Fear Of a Black Cat

Jon Tabinor asks how much more black a 1/72 model can be, with a nocturnal moggy makeover.

- Jon Tabinor

PBY-5A ‘Black cat’

Kit No: 12487

Scale: 1/72

Type: Injection moulded plastic

Manufacturer: Academy

www.creativemodels.co.uk

With apologies to Sunderland fans, the PBY needs little introduction as it is possibly the most famous flying boat ever. When USN units in the Pacific began to use their Catalinas for night attacks on Japanese shipping and island targets, they were field painted in overall black and quickly gained the nickname of ‘Black Cats’. VP-11 was one of the first such units and took part in evacuating Australian troops operating behind enemy lines from Papua New Guinea in late 1943.

Academy’s 1994 kit shows its age with a basic interior and plain detail parts. It does still fit well and if you can live with fabric detail that would chaff monk then the recessed panel lines and riveting are okay. For this build, I was provided with an Eduard photoetch detail set and masks plus decals from Kits-World for VP-11 ‘Cats’ with nose art. I added some Quickboost resin engine cowlings, fishtail exhausts, and replacement propellers, plus some lovely Mini World 0.50 cal machine guns and a pair of their 0.30 gun barrels.

Despite a lot of research, I still cannot definitely say if the model I’ve built should be the -5A amphibian, or the -5 flying boat. Building it as the former was the path of least resistance, and as the unit used both in 1943, I’m happy to float in a sea of uncertainty.