Airfix Catalina and Sunderland

[Skyedriver]

Has anyone on here built either model, thinking of a project for later in the year.
Don't think they are too complex.
Both currently unavailable except through a well known auction site.
Will make a change from cars and both planes have a link to where I now live.
Thanks

[lufbramatt]

I built the Catalina years ago and did it in the "black cat" colour scheme. Very rivety, basic kit, no interior details but seem to remember it fitting together pretty well. even got the hinged floats to work ok. Probably better off with the Academy kit these days unless you want a nostalgia build.

[Eric Mc]

Yes, the Airfix kit is pretty elderly these days and I would be looking at one of the Academy versions if I was trying to chose. I actually have both in the stash. I only bought the Airfix one more as a donation to help keep the UK based Catalina flying. They were selling kits to raise funds at Farnborough Air Show a few years ago.
The Academy kit comes in lots of different PBY variants too - from pre-war versions to 1950s versions..

Not too long ago Italeri brought out a couple of modern tooling Sunderland kits. They aren't perfect (the panel lines are excessive, in my opinion) but they are much more modern than the 1960s Airfix tooling.

[cati]

reveal do a nice 1/48 cat

[robemcdonald]

A company called special hobby have just released a new tool Sunderland too.

The box says something like “fighting the commies in the east” on it. I saw it a while ago and almost bought it.

[dr_gn]

I built the Airfix Sunderland for someone who already had the kit. It was OOB with pretty much no modifications. It's obsolete, with some poor mouldings, and badly fitting parts, for example the canopy framing is pretty much non-existant, and had to be masked from scratch, and the front gun turret has a huge step around it where it meets the fuselage. To be fair the moulds were probably worn-out by the time that boxing was produced.

The Italeri version is better overall, but the surface detail is horrendous in terms of the depth of panel lines. I actually prefer the raised detail of the Airfix kit.





Thread here:

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

Not built the Airfix Catalina (only Revell), but I expect it's similar. Perdu on here built one, although some images are missing from his thread:

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

If you go for the Academy version, beware the decals; every Academy kit I've built I've had issues with them being both thick and brittle.

Edited by dr_gn on Tuesday 16th June 13:32

[Eric Mc]

cati said:

reveal do a nice 1/48 cat

I presume you mean "Revell"?

Academy also do the Catalina in 1/48 - and Minicraft does a nice little one in 1/144.

The Revell kit was originally released by Monogram.

Revell also produced a 1/72 Catalina back in the 1960s so it is of similar vintage to the old Airfix kit. One interesting permutation of the old Revell 1/72 Catalina was that, at one point (mid 1970s) they released it in the colours of the Catalina used by the oceanic explorer, Jaques Cousteau.

Edited by Eric Mc on Tuesday 16th June 10:59

[dr_gn]

robemcdonald said:

A company called special hobby have just released a new tool Sunderland too.

The box says something like “fighting the commies in the east” on it. I saw it a while ago and almost bought it.

I saw it at Telford last year - I was surprised that it also had very deep surface detail, very similar to the Italeri version.

[snowen250]

dr_gn said:

robemcdonald said:

A company called special hobby have just released a new tool Sunderland too.

The box says something like “fighting the commies in the east” on it. I saw it a while ago and almost bought it.

I saw it at Telford last year - I was surprised that it also had very deep surface detail, very similar to the Italeri version.

And is also, by most accounts, an absolute swine to get to fit together!

[dr_gn]

snowen250 said:

dr_gn said:

robemcdonald said:

A company called special hobby have just released a new tool Sunderland too.

The box says something like “fighting the commies in the east” on it. I saw it a while ago and almost bought it.

I saw it at Telford last year - I was surprised that it also had very deep surface detail, very similar to the Italeri version.

And is also, by most accounts, an absolute swine to get to fit together!

Special Hobby/MPM/CMK originated as short-run kit manufacturers, and often the parts don't have the same (or any) locating features as more mainstream kits, so they can be a bit DIY.

[tight5]

Or, if you've got a spare £700

link

[Simpo Two]

dr_gn said:

Special Hobby/MPM/CMK originated as short-run kit manufacturers, and often the parts don't have the same (or any) locating features as more mainstream kits, so they can be a bit DIY.

O/T but I was given a small Revell airliner kit recently and was astonished to find the wings and tail had no locating pegs. The wings were an awful fit too, you could flap them up and down!

[dr_gn]

Simpo Two said:

dr_gn said:

Special Hobby/MPM/CMK originated as short-run kit manufacturers, and often the parts don't have the same (or any) locating features as more mainstream kits, so they can be a bit DIY.

O/T but I was given a small Revell airliner kit recently and was astonished to find the wings and tail had no locating pegs. The wings were an awful fit too, you could flap them up and down!

The Eduard Hellcat had no pegs, but wing profile recesses in the fuselage. Fit was perfect though, and very robust.

[Eric Mc]

Simpo Two said:

O/T but I was given a small Revell airliner kit recently and was astonished to find the wings and tail had no locating pegs. The wings were an awful fit too, you could flap them up and down!

Which kit?

What scale?

[lufbramatt]

It's due to the use of "sprayed metal" moulds that are backed with metal filled epoxy for short run kits, the process is not good for forming deep indentations (ie location holes) in parts as that area of the mould cavity becomes very weak.

[Simpo Two]

Eric Mc said:

Which kit?

What scale?

I think it was this one: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Revell-Modellbausatz-0399...

[dr_gn]

Simpo Two said:

Eric Mc said:

Which kit?

What scale?

I think it was this one:



I made it for someone else so don't I have it, nor the box.

On second thoughts it wasn't 27cm long, more like half that. But it looked like that one. No hang on the front of the fin was straight.

Edited by Simpo Two on Tuesday 16th June 14:09

I built the Air Berlin version of the one in the picture, and the lower wing was one-piece, and fitted under the fuselage, with the wing uppers butting up to the fuselage. Pretty standard stuff.

Are you sure it was Revell?

[Eric Mc]

It sounds like a model of the older 737-200 series - which was 1/200 scale.

If that is the case, I would hazard a guess that it might be this kit -




Revell's modern 1/144 airliner kits are quite nice.

[Dr Jekyll]

I had a go with a Revell 1/144th space shuttle. Even on a dry fit I couldn't get the fuselage halves together, the plastic was so thin and flexible, and the locating lugs so small, I couldn't the front and back in position at the same time.

[Eric Mc]

Locating lugs can be a hindrance rather than a help sometimes. Space Shuttle kits (not only Revell's) often have issues in lining up the fuselage sides, especially along the top of the body if you are leaving the cargo bay doors closed. I find attaching platicard tabs along the underside of the doors helps make sure they align level.