Thanks Jan, do any of those above kits have decals on the bottom..? Becuase my kit both versions have bottom markings and I wouldnt want to miss that when making my pacific version..
Nope Corey. They only have the Star under the starboard wing (right), that is if you refer to the big yellow code letters on the bottom of the fuselage..
Did some of the cockpit, some more to do but eh. I'm going to build the kit and do the navy blue paint job with the white undersides and most likely purchase the decals towards the end and slap them on.
Could you explain the retractable option piece that goes under the cockpit, I put it in but if I left it out there would just be a gap.. What was its purpose?
That is if you want to build the Cat as it look like in the water... As it is an PBY-5A that you're doing you have a landing gear that comes with it, those up to the PBY-5 had wheels that were attached at their base when they were pulled out of the water...like this one, a PBY-5.
Nice work so far Mag, but don't forget to paint the switch panel etc above the bulkhead hatch. As Jan said, the later Cats were true amphibians, with retracble landing gear, and that's what the parts are for on your kit.
I think I've got a modelling magazine article from donkey's years ago covering the Cat, which has a few pages of (B&W) profiles. When I find it in the great pile of cr*p I call my 'reserve reference location', I'll see if there are any Cat's you could do from your kit, and also see if there's a simple colour scheme needing the minimum of decals. Bear with me for a day or so, and you might need to check with Jan as to any visible detail differences once I find something. I'm afraid the Cat is not my strong point, even though I've been in one!
Well Corey, I found the magazine, from 1983, and there are 23 profiles in there, plus quite a few pics. But, not one of them would fit your kit! There are a couple of PTO birds, but they're earlier versions. Sorry mate!
Later model Cats had retractable gear. Early model Cats had no gear. They were attached externally upon entering drydock. Check out Lucky's excellent pics. There's one there where they have just launched a Cat and the ground crew are pulling the main gear ashore with a winch.