Drawings are scaled and ready to go.
Lou
I love the Seabee,made a few in my time,best of luck Lou.
Barry.
My first Seabee was a 1/144 scale inspired by your two 1/200 scale beauties. Unfortunate for the site, the only photo we have of your mini Seabees is a thumbnail unless you have an original, a part of our history is reduce to this.
(http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/39a.jpeg)
Lou
I think the best way Lou would be to photograph them again once that particular box is opened up,for some reason I do not have a record of these particular models ? they seem to have been lost in an hard drive meltdown,thanks for reminding me of them.
Barry.
Wood has been selected and templates drawn. I will start two, but do not guarantee two completions. Although not visible in the photo, the wing, engine pod and tail feathers blocks are thick enough for two copies of each piece.
Lou
Didn't they use a See Bee in the James Bond movie, The Man with the Golden Gun?
Peter
You are correct. There is a Seabee in the movie.
Lou
There is also the Twin Seabee,a fascinating aircraft.
Barry.
Lou,
Seabee at the Bush Plane Museum, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Photographed this past summer.
Nice photo Mark. Thanks for posting it.
Lou
(http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10005/SEA_BEE_1.JPG)
Here is a beaten up old Sea Bee that I built many years ago,patched it up and flashed some black onto it.
Barry.
Excellent ribbing on the wing. What did you used?
Lou
Strips of paper glued with a dry glue stick,then jap tissue laid on wet and clear dope applied,the gooey mess will dry up and bloom white,however after this further coats of clear dope can be applied and the blooming vanishes,if I did it today then I would use chart tape or very fine tape obtainable on EBay,its tedious but rewarding.
Another way is to trowel on car body filler the slow setting variety without hardener,then take a metal comb and draw across the surface from the leading edge to the trailing edge,pin the wing down and make a stop one side to butt the comb up against,a block of wood can be slotted so the comb fits into it and the comb rides against the side block to keep it straight,another good material for this in lieu of the car filler is artists Golden Products Clear tar which holds its edge beautifully creating the desired corrugations.
Even painted lines can give good simulated corrugations effect on small models,I feel a new Sea Bee coming on Lou !
Barry.
My original Seabee does not have any ribbing.
Lou
(http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/normal_DSCF2106.JPG)
Blocks have been cut out of all major parts except for the wing floats. Shaping should start before weekend's end.
Lou
I see that one of your staff is sleeping on the job flat out on the hangar floor,thats dedication for you he wants to get on with the carving process !
Barry.
He did a double shift. He should have gone to the locker room.
Lou
Wings have been given a rough contour carving and sanding. The main wing/fuselage/engine nacelle have been notched and test fitted together. An attempt to produce the corrugated main wing is proving out to be satisfactory using .020" Evergreen rods. Next is mating the tail feathers to the fuselage and then contour carving of the fuselage.
Lou
Starting the hull area.
Lou
I like the chines,quite an art to carve these and it has to be done carefully.
Barry.
Moving along. The undercarriage is round toothpicks and straight pins. Skis will be attached on one of the Seabees.
Lou
Those wheels really make it Lou,and the ski undercarriage sounds interesting.
Barry.
Barry, just google CF-EVE for views on the model I want to replicate.
Lou
A little different colour scheme of white and blue with some parts olive drab.
Lou
Photo courtesy of Helene Lavigne at https://www.flickr.com/photos/boccet/12759803084/in/photostream/
And a look from the other side. Note entrance door is also olive drab.
Lou
Photo courtesy of Pierre Langlois at https://www.flickr.com/photos/96002349@N00/12442090495/in/photostream/
Lou,
I would guess the olive drab is primer on replacement components.
CF-EVE has carried that colour scheme for at least 3 years. Maybe they were replacement parts from another Seabee?? Interesting regardless.
Lou
Lovely practical scheme Lou,the green looks like Chrome etch primer used by aircraft manufacturers.
Barry.
Some progress on corrugating the flying surfaces. It is slow but hopefully will be worth the effort.
Lou
I finally gave up on placing individual strands of thread and went with one piece wrapped around the entire wing. Looks good from the top, but a bottom view will reveal a slight angle of the corrugation. It take just over 6.75 feet (2.M) of thread to do one side. A small cut in the trailing edge holds the thread at the start of the process. Once wrapped, a liberal application of acrylic paint seals it all in. The leading edge would normally be flat with no corrugation but in this case I am taking poetic license.(Won't be the first time)
Lou
I think the effect is well worth the poetic license. I fell down a flight of stairs and broke my foot a while ago so haven't been able to work on hobby stuff. So I am enjoying watching your builds even more than usual.
Peter
Hubble over to your Hampden and provide us with a photo. The exercise will help you heal faster. Hope you get well soon.
Lou
The poor Hampden is camouflaged in dust at the moment.
Peter
Skis are carved and fitted to the wheels. The wing and tail assembly are glued in place.
Lou
The fuselage bottom extensions have been glued sanded and first coat of paint has been applied to the hull. The wing struts need a bit of work and I have a surplus set of wing floats as CF-EVE does not use them when the skis are fitted. The skis still need a bit of work since having found a close up photo on line.
Lou
Roll out occurred at 1800 hrs local. It now sits with its companion the Piaggio Royal Gull of the same scale.
Lou
With the 1/144 scale collection moved, more space is available for grouping the 1/72 scale models.