellent model, really fine work 👏👏👏

 

Thanks for fleshing out the backstory as well, it always adds a lot to a build to know something significant about the subject. That's something else about this hobby, I enjoy the research as much as the building!

 

Alan 

Thanks Alan,..... hopefully I`ve got the back story correct,.... there appear to be a few versions! I love the research side of things too,..... without it the model only feels half finished,

 

3 hours ago, Dunny said:

Lovely finish Tony, and a great back story - love it!

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

Thanks Roger,.... glad you like it mate. 

 

3 hours ago, Team Aer Lingus said:

Another one of your fantastic background / modelling builds.  Outstanding work as always Tony this one is another cracking combo

 

Many thanks for sharing

 

Eamonn

Cheers Eamonn,.... glad you like it mate.

 

2 hours ago, swralph said:

A realy beauty Tony.😀

Cheers mate. 

 

2 hours ago, F-32 said:

Superb, very very nice work!

Thank you very much indeed. 

 

Cheers Chaps,

                      Tony 

[kapam]

That's fantastic!  An excellent build!  

It's great how you led with the B&W photos too - they're so informative and evocative!