Paul's Antipodean Norseman **FINISHED**

[PaulBradley]

Ted was a long-distance lorry driver, so I think he'd have appreciated my two builds - both are 'air trucks'. First up, the classic Noorduyn Norseman:




I'll be doing this basically OOB with Australian markings. The RAAF used about 20 or so Norsemen towards the end of WWII in the utility role.

Sprue shots and more details as the start of the GB approaches.

[Stuart]

Another nice choice. Are you going to add the floats?

I didn't know Ted was a long-distance truck driver, So was my dad - its a cool job.

[PaulBradley]

The RAAF didn't use floats, AFAIK - though if someone has a pic......

BTW, I got the kit out last night to take a look at the parts and realized that the instruction sheet is missing.....

[Murfv]

BTW, I got the kit out last night to take a look at the parts and realized that the instruction sheet is missing.....

If its any help, the Revell Norseman instructions can be found here ->http://manuals.hobbico.com/rvl/80-4291.pdf
HTH

[PaulBradley]

Brilliant! Just what I needed - thanks for that, Murf!

[PaulBradley]

Did a little more research. Turns out the RAAF had 14 airframes, all delivered in late 1943. They went to various communications squadrons. There's very little online about these aircraft- they were only used for about 2 years, and they appear to have been rather camera-shy. I found this great photo in Phil Butler's terrific Air Arsenal North America (Midland Counties Publications).




From other photos, I'd assumed that these carried their basic USAAF Olive Drab over Neutral Gray camo, but this one seems to indicate that there's a topside camo pattern. I've been unable to find out any more online. Does anyone have any further information, from books or magazines, about camo and markings on RAAF Norsemen?

[DHDrover]

Very photo shy indeed.
The RAAF operated 14 in the serial range A73-1 to A73-14.
A73-2 crashed into the sea off Bondi in 1970 while dropping skydivers .
The engine caught fire and the display was disrupted. It has been said that the pilot was first out

Two more photos found on Google (RAAF Norseman image).

Dai

[airjim]

Paul,

RAAF? I'm so disappointed.

Jim

[PaulBradley]

Cheers, Dai.

Sorry, Jim, but I wanted to do something different - everyone does either Glenn Millar's, or an RCAF.......

[airjim]

Paul,

I was going to suggest that since these were UC-64s from the US they would be OD/NG with the US markings overpainted in a RAAF green. However, looking at a larger version of your photo here:

http://www.airpages.ru/ot/raaf_167.jpg

It does look awfully patchy. Maybe the RAAF were just messy with the green?

Sorry, I can't be of more help.

Jim

[PaulBradley]

Thanks, Jim. I was also coming to the same conclusion, but I also thought that the RAAF green - Foliage Green - would be darker than the existing OD, whereas the areas where the overpainting would be are lighter in tone. And this photo shows a much larger area of overpainting than I'd expect. Other photos show no obvious sign of overpainting at all. The mystery deepens...

[PaulBradley]

Sprue shots:









Ugh, those pics are pretty cruddy - sorry.

Plastic colours are a bit more restrained than the Dornier! They're also more in keeping with the boxart option. The detail is pretty good on this one; I'll be de-emphasizing the 'fabric' detail on the wings, but otherwise I'll keep this one quite simple, as not much needs to be added, frankly. As these were utility transports, I think I'll add the seats to the cabin. Wheeled u/c, of course. Decals will be from the spares box - I think I have the appropriate roundels and materials for the serials.

[PaulBradley]

I'm sorry - I forgot to take photos of me washing my parts. However, you can be assured that they are now free from grease.

First things first - I need to eliminate the highly exaggerated fabric sag effect on the wings. This was started by skimming a layer of Perfect Plastic Putty over all the four wing surfaces, then sanding back down to the ribs. Here, I've sanded back one of each upper and lower to show you what I mean:



Next up will be a coat of primer to see where I need to re-do the filler.

[DHDrover]

If the aircraft were used in the tropics then I would expect a scrappy finish.

Dai

[PaulBradley]

That's what I'll be going for, Dai - a mix of faded ODs and some appropriate weathering.