RC.3 Seabee
Working on a scratch built interior. Pilot, front, and (eventual) rear seats come from Academy/Hasegawa MH-6s; floor and instrument panel by cardboard. Not sure yet what the controls and pedals will be made of. Maybe paper clips?
Some very inconvenient locator pins and ejector marks.
They’re on the right side also. The front ejector mark and locator pin are unfortunate because there’s no instrument panel on this side.
Could not have cleaned this up without a Dremel.
For some reason Glencoe drilled holes on both sides of each float and then included 4 poorly fitting parts to fill them. (I removed one for test fitting.).
On the upside, the filler pieces are a pretty good size for lights. Something for the spares box.
What the exterior should look like.
Rear view
Cabin floor attempts 1-4
Approximate layout shown on #3, but floor does not fit properly.
Basic layout minus main flight controls and other levers.
Another view
Control “wheels” and arm
Another view
Attempting to make the 4 foot pedals using pieces of paper clips.
Gluing one foot pedals to the control arm. Of course each pedal attaches to a different arm. And they’re 2 different lengths.
Here’s what they’re supposed to look like.
Taking a break from the interior to work on the landing gear. Sanding off the triangular portion to replace with photoetch parts from a 1/72 F-4 Phantom.
Finished cockpit, complete with coiled wire to his headset.
Finally making some visible progress. Interior is painted!!
Exterior view
Now, how do I get the Micro Mask off...?
Answer: Extremely slowly, with tremendous patience, and accepting of the need for touch-up.
Cockpit is finally taking shape! Passenger seat is fully reclined, against FAA regulations.
In compliance this time. Control arm is on the ground to the right.
Roughly in place. Pilot’s arm needs to be repositioned.
Side view.
Showing the foot pedals and fire extinguisher, which will barely be visible once assembled.
I didn’t glue the front seats in symmetrically because they are multi-way adjustable and slide forward and backward on tracks. The Pilot adjusted his seat. Yeah, that’s the reason...
This should’ve been an overhead shot, but I dropped the phone on it...So i have to glue it all together again. At least nothing broke...
Only photo I have since I painted it. It needs another coat - I had to sand down some of the joints to smooth them out.
Sigh…and now decal issues…
Hopefully some Pledge will hold them down.
N number is coming along well. Now I just need to finish making the K.
Close up. You can also see where I ran out of metalizer paint. Not sure how to fix this since it’s been discontinued.
Getting close…
Almost done…just need the propeller, landing lights, and some window cleaning…
Finished!
Comments
11 27 June 2020, 04:52
Maverick212Yup. Also not sure why Glencoe cast it in clear without making an interior, but it's a cute little plane, very unique. And no two cockpits or instrument panels are the same, so hooray for flexibility!
27 June 2020, 16:54
LucLuke BFollowing too
I just got myself a Piper cub model and it also is transparent and not very detailed. I like the photos, it makes your build look like a jellyfish. Looking with interest.
27 June 2020, 18:45
Juergen KlinglhuberThat's an interesting one - transparent ??! - I am in..........
30 June 2020, 18:53
playtime 222I think the museum creator is having a laugh too - biggest -> smallest - is that Seabee sitting under the Goose?
24 August 2020, 19:59
Maverick212Yep, the Spruce Goose. The museum also has a JRF Goose, although I don't think it appears in the shots.
24 August 2020, 20:55
Ben Mif it wasn't molded in clear, they'd have to re-do the tooling to have separate cabin windows, etc. Neat kit.
7 September 2020, 22:51
Derek HuggettSee the 007 film 'The Man with the Golden Gun' - flying to Scaramanga's Island (sorry, movie buff as well!) 🙂
12 September 2020, 09:56
Derek HuggettI reckon all the cockpits probably 'evolved' with time and/or owners preferences and/or parts availability - that's how Light General Aviation used to be!😉 👍
12 September 2020, 16:06
Alex KErrr... Hi Maverick, hi all... I suppose you already know "the" site for Seabees: seabee.info/seabee.htm (and its gallery with interior photos: seabee.info/seabee_photos_interiors.htm - which of course confirm Derek's saying about the interiors' evolution) Just saying, just in case... Keep up the good work!
12 September 2020, 21:31
Maverick212Thanks Alex. This one will be a bit of a hybrid of several interiors on there.
13 September 2020, 00:13
Gordon SørensenNice work on the interior, Maverick! Looking forward to watching it come together!
19 October 2020, 00:41
Robert PodkońskiYou're a wizard! Good work. I have one in my stash and now I see that it will wait so looong as I become more skillful and patient...or paint the interior of the fuselage black from the outset... Congrats!
18 July 2021, 17:43
Maverick212Thanks Robert. The cockpit was a lot of trial and error, but I accidentally made things more difficult by trying to use cardboard for the interior at first. The exterior was tough because of the finish I chose (metallic aluminum and kit decals), but the fact that the sides also don't line up correctly (panel lines, water line isn't the same on both sides, etc.) didn't help. It could definitely look better, but all in all I'm pleased with how it came out.
18 July 2021, 17:49
Alex KOh! Glad to see this finished! Thumbs up! 👍 👍
(P.S. Between the 1949-tool O-lin/Lindberg/Glencoe 1:48 Seabee and the Mach 2 in 1:72... I don't know which kit is worse... BUT I'm not complaining - I'm still happy that kits exist for such subjects - and they are being built! Once again, congrats!)
18 July 2021, 18:02
Robert PodkońskiYour model looks awesome, Maverick. (And it's good to know its vices beforehand 😉 ). It seems that it is better to find some other livery than use the ancient decals included in this kit... You have done a really good model here, chapeau bas!
18 July 2021, 20:15
Derek HuggettA labour of love and a little cracker of a build - very well done Maverick 👍 😄
19 July 2021, 05:01
