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Hi Nigel, I too have been following your YouTube channel. I particularly enjoyed your solution for the OV10 Bronco wing assembly and your demonstration of how to correct the HK Lancaster tailplane pins. And, of course, now following your build of the Airfix Hellcat - which I'm trying desperately not to buy. Keep up the good work Paul

Hi Cees, Thanks for the encouragement - it's not a quick project and I really want to make sure there are no fit issues before I start glueing and painting. Love your photos of the Cat flight. I flew a Tiger Moth last year while on holiday in the UK. It was a little different from what I normally fly and I enjoyed every minute of it. All the best Paul

Hi Tom, Fantastic work - really inspirational. Paul

Hi all, Progress continues to be made, albeit slowly. As said previously my priority has been to ensure the fit of the fuselage halves and the external/internal structure. Continuing externally I've trimmed the pylon and sanded the wing/pylon plug to fit nicely. This wasn't difficult, though I did run tape along the point I wanted to sand to on the pylon so as not to remove too much material. And with the wing sitting in place. (As a break from working on the fuselage I'm tempted to work on the wings just to see how they look on the fuselage when fully assembled.) My aim is to get all the structure/equipment test fitted before moving on to the internal structure, especially the fuselage frames and nose wheel well. However, the next challenge is very much along the lines of fitting a square peg in a round hole as shown below. I'm in the process of fitting the nose turret, which is not wanting to co-operate. The turret itself is OK but the structure surrounding the turret is too wide at the base. You'll possibly notice too, that in an effort to aid fitment, I've inserted plastic strip between the fuselage halves fore and aft of the turret. This has also been done with HPH's model and is clearly visible in the instructions. Doing this has helped somewhat but the surrounding turret structure is still too big at the base. I'm going to examine some actual pictures of the area but I suspect that I'll be doing some scratch building to get everything fitting nicely. Once I'm satisfied with the turret my aim is to refine all the window cutouts and temporarily fit the windows, including the gunner's blisters, which could provide some challenges. Paul

Thanks for the reply nichenson, I was inclined to cut the fuselage back to match the steps but I like your idea much better, which has a lot less potential for major damage. I've got some days off coming up and am planning to spend some time in the workshop. Paul

Hi all, Finally, I've had a chance to post an update. I've been trying to do just a little bit each day and I'm slowly making progress. The picture below shows the result of sanding both fuselage halves on a flat plate. Although it took quite some time, the result is well worth the effort, especially when compared to the fuselage join pictures in the previous post. From my experience so far I'd make it a priority for anyone building a resin kit to ensure that all major components fit well before commencing fitting the internal components/structures. There is still a gap in the keel, which extends beyond what I could sand off without taking off fuselage material. I'm quite confident this can be filled and sanded when the time comes. In addition to sanding the fuselage halves to improve the join it is also essential to thin down the tail section so that it fairs with the rudder. Initially, the tail section was too thick for the rudder. This was sanded on the flat plate and now fairs nicely with the rudder. The rudder also requires some careful work at the rudder hinge point if it is desired to have it positioned in anything but a central position. (More photos to come once I've completed that little project.) It may not be too clear in this picture but the right hand side of the rudder fairing is slightly lower than the left. I built this up with plastic strip and sanded it carefully to match the left. As a result the fairings leave a minimal gap with the lower rudder surface. I've also tried a trial fit of the vertical stabiliser structure. Most of this won't be seen unless, perhaps. the rudder is positioned offset from centre. Another picture showing the mismatch between the halves of the tail fairings. The next issue to overcome is internal. As can be seen, there is a mis-match between the step. I'm leaning towards correcting this as I don't know how much will be hidden once all the equipment and internal structure is installed. I'm thinking about trimming down the right hand fuselage step and re-scribing the panel lines as required. Not a small job but I want to make sure the bulk of the work is done on the airframe so that I can be certain of a good fit when it comes to joining the fuselage halves further down the track. Work will continue on the fuselage by trimming all the cutouts and trial fitting the windows before moving on to test fitting the internal frames and structure. My aim is to get everything temporarily fitted before disassembly for painting. But that is some way off yet. Paul

Hi youngtiger1, Yes, you've found out my dirty little secret. I moonlight as a washing super hero, hence the lack of progress at the workbench. However, I'm on annual leave at the moment (Even super heroes need a break.) and I've spent some fun times sanding the fuselage halves on a flat tile. It's almost as much fun as washing. Having said that I can't progress until the fuselage halves are matching nicely. I've taken some pictures that I'll post soon, which will hopefully show what I need to overcome. Paul

Hi Cees, What a fantastic project. I've read through all your posts and there's plenty of inspiration to continue my own Catalina build. All the best Paul

Hi Pardelhas, I'm sorry it's taken me so long to reply. Unfortunately I haven't had anything new to report. I really need to get the two fuselage halves sanded and matched before I can continue fitting the interior frames and components. However, I've been wanting to get through this next stage so I just need to make some time (Sometimes easier said than done with a young family) and get into it. There's no shortage of inspiration on this site. Paul

Hi Cees, Nice to hear from you. Yes and no is probably the best answer. I'm in the process of sanding the two halves of the airframe. To do this I'm using a flat surface with 200 grit sandpaper. I've blacked the edges of the fuselage and now it's a matter of sanding and checking the fit/alignment on a regular basis. One problem that has to be addressed is alignment of the rudder with the surrounding tail fairing. At the moment the tail fairing is too wide and needs to be sanded down to match the rudder profile. Imagine, if you will, sand - check - sand - check repeated ad-nausium. However, this was never going to be a five minute build. Hopefully I'll have some more progress in the not too distant future. Paul

Hi Jeroen, I have considered your suggestion. The fuselage is fibre glass so it would take quite a while. (Think acolytes of the middle ages copying religious texts.) I think you'd need a flat glass plate and a whole lot of patience while carefully sanding each fuselage edge. From what I can see of the fit so far of the internal fuselage frames, I'm going to need as much internal space as possible to allow them to fit. I may have to experiment with fit a bit more before I decide on the best course of action. It's not the building issues that I find intimidating as I quite enjoy the challenge, it's the thought of all that I need to learn and practice when it comes to painting and weathering. One step at a time... Paul

Hi all, Anthony, thanks for the encouragement. It's a great kit and well worth getting. In my last post I was in the process of fitting the fuselage frames. However, it became apparent that I needed to take a step back from that and get the fuselage halves fitting correctly together first. Part of that process has involved preparing the horizontal stabilisers for mounting, which the following photos should help explain. The instructions suggest reinforcing the horizontal stabiliser mounts with a suitable gauge wire. However, to do that mounting holes need to be back drilled in the fuselage mount points. Each stabiliser has mount guide holes cast in the mounting face and these need to be transferred to the fuselage mount points. I used clear acetate to mark the hole position, which was then transferred to the fuselage mounting face. The next few steps involve a few assumptions about the overall accuracy and finish of the edge of each fuselage half. (In other words finish of the fuselage join lines.) Despite needing finishing each half does seem to be flat and level. This allowed me to drill each mount hole accurately using a drill press. The next stage was to temporarily mount each horizontal stabiliser so I could back drill into the stabiliser itself. (The initial cast holes were only shallow and not finished for mounting.) And to do that I had to ensure each stabiliser was mounted perpendicular to the fuselage centre line. The picture below shows a simple balsa jig I made to achieve this. Here are the fuselage halves taped together and both stabilisers spot glued in place. I must complement HPH on the accuracy of their molding as each stabiliser sat nicely in place with minimal adjustment. I'd like to prepare the fuselage for joining prior to fitting the interior and I'd like some suggestions as to how I could fill the gap below without actually gluing the halves together. The rest of the joins are quite good but the spine is going to need some work. I have thought of temporarily mounting each half on a flat sheet and filling with a suitable material. (CA mixed with talcum powder, epoxy, or putty - suggestions welcome.) This process is a bit of a mission but I think it's much easier to get right now rather than once the interior is assembled. Till next time. Paul

Gidday Dave, Glad to be of service. There's been the odd time I've asked myself why I didn't I build a Wingnut Wings AEG or Gotha? (Yes, I do have those kits in my stash.) The question is though, when are you going to join me? As that line from an old kiwi commercial went, "Come on in Dad, the water's boiling!" Cheers Paul

Hi Cees, Thank you for your reply. I'm going to have to think on this issue. As far as I'm aware the interior step wasn't staggered fore and aft on the full size aircraft. The odd thing is that on model all the other transverse structure lines up quite nicely. Before I do anything else I want to finish installing alignment spigots in the fuselage halves, then I'll at least have a consistent datum to work from. Yes, this build is becoming a bit epic but I am really enjoying it. Paul

Hello, Not too many pictures in this one but some major construction considerations to highlight. First off, let's have some pictures to show what I'll be discussing: As you can see from the above picture I've been considering joining of the fuselage halves. This stemmed from beginning to prepare the frames for installation. Each frame needs to be individually fitted, not only with respect to the fuselage but also the interior fittings and equipment. For example, there is a frame at each end of the nose wheel structure that needs to fit both the wheel well structure and the fuselage contour. During this process it struck me that it's no good getting each frame to fit in the fuselage if the halves don't fit consistently together. So my focus changed from fitting frames to matching and pre-drilling holes in the joining edges. This allowed me to epoxy a wire spigot in each hole in the left hand half. There are no pictures as I'm waiting for the epoxy to thoroughly cure before splitting the halves. (Hopefully I haven't welded the fuselage halves together.) I couldn't resist: Below is the central mainplane sitting on the fuselage - this is a really big model! (Though not anywhere near as large as the proposed HPH Me 323 Gigant.) Another problem is highlighted below: While the external fuselage halves match nicely the step on the interior (As viewed through the left hand main wheel well.) leaves something to be desired. I'm left with considering whether this will be covered by walkways and equipment or doing some surgical work to correct the fault. I suspect I know what I'll end up doing.... Finally, here is a sample of the many parts that need to be individually prepared prior to assembly.....there are many more to go. Cheers Paul

Hello, I've been wanting to do an update for a while now but every time I've gotten close, something has come up. For anyone who is considering building this kit I would advise cleaning up the parts over a period of time. I cannot emphasize enough how long this process can take. It's a lovely kit and cannot be rushed. Rather than finishing current projects and working on the big Cat I would suggest preparing each part piece by piece while working on an existing project or projects. So, when commencing a modelling session perhaps prepare a part or two from the Cat and then continue on with your main project. It's also a good chance to get a feel for the kit and where everything goes and is an opportunity to think about order of construction. (I've found that the instructions aren't always clear and there are some anomalies throughout the assembly manual with respect to numbering of parts.) Below is the partially prepared right hand gunners blister. Each pod comes attached to a casting block and needs to be carefully removed and sanded. The blisters are beautifully thin and clear but rather fragile so care is needed. And below we have all the prepared components for the left hand gun blister. Parts 302 and 302a in the lower part of the picture need to be glued together. Now, being resin there are some limitations as to what can be used for gluing. I was thinking about CA but am concerned that there could be associated fogging. Unfortunately epoxy is too slow acting to achieve a nicely aligned join. The last picture shows the walkway tread plates and central walkway trusses. There is a potential issue with the trusses as they should be left and right handed. However, they are all cast in the same way. I'll have a better idea once I start seeing how all these parts fit into the fuselage but I would say I may have some simple scratch building ahead. Hopefully it won't be a month before my next update. Paul

Hi Dave, Good to hear from you. I've had a bit of a search on the net and I have had a few hints as to the interior layout. This is a link to the Pensacola cutaway Cat, which I believe is a PBY-5. http://www.seawings.co.uk/Catalina-NASPensacolaWRgal.htm In the amphibious model the pilot seats are mounted on the nose wheel well, whereas the photo below appears to show the seats mounted on built up structure. (Photo linked from Seawings walkaround gallery) I can see I'm going to have to do some more research on this. Cheers Paul PS: That turret looks great too - I quite like the idea of twin guns in the nose.

Gidday youngtiger, Yes, it is a bit of a monster. When I was younger I was in the same position as you and could never have afforded to buy something like this. The flip side is that now I'm older I can afford these kits but am often away working so don't have the time to get much building done. Having said that, I'm hoping to have some time at the work bench later on today. Now, here's a question for any PBY afficionados out there. I really need to make a decision as to whether or not to convert my kit to a straight PBY. I quite like the four colour PBY-5a scheme that was used by US forces in the Pacific. I think the weathering would be challenging but could look fantastic. However, does anyone have good pictures or drawings of the interior layout of the PBY-5 as opposed to the amphibious version. I ask this because building a PBY may not be as simple as I initially thought. For example, in the amphibian the pilot/co-pilot seats are mounted on to the wheel well structure. Can it be assumed that this approach was kept for the PBY flying boat? Also too, what was the layout inside the fuselage in the area where the main gear would have been situated? The early RNZAF Cats had the single nose gun set up that comes with the HPH kit but were later converted to the dual gun arrangement. I'd be interested in anyone's thoughts on this. Cheers Paul

Hello, Just a small update as I haven't had a lot of time. I've been away with work and have just had two days off, and now I'm away again tomorrow. The picture below is really a "heads up" to anyone who might be building this. The instructions label the horizontal stabilisers as 318L and 318R respectively but the parts themselves aren't actually numbered. And they are subtly different. Notice the RH stabiliser has a round access panel at the aft inboard edge. This does not appear on the left hand panel. The elevators too are handed, with the access panels appearing on the underside of each. (See pictures above to see what I mean.) There is another potential issue when fitting the stabilisers - the fillet that fairs the rear of the stabilisers needs to be fitted such that the stabiliser tip, elevator trailing edge and fillet trailing edge all line up. This wouldn't necessarily be such an issue if the elevators were modelled hanging down but it is something to keep in mind. Finally, I've included the wingtip floats as a comparison between how a part is presented in the kit and how it looks once cleaned up. This took me about an hour, which may give an idea of the amount of effort required when you consider all the parts in the kit. There is some lovely detail as you can see so I think it justifies some care. Incidentally, the notch at the front of the LH float is for the tie-down ring to attach to. Until next time Paul

Gidday, Eric, I must have enjoyed cooying bibles in a previous life cause there is a lot of time involved preparing each part. Dave and Nick, thank you for the encouragement. This one is going to be a bit of a marathon. And not being one to avoid adding to the stash, I've just bought the HPH Arado. Cheers Paul

Gidday, The force was well balanced last night but oddly enough my state of equilibrium seemed to be out.... I've made a little more progress preparing parts which I'll show below. This is the horizontal stabiliser and elevator. The instructions are a little contradictory on several points with respect to part numbering. The fillet in the lower right of the picture is shown in the assembly instructions as Part # 321 and initially appears to be one piece. What is not mentioned is that it consists of two symmetrical halves and are shown in the parts list as # 319. The elevator mount fillet (The small part shown in the centre of the stabiliser.) is numbered as Part # 328 in the instructions but is numbered as # 326 in the parts list. None of this is insurmountable but does emphasize the need to number and prepare all the parts before glueing. I'd also like to point out that there is some really nice surface detail on these parts, even to the point of lightening holes in the horizontal and vertical stabiliser spars. You can see the elevator mount fillet in the lower right hand corner of the picture below. This sheet comes with both as well as the parts for the vertical stabiliser spars. I was asked earlier if there is a need to sand down the sheet backing. I think it really depends on the fit of the part. If the part is trimmed and fits nicely I would leave it but there are components that need to be sanded. The cylinder heads for the engines comes to mind as one example. A word of caution when trimming the rudder. Leave some casting support on the leading edge during clean up as there is only a very small amount of material between the top and bottom rudder. I didn't think that through very well when I was cleaning it up. However, there is enough material for me to drill each part spanwise at the trailing edge and epoxy some wire inside to help strengthen the joint. I'm away at for the next few days at work but all going well I'll have another update next week. I'm really enjoying this build and am looking forward to seeing how these parts come up when some paint is applied. Cheers Paul

Gidday, I've been using a 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper on a flat surface. I find that it's best to use it wet as this eliminates resin dust. This does take a bit of patience and care as it's easy to sand unevenly. I also use a hobby blade to scrape away excess flash. Both methods are hugely time consuming but I like having control over how much material is removed. (The whole project is very much a zen exercise.) I hope to add an update later tomorrow but I have an arrangement to have a few rums with my neighbour who was a navigator on the Cats during the war. Funny thing is we initially have mostly coke with rum, then later it seems to be mostly rum with coke.... Cheers Paul

Gidday Dave, I'm really enjoying the build, intense though it may be. Everything needs to be individually prepared but it does give you a good feel for the kit. One thing I do need to do is build/buy a spray booth. Ideally something I can keep covered while parts are drying. As I've only done limited spraying in the past I think it would be helpful to have a dedicated area where I can leave parts to dry and avoid the adverse respiratory effects of some paints. (Lacquers as one example - I've always used a respirator when spraying in the past but this isn't the most comfortable thing to wear.) I'd love to see you start yours - I know I'd learn a lot. Paul

Hello, Thank you for the positive comments; Paulster, thank you for the information on the bombs. I'll finish them smooth. James, I second that. Come on Dave, there's only several hundred parts that need to be individually prepared. Cheers Iceman, I hope I can keep the updates more regular. Cees, the kit is a bit daunting and unfortunately the chocolate supplied doesn't really last the distance. It's a bit of a zen exercise in sanding and listening to audio books - currently the Game of Thrones series - they're good for about 200 hrs of building time. Cheers Paul

Surprise!! I wouldn't blame anyone if they thought I'd shelved this project. In fact it has been sitting for quite some time, along with everything else on my workbench. However, the children are at school and kindergarten and I'm finding I have a little bit more time to myself lately. I've divided the kit into individual build components (ie Navigator's section, radio operator's section, flight deck etc), gathering the parts for each together and reconciling them with the instructions and parts list. The parts come in various castings in the kit and it takes some time to reconcile them with each section and tick them off. In many respects this kit is a lot of smaller kits in one. Not only that, but each individual part needs to be cleaned of flash and prepared for gluing and painting. Although I'm still not sure what PBY version I'll complete I decided to prepare and assemble the wheels. Each wheel is made up of two halves that need to be trimmed of flash - you can see the join line on the inside to the tire on the left. The tread pattern also needs to be carefully lined up during gluing. I prefer to work with a slow cure epoxy as it gives me plenty of working time to get everything aligned. Once cured I spent considerable time re-scribing the tread pattern that round the join of each tire. You'll notice that the axle bearing in the hub on the left is considerably off centre. I'd like to fill and redrill the hole to re-centre it so if anyone has any suggestions as fill material it would be appreciated. The remaining parts have been cleaned up and are awaiting a light coat of Mr Surfacer 1000. More of the same below, this time the landing gear legs and struts. You can see in the lower right how many of the parts are presented in the kit. There doesn't seem to be any particular reason to the parts in a mold. Here we have landing gear parts molded next to door handles, which does make it a bit harder to locate all the parts relevant to a particular section. Mind you, I'm constantly impressed at how beautifully they are cast. I've assembled two of the four bombs below. These are mounted externally on wing pylons. Does anyone know what sort of bombs these would have been? I'd like to know what they are as this will help with painting and finishing. For example, were they rough cast? If so I could stipple the surface with Mr Surfacer applied with a sponge. I've also started preparing the clear parts. This is how they arrive in the kit. And the side gunner's windows prepared. These come boxed separately in individual bags and are very delicate. It took me quite some time to remove each from it's casting block but I believe the extra care is well worth it. I'm really impressed with the quality of the casting - this photo reflects how clear each one is. I haven't done any polishing, they're just beautiful and clear. Now that I have some momentum I'd like to think I'll be able to update regularly. Paul