Matchbox 1/72 PB4Y-2 Privateer

Matchbox / Revell 1/72 scale
PB4Y-2 Privateer

by Bill Gilman

PB4Y-2 Privateer

Description

It's not often that I dread going to the workbench, but it happened on several occasions with this project.

This is the old Matchbox PB4Y-2 Privateer re-boxed by Revell which is in itself not a horrible kit except for its glaring errors. Specifically, the turrets, cowlings and props are a bit on the, er, wrong side.

Being the nut that I am, I decided to go rogue in the aftermarket store and procure the very old Cobra resin correction set off eBay for stupid money. This is where a lot of the problems came from, as these resin parts had their own set of issues. Specifically, the quality of the resin casting on the props and cowlings was so bad (probably due to not cleaning the moulds prior to casting) that replacements had to be procured elsewhere.

The waist turrets had to be significantly modified, and new framework for the waist and tail turrets needed to be made from strip styrene. That said, the resin flight deck was outstanding, especially when combined with some old B-24 photoetch from CMK.

Besides the Cobra parts, I used resin from Quickboost (props), True Details (wheels), HPM (cowlings), and Eduard (machine guns). Lastly, I even found an old vacuform canopy set from Squadron that had been lost in my spares box for decades. Paints used were mostly Mr. Hobby Aqueous, along with metal shades by Alclad. The decal markings for "Ol' Blunderbuss" are from an ancient White Dog sheet, which I was amazed to find on eBay for a reasonable price.

I've included a few in-progress shots that show the fight deck and the new nose gear mechanism made from bits and bobs in the spares box. To give you an idea of the fit problems I encountered, I've included a photo that shows the completed fuselage prior to priming. That red stuff is putty!

Improvements/Corrections

Replaced all turrets with Cobra resin parts and Squadron vacuform clear parts
Window framework on waist and tail turrets made with strips of 0.005 inch thick styrene
Added bulletproof glass to bow and waist turret stations
Replaced all guns with Eduard resin and photoetch
Replaced cockpit with Cobra resin, detailed with CMK photoetch from the spares box
Detailed the bombardier station, never to be seen again
Replaced all fuselage windows with clear styrene
Reshaped the kit's inaccurate vertical tail profile
Replaced kit wheels with True Details resin
Scratchbuilt a new nose gear mechanism and reshaped nose gear openings and doors
Added various antennae and aerials
Replaced kit nacelles, cowlings, and engines with resin from Cobra and HPM
Replaced kit propellers with Quickboost resin

All remaining errors were left in intentionally.

Thumbnail panels:

Enjoy the photos!

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