1:72 Minicraft Lockheed Ventura PV-1 Gunship

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pmmaker
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1:72 Minicraft Lockheed Ventura PV-1 Gunship

Post by pmmaker »

Well, it's time to share my first build thread. If this model has been featured before on the forum, I sincerely apologize for repetition.

I purchased this kit about two years ago and never quite got around to building it. In fact, I even tried to sell it off on ebay. I had a few lookers, but no one was willing to buy it. Finally, since I had some time off from work this summer, I decided to pull it out of the "stash" bin and give it a go. Turned out to be a fun and rewarding build.

This is an excellent kit put out by Minicraft. The kit has 42 parts and comes with four parts sprues that are lettered and numbered. All the parts are crisply molded and go together rather nicely. The only putty work I needed to do was on the fuselage join line just to eliminate the join. There was no flash and everything went together easily.

The instructions were vintage Hasegawa with diagrams and small notes. The Microscale decals were a problem as once they were immersed in water, they just disintegrated - bummer as the octopus scheme would have been really fun! I wish I had known this beforehand so I could have over sprayed them with clear spray. Luckily, I had many suitable decals in the spares box that I could use to correctly represent a Navy PV-1.

The model was spray painted using rattle cans featuring white, a light aqua blue, and flat sea blue and oversprayed with a flat acrylic enamel. All rigging was done using EZ-Line.

Overall, I had fun building this very unusual aircraft. It looks great on my Pacific Theater shelf and I highly recommend it.

pmmaker

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Re: 1:72 Minicraft Lockheed Ventura PV-1 Gunship

Post by JohnRatzenberger »

Don't apologize for building the same kit someone else might have -- it's how we all learn, by seeing different approaches to similar problems.

Looks nice, rattle-can can be very unforgiving and that finish looks good. The only thing I see is the left & right fuselage side masking isn't symmetrical. Tape is cheap, keep masking, removing, replacing until you get both sides equal -- look from top and front to see both sides at once.
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Re: 1:72 Minicraft Lockheed Ventura PV-1 Gunship

Post by DavidWomby »

Nice job. Don't see many Venturas built.

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Re: 1:72 Minicraft Lockheed Ventura PV-1 Gunship

Post by pmmaker »

jRatz wrote:Don't apologize for building the same kit someone else might have -- it's how we all learn, by seeing different approaches to similar problems.

Looks nice, rattle-can can be very unforgiving and that finish looks good. The only thing I see is the left & right fuselage side masking isn't symmetrical. Tape is cheap, keep masking, removing, replacing until you get both sides equal -- look from top and front to see both sides at once.
Thank you John. Yes, the line is off a bit. The plane I wanted to represent had a curved masking line, but the tape I used wasn't flexible enough. This was my first ever rattle can build, and since then, I've learned a thing or two. I now use Testors Modeling Tape as it comes in different widths, is very plyable, and allows for curved lines and better control during contour masking.

Thank you for the advice - much appreciated.

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Re: 1:72 Minicraft Lockheed Ventura PV-1 Gunship

Post by iggie »

Looks a nice build and I agree that we don't see many Venturas on here

Re curved masking tape, have you tried Tamiya white tape? It will handle gentle curves (i.e. wavy lines) with ease. Otherwise I use wide tape and cut an appropriate wavy line in that before applying the tape to the model. If you're lucky, the other half of the tape can be used on the other side :-D
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Re: 1:72 Minicraft Lockheed Ventura PV-1 Gunship

Post by Gregers »

That looks superb. Certainly one to be proud of. Well done.

All the best.

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Re: 1:72 Minicraft Lockheed Ventura PV-1 Gunship

Post by pmmaker »

iggie wrote:Looks a nice build and I agree that we don't see many Venturas on here

Re curved masking tape, have you tried Tamiya white tape? It will handle gentle curves (i.e. wavy lines) with ease. Otherwise I use wide tape and cut an appropriate wavy line in that before applying the tape to the model. If you're lucky, the other half of the tape can be used on the other side :-D
Thanks iggie. That suggestion to cut the tape is one I've picked not long after I built this one. I cut the tape for camouflage demarcation lines between top and under surface colors. It works pretty well.

I haven't tried Tamiya's tape as the Testors tape that is more readily available to me pretty much does the same thing.

I appreciate all the comments guys. It is always great to learn new things. I'll post more of my builds as time goes on.

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Re: 1:72 Minicraft Lockheed Ventura PV-1 Gunship

Post by Migrant »

I like that, pmm. I had the same issues with an older Microscale sheet (in the Williams Bros Northrop Gamma kit) that just shattered on impact with water – glad you were able to find suitable replacements.
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Re: 1:72 Minicraft Lockheed Ventura PV-1 Gunship

Post by ShaunW »

That's not a bad effort at all PMM. As a long time airbrush user, I have years of masking experience and I still hate the job - IMHO it is by far and away the worst part of using an airbrush or rattle can. Tamiya tape is still my first choice, although it is a little pricey and not 100% perfect (I doubt any tape is) but on the whole I find that it is effective at preventing the bleed through of paint on most occasions and leaves a nice crisp line - although I'm sure there are other members on here that would not agree with that assessment. We all have our preferences.

There is no issue on here with building kits that have already been done - I think you'll find that we're always happy to see member's efforts even if it is a kit that has been built numerous times on the forum. A belated welcome aboard :grin:
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Re: 1:72 Minicraft Lockheed Ventura PV-1 Gunship

Post by Zee28 »

That's an Ace Ventura pmmaker. (Sorry, couldn't resist)

Nicely done mate. Interesting scheme too.

And Shaun, I agree, masking is a right pain!

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Re: 1:72 Minicraft Lockheed Ventura PV-1 Gunship

Post by pmmaker »

Thanks guys! I promise - they do get better! This was the first build I ever did using cans. I have a small, single action "cheapie" airbrush I use very sparingly - because the only thing in the world I find more tedious than masking is cleaning a @#$& airbrush!

I'm going through my threads on my other forum and also my pictures on my laptop to find another model to share. I don't want to be a pain and start flooding lots of threads on here. I've built over 30 kits since I got back into recreational building in 2012 so I'll be "doling" them out slowly.

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Re: 1:72 Minicraft Lockheed Ventura PV-1 Gunship

Post by Zee28 »

pmmaker wrote:I'm going through my threads on my other forum and also my pictures on my laptop to find another model to share. I don't want to be a pain and start flooding lots of threads on here. I've built over 30 kits since I got back into recreational building in 2012 so I'll be "doling" them out slowly.
Go ahead and put as many up as you want, and as often as you want my friend, there's no restrictions here!

We have some very prolific builders on here who churn out models with very impressive frequency, there's no limitations on this friendly forum.

Go for it! We wanna see 'em.

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Re: 1:72 Minicraft Lockheed Ventura PV-1 Gunship

Post by Old_Tonto »

That is a lovely build PMM. Really nice paintwork and I have to say the Ventura is a great looking aircraft.
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Re: 1:72 Minicraft Lockheed Ventura PV-1 Gunship

Post by Softscience »

I like it!

I've seen the kit here and there but never considered getting one until now. Exterior looks nice. Is there any wheel well or interior detail?
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Re: 1:72 Minicraft Lockheed Ventura PV-1 Gunship

Post by Softscience »

Zee28 wrote:That's an Ace Ventura pmmaker. (Sorry, couldn't resist)

There's always got to be a wise guy :roll: ;-)
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