Hi,
I’m in the process of converting my 1/48 Monogram B-17 into a Navy PB-1W.
The biggest roadblock that I have encoutered is the APS-20 radar.
There are no resin kits on the market so my plan is to scratch build.
Does anyone have a list of supplies needed to do this?
Thanks.
Also here’s a photo of the radar.
That’s a cool project! Unfortunately, your photo didn’t come through. If it’s supposed to be a link back to the image, it fails with error 404 (file/directory not found)
As far as supplies are concerned, if you plan on scratching the radome, I would use styrene card and 2-part epoxy putty. Cut the card in the shape of the profile, and glue the pieces together. Then apply the putty over the card framework, and sand to shape.
I’m sure others will have better ideas. But that’s how I’d do a shape like the radome
Best regards,
Brad
There are 1/48 conversion kits available from Paragon and Resin2detail.
https://www.scalemates.com/kits/resin2detail-ac48141-pb-1w-an-aps-20-sub-hunter-radar--1122683
https://www.scalemates.com/kits/paragon-designs-4848-pb-1w-conversion-b-17g--618798
Lone Star Models also had a conversion available, but I haven’t seen a lot of Lone Star kits on the market in recent years.
Thanks. I had looked at them before and they all seem to be out of production.
The other comment links to a scaled example. As you can see the shape is pretty complex but I’ll give it a shot. Would I need to shape the styrene?
Hello!
There are several other possibilities here… One ould be to try to carve a master and then vacuform off of it… But many modelers like our Don Stauffer say why bother - they propose just making a clean carving out of good wood, priming, painting and using the wooden part in the model.
Of course this is XXIst century, so using some modern technology like a CNC router or a 3D printer also is a viable option - if not for the final product, then for a half product or a jig.
Hope this helps - good luck with your build and have a nice day
Paweł
Might try the bread and butter, gluing layers of styrene sheet to get the thickness needed. Carve to rough shape with a Dremel or files, then sand to final shape. Going to be a process without a sample to go by.
I would recommend carving it from basswood. It has a very fine grain so it is easy to prime and fill with a sandable primer- I use Rustoleum. It is also easy to carve. Both Micheals and Hobby Lobby carry basswood.
As an alternative, the oven hardening clay or epoxy putty are okay, but I prefer the wood. Sanding with a medium grit makes small correction in shape easy with wood. Hardened clay or cured epoxy are not sandpaper friendly.
There are a couple of decent three-view drawings online which will be helpful.
Bill
Thanks. And for basswood would you just recommend a thin sheet?
Don beat me to the basswood recommendation…but in the past I’ve even used solid balsa or laminated balsa sheet, saturated with CA and then covered with putty for a final coat to sand smooth. Worked a treat.
(Oddly enough it was for the same radar, though on a different a/c, the early-warning version of the Navy’s wide-body Skyraider.)
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Do remember what size of balsa/baswoo you used?
Also what glue did you use to attach it to the aircraft?
Many thanks.
In my case, the laminated balsa was scrap 1/8-inch sheet left over from whatever Guillow kit I had most recently built. Attached to the model with acrylic adhesive…essentially bathtub caulk, simply because it was what I had handy. Easy to ‘fiddle’ the piece into proper position, and it wasn’t going anywhere once it set up.
That is why I do not use balsa. With basswood one or two coats of a good primer and it is ready to paint. I have used Alclad over wood parts, and my friends could not pick the wood part from the plastic ones.
Heres a thought- the 1/48 ESCI/AMT AD-4W kit has that radar bulge. Get ahold of that kit, use the kit part as a master to mold one in resin for your PB. Or just pirate the radome off of the kit and build the AD as a different version.
I believe the B-17 version of the radome was a substantially different shape than that fitted to the Skyraiders.
It’s the same APS-20 radar, so the basic radome dimensions should be the same. They are built around the common APS-20 rotating radar antenna array. The main differences will be the contours of the attachment area to fit it to the different airframes.
Thank! That’s a great idea.
I see it was rereleased as an Italeri rebox a few years ago.
I’m traveling soon so I’ll have to see if any of the hobby shops have it.