Hello there John and other folks (ladies and gentlemen, buoys and girls, bald headed babies and convertibles),
Well, John. I Googled and this site was listed as having photos of the beast. I have a 'thing' about seaplanes and flying boats. Decided I ought to join as I have an interest in all kinds of scale models, although my own efforts have been rather modest in recent years... Currently pondering completing a 1/48th Catalina, which I started 10 years ago (strewth! how time flies), as I stumbled upon some neat Trans Australian Airways (TAA - the friendly way) transfers for an aircraft that operated between Australia and New Guinea in the 1950s and 60s. I have a few incomplete 1/35 artillery and half-track models waiting to be painted... just nice to have 3D representations of these things to cast the eye over... very interested in relationship between form and function. Additional prompt was looking through a recent copy of Model Engineer at a friend's place, which featured some incredibly complex working scale models of aero engines, including a 16 cylinder Bristol Hydra radial.
So there you have it. Excuse me... time to browse...