Short Sunderland 1/200

**rockpaperscissor** · #1 09-14-2012, 11:00 AM

I've never built a Micromodels kit before, and decided to take a stab at their model of the Short Sunderland, printed in 1944. This model was paired with a PBY Catalina, and if the Sunderland is successful, I'll probably build the Catalina also.

My plan is to use the cover page as an integral part of the base.

I downloaded both models from the vintage site Il favoloso mondo di carta di Totò

Photos to come.

**Vermin_King** · #2 09-14-2012, 12:35 PM

Are you going to build it straight, modified or majorly modified?

**rockpaperscissor** · #3 09-14-2012, 01:08 PM

Despite the inaccuracy of the coloring and markings, my plan is to build it as the designer intended, VK, especially since I'll be making a base out of the cover page. I might replace the roundels and tail bars, though. They're very blurry, and the color registration is off quite a bit. These hand drawn vintage models rarely fit together as well as modern kits do. I'm just hoping I don't embarrass myself with this one.

**JohnM** · #4 09-14-2012, 02:33 PM

Coincidently, I found and downloaded these today too.
I want to do the Catalina first though.
I also got the Tanks and Brit Road Transport series too.

Toto's blog really is a goldmine ain't it.

I drifted in from another post on the PM forum,
and I've been in there for a couple of hours.

My 'to do' stash is getting so big now that I doubt I'll live
long enough do them all. I'll certainly have to build a barn
to keep them all in.

Johnny.

**treadhead1952** · #5 09-14-2012, 02:47 PM

Go Don Go!

Early hand drawn kits like this can be a bit of chore unlike the latest and greatest of today, but they have a charm all of their own. A lot of the old Maly kits were crude by what we have today but they were and are still workable if you want to put the time in on them.

**romanmodels** · #6 09-14-2012, 03:06 PM

have to look out that site. been some time since i made a micromodel.

**papermate** · #7 09-14-2012, 07:23 PM

Thanks, Don. Didn't realize they had 1/200 models so long ago. Great find and would very much to see your build.

Papermate

**rockpaperscissor** · #8 09-15-2012, 07:06 AM

The Sunderland build is coming along fairly well. The fuselage is halfway between a boat and an airplane, and the designer did a really masterful job of capturing the complex shape with just a few pieces of paper. My only real complaint so far is that the parts are placed every which way on the page, making it hard to get perfect, smoothly rounded surfaces. The starboard wing leading edge, and the dorsal spine of the fuselage suffered as a result. They're not horrible, just not as nice as they could have been. In hindsight, I should have moved all the model parts to a brand new file page, and reoriented them with paper grain for the best possible result.

Johnny M, the Catalina parts are laid out much better, but I would recommend rotating pages 2 and 4 90 degrees when you print. That's what I'm gonna do.

**rockpaperscissor** · #9 09-15-2012, 02:13 PM

Here are a few photos of my progress so far. With this closeup of the tail, you can see that I did pull new roundels and tail bars from the web.

Here's a shot from the front. The starboard wing is already on

An overall shot of the port side. The coloring is far from authentic, but I wanted to build it as designed.

Here's a closeup of the engine nacelles. They fit very well. The outermost has the front cap in place. Per the directions, I used flat toothpicks as float supports. I can't decide if I should use the kit propellers, or clear plastic discs. I'd welcome your thoughts.

More to come.

**Gixergs** · #10 09-15-2012, 03:31 PM

Great build so far I look forward to seeing her finished,always love to see a flying boat build