Airfix DUKW, 1/76 +++FINISHED+++

[Graham Boak]

I don't think that the DUKW would be suitable for the kind of rough weather the RNLI boats usually launch in, though it might be better for beach work, if a bit over the top.  No surfers, paddleboarders or kayakers etc in those days, but still rip currents and no jetskis for rapid movement, so maybe.  I suspect too costly.

 

In the 70s there was a yellow DUKW on Saltburn beach used as a tractor for hauling up small fishing boats.  I meant to get a photo when visiting but never had my camera with me. 

[danbuoy]

24 minutes ago, Graham Boak said:

I don't think that the DUKW would be suitable for the kind of rough weather the RNLI boats usually launch in, though it might be better for beach work, if a bit over the top.  No surfers, paddleboarders or kayakers etc in those days, but still rip currents and no jetskis for rapid movement, so maybe.  I suspect too costly.

 

In the 70s there was a yellow DUKW on Saltburn beach used as a tractor for hauling up small fishing boats.  I meant to get a photo when visiting but never had my camera with me. 

Yes, probably HM Coastguard would be more appropriate. I was thinking that the RNLI might, just ,might have used one in some kind of a support role, mainly due to thinking a DUKW would look smart in the RNLI blue and orange, but then the HM Coastguard blue and yellow scheme would work well too.

[Graham Boak]

Agreed it would look good, in either.  I was just thinking it through, perhaps with a hope that it might have been possible!  Maybe on the Thames?  Being able to drive up and down slipways would be an advantage, but the actual water handling left a bit to be desired.

[danbuoy]

27 minutes ago, Graham Boak said:

Agreed it would look good, in either.  I was just thinking it through, perhaps with a hope that it might have been possible!  Maybe on the Thames?  Being able to drive up and down slipways would be an advantage, but the actual water handling left a bit to be desired.

Yes, certainly as any type of coastal rescue craft the DUKW would have been, pardon the pun, out of its depth, but inland waterways, estuaries maybe, there's the justification (if any were actually needed!).

[danbuoy]

Also flood rescue of course.

[RC Boater Bill]

4 hours ago, danbuoy said:

Thats nice, and as much as I like a standard military DUKW, its nice to see one in an alternative scheme. I knew the USCG had used some, but I was thinking, if I did a what if scheme, it would be in white, with the USCG blue and red diagonal stripe towards the front. Think that would look really smart, as would an RNLI one in blue and orange, which as far as I can find out would be a total WHIF.

That USCG is likely to have used that scheme, as the current “racing stripe” was introduced in 1967, and the last DUKW was retired in 1970.  The USCG used them a lot in flood response, and also to transport supplies and work crews to local harbor aids to navigation.

 

An RNLI scheme would be striking!   Especially on one modified like this:

[danbuoy]

33 minutes ago, RC Boater Bill said:

That USCG is likely to have used that scheme, as the current “racing stripe” was introduced in 1967, and the last DUKW was retired in 1970.  The USCG used them a lot in flood response, and also to transport supplies and work crews to local harbor aids to navigation.

 

An RNLI scheme would be striking!   Especially on one modified like this:

Wow, one like that would look excellent in RNLI colours.

[Ray S]

1 hour ago, danbuoy said:

Wow, one like that would look excellent in RNLI colours.

 

@danbuoy, you know you want to...!

 

Crumbs, this thread is on page 3 already and I have hardly done anything. Thanks to all who have commented, and hopefully given inspiration for some other DUKW builds, there certainly is a lot of scope. Please keep these ideas and anecdotes coming.

 

This morning, my good lady wife and I were in town and I saw something that I could not resist!

 

 

These salt and pepper shakers reminded me of our fabulous Group Build, the Salty Sea Dogs. Well, whether these are penguins or puffins, they are certainly Salty Sea Birds. I cannot help thinking that the one on the right has got a very contented look in her eye, while the one on the left has got an evil chuckle in his eye. I don't know why I thought that, but I decided to share it...

 

Anyway, back to Ducks. I filled a few of the large locating holes that will not be needed, one which would have taken a gun support, and two where the 'splash guard' would have been attached when laid flat. My photographs show that guard in the raised position, and I will do mine like that. I just have to see where the support rods go to.

 

 

I got rid of the locating pins on the guard, and filled two huge ejection pin marks. It is not part 24 as the peg says, that is from another project but I do not clean up the pegs. Maybe I should.

 

I have fitted a few of the bits underneath. I am keeping this pretty much out-of-the-box there as not much can be seen:

 

 

I cleaned up as best I could the rear twin axle part, then decided that I should not fit it yet as it would be awkward to paint later. This will have a good covering of primers (grey then white) ready for the red and yellow plumage that it will end up with.

 

Then I started to make some hypothetical benches. I have not seen any interior photographs of the Sefton DUKWs, so I am using imagination (if anyone knows anything different to what I am going to show, please shout out, I don't mind changing things around). I have made up a couple of benches to fit length-ways along the sides of the large compartment:

 

 

I have just cut them from some plastic card and guessed dimensions, but they don't look too bad, especially when I sat a 1/72 pilot form and Airfix Aichi 'Val' that I am building (going back to basics on that one - totally OOB and just having fun with it). I still need to make up a back rest, and give the impression of seat squabs yet. It all can be easily changed if it does not look right. Maybe they should be slightly lower.

 

So there we go for today, OOB underneath, a few improvements up top, I hope you don't mind the mish-mash. In my minds eye though, it will turn out fine in the end.

 

Thanks for looking, liking and especially for the comments,

 

Ray

[danbuoy]

Nice work on the benches, and glad to hear you didn't mind the deviations in conversation away from your build, even if they were still very much DUKW related!

[Ray S]

1 hour ago, danbuoy said:

Nice work on the benches, and glad to hear you didn't mind the deviations in conversation away from your build, even if they were still very much DUKW related!

 

It all adds to the 'feeling' of a good Group Build which is what I love about them, so no worries!

 

Ray

[Ray S]

On 3/14/2023 at 4:19 PM, dnl42 said:

Nice to see this back to the forefront!

 

BTW, the manual for this is TM 9-802, which is available here. Pg 12 (22 of the doc) has an annotated cockpit layout.

 

I have had a closer look at the manual, and what a treasure-trove of information it is! I think I will have to see if there is a better 1/72 - 1/76 kit of it around and utilize that info a bit better. Thanks so much for sharing the link again!

 

Ray

[dnl42]

25 minutes ago, Ray S said:

 

I have had a closer look at the manual, and what a treasure-trove of information it is! I think I will have to see if there is a better 1/72 - 1/76 kit of it around and utilize that info a bit better. Thanks so much for sharing the link again!

 

Ray

Those TMs are very much treasures! Time is well spent looking for, downloading, and studying TMs of interest for US subjects. Is there an equivalent source of docs for Britsh subjects?

[CliffB]

It's nice to see this one underway Ray, and looking so good.

Here's another infamous piece of civvy Duck action 

 

 

[Ray S]

Hello all. Well, destruction continues with the DUKW, though not quite as terminal as in the video clip above. This time, it was the removal of moulded-on spade and axe on the port-side of the bonnet area:

 

 

They were rather indistinct, so they had to go. I did toy with the idea of trying to get a blade between the objects and the hull to sharpen and define them a bit, but I felt that could be fraught with danger, both to the Duck and to me. My plastic rod filling in the holes up front needed a bit of extra help from Perfect Plastic Putty, so that has been slathered on too.

 

Yesterday evening I starting making up some individual 'cushions/squabs' for the benches. I did two different sizes to give the effect of a makeshift nod to the rescued party's comfort when being taken back to shore. This afternoon, I finished them off with a bath of liquid glue and some poking with a cocktail stick (wooden!) to give some texture/wear to the cushions:

 

 

The one cushion is missing for a reason, as will become clear later in the build, but it too has been distressed in the same way. It all looks okay and plausible when in the bay.

 

I broke a habit of a lifetime this afternoon by planning ahead. I decided to mask the glazing for the driver's compartment. When I got the part out of the bag I thought 'Gulp!' and put it to one side. It was very thick, and not particularly clear. I had a rummage in my plastic sheet bag and found some clear card. Phew. Thankfully, the glazing is not a convoluted shape, so a quick bit of measuring and a swift recollection of my City and Guilds Engineering Drawing (Distinction) skills produced...

 

 

... a template where I could stick the clear card to (having just found out that clear card will not accept a pencil mark), and then cut out and also scribe the bend points. So, without any vacforming/plunge-moulding, I had new cockpit glazing...

 

 

... and as a bonus, it even fitted! All I have to do now is steady my nerves and get it masked inside and out and then fitted to the thing. I can then think about popping the first coats of primer on (when I have sorted out the filling first though).

 

Anyway, as some of you will know, I have an inner child screaming at me all the time to 'see what all the bits look like together' so a quick dry-fit of all the bits so far:

 

 

Hmm, I am quite happy with the way it is going at the moment. Using the link that @dnl42 popped on here a few days ago, I will drill out location points for various gear sticks, handbrakes and other sticks before doing the priming, then add all those bits when the main construction is complete.

 

That is it for today, it has been a good day. Thanks for looking and the likes and comments,

 

Ray

[Col.]

It certainly looks that you're having fun with this one Ray  

[RC Boater Bill]

On 3/15/2023 at 2:32 PM, Ray S said:

 

 I think I will have to see if there is a better 1/72 - 1/76 kit of it around and utilize that info a bit better. 

 

Ray

 The Italeri 1/72 kit is better than the old Airfix one.  The details are more finely molded, and the fit is very good. A Plus is that it is in 1/72, not 1/76.   A minus would be there is no option for a covered cargo bay.

 

But I have to say, with the work you are doing on that Airfix kit, it is going to look better than my build of the OOB Italeri kit!   I am really enjoying following this one!

 

 

-Bill

[danbuoy]

13 hours ago, RC Boater Bill said:

 The Italeri 1/72 kit is better than the old Airfix one.  The details are more finely molded, and the fit is very good. A Plus is that it is in 1/72, not 1/76.   A minus would be there is no option for a covered cargo bay.

 

But I have to say, with the work you are doing on that Airfix kit, it is going to look better than my build of the OOB Italeri kit!   I am really enjoying following this one!

 

 

-Bill

I believe that the Italeri one, along with their 1/35 version surprisingly doesn't include the wheel covers. 

[Ray S]

Hello all.

 

My apologies for no updates with this DUCK, but things have been progressing very well indeed.

 

I am using someone else's computer at the moment as dear old BT have been unable to reconnect half our village back to landline and internet since two Saturdays ago.

 

I have now got to the stage where weathering of the DUKW is in progress. I have been photographing what I have done, so will update when we are re-connected.

 

All the best everyone,

 

Ray

[Ray S]

On 3/18/2023 at 5:58 PM, RC Boater Bill said:

 The Italeri 1/72 kit is better than the old Airfix one.  The details are more finely molded, and the fit is very good. A Plus is that it is in 1/72, not 1/76.   A minus would be there is no option for a covered cargo bay.

 

But I have to say, with the work you are doing on that Airfix kit, it is going to look better than my build of the OOB Italeri kit!   I am really enjoying following this one!

 

 

-Bill

 

Thanks for that comment @RC Boater Bill . I am not too worried about a covered bay. I hope I have not let you down!

 

On 3/19/2023 at 7:56 AM, danbuoy said:

I believe that the Italeri one, along with their 1/35 version surprisingly doesn't include the wheel covers. 

 

True @danbuoy, but in a case like this they would not be needed - I had to use brute force to remove mine when I changed my mind about the colour scheme!

 

On 3/17/2023 at 6:39 PM, Col. said:

It certainly looks that you're having fun with this one Ray  

 

Oh yes indeed I am @Col., it makes a change from aircraft or ships, but still Sea-Doggy enough for me!

 

Anyway, now that I have my internet back, I can finally get on with my status report, all shipshape and Bristol fashion. First, I masked the new glazing I had made from that simple bit of technical drawing a couple of weeks ago:

 

 

That went easier than I expected. Especially as I had got the glazing wrong! Doh! I had measured the lower section of the front of the Airfix part, and drew a nice rectangle, then measured off the sloping side panels to produce the replacement. Unfortunately, the outside frames should have angled inward towards the top and not been parallel. I have made another now, but I realised rather later than this photo and had everything painted up. I may well replace it later. I thought I would tell you as I always do mention the boo-boo's I make, as you are my friends and I know you will not say a word to anyone about it! 

 

I sprayed primer onto the main hull and the cargo bay, which I was keeping separate for the time being as I still wanted to work on both. Once dry, the whole lot had a delicate pink undercoat brush-painted on using some Humbrol Pink enamel. It brushes on beautifully when thinned with ColourCoats' Naphtha thinners:

 

 

Before I did this, I popped some masking tape on the hull and cargo bay where they would eventually glue together. By an amazing piece of luck, I found that the fit tolerances on this kit allowed me to still pop the bay into the hull with no problem at all, so all good for test-fitting! A couple of brushed coats of Humbrol Trainer Yellow and Scarlet were added, along with the wheels and a gloss varnish and I had a strikingly colourful Duck:

 

 

Meanwhile, the interior of the ex-cargo-now-rescued-soul bay was painted and some experimental weathering was added. It is a skill I still need to perfect, as you will see later. I have also added for gear stick/brake levers/drive levers as per the reference added previously:

 

 

I replaced them after I took this photograph as I felt they were too thick. I was also able to try and give an impression of the instrument panel, again from the reference package, but it is very much an impression rather than accurate. Once that was done, I could add the bay, so I removed the masking tape and added some more to the outside of the Duck as protection for the paintwork, and used a little bit of persuasion to get the bay and hull to fit

 

 

After adding the bench seats and cushions, it was time for the lettering. I had always wondered how to deal with the lettering, and eventually chose to use Word and just type it on a coloured background. I tried printing that out a few times as a 'normal' print on 'normal' paper but the yellow was too bright and pale, then for some reason I printed it as photo paper but on normal, and that deepened the colour so it was not far off:

 

 

 

I must have a try at making my own transfers on clear transfer paper, it would be so much easier. I had tried to do the artwork in 'Paint' but it would not recognise the format as it was not JPEG or something like it. I then added the steering wheel, removed the windscreen masking (this was when I realised I had got it wrong!) and added the final bits and pieces fore and aft, then tried to do some weathering to make it look very used, as per the reference photographs I had found. I don't usually do weathering, and it can probably be seen, so it is something else I need to practice. 

 

I eventually ended up with this:

 

 

 

 

I will pop some photographs into the Gallery shortly.

 

I would like to say a HUGE THANK YOU to all who have helped contribute to this build with your comments, likes, views and especially for the references. This would not have come to fruition otherwise. This DUKW (or a similar one) has been on my radar for a while, and now I have one. I really enjoyed it, in fact I always have had a soft spot for the Airfix Duck, but I would like to get my hands on the 1/72 Italeri one if I get a chance, it sounds to be a good 'un.

 

All the best everyone,

 

Ray

[Bobby No Mac]

A nice splash of colour there, wonderful. Also, interesting to see the pink undercoat for a yellow finish technique - I've heard people talk about it but never seen it put into practice. Great result 

[danbuoy]

That looks fabulous. Really like that. It's definitely made me think about doing a WHIF RNLI/Coastguard one at some point, and I also fancy having another go at the out of the box scheme. My attempt from 25+ years ago looks OK, but I'm sure I could do a better job now!

[CliffB]

Well done Ray  

[Col.]

Nicely done Ray. This must qualify for the most colourful subject in our GB

[Grandboof]

Looks fantastic . Great to see a different take on models 

Martin H

[dnl42]

Nice work on that. love the colors!