Prenton Posted December 29, 2021 Share Posted December 29, 2021 My first entry in the Group Build will be the Noorduyn Norseman, a kit first produced by Matchbox in 1981. I have the 1982 boxing, which like the original one, is listed as PK-125. This, as you can see, was purchased for the princely sum of £2 - as far as I recall, at the kitswop in Scale Model World at Telford a couple of years ago. The kit shows that characteristic Matchbox three colour sprue layout, plus a small sprue of transparent parts. However, no doubt due to the age of the kit, the decals are, to say the least, somewhat suspect. As it happens, I have also the later Revell re-boxing of the kit, dated 2009. While the box is somewhat worn, the decals look to be fine. Of course, the sprues are the same, though now entirely in light grey. I propose to use the decals from that kit, with the first option, that of the Saskatchewan Government Air Ambulance Service in 1949, for the Matchbox kit. Not sure yet whether to go for the skis or the floats.... If time allows, I may add a second entry, doing the other decal option in the Revell kit, of a military aircraft (UC-64A), from 1944, complete with D-Day stripes, and on wheels. Looking forward to the start on January 8th! Philip 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted December 29, 2021 Share Posted December 29, 2021 Another great choice Philip,at the risk of repeating myself one of their best 1/72 kit's 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOCKNEY Posted December 29, 2021 Share Posted December 29, 2021 Great choice Philip It would have to be the floaty version for me. Best of luck with this one. Cheers Pat 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted December 30, 2021 Share Posted December 30, 2021 An excellent choice even if I say so myself. I've previously built two and have another stashed for a rainy day. I honestly think you need to purchase yourself a third kit which will make the hard choice between "wheels, skis' floats?" so much easier to solve! Cheers, welcome abroad and best of luck. Dave 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mjwomack Posted December 30, 2021 Share Posted December 30, 2021 12 hours ago, Prenton said: Not sure yet whether to go for the skis or the floats.... Whatever FLOATS your boat plane- hope that's a subtle enough suggestion for you😉 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ratch Posted December 30, 2021 Share Posted December 30, 2021 Surely you're going to build both a floaty one and a wheely one 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prenton Posted January 2, 2022 Author Share Posted January 2, 2022 Thanks for those comments,, folks. There seems to be a bit of a consensus that the float version is a good idea. "Oh well...I guess....OK" (as a celebrated character in a Stephen Sondheim musical once said*), I will go with the float version.........maybe famous last words..... So - a question for the Britmodeller hive mind. In my internet search, I have heard that this Matchbox kit is a bit of a mixture of a Mark IV Norseman and a Mark VI. What is the difference, and what changes do I need to make to the Matchbox kit to do the kit's decal version of the Saskatchewan Government Air Ambulance Service aircraft 'CF-SAM'? (I already know about the flying surfaces being over pronounced, so these will be meeting my sanding stick very soon). Thanks, Philip (* Stephen Sondheim's musical:- "Company" - see this clip for context...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T062wD825JQ. The whole performance is worth watching, if you have the time...especially the actress playing Kathy.....😗) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbadge Posted January 2, 2022 Share Posted January 2, 2022 Good luck with your builds. Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Hills Posted January 9, 2022 Share Posted January 9, 2022 As a Canadian am most interested in this. The basic Saskatchewan finish looks most attractive Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prenton Posted January 12, 2022 Author Share Posted January 12, 2022 Thanks Chris And Adrian - yes, the Saskatchewan finish is great. Just bought a yellow gloss and a gloss green paints for it. Starting next week. Philip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogsbody Posted January 12, 2022 Share Posted January 12, 2022 This one, with a stick up it, is in front of The Alberta Aviation Museum, in Edmonton: This one is inside: Chris 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prenton Posted January 22, 2022 Author Share Posted January 22, 2022 Well, I have begun, by sanding down the exaggerated flying surfaces on the wings and tail, and I have just done a coat of primer - Mr Surfacer 1500 white - on all of the yellow plastic. Not worth photos yet, to be honest, as there is nothing to see. Once I get something done on the interior, then I will post up something more. Many thanks for those photos @dogsbody 👍 Philip 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOCKNEY Posted January 22, 2022 Share Posted January 22, 2022 Great stuff Philip, Look forward to seeing the photos later on. Cheers Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prenton Posted January 30, 2022 Author Share Posted January 30, 2022 On 22/01/2022 at 16:00, JOCKNEY said: Great stuff Philip, Look forward to seeing the photos later on. Cheers Pat so would I, Pat. All my photos seem to have disappeared, to be replaced by small little.png logos, all over Britmodeller, including from last year. (the photos were in .jpg format from Village Photos) Don't know what is happening....Chris's (dogsbody) photos are still visible to me.... Can you still see the photos in the earlier posts?? Philip 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogsbody Posted January 30, 2022 Share Posted January 30, 2022 39 minutes ago, Prenton said: so would I, Pat. All my photos seem to have disappeared, to be replaced by small little.png logos, all over Britmodeller, including from last year. (the photos were in .jpg format from Village Photos) Don't know what is happening....Chris's (dogsbody) photos are still visible to me.... Can you still see the photos in the earlier posts?? Philip V.P has been having issues now for most of the past week. See here: Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob Lyttle Posted January 30, 2022 Share Posted January 30, 2022 Yes I got the same with someone else's pictures too, hosted by Village. My phone says it doesn't like the security certificate!?! I found if I click on the the little png square, it takes me to the photo but tells me I'm in an insecure site. Shrug! So BM doesn't auto imbed the pictures. I expect they'll update their security code or whatever at Village and all will be well in the world, again, for a while, till the next glitch...... Glad someone else is having a go at the Norseman float plane 👍😅 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOCKNEY Posted January 30, 2022 Share Posted January 30, 2022 2 hours ago, Prenton said: so would I, Pat. All my photos seem to have disappeared, to be replaced by small little.png logos, all over Britmodeller, including from last year. (the photos were in .jpg format from Village Photos) Don't know what is happening....Chris's (dogsbody) photos are still visible to me.... Can you still see the photos in the earlier posts?? Philip Sorry Philip, I can't see the pictures, I was having the same trouble with one posted by @825 I assumed it was my steam driven mobile phone that was the problem ! I look forward to seeing your progress when the pictures appear cheers Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prenton Posted February 1, 2022 Author Share Posted February 1, 2022 Well - something has happened, as my photos at the start of this thread have re-appeared....so here's hoping..... As I was saying,... So I did some sanding on the fuselage, and tail, and also on the lower wings, and then gave everything that was yellow a primer coat using the Mr Surfacer, cut with about 40% Gunze levelling thinner. Does a great job, that does.. This allows me to show, in respect of the upper wings, how much of the exaggerated flying surfaces on the upper wings needed to be sanded off - here you can see the lower wings, already sanded and primed, and the upper wings, both primed, and with one of the two sanded. The other one awaits my attention. I think that this shows just how much needs to be sanded off to give a more realistic impression of the true appearance of the wings, as seen in the photos. Of course, I will need to do a further primer coat, but I think it was worth it to just show how much needs to be taken off. (Early Matchbox kits need some work, but, in fairness, not so much as a similarly produced Airfix kit of the time, with all of those rivets with which Airfix festooned their creations then....) As it happens, having looked at a LOT of photos, I am leaving the flaps and ailerons with nothing but a very light sanding, as the photos seem to show that the fabric effect was more pronounced on those than on the wings. More later in the week. Thanks for looking,. Philip 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOCKNEY Posted March 28, 2022 Share Posted March 28, 2022 Hi Philip I know you were having picture troubles when we last heard from you, have you had a chance to make any progress with this one ? Cheers Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prenton Posted April 5, 2022 Author Share Posted April 5, 2022 Hi Pat - still having trouble! I may have to go over to a different hosting site, as Village Photos seems to be no longer working. Any suggestions?? Philip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogsbody Posted April 5, 2022 Share Posted April 5, 2022 A V.P experiment: You're right! V.P is not working at all. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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