Pan Am Clipper

[Glenn]

Pan Am Clipper departs Hawaii, for the Far East!
Remember the movie "Raiders of the Lost Ark", well this is the clipper. What they used to make the scene was a Shorts Solent, that belonged to Howard Hughes. I don't think the boat had flown for wears, as it was sitting in a field on it's beaching gear when used.
Using my pocket book of flyingboats, (William Green) first worked out how I'd need to convert a Sunderland into a Solent. Besides lengthening the tail, and adding the faring and then smoothing over the nose turret and adding the bullet shaped tail cone, the model had to be lengthened by about 1/2 inch. (12mm) just behind the cockpit.
With no gun turrets and a smooth finish, quite a change from what I usually build. The model was finished in gloss white, with the red upper wing panels, (in case downed at sea) and finished in Pan Am markings.
I found a sheet of Letraset that had the same style of print, and it went from there.
The windows are decals cut to shape and fixed in place.
The name under the antiglare panel reads, Halcyon.

Model : Airfix Shorts Sunderland

[The Rat]

As the proud son of a Sunderland pilot, I salute you sir!

The Solent was actually converted from a Seaford, which started out as the Sunderland Mk IV. Unfortunately, as I have whined about incessantly on this and other boards, the whole Sunderland line has been cruelly neglected by kit manufacturers. We need a Mk I and II hull, and a Seaford. Conversion kits for Solents and Sandringhams would be nice too. It's shameful and reprehensible that such a significant and storied aircraft is represented by only one available kit.            

[Tophe]

Model : Airfix Shorts Sunderland

Great model, amazing photograph, Lyn...
Just... Airfix Sunderland is 1/72nd, that makes about 50cm span (1.5ft), Lord, do you let your model outside, on the water ? Next to it, would you plan a Saro Princess ? 1/32nd... ?
These are jokes, as your Twin-Starfighter at 1/144th  was so great and you are the one that made me dream of quick great model inventions in weeks instead of months... Thanks for that too, Lyn.

[NARSES2]

Great model, always had a soft spot for seaplanes - got some 1930's Pan Am posters (re-prints) of tropical islands, beautiful girls and Boeing Clippers on the walls at home    

[nev]

Great job Glenn. I suspect that this one photo doesn't even begin to show the amount of effort you put into the build    

[Joe C-P]

Seaplanes are lovely.   Quite an impressive rebuild effort to create her.  B)  

Perhaps next time some of us see him we can talk to "Mr. Airfix" about the lack of such in kit form.

JoeP

[Captain Canada]

Neato !

Sunderlands are beauties.....I was bummed that I missed Kermit Weekes bird by a few days, I showed up at Oshawa airport the week after he flew it over, and did a few nice passes....

 

[Ollie]

Excellent!

I always liked that part of the movie, where you see a big radial fire up with mucho smoke!

   

[Glenn]

No, it wasn't easy, and actually doesn't exist any longer. It had a fall, got kinda damaged, so I binned it. It was too big anyhow!
That one belonging to Kermit Weekes is the aircraft I showed in 'plane spotting', early this year. still in Ansett markings.
My memory goes back a lot further than yours, and I can remember another Sunderland model, one I'd kill for right now, Lincoln models, made in Hong Kong, in the 1950's~'60's, produced one, in 1/144th scale. I thought that when Glenco re-produced models like the Venom, we'd see the Sunderland, but we didn't! bugger them!
It was a scaled down model of the Airfix kit!
Lyn

[The Rat]

...I can remember another Sunderland model, one I'd kill for right now, Lincoln models, made in Hong Kong, in the 1950's~'60's, produced one, in 1/144th scale. I thought that when Glenco re-produced models like the Venom, we'd see the Sunderland, but we didn't! bugger them!
It was a scaled down model of the Airfix kit!

Yeah, I've heard of that one too. I just did one of their Victors in this post. They did a few others too, including a Valiant.  

Where oh where are those molds?    

[Tophe]

from:

a Saro Princess ? 1/32nd... ? These are jokes, as your Twin-Starfighter at 1/144th   was so great and you are the one that made me dream of quick great model inventions in weeks instead of months... Thanks for that too, Lyn.

to:

No, it wasn't easy. Lyn

a misunderstanding has happened it seems, forgive my imperfect English... I was meaning: doing big planes not much scaled down is a huge difficult work, months or years of hard-work, I understand, Lyn. While your twin-F-104 at 1/144th was un enlightening idea for myself: instead of using my usual 1/72nd for Mustangs/Spits/Mirages/F-16s, I should have used 1/144th to build them faster, in weeks instead of months, focusing on shapes that I adore rather than details that I don't like much, personaly.
So: much congratulations, Lyn, for your huge work on this big Clipper. Otherwise, thanks for making me discover the possible use of 1/144th. OK? Not angry? Sorry...

[Glenn]

Tophe,
   I do 1/144th models 'cause 1/ they take up less space and 2/ they are cheaper than larger scales.
Well, most are! When Hobbycraft brought out their 1/144th B-36, I couldn't get to the hobbyshop fast enough, until I saw the price!
$79.95 (OZ) and when I bought the 1/72nd Monogram model, years before, it was half that price!
A 1/32sc Princess, you could use that as a dog house, for a Great Dane!
No problems, Tophe!
                      Lyn

[Tophe]

Thanks Lyn!
I have just checked for the $80 OZ: that makes $61 US, $75 CDN, £31, 46 Euro... for a single kit...