Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer (Revell/Matchbox)
Comments
87 7 May 2021, 02:25
Bill GilmanHi mates, I know I haven't finished my current project yet but I thought I would get a head start on my next one. I'll be building the Revell/Matchbox PB4Y-2 Privateer enhanced with the Cobra resin upgrade package. This should turn into a nice stablemate for my PB4Y-1 Liberator that I built several years ago. This one will take a while so you'll need to be patient with me. I think it will be worth it! Cheers, Bill
7 May 2021, 02:37
Hanno KleineckeOne wouldn't want to miss whitnessing this old and ugly kit- duckling being turned into a swan by a real top skilled modelmaker. Let the show begin !
Which livery will it be, Bill ?
7 May 2021, 05:39
Bill GilmanThanks mates. I'm gathering additional research now so it shouldn't be too long before I get started. @Hanno, not sure what livery yet. Lone Star Models (the company that now owns the Cobra resin tooling) announced a new decal sheet of several schemes with pin-up nose art. However, it hasn't been released yet and Lone Star's website is currently shut down as he tries to clear his backlog. So we'll see. Cheers, Bill
7 May 2021, 19:20
Daniel KlinkFollowing for sure...
One of the few USBirds of WW2 that is high on my todo list..
7 May 2021, 20:10
Bill GilmanHi mates, here is my status report. The resin cockpit has been removed from its casting block and sanded down so it fits in the fuselage, and I've started to get together some extra B-24 photoetch that I can use in the cockpit and the engines. I then scratchbuilt a new nose gear structure (don't let its spindly look upset you, it is quite strong. Triangulation is a wonderful thing.) A nice bloke from Oz sent me a decal sheet with markings for Ol' Blunderbuss which is what I'll be using. Then, I went to remove the props and clean them up and found some things I didn't like. The props are some of the worst resin parts I have ever seen, and unusable in my opinion. As I look more closely at the rest of the Cobra resin set, it's a real mixed bag. Some of it is quite nice and some is quite bad. Not worth the money I paid for it. But we shall persevere...enjoy the new photos. Cheers, Bill
6 June 2021, 00:09
Gary KitchenFollowing too. Those Quickboost props are a pleasure to work with, just finished them for my Lib, they come with a useful tool for assembly. Useful for amateurs like me, you'll probably not need it 👍. Love the nose gear. The old Revell kit I have has an entirely retracting set-up and so it's oob for me.
6 June 2021, 06:50
Bernd KorteI always loved the look of the Privateer and will follow this one! Nice progress and effort so far with the nose gear!
6 June 2021, 15:56
Bill GilmanI've posted some photos of the completed flight deck. This should be OK, especially when one considers how difficult it will be to see any of it. LOL. I'm heading to the beach house next week for a quick holiday. Then, on June 25 I need to have my 10th back surgery. You read that right - 10th. I have something called retrolesthesis where adjacent vertebrae are misaligned front to back - in my case by over a centimeter. Needless to say, it hurts. The doc is going to fix that and stabilize my spine by fusing T10 through L2. (L2 through S1 were fused during the previous nine surgeries). So when this is all done with, don't ask me to bend over! Recovery time will be several weeks, so more work on the Privateer will be delayed. Sorry about that. Cheers, Bill
10 June 2021, 14:31
Michael OsadciwOh man, that sucks. Well good luck with the surgery and enjoy the beach.
10 June 2021, 15:35
CuajeteNice painting job and start with these hard resins 👍
Don't worry, Bill... Health comes first. Good luck with your back surgery (I know well what that is) and get well soon!
10 June 2021, 17:34
Patrick HagelsteinAll the best for your upcoming surgery and do enjoy that vacation in the meantime! 👍
11 June 2021, 07:48
Alec KGood luck with the surgery Bill. As if you did not go through enough already…
12 June 2021, 12:29
Bill GilmanI've posted a few more updates with photos. I survived my surgery and now I'm slowly recovering. The surgery lasted for six hours and I have a 35cm incision on my back - ouch! I can be at my workbench now for about 30 minutes at a time, but it's getting better each day. A physiotherapist comes to my house twice a week and that is helping a lot. I can't bend or twist - which means that wifey has to try to find the bits that the carpet monster has eaten. I have one of those grabber things, but if I can't see what I dropped I can't pick it up. The worst thing is when it's the grabber that I drop. Am I old or what? Cheers, Bill
21 July 2021, 19:29
Robert PodkońskiIt is great you are back (on scalemates likewise 🙂 ), Bill. And in a good mood, I presume. Flight deck looks awesome, BTW.
21 July 2021, 19:37
OlivierYes, good to have you back. Your fingers and eyesight seem to be still very good. Thanks for letting us enjoy your work.
21 July 2021, 19:59
Patrick HagelsteinGreat to see you back at it Bill! 👍 Yes, those carpet monsters… Sometimes you have to team up to withstand them, be it your wife orrrr that physiotherapist. Keep getting at it (in the broadest sense) and keep holding on to that grabber! 😄
22 July 2021, 06:19
Hanno KleineckeThe skilled mastercraftsman back at his bench - back to normal in every respect.
Beautiful cockpit and nose undercarriage 👍
22 July 2021, 09:44
Daniel KlinkWhoa fantastic progress and amazing detailwork Bill?
Best wishes for your further recovery mate??
22 July 2021, 10:17
Bill GilmanThanks mates! I think ten spinal surgeries is enough, I'll not be having any more! 🙂
22 July 2021, 14:33
CuajeteBill, I'm glad to know that the surgery has gone well and that you are recovering. Take care.
Good progress! 👍
22 July 2021, 17:32
Bill GilmanHi mates, I'm pretty much back in the saddle after my back surgery and have picked up the pace on the Privateer project. I have to say that it's been a bit of a slog - there are many things wrong with the Matchbox kit, and my copy of the Cobra resin set failed the quality control test. The moulds were not cleaned properly prior to casting many of the resin bits and this requires a lot of cleanup. I've uploaded some more photos to show you where the project stands. I hope I can finish this by the end of the year - ha! Cheers, Bill
21 August 2021, 19:09
Bernhard SchrockA new instruction by Bill "how to make a masterpiece from a bubble gum"🙂 Please a front row seat!
21 August 2021, 19:30
CuajeteVery nice progress Bill.
It's good to see that you are comeback 👍.
Take care 😉
21 August 2021, 19:38
Bill GilmanHi mates, I haven't forgotten this project - some new photos have been added to show the progress of painting and weathering. Still a lot of work to do! Cheers, Bill
27 October 2021, 00:34
Marc Le BayonLove it.
Priv' was ever my loving model.
That's reason I did it in scratch at 1/32...
27 October 2021, 10:07
Bill GilmanThe decals are on - there aren't many of them but at least the nose art looks cool. The "Ol' Blunderbuss" artwork is comprised of three decals: the first is a white silhouette, the second is the red that fills the interior of the letters, and the third is the dwarfs holding the gun. The first two are normal decals, while the third is made by Archer Fine Transfers with some process that allows for more colours than typical silk-screening. It was incredibly thin and I had to be really careful with it. Next I'll do a flat varnish to prepare for some pastel weathering, but sometime I need to paint the engines and exhausts. I should be able to get that done next week. Cheers, Bill
6 November 2021, 23:01
Bill GilmanThanks mates. I'm happy to finally get some paint and decals on to cover up all that putty! 🙂 🙂 🙂
7 November 2021, 18:47
Bill GilmanThanks guys. I found some time today to do some detail painting on the engines, which are cast one piece with the cowlings. There is so much left to do on this model, I don't know where to begin.
8 November 2021, 23:29
Robert PodkońskiKeep calm and carry on, Bill 😉 Your model looks terrific already, and it is a pure pleasure to follow your work here.
9 November 2021, 07:26
Michael KohlI like your way and strategy to overcome all the hurdles this kit presented and presents. Carry on. You are on long final already.
9 November 2021, 07:42
Patrick HagelsteinNormally I would be very reluctant to add three decals on top of each other fearing the stacking might leave edges to blend in. Curious to try one of those extreme thin decals though.
10 November 2021, 18:14
Bill GilmanHi Patrick, luckily in this case all three were pretty thin. For the top decal, the one from Archer Fine Transfers, there was an advisory to use decal solvents only if absolutely necessary. I didn't want to risk it so I didn't use any at all - and I ended up with a wee bit of silvering here and there. You have to look hard to see it, so I'm not too worried about it. The colors in the Archer decal are really nice - I wonder if they were done on an Alps printer or some other 4-color process. The other concern with the Archer decal is that the film covers the entire backing sheet, so you need to cut very closely around the outline of the decal. I had to be real careful doing this, especially since the decal is quite small. Fun times!
10 November 2021, 18:25
Bill GilmanHi mates, the six turrets for the 4x2 are finished - only waiting for the vacuform clear parts. The turrets didn't come out half bad considering how soft the Cobra resin was to start with. Needless to say, these are a HUGE improvement over what came with the Matchbox/Revell kit. The kit provided non-detailed gun "shapes" and that's about it. Since these turrets will all be quite visible due to the vacuform clear bits, it's good that there will be some detail to see. Cheers, Bill
15 December 2021, 20:32
Clifford KeeslerAgree, great looking turrets. This one is going to be a real beauty.
16 December 2021, 21:25
Bill GilmanThanks mates. I'm working on the Plexiglas parts now, and I'm remembering just how much I dislike vacuform parts. They look great when they're finished, but I don't like working with them.
16 December 2021, 22:12
Bill GilmanHappy holidays to everyone!
I've uploaded a few more photos to show the ever-so-slow progress on this beast. I've spent a lot of time on the turrets which are nearing completion. The rear turret posed some problems - the vacuform clear part was stretched so thin when it was made that most of it was only 0.002 inch thick, as measured with my digital caliper. It was so flimsy and easy to tear that I did not want to attempt to paint the framework on. Instead, I somehow managed to glue it onto the resin base of the turret, and then I used several bits of pre-painted 0.005 inch thick styrene strips to build up the framework. What a kluge! But, it's done and that's that.
I also finished the ball turret up front - that was much easier - and the high hat top turrets. The top turrets do not have any framework since the pieces of perspex were glued together, and I simulated the adhesive areas by painting "framework" of clear flat varnish. I think I learned that trick here! The model should be finished soon, as I'm just about done with the ERCO waist turrets. I had to make significant modifications to the trunnion rings in order for the clear blisters to set properly. I'll have some photos of those soon.
Enjoy the rest of your holidays! Cheers, Bill
25 December 2021, 19:59
Ben MHoly cow that rear turret came out well! Nice way to deal with a challenge. Definitely the vac forms are looking better than cast styrene.
25 December 2021, 20:05
Maxim MalparteSo much to learn. Thanks for sharing. BTW, may I ask what kind of glue did you use when applying the styrene strips? (I presume that it was not a Tamiya cement for it tends to melt and fog on clear parts.)
26 December 2021, 15:29
Daniel KlinkLooking great Bill 👍 Like that broken surface look in the Paintjob 👍
The result will be breathtaking mate , keep it up 👍
26 December 2021, 15:50
Bill GilmanThanks mates!
@MaxtheTinwoodman - I used CA glue (superglue). Very sparingly! Since the vacuform parts were dipped in Future/Klear first there was none of the fogging that you sometimes get with superglue on clear parts. So, in the original Wizard of Oz book (which I'm reading to my grandson) the Tin Man's real name is Nick Chopper. I never knew that! He was a human to start with but he was really bad swinging his axe and kept cutting off his arms, legs, etc. These were replaced with tin and eventually he was all tin. It's a really weird book.
26 December 2021, 16:58
Maxim MalparteDidn't know that for sure. Think I got a Pledge buried somewhere to do some experiments with. Hope it can be the 'tinner' curing the rest of my stash. Many thanks, Bill. P.S. That reminds me of myself, being forced, however, to read 'Great Expectations' with my old pal when I was 15 or so lol. I still hate reading but love those good old memories. :-P
26 December 2021, 19:36
Ben MI did not know that future prevents fogging, that's interesting. I wonder what mechanism it is that causes fogging.
26 December 2021, 21:06
Robert Podkoński@ Ben - it is humidity, as far as I know. (CA reacts immediately with humid - try to pour some CA on saliva, for example, and you will get a kind of white soft stuff. And when you pour CA on viscose, it will become hot and start to produce some toxic smoke...)
26 December 2021, 22:19
Alec KGreat progress on those turrets 👍.
Regarding CA fogging: I always run my exhaust vent when I glue with CA. I read somewhere this helps also.
27 December 2021, 21:58
Bill GilmanThe Privateer is very, very close to being finished. Just a few detail items left to go. This hasn't been my favourite build for sure, and my Privateer mojo is just about depleted. But she looks OK I guess, and I should have her done before the ball drops in Times Square. Happy New Year mates! Cheers, Bill
31 December 2021, 14:41
Łukasz GlińskiThen you have few hours more than we do 😉 Fingers crossed and all the best too.
31 December 2021, 14:51
Bill GilmanFinished! Boy am I happy to be done with this one. Not my best work by far, but to keep my ego intact I will blame it on the raw materials. Ha! I guess it looks good enough to put in the display case next to the old Revell PB4Y-1. Photos of the finished monstrosity have been added - enjoy! Cheers, Bill
2 January 2022, 16:45
Bernhard SchrockYou are an artist! A masterpiece modeled from piece of bubble gum 🙂
2 January 2022, 18:00
CuajeteA masterpiece. After seeing this building marvel, I don't see myself capable of making my Privateer some day.
Congrats!
2 January 2022, 18:47
Hanno KleineckeYou really have the gift and skill to make such a piece of hard work look almost effortless - what a beautiful result !
2 January 2022, 19:19
Bill GilmanThanks mates! I wasn't expecting this project to have so many issues, but the Cobra resin set that I got had some casting flaws. The cowlings from Cobra were unusable and I had to source replacements from HPM. Almost all of the Cobra resin parts needed to be modified in some way or replaced (like the props). But, at the end of the day the model was improved and looks much better than if the kit were built out of the box. I hope my next project doesn't give me such grief! 🙂
2 January 2022, 20:23
Roland SachsenhoferBill, i maybe late in saying this, but you have presented an amazing masterpiece, I underline every single praise already mentioned here! Congratulation!
2 January 2022, 20:45
Edward MacKenzieYou did an amazing job on that, mate! Really great made! Congrats for that!
3 January 2022, 05:25
Patrick HagelsteinI can only imagine that! 😄 But would that be as rewarding as to nudge this atrocious kit little by little into the masterpiece you created? 😉
3 January 2022, 15:46
