Monogram 1/48 PBY-5 Catalina with a new tail - Completed

[Sergeant]

I had a few setbacks in painting the engine nacelles and landing lights. Paint and primer started peeling off in places where I was using Tamiya masking tape as you can see in Photograph No. 1 and 2 below. In photograph No. 3 I have repainted the top of port engine nacelle and it came out fine, but it is taking a lot of time to rework. I have been using Vallejo Surface Primer and Model Air acrylic paint for about three or four years with occasional paint peeling issues, but most of the time everything worked fine. Before I started using Vallejo Surface Primer, I used Tamiya Surface Primer with a combination of Tamiya and Vallejo acrylic paint. The Tamiya Surface Primer is lacquer based and while it adhered better to plastic and metal than Vallejo primer it caused airbrush clogging issues and I had to wear a professional style respirator to protect my lunges.

 

In Photograph No. 2 I tried to hand paint Vallejo Surface Primer when the paint and primer peeled off so I would not need to take the landing lights apart. The Vallejo primer just would not adhere to the metal no matter how I cleaned the surface. I ended up removing the landing lights and had to purchase new Eduard Photo-etched frames because the metal was damaged when I pulled them off the wing. That was not a big deal, because I never did like the fact the Monogram kit just had a clear plastic shield without a lamp inside. Please see Photographs No. 6 and No. 7 below. This time; however, at the suggestion of Jack Geratic @JackG I painted the new landing light frames with a light coat of Tamiya Surface Primer, then a coat of Vallejo Surface Primer and finally Vallejo Model Air paint. The reason for both primers is my Tamiya Surface Primer was not the ‘Fine’ version and with very small photo-etched parts the primer was just too grainy for my liking. In the future I will use Tamiya Fine Surface Primer on metal parts and maybe everything else too because I am tired of this issue.

 

When I get this paint peeling problem taken care of, I will give the underside of the wing a couple coats of Sky colour and then two coats of gloss varnish, wing roundel decals and a coat of satin varnish to seal everything. If all goes well, I can add antennas and the machine guns.

 

Photograph No.1 - Vallejo paint and primer peeled off when Tamiya masking tape was removed. Sky colour has not been repainted.

 

Photograph No. 2 - Hand painted landing light frame with Vallejo Surface Primer.

 

Photograph No. 3 - Repainted Engine Nacelle.

 

Photograph No. 4 - RAF Temperate Sea Scheme reference photograph.

 

Photograph No. 5 - Repainting in progress.

 

Photograph No.6 - Repainted starboard landing light with new photo-etched frame.

 

Photograph No. 7 Repainted port landing light with new photo-etched frame.

 

Photograph No. 8 - Landing light reference photograph.

 

While waiting for new photo-etched parts I went back to work on the machine guns. On the early Consolidated PBY-5 Catalina they had two Browning M2 .50 caliber machine guns at the wait gunner's location and a single Browning .30 caliber machine gun at the bow turret location. I could not locate specific information regarding the type of .30 caliber Browning machine gun that was installed in the RAF Catalina; however, I learned the M1919A4 was very common in aircraft during World War II, so I ordered Shapeway 3D Printed guns which look very detailed. I also ordered Master AM-48-029 brass aircraft barrels for the .30 caliber machine gun just in case the 3D Printer type do not look as good when painted. It is my understanding early Catalina's had one .30 caliber machine gun in the bow turret, later versions had two .30 caliber machine guns and some even had a single .50 caliber in the bow turret. In this model I will have a single .30 caliber in the bow. The Catalina also had a .30 caliber machine gun under the tail, but since I plan to display this model on water that machine gun hatch would have been closed.

 

Photograph No. 9 - Browning .30 caliber M1919A4 machine gun reference.

 

Photograph No. 10 - Shapeway ‘ShapeWorks’ 3D printed 1/48 Browning .30 caliber M1919A4 bow turret machine gun with aircraft barrel.

 

Photograph No. 11 - Eduard 1/48 resin Browning M2 .50 caliber machine gun with brass Master aircraft barrel.

 

Photograph No. 12 - Browning M2 .50 caliber waist gunner machine gun reference photograph.

 

 

Edited November 4, 2022 by Sergeant

[Sergeant]

I completed repainting areas where paint had peeled which took more time than expected. Then I gave the underside of the wing three coats of Vallejo #71.302 Sky Type S, touched up camouflage paint around the nacelles and landing lights, and added fuel tank vents on top of the wing. I plan to add the loop antenna, pitot tube, radar antennas, H/T array, depth charges and fuel dump pipes to the wing after I have the large wing roundels sealed.

 

I gave the new paint on the wing two weeks to harden, but I don't think that will make much difference because the problem of paint peeling is caused by the Vallejo Surface Primer not adhering to the substrate (plastic). This only happened on the wing, so it's my belief the wing had some mold release agent I did not clean well enough before painting. I normally clean all the plastic surfaces with alcohol rather than soap and water, but I clearly missed a few places on the wing. Since this kit was manufactured in 1995, I do not believe Monogram cleaned their kit parts that well before packaging.

 

The wing is not glued to the hull yet and neither is the propellers or the loop antenna to the wing. So, the next step is to give the entire wing less the propellers and antenna two or three coats of Vallejo #70.510 Gloss Varnish, add the wing roundels and seal them with one or two coats of Vallejo #70.522 Satin Varnish. While the varnishing is hardening on the wing, I will work on the three machine guns and wing supports. If all goes well, I should be ready for final inspection by the end of October.

 

Harold

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 5, 2022 by Sergeant

[Sergeant]

I am getting close to being ready for inspection.  I have the large roundel decals on the wing, one more coat of satin varnish to apply, deicing boot to paint on the vertical stabilizer, .30 and .50 caliber machine guns to glue into place and a few other small details. If I continue to make progress this model should be finished in the next few days.

 

It has taken about ten months to get this far and most of the year I have been unable to see clearly because I need cataract surgery. I can’t tell you how many times I put something in the wrong place because my depth perception is messed up. I have five task lights in my paint booth where I do all the assembly and painting because my vision is so dark. I plugged along all year, and yet it has been one of the best builds I have ever worked on thanks to Jack Geratic.

 

Harold

 

 

 

Edited November 1, 2022 by Sergeant

[81-er]

I would never have imagined you needed cataract surgery from the quality of your work on this, Harold. The model is absolutely magnificent, made all the more so due to your impaired vision. I hope you don’t have long to wait for the surgery, and I’m looking forward to that RFI.

 

James

[Sergeant]

5 hours ago, 81-er said:

I would never have imagined you needed cataract surgery from the quality of your work on this, Harold. The model is absolutely magnificent, made all the more so due to your impaired vision. I hope you don’t have long to wait for the surgery, and I’m looking forward to that RFI.

 

James

Thank you, James. I did not realize how much my vision had changed over the last few months until the other day I was installing GFCI outlets in the kitchen with only a torch for light and could not see well enough to put a wire under the terminal screw. I am scheduled to see the eye surgeon on November 14th and hopefully have the surgery this month. Cheers and here's to a brighter future.

 

Harold

Edited November 1, 2022 by Sergeant

[81-er]

That's not long at all. Cheers indeed for a brighter (and clearer!) future!

 

James

[Sergeant]

I completed the .30 caliber bow turret machine gun, .50 caliber port and starboard waist machine guns, and vertical and horizontal stabilizer deicing boots. All that remains now is three antennas and a midships radio antenna mast plus the wing supports and yellow propeller tips.

 

This will be my first time entering a model in the Ready for Inspection area, is there anything I need to know before I do that?

 

Harold

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 4, 2022 by Sergeant

[81-er]

I'll look forward to that RFI, Harold. Nothing specific to know, just post some photos and a bit about the kit and what you did to it

 

James

[Sergeant]

Thank you, James. About this year long build I remember the day I cut the tail off thinking ‘Jack what have I done!’ I spent $100.00 for a 27-year-old kit and then cut the bloody tail off. There is no going back now, the only way is forward.

 

Harold

 

About February or March of 2022

 

Edited November 5, 2022 by Sergeant

[David H]

Looks great, Harold. I still fancy doing a tall-tailed PB2B-2, myself...

[81-er]

13 hours ago, Sergeant said:

I remember the day I cut the tail off thinking ‘Jack what have I done!’ I spent $100.00 for a 27-year-old kit and then cut the bloody tail off

It was a brave step, but it's really paid off

 

James

[Sergeant]

Completed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 11, 2022 by Sergeant

[81-er]

It looks fantastic, Harold, very well done on that!

 

James

[Sergeant]

6 hours ago, 81-er said:

It looks fantastic, Harold, very well done on that!

 

James

Thank you, James. I will post this model in the RFI section when I have some good pictures taken in my photography booth in a couple of days.

 

Harold

[Mark]

It’s 2am here in France. I finished work not too long ago but the lure of Britmodeller was too much and I found myself trawling through the various posts and then this…

 

 

Once upon a time I started a Catalina. It’s here somewhere, in the depths of the works in progress, but yours is a thing of such amazing beauty! There is something so right about this design, your rendition captures all of that and more!

 

Now, how do I stop my amphibious one becoming a tail-sitter with all that resin at the rear?! 😂

[Sergeant]

6 hours ago, Mark said:

It’s 2am here in France. I finished work not too long ago but the lure of Britmodeller was too much and I found myself trawling through the various posts and then this…

 

 

Once upon a time I started a Catalina. It’s here somewhere, in the depths of the works in progress, but yours is a thing of such amazing beauty! There is something so right about this design, your rendition captures all of that and more!

 

Now, how do I stop my amphibious one becoming a tail-sitter with all that resin at the rear?! 😂

Thank you, Mark. You may already know the work on this model was a joint effort on the part of Jack Geratic who lives in Ontario, Canada and myself in the State of Washington USA. We spent many hours researching details to make this RAAF Catalina as accurate as possible. Below are the two main reference photographs.

 

Harold

 

 

 

 

Edited November 12, 2022 by Sergeant

[TonyOD]

Hugely impressive!

[Sergeant]

Please see the completed model photographs in the Ready for Inspection - Aircraft forum. I want to thank those of you who helped me finish this project. And a special thanks to @JackG who gave me hours of his time researching and providing solutions to problems.

 

Harold

Edited November 15, 2022 by Sergeant

[ArnoldAmbrose]

Gidday Harold, she looks terrific, very well done.       Regards, Jeff.

[Sergeant]

On 11/14/2022 at 11:14 PM, ArnoldAmbrose said:

Gidday Harold, she looks terrific, very well done.       Regards, Jeff.

Thank you Jeff for encouraging me to post my Catalina.

 

Harold

Edited November 17, 2022 by Sergeant