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1/87 scale P2V-7 Neptune
I have a friend who is a Navy veteran who served as a radio operator with VP-17. For his birthday, I am building a model of the P2V-17 Neptune that he flew on. Actually, he flew on more than one aircraft but I chose to model Bureau Number 148353 because I had two photos that I could use as references. I started the design work in April and finally completed the fuselage and wing patterns a couple of days ago. I will complete the engine and landing gear patterns on the fly as I am running late. His birthday is any day now. Henry Yuen
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#2
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Are you scratch building this,designing it yourself or is it a recolor of existing kit?
A bit of background is always useful. |
#3
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Good luck with this worthy project Henry.
__________________
''Oh, stop whining! Can't you just print off another one?''- my wife ca 2018 |
#4
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Good questions. When I first offered to build a model for my friend, I thought I could find one on the internet. There were 2 for sale but none for free so I decided to design my own. Step 1 was to find any and all drawing of the P2V-7 on the internet as well as research how a -7 is different from all of the other version. Step 2: searched for other paper models to see how other designers solved problem areas like (a) the observation nose, (b) the tip of the MAD boom, (c) the fairing between the engine and the wings, (d) the fairing between the wing and the fuselage, (e) the wide cockpit, (f) the transition area between the fuselage and the MAD boom. I decided on the following: (a) petals, (b) the same method (I don’t know the proper name) that I used on for the LH2 feed line fairing on Skylab, (c & e) I tried, gave up and copied the design that one of the other modelers used, (d) looks like a simple butt joint like on a Boeing 717, (f) make the second to last conic section a transition piece. The tail boom is like a step up from the fuselage that the other modelers ignored. Step 3: I designed the cylindrical (e.g. fuselage), and spherical (e.g radome) parts in Sketchup. The fuselage nose, tail, and engine cowling are basically a stack of truncated cones, also drawn in Sketchup. On the other hand, It is easier for me to drawn the flat parts (e.g. wings) in Adobe Illustrator. Step 4: The cylinders, cones, and spheres were unfolded into flat parts which were then exported to a .svg file. My version of Adobe Illustrator cannot read .svg files, so I used Inkscape to read the .svg files and export them to a .pdf file which Adobe illustrator can read. Step 5: Paint the parts in Adobe Illustrator. I can provide more step by step details on how the radome was designed in Sketchup if you wish. Henry
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#5
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. So that is why I haven't been able to get much past designing a 1/4 scale birdhouse - with a flat roof.
Looking forward to watching your build. I have been hoping for a P2V-7 at a larger scale to put into RCAF schemes. John |
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#6
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Ooo,so this ground-up new design.Very good work so far.
Looking forward to next steps. |
#7
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Looks like you're making a good job of this so far Henry. You say you couldn't find any free models on the web to start from ... this may or may not be of any help to you, but Bruno (Scissorsandplanes) has put out a free 1:300 Lockheed P2V7 Neptune, and there are Argentine, Brazil, and Netherland repaints of it around too.
I suspect 1:300 scale may be a bit small for your requirements, but Bruno's excellent designs may well guide you toward achieving the required shapes.
__________________
Keep on snippin' ... Johnny |
#8
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As a matter of fact, I upscaled Bruno´s Neptune Argentina Camo version to 1/100 as a request by one friend and it was with no problem. Tony. Very well hjlyuen. Waiting for your next post. Regards, Tony.
P.S. This thread reminds me of constructing Cafe´s recolor in Aeronavale colours and complete the Canadian and Portugese schemes.!!!!! |
#9
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Thank you for telling me about Bruno’s 1: 300 scale model. I'll look for it. The two models that I am aware of are: (a) 1:33 in Netherlands Royal Navy markings (Kon Marine), see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkKfbcngVvk and www.super-hobby.com where it is out of stock and (b) 1:50 scale in US Navy livery, see cfm Verlag P2V-7 Neptune scale 1/50 | Aircraft of World War II - WW2Aircraft.net Forums. I don’t where the 1:50 scale model is being sold. I don't know who the designer is for either models.
Any, the fuselage is almost done to where I can start on the wings, horizontal stabilizer and tail. If you look carefully at the photos, you can see where I had to rework the fuselage because as I reprint replacement parts, I slowly run out of ink and the grays do not match from one end of the fuselage to the other. I’ll post the patterns, including an unpainted version plus instructions when I am done. If anyone needs help resizing to a larger scale let me know. |
#10
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The grey differences look more like a trick of the light. Hardly noticeable. Model looks great otherwise.
__________________
''Oh, stop whining! Can't you just print off another one?''- my wife ca 2018 |
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