Supermarine Stalwart GR.I of RAF 205 Squadron, Ceylon, Summer 1945 (pics@p.6)

[PR19_Kit]

It looks a lot like a twin engine Privateer because the shapes of the turrets and the side blisters are familiar. They tend to overpower any other recognition points that you notice.

[Gondor]

If you put a big radar/sensor lump on the top of the fuselage around about the leading edge of the wing the aircraft would look very Martin PBM Mariner

Gondor

[Captain Canada]

You're right on that point Kit. It's going to look different again once she's got roundels as well, I believe !

[Dizzyfugu]

A fellow user at FlickR put it that way: "Looks like a PBM Mariner served with Worcestershire sauce". There is some truth to that... 

And that's also the reason why the Stalwart did NOT receive such a radome from the start, even though I was tempted - the resin ASW.III radomes were a lucky find with good timing.

BTW, here's more from the work bench - the aircraft in a rather ungraceful position, undergoing a a grey acrylic wash:

Making of 1:72 Supermarine Stalwart GR.1 by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Then the plan to sand the planing surfaces to reveal what was hidden by the black paint:

Making of 1:72 Supermarine Stalwart GR.1 by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Making of 1:72 Supermarine Stalwart GR.1 by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Making of 1:72 Supermarine Stalwart GR.1 by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Making of 1:72 Supermarine Stalwart GR.1 by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Mixed results - but a good basis to start with. Some plastic came through but that can easily be hidden.

Since the whole thing is rather dark an dull, I decided to add some color to the spinners - should look good with the SEAC roundels, and I did not want to paint them black, too.

Making of 1:72 Supermarine Stalwart GR.1 by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


And, finally, for now, impressions of the panel shading process. Man, this beast is HUGE... and there's SO much black surface to treat! I use a mix of black and a dark, reddish brown (Humbrol 85 + 173) for shading. The aircraft is not supposed to look rusty, rather as if the red primer, which is more prominently revealed on the planing bottom (through a much brighter tone, Humbrol 113), shows through. The colors look more harsh on the pics than in real life, BTW, due to the camera flash I used. Putting proper light to this dark and big object is not easy. 

Making of 1:72 Supermarine Stalwart GR.1 by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Decals are soon to be added and integrated into the painting process. Work on the FIDOs also started, even though I could not find a proper painting benchmark for them.
And the backgorund posters for some beauty pics arrived: 30x20" in size, I hope that this will suffice...

[Captain Canada]

Very nice. Always fun to watch you work.

[nighthunter]

Beautiful

[Sticky Fingers]

Always in awe of your work. Very nice paintjob 

[Dizzyfugu]

Only little progress since last time due to an allergic shock on/since Thursday...

Still recovering, but decals have been added:

Making of 1:72 Supermarine Stalwart GR.1 by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Making of 1:72 Supermarine Stalwart GR.1 by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Making of 1:72 Supermarine Stalwart GR.1 by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Still a lot of work to do, but I like what I see. 

[kitbasher]

 
Very Martin Mariner (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_PBM_Mariner).

[Captain Canada]

Gorgeous. You're right, the spinners look great with those roundels.

[Dizzyfugu]

More or less finishing touches. Added some soot stains around the engines, highlighted the raised panels with dark grey and did some aluminum touches. Matt varnish was applied, too, the uniform finish suity the bird well.

Making of 1:72 Supermarine Stalwart GR.1 by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Making of 1:72 Supermarine Stalwart GR.1 by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


On short notice the FIDO quartet received some shackles (made from thin wire) - not that they had been there in real life, but I wanted them to look less bomb-like. And their livery is purely fictional, too... 

Making of 1:72 Supermarine Stalwart GR.1 by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


And, finally, the more or less completed Stalwart. Just antennae and position lights are missing.

Making of 1:72 Supermarine Stalwart GR.1 by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

[Captain Canada]

Oh my those bombs looks super ! Man I love your imagination and work...thanks for sharing it here !

[Dizzyfugu]

Thank you. "Quick and dirty", though... 

The Stalwart is more or less completed, but taking decent pics with some scenery around turns out to be more challenging than expected, due to the sheer size of the object! Hope I can tackle that next weekend.

[Captain Canada]

Cool. Looking forward to it !

[Dizzyfugu]

A quick glance at the photo set...

Making of 1:72 Supermarine Stalwart GR.1 by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

The in-flight pics might be feasible, but on the ground things are becoming challenging. I have no base, nor a background, that catches the whole thing!

Try my best...