mlicari Posted March 27, 2008 Share Posted March 27, 2008 Hi All, I'm starting my Privateer tonight. Not exactly opening the box, though. Instead, I'm opening the bag. After many failed attempts to buy one from Jeff Garrity (aka Rare Plane Detective) he took pity on me and sent me this, free of charge, along with the rest of an order last year. What a guy. He photocopied the directions, but there were two missing props, and came with no decals. It's also missing one of 4 pieces that sort of looks like a screen that goes in front of the engine. However, I don't have evidence of those in any pics, so I'm leaving them off anyway. I managed to track down a White Dog Decals sheet, and bought Quickboost replacement props, so I'm good to go! And wouldn't you know it, I scored a good Privateer kit from him from his latest catalog. Now I have two to build! :) Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Grey Ghost 531 Posted March 27, 2008 Share Posted March 27, 2008 Man I'm hoping Revell re-releases that thing! I'm jealous. That's by far the best looking of the Liberator clan. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Julien (UK) Posted March 27, 2008 Share Posted March 27, 2008 That looks great. There are about 4 of these for sale on ebay UK at the moment. Julien Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ChernayaAkula Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 Looking forward to this! the Privateer sure looked great! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
erwin Posted April 2, 2008 Share Posted April 2, 2008 (edited) Man I'm hoping Revell re-releases that thing! I'm jealous. That's by far the best looking of the Liberator clan. Hi, I have a unbuild but "paintstarted" one lying about doing nothing. It's complete,but it will need some paintstripping first. I won't build it as I'm into 32 nd scale and larger. PM me if interested. Just asking postagerefund.Don't worry .It's not that much. Edited April 2, 2008 by erwin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bugfan Posted April 2, 2008 Share Posted April 2, 2008 Hey Mike, Be weary of the upper fuselage seam. The wings put alot of stress on that seam, and it likes to pop. Dont ask me how I know, it hurts. I suggest you reinforce it with some sheet plastic on the inside. That gives you more gluing surface than just the fuselage alone. http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index....t&p=1314863 Hope that helps, any questions feel free to ask!! Jack aka BUGFAN Quote Link to post Share on other sites
erwin Posted April 3, 2008 Share Posted April 3, 2008 (edited) Hi,I have a unbuild but "paintstarted" one lying about doing nothing. It's complete,but it will need some paintstripping first. I won't build it as I'm into 32 nd scale and larger. PM me if interested. Just asking postagerefund.Don't worry .It's not that much. The kit is going to Grey Ghost. Edited April 3, 2008 by erwin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mlicari Posted April 3, 2008 Author Share Posted April 3, 2008 Hey Mike,Be weary of the upper fuselage seam. The wings put alot of stress on that seam, and it likes to pop. Dont ask me how I know, it hurts. I suggest you reinforce it with some sheet plastic on the inside. That gives you more gluing surface than just the fuselage alone. Thanks for the advice, Jack! And nice looking Privateer in the inspiration topic! Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mlicari Posted April 12, 2008 Author Share Posted April 12, 2008 Well, I made some pretty decent progress with the fuselage. And I've started getting the tail parts on too. But then I ran into a HUGE problem. I have two starboard lower wing halves, but no port lower wing half! AAGGH. Of course, since the kit was free, I'm not going to bellyache too much, but this sure has derailed a build that was going well. I've managed to salvage the situation, though, by using a wing half from a Minicraft PB4Y-1. Of course, the overall wing shape is nearly perfect, but it does require some modifications...namely removing the engine nacelles. So I sawed them off, and am replacing the missing nacelles with card stock. It doesn't have to be pretty, as the kit nacelles will cover most of the card stock, but the kit parts do need something there to be glued to! Here's the Minicraft wing being modified. ;) Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
alvin5182 Posted April 12, 2008 Share Posted April 12, 2008 Mike: The "Pain" of my Privateer disaster seems mild compared to yours. This will be one h-ll of a recovery if you pull it off. Looks great so far Alvin5182 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mlicari Posted June 28, 2008 Author Share Posted June 28, 2008 Time to resurrect this! I've spent a TON of time on this project, trying to get the replacement wing half from the Minicraft kit to work. Lots of cosmetic changes were required, even after sawing off the original nacelles. Most of this involved recreating the openings for the landing gear legs. As you can see in the earlier photos, I had to build them from scratch. The "bulge" behind the opening for the wheel also had a different shape than the Matchbox wing half, so I reshaped it with putty. One surprise was that the wing with the Minicraft bottom fit to the fuselage better than the purely Matchbox wing. Here are the results! :huh: Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bugfan Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 WOOOHOOOO the project is resurected!!! You have sure put alot of time into this project!! Any ideas on the markings? KEEP EM COMING! Jack aka BUGFAN Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mlicari Posted June 29, 2008 Author Share Posted June 29, 2008 WOOOHOOOO the project is resurected!!! You have sure put alot of time into this project!! Any ideas on the markings? Hi Jack! I'm leaning toward the "Old Blunderbuss" since I really like those dwarves with the big funny musket. :lol: By the way, I used your tip for securing the fuselage halves. With all the stress of putting the wings on (and sanding the seams all over the kit) I'm really thankful for your advice! :huh: Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ChernayaAkula Posted June 29, 2008 Share Posted June 29, 2008 Nice work so far! If it's going to be anything like your Photo-Cutlass it's gonna be awesome! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mlicari Posted June 29, 2008 Author Share Posted June 29, 2008 Nice work so far! If it's going to be anything like your Photo-Cutlass it's gonna be awesome! Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed my Cutlass from the Recon GB. Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Trojan Thunder Posted June 29, 2008 Share Posted June 29, 2008 (edited) Wooh! This one slipped under the radar. Nice job Mike and glad you sorted out the wing problem. Looking forward to seeing this one done. What scheme are you doing? I have some spare decals if you need them. Edited June 30, 2008 by Trojan Thunder Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mlicari Posted June 30, 2008 Author Share Posted June 30, 2008 (edited) Wooh! This one slipped under the radar.Nice job Mike and glad you sorted out the wing problem. Looking forward to seeing this one done. What scheme are you doing? I have some spare decals if you need them. Thanks for your kind words! I've got decals from White Dog, so I'm set for markings. Thanks for your generosity, though! Mike Edited June 30, 2008 by mlicari Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Aggressor Supporter Posted July 1, 2008 Share Posted July 1, 2008 Keep up the good work Mike. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mlicari Posted August 22, 2008 Author Share Posted August 22, 2008 DONE Ugh, what a project this ended up being!! Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cap'n Wannabe Posted August 22, 2008 Share Posted August 22, 2008 Great stuff, Mike! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jay Chladek Posted August 22, 2008 Share Posted August 22, 2008 A bear to build, but I do like the result!!! I'm tempted to crack into mine now, after seeing the success you had with yours (Minicraft wing graft included). Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ChernayaAkula Posted August 22, 2008 Share Posted August 22, 2008 Wow! That turned out great! :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mlicari Posted August 22, 2008 Author Share Posted August 22, 2008 Thanks guys! Had the wing "issue" not been there, it actually would have been a fairly painless build. The only other problem areas were fitting the cockpit in the nose, and the issue of needing to reinforce the fuselage seam from the inside. Neither of those issues required much additional work though. I used Testors clear parts cement to make the small fuselage windows. Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Julien (UK) Posted August 22, 2008 Share Posted August 22, 2008 You have turned out a good looking kit there. The test of a true modeller is not to give up! Great job Julien Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mlicari Posted August 23, 2008 Author Share Posted August 23, 2008 Thanks Julien! In the end it was all worth it! Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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