Going to steal some pontoons from a Letov S-328 and glue 'em on a 'Stang. ;D
Floats are from the old KP kit and the Mustang is from the old Airfix Blue nose kit.
I'll have to order in the transfers but I have some picked out:
(https://i.imgur.com/Fthyxwj.jpg)
Niiiiiiiiiiiiiice and simple. All over blue and not many transfers. I also have some other stuff picked out for a pre-war color scheme of US Army but I have a lot on my plate right now and may not get to it. We'll see!
Let's get some pictures going!
(https://i.imgur.com/MVl41XG.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/tPcewGZ.jpg?1)
(https://i.imgur.com/tP0hX6u.jpg?1)
Nothing much to say, just a little proof that I haven't worked on this contraption. That, and it's always fun to see pictures! :lol:
I'm not really sure when I'll even start on this, but first thing will be to separate the parts I'm using from the ones I won't. Then I'll just start building as usual. This should be pretty straight forward. Unlike a big ol' kitbash mix up, all that I'm doing here is going to build the 'Stang as it would be in flight, yet with the gaps around the gear doors filled in, and then adding the pontoons. Those will be built as normal as well. Only modification may be to shorten some of the legs or whatever they're called. No headache inducing mysteries here... :mellow: :mellow:
That's all for now! Thanks for looking.
Good to see the Letov comes with wheels in the box, so there's a chance of it making its own appearance one day.
Neat idea, work harder to get to it! :angry:
;) ;D
:thumbsup: :thumbsup:
But 'Stang =
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fmustangsdaily.com%2Fblog%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2012%2F11%2F07-1967-shelby-gt350.jpg&hash=f89d76bd8f9740cf15be47a1e45584257b7bf735)
Mustang =
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.fineartamerica.com%2Fimages-medium-large-5%2Fp-51c-mustang-and-p-51d-mustang-flying-phil-wallick.jpg&hash=21e0ea1273e63f4eb94555294176def937a20ec5)
Oooooh, a '67 GT350, drool, drool. :wub: :wub:
Is it a '67? Some seemed to have the twin hood scoops right forward and some had them back a bit as in your pic.
Quote from: Old Wombat on November 01, 2017, 05:26:07 PM
Good to see the Letov comes with wheels in the box, so there's a chance of it making its own appearance one day.
Neat idea, work harder to get to it! :angry:
;) ;D
;D ;D ;D
Roger that!
I was pleasantly surprised when I got the kit in the mail. I knew from the listing that it came with extra transfers for something or other. I don't know anything about these plane but they turned out to be for a land based version and so I was very glad to see the floats still w/ the kit anyway. I knew right then that I was going to take the floats to put on something else!
With the stuff left over I get to make this:
(https://i.imgur.com/pPy3B3V.png)
So, I still am left with a complete kit! It's nice to be able to steal parts from something and leave it still 100% intact.
Quote from: joncarrfarrelly on November 01, 2017, 05:40:00 PM
:thumbsup: :thumbsup:
But 'Stang =
You know what.... you're right!! I can live with that. :laugh: :laugh:
Quote from: PR19_Kit on November 01, 2017, 05:51:23 PM
Oooooh, a '67 GT350, drool, drool. :wub: :wub:
Is it a '67? Some seemed to have the twin hood scoops right forward and some had them back a bit as in your pic.
Also a COBRA!!! Gotta love it. I have a "well to do" cousin that has one or two or three of these types of things, lucky @%$%$/. Met Carol Shelby even! :mellow:
I will be interested to see a P-51D Mustang on twin-floats. :thumbsup:
This is completing (if I remember well, from years ago) Glenn's P-51D with single float, and ericr's P-82 with twin-floats. :thumbsup:
Glad to be adding to a trifecta!! <_< :lol:
Finally some progress... Wings are assembled. I only needed to sand the leading edges and I will try to leave the rest alone along the other joins. Next up on these will be to add the closed gear doors. Let's all hope they actually fit! ;D
Cockpit interior and pilot painted up in reasonably accurate colors suitable for a slightly out-of-whack alternate timeline.
Floats are together, as well, but not sanded on yet. I'll need to do that before I begin the process of attaching the legs and support structure.
(https://i.imgur.com/6cprnHf.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/Nu3QIDG.jpg)
Yes I put wildly out of scale black dots on the dude's eyes like I did last time because I think it's CUTE and who gives a damn. :wub: :wub: :wub: ;D
Anyway. . . . ;D I'm going to keep on trucking. I just turned on some Netlfix show about the unabomber, have supper cooking, and cracked open a beer. Having a grand ol' time working on this right now. Been about a week or more since I sat down and worked on models other than one 5 minute session and one 15-20 minute session.
The plan is to get the guts glued in and go ahead and close up the fuselage halves. After that, my focus turns to them gear doors. . . :thumbsup:
Good! :thumbsup: Go on! (when possible... :-\ )
Thanks, brotha, will do.. :mellow:
I called an end to the building after that point, but, I did indeed glue the fuselage halves together and even do a good deal of sanding/filing on the seams. One portion of a seam, on the radiator intake, was wide and had a valley to it so I simply poured more glue into it and that should suffice. I'll sand it away soon and then it will be in good shape.
I didn't get to the gear doors today like I wanted to, because of the fuselage work, but that's ok! At least the time wasn't wasted.
I'm still apprehensive about building and then fitting the float structure but am looking forward to it. This is the first floatplane/seaplane of any type I've ever built, and a kitbash to boot! :o :lol:
I'm digging this. She's gonna be a beauty, I can tell.
Quote from: TheChronicOne on November 09, 2017, 08:56:39 PM
I'm still apprehensive about building and then fitting the float structure but am looking forward to it. This is the first floatplane/seaplane of any type I've ever built, and a kitbash to boot! :o :lol:
Have faith, young Padawan! The Force is strong within you! Feel the Force! Use the Force! :blink:
Thanks, gents. :mellow:
We'll see just how strong the force is at some point tomorrow, I'd imagine. By then I should have not only the floats built up, but also the wings on the plane proper so that I can begin the dry fitting process. I already did some to make sure things weren't just SUPER out of alignment (they weren't , but I was worried a bit about things like the radiator intake).
I HOPE I don't have to do ANYTHING to them and I can just glue dem bad boyz right on. ;D ;D Gotten kind of lucky on the last two kitbashing efforts as the parts all matched up well but my luck can't hold out forever. :wacko:
Quote from: TheChronicOne on November 10, 2017, 07:44:05 AM
but I was worried a bit about things like the radiator intake).
I HOPE I don't have to do ANYTHING to them
With twin floats, I think the ventral air intake is not a problem, it was probably a problem on the single-float version...
Thanks! That makes me feel better. This is a fun little project and I'd hate to mess it up by having to do too much. ;D :wacko:
The ventral intake, being a radiator intake could surely cope with a bit of water ingress. It'd serve to flush dead bugs out of the core. ;D
Now, I demand photos of this thing mocked up sitting on the floats. Don't try and claim you haven't done that because it's the sort of thing we all do as soon as we can to see what it will look like.
Quote from: zenrat on November 11, 2017, 01:23:08 AM
Now, I demand photos of this thing mocked up sitting on the floats. Don't try and claim you haven't done that because it's the sort of thing we all do as soon as we can to see what it will look like.
I hope Chronic1 is married or has a child (not baby), because it is impossible to have two hands holding the model + one hand (or two) holding the camera... ;)
;D ;D ;D ;D
Actually I haven't yet... I wanted to but that would have meant tedious taping up of at least the main supports and struts and I figured if I was going to that trouble I may as well be using glue. I sure TRIED though!!!1 ;D ;D
No kids or anything of that nature but I do have a set of the handy "Helping Hands" soldering helper or whatever it is. Should prove very useful for this one!
I'll have pics by the end of the day... I want to see it, too.... :mellow: :mellow: :mellow: :mellow:
I just need to get the gear doors glued into the wings and the wings glued to the fuselage then I can stop on that and make sure the floats are done. At first glance, it would appear I'm going to have to do some delicate trimming, filing, and sanding on the strut work so it attaches properly to the floats. I suspect this will be the rough part of the day. (could be wrong, though, that would be nice!! This Letov kit is a bit archaic, though)
OK, this pontoon set-up is so flimsy.... still.... but I'll try to stage a photo...
BRB.. . ;D
::::does a bunch of malarkey to take pictures:::::
:::::makes sure the hookers 'n 'caine aren't in frame::::::: ( ;D ;D ;D)
OK, it doesn't look like much, now, but this is a vague idea of what it will look like...
(https://i.imgur.com/c2kFFKW.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/9l11SH1.jpg)
Too early to tell, in my mind, whether or not this will wind up looking "cool." Like I've said before, I've never attempted a floatplane so I'm not sure what to expect and don't really know the ins and outs of one. I HOPE these floats are appropriate. I HOPE they look right. I hope...
Most time today was spent on the floats. Trying to get them to simply sit still while the flimsy strut pieces set up was a huge ordeal. Even now, hours and hours later if you bump the stuff too hard, it all goes out of alignment. There's simply not enough surface to surface join area where everything connects. I'll have to slowly build up a bit of glue to reinforce it. I've already done so on the top, I just need it to sufficiently dry so I can do the same on the bottom. THIS will be trick because I'll have to figure out some way to pick it all up and flip it over without wrecking it. :banghead: :banghead:
I also got some parts trimming and sanding done... glued on the first part of the radiator intake. I'm waiting on the leading edge pieced because I still haven't decided rather to paint it a different color (white, like I may do on the fine and possibly wing tips, see the corsair for the fin part.. I might skip it though) or leave it blue with the rest.
I also tested a bit of the paint I'm going to use and decided that after primer grey, I will put down a coat of black so that the blue is sufficiently dark.
That's all for now I guess! <_<
Uhhhhh..... pretend this post was behind the last one..... I accidentally posted this update in my blog instead of here. : (I could do fancy tricks by copy pasting, deleting posts, etc, to get them in order but this should be fine)
HANDS DOWNS one of the most frustrating things I've ever done modelling is try to get these pontoons and braces glued and sitting right. I got them looking pretty good right now, though. I'll them dry up as is for about an hour then work on putting the last two pieces on.
(https://i.imgur.com/CuIW6AJ.jpg)
:banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:
:rolleyes:
Got the gear doors glued in, too, and, while not perfect, are just fine for me and what I'm doing! Not even going to fill them in because whose to say that they didn't take the floats off from time to time?
(https://i.imgur.com/tGXGV49.jpg)
I may wind up doing a little something to them if the primer and stuff doesn't lessen the gaps.
Aside from the mind numbing float struts this is going well! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
Quote from: TheChronicOne on November 11, 2017, 05:17:50 PM
Aside from the mind numbing float struts this is going well! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
And looking good! :thumbsup:
Thank you!! :lol:
I'm not going to lie... I had visions of smashing the utter piss out of them floats 'n pieces but I maintained my cool and got them into a nice looking configuration. They just need to sit now so the glue can FULLY cure. It has to so I can turn it over and reinforce the bottom of the joining pieces. There's no way this thing will survive being handled if I don't.
As for the plane proper.. well... there are some mighty proud gaps all along the joins. Airfix from half a century or more ago did a damn fine job of it, however, with the placement of them. I'm hoping a couple coats of primer will help hide the multitude of sins. Being such a dark colored aircraft might help, too, I hope! I'll also be putting an overall coat of black after primer as well, so that should help a tiny bit.
Excellent. Looks very good Brad C.
:thumbsup:
Quote from: TheChronicOne on November 11, 2017, 04:36:19 PM
That's all for now I guess! <_<
That's all good! :thumbsup:
Another pre-dawn session before work.
The floats and supports were finally set up enough that I could very gently handle them to apply more glue to the connections. Sure enough, as soon as I did, it basically started to melt everything again and re-activate the old glue and things started to get out of alignment again. :banghead: :rolleyes: ;D It wasn't as bad as last time, though, and I was able to stay on top of it and get it all sitting pretty again.
I'm going to have to come up with a creative way to hold and support this stuff while I prime it up... I have an idea, though, so everything should be fine!
Well... let's see here.... built and painted the props and spinner assembly.
Lost my can of primer so used this green camo double coat stuff.... works about as good. Didn't help all too much with the gaps and stuff I was worried about but I'm confident by the end of the project, they will be just fine. Besides, these NAVY planes "went together" a bit different than the Army (or Air Force by now.. ) ones. :mellow:
Glued the last two pieces of the pontoon struts on. What an ordeal... but I think I have a winner. Should work out just fine.
Did a couple other things, too, I think, but can't quite recall.
That's all for today.
<_<
Starting the refinement work so that the plane will sit correctly on the floats. Good news is, I think this will work out just fine!! The plane sits right in there with no modification but had the floats too far toward the rear so I started filing on the struts and slowly I'm able to move them forward. This is where I am now. I still need to file away a bit of material so that it will sit level without me having to force the issue.
(https://i.imgur.com/Y6NNWYM.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/SgFZecv.jpg)
Slightly nose-down attitude. If I keep filing on the insides of the rear struts, this problem should work itself out.
Once I get the floats and plane cooperating wit each other I'll sand away the paint where things connect and glue-it to-it.
After it dries up for a few hours I'll go back in and prime the entire mess. I found my actual primer so that's good!
Only other thing I've done is I decided to fill the wing root gaps with glue. They were just too wide for my liking. May need a tiny bit of sanding on that but they're pretty good as is.
Coming on well mate
Thanks!!! If I can keep my wits about me this might have some actual paint on it later. :laugh:
(https://i.imgur.com/6O4Xcdi.jpg)
Current state of the "union" (which is holding steady so far! :thumbsup: ) .
Just have to let it sit a little while so I don't bump anything then I'll slather a little more glue in a few spots to shore things up.... then let it set awhile again before I prime it.
I'm contemplating trying to mask the windscreen/canopy. Not my favorite thing to do but I want the paint to match up so it would be nice. The plane body gets primer, then black spray paint, then will be brushed with the blue color. I could do them seperately but I'm afraid that when I gloss the plane body that... the lack of glossing the framing on the canopy.. will have it the wrong color so I'd like to at least TRY to mask it. Being this bubble canopy, it doesn't get much simpler, so at least there's that. . .. ;D
Gotta glue on the tail-wheel doors, too. :o :lol:
Things are moving rapidly, now. In fact, I'm going to try go get this finished.
I've painted the windscreen/canopy. Just need to fix one tiny section w/ a toothpick where I went wide with paint then may need to do a tad bit of touch up.
Mixed up the paint... my blue wasn't quite dark enough so I added some black in with it (decided not to spray black, I think this is the better option).
Two, maybe three more coats, then I can gloss it and let it sit for 45 minutes then I can put on transfers which will be a delight because there are only like.....15 of 'em. ;D
(https://i.imgur.com/gw0izJt.jpg)
:lol:
Looking good! :mellow:
Thanks, homie!
BUUUUUt... of all the stupid things... I never stopped to dry fit the canopy and file and sand it and the cockpit area and now... AFTER I've painted it all... the damn thing fits on like a PIECE OF #^E%&%$^*&#%^$%^#%&. :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: Fitment isn't even close.huge gapes all along the entire thing... front, back, and both sides.
So of course now I'm filing with files on this stuff and there goes the paint and.... I've already filed off too much off the fuselage... SIGH. Why does this stupid stuff ALWAYS happen right at the end?! It's my own fault, of course, but damnit, its frustrating.
I don't know if I'll finish this tonight after all.
Not giving up, though. ;D Hopefully something will "give" and suddenly, magically, it fits right then I can get back on track. If not for this, I would have cleared this thing about 30 minutes ago and would be putting on transfers within the next 20 minutes.
Hooo wee, I can say one thing, though. I got all the coats on and I think I nailed the shade of blue and it looks great!!!! Nice and flat, no brush strokes or chunks of malarkey on there. ;D
Place your bets now on how many times I snap the pitot tube off.... :wacko:
You know what... to hell with it. Life is too short.
The entire canopy/windscreens is TOO WIDE by a pretty decent margin ANYWAY and there's no way to possibly fix this so ya know what??? I'm going to just patch it up and let it ride.
Now I know why there is a healthy aftermarket canopy biz. This same exact BS happened on the last plane I built. Different manufacturer, but same exact problem... it's as if the folks that made the airplane proper, and the folks that made the canopies, didn't talk to each other or even live on the same continent.
Stay tuned... going to spend about another 10 minutes "fixing" this mess then it's off to clear.. :mellow:
Tee heeee!! Got a little crazy wit' me clear and sprayed too heave and got some runs. Luckily two are on the bottoms of the floats and one on the bottom side of one wing so I'm not sweating that at all.
I think it'll need another coat, though, oddly enough .. . . :o ;D
I'll put that on in about 10 minutes then later I'll try to put on the transfers. :lol:
I think this color really suits the ol' Mustang! With the glossy finish it's going to be nice. :lol:
Just from the few posts on "this thread page only", it sounds like you are rushing this project. That's not a good thing to do. Believe me, I know as I've done it multiple times in the past. When you rush build a model, eventually, you wind up making mistakes. Relax and take it slow. ;) Why the hurry?
You're exactly right.. after I got them pontoons on I went into hyper-drive. Sometimes I forget everything I've learned and let things get out of whack. When I ran into the canopy fitment problem that's when I went off the rails. :rolleyes: :-\ Such a stupid mistake and the thing is... I NORMALLY don't forget to do this.
75% of my problems are me forgetting important steps, then rather than dealing with them properly, half the time I try to "make up for lost time" by hurrying things.
That said, on the opposite end of the spectrum, I've been known to drag out a 2 hour project-segment to a week or more trying to achieve perfection. It's like that classic rock song...... "One extreme to the other. " Some times I find the perfect balance and everything goes right... other times... well....
I can say one thing.. I am very distracted and on the verge of being really hacked off (work and money things.... I'm waiting on a severly late, rather large check that I NEED desperately and after almost 3 weeks I'm about ready to choke the life out of someone). I made the smart decision, the last couple of days, to not try to get anything done whilst in this type of mood but today I was determined to "not have a bad day" and try to carry on as normal. Try as I might, it's not going as I'd like. Then earlier I heard about Mrs. PR19 and that made me sad.. I should have put everything away at this point but then the "My God, you're close to being finished.... just press on" thought process took over.
Sheehs... it's a mess inside my head sometimes. If it helps to explain some of it, I have that Adult ADD stuff that makes it a monumental task sometimes to focus and slow down. Some days I can do real well, other days it gets the best of me and nothing goes right.
Thank you for stopping in with the words of support and good advice. <_< :lol: I will aspire to heed this advice and slooooowwww dowwwwwwn. :mellow: I'll get to the promised land eventually, you all are helping me become a better builder all the time so at least there's that. ;D :thumbsup:
OK... here we go. I let this dry up more time than necessary by trimming transfers. Good stuff!
It looks good to me! I wanted it to be glossy as heck and it CERTAINLY IS. :o It could easily be defined as TOO glossy and I'd likely agree but I'm fine with it. I may consider toning it down with my satin clear but I'll make that decision after I put the transfers on and then maybe again after I seal them in. After I do that this thing may reflect bullets and be seen inside from the inside of a bowling ball... we'll see....
Some good news is that even after the gloss I still think the color of blue is "correct." :thumbsup: I'll take all the good news I can get. . . . :lol:
Grand total of transfers is 17 and that's not too bad at all. This should be a breeze and these transfers look fantastic. :mellow: This is often one of my favorite parts of the build.
Quote from: DogfighterZen on November 17, 2017, 04:22:12 PM
Looking good! :mellow:
I have the same feeling... :thumbsup:
Many thanks!! I'm currently puttin' the decorations on and it's shaping up!!
I almost messed up and skipped this, but, I thought I'd stop and do an ericr tribute with a "primary colors seaplane" pic:
(https://i.imgur.com/AcCMvMG.jpg)
I tried to find that thread but fell short...
Anyway... another half hour or so and I'll be done with this one. <_<
Wonderful! :wub:
There may be a winner there! (not of the war but of the model contest)...
Ericr's topic is at http://www.whatifmodellers.com/index.php/topic,40517.510.html
Niiiiice. :lol:
I'll post this glossy all-blue version there as it fits in so well, I think he'll like it. ;D
As far as an update, however, I deemed this to be way too shiny and decided to spray it down with satin coat. In my opinion, it made it look better than ever!!!! I will show pics later but right now it is drying... I don't dare lay a finger on it right now.
Transfers all worked well aside from the fact that they didn't "slide" very well.. I think that's because of the severe-gloss. :o ;D
I winded up deleting two of them because once one was on the fuselage..... I noticed it read, "F4U CORSAIR" etc etc. Well.... it's so small no one would really be able to read it, but that boat won't float, so they had to go.
Ain't no story. It's a post-war Navy P-51 on floats, serving in the Korean war as a rescue craft.
(https://i.imgur.com/i5ArUDG.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/UQXRMyw.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/KcEa7KQ.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/wcUosNq.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/q3ajLlI.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/0FUseVA.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/jHYa9sM.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/cBDhwWa.jpg)
For once, I didn't plan it, but this last picture seems to be the best.
What can I say..... I'm thrilled with it. These things always look so much better in person especially considering my crappy camera coupled with my crappy photography skills. I mean.... this thing looks like something out of "Flipper." ;D
As much as I whined, this truly was a fun build. <_<
Gorgeous. You wouldn't have thought you would have to weight the tips of the floats would you but my Sea Shepherd Swordfish was the same.
Every seaplane I build form now on is going to get the floats weighted.
:thumbsup:
Quote from: zenrat on November 17, 2017, 11:47:12 PM
Gorgeous. You wouldn't have thought you would have to weight the tips of the floats would you but my Sea Shepherd Swordfish was the same.
Every seaplane I build form now on is going to get the floats weighted.
:thumbsup:
Yeah!! ;D I'm with you on that... and there's plenty of room for it (or should be... if anyone molds a solid float it would surprise the hell out of me)
I never thought it would even be necessary but I should have surmised merely by looking at the undersides of the floats, for one. It's like a "back heavy" rocking chair..
I'm glad you like the airplane! :lol:
I still want to make a 1943 red-rimmed-roundel version with the tri color Navy scheme.
great ! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
I also sometimes put weights in the floats, but sometimes forget ;)
If I'm honest I wasn't sure if this would work. How wrong can you get ?
Tremendous build :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Very good result! :thumbsup:
Nice work, Brad! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Not sure who or what you could rescue with a single seat fighter but it does look good! ;)
AH HA!!! LMAO I was prepared for this!!! And get this:
THEY RIDE ON TOP OF THE FLOATS.
Hope ya arms ain't broke, Sailor! ;D ;D ;D
Honestly... I was kind of wonderin about that myself.... According to the Starfighters Decals sheet the Corsairs that I stole the markings from were used as Rescue planes in some fashion.... just guessing I was thinking maybe they were used just as spotters or something and all they really did was find missing sailors floatin' in the Sea of Japan or over N.K. or something then radioed to the actual rescue craft. No idea though... even though the project is over with, I'd still like to look into it.
Many thanks to you all for stopping by!!! :lol: :lol: :lol: Glad you like my airplane. :laugh:
Love it!! Looks like it was a real thing. :wub:
It's prolly like the breakdown organisations in the UK that send a bloke on a bike to you even though you tell them you need a recovery truck because either you have crashed or you know what is wrong and they are not going to be able to fix it.
The floaty Mustang will locate the downed airmen, land next to them and the pilot will lean out and say "Hi guys. You doing OK? So, you've been shot down eh? Hang on in there, someone will be along soon to pick you up soon". And then off he goes to the next customer.
;D ;D ;D ;D
That works for me, man!!!! :mellow:
Quote from: DogfighterZen on November 18, 2017, 02:44:58 PM
Love it!! Looks like it was a real thing. :wub:
Thanks, I'm impressed all to hell with it myself. I was a bit skeptical about the whole project kind of like Chris but this thing looks really sharp sitting on the shelf.
I should get better pictures from outside!!! (I always say this though) ;D
There's at least one example in WWII of an RAF search and rescue aircraft being so overloaded with downed aircrew it taxied home as it couldn't take off. Can't remember the type but probably a Walrus ? Mind you it was in the Channel rather than the Sea of Japan.
Plausible for the Mustang then!! In a pinch, it would get the job done. In the least, it could land, and maybe load up the floats with 6-10 people just to get them up out of the water if they're having problems staying afloat or something. Then, they just wait on a proper rescue craft of some sort. Or, maybe it could carry an inflatable raft or two to drop off, other rescue supplies, dry blankets or something....
Found out what the "Rescue"part of the scheme was. They weren't used AS rescue craft, but, apparently one of the schemes on this Starfighter sheet was for the plane(and pilot) that crashed and the other is the one for the plane (and pilot) that landed to attempt rescue:
Lieutenant Thomas J. Hudner, Jr., flying an F4U-4 of VF-32 off USS Leyte, was awarded the Medal of Honor for crash landing his Corsair in an attempt to rescue his squadron mate, Ensign Jesse L. Brown, whose aircraft had been forced down by antiaircraft fire near Changjin. Brown, who did not survive the incident, was the U.S. Navy's first African American naval aviator."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vought_F4U_Corsair
While I was there I noticed that a Corsair driver was the lone piston aircraft ace of the war:
"For many operations detachments of U.S. Navy F4U-5Ns were posted to shore bases. The leader of one such unit, Lieutenant Guy Bordelon of VC-3 Det D (Detachment D), off USS Princeton, become the Navy's only ace in the war, in addition to being the only American ace in Korea that used a piston engined aircraft.[94] Bordelon, nicknamed "Lucky Pierre", was credited with three Lavochkin La-9s or La-11s and two Yakovlev Yak-18s between 29 June and 16/17 July 1952.[95] Navy and Marine Corsairs were credited with a total of 12 enemy aircraft."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vought_F4U_Corsair
Neat stuff.
If push came to shove, just how small is the P-51 cockpit - could the rescuee or rescuer sit on the lap of the other?
On a F4U-1 Corsair this would not be a problem - to save weight (and to see through the window in the bottom when dive-bombing enemy bomber formations - yes, this was its intended role) there was no cockpit floor and there was enough space to fall between the seat and the fuselage into if you were not careful when entering/exiting the cockpit, or if your seat harness was not tight enough during a dogfight. The floor was only introduced in the F4U-4 model ;D
Ain't that something!! I had heard stories similar about this type of thing being done on dive bombers or whatever but had no idea they did that on early Corsairs. :o ;D
As for the Mustang passenger issue, I swear I remember a story of just that happening and it may well have been a Mustang. Or maybe I saw it in a movie (Pearl Harbor movie had ol' boy flying his "broad" around in a P-40 I think it was but thats a bit different ;D ). Or both? From what I can tell the cockpit in the Mustang is a pretty tight fit but not so much so that someone else couldn't fit inside on the pilots lap.
While I'm here... new pics of this done outside in the sunlight. I thought I did these earlier but I didn't... so.. I did them just now and it's a bit late in the day so shadows played havoc, but whatever... did the best I could. Some a janky, but some are alright pics! <_<
(https://i.imgur.com/z3j7HVK.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/Dj1k2Mt.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/VOzkIyK.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/J9oUrJ8.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/Mq9Ty6S.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/u5WUo9A.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/C2IC5nV.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/29qEIiZ.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/zCHxCcC.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/peGxmrO.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/seqyLfx.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/UrQfpTI.jpg)
A couple of these may be better than what I submitted to the finished builds thread so I'll do some comparison and update it.
Very nice build. And I learned a lot about the problems of fitting floats to a plane from your work in progress. :thumbsup:
Thank you so much!!
One thing I noticed after developing a more keen eye for all this stuff is that some of the strut work or whatever the stuff is called that attaches the floats to the fuselage .. is that some of them is more beefy and solid than others and I think these little spindly things were on the more petite end of the spectrum. ;D Trial by fire I guess.
Bonus picture since I already have it in my copy and paste "holding spot" :
(https://i.imgur.com/evgyqqq.jpg)
That's a really nice result! I don't see much of an issue with the canopy fit either, so bonus points!
I've also experienced a bit of a challenge in fitting the floats to my Macchi M.52r build. It seems so easy, but getting them to line up and not twist around has been more of a challenge than I though. I've been back to the drawing board a couple of times already, but your build has given me some ideas to try as well, so thanks!
I also wanted to mention that I sometimes feel an almost kinetic energy from your posts as you get close to the end of a build. That's a hard spot for me as well... you're so close to being done you can taste it, but rushing the finale leads to mistakes and do-overs. One of the great things I've learned through modeling is how to be (more) patient. GB-deadlines aside (and even then... who REALLY cares?) it's sometimes hard to remember that you are the one controlling your own project destiny. If it doesn't get done today, it'll get done tomorrow - and it's always better for it to get done RIGHT than FAST.... right?
Still... If I can JUST glue this one more thing on before I go to bed... :banghead:
Thanks!! ... first off... :lol: And I'm glad some of my trials have provided a bit of insight. These floats 'n stuff are a bit of challenge at times. Looks simple, but may not be!
Secondly.... yes! It's hard to peg down but I blame the ADD stuff for some of it. It's not always the case, though. I wish I could find a happy medium. You're absolutely right about taking the time to ease up and not rush things. I have a broken mind but when I can maintain focus I can often "do the right thing. " Problem is, a moment of weakness can erase hours of focus. :-\
If I can just glue this last piece on... and get it to sit right . . . .. :rolleyes: ;D
Now that really is a beauty!
Love the way it looks in blue.
TomZ
There are lots of historical cases where single seater's have carried a passenger, in some cases two, but they were mostly in emergencies with the passenger being either a downed pilot or perhaps on the occasion of an airfield about to be overrun you might fly your "mate" out.
Pretty, that looks very good. :thumbsup:
Thanks, fellas!!!
You know, I had half a mind to glue a couple gurney baskets on them pontoons so it could carry wounded like on M*A*S*H* :o ;D Wouldn't be a fun ride on take of landing though!!! :o ;D
That looks really smart! :thumbsup:
I've been thinking about this (always dangerous) and as the floats are quite large they could easilly give up some of their internal volume to the rescued airmen. Either by having a compartment accessed by a hatch in the top of the float or by having a lowered concave area with a windscreen and grab handles in which they could lay out of the slipstream.
Quote from: Glenn Gilbertson on November 20, 2017, 02:30:23 PM
That looks really smart! :thumbsup:
Thanks, Glenn!! Glad you like it and thanks for stopping by! :laugh:
Quote from: zenrat on November 21, 2017, 02:32:29 AM
I've been thinking about this (always dangerous) and as the floats are quite large they could easilly give up some of their internal volume to the rescued airmen. Either by having a compartment accessed by a hatch in the top of the float or by having a lowered concave area with a windscreen and grab handles in which they could lay out of the slipstream.
There we go!! That sounds plausible. Would look pretty cool "deployed" too. :mellow: Kinda reminds me of bobsleds a little now. :wacko:
I had a thought out of G.I. Joe or something last night. Perhaps all this did was land then maybe some inflatabble junk pops out and then there's a net or something that could be stretched across to the other float to make a catamaran type setup then they all just sit there floating around waiting on proper rescue or something. ;D
Do you authorize me to (try to) make (with PhotoPaint) a zwilling Double Mustang from it?
(to complete ericr's float-Twin-Mustang) :unsure: ;)
Quote from: Tophe on November 21, 2017, 03:14:30 AM
Do you authorize me to (try to) make a zwilling Double Mustang from it?
(to complete ericr's float-Twin-Mustang) :unsure: ;)
Yes, go for it! Do whatever you like. :lol: I'd love to see it.
Double-float-stang...: ;)
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kristofmeunier.fr%2Ffloat-double-P-51.jpg&hash=2e9ef477e90362a0427dd74a3b5d648397775d90)
;D
;D :o
Gllllorious!!! :wub: :wub: :thumbsup: