Just a little "side-project" I'm working on: converting the 400-ish scale PB2M Mariner, which comes with the Revell Pine Island/Currituck mold:


Into a PB5M Marlin - and don't she look just like a dog wearing sunglasses! The nose of the Mariner, viewed from any angle, IMHO, always looked like some sort or other of cartoon character - and particularly a smug, smiling dog from the front.

Seriously though, this conversion idea is a pushing-the-envelope technical challenge for me, as the above is a form-fitting, hollow master (purple), plugging straight onto the unmodified Mariner fuselage (silver).


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FULL RES
Fabrication is accomplished by embedding key forms in my recently-discovered favorite - superglue "putty" - built up over a separation barrier ("resist") which I discovered/engineered, having such incredible potential that I am (at least, for now) keeping its identity proprietary. Thus, the ability to create this extremely deeply-hollow nose "prosthesis", as well as (a much simpler) one extending the hull aft, for the Marlin. Sculpted and finished right in-place, the resist then releases them on demand - to come away with a perfectly form-fitting impression of the underlying "host" surface.

The bottom-line: minimal yet sure-fitting conversion pieces, retaining maximum exposure of the original host surfaces:


Click on Image to Enlarge
FULL RESFor the Revell circa-400 scale Mariner, the maximum amount of rivets, panel-lines etc. (silver) thus remain - granted, all of them wildly overscale, in any case - however the "look and feel" of the Marlin-converted fuselage thus remains maximally compatible with the kit wing piece (not shown), which plugs onto it, exactly as for the original Mariner. Or, the builder can sand down most or all of the Mariner detail - but it will be your choice!

Next, a tail prosthesis (not shown), along with wingtip floats (also not shown), will be developed in the same way, to round out the Marlin conversion set.

Pretty cool, huh?

Cheers,

-Matty