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Revell 1/72 PBY-5a Catalina


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This has been looking at me from the shelf for a while plus I need space so it'll be next on the board. The Catalina is the first warbird I had a close look at, I was in the car with dad when he saw one flying it subsequently landed at Barkston heath and was stood fairly close to the road we parked up and walked across to it and had a good walk round. I like a seaplane and have a few kits to get built before buying more 🙄.

I've ordered some Quickboost resin engines, props and nacelles I'm not sure if they are needed but I guess I'm better off having them and not needing them. Unsure if to go for kit markings or something else. Any help/advice gladly accepted.

 

2022-04-03_09-54-40

 

 

Dave

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If you haven't already ordered those parts, I would advise against the nacelles.  They aren't really much of an improvement over the kit parts.  If anything, they are actually a bit smaller.  A better solution, I found, was to re-scribe the kit nacelles, as they are a bit weak in that regard.  The Quickboost propellers and engines are worth the investment, as they are a good improvement.

It's funny to hear you say you need space, as the wing span of that kit is around 17 inches. The instructions would have you glue the wing sections to each other (centre and outer), then join the three of them together.  What I found that worked quite well was to join the top three pieces together and the bottom three pieces together on a flat surface, and once they've set, join the top and bottom halves together.  I also sandwiched in a 3/8 inch aluminum rod, to reinforce the wing as I heard that it could be prone to drooping after sometime.

Hope this helps,

Tom

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8 hours ago, David H said:

Is this the original, late 1960s Revell kit or the much newer, 1990s vintage Academy kit? Both have pluses and minuses.

It's that Academy kit I think.

 

Dave

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7 hours ago, Doolie said:

If you haven't already ordered those parts, I would advise against the nacelles.  They aren't really much of an improvement over the kit parts.  If anything, they are actually a bit smaller.  A better solution, I found, was to re-scribe the kit nacelles, as they are a bit weak in that regard.  The Quickboost propellers and engines are worth the investment, as they are a good improvement.

It's funny to hear you say you need space, as the wing span of that kit is around 17 inches. The instructions would have you glue the wing sections to each other (centre and outer), then join the three of them together.  What I found that worked quite well was to join the top three pieces together and the bottom three pieces together on a flat surface, and once they've set, join the top and bottom halves together.  I also sandwiched in a 3/8 inch aluminum rod, to reinforce the wing as I heard that it could be prone to drooping after sometime.

Hope this helps,

Tom

I am storing to many unbuilt kits and want to make display areas. I think the nacelles are in the set I bought off ebay.

 

Dave

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  • 1 month later...

I've made a start there's not much to show a fairly basic interior but I'm not advanced enough yet to do full interiors, I managed to squeeze in 40g of lead so if nothing else it has scrap value. 

 

2022-05-07_12-29-51

 

Dave

 

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I put so much lead in the nose to prevent tail sitting the undercarriage couldn't cope. Mine now sits in a cradle to take the strain.

Note that the nose undercarriage doors slide open, not hinge as shown on the kit instructions - a quick Google will show you what I mean.

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7 hours ago, John_W said:

I put so much lead in the nose to prevent tail sitting the undercarriage couldn't cope. Mine now sits in a cradle to take the strain.

Note that the nose undercarriage doors slide open, not hinge as shown on the kit instructions - a quick Google will show you what I mean.

Thanks I had noted that. I was wandering if the uc could cope now and considering having it moored on a diorama but not sure if they moored the amphibious versions.

 

Dave

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On 07/05/2022 at 14:48, Bbdave said:

I've made a start there's not much to show a fairly basic interior but I'm not advanced enough yet to do full interiors, I managed to squeeze in 40g of lead so if nothing else it has scrap value. 

 

2022-05-07_12-29-51

 

Dave

 

Is your landing gear in plastic and are you intending deploying it? I have an Academy 'Black Cat' kit and reviews online say that the amount of weight makes an already flimsy landing gear even more dodgy; I'm waiting to order metal landing gear for mine from Hannants. The kit has been sitting winking at me from the stash for a while and it would be great to see this all built up; the Catalina is a lovely aircraft even today and its great that some still fly even today! Gonna follow your build on this! with interest!😉👍

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