Short Sunderland - Lost at Sea in 1/72!

[John Leah]

Finally, my last archive - here is my Airfix Short Sunderland saving some strays from the Atlantic. This project was a monster - due to the limited time I had to build the kit and diaroma, the project took me about a year to build. I used all the normal add-ons for the Sunderland and then somehow persuaded myself into purchasing the Pacific Coast 1/48 gigantic Short Sunderland that at the time seemed like a good idea to build straight afterwards, but which to this day, is still sitting on the shelf unmade

[Old_Tonto]

This is a wonderful piece of work and really shows the drama of an air sea rescue. It's a credit to you.

Is it from a South African squadron?

[JamesPerrin]

A lot of lovely work there, though I can't help thinking of all those boxes rattling around in there during a heavy landing. What did you use to make the waves?

[Lyell72planes]

Impressive looking diorama. I like the paint and detailing. Thanks
for posting. Lyell...

[ShaunW]

That is an excellent piece of work and I can see why it took up a lot of your time.

[bobblelink]

wow!

[MerlinJones]

Great base and interior work....but you did it again and hid all that interior!
I know you know it's there and, by the photo's, we now know it's there, but still!

A couple of questions...
What keeps the beam gun hatch open on the starboard side?
Should the port holes be inset, or flush with the fuselage?

I know us modellers can be a little strange at times, so please accept, from me, a nice Hob Nob.

Best Regards,
Bruce

[John Leah]

A lot of lovely work there, though I can't help thinking of all those boxes rattling around in there during a heavy landing. What did you use to make the waves?

Hi - Thanks for your kind words - I used Vallejo Water Effects (lots of it at about £13.00 per tub x 9 off) - it tested a few other silcone water type substraits but found the Vallejo product to be the best as it took a week to set and allowed me time to tinker with my waves!

[John Leah]

Great base and interior work....but you did it again and hid all that interior!
I know you know it's there and, by the photo's, we now know it's there, but still!

A couple of questions...
What keeps the beam gun hatch open on the starboard side?
Should the port holes be inset, or flush with the fuselage?

I know us modellers can be a little strange at times, so please accept, from me, a nice Hob Nob.

Best Regards,
Bruce

Hi - thanks for the kind notes - yes another interior hidden forever but is was rather crude and inacurate as I had no idea of a Sunderlands interior layout when building and only got the chance to walk around RAF Hendon's after the kit was finnished. Your question about the windows and hatch prompts the errors I made as the door is shown opening the wrong way and the gun port lid opening outside instead of in too! And the Airfix moulded windows are too large.

[CementNotGlue]

Great impression of sea. Also exhausts don't tower above the wing.
Anyone wishing to cheat with the spray painting - a spray paint called Hycote VHT silver-grey is not very silver - is slightly lighterl to the grey here.

[Softscience]

That is far beyond cool John! Lovely and lively. I like it a lot. The waves, the maritime weathering, all the business inside. Great work up and down.

[Barry]

Well, that was a year well spent! Love the water and also, nice detailing on the interior face of the bow door. Great job overall!

[fenman]

Very nicely done and impressive diorama. One day I will have the imagination and skill to try something like this. Trouble is, I will be so old, I will forget to do it

[Mary64]

Very beautiful, Bravo

Mary

[broadside]

Excellent diorama! Well done!