The first time I saw a real PBY was in 1992, when the first time I visited the Indonesian Air Force Museum in the town of Yogyakarta. Well, what I can say is, I was truly thrilled by this ugly fat fellow.  

This is the Academy Minicraft 1/72 PBY-5A Catalina, painted in Indonesian Air Force markings.  The serial number PB-505 is actually the one preserved in the museum.

I built this one OOB, with the exception of the addition of seatbelts, which actually can hardly be seen once the main canopy is installed. But at least I know they are there.   

Construction was straightforward. Humbrol 145 was used for the overall colour.  The colour was chosen after long discussions in a coffee shop with fellow modelers (Thanks, Alex & Peter), since the Indonesian Air Force does not have a colour standard.

All markings are either airbrushed or handpainted, including the squadron badges.  The only decals used are for the letters & numbers, which came from Carpena decals.

For weathering, I used a combination of oils and pencils. Actually this is my first model which I tried scale effects and oils.     

This model was actually built for a friendly “Twin Prop” groupbuild recently held in Jakarta.