Consolidated PBY-5A (Cactus Air Force)
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I tried to populate the insides because it is totally empty, even to it won't be seen, or hardly seen, maybe through window, I wanted to practise a bit of scratch building.
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Putty work
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Cutout masks really help here
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Masking...
H2000 masks are not too helpful here, they are not 100% precise but with a little bit of work they fit
H2000 masks are not too helpful here, they are not 100% precise but with a little bit of work they fit
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Engines done ✅ I've added wires to look more like a real thing, next pics are step by step progress
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Catalina is primed, I also sanded most of the parts, and filled some with putty, usually around wings and where the halves join.
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Filling in cockpit line, and sanding it
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White grayish underside
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And blue top side, really happy with the color, especially since I mixed and matched for just like 10 minutes
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Main paint scheme is on, there are few touchups I need to do, it's really hard to mask inner side of the wings and paint white struts so I might do them with a brush
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Decals are on, and additional gloss coat to protect them, I'm happy with how they turned out
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Did the weathering and mat coat, I might do some touch ups
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She got on its own legs. Although she is a tail sitter even after lots of weights put into front. But I will think of a solution
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Scratch build as a torpedo holder
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Almost at the finish line, need to rig it and maybe touch few things
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First batch of studio photos, I'm so happy with the result.
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Kommentit
90 19 October 2023, 08:39
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Following. I have the ETO version which will be a Norwegian plane sometimes during this winter.
19 October 2023, 11:44
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@Neuling thank you!
@Erik Toro that is a beautiful scheme man, If I was not in a group build where Pacific ww2 planes were a theme, I would look for that one for sure! Thank you for letting me know it exists, I had no idea 😄
19 October 2023, 21:40
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Following i have still my pbn-1 waiting could be a motivation to go back on it.
20 October 2023, 13:34
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I would put some liquid putty around the bottom edge of the front canopy, should smooth things out if you are a little careful. Too much thinning of Vallejo putty and there is little filling power.
20 October 2023, 14:48
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@Pierre hope you get it here mate! That's a beuatiful plane!
@Threehugger I almost missed that, I did use lots of putty for that part to mold it for canopy to sit properly but you have a sharp eye, there is still some space left, I'm gonna try and fill that in, thank you! 🙏🏻
20 October 2023, 15:37
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Ah one thought though. I was assuming that there is glue attaching the canopy to the plastic, and that there isn't a hole. One can imagine that, if you added liquid glue, the glue might seep onto the back side of the clear part and well ruin it. But with a little amount of liquid Vallejo putty, I am sure you won't have an issue, you could just add it little by little using a small brush,
20 October 2023, 19:21
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I think you could just add plain Vallejo putty without mixing it with a water drop, and just wipe the excess putty off the exterior, it won't stick or discolor much if you wipe if off before it dries, you can even moist the cotton bud if you have that to wipe off excess putty. Best applied with a small tool, like a small brush, and not smearing it on directly from the 17ml bottle of putty.
21 October 2023, 06:09
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This looks great! What are you doing to make this a "Cactus Air Force" PBY? I don't see that as an option in the kit...
21 October 2023, 18:00
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@Treehugger exactly that's how I'm going to fill that little gap in, I do not have Valleyo putty but I will just dilute tamiya one and apply with a brush. I will probably need to do that 3,4 times but that's okay, I will post results after I do it.
22 October 2023, 08:58
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@Thomas, thank you mate!
@Monte thank you! It's not an option in the kit, but, Gen Geiger had one in Guadalcanal that they used for supplies, it was in regular early Navy colours, blue and white. It's the one later used by Jack Cram to sink Japanese ships and it's named Blue Goose. I will just need some aftermarket Mk.13 torpedo's.
22 October 2023, 09:02