Popular Post Navy Bird Posted January 2, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted January 2, 2022 Happy New Year! I have only one resolution this year - to never build a kit like this again. It's not often that I dread going to the workbench, but it happened on several occasions with this project. Obviously, this is the old Matchbox PB4Y-2 Privateer re-boxed by Revell which is in itself not a bad kit except for its glaring errors. Specifically, the turrets, cowlings and props are a bit on the, er, wrong side. Being the fruitcake that I am (notice how I worked in some holiday cheer?) I decided to go rogue in the aftermarket store and procure the old Cobra resin correction set. This is where most of the problems came from. Read the WIP and WEEP, the link is below. Boy, am I relieved to get this one off the bench. Not my best work by a long shot, but I suppose it looks good enough to stick in the display case along with the old Revell PB4Y-1 that I built a few years ago. Project: Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer Kit: Revell Kit No. 04292 Scale: 1:72 (anything larger for this aircraft is a crime against nature) Decals: White Dog No. 721003 for "Ol' Blunderbuss" from VPB-121 Resin: Cobra Company PB4Y-2 Detail and Correction Set No. 72019 Resin: HPM Hobbies Corrected Cowling & Engine Set No. 72010 Resin: Quickboost PBY-5 Catalina propellers No. QB 72 006 Resin: Eduard M-2 Browning Guns No. 672092 Resin: True Details B-24/PB4Y Wheel Set No. 72016 Photoetch: From the Cobra and Eduard sets, as well as the spares box Vacuform: Squadron (Falcon) sets 9145 & 9146 for all the clear parts Paint: Mr. Hobby H11 Flat White, H12 Flat Black, H18 Steel, H54 Non-specular Sea Blue, H56 Intermediate Blue, H58 Interior Green; Tamiya XF-69 NATO Black, Alclad ALC-101 Aluminum, ALC-314 Klear Kote Flat Weathering: Post shading with various uncontrolled mixtures of the primary colours Cursing: So bad at times that the air raid sirens went off Improvements/Corrections Replaced all turrets with Cobra resin parts and Squadron vacuform clear parts Window framework on waist and tail turrets made with strips of 0.005 inch thick styrene Added bulletproof glass to bow and waist turret stations Replaced all guns with Eduard resin and photoetch Replaced cockpit with Cobra resin, detailed with CMK photoetch from the spares box Detailed the bombardier station, never to be seen again Replaced all fuselage windows with clear styrene Reshaped the kit's inaccurate vertical tail profile Replaced kit wheels with True Details resin Scratchbuilt a new nose gear mechanism and reshaped nose gear openings and doors Added various antennae and aerials Replaced kit nacelles, cowlings, and engines with resin from Cobra and HPM Replaced kit propellers with Quickboost resin The remaining errors were left in intentionally Click here for the WIP. It's a long, tragic tale and only for the stout of heart. Now, let's see this beast. Cheers, Bill EDIT: Here are some shots of the cockpit and scratchbuilt nose gear leg which you can't see in the photos above. A bit of putty here and there... 109 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogsbody Posted January 2, 2022 Share Posted January 2, 2022 Wow! Just Wow! Chris 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
28ZComeback Posted January 2, 2022 Share Posted January 2, 2022 (edited) Probably the best Privateer in this scale I've ever seen on these pages. The framework on the glass is in scale and absolutely stunning. It appears that you also filled the trench like panel lines. Edited January 2, 2022 by 28ZComeback 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doxasg Posted January 2, 2022 Share Posted January 2, 2022 Excellent job Bill! Congratulations👏 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpha Delta 210 Posted January 2, 2022 Share Posted January 2, 2022 Your pain was worthwhile! What a stunner! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted January 2, 2022 Share Posted January 2, 2022 What a fabulous Privateer Bill,....... the best I have seen,......... really top notch mate and well up there with your other models, Cheers Tony 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaminCam Posted January 2, 2022 Share Posted January 2, 2022 Awesome! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted January 2, 2022 Share Posted January 2, 2022 Impressive work all around. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWM Posted January 2, 2022 Share Posted January 2, 2022 Magnificent! This is a reference build. I mean - it cannot be done better... One can just try to follow it., regards J-W 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72modeler Posted January 3, 2022 Share Posted January 3, 2022 Yowzah! I recall seeing a 1/48 Koster conversion used to make one that looked pretty darned good, but you got the same detailing he did in 1/72 scale! You have really set the bar on this one, Bill! Congratulations! I am speechless! (No comments, CC!) Mike 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbadge Posted January 3, 2022 Share Posted January 3, 2022 That's some serious work you've done there this is absolutely stunning. It certainly has set the bar and very high too. Wow, a gorgeous model has emerged. Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John R Posted January 3, 2022 Share Posted January 3, 2022 Clearly the work of someone with a serious mental problem. Bill, you should see someone about it. Happy New Year John 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spitfire31 Posted January 3, 2022 Share Posted January 3, 2022 Well, I'm gobsmacked! If, without looking at the notes, somebody had suggested that some basic parts of this magnificent display of modelling skills had a Matchbox origin, I wouldn't have believed it. Anyway, the amount of TLC that the kit has received has elevated the result to a work of art. As the original responder so eloquently put it: Wow! Kind regards, Joachim 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc the Builder Posted January 3, 2022 Share Posted January 3, 2022 This is outstanding, a lot of work no doubt but it certainly paid off big time! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joao Augusto Posted January 3, 2022 Share Posted January 3, 2022 Impressive model! I have this kit and some of the upgrade items you used, but I still haven't got the courage to face it. Congratulations! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Natter Posted January 3, 2022 Share Posted January 3, 2022 You, Sir, have provided us with an object lesson in perseverence, persistence, patience, and superb modelling. What a superb result for your efforts. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navy Bird Posted January 3, 2022 Author Share Posted January 3, 2022 18 hours ago, 28ZComeback said: The framework on the glass is in scale and absolutely stunning. It appears that you also filled the trench like panel lines. Thanks for the compliment. Surprisingly, this is one of the Matchbox models that features raised panel lines. And they are exceptionally fine so I left them in. 18 hours ago, Alpha Delta 210 said: Your pain was worthwhile! What a stunner! Thanks - pain is perhaps a bit strong for my experience (other than my unending back problems) but it's close. 17 hours ago, tonyot said: What a fabulous Privateer Bill,....... the best I have seen,......... really top notch mate and well up there with your other models, Thanks Tony. Now if I can just ratchet up and meet your production numbers my display case would be filled in no time! 16 hours ago, JWM said: Magnificent! This is a reference build. I mean - it cannot be done better... One can just try to follow it., Thanks. Hopefully the WIP helps people follow what I've done so if they build this kit they can do better than I did. 9 hours ago, 72modeler said: Yowzah! I recall seeing a 1/48 Koster conversion used to make one that looked pretty darned good, but you got the same detailing he did in 1/72 scale! You have really set the bar on this one, Bill! Congratulations! I am speechless! (No comments, CC!) Thanks Mike. I remember that conversion as well, at least I think it's the same one. I believe the modeller's name was G. Kittinger as that is part of the file name for the photos. He/she did an amazing job and the level of detail is astounding. As I learned with my 1:32 Spitfire, adding detail is easier in the larger scales but you have to do a lot more of it. 4 hours ago, John R said: Clearly the work of someone with a serious mental problem. Bill, you should see someone about it. Hey, I resemble that remark. Accordingly, I have scheduled a consultation with @Martian and @general melchett to determine if Baldrick would be a suitable choice for a therapist. If so, I'll need an introduction and the commitment papers. 2 hours ago, Joao Augusto said: Impressive model! I have this kit and some of the upgrade items you used, but I still haven't got the courage to face it. Congratulations! Thanks. Go ahead and build the kit - my WIP shows the pitfalls I encountered so you can avoid them. That should be my new title on this forum - Pitfall Detector in Chief. 3 hours ago, Spitfire31 said: If, without looking at the notes, somebody had suggested that some basic parts of this magnificent display of modelling skills had a Matchbox origin, I wouldn't have believed it. Thanks Joachim. It is indeed a Matchbox kit, just in a Revell box. Believe it or not, I was looking through my stash the other day and discovered that I have another copy of this kit in the original Matchbox guise, complete with three different colours of plastic (blue, black, and white). I have absolutely no recollection of when or where I acquired this kit. Maybe it was placed there by the ghost of Matchbox to further haunt me. In any event, this kit has already been started (and not very well I might add) so perhaps it's a relic of my misspent youth. ***** Thanks to everyone for the nice comments. I appreciate it. Cheers, Bill 2 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
general melchett Posted January 3, 2022 Share Posted January 3, 2022 That's beautiful Bill, superb job, especially considering the source material. We now just await the inevitable Tamizoukifinemoldsagawa offering. Quote The remaining errors were left in intentionally Nice caveat, I use it often myself... As for Baldrick becoming your therapist, it's an idea, a bad one, but an idea. If and when I get him back from his therapist and out of his straightjacket, I'll ask him... 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LorenSharp Posted January 3, 2022 Share Posted January 3, 2022 1 hour ago, general melchett said: out of his straightjacket, Baldrick or the Therapist? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted January 3, 2022 Share Posted January 3, 2022 Outstanding work Bill,in this world of state of the art kit's with everything but the kitchen sink in the box it's great that the patience and skills to turn a kit most would run a mile from or go for nostalgia only are still out there to do this kind of modelling.Brilliant! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidgeRunner Posted January 3, 2022 Share Posted January 3, 2022 Beautifully done, Bill Martin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheyJammedKenny! Posted January 4, 2022 Share Posted January 4, 2022 Beautifully executed piece of art! Love the low angle photo portraits of this bruiser, because they give it heft and scale. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted January 4, 2022 Share Posted January 4, 2022 Simply splendid Bill, it shows no sign of being in a best of three falls wrestling match with you, obviously you won the important two. Steve. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunny Posted January 4, 2022 Share Posted January 4, 2022 That is beautiful work Bill - you've certainly made a silk purse from a sow's ear! Cheers, Roger 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
javlin Posted January 4, 2022 Share Posted January 4, 2022 Just absolutely beautiful build and the paint fading looks spot on Sir! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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