Catalina modelmaking site

This site contents a personal report of building a PBY 5A on small size

Build report of a PBY 5A, made by two Dutch modelmakers

How to build a frame?

Well, it’s not as difficult as it looks like. When you’ve made all the partitions at well size, you can shovel them on the laths which you’ve made before. First do this without gluing the whole thing. This is a precisious job. The frame of your Cat has it’s influence on it’s entire look-a-like!

Because you can’t built on the map, you’ve to take the lengths between the different partitions from the map. Before you start, be clear to yourself which line you take on the map, mistaking is very easy in this part! You can take the outer-line or the inside-line of the laths between the partitions, but don’t mix them up. You will make a lot of damage when you do and you may start over again! The best is to take the line on the middle of the laths.

While you are gluing partition to partition on the laths, make sure everything is straight. To be honest: you can’t really know for sure. Do not always trust your eyes, but make sure one or more point(s) is/are straight. Based on that information you must look very sharp, but not too long! When you look to much and too long to different or the same points at the aircraft, you’ll get started to see things which not even exists like curves or something! If you’re not for sure, sleep a night and look again the next morning. When the curve is still there, there is in most of the cases really a curve, when it’s gone away or you have to look very intense to see it, forget all about the curve. You can also let an other person look at your aircraft, but take a person you can rely on his eyes. A simple ‘well done’ is not always sufficient!

To see if the aircraft on his length is straight, make a line in the middle of a straight plate and put the Cat on it. When the line is parallel to the laths of the aircraft (more or less, don’t make to much problems, you can always bow the aircraft into the right shape!)

Your Cat-frame is succeeded, when it’s not, try to bow the thing. When this also works out at nothing, start over! There is nothinh to do about it, in that case be more precisious!

Steven van Essen

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Well, it’s not as difficult as it looks like. When you’ve made all the partitions at well size, you can shovel them on the laths which you’ve made before. First do this without gluing the whole thing. This is a precisious job. The frame of your Cat has it’s influence on it’s entire look-a-like!
Because you can’t built on the map, you’ve to take the lengths between the different partitions from the map. Before you start, be clear to yourself which line you take on the map, mistaking is very easy in this part! You can take the outer-line or the inside-line of the laths between the partitions, but don’t mix them up. You will make a lot of damage when you do and you may start over again! The best is to take the line on the middle of the laths.
While you are gluing partition to partition on the laths, make sure everything is straight. To be honest: you can’t really know for sure. Do not always trust your eyes, but make sure one or more point(s) is/are straight. Based on that information you must look very sharp, but not too long! When you look to much and too long to different or the same points at the aircraft, you’ll get started to see things which not even exists like curves or something! If you’re not for sure, sleep a night and look again the next morning. When the curve is still there, there is in most of the cases really a curve, when it’s gone away or you have to look very intense to see it, forget all about the curve. You can also let an other person look at your aircraft, but take a person you can rely on his eyes. A simple ‘well done’ is not always sufficient!
To see if the aircraft on his length is straight, make a line in the middle of a straight plate and put the Cat on it. When the line is parallel to the laths of the aircraft (more or less, don’t make to much problems, you can always bow the aircraft into the right shape!) Your Cat-frame is succeeded, when it’s not, try to bow the thing. When this also works out at nothing, start over! There is nothinh to do about it, in that case be more precisious!