Coastal Command Neptune (Revell 1/72nd)

[bluesteel]

I'm going to start using the CC SIG section as intended to detail CC Builds, so I'm copying my Neptune build here from my Workbench:

After the Botha, another Coastal Command aircraft hits my work bench in the shape of the Revell boxing of the Frog Lockheed P2V-7 Neptune. I'm going to be completing it with an RAF Coastal Command Scheme as the aircraft was used briefly until Shackletons were available. 52 of them were originally delivered to the RAF as the P2V-5 configuration (the RAF MR 1) with tail gun and large tip tanks. But many were upgraded with the MAD boom to 'pseudo P2V-7' status. I say pseudo as they retained the original larger tip tanks, which is going to be my only real issue, apart from decals, to completing as an RAF aircraft. Although the RAF version had a flatter cockpit canopy. But I'll build it with the one in the box until I can get my hands on the Falcon Conversions P2V-5 canopy, that's currently out of stock at Hannants.





I'm using the Neptune Warpaint Series a a reference for the colour scheme and markings. Not sure which one I'll do yet, I quite like the grey scheme with blue tail. I just need to check it was a Coastal Command Neptune. Most were, but a few were transferred to Fighter Command as AEW planes.:

[bluesteel]

Looks like 203 Sqn was Coastal Command at Topcliffe, so the grey is a go. But I've also found I'll need to move the under-slung radome back by about 1 cm on the model to be correct. It also has small blister windows rather than square ones at the rear. This is going to need more hacking than I originally thought.

[bluesteel]

The 1/72nd plans in the Warpaint book illustrate quite well where I need to move the radome to, and the larger wing tanks beep up above the profile level. Some hacking involved.

[bluesteel]

I'm quite surprised how large the Neptune is. Shown here against the Shackleton, with the MAD boom it's as long if not slightly longer than the Shack:

[bluesteel]

Work on the delicate task of moving the radome back tonight.

Starting by marking out the areas to cut using Tamiya tape. The top fuselage half has the vertical cuts already made with the razor saw:




Radome moved back and the piece cut out from behind the radome moved to the front. This has to be modified a little as the curvature is slightly different, and a small plastic card shim added to make up for the plastic lost to 3 razor saw cuts:




I had a slight accident with the port side front fuselage where a run away from the front razor saw made the nose crack and break off when I was fitting the plastic card shim. Annoying, but fixed with super glue and a plastic card strengthener inside and out of sight:




Not too bad on the underside, it'll all push together with a minimal seam. Just a little filing and filling work to the rear of the nose gear doors:




Whew! Measured against the 1/72nd scale planes, the radome is now in the correct position, which was the whole point of the exercise:

[bluesteel]

Started painting the Neptune interior tonight. I couldn't find any references for the interior colours of an RAF Neptune cockpit. The Shackletons that came after were mainly black interiors, but as the Neptunes were rather a rushed stop gap acquisition from the USA so in the absence of any evidence otherwise I'm making the assumption that they kept the colours of the US version of the Neptune. So it's a Grey/Mouse Grey blend as per the instructions:

[bluesteel]

Had to take the cockpit parts apart again and re-assemble the bulkheads in slightly different positions, as when I dry fitted with pilots in place, their heads poked just a little above the fuselage line, which is fine for the bubble top canopy but, if I'm fitting an RAF style flat one their heads would get in the way. So I've had to drop the floor by a few mm to take their heads just below the level of the fuselage deck. Luckily I'd used normal Poly cement on them and not super glue, so the came apart relatively easily.

[bluesteel]

A little more work on the Neptune tonight. Instruments and crew painted, also the seats. I'm leaving them in orange as instructed, even though I'm not so sure the RAF would have left them in the US and Netherlands colour, a bit too garish. I've put a few old coins in the radome to weight the nose down, filled in the space around them with Blutak and glued plastic strip over the top to hold them in. I may still put some more weight under the cockpit too, as it looks very much a tail sitter without a lot of weight:





I have to make the 'shopping trolley' for the observer next.

[bluesteel]

The fuselage is together at last, a lot of fiddling to get it to fit OK, some seamwork, mostly underneath to contend with. I'm upgrading the observers 'shopping trolley' with thin copper rod to look something more like the real thing as the plastic part supplied is a little weedy. I've also found a couple of small transparent plastic bubbles for rear observation blisters. Then installed: the rather basic gun holder for the turret. I was going to cut or etch a door in the rear cockpit bulkhead, I assume there must be one there, but I haven't found any photos - but I forgot anyway...

[Robin]

Hi Blue.

Interesting conversion. Not sure if you were aware, SAM Vol 3, No 1 (Oct 1980) had a 4 page article by Peter Lockhart on converting the Hasegawa P2V7 into an RAF Neptune, may have been of use to you, however, you seem to be doing a great job as it is. Also, SAM Vol 6, No 3 (Dec 1983) the 'Aircraft in Detail' section was on the P2V Neptune.

Robin.

[AndrewR]

Nice bit of surgery there.

My favorite Lethbridge-Stewart quotation is "Just once I'd like to meet an alien menace which wasn't immune to bullets!"

[bluesteel]

Flying surfaces all together and attached. At first sight the up and under 3 spar on ech wing idea looked good, but in practice it's trouble as it doesn't allow enough wiggle room if things seem out of shape. So I've ended up using a lot of tape to try to pull the correct dihedral into place. I just have to hope it sets correctly overnight. At least I know there's enough weight in the nose now:

[bluesteel]

While I'm waiting for the wings to set I've been playing with colour mixes to achieve an appropriate shade for the RAF Neptunes Sea Blue Gloss. No one blue straight from the pot seems correct (the 3 bands on the Port P40 wing) so it'll have to be a mix. Revells suggestion for the Dutch scheme Neptune that comes in the box is a similar blue at 10% 250 Lufthansa Blue + 10% 374 grey and 80% 378 Dark Grey. But that didn't seem blue enough (inner band on Starboard wing). But 50% Lufthansa blue and 50% Dark Grey is better. I might tweak the percentage toward the blue, but it's getting close to match the colour in the profiles:

[bluesteel]

Hi Blue.

Interesting conversion. Not sure if you were aware, SAM Vol 3, No 1 (Oct 1980) had a 4 page article by Peter Lockhart on converting the Hasegawa P2V7 into an RAF Neptune, may have been of use to you, however, you seem to be doing a great job as it is. Also, SAM Vol 6, No 3 (Dec 1983) the 'Aircraft in Detail' section was on the P2V Neptune.

Robin.

Hi Robin, yes I am aware of those articles, but don't have those magazines in my collection and so far that issue hasn't come up on eBay for sale, so I'm having to wing it. Hopefully what I learn from this one will help me do a second one with a full conversion to the M.A.D less turreted MR1 Neptune, hopefully with the assistance or parts from the Falcon Conversion set. You don't happen to know how the larger wing tip tanks were tackled in the article by any chance?

[bluesteel]

Very fast work.

It'll slow right down when I get to the painting