1:72 Revell Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer

[dogsbody]

1 hour ago, LorenSharp said:

Resin snot? That does not bode well.

 

 

When you're dancing with your honey

And your nose is kinda runny

People think it's funny

But it's not!

 

 

 

I"m leaving now!

 

 

Chris

[LorenSharp]

Ahhh but then there is this then...

 

roses are red,

violets are blue.

Most poems rhyme,

But this this one don't

 

 

Exits stage left ----->

[Terry1954]

16 hours ago, Navy Bird said:

so I'll add more air to them with 400 grit paper.

 

I must try that next time my bicycle tyres need more air, it sounds less effort than just pumping! 😁

 

Terry

[Navy Bird]

On 26/08/2021 at 10:30, LorenSharp said:

Resin snot? That does not bode well.

 

Remember this photo of the lovely props that came with my Cobra set?

 

 

Looks like someone sneezed on it to me.    😱

 

On the other hand, the Quickboost props look very nice.

 

Cheers,

Bill

[LorenSharp]

57 minutes ago, Navy Bird said:

 

Remember this photo of the lovely props that came with my Cobra set?

 

 

Looks like someone sneezed on it to me.    😱

 

On the other hand, the Quickboost props look very nice.

 

Cheers,

Bill

EEEwwwwwwwwww!

[TheyJammedKenny!]

I agree with you.  One look and I can see that those Cobra props are atrocious, and raise the question as to why Cobra didn't attempt to cast them in metal, the way they did with their Boeing 377 Stratocruiser improvement set, which is quite nice by contrast.

[Navy Bird]

Extreme close-up time! This is an interesting comparison of the kit canopy and the Falcon vacuform replacement. The big issue with the kit part is the framework is incorrect:

 

 

The vacuform canopy supplied in the Cobra set (not shown above) is pretty lame. The framework is really soft and hard to even see in some places, and my copy has a flaw on the trailing edge of the port side window where the vacuform didn't correctly conform to the master. In other words, the Cobra canopy sucks because it didn't suck enough.    

 

I'll be using the Falcon canopy, but it needs to go for a Future bath first. Then I'll mask it off and add it to the fuselage prior to beginning painting. Everything else is ready for primer! I'm sure there will be areas that need to be attended to after the primer goes on, but that's why we spray the primer in the first place.

 

Forward...slowly. Or maybe it's just carefully, trying to anticipate what new snafu Matchbox/Revell/Cobra are going to throw at me today.    😬

 

Cheers,

Bill

 

PS. Oh, right, the props are assembled. That Propmaster thingy is a godsend.

Edited August 29, 2021 by Navy Bird

[Martian]

On 27/08/2021 at 23:47, Navy Bird said:

 

Remember this photo of the lovely props that came with my Cobra set?

 

 

Looks like someone sneezed on it to me.    😱

 

On the other hand, the Quickboost props look very nice.

 

Cheers,

Bill

Point me in the direction of the culprit and I'll sneeze some particularly sticky Martian snot all over him.

 

Helpful of Mars 👽

[roginoz]

Looks like you already have..........!

[Navy Bird]

Did I ever tell you how much I hate masking canopies? It ranks right up there with slathering on putty and sanding all night. Which about sums up this kit...in case anyone wonders, the greenhouse for the PB4Y-2 has at least several hundred individual panes (seems like it anyway) and I don't have a masking set! I have to do it the old fashioned way - by being an actual scale modeller. The horror!    

 

Well, it ain't perfect but it's good enough for me.

 

 

The side windows will need some very thin strips of masking tape for the outline of the frame, and then some Mr. Masking Sol over the bubble. Come to think of it, I just remembered - I was going to cut out those windows and pose them open. Arghh. This getting old thing is not all it's cracked up to be.

 

Cheers,

Bill

[Martian]

3 hours ago, Navy Bird said:

This getting old thing is not all it's cracked up to be.

Then come up with a cure for the birth certificate: for the sake of all our stashes.

 

Martian 👽

[Navy Bird]

Well, I jumped into the deep end and cut out the side windows. I kept thinking of some way to use a straight edge and a fresh #11 blade to make sure I got good cuts, but then I said the heck with it and just used a pair of scissors. Worked great, and only took about 5 seconds. KISS, I believe they used to say.

 

So here is The Putty Queen in all her glory. All that's left now is to fair the canopy into the fuselage (it's just sitting there in the photo), stuff her innards with a bunch of foam, load up the airbrush and have at it.

 

 

She kinda looks like a B-24, only with a B-32 tail, don't you think? Anyway, as can be seen the fit of the various bits was, well, sub-optimal. I think that's the nicest way to put it. She'll get a coat of grey to cover up the red primer before we start with the white underside and the blues on top. My references say Ol' Blunderbuss was heavily weathered and faded so we'll have to see what we can do there. I've not been able to find a picture of this specific aircraft - if you have any please post them. Thanks!

 

Cheers,

Bill

[TheyJammedKenny!]

Great work!  She looks like a bruiser, all right, which is why I like the looks of the PB4Y-2 so much.  This aircraft is all about business, not elegance.  Great save on the side windows, btw.

[Terry1954]

5 hours ago, TheyJammedKenny! said:

She looks like a bruiser, all right

 

Totally agree! Something very beatiful yet menacing too. Id not really paid much attention to the Privateer until you started this thread Bill, but i like it so much, I want one!

 

Cant wait to see paint on.

 

Terry

[LorenSharp]

11 hours ago, Navy Bird said:

She kinda looks like a B-24, only with a B-32 tail, don't you think? Anyway, as can be seen the fit of the various bits was, well, sub-optimal. I think that's the nicest way to put it. She'll get a coat of grey to cover up the red primer before we start with the white underside and the blues on top. My references say Ol' Blunderbuss was heavily weathered and faded so we'll have to see what we can do there. I've not been able to find a picture of this specific aircraft - if you have any please post them. Thanks!

 

Cheers,

Bill

By George, I think He's got it! Now she looks like a Privateer. Great job Bill!! Doncha love it when a plan comes together?

[Alan P]

That picture tells a story alright!  Great work pummelling it into shape so far.

 

Alan

[Martian]

13 hours ago, Navy Bird said:

Well, I jumped into the deep end and cut out the side windows. I kept thinking of some way to use a straight edge and a fresh #11 blade to make sure I got good cuts, but then I said the heck with it and just used a pair of scissors. Worked great, and only took about 5 seconds. KISS, I believe they used to say.

 

So here is The Putty Queen in all her glory. All that's left now is to fair the canopy into the fuselage (it's just sitting there in the photo), stuff her innards with a bunch of foam, load up the airbrush and have at it.

 

 

She kinda looks like a B-24, only with a B-32 tail, don't you think? Anyway, as can be seen the fit of the various bits was, well, sub-optimal. I think that's the nicest way to put it. She'll get a coat of grey to cover up the red primer before we start with the white underside and the blues on top. My references say Ol' Blunderbuss was heavily weathered and faded so we'll have to see what we can do there. I've not been able to find a picture of this specific aircraft - if you have any please post them. Thanks!

 

Cheers,

Bill

Putty Queen? I've had worse!

 

The Black Knight from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, aka Martian 👽

[giemme]

She's looking good (and menacing!) even at this raw stage, Bill  

 

Ciao

[Navy Bird]

14 hours ago, TheyJammedKenny! said:

Great work!  She looks like a bruiser, all right, which is why I like the looks of the PB4Y-2 so much.  This aircraft is all about business, not elegance. 

 

I always liked the B-24 best of the American heavy bombers of WWII, probably for that very reason. That, and the fact that Henry Ford had them rolling off the line in a converted auto factory at the rate of one bomber every 59 minutes.   

 

8 hours ago, Terry1954 said:

Id not really paid much attention to the Privateer until you started this thread Bill, but i like it so much, I want one!

 

Be careful. Remember the "Matchbox" part, don't be fooled by the Revell logo on the box. Maybe someone like Arma or one of those guys could make us a nice, new tool Privateer. Usually something like that happens every time I slog through an old kit like this. Remember to thank me!   

 

1 hour ago, Alan P said:

That picture tells a story alright!  Great work pummelling it into shape so far.

 

Pummeling! That's one word for it.    

 

1 hour ago, Martian said:

Putty Queen? I've had worse!

 

Been building more Mach 2 kits have we? We modellers never learn...    

 

40 minutes ago, giemme said:

She's looking good (and menacing!) even at this raw stage, Bill

 

Raw! That's another word for it.    

 

 

Cheers,

Bill

[Martian]

1 hour ago, Navy Bird said:

Been building more Mach 2 kits have we? We modellers never learn...    

 

Nope, Fonderie Miniature kits; told you I had had worse; much worse. I even built a Merlin Models kit once and have another nearly ready for paint (same kit!). Any advance on that?

 

Deranged of Mars 👽

[Brandy]

You think this is BAD??

Try a Merlin kit!

 

 

Even they can turn out nicely!

 

 

Ian

[Fritag]

11 hours ago, Terry1954 said:

17 hours ago, TheyJammedKenny! said:

She looks like a bruiser, all right

 

Totally agree! Something very beatiful yet menacing too

 

Me too.  She looks pugnacious alright. That tall single tail looks sort of incongruous but still manages to suit her.

 

Great work as always Bill; you’re a reet dab hand at invisibly blending in all the different media and putty. 

 

 

[Navy Bird]

On 01/09/2021 at 13:23, Martian said:

Nope, Fonderie Miniature kits; told you I had had worse; much worse. I even built a Merlin Models kit once and have another nearly ready for paint (same kit!). Any advance on that?

 

I forgot - due to the reduced gravity on Mars the molten styrene does not conform to even the best of tooling. You should try some kits from Earth - is there an inexpensive postal option?

 

On 01/09/2021 at 14:00, Brandy said:

You think this is BAD??

Try a Merlin kit!

<snip>

Even they can turn out nicely!

 

Well, Merlin was a wizardly magician - of course blobs can be turned into great models!   

Really nice work, Ian.

 

On 01/09/2021 at 14:14, Fritag said:

Great work as always Bill; you’re a reet dab hand at invisibly blending in all the different media and putty.

 

Don't jinx me, the primer hasn't gone on yet. The blending might not be all that invisible! And then it will be back to filling and sanding...

 

*****

 

One of the reasons I like the Nitro-Stan red glazing putty that I use (an automotive spot putty) is that it feathers so well when sanding. It shrinks a bit after application, so a second application is sometimes required. I've tried a lot of different brands of putty, and this stuff sands the smoothest. For $20 you get a 0.5 kg tube with amazing shelf life that will quite literally last your entire lifetime. Unless, of course, you're on Mars or build an unusual number of Merlin kits.    

 

Hope to prime the beastie tomorrow. I finished blending in the canopy, windows are all masked, and all of the orifices have been stuffed full of foam, tissue, or what-have-you so I don't accidentally prime the cockpit or anything else inside. Wish me luck!

 

Cheers,

Bill

 

PS. Hope I have enough paint for this baby - she be purty big. Not @tomprobert big, of course, but big by my standards.

[Martian]

20 minutes ago, Navy Bird said:

I forgot - due to the reduced gravity on Mars the molten styrene does not conform to even the best of tooling. You should try some kits from Earth - is there an inexpensive postal option?

Postage works out about £1 per mile. Which, I am given to understand, compares very favourably with US Post overseas rates. It's still cheaper for me come and collect my kits in person though.

 

Martian 👽

[tomprobert]

14 hours ago, Navy Bird said:

 

PS. Hope I have enough paint for this baby - she be purty big. Not @tomprobert big, of course, but big by my standards.

Loving your work, Bill - but surely you must be tempted to convert one of the HobbyBoss 1/32nd B-24s to a PB4Y-2..? 

 

I've actually got the Koster 1/48th conversion for the Monogram B-24 slowly moving up my stash so I'm taking notes of the finer details of this fantastic build. One day...

 

Tom