What's on the workbench!

[McColm]

On the bench is the 1/72 Grumman Albatross, which now has a pair of Rolls-Royce Griffon engines taken from the new Revell Avro Shackleton AEW2 kit.
The AW Argos is almost complete apart from the engines, should be ready for the paint stage sometime soon!
Started on the Mach2 Martin Mariner ,fuselage and wings glued up. Loads of gaps to fill and flash to sand down. Been toying with DB resin Wright R-3350 compound turbos from the Lockheed Constellation. The engine housing from the AC-119 with the inlets off the Shackleton make a good pairing.
The EH-53E AEW is awaiting filler.
Also the Sky Guardian is waiting to be painted. The Shackateer keeps having bits added to it.

[Captain Canada]

Come on bro, show us some pics ! It all sounds interesting. You can link them directly from you FB page.

[McColm]

The tail section has now been glued on, I'm not too sure if it is just this kit but one half seems a better fit than the other.
The upper gun turret has been blanked over, I'm leaning towards the civil cargo/ charter flight as the gun instalments have no armaments. The front isn't a problem as I have glued the glazing from the kit. The rear will need a plug or two part filler. There's a lot of cleaning up to do before sub-assembly.
Got the itch to build the Marlin and then the other flying boats in the stash. If I can get my hands on some early BOAC decals then the black fuselage/ undersides with green and brown upper wing/ fuselage camouflage scheme would work on the rest of the fleet. Some research is needed.
Part2
A pair of resin Pratt & Whitney PT-6A-6SAR turboprop engines from the Heritage Aviation Models South African Air Force C-47TP Turbo Dak conversion set have been glued in place, although not quite aligned fits in rather well to this odd shaped flying boat. A MAD boom taken from the Revell Dassault Atlantic1 has been grafted to the rear. The ASW radome sits on top of the forward fuselage, just behind the canopy.
I'm leaning towards the alternative to the Marlin and Neptune. Could have been flown by the South African Air Force for Maritime duties after the retirement of the Shackletons.
The Royal Air Force could have used it for fishery protection and coastal search & rescue, contracted out to a private company.

[McColm]

I've had a few of the 1/72 Hasegawa Shinmeiwa PS-1/SS-2 flying boat kits over the years and never really did them any justice. Pinching parts for other builds until I read an idea by a fellow Whiff to retro the kit.
This gave me the idea to use the resin Rolls-Royce Merlin Mk85s to replace the turboprop engines whilst the rest of the build follows the instructions.
Well sort of!
Working on the main landing gear for the amphibious variant first, as this has always been very tricky for me. Next was the interior glazing and then the nose wheelwell. The cockpit details are very sparse so I decided to glue the floor and archway in place.
Next glue it all together. This is done in stages, starting with the tail and then working towards the front. Tape, clamps and rubber bands. You'll find that once the glue has dried that this is a tail sitter. Weight can be added to the nose cone, but as the cockpit isn't going to be used, I'll put it in there.

[McColm]

I've had a few of the 1/72 Hasegawa Shinmeiwa PS-1/SS-2 flying boat kits over the years and never really did them any justice. Pinching parts for other builds until I read an idea by a fellow Whiff to retro the kit.
This gave me the idea to use the resin Rolls-Royce Merlin Mk85s to replace the turboprop engines whilst the rest of the build follows the instructions.
Well sort of!
Working on the main landing gear for the amphibious variant first, as this has always been very tricky for me. Next was the interior glazing and then the nose wheelwell. The cockpit details are very sparse so I decided to glue the floor and archway in place.
Next glue it all together. This is done in stages, starting with the tail and then working towards the front. Tape, clamps and rubber bands. You'll find that once the glue has dried that this is a tail sitter. Weight can be added to the nose cone, but as the cockpit isn't going to be used, I'll put it in there.

Part2
There are a few gaps, the tail, nose and lower fuselage.
As to the wings, well the 1/72 Contrail Model Aircraft vacform  Vickers Valiant B.1 box fell from the shelf. As one of the wings had already been assembled, I just had to try it for size. It works, so I'll be building the other wing  and supergluing them into place, sometime next week.
If memory serves me right I did try and use the wings from the Airfix HS/BAe Nimrod on a previous build  when I first started Whiffing.
I'll glue the floats on and ESM pods on the wingtips with weapon pylons.
I'll call this project the 'Vickers Black Swan MR1'.

[Captain Canada]

McColm pics and captions from his FB page :

The 1/72 Mach2 Martin Mariner PBM 5S2T with the MAD boom poking out of the rear, distinctive resin turboprop engines.
Resting on top of a stretched Airfix BAe Nimrod



The 1/72 Mach2 Martin Mariner with added resin turboprop engines and radar dome

[Captain Canada]

Ongoing project in 1/72 scale based around a Lockheed Neptune with C-119 wings. Resin turboprop engines. A raid in the spares box and Falcon Triple Vacform conversion sets.



1/72 Grumman Albatross, already built and painted in USCG colours. I just added the contra-rotating propellers from the Revell Avro Shackleton AEW2 kit.

[Captain Canada]

The main 1/72 model is my interpretation of the AW 65/66 twin engined Argosy .project name Argos. Using the Italeri AC-119K Gunship and Mach2 Argosy kits. The engines are from a Revell Br1150 Atlantic 1.Rolls-Royce Tunes



The latest picture of the 1/72 Avro Shackateer, an ongoing project.

[McColm]

Thanks Captain Canada,
It's Tynes not tunes but I don't think anyone noticed
I'll be down in Falmouth Cornwall for few days over the bank holiday weekend.

[Captain Canada]

You should add "updated with pics and the date or somat to get people to come look. Some neat stuff !

[McColm]

Thanks

[Captain Canada]

No problem ! Keep working on them and take more pics !

[McColm]

The Shinmeiwa amphibious flying boat project has gone back to having the resin Rolls-Royce Mk85 Merlin engines.
Although these could represent the Griffon Mk57's as used on the Lincoln and Shackleton Mk1. They will have the contra-rotating propellers. The standard was 6 although some publications state 8. Depends what's in the spares box!
Plenty of putty needed to fill in the gaps by removing the turboprop engine mounts.
The right wing is a good fit whereas the left has a slight gap. The flaps do move which is good news at the moment, might not move after the primer is applied.
I'll have a rummage to find a dipping sonar from an old Airfix Sea King kit to fit on the lower fuselage, an in-flight refuelling probe and possibly a pair of ESM pods.

[Captain Canada]

That should be pretty cool !

[McColm]

The Shinmeiwa amphibious flying boat project has gone back to having the resin Rolls-Royce Mk85 Merlin engines.
Although these could represent the Griffon Mk57's as used on the Lincoln and Shackleton Mk1. They will have the contra-rotating propellers. The standard was 6 although some publications state 8. Depends what's in the spares box!
Plenty of putty needed to fill in the gaps by removing the turboprop engine mounts.
The right wing is a good fit whereas the left has a slight gap. The flaps do move which is good news at the moment, might not move after the primer is applied.
I'll have a rummage to find a dipping sonar from an old Airfix Sea King kit to fit on the lower fuselage, an in-flight refuelling probe and possibly a pair of ESM pods.

Part 1A
I was thinking of a name for this build and Griffon popped into my head.
As it's very similar to the Convair XP6Y in one of the earlier drawings taken from the book by Robert E. Bradley "Convair Advanced Designs Secret Projects from San Diego 1923-1962.
I will call this the Convair PB6M Griffon.
As the superglue has set and no more swearing in the construction of the floats plus struts. One side fits perfectly whilst the other is a disaster waiting to be fixed!
I've moved the MAD boom to extend from the T-tail. The wheels are in place.
It's a tail-sitter at the moment but with the dipping sonar extended for maintenance this should provide the balance needed as the cockpit needs detailing.
The propellers have been used on the Mach2 Martin Turbo Mariner and Lockheed Wraith. The three bladed propellers gives them that 1960's feel and the Griffon looks as though it could have been the Lincoln replacement if the Shackleton hadn't been chosen. Last of the Flying Boats, looks modern in a retro sort of way.
I know you want pictures, but just be patient for a little bit longer. Major filler/putty time, sanding and shaping.
The lower crew access door from the PS-1 was glued in place, as the blank piece didn't seem to fit. I've left the front aerial off as this disturbs the curves of the fuselage.
Some interesting builds on the way to the paint stage. The jury is still out on the pre-shading, as I'm not too sure if this works for brush finishes. Best check that out.

Part2
The fun part begins to happen, by blending in the two part filler to the existing fuselage. Then adding Green Putty to any gaps that I missed or created whilst sanding. A long but worthwhile time consuming task.