PBY-5A Catalina

pplace

pplace

Well-known member
In between working on the Il-2 Sturmovik for opjose...I decided to start on a more detailed PBY-5A. The included on in G4 just doesn't do it for me (I know it was modeled after a RL model) but I'd prefer to have one with working gear, retractable wing floats etc.

Just started on this last night....here's what I've got so far.

Edit: By more detailed I'm referring to the gear and the floats just to clarify. Because the actual G4 model is really nice...has a nice cockpit and interior in it. Just a few additional things to my PBY should interest some that like the option of gear or water.
 

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josh0987 said:
Looking great!! Keep it up :D I'm loving the retractable landing gear feature.
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Everybody knows the folding floats
are way cooler. :p

I'm lovin the plane!!!!! Its beautiful!!!!
 
Stuck home today on doctors orders so I figured I'd put some spare time to good use.

Here's and update on the Cat
 

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Nice work (You might have overdone it a bit on the framework for the small turret on the front) Here are some pics I took of a 6A (with no turret!) if it helps ...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/telms/sets/72157600088912862/

I'm interested to see if you can get the main gear to retract properly (note the small split panel above the wheel, this forms part of the fuselage when the wheel is retracted) The long support coming down actual splits as the main wheel retracts. The wing floats should be simple if you don't model the supporting struts.
 
nemo_uk said:
Nice work (You might have overdone it a bit on the framework for the small turret on the front) Here are some pics I took of a 6A (with no turret!) if it helps ...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/telms/sets/72157600088912862/

I'm interested to see if you can get the main gear to retract properly (note the small split panel above the wheel, this forms part of the fuselage when the wheel is retracted) The long support coming down actual splits as the main wheel retracts. The wing floats should be simple if you don't model the supporting struts.
Click to expand...

Nemo you've got a good eye. I honestly forgot to mention in the first post that the nose turret is a temporary item. I just sized and tapered a cylinder so I could "carve out" and shape the recessed portion in front of the canopy.

Then when I went to render it (to post a picture here) the big blob of a cylinder looked really silly.....so I just selected all the faces and "inset" them and applied a "hole" material.

So yes eventually I will delete the "mock" turret with a more accurate one. Thanks for bringing that up though.

Thanks for the info and the details on the gear....it will be tricky to make it nice. But I think with enough time (which I take plenty of!haha) It should be possible. I might have to spare some other details on the aircraft in order to model a nice set of gear.

Edit: Thanks for the link to the great detail pics nemo.

It is interesting to see the aircraft without the nose turret.

Would the interest be there for me to leave mine out? And model it like the ones in the photos? it would save a pile of polys to put somewhere else?

I'll let the forum members decide on this one.
 
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As a current G3.5 user I would be interested in a version with more detailed gear just to be able to fly it (no turret vote). I love the work you do and love every plane of yours I fly. I would even be willing to do the Physics for G3 if you would like.
 
Okay Voting starts:

No Nose Turret (2) after seeing the pics I'm leaning this way possibly.

With Nose Turret (2)

I'll update here if there are any more opinions / votes.
 
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josh0987 said:
If the real one has a turret, then model the turret, if it doesn't then leave it out. :D
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josh0987: I think you missed the post by nemo. He attached a link of a PBY for me to look at. This certain PBY does not have the nose turret.

Below is a pic of that aircraft (no turret) and also a model of one with a turret.
 

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No turret

I vote no turret, it has a cleaner look to it. It's a plus so I can do the scheme of the one at my local air museum(Palm Springs)
 

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vonfife911 said:
I vote no turret, it has a cleaner look to it. It's a plus so I can do the scheme of the one at my local air museum(Palm Springs)
Click to expand...

Now that one doesn't have a bomb window either! Anything will be fine with me.....I kinda like this that vonfife just posted (plust it will save me more polys again)
 
pplace said:
Okay Voting starts:
Click to expand...

No Nose Turret, With Nose Turret, or The advanced option

By that I mean, give them both. Model the turret as part of an engine to show selection.
 
Been working off and on (can't strain my eyes to much looking at the computer screen.....some of you know my situation at the moment)

But I've been able to tinker away and add more to the PBY. I've got the side blisters extruded and shaped...now I'm doing the very tedious task of creating the framing for them....tough on a tear drop shape to keep them all flowing nicely. I'm about half done with them at the moment.

Here's an updated pic.
 

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Under the engine properties there is a selection called "engine to show" (it's right under the component frame, i.e. ~CS_ENGINE1) and it is used to select which engine to display. You can have up to three engines that I know of: ~CS_2STROKE, ~CS_4STROKE, and ~CS_ELECTRIC. Only one is displayed at a time, but all three can be in the model. Many of the stock planes have more than one engine modeled, but I can't tell you off the top of my head which ones. Look at my Skybolt for an example, it has three modeled.

The neat trick is that anything you name with one of the reserved names above can be made to be selectable.
 
That's kinda what I thought you were talking about but.......

How would you change the nose section (from the cockpit forward) would you actually have the whole "chunk" named as one of the engines?

Have one "chunk" modeled with a nose turret

the other "chunk" made smooth with no turret

this way it would just install a new nose correct?

Nice idea possibly
 
You just have to leave most of the nose as part of your fuselage, so that it doesn't screw up your physics. Then just swap out the area that differs.
 
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