More progress..
More progress..
I like to look in from time to time and I'm always impressed!
My own time is a bit overwhelmed at this point to even consider model building, the urge is there, but RL is keeping me on a short leash.
"Illegitimum non carborundum".
Phanteks Enthoo Evolv X D-RGB Tempered Glass ATX Galaxy Silver
Intel Core i9 10980XE Extreme Edition X
ASUS ROG Rampage VI Extreme Encore MB
Corsair Vengeance LPX 128GB (8x16GB), PC4-30400 (3800MHz) DDR4
Corsair iCUE H100i ELITE CAPELLIX White Liquid CPU Cooler, 240mm Radiator, 2x ML120 RGB PWM Fans
Samsung 4TB SSD, 860 PRO Series, 2.5" SATA III x4
Corsair 1600W Titanium Series AX1600i Power Supply, 80 PLUS Titanium,
ASUS 43inch ROG Swift 4K UHD G-Sync VA Gaming Monitor, 3840x2160, HDR 1000, 1ms, 144Hz,
I’m just trying to keep up morale as it has been a tough go for a bit too long.
I appreciate your kind encouragement and thank you.
Working on these projects clears my head and keeps me moving forward.
I have the floats assembled with their struts. I have substituted aluminum tubing for the strip platic supplied bu the kit mfg. because it looks better, will be stronger over time, and because I dont need the floats to flex on hard landings. Hopefully as a display model there wont be any of those.
So I still need to make the horizontal tail, and the propellers. Then begins final assembly and sanding / sealing, primer and paint.
But this is the home stretch I guess.
The modified nacelles turned out pretty well I think. The modification was not difficult at all as it turns out. I was sweating it early on though. I used cowlings from the guillow Catalina kit which I used as patterns to cut 1/16” thick balsa circles of the same diameter. One of each of these circles were attached to the faces of the existing kit supplied oval bulkheads used to make the Ranger nacelles forward of the wing leading edge. Additional circles were each used as the new radial engine firewalls and inserts flush inserted at the back of each cowling as a mating surface to the nacelles. The diameter matched to the overall outer dimensions of the original oval bulkheads perfectly.
Tail area is complete...I have sealed and sanded the fuselage / tail and the wing and will paint these two components seperately prior to assembly.
Spruce Gosling...
Props are fabricated. Now just need to be sanded and sealed before painting.
When I purchased the cowling sheets from Guillows (Catalina) for use on this model the sheets included other components including these very nice propeller hubs..
all I had to do was carve the blades.
The paint scheme for this model will be the Coast Guard natural alum fuselage, tail and nacelles with the yellow wing top. It will have a black anti-glare panel in front of the windscreen and possibly on the cowlings too ( inner half nearest the pilot on both cowls) and even though the r/l aircraft still has its Ranger inline engines on it I think this model will look good in those clothes with its radials and round cowlings. Hope so anyway
The prop blades have only been shaped and sealed with the initial coat of sealer. As I sand and seal probably three to five more times these propellers will be reduced to the proper scale..as long as I’m carefull
A first coat of primer and a first of natural aluminum
More filler and more sanding yet..
Yellow wings and round engines...
The model is complete
Couple more photo’s
Another master piece
fantastic workmanship
Thanks, I appreciate the encouragement.
The Grumman design on these flying boats is simple but beautiful and Dumas has made a kit that is very true to that design. I liked the Ranger version but prefer the look of radials. I have to say this model turned out better than I expected even though I did commit a couple of unforced errors.
I wont point them out but they are there.
just the beginning..
This kit has a lot of plastic accessories. Figuring out how to adapt them for use on my model is an interesting challenge as is having this much additional effort required on just the fuselage assembly.
I guess we'll see how it turns out together - lol
update
both wings are framed and I have begun the infill process on the port wing. The fuselage has most of its plastic appendages attached with the exception of the rear
gunner's canopy. That part cannot be installed until the rear stabilizer is attached.
The green color applied is the interior green that will show as the interior trim color on the clear parts IE: the canopy and bombardier stations window framing. The aircraft will be painted as a Marine
PBJ-1 in the tricolor dark blue over medium blue over white.
not much to report - other work has slowed this project a bit but I have completed the infill process on the left and right wings. Still have to add the plastic parts, cowl, nacelles, air scoops, ailerons, landing gear, etc..
pictures soon..
current status..
lots of filling and sanding yet to be done on the wings but the major components are attached.
I have to say I prefer the Dumas approach to engine nacelles...I think building them up out of balsa makes for a much easier assembly and a much cleaner look with less than half the work.
Fitting together large preformed plastic shells and then fitting them to the wing's airfoil is problematic. They are preformed and therefore unforgiving. So much trimming and filling and flexing and so on..
Whereas with balsa the process is simple and the fitting is unnecessary and the attachments rendered seamless with relative ease.
That said here we are and much remains to be done to get these plastic parts fared in and smooth in transition to each other and to the respective wings
Awesome work heywood...i enviey your skills
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