zebra Posted December 26, 2021 Share Posted December 26, 2021 I'm going to build a Privateer. This one comes in a Revell box so no multicoloured plastic for me! It's going to be a fire bomber, I think this one: It's going to need a bit of work. It's a Super Privateer which means it needs different engines - the Super Privateers had their engines replaced with more powerful R-2600s - which will need to come from a B-25, although there are Quickboost engines, cowlings and props for the Hasegawa B-25 which will work out much cheaper and feel a lot less wasteful than buying two B-25 kits for the engines. This will also need modifications to the nacelles. Then there's the glass nose (which comes from its earlier career with the US Coast Guard) and various other mods. And it'll need custom-printed decals. I'm going to have to spend a bit of time planning the build and working out how I'm going to do all these mods before I can actually start building it. cheers Julian 24 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOCKNEY Posted December 26, 2021 Share Posted December 26, 2021 Great stuff Julian That colour scheme looks stunning 😍 Best of luck Cheers Pat 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted December 27, 2021 Share Posted December 27, 2021 What an excellent choice Julian and modifying this kit to Fire Bomber status will certainly be something different and somewhat very special. We all look forward to what will no doubt be an excellent WIP thread. Cheers, welcome aboard and best of luck.. Dave 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jinxman Posted January 7, 2022 Share Posted January 7, 2022 Can't wait to see this one get going - good luck! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zebra Posted January 9, 2022 Author Share Posted January 9, 2022 I'm away on holiday but that doesn't mean I can't get on with the build, 21st century-style, by doing some CAD for some 3D-printed parts. First up, inserts for the panels where the waist turrets should be: I'll print this with clear resin, although only the central panel is going to be clear. Going to have a go at the clear fairing to replace the tail turret next. cheers Julian 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Franz75 Posted January 9, 2022 Share Posted January 9, 2022 Wow, nice project. You can try adapted quick boost engines. Buying B 25 is also good, but the quality of QB is much better. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zebra Posted January 10, 2022 Author Share Posted January 10, 2022 20 hours ago, Franz75 said: Wow, nice project. You can try adapted quick boost engines. Buying B 25 is also good, but the quality of QB is much better. Thanks. I contemplated buying two B-25s but didn't want to be left with two engineless B-25 kits, and two sets of Quickboost engines, nacelles and props works out cheaper than one B-25 kit, so I've ordered the QB bits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zebra Posted January 11, 2022 Author Share Posted January 11, 2022 Another component to print - fairing for the tail turret: Haven't worked out how to add things like canopy frames and panel lines to surfaces yet, I'm going to leave this as it is for now and move on to the next part. The frame for the glazing can always be painted on! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted January 11, 2022 Share Posted January 11, 2022 This 3D stuff is all very impressive @zebra and I recall the fantastic editions you made to your excellent Lancaster in that STGB of a while back. This is looking like a real winner from the get go. Cheers.. Dave 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zebra Posted January 12, 2022 Author Share Posted January 12, 2022 21 hours ago, Rabbit Leader said: This 3D stuff is all very impressive @zebra and I recall the fantastic editions you made to your excellent Lancaster in that STGB of a while back. This is looking like a real winner from the get go. Cheers.. Dave Thanks Dave - my CAD skills have moved on (slightly) from the Lancaster so hoping to be able to deal with a couple of more complex shapes this time. One more part done - the nose glazing: Not perfect but hopefully good enough for a test print, then I can see what changes are needed. Next is the part I've been putting off - the engine nacelles. cheers Julian 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navy Bird Posted January 15, 2022 Share Posted January 15, 2022 Looking forward to this one, especially since I just finished building the USN version. I love the colourful fire bomber scheme you've chosen. Cheers, Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zebra Posted January 30, 2022 Author Share Posted January 30, 2022 Time to get cracking with the Privateer, starting with the fuselage mods. I've cut out the holes for the windows (plus one extra, got a bit carried away, so I've re-filled it!) and removed the waist gunners' blisters from the waist panels and fitted them, and plastered the joints with filler. Also started painting cockpit parts - not photographed them yet. I've tried printing my new clear parts using clear resin, but I'm really not happy with the results so I'm going to have a go at vac forming the nose and tail transparencies. I'll use the parts I've printed as masters for female moulds. The waist parts can be dealt with differently - as there's only a flat clear panel in the middle of each part, I can use a square of clear plastic instead. I need to get on with the nacelles and cowlings as well. I've got the Quickboost cowlings now - they're all warped though, they've been compressed at the back such that they're not circular any more. I'll see if I can make them circular again, if not there's more CAD to do. I'm also going to have to modify or replace the nacelles, they're too deep for the QB cowlings so just attaching the B-25 engines to the kit's nacelles isn't going to work. more soon Julian 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike romeo Posted January 30, 2022 Share Posted January 30, 2022 Huh! Cowlings not circular; I feel your pain. 😏 Impressed with your cad skills and the 3d printing. I'm looking forward to seeing this progress. Rgds Martin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theplasticsurgeon Posted January 30, 2022 Share Posted January 30, 2022 On 1/9/2022 at 6:18 AM, zebra said: I'm away on holiday but that doesn't mean I can't get on with the build, 21st century-style, by doing some CAD for some 3D-printed parts. First up, inserts for the panels where the waist turrets should be: I'll print this with clear resin, although only the central panel is going to be clear. Going to have a go at the clear fairing to replace the tail turret next. Why? This kit has parts 12 and 13. Flat fuselage sides for the transport RY-3 version. Why didn't you use those? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zebra Posted January 30, 2022 Author Share Posted January 30, 2022 52 minutes ago, theplasticsurgeon said: Why? This kit has parts 12 and 13. Flat fuselage sides for the transport RY-3 version. Why didn't you use those? The window that replaced the turret on this aircraft (and the other USCG privateers) has a quite distinctive frame structure, which is still visible on the aircraft I’m modelling, so I wanted to replicate it. It also appears to be quite flat whereas parts 12 and 13 have more curvature than I want for this part. So I need to cut out the hole to fit the part in, and cutting out the turret seemed to me to be a good way to go. Made sense to me anyway! 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted February 1, 2022 Share Posted February 1, 2022 Sounds like lots to do @zebra, however I know you've got a plan to get there. Keep going mate, this will be superb once finished. Cheers.. Dave 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zebra Posted February 13, 2022 Author Share Posted February 13, 2022 It's been a while since I posted - things have been slow, life getting in the way and all that - but I've made a bit of progress. The waist turret inserts are on, also inserted all the windows in the fuselage sides which was trickier than expected (none of them fit!), gave the insides a coat of interior green, and also added a floor in the nose as it'll be visible through the nose glazing. Should get the fuselage together soon. cheers Julian 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOCKNEY Posted March 21, 2022 Share Posted March 21, 2022 Hi Julian Have you made any more progress to your Privateer since we last heard from you ? Cheers Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOCKNEY Posted June 4, 2022 Share Posted June 4, 2022 Hi Julian We have a 2 week extension on this GB, any chance you could be persuaded to return to your Privateer ? Cheers Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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