After seeing Ben Fulcher's 1/48 Privateer at the OKC show (and a winner at Nats in Omaha as well), I was inspired to yank my Matchbox 1/72 kit out of the stash. I decided to upgrade a bit - purchased resin engine/cowlings, vac-form canopies and turrets, Quick Boost gun barrels and some aftermarket decals.
Started on the cockpit area - added seat arms and the throttles to the control column, and a few sidewall decals. Then to the turrets. Started with the top turrets - cut the top off the clear part (have to use the bottom for the turret base), then thinned out the bottom section to make more room. I decided I would have to scratch build .50 cal guns, as the barrels alone wouldn't suffice.
This pic shows the original parts.
Once I cut out the tail turret pieces from the set I bought, and tried to glue them together, I didn't like the shape, nor the visible seam cutting the turret in half vertically. As I reviewed ref. photos of the actual turret, it seemed to me that it would be easier to build out a replica of the actual turret using the original kit parts and scratching out what was missing. The original parts (especially the barrels) looked similar to the image above. I began by adding the front piece to the clear part and then trimming it substantially to match reference photos, then closing in the sides where the .50 cals will be mounted, and adding some internal structure between the guns (bracing, gun site, etc.). Here's just the side panels added.
pic 2:
more to come...
Is this still a 'work in progress' or a no-work, no-progress project? I have a lot of long term experience on the 'no-progress' projects to potentially recognize one.
Well, I got side-tracked trying to get a build done for the TMF 50's group build, which is due at Feb's meeting. I was about to start a Javelin, when I realized the canopy was mal-formed, and after purchasing a replacement Javelin (by another manufacturer, only to be disappointed), I decided to pull a Fiat G.91 out of the stash and build that. Just about finished painting it, but will still be a miracle to get it done by Feb's meeting.
In the mean time, I have masked the under-nose glazing of the Privateer and glued it in place, and have added all the lumps and bumps underneath and faired them in with Mr. Surfacer. I need to now glue the nose section to the main fuselage section and it'll be ready to accept the white bottom paint. I had decided to paint the fuse section white prior to adding the wings, and painting the wing bottoms separately, to try to minimize the amount of masking, and because I may even paint the wing sections before I glue them to the upper half of the wings, due to issues with how the wheel bays and engine nacelles look when in the "wheels up" position! It is really rather like a jigsaw puzzle trying to figure out how to save myself from grief as I proceed though the major assembly process! I'm also a tad stymied by how to detail out the nose ball turret, and am kinda revising the plan for that as I go. Just picked out a spares box pilot to be the nose gunner (kit did not supply one). Once the G.91 is done I'll be back on this, as I want it finished by contest time!
I did plan to bring the fuse section to the meeting to show basically the waist turrets and cockpit area. I did some detailing behind the crew seats as it was kinda blank back there.
Ok - finally got to the point in my G.91 build where I could spend some more time on the Privateer. Since I finished the blister turrets, I closed up the fuselage, cut down the nose section to accept the vac form canopy, added all the bumps and bits underneath and faired them in, added the vac form nose glazing (masked) and faired it in a bit. My plan is to spray the white with rattle can before I attach the wings, to make the masking job more simple. I'll spray the wings separately, then once attached and faired in, I'll touch up the joints. Tail stabs are already attached and will be sprayed with fuselage.
Here are a couple of close-ups of the cockpit section - before I mated the nose area with the main fuselage, I did some detailing behind the seat as the space was pretty blank. Not sure how much of it will be seen once closed up, but you never know...
Here is some detail work I needed to do on the wheel well area, with retracted wheels. I kinda made up that I thought the attachment points for the wheel legs would look like, as they'll barely be seen once closed up, but since the doors don't completely cover that area, you will see something. I also wanted to blank off the section of the well that is in the nacelle area as that will be visible - again since there are no doors to completely close it off. I'm not finished with it: once painted, I'll add some hydraulic lines for additional detail, then attach the nacelle. By the way - those big white strips are to lift the half of the tire/wheel I'll be inserting to what seems like what is appropriate when the wheel is retracted.