Officially the No.

1 International Aircraft Modelling Magazine

January 2023 • £5.99

Volume 44 • Issue 11

www.guidelinepublications.co.uk

The Aftermath

• A400M in 1/72
• Martin SP-5B Marlin
• Workbench – Hurricane Notes
• IPMS UK, News, Reviews, and More…

Lakenheath Special Rohmer’s Wings Impact

D-Day Strike Eagle RCAF Mustang Mk I Meteor Strikes!
Revell’s 1/48 F-15 Hobbycraft kit in 1/32 New Airfix F.8

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

CO N T E N T S

T h i s m o n T h
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Design: Lincoln Rodrigues

Scale plans and colour profiles: Sam Pearson
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STORE FINDER
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4 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
’ S F E A T U R E S EDITORIAL
Rohmer’s Rommel Recce Roamer 14
Harvey Low builds a stunning gift for Canada’s most
senior surviving D-Day pilot

The Liberty Wing Gets Its Stripes 20

Francesco Pernice models a very colourful F-15E Eagle in 1/48

The Cuban Missile Crisis 24

Modelling US reconnaissance assets in 1/72
Part 4: The Aftermath
By Stephen J Di Nucci with Vic Flintham

Martin SP-5B Marlin

By Gary Hatcher
By Stephen J Di Nucci

G
ood news and bad news this month.
Workbench 32 The good news is that we have an
extra 8 pages in this issue. The bad
Notes on Arma’s Hurricane I (Eduard ProfiPACK version) news is that three of them have to be
By Brian Derbyshire employed to re-run the historical section of
last month’s ‘Cuba’ article, which fell foul of a
Impact - The Meteor lands... 36 late alteration to the page plan, and ended up
with two Page 30s being printed and no Page
Airfix 1/72 New Tool by Bill Clark
26. This is what happens when circumstances
require an editor to sign off the magazine as
Low Tech Kamikaze 41 92 separate pdf pages, instead of a single
RS Models’ 1/72 scale Tachikawa Ki-9 Spruce by Rogério ‘Rato’ Marczak document into which they have been
streamed in the correct order. We all know it’s
Aircraft in Profile 45 a bad idea, and I can only marvel at the
politeness and restraint of the ensuing emails.
OV-10 Bronco Thanks to readers for their patience and
By Colin ‘Flying’ Pickett understanding, and those who feel the editor
Scale plans and colour profiles by Sam Pearson in question needs a boot in a certain part of
his anatomy to focus his mind are assured
Colour Conundrum 58 that they couldn’t possibly kick him harder
than he kicked himself when the freshly-
White Luftwaffe Nightfighters1943/44? printed magazines turned up early for Scale
Part 1 By Paul Lucas ModelWorld with the glaring error plain to
see .
Atlas Shrugged 62 So I was very pleased when Guideline
agreed to the extra pages in order to offset
Francisco Guedes shoulders the responsibility of building
last month’s faux-pas. This not only adds in an
Revell’s 1/72 titanic transport. extra feature by way of expiation, but also
allows me to run the full text of the
Reviews 68 compromised article, which can be found on
pages 94 – 97. Apologies to author Stephen
Some quick builds from the SAM Reviews Team.
Di Nucci, and of course to everyone who
bought a copy of the magazine.
With:
I would very much like to say it won’t
Updates – our monthly news round-up section with new product previews and reviews 6
happen again, but that would be challenging
Show Diary 88 fate. In the meantime if any reader knows of a
IPMS UK Column with John Tapsell 90 good workbench-based solvent that could be
used to remove extremely thick layers of egg
Books – with Ernie Lee 92 from the editorial face I would be grateful –
Coming Next Month 97 preferably one that is kind to the skin …

Cover Image: Hasegawa’s Martin SP-5B Marlin

(ref. K9) by Stephen J Di Nucci (see page 24).

JANUARY 2023 • VOLUME 44 • ISSUE 11 5

U P D AT E S

By Sorge

www.hannants.co.uk

ACADEMY
www.academyhobby.com
Academy have reissued their
Tomcat with new parts as the
F-14B VF-103 ‘Jolly Rogers’ (ref.
12578). The 1/72 kit includes
drop tanks and various air-to-
air weaponry, along with
swing wings that can be built
extended or closed. Particular
attention has been paid to the
cockpit, landing gear, panel
lines and rivets. It also comes
with Cartograf decals with two
marking options for aircraft
flown in the early 2000s.

AIRFIX for an imposing model, even in unbuilt form. The parts are spread over
www.airfix.com nine grey and one transparent sprue and are free from any obvious
moulding issues such as flash. All of the components feature engraved
Handley Page Victor B.2 detail of a level suitable for the scale, meaning that an impressive replica
Scale: 1/72 should result.
Kit No: A12008 Options include posable control surfaces, open hatches and boarding
Type: Injection Moulded Plastic ladder, APU intakes on the tail, open or closed air brake, as well as
positional flaps. The traditional undercarriage up or down option is also
available. The kit contains a rather superb replica
of the Blue Steel missile to fit in the bomb bay,
complete with folded fin should you wish to
depict a nuclear-loaded aircraft.
Airfix have included two colour schemes, the first in
typical Cold War all over anti-flash white depicting
Victor B.Mk 2(BS) XL512 of No.139 Squadron, based
at Royal Air Force Wittering, England, 1963-64. The
second is a Dark Green/Ocean Grey over Light grey
aircraft, Victor B.Mk 2(BS) XL189 of the Victor Training
Flight at Royal Air Force Wittering, England, 1968. The
decals are of the superb standard found in all recent
Airfix kits with excellent register and colour density.
When it comes to iconic aircraft of the Cold War era the Handley Page (HP) Each of the schemes, along with the stencil
Victor, with its futuristic designstraight out of a 1960s sci-fi film, has to be placements, are depicted on a set of A3-size diagrams, which along with
one of the most recognisable. This reissue allows you to add the Victor the comprehensive instruction booklet should aid a trouble-free build. Of
bomber to your collection and for the first time ever it is possible to get all course it is well worth bearing in mind the Warpaint book on the HP Victor
of the three V-Bombers in 1/72 from Airfix. (Number 36) when looking for reference sources for your model.
Containing 228 parts and boasting a 508mm wingspan the Victor makes Overall a very impressive reissue, which will help those keen to have a full
V-Bomber line-up complete their collection with minimal effort.

AVANTGARDE MODEL KITS

www.amkhobby.com
Due soon in 1/48 is a Mil-17. Looking good too – Hip Hip Hooray…

8 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
 U P D AT E S

CLEAR PROP crude Amodel kit of the early Type 5 and ICM’s the extraordinary level of detail and the quality
www.clearpropmodels.com much later (but still over 20 years old) Type 24 of the surface details. The representation of the
and derivatives. The rest of the offerings sadly fabric surfaces deserves a special mention, while
Polikarpov I-16 Type 5 – The Original ‘Rata’
must be discarded from consideration due to the level of detailing in the cockpit area would
Scale: 1/72 irreparable accuracy flaws. This welcome kit make some resin kit producers proud.
Kit Number: CP72025 offers three relatively small sprues of darker grey
As the box states this particular kit represents
It is hard to underestimate the importance of and one of transparent plastic providing clear
the later version of the I-16 type 5 when many of
Nikolai Polikarpov’s nimble fighter on the parts for the windscreen or earlier type canopy.
the refinements and additions were
development of military aviation in the USSR There was some very minor flesh on some of the
implemented on the aircraft. These are properly
and globally. Designed in the early 1930s and parts present, but nothing one would not expect
addressed with the optional parts – a later
produced from 1934 onwards, the I-16 family from any model kit. Neither of the canopies has
the hole for the telescopic gunsight and these armoured backrest and ‘cup’ seat are on offer,
became the first mass-produced monoplane
are to be drilled by the modeller. The later two version of the propeller, and two versions of
fighter with retractable landing gear and
version windscreen has the correct shape, the main wheels. As far as I understand the other
introduced the USSR as a major player in the
field of military aviation design. As it went into something were every other producer has failed boxing by Clear Prop covers the earlier versions
production in 1933 the type saw action in the to achieve before. The clear sprue also provides of the fighter, but all the parts necessary for the
large number of conflicts of the period and three optional parts to build the upper decking early version are present on the sprues. The kit
participated in the early stages of WW2 on the of the fuselage with various positions for offers 9 painting/decaling schemes, which are
Eastern Front. The I-16 type 5 became the first instrument panel illumination portholes and cross referenced to the construction process.
truly mass-produced version of the fighter and canopy slides. This seems to be a very interesting Overall the kit leaves a very good impression in
also became the most numerous solution but might overcomplicate the assembly its unassembled form, but, of course, the real
Given the I-16’s importance and prolific nature, it as it seems the perfectly round section of the judgement on its quality can only be passed
is very strange that the modeller is not offered fuselage behind the engine is assembled from after it is put together, and I am looking forward
much of a choice in 1/72 scale. There are only no less than four parts. to seeing whether this one is as good as the first
two kits worth mentioning: a very old and rather What immediately strikes the eye with this kit is impression promises. Konstantine Malinovsky

EDUARD you to build three variants: Type 22, 22,a and 82119 Bf 109G-10 Mtt Regensburg
www.eduard.com 32. It also comes with painting masks, pre-
84184 P-51D-10 Mustang
painted PE parts and a dozen marking options.
Eduard have released another special edition 1/72
Also new from Eduard:
dual combo kit, this time of the A6M3 Zero in
1/48 7032 Bf 109E-3
1/48 scale. Boxed simply as ‘Samurai’ (ref.
11168), the kit features new parts and allows 8188 Fw 190D-9

HOBBYBOSS
www.hobbyboss.com
Another year,
another Hurricane.
HobbyBoss’ new
tooling of the Mk I
(ref. 81777) is in 1/48
scale and consists of
over 70 parts across
six sprues, plus tyres.

JANUARY 2023 • VOLUME 44 • ISSUE 11 9

U P D AT E S

ICM ICM's new-tool 1/72 Sally is welcome as the type consistent although some re-scribing/repair will
www.icm.com.ua hasn't been well served by manufacturers, MPM be needed on the seams. At first sight fit looks to
producing a credible offering in 2001, and the be good across the board, and certainly the
Mitsubishi Ki-21-1b ‘Sally’ only other option being an ancient 1973 Revell quality of the moulding is excellent. As with a
By Huw Morgan Japan boxing. Interestingly Special Hobby have number of their recent kits, ICM have also
Kit No: ICM #72203 announced a new tool for 2022 and ICM produced a set of their own-brand acrylic paints
Scale: 1/72 themselves plan a -1c version imminently. The to accompany the kit.
kit is presented on 6 frames of 163 grey plastic
The Ki-21 first flew in 1938 and at the time was I'm looking forward to building this one, but I
parts, and a clear frame of 19 parts. There are no
easily comparable in performance with photoetched pieces or self-adhesive masks think I'll hang on for a while and hope that the
equivalent Allied types. Code named ‘Sally’ by aftermarket comes forward with brass and
although the instructions offer a set of full-sized
the Allies, (it was originally named ‘Jane’ after masks! Thanks to ICM for the review kit.
templates (130 of them!) which will need some
General MacArthur's wife, although the
pretty accurate cutting to look good on the very Also new from ICM:
compliment wasn't appreciated and it was
clear glasshouse canopies. Four early-war ‘Soviet military airfield 1980s’ (ref. DS7203) is a
quickly changed) the Ki-21 was an all-metal,
schemes are offered, all in Green/Grey from 60th new boxset from ICM that comprises a MiG-29
mid-wing, twin-engined aircraft that carried
three or five (in the -1b version) Type 89 7.7mm Sentai, 58th Sentai in China in 1942, and 105th Fighter, an APA-50M airfield service car, and a
machine guns for self defence and could deliver Kyoiku Hiko Rentai training Flight at Hamamatsu. ZIL-131, and is perfect for late 80s Cold War
a bomb load of 750kg – 1000Kg depending on Construction looks to be pretty conventional for dioramas. ICM have also released a new Bristol
range. Used extensively in Japan's conflict with twin-engined bombers and there are some nice Beaufort Mk IA (ref. 48311) in 1/48 scale with a
China, by the middle years of WW2, it was very design touches like the wing root liner panels tropical filter. They did a grand job with the Mk I
vulnerable to newer breeds of Allied fighters that go inside the fuselage to hide the through last year, so this should tick the box too. In
despite the increase in defensive armament, joint. The cockpit is well appointed but the lack addition, the company has produced two sets of
although it soldiered on as one of Japan's most of photoetched belts and instruments will make figures: US Helicopter Pilots (Vietnam War) (ref.
important bombers until the end of hostilities. it look a bit spartan despite the internal fuselage 48089) in 1/48 and Pilots of the Soviet Air Force
The total number built was 2,064. structure. External engraved detail is clean and 1943-1945 (ref. 32117) in 1/32.

ITALERI version too. Having already built their 1/72 kit widely accepted as nearer the mark. Whether
www.italeri.com back in 2020 (See August 2020 Issue) it would be this will affect the contrasting colours on the
interesting to see what Italeri could do with the decals sheet remains to be seen.
F-35B Lightning II type in 1/48. So, let’s get the Elephant out of the room, RAM
By Rick Greenwood
The kit’s instruction booklet looks to be very tape panels? Yes, they are a bit exaggerated and
Kit No: 2810 concise and professionally printed, with thirty- quite raised but the same was found in their
Scale: 1/48 six build steps over 223 pages. A parts map is 1/72 kit, and I didn’t think it detracted too much
The F-35 has been around in kit form since the included on the inside front cover and shows the from the finished model. No masks are provided
early 2000s in 1/48th scale. Offerings were five plastic sprues, two clear frames. A small so if you’re building an example of an earlier
limited to the basic Panda models kit that was photoetched fret is included. Black and white airframe with the contrasting RAM tape then
loosely based on a prototype machine and exploded-view diagrams guide the modeller there is a monster masking session ahead of you,
didn’t replicate the type as we know it today. through assembly in a logical sequence, while however the RAM tape specs changed, and
Revell issued this kit as the X-35 as well. colour call outs are cross referenced to FS newer airframes should have a tape that
Kittyhawk models then released their example numbers so a match to your preferred brand matches the fuselage colours a little better and
in around 2018 but this was a notoriously should be straight forward enough. in most lighting conditions, be more or less
difficult and challenging kit. Looking through the booklet reveal some nice invisible.
As a quick point of reference, the A airframe is features of the kit such as, open, or closed Overall, this looks to be a nicely detailed model
the airframe with a conventional landing and canopy, beautifully detail undercarriage, and will plug a gap in many a collection, a full
take-off configuration, while the B can perform superbly detailed weapons bay that can be build feature will of course follow in a future
vertical take offs and landing, and the C is a shown open or closed, a fully poseable engine in issue.
carrier-borne example. different flight positions, and poseable flight
controls. Two weapons trolleys and a multitude Until next time…………
Most of the newer kits that followed were of the
A type and any modeller that wanted to add a B of things under the wings are included as well.
to their collection awaited expectantly for a A smaller painting and decal guide is provided in Also new from Italeri:
decent rendering of the Bravo model. Now the full colour covering the five decal options from, The F-15E Strike Eagle was an ‘all-weather’
wait is over, and Italeri stepped into the ring the US, UK, and Italy, some of which are quite fighter-bomber that entered into service with
with a brand-new tooled F-35 B in August 2022. attractive for a grey boring jet! The colour call the USAF in the late 1980s and replaced the
Italeri are no stranger to the F-35 market with out seems to be inaccurate though as it quotes outdated F-111. Italeri’s 1/48 kit (ref. 2803)
models in 1/72 scale and 1/32 scale so it’s a FS36270 as the overall airframe colour on page comes with six marking schemes, in various
natural progression for them to release a 1/48 three of the paint guide, whereas FS36170 is shades of grey.

10 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
U P D AT E S

KINETIC MODEL escaping the fact that this kit has been designed be superbly detailed and broken down into five
to get the most versions of the Falcon as Kinetic separate parts, which should make painting a
www.luckymodel.com
can, and while this can make the build process little easier. The single seat cockpit tub features
Brand New Vipers slightly drawn out due to the modular nature of some nice side console detail, and a similar level
By Rick Greenwood the kit, hopefully the fit of the various parts is of detail can be found on the three supplied
Kinetic Models’ have released a completely new- perfect, and won’t detract from the overall instrument panels. Eagle eyed F-16 enthusiasts
tooled ‘Gold’ version of the F-16, in both A MLU results. will also spot two Aces II Ejection seats and
and C boxings, kit numbers 48100 and 48102. Looking at the parts in both kits they seem to be another set of rudder pedals, hinting Kinetic
With advances in design and tooling identical and as such the information is relevant plan a lot of other releases from the outset.
technologies of late, it’s interesting to see how to both kit numbers 48100 and 48102. It would Weaponry is supplied, along with centre line,
far they have come with this 2022 tooling. It’s be wise to say that almost any of the F-16s that and underwing fuel tanks, air to air missiles, and
important to remember that these kits have have the Prat and Witney engine, with the ‘small laser guided bombs and targeting pods.
nothing in common with their predecessors. mouth’ intake could be built from either kit with The only disappointing omission from my point
a little research by the modeller, and while the F-
Lifting the lid reveals plastic in a mid-grey colour of view are the fuselage strengthening panels
16 A MLU is I’m sure focused on the European
packaged separately to avoid any damage or that are so characteristic of the F-16 in recent
market the box contents could very easily be
lost parts. Two decal sheets are included, both adapted to make an F-16 ADF, as seen in service years, so some research is advisable to ascertain
printed by Cartograf, with one smaller sheet with many of the US Air National Guard units. if the aircraft depicted on the decal sheets
containing the stencil data for the weaponry Both A and C tails are included with standard, require these modifications, There are
while the other concentrates on the individual para break, and ADF fin bases present in the box. aftermarket items around, so on-line shopping
airframe markings, of which there are five. These It’s worth noting for anyone intending to build might be required, but in all fairness to Kinetic,
focus on European air forces with aircraft from the Portuguese version of the kit that the ADF Tamiya or Hasegawa didn’t include them in their
Portugal, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, and the fin base isn’t mentioned in the instruction kits either.
Netherlands. booklet or shown on the profile pages of the Many kits do however look good in the box and
After a brief inspection, it is safe to say that the painting diagram but is on the sprue. Three the truth will be in the building, but I can’t
tooling and production of the plastic is first rate, types of wheels are also present, with their envisage any problems being encountered with
no moulding flaws, flash or sink marks were associated larger main gear doors, and correctly the suggested build sequence, and if the fit is as
found on the review kits, and the surface detail is positioned nose leg landing/taxi lights. good as the F-104 and Pucara we will easily have
as fine and well rendered as any. There is no The Pratt and Witney engine tail feathers look to a contender for best in scale!

MASTER-X
www.master-x.wz.cz
Newly announced
from Master-X is a
limited edition
boxing of the
Junkers W.33he on
floats, complete with
beaching trolley.

SPECIAL HOBBY
www.specialhobby.eu
Special Hobby have released a new tooling of the L-4
‘Cub in Post War Service’ (ref. SH48222) in 1/48 scale.
Though it proved its worth war during the war, the L-4
enjoyed further popularity in sports aviation when
surplus machines were sold off rather cheaply by the
US. It’s a testament to its design that many of these
aeroplanes are still flying today. There are four sets of
decals in the kit covering colourful civilian schemes,
including a Czech aircraft with an advert for alcoholic
beverages on the fuselage. Paint masks, resin-cast
wheels, and a 3D-printed exposed engine are available
separately.
Special Hobby have also produced a 1/32 kit of a
MINIWING somewhat rare trainer aircraft, the Fiat G.50B
www.eshop.miniwing.cz
Bicomando (ref. SH32083). The model kit contains five
Next from Miniwing in 1/144 grey styrene sprues, one with clear parts, finely detailed
is a series of 5 boxings resin parts, and photoetch. The decals cater for four
covering the S-58. Kits are marking options, representing machines of the Regia
injection moulded with 3D- Aeronautica, Luftwaffe, Croatian Air Force and the post-
designed transparencies. war Italian Air Force..

12 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
R C A F M U S TA N G M K I I N 1/ 32

Harvey Low builds a

stunning gift for Canada’s
most senior surviving
D-Day pilot

I
n August 2021, Major Ric Rangel-
Bron, Aide-de-camp to Honorary
Lieutenant-General Richard
Rohmer, asked if I would build a General
model of one the aircraft he flew in Rohmer, he
World War Two as a surprise for his 98th birthday could not use
in January 2022. I jumped at the chance! his fully-armed
Born in Hamilton, Ontario, in 1924, Rohmer fighter as he was under
joined the RCAF at eighteen, and is still active strict orders to conduct
today as honorary advisor to the Chief of the photo recon only, not to pursue
Defence Staff of the Canadian Armed Forces. He ground targets! Although Rohmer
is currently believed to be the most senior did not know Rommel was in the car, the
RAF P-51 Mustang Mk 1A surviving pilot of D-Day, the Battle of Normandy, incident is considered a historic and significant
and the Liberation of Holland. turning point for the Allies in their victory in
Kit No: HC1713 Europe. My model would be the aircraft that
Flight Officer Rohmer flew several Mustang
Scale: 1/32 Mk Is during the D-Day landings and shortly Rohmer flew that day.
thereafter. In a photo reconnaissance mission on Much research was involved to achieve an
Type: Injection Moulded 17 July 1944, he spotted a German staff car. accurate representation of one of then F/O
Manufacturer: Hobbycraft Based on this, pilots from 412 Squadron strafed Rohmer’s Mustangs. I owe a debt of gratitude to
(no longer trading) the car, injuring Field Marshal Erwin Rommel fellow modellers John Wong, David Chang-Sang,
and forcing him out of the war. According to Tony Whittingham, and Colin Ford. Research

A selection of the aftermarket parts used.

Always bear in mind that it’s the parts you want Hobbycraft’s kit cockpit is very basic for a 1/32
Flight Officer Rohmer RCAF flew a mission on that matter, not the subject it says on the pack.
17 July 1944 that had far reaching kit of 2005 standards…
consequences.

… especially when you see vector’s splendid The cockpit being painted and weathered. By Another view of the ‘office’ showing how a few
resin replacement. Note the kit supplied port- 1944 the Allison-engined Mustangs in RCAF touches of bright colour can really bring the
mounted ‘dicing’ F24 camera (so called service had seen a lot of use, so the ‘pit is place to life. The floor follows the contour of
because low-level recce was a ‘dicey’ job). suitably ‘used’. the wing, unlike the later D version.

14 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
 R C A F M U S TA N G M K I I N 1/ 32

The camera’s oblique mounting, and the

German radio set into camera controller box … this shot that shows them newly installed lengthened lens. The Allison engined ‘recon’
in one easy lesson! Note the seat belts don’t and just painted. Adding extra painted details Mustangs stayed in RAF and RCAF operational
escape weathering too, which contrasts well like the used seat straps can help create an use until after the end of the war in Europe.
with … even more convincing replica. 430 sqn disbanded on 7 August 1945.

The areas to be removed in the wheel wells.

This fault shows in many older Mustang kits, With wing ribs and detailing added you can
The new rear areas of the bays are made from see how the rear of the bay disappears under
only recently being addressed by Airfix and
Plasticard – these follow the line of the wing the rear edge of the opening inside the wing
Eduard in their D models.
spar. cavity.

Painted up, the undercarriage bay has a

yellow Zinc Chromate rear spar and an
aluminium lacquer coating elsewhere. The masks in place and the new flat pole
aerial. Its bottom 3mm is actually a circular
I scanned in the Montex 1/32 mask set for the profile, hence the use of a round rod, sanded
Hobbycraft P-51A kit, as it needed some fine flat everywhere else.
editing for a better fit, then printed it out on
Tamiya masking tape.

The small air deflector needed removing from

in front of the modified radiator scoop. The
scoop was a clamshell design that could open Blocks of plastic were fixed inside the nose to
in flight to allow in more air. The Mk I was the A forward view of the new scoop showing the give the new chin guns something to sit
only version to have this feature. mesh detail inside. within.

showed that F/O Rohmer flew three Mustangs in opening, it also the four x 20mm cannon from Vector Models (ref. VDS 32008). This set
June and July of 1944 and of these, Mustang Mk armament of the Mk 1A, not the nose and wing- requires no modification other than the addition
I AP178 ‘J’ of 430 Sqn was the one flown for the mounted machine guns of the Mk I. Their P-51A of the small Type 35 camera controller box, just
sortie at 16.40 on 17 July 1944, during which he kit (ref. HC1712) has the required nose guns, and to port of the control column on the floor. This
spotted Rommel's staff car. wing guns (albeit not totally correct), but lacks notable detail, which operated the camera
Since I wanted the biggest impact possible the camera and window parts. The best solution behind the pilot, was modified from a 1/48
when presenting the model to the General, I was to get both kits and swap parts. However, German WWII radio with a couple of wires
decided to choose the large 1/32 Hobbycraft kit given their rocking-horse-poo-like rarity, this just extending back.
for the project. Unfortunately it was out-of- wasn’t feasible. Thus began the journey of Rohmer’s Mustang carried the standard RAF
production, but one was donated for this project modifications to create a RCAF Mustang Mk I of Williamson F24 camera for low level
(thank you Tony Whittingham). However, while 430 Fighter Reconnaissance Squadron. reconnaissance operations. This comes with the
the 1/32 Hobbycraft Mk IA version (ref. HC1713) I started by replacing the kit’s simplified kit but requires a lengthened lens that protrudes
has the proper camera and camera window cockpit with the excellent after-market resin set slightly from the port rear canopy window (these

JANUARY 2023 • VOLUME 44 • ISSUE 11 15

R C A F M U S TA N G M K I I N 1/ 32

Test fitted, the Master barrels show off their

detail and the staggered fit of the weapons – This view shows the IFF antenna and gives a
required so the ammo boxes could sit behind The wingtip ID lights were not present on the
Mk I so were removed. The leading edge lights good view of the gun ports and fairings.
each other to save space. Note the small blast
shield fitted too. were also repositioned.

A front view of the new gun ports. The centre

0.50 gun is lower and slightly set back. The
two outer 0.30 guns fired down long blast Primed white and with the ‘D-Day’ AEAF
tubes, that’s why their ‘muzzles’ look so big. stripes underway. Note the masks for the
The new resin wheels have much better tread
details, and the plastic tube collar is a simple national marking locations too.
fix for the axle diameter mismatch.

The roughly applied stripes look convincing

here. The problem for modellers is that they With the masking removed, there’s no chance
can often just look like bad masking if their of misplacing the roundels.
implementation isn’t thought through
properly! Breaking up the monotony of the grey by
adding light and darker tints of the base Modellers
colour. A simple technique that always looks are not
very effective when done subtly. noted for
the ability
The to time
Honorary travel but
Lieutenant their work
-General sometimes
and his can.
ADC with ‘I am 20
the model, years old
Armistice
again!’ This
Day 2021.
makes it
A few basic weathering materials can create a worthwhile.
lot of effects. Aircraft modellers should not be Harvey with
scared of trying these techniques in the quest the
for a realistic finish. General.

cameras could be fitted on either side, contrary out by brush in bright colours from Vallejo. The well itself, rather than following the wing spar to
to most artwork showing the camera on the forward anti-glare decking was Vallejo Yellow create a noticeably open space in the rear of the
port-side of the aircraft only). The opening was Olive (70.892). Weathering consisted of well. After-market sets are hard to install, so
oval-shaped and not circular, so the kit window’s powdered dirt, and a pin-wash using thinned mine was scratch built with new Plasticard
aperture was reshaped with a file. Raw Umber oil paint. Eduard’s RAF Late- sidewalls, with small wires and circuit boxes
The cockpit was painted AK RAF Cockpit Grey- Seatbelts (ref. 32878) finished things off, added for detail.
Green (RC293), with highlights of Tamiya Desert painted buff. The Malcolm hood canopy was discarded as
Yellow (XF-59) and white. For variation, the seat The other ‘interior’ area that needed work was no Mk I Mustangs were so fitted but, thankfully,
was painted Tamiya NATO Green (XF-67). The the undercarriage bay. Regardless of scale, most the kit provides a standard canopy too. The radio
circuit and switch boxes were Tamiya German P-51 kits have incorrect ones where the rear wall antenna behind the cockpit should be a
Grey (XF-63), and various details were picked- is boxed in by following the shape of the wheel- 'flattened' pole instead of the kit’s more rounded

16 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
 R C A F M U S TA N G M K I I N 1/ 32

required was the between the 0.30 guns. Bulged fairings were also
armament. First, two required for the 0.30 guns, so were carefully
.50 cal guns needed shaped from epoxy putty. The landing light
installation under the location also had to be relocated further
chin, and although a outboard.
conversion exists in 1/48, The usual red-doped ‘armed guns’ patches
none is available in 1/32. I were not a big red rectangle as on a Hurricane,
used brass barrels from but were often small and circular and applied
Master Models for these over the ends of the individual gun ports. I made
guns (and the .30 cal ones these with cigarette paper and a coat of PVC
too). A thick piece of glue. Finally I replaced the kit’s wheels with
Plasticard was glued inside the Hussar’s resin cross-tread wheels (ref. HSR
nose to assist in mounting the 32008). These needed hollow plastic tubes
barrels, and holes drilled to take added into their hubs to accommodate the kit
them. The guns were primed and axles.
then sprayed with Alclad II
Gunmetal (ALC-120). I added a Rohmer flew Mustangs on D-Day that sported
blast shield ahead of the starboard both the earlier Dark Earth, Dark Green and Sky
gun, which protected the nose from camouflage, and the later Day Fighter Scheme of
the muzzle blast. The port gun Ocean Grey, Dark Green and Medium Sea Grey,
protruded further as its location was with AP178-J wearing this latter livery. As a base,
staggered to accommodate the the model was first sprayed with Tamiya Fine
ammunition boxes, so didn’t need a White Surface Primer (87044) straight out-
blast shield. of-the-can to blend all the different
construction materials together.
Other mods were
the addition While there are no photographs of
of a 430 Squadron aircraft with full D-Day
wing and fuselage stripes, General
Rohmer specifically recalls that his aircraft
small, on this mission had full invasion stripes,
circular which were ‘applied by hand and not even’.
rear-view mirror For these I used AK Insignia White (RC222), a
atop the forward slightly off-white shade, and a very dark grey,
type, which was applied first, masked, with the
so I canopy, and replacement
fishtail exhausts using a white applied after. These were then fully
used masked before the final colours were
#222 Quickboost Spitfire IX set
(ref. QB32-192). The kit applied. The uneven striping was
Evergreen achieved using Tamiya tape torn roughly against
rod, sanded propeller blades are
closer in shape to the a metal ruler or unevenly cut, to give a better
flat to the tip. By representation of how they were applied in the
1944, Mustangs all broader type used on
A-36s and P-51As. field.
used VHF radios, so
the HF wire from this Although Ultracast Camouflage started with a base coat of
pole to to tail fin tip was makes a set, I simply re- Tamiya RAF Ocean Grey 2 (XF-82). Lighter and
absent. shaped the kit ones. RAF darker tones were then airbrushed to modulate
Mustang Mk Is did not have the triple the surface for greater interest and colour depth,
Another correction recognition lights moulded into the kit’s by adding white or yellow, and black to the grey.
needed was the removal of the starboard wing underside, so these were filled For the green, I used two different paints –
small pop-up radiator air and sanded smooth. Under the port wing, Tamiya Dark Green 2 (XF-89) and Tamiya RAF
deflector under the wing centre-section ahead almost mirroring the pitot head position under Dark Green 2 (XF-81), which allowed me to
of the radiator intake. Installed on early- the starboard, I added a short 'pole' IFF antenna, ‘modulate’ the colour instead of changing the
production batches to stop the radiator which had been fitted to all RAF Mustangs in base tone itself. The undersides were sprayed
overcooling in certain circumstances, it was early 1944. Tamiya Medium Sea Gray 2 (XF-83), varying the
found to be unnecessary. It was deleted on the colour as before. The spinner and fuselage band
later-production batches, like my NA-83 AL- The most complicated modification was the
wing guns. The Mk I had were painted Tamiya Sky (XF-21), while serial
series Mustang Mk I. The radiator intake on the numbers were scaled in Silhouette Studio
Mustang Mk I and IA also had a slightly different one 0.50 gun flanked by
two 0.30 guns in each software and cut using my vinyl cutter, then
shape to the kit’s, which is more akin to the P- sprayed black through these masks. Yellow wing
51A’s redesigned fixed inlet. Some minor wing. To backdate the kit
one must remove the leading-edge ID stripes were applied followed
reshaping was required to do this, and I also by a gloss coat using AK Gauzy Gloss
inserted wire mesh as an added detail. protruding canons and replace
them. The heavier 0.50 sits ( AK-894) to make everything decal
The most obvious slightly ready.
modifications lower The upper wings’ type-B roundels, the type-
and in- C1 ones on fuselage sides, type-C on the lower
wing, and a type-C fin flashes were all kit decals,
which were fine, going down nicely using
MicroSol and MicroSet. On multi-coloured paint
schemes I always mask the areas to be decaled
first leaving them in white
primer.

JANUARY 2023 • VOLUME 44 • ISSUE 11 17

R C A F M U S TA N G M K I I N 1/ 32

them. The only the weathering around

thing they kept clean the landing gear, along
was the windscreen, with various colours of mud
This both assists in which they wiped to clean off any dirt and oil.’ So splattering from MIG and AK.
the decals’ precise location, that’s what I did. A final touch was to accentuate
and also minimises the potential of the flaps and ailerons with black
Weathering began with a thinned oil-paint
the under colours to show through. The panel liner.
wash of Raw Umber overall. Grease stains
large individual aircraft letter ‘J’, which I also cut a
around the landing gear and engine were added On 11 November 2021 a private ceremony
mask for and sprayed Sky, sat ahead of the
using Wilder’s Grease (NL36) and oil leaks using was held after the Remembrance Day ceremony
fuselage roundel, not behind it as shown in
AK Kerosene Leaks (2039). Dust effects came at Canadian Forces Base Borden, an hour north
some artist renditions of AP178.
from AK Landing Gear Dust (2031), and AMMO of Toronto, to present the model to General
Final details included painting the landing Oil Brushers Medium Soil and Earth. This was Rohmer. Amidst a group of Canadian Armed
gear with Aluminium, and the propeller blades followed by chipping worn areas with a Forces Officers including a few new graduates of
were ultra-dark grey with yellow. The wheels Prismacolor Silver Pencil. the Royal Military College of Canada, this was a
were AK Rubber Black (11027) with wheel hubs cross-generation event marking service to their
The exhausts were airbrushed before
in Vallejo Metal Colour Dull Aluminium (77.717). country and celebrating one particularly noted
installation with Alclad II Gun Metal (ALC-120),
The wheel wells were painted Tamiya Flat veteran.
with their ends in Pale Burnt Metal (ALC-104). I
Aluminium (XF-16) with the rear wall in Model
paid special attention to the exhaust staining as General Rohmer, both tearful and emotional,
Master Yellow Zinc Chromate (4851).
photos showed a unique air-flow pattern – made a memorable ‘thank you’ speech. His first
While weathering is often controversial (with airbrushing Tamiya Smoke (X-19) in a pattern words sum it all up:
some seeing it on that curved over the wing’s upper airfoil. I added ‘This is exactly how I remembered it. I am 20
aircraft as some thinned Tamiya Royal Light Grey (XF-80) to years old again!’
‘over-done’) the centre of the stain to simulate the
my opinion is high octane fuel’s emissions. The model now sits in his den and one day
that you should will be permanently displayed, with his
Vallejo Crushed Grass medals, at the Canadian Warplane
weather a model
(73.825) finished off Heritage Museum in Hamilton, Ontario.
depending on its
surroundings, and This was truly a defining moment for me
most importantly, on as to what modelling is about. There are
photos or pilot moments in this hobby that are utterly
testimonials. General delightful, and this story ranks right up there
Rohmer was clear in for me.
his remarks that his Only once in a lifetime does a modeller get to
aircraft was dirty: build a model, acquire personal insights about
‘These aircraft were dirty because we the machine, and donate it to the actual pilot
operated from forward bases off that flew it! I hope you enjoy this model as
mud fields. We landed, then much as I enjoyed the journey and the
went straight back up. impact it had on the pilot
There was little to who flew it.
no time to
clean

18 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
www.air-graphics.uk
N e w R e le a s e s a t
S c a le M o d e lw o r ld 2 0 2 2
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1/ 48 F - 15 E 48 T F W ‘ D - D ay ’ S p E c i a l

Francesco Pernice models

a very colourful F-15E Eagle
in 1/48

I
n 2019, three F-15 Eagles of the USAF 48th released in 2000. I purchased Furball Aero-
Fighter Wing, based at Lakenheath, were Design Heritage Eagles decal sheet (ref. 48-071),
repainted to celebrate the 75th anniversary of which had all three options but my pick was the
D-Day as a tribute to their USAAF forebears who red-tailed one, F-15E 97-0219, of the 492nd
had participated in that operation. One jet from Fighter Squadron.
each of the 48th’s three squadrons, the 492rd, Revell’s kit represents an F-15E up to its 2005
493rd and 494th, was painted in a custom colour fit, but with a few improvements it can be
scheme chosen by members of the 48th upgraded to current standards. To this end, good
F-15E Strike Eagle Equipment Maintenance Squadron. references are essential. My advice is to get Jake
Kit No: 85-5511 (N.B. the most recent Both the 492nd ‘Madhatters’ and the 494th Mellampy's book on the F-15, The Modern Eagle
boxing is 04891) ‘Panthers fly’ F-15E Strike Eagles, the USAF’s Guide: The F-15 Eagle/Strike Eagle Exposed.
premier all-weather multirole strike fighter, while I’d wanted to build an Eagle in a taxi
Scale: 1/48 the 493rd ‘Grim Reapers’ fly the F-15C/D. configuration for a long time. With its flaps and
Type: Injection Moulded When I saw them flying in 2020, it was love at intakes down it looks very different, but it is
Manufacturer: Revell first sight. I couldn't help but build a model of something that is only possible with the crew
www.revell.de one of them, using a 1/48 scale Revell kit that sitting in their ‘offices’ and the engines running.
had been sitting in my stash ever since it was Given that in such a configuration very little of

The cockpit was assembled ‘as is’ from the box These ventilation grilles were from fine canvas
and just carefully painted. The crew (borrowed netting cut with a punch & die and fixed with
from a Hasegawa F/A 18F) hide the rest, Extra detail was added to areas that would be PVC glue and clear varnish. Other details were
although the instrument panel decals, which visible beneath the closed canopy, such as the added using Plasticard and copper wire.
show ‘live’ units are, for once, correct. HUD and coaming.

A recent update to the F15 is a gold-film

tinted windscreen that serves to absorb The 3M aluminium Speedtape used for the The wing-strengthening strips are especially
incoming radar and minimise their reflection. I strengthening panels has high adhesion, and evident, and the aluminium tape’s ability to
used Tamiya Clear Yellow diluted to 80% to is a perfect scale thickness. It conforms to the accept impressed details readily is very
simulate this. panel lines and can be cut with a scalpel. useful here.

20 w w w. s c a l e a i r c r a f t m o D e l l i n g . co. u k
 1/ 48 F - 15 E 48 T F W ‘ D - D ay ’ S p E c i a l

The AN/AAQ-
33 Sniper pod
was not
present in the
Revell kit, so
was taken
from a Great
Wall Hobby
Eagle with its
lenses and
details Careful masking, painting and washes served
upgraded. to make the kit’s engine exhausts more than
adequate for my purposes. The white interior
represents the ceramic lining of the real things.

More careful painting gives the wheels some

tread pattern. It's fiddly to do, but looks
good, especially from my scale-distance of
two feet away.

The D-Day
stripes wrap
around
several vents
and pylons
Fine strips of Tamiya tape and masking fluid on each side
were the ‘old school’ solution to the canopy of the ventral
frames. These were then airbrushed black first area and I felt
The 3M aluminium tape also serves to create to simulate the internal colour. it was simpler
the shiny oleos of the undercarriage. There’s to do this
nothing more sophisticated than painting and work in
washes here, but it works. sections.

This careful
pre-planning
allows what
could be a
complex
masking
process to be
achieved with
little fuss,
although care The Gunship Gray was built up in layers using
must still be three different paints to give some subtle
taken. variation to the tone.
With the painting complete, the airframe
looked clean but not totally homogenous,
which was the effect I wanted. It’s easy to
overdo this, and while that often looks ‘good’ in
photos it can, for me, be ‘too much’ in reality.

The upper side required a little more care – a

result of the fins needing to be added early on Furball’s fantastic decals give clear placement
The underside was relatively simple to mask in the construction. Bundled chopsticks make instructions and notes and are beautifully
for the F-15’s natural-metal engine panels. for very effective handling mandrels! printed.

the cockpit is visible, I felt there was no reason to lowered air intakes needed for a taxiing Eagle, so fuselage was a pretty quick job, but it was crucial
get one of the fantastically-detailed aftermarket to save time, I cannibalised them from a Great to take care of their alignment and the angle at
cockpit detail sets now available. Wall Hobby F-15, which has them in both which they sat, carefully studying my available
Unfortunately, the Revell kit doesn't have the configurations. Adapting them to the Revell references.

JaNUaRy 2023 • VolUme 44 • IssUe 11 21

1/ 48 F - 15 E 48 T F W ‘ D - D ay ’ S p E c i a l

The flaps were tacked in place and masked to The ALQ 188 Electronic Attack Training Pod
AK’s Chrome paint and Tamiya’s Panel Liner
match the wing strips exactly. This was slightly came from a Kinetic F21 Kfir. Using round pin
Black made short work of the very noticeable
more time consuming but ensured they heads improved the appearance of the four
ventilation grille behind the canopy.
matched perfectly. bulbous sensor heads.

The other missiles, the AIM 9X and AIM 120

Slammer, came from the GWH F15E. The blue In a similar vein, the Reskit JDAMs are blue
The ACMI pod was made from a spare bands indicate inert rounds used for training, training rounds, but also add some colour to a
Sidewinder missile body and syringe needles. and are the most commonly carried. somewhat shadowy area.

One of the Revell kit’s few

accuracy issues is that it has
leading edges that are a little too
thick. To fix it there was only one
solution – a cautious sanding followed by
a careful re-engraving of the erased panel
lines. The kit’s vintage means that it was also
missing the reinforcement plates above and
below the wings and on the tails, which were
introduced in the last fifteen years. 3M
Aluminium Speedtape (the stuff that you often
see used for minor repairs on the wings of your
holiday jet airline…) was perfect to replicate
these plates, having a good scale thickness and
being easy to work with. The heat exchanger grill
on the rear-starboard side of the cockpit was
also removed because it is not present on any
late Eagle.
Another recent-update detail missing from
this kit, which must be added, is the GPS
antenna. This looks like a small button on the
starboard side of the upper fuselage. Its exact
shape, dimensions, and position were once
again ascertained by careful reference to my
resources. One final thing to watch out for is that

22 w w w. s c a l e a i r c r a f t m o D e l l i n g . co. u k
 1/ 48 F - 15 E 48 T F W ‘ D - D ay ’ S p E c i a l

the avoid scale distance comparable to that usually

tail fins don't join the paint separating an observer from a real plane, in this
the upper rear fuselage along a reaching the surface already case no more than half a metre. Obviously this
panel line, so cannot be painted separately and dry, giving a powdery, rough finish - somewhat sacrifices the photographic part of
added later. They must be glued to the upper something that’s especially important when our hobby, where, sometimes, painting
fuselage in the early stages of the build, so they airbrushing in warmer temperatures with these effects must be exaggerated to show up
can be filled and blended in. fast drying paints. properly, but I believe that this is secondary to
actually seeing the model. For this reason I
Many details in the kit were improved and I started by applying the white of the D-day confined my weathering to the restrained use of
refined without the use of aftermarket, while stripes. When this was thoroughly dry and hard, I Tamiya panel liner and Smoke paint, which was
others were taken from the ever-generous Great masked off the white areas. For the black, I never used on the most contrasting areas only. In
Wall Hobby kit. This latter kit provided the Sniper use pure black as it looks too stark, so in this case addition, small amounts of oil paint were applied
pod, the AIM-120 Slammer missiles and the AIM- my choice was Tamiya Rubber Black (XF-85), over some hinges to show staining and dirt, as
9X Sidewinders, while an ALQ-188 pod was which is a black that, in my opinion, is much witnessed in photos of the real plane.
found in the Kinetic F-21 Kfir kit (much to my more suitable for the scale.
surprise). The only aftermarket parts I actually used on
In the photos of this aircraft, it does not this project were GBU 38 500lb resin bombs
F-15 engine exhausts are complex and very appear very weathered at all, so rather than a from Reskit, which were painted to represent
visible, especially in their turkey-feather-free ‘traditional’ pre-shade of panel lines I decided to inert blue-bodied training rounds, and added a
state. It’s an area that several aftermarket differentiate the hue of some of the aircraft’s little extra colour to the model.
companies have addressed with very complex panels before starting to apply the top colour.
resin replacements. I opted to use the kit’s ones, This would suggest an aircraft that was not Revell’s model still builds into an impressive
improving their detail as much as I could and brand new and break up the monotony of the replica, but references need to be checked to see
relying on careful painting and washes to Gunship Gray camouflage a little. This is the kind if it will need modernising
highlight the detail. The landing gear was well of decision that one can only reach through according to the airframe and era
moulded and detailed and I needed only to add having proper references for the actual you want it to represent. Having
cabling to them using fishing line. subject being modelled. So to give depth to said that I now have a very
the paint scheme without running the risk of colourful F-15E in my collection,
The most challenging aspect of this build was
going overboard I used three FS 36118 which is most definitely
undoubtedly the painting, and careful planning
Gunship Gray paints from three different not just
paid dividends here. The invasion stripes,
brands – Hataka’s C031, Tamiya’s XF-24, another
especially on the lower rear fuselage, were a real
and Gunze’s H305. All three paints were boring
challenge. However, by using Tamiya acrylic
thinned with Tamiya Lacquer Thinner, ‘gray’ jet!
paints and lacquer thinner, there was no need to
use a primer, which made this phase much which gave a semi-gloss finish even
easier and faster. The use of lacquer thinner gave when mixed with matt paint.
the paints a smoothness, devoid of the I don't like to exaggerate wear
graininess that can be typical of some opaque and tear on my models,
colours but also dries very quickly. My thinning especially when it comes to
ratio was 70% lacquer to 30% paint. Spraying at jets that are clearly kept in
a low pressure is also important, and each layer good condition, like this F-
should be lightly applied, and built up steadily, 15. Furthermore, I believe
always at a distance of about one inch. My goal that a model should be
was to pleasing to the eye
from a

JaNUaRy 2023 • VolUme 44 • IssUe 11 23

CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS

Modelling US Reconnaissance Assets in 1/72

Part 4: The Aftermath
By Stephen J Di Nucci with Vic Flintham

A P-3A-20-LO Orion of Patrol Squadron VP-44 flies over the Soviet ship Metallurg Anosov and destroyer USS Barry (DD-933) on 9 November 1962. Barry
had been ordered to investigate the Soviet merchantman and sighted her that evening. She closed to within 370m on the ship's starboard quarter,
illuminated the ship's quarter and bow, and identified her as the Soviet-registry Metallurg Anosov. Trailing astern, Barry followed the merchant ship,
heading east away from the quarantine zone, until morning. After dawn, the destroyer closed the merchant, to obtain photographs of deck cargo, until
late morning when Barry shaped course for the aircraft carrier USS Essex (CVS-9) for refueling and transfer of photographic personnel.

A
t 10.00 on 28 October 1962, the Cuban it was conventionally equipped aircraft that gave Perhaps most crucially, in the assumption that
Missile Crisis ended as the Russians US President Kennedy a range of response the Russians and Cubans were going to continue
agreed to dismantle the IRBMs and options. Large numbers of machines were to resist President Kennedy’s demands for the
MRBMs, under inspection from the air. It seems deployed by all US services. During the period withdrawal of the missiles, the US had a plan
that Cuban leader Fidel Castro was not 14 October to 6 December, the USAF flew 102 U- ready for 30 October for an invasion of Cuba, but
consulted before the climbdown, and he would 2 sorties over Cuba, but low-flying aircraft were the US had no idea that there were battlefield
not allow verification to take place on Cuban able to supervise the operation with a versatility nuclear weapons on the island. The US gradually
soil. The US naval role therefore chiefly shifted unmatched by more remote observation. The wound down its forces, but actual trust took
from one of quarantine enforcement to the following year the superpowers agreed to install much longer to develop. In fact, trust was not at
monitoring of the removal of weapons and the 'hot line' telephone link, and as further all assisted on a date as late as 5 November,
warheads; even so, the quarantine line was evidence of the thaw in relations a nuclear test when two MiG-21Fs tried to intercept a pair of
retained, but adjusted to 150 miles out and ban agreement was signed in August 1963. RF-8A Crusaders from VFP-62, engaged on a Blue
renamed Chestnut, Venezuela and Argentina, The number of close calls was almost in Moon recce mission, eight miles west of Santa
also adding warships. Soviet leader Khrushchev double figures; errors that could so easily have Clara, Cuba. Unarmed of course, the Crusaders
accepted the American terms for the removal of precipitated a nuclear war, especially in such a turned to face the MiGs head-on, then thought
offensive weapons in exchange for guarantees sensitive situation. Of no direct connection to better of it and opened the taps to escape. Even
that the US would not invade Cuba. Privately, the Crisis, but a U-2 flying over the Arctic icecap so, the MiGs pursued for five minutes. A high-
but not revealed at the time, the deal extended suffered a navigation error resulting in it closing level combat air patrol did not intervene.
to a US agreement to withdraw their Jupiter on the USSR before being recalled to Alaska, but By 15 November, naval aircraft alone had
missiles from Turkey and Italy which, given their not before Russian fighters had been scrambled. flown 9,000 sorties, using 68 squadrons and
vulnerability and obsolescence, was planned in Then there were the US ATLAS missile launches 19,000 sailors. The eight deployed carriers had
any event, and had previously been ordered. from Vandenberg AFB; it does not seem to be on each steamed at least 10,000 miles. On 20
The freighter Divinogorsk sailed from Mariel record that the Americans pre-warned the November, CINCLANT directed the
Russians. The Americans or the Russians could
with four SS-4 Sandal MRBMs on 5 November, discontinuance of Cuba operations.
have triggered a response when Anderson’s U-2
and eight more missiles left on 7 November In the following year, a long-term Quick
was shot down, and the Russians could also have
aboard the Metallurg Anosov. By 9 November all Reaction Alert (QRA) presence was inserted into
done so when two of their submarines came
42 SS-4 missiles had been shipped out on eight Homestead AFB, Florida. Air Defense Command
close to launching a nuclear tipped torpedo,
vessels including Dvinogorsk, Volgoles, and Fizik removed a number of F-104A Starfighters from
partly because they had no radio contact and
Kurchatovsk. Fortunately, the missiles had to be the South Carolina Air Guard, eventually
did not know that the Crisis was over! Nor had
shipped as deck cargo, so their removal could be equipping them with the much higher rated (F-
they been told that the grenades being
easily verified. The IL-28s medium bombers, 104S standard) J79-GE-19 engine and retrofitting
deployed into the water by the US Navy were
however, were still under construction, and the only warnings. One might conclude from all this the big Vulcan cannon. The 319th FIS replaced
quarantine was not fully lifted until 20 that the ‘nuclear deterrent’ was vindicated and the F-102s of the 326th FIS that were already at
November, by which time the Russians had also had worked its magic, but the truth is that, on Homestead in the same role. The 319th assumed
reluctantly agreed to their removal. The first the day, there just happened to be enough Alert duties on 15 April 1963, toting a pair of
aircraft left Cuba in crates on 15 December people, both at the top and on the ground, with AIM-9B Sidewinders at the wingtips, and stayed
aboard the Kasirnov. an ability to think independently, and thereby at Homestead all the way until December 1969,
Although the crisis centered around missiles, make the right decisions. when the squadron was deactivated.

24 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
 CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS

Martin SP-5B Marlin

By Stephen J Di Nucci
Photographs Phil Jones

revised designation systems on 18 September hull first require some preparation. This amounts
1962. The French Aéronavale used ten P5M-2s to the installation of nearly twenty portholes,
from 1959 to 1964, the only foreign operator of most of them circular. Two of the kit’s portholes
the Marlin are in doubt; Caracal Models from the US
The Hasegawa SP-5B (ref. K9), dates back to produced a new decal set for the SP-5B in 2015,
1971, and is very typical of their products at that and Caracal point out that a porthole on each
time. Hard polystyrene, coloured light grey, side, just aft of the cockpit, is in the wrong
which is just what we want. It is fully and finely location. Easy to correct as Caracal also supply a
detailed everywhere, and there’s a crystal-clear scrap elevation showing the correct placement.
and very well-fitting canopy. Nose weight is not In the cockpit there are two chunky seats, a
required as there is no undercarriage as such, back bulkhead and a floor, and moulded into the
but tail-sit beaching wheels are provided. On the floor an oblong box, which represents the pilots’
downside there’s a little flash here and there, central pedestal. There is no instrument panel, so
Kit No: K9 huge sink marks in the pilots’ seat cushions and disappointing is the word, but the Internet has
several heavy sprue attachments and mould details for the front office. I used a razor saw to
Scale: 1/72 gates, although only one minor one in the reduce the height of the pedestal and then used
Type: Injection Moulded Plastic cockpit. There are few location pips. The the off-cut to extend the console rearwards and
instruction sheet is of good size and very clear, so create somewhere to mount some levers, in
Manufacturer: Hasegawa and the box art is excellent. The kit was re- B-25 Mitchell-style. I also added a further low
www.hasegawa-model.co.jp released in 2017. pedestal between the seats. An instrument
panel was easily made from Plasticard, to which I
applied some generic instrument detail using a

T
he original incarnation of the Marlin, the Cockpit and Fuselage
single fin and rudder P5M-1, first flew on 21 spare decal, but the Marlin’s large central radar
June 1951. The P5M-2 flew on 29 April 1954 Before starting I had to make a decision: to scope was not overlooked. The seats have backs
offering, as well as other refinements, a new T- rescribe or not to rescribe, that was the question. 2mm thick and are also rather large generally. I
tail with an elevator that was placed sufficiently Manufacturers these days regard it as the kiss of cut off the base of both, thinned the backs by
high up as to be constantly clear of water spray. death not to provide engraved detail, but I for more than half and squared off their tops a little.
Further development and investment in one don't always feel the need to change older I finally added a couple of battens behind on
technology for the ASW role, together with the kits, if the raised detail is finely done. which to fix some home-made headrests,
deletion of the tail-gunner station, produced the I could see that initial assembly was going to leaving a narrow gap through which to thread
P5M-1S and the P5M-2S. These two became the be fairly speedy, but although work began with some seat belts. I cannibalised a couple of really
SP-5A and the SP-5B when the US adopted its the cockpit, nevertheless the two halves of the good control yokes and added some sections of

Hasegawa’s kit opened. The boxart dates from the The excellent Caracal Models
1975 reissue, released again in 1980 and 1987. decal set and guides.

JANUARY 2023 • VOLUME 44 • ISSUE 11 25

CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS

The Hasegawa cockpit

as built from the box.

Removing Hasegawa’s cooler intake detail in Moving the porthole aft, as recommended by
That’s getting the wing leading edges. Caracal.
a bit better.

Filler
needed in
the usual
places.

I used thin card shims to

close up some gaps.

The hull and wing centre

section joined – this was
before they fell apart! The oil cooler intakes have been hollowed out. I made a pair of black
styrene boxes to slot inside, one of which is already installed.

black decal to represent circuit breaker panels the inner sides of the nacelles would be instruction sheet suggests removing a shallow
on the back bulkhead. Otherwise, I painted the impossible with the model fully assembled, and wedge of plastic from both flaps if they are to be
lot with Humbrol Light Grey (64). moreover my Cuba scheme meant that the depicted in the displaced position. I got the
The fuselage has no housed undercarriage or wings would be a different colour from the feeling that in the kit’s design stage, this was not
intakes to bother with, so I was quickly ready to adjacent fuselage. So, I now decided to assemble planned for and the recommended wheeze of
bring the fuselage halves together. Some of the and paint the wings and fuselage separately. losing a slice of plastic was the only way to avoid
joining surfaces have minimal contact, certainly the pattern maker making an expensive return
The most pleasing feature of the Hasegawa kit
the keel, and I decided to fix several alternate visit. It might have been better to have provided
is the separate flaps. There was no way I was
joining tabs across internal keel edges. Later, by alternative flaps for the extended position.
going to ignore these, but it was hard to find
again using the access afforded by the wing images, taken from behind, to show the correct Having got all flaps set up, I turned to
cavity, I also added some long straight lengths of amount of droop. The best I found was a copy of Hasegawa’s flap hinges. Four hinges are
scrap sprue inside the vee of the keel to provide Air International dated August 1996, which has a provided for each wing, but all depicted in
even more security and strength. small shot of a Marlin taking off, using JATO closed position, whereas I realised that with flap
bottles, displaying perhaps medium flap. On extension each one would be split into two
landing most aircraft of course use maximum parts, hinged at their bottommost points.
Wings Hasegawa’s plan is to ignore all this, use them as
flap, which I decided I wanted. The other
Next up I assembled the wing centre section, unknown was the actual manner of flap moulded and place the drooped flaps against
the engine nacelles, and then the nacelles to the extension. Flaps on most large aircraft extend their rear edges. It’s a bit of a cop out, so I
wing centre section. I spent some time decided to cut each hinge into halves, following
rearward as well as downwards, some even with
examining and adjusting the fit of the wing Hasegawa’s marked lines. I installed the standing
plenty of daylight beyond the trailing edge of
centre section to the fuselage before eventually parts, fitting them into the slots in the trailing
the wing. And what level within the flap housing
applying poly cement. Although improved, I edges of the wings. The parts fixed to the flaps
did each flap occupy? I had little option but to
couldn’t get a completely smooth transition were more complicated in shape, and these
choose a positioning based on the minimal
from wing to fuselage, so a little filling, scraping were salvaged or adapted from Hasegawa’s
evidence I could find.
and rubbing down was required, while at the parts, using scrap styrene. These were then
same time trying to lose as little moulded detail The sequence was to fit the flaps first; not easy assembled by connecting them to bridge the
as possible. I had reached this stage of the as the contact area was small. The inner flap on gap between the displaced flaps and the wing
model two years ago, but then set it aside. An one side fitted perfectly but the other didn’t, and standing parts. By now, I had already filled the
accident saw the whole wing part company from it was clear I would have to remove plastic to get slots in the lower surfaces of the flaps. It was the
the fuselage, but this proved to be a blessing, a fit. The problem was that the flap was fouling best I could do in the circumstances but maybe
because I suddenly realized that getting paint to against the hull. Then I noticed the Hasegawa mechanically dubious! I completed the flaps by

26 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
 CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS

Flaps have
been installed,
and so have
the standing
A view of the installed parts of the
flaps from aft. hinges/guides.

In this view of the wing flaps, hinge connections have now been made Installing the cooling gills is underway.
between the wing standing parts and the flaps themselves.

adding some short actuating rods within the such a large aircraft, but they were twin-coupled thin circular hoops, which I made by sawing
flap wells. There was no way to tell how many power plants. I say feature because of slices from suitable drop tanks. The hoops had to
there were, but I guessed on two for the outer Hasegawa's separate cooling gills, which can be be thin, but in fact the whole thing was easier
flaps and one for the inners. positioned open; just as well because they were than I had imagined, and I could have made
The wing is presented conventionally in two invariably left open with the aircraft at rest. Note them thinner. They were at risk of breakage
halves but buried in each leading edge is a that the Hasegawa gills are thin at their trailing towards the end of each rub down, and I fitted
multi-sectioned air intake, I presume for an oil edges, something I spotted only halfway them as the last task before the airbrush to try to
cooler. Hasegawa have moulded the intakes through. There are also separate but short avoid breakages. The four largest hoops I
exhaust stacks. I decided to paint these first and estimated as 8mm diameter, and these were
with splitter plates, all split in half along with the
later CA them into the finished cowlings, to fixed into place to describe a box shape. I used
wings but would have done better to have
avoid paint demarcation issues, but I was very slivers of strip as brackets, adding these once the
provided these as separate units, possibly
wary of potential irretrievable losses into the hoops were already in place. The two smaller
inserted after bringing the wing halves together.
void behind the gills. Positioning the stacks hoops, placed just forward of these, I made to be
I cut out all the dividers and enlarged the now
wasn’t easy, and Hasegawa could have helped 6mm across, but in retrospect something rather
hollow space, as I planned to insert a box made
by making them longer and with location points smaller would have been better for the ring with
from ten-thou black styrene. I made sure the into the backs of the engines. I hollowed out the the vertical presentation.
boxes reached well backwards into the wings, business ends of the stacks. In accordance with a
but also protruded beyond the leading edge to There are two tail transparencies. The thimble-
USN Directive dated July 1956, I painted the shaped one is painted over, but the one just
enable an easy clean-up with abrasives. Splitters insides of the engine cowlings gloss Aircraft
were then inserted to match the original above, presumably the location of the earlier
Gray. gun turret, is left clear. I couldn't establish any
Hasegawa angles, also from black styrene and
also protruding. A little filler between boxes and The engines themselves are a little ordinary, info around the interior of the transparency,
wing, plus another clean-up, finished things but at least they are full two-row cylinder sets, except that it was used for observation, and
nicely. I sprayed the wing centre section very and the large prop blades hide much of the merely painted the inside black.
early on so that the white paint would have cylinders. The previous yellow prop tips were
plenty of time to cure, just in case I might need changed to white/red/white by a Directive dated
December 1961. Beaching Gear
to use abrasives when adding the fuselage.
I noticed an issue with the main gear units
As regards the remaining wing furniture, after early on; the twin wheels on each side do not
some debate I decided to add the wingtip floats Tail both meet the ground. It's because the sides of
before painting, also the searchlight under the As already noted, the conventional tailplanes the hull are sloped, and the units take up the
starboard tip, although I masked-off the clear of the Marlin didn't last long. Much of the sub- slope when fitted. A quick study of some 1/1
area before attaching the light. Note that the hunting gear was attached to the head of the fin, scale images seemed to show, unsurprisingly,
light should have a shade in the roof of the light, and when the T-tail came along the location that the lower gear legs, halfway down, were
although not fully covered by Hasegawa's didn't change. The appearance however slightly angled inwards to get both wheels
guidance. drastically changed with the addition of equally to ground. The gear units were already
AN/ASQ-8 magnetic anomaly detection. The feeling fragile, and I now proposed to make
gear was now carried to the rear of a long fairing things worse. First, I added some flats to the
Engines trailing the T-tail. Very oddly, Hasegawa have a tyres on a sanding block. Then, using my razor
Another notable feature of Hasegawa's kit is useful diagram in one of their pictorials covering saw, I partially cut through each gear leg just
the Curtiss-Wright R-3350 engines; powerful the setting up of the MAD, but it's not at all in below the box (floatation?) structure, and gently
engines, perhaps a little odd with only two for their styrene. Essentially, the gear comprised six bent the leg into its correct position. But not

JANUARY 2023 • VOLUME 44 • ISSUE 11 27

CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS

The cockpit
finished and
waiting for
its canopy.

The three beaching gear The main beaching wheels are dry fitted here.
sets, ready for fitting. Not obvious from the photo, but both wheels
do not sit squarely on the deck.

Cutting hoops from a 1/72 scale wing tank The MAD submarine
for the magnetic anomaly detection gear. detection gear in place.

Ready for a semi-matt varnish. I would have to decal the dorsal area later,
The wings are being masked ready for the off-black walkway areas and de- so for now I protected the gloss finish there. I had rigged a handhold so I
icer boots. Most rough masking is still to be done. could paint the hull without handling it.

gently enough; one of them broke and the other Hasegawa's superb box art suggests some Another issue was the inflatable de-icer boots
nearly so. I secured them with poly cement and narrow, coloured lines for the dorsal fuselage on the wing leading edges. Hasegawa haven't
later with CA as well. This was going to be a area, in fact the two close parallels delineated by really taken these into account. The rivets extend
structurally weak area of the model, especially Hasegawa's raised detail, but I couldn't clearly all the way to the edges themselves, not
once the weight of the wings was added, but verify this using other sources. Study of a appropriate for a rubberised material. I located
was essential for a correct appearance. photograph of the nose area of a Marlin, taken my masking tape along the foremost spanwise
from above, seems to suggest that these lines panel line.
are in fact raised flanges, possibly even As to decals, my own release of Hasegawa's kit
Paint and Decals
structural, or maybe designed as boot retainers carried markings for USN squadrons VP-40 and
My Cuba Marlin was going to be finished in to ensure maintenance crew didn’t slip off the VP-45, plus a third machine with the Aéronavale.
the two-tone white and Engine Gray scheme. I roof area. It wasn't clear what colour the lining Some of Hasegawa’s USN numbering is rather
use enamels. For the white I used my usual should be, but in the absence of real suspect, given that they have neither 45 or 60-
Humbrol Gloss White mixed with about 20% confirmation, and taking into account my degrees corners, not to mention a rather chunky
Matt White and a tiny spot of brown. The Engine flanges idea, I used some narrow lines from look, so it may be advisable instead to use
Gray was FS 36081 as recommended by Caracal, Xtradecal's black parallel stripes sheet. The lining Caracal Models’ super sheet (ref. CD72040),
Xtracolor X129, but I noticed that Xtracolor also was more or less along the whole dorsal area, which has schemes for seven aircraft. I was
have a different colour badged as Engine Gray, and so couldn’t be applied until after wings and relieved to find that I could make up markings
X128. However, they seem very similar, with fuselage had been married together. for my chosen SP-5B Marlin of VP-45, BuNo
X128 possibly being the darker of the two if the 135513 LN 9, entirely from Caracal's sheet.
tinlet lids are any guide. The wings assembly was The wings required several black walkway Caracal have markings for BuNo 135505 LN 8 for
all-over grey, apart from the centre section. The areas. Oddly, these extended underneath too. VP-45, and I was able to find or amend
fuselage, though, required both colours, and to My best guess is that these were to reduce glare everything I needed from this one sheet. I didn’t
simplify masking I airbrushed the grey first. This for those using portholes for observation. The place a Modex on the starboard wing upper side
also ensured an inside grey show-through for best way forward seemed to be to paint the as my reference photograph doesn’t show one.
the canopy frames. The very open hull also whole lot in one go, in fact for me the only
required paint masking for the inside. I masked choice as I didn't have any black decal wide
what I could reach but otherwise relied on paper enough. In fact, considering available images, Final Assembly
towels shoved into the recesses front and rear. there appears to have been several different With both the fuselage and wings built,
There are no accessories available for the Marlin, practices, and it worried me slightly that Caracal painted and decaled, it was time to join them
so masking the canopy was steam driven. don’t show any variations between their options. together. I had already made good the joints

28 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
 CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS

before the aforementioned mishap when they been possible. I was also lucky with the long Conclusion
parted company, so I was hopeful of an easy wingspan; it meant that using only quite thin This flying boat is a piece of work from
result. I was particularly keen to see whether my card gave an immediate levelling-up. Hasegawa, especially given its original date, and
previous equal wingtips were preserved. I hadn't The very last significant job was to fit the aft for a kit this age very little filler was required. The
yet applied my final varnish, as I wanted to delay beaching gear set. I left this till the end because I surface detail is impressive. Large models always
this to the end in case of having to rub down the could see it was going to be even more fragile have that extra challenge and thank goodness I
wing joints or even repaint. than the main wheel sets. If assembled as realised it was best to keep the wings and
It was nearly perfect, but not quite. The wing intended by Hasegawa, it adopts the taper of the fuselage separate until the end. The kit’s only
cross-joint at the front was perfect, and all I had hull and will not lie in a straight-ahead position. real vice is the beaching gear, which has not
to do was introduce a little white into the ‘panel To obtain a pure fore-and-aft set-up, the rear been properly thought through. I've admired the
line’ and then wipe off excess with a cotton bud location pin needs to be much longer. The pin is Marlin for years and now I have one of my own,
dampened with thinners. The rear joint, very thin, so I cut it away, assembled the wheels but what a sight it must have been on the water!
however, was slightly stepped on one side. I set to the model with only the front pin, angled
attempted filler and a rub down, but it didn’t go the whole unit until I was satisfied and then cut
well, and I had to scrape away wrinkled gloss and positioned a replacement rear pin, fixing References
paint, wrinkled by the friction heat from with CA and ignoring the location hole. I • Kev Darling, Martin Mariner and Marlin
abrasives, and then try to feather the edges of installed a much thicker pin for security – I had (Warpaint 108, Guideline Publications)
the paint. I finished with a restorative coat of to ignore that it was overscale. I then lowered • Wings of Fame vol 7, The Journal of Classic
Johnsons Klear/Future before a white repaint of the model to its back wheels, with a prayer. It Combat Aircraft, (Aerospace Publishing Ltd)
the central area. wasn’t perfect but would have to do. It is
fortunate that the model will happily travel to • Air International Magazine August 1996 (Key
Also now revealed was the unequal wing-tip Publishing Ltd)
alignment. It was quickly obvious I could sort shows upside down.
things by adjusting the flatting of the main Otherwise, not a lot to do really but remove all
wheels. There was no way I was going to risk the masking and make and fit the dorsal blade Acknowledgment
already fragile gear by further flatting one of the antennae. Hasegawa provide these but they had Many thanks to Captain Bill Rodriguez, USN
wheel sets, so the only other option was to broken off and were lost. After attaching the retired, Commander VP-45, for his kind
minimise the flatting on the other side. I cut a props, the last task was to rig an antenna wire assistance.
couple of ovals of 10-thou black styrene card between tailplane and fuselage, for which I
and cemented them under the opposite wheels usually use stretched transparent sprue, but this
set. It was fortunate I had already flatted the time I used smoked sprue.
wheels, otherwise this wheeze would not have

JANUARY 2023 • VOLUME 44 • ISSUE 11 29

WORKBENCH

intend to fit the photoetched panel, make a seat to the backplate with. Add a couple of card
Kit No: 7099
careful card copy of it and make sure this will fit, strips and some more serious cement. It won't
Scale: 1/72 because the photoetch item is a few thou' show, and the assembly needs rather a lot of
Type: Injection Moulded Plastic bigger than the moulded panel. To do this check, handling strength.
you'll need to fit the side frames, and it helps to The last time I engaged photoetched seat
Manufacturer: Eduard open out their location dimples a little, to 0.024" belts in mortal combat was on Eduard's Spitfire
www.eduard.com (0.6mm.) VIII. These are a great improvement, in that
www.armahobby.com The fuselage, whose bare halves are a dream they're properly annealed and stay where they're
fit to the wing uppersurface out of the box, bent. I still had the devil's own job of sticking

I
f you want a typical BoB Hurricane in this needed some heavy pressure when the interior them down, though. The bare metal at the back
scale, there's really no other choice. GZ-L ‘Blue was complete. This is because the aforesaid side was proof against everything I tried, except Uhu
Peter’ - here we go! frames won't quite go into the grooves provided and Evo-stik, which are not famous for their
The Arma kit is great overall, though there are for them in the upper wing ‘bridge’ area. Apply a qualities of precision application (Cyanoacrylate?
some snags. The Eduard photoetch is also rat-tail file just outboard of the heel troughs It and I are ‘not on terms’).
excellent for what it is, but I'm still not won over. (part 4) to make the grooves both wider and Straps PE2 should have been bent over and
I decided to use the photoetch (this being a deeper, especially at the rear. attached behind PE1. Not with my fingers and
review) but only if it was (a) better than the Also, if you intend to deploy the boarding step my glue! I cropped the ‘Y’ top of 2 so it
moulded parts and (b) big enough to (PE 49, above Step K) then cut out and deepen disappeared nicely behind 1 and hung it all from
manipulate. First of all, a couple of fixes that I the recessed handgrip below the rear end of the the headrest. I could not find a photo of the lap
wish I'd known about before I tried to assemble port side canopy rail. Check the windscreen fit straps, anywhere, nor fathom from the
the fuselage halves and wing. How often have I on the scuttle, using the ‘closed’ kit hood as a jig. instructions how they should lie. This added to
said - and I wish I'd listened - however good the Mine developed excess sweepback somewhere the frustration of their being too small to pick
kit, check everything for fit beforehand? along the line, so check, and fix if required, the fit up, or hold, or find once dropped. In the end I
of exhausts, radio mast and tailwheel, to save guessed.
The instrument panel sits in a groove under
the scuttle, and its corners rest on top of the last-minute drilling-out. On the other hand, I must apologise to Eduard
warren-girder frames on the cockpit walls. Right! Back to Square ‘A’ on page 3.There's a over their seat-height lever. It's simply fully UP
Ensure that this groove is deep enough over its bit of flash to clear from the rather lovely and my reference photo shows it fully DOWN.
whole semi-circumference as trying to fix this on bulkhead and seat, plus slots to open out for the Section B gives us the choice between two
a completed interior is not recommended. If you seat belts, and four teeny little pips to attach the beautiful instrument panels. Normally of course,

Eduard’s
ProfiPACK
reboxing of
Arma’s kit.

The port sidewall and panel assembled, with much of the etch, and the
modified rudder assembly.

32 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
 WORKBENCH

The nicely detailed wheel wells showing the

location of the prominent pipe added from The bracing rod installed on the front of the
The starboard side panel and seat. Note the plastic rod and holes drilled for the radiator radiator, and the photoetched matrix visible
colour of the pre-painted photoetch. shutter rods behind.

The single biggest issue with the kit

was the thickness of the canopy,
which I intended to pose opened.

The radiator seen from aft with

the actuating rods installed..

I'd paint and dry-brush the moulded one. It's far the bottom of the bulkhead must be trimmed to everybody else could do it as well!
too good to be sanded flat, so mine went to the clear the crossbar of part 8. Close the fuselage Now is the time to install the lamps, while the
Deprived Hurricane Fund and a 0.020" sheet halves with extreme care; PE13 is especially at wing is unencumbered. The landing lamps are
copy got the photoetch parts. For some reason risk from the starboard diagonal frame. OK, though not perfect, being stepped (I used a
my old method - paint the backs with liquid Next we come to the wing and wheel wells, fuzz-tipped microbrush to scrub fingerprint
cement, dry overnight, overlay and flash with and they're superb. The only thing missing is the powder into the moulded reflector.) The nav
MEK - worked as well as it did on Eduard's lovely serpentine pipe from the central ridge to the lights, neat though they are, are too small to
F6F-5 all those years ago. Maybe size matters? front wall. Drill into the front of the ridge in part hold and clean up, and the wingtips need
Incidentally, while cutting your panel blank, 18, and through the front wall of part 21 just to accurate carving to fit them. Nice try, but next
put a couple of notches in the bottom edge to port of the pressure vessel part 22, while it's time I'll scratch them from transparent sprue the
take the compass supports. I think we're easy. Later, feed your plastic rod in from ahead old-fashioned way. You get something to hold
expected to trap those microscopic tabs and bend it as you go. I sanded the straps until it's firmly glued, and there's not much more
between panel layers 10 and 11 - fat chance! around part 22 flat and left off all the carve, sand, and polish needed than with the kit
I was disappointed by the cockpit side panels photoetched bits. PE46 is especially fatuous. parts. The landing lamp surrounds (PE 32/41)
(sections C & D.) Beautifully detailed, yes, but Why replace a plain moulded box with a plain might work as decals, but they don't show much
what sort of a colour is that? Aotake, Nakajima photoetched plate? Likewise, PE31 (wheel bay on the real thing. The photoetch is both too
style? It's certainly not RAF Interior Green, so roof ) is no great improvement on the existing thick and too much trouble.
much so that I used a much darker grey-green so moulding. It may usefully be transferred to the If you forgot to deepen the grooves in the
as not to clash too obviously. Press on regardless 1979 Airfix kit (and thereby hangs another tale). wing bridge area then do it now. Dry-fit the
... I omitted PE 22, hidden under the side frame, Once the wheel bay is complete (top left, fuselage and wing to make sure it fits nicely,
while PE23 and PE27 were just too small. page 5) we are encouraged to install the before adding the stick-and-pedals parts. Then
The knee-basher frame, part 8, is a puzzler. If undercarriage, but tears before bedtime lie that check again, with part 4 added, and trim the
fitted as moulded, the top rail would go slap way. First, add the shallow domed fairing over forward outboard corners of the heelboards if
through the compass supports. This was the leg cover junction and add fuse-wire brake necessary. Oh for a time machine...
obviously not so in full size. The simple solution lines and wheels. Assemble the legs and doors I'm a bit unhappy about the rudder pedals.
is to remove the offending top rail (including the as a unit, using the model as a jig, but leave final Those supplied are a bit clunky, but are proper
ends which helpfully shortens the ‘V’ a bit). The attachment till later. We can do this because the period double-decker jobs, introduced shortly
upright of the surviving K-shape bridges across root ribs, parts 23/24, are not integral to the after Bob Tuck reported on the captured '109 he
the lower rear corners of the side frames. It has structure, as in the Airfix kit, but cemented inside flew in May 1940.We are expected to cut them
rounded ends and is just that useful bit too long. the aft corners of part 20. Just trim the edges to down to fit the photoetched single-decker
Drill into the lower aft side-frame corners ensure that these root ribs can be slipped in pedals, which would be more at home in the
(0.030") and we have a stable four-point location without strain, and install them after the Airfix rag-winger. After a whole four seconds of
for the part using these drillings and both ends undercarriage is in. This eliminates the ‘bent- agonised deliberation, I did a swap. The leather
of the control panel. wire’ puzzle that Airfix requires us to solve when ‘D’ straps needed thinning, but the Airfix pedals
threading their retraction jacks into place. sat nicely in a dab of filler, and a bit of sprue in a
It isn't obvious, because the locations are tiny,
but the bulkhead part 7 fits between the rear The upper and lower wing surfaces fit drilled hole held the adjustment starwheel PE26.
bars of the side frames (some minor easing may perfectly and require minimal cleaning-up of the Yes, dear reader, I fitted it, not that it'll ever be
be required) and the headrest fits ahead of the mating faces. The trailing edges, though double seen again, down there behind the control
doghouse, not inside it. To make this happen, thickness, are commendably sharp. I wish column.

JANUARY 2023 • VOLUME 44 • ISSUE 11 33

WORKBENCH

Template for
acetate ‘open’ hood.

A ‘master’ was
made from the
hood template,
which was used to
cut round and
produce the
finished piece
from clear acetate.

The finished hood part is pressed down

‘Here’s one
into a foam block with a rounded
that I
object to achieve the desired curvature.
already
made…’ My
device for
bending
wire for
Hurricane
brakes.

Now, hopefully, the wings and fuselage will 25 on to the 1979 Airfix kit... and find the outboard edges of the pentagonal panel within
go together perfectly. Just be really careful not photoetched cores, PE43, don't quite fit. To fix the radiator recess. Drill through both shutter
to clout the compass with the stick. Mind you this, you need one of those tiny round-nosed and belly, with the smallest drill you have.
don't push the trailing edge too deep into the razor saws from Airwaves or similar: 0.010" thick. Repeat, but angled out at 45 degrees, from the
rear fuselage either, as there's no ledge to Use this to groove the radiator shell immediately centres of the two small square panels just
locate it. fore and aft of the central rib: get deep enough behind. While you're at it, drill through both top
The tail's lovely, but I had to ease the fit of the and the 0.006" thick photoetch mesh should and bottom lips of the radiator intake, centrally
fin to the tailplane. drop in when you're ready for it. This leaves the and as near the front as you can. This is for the
radiator see-through. Well, so is the real thing. I steadying rod, which stiffens up the intake,
Postponing the undercarriage again and like the effect, so I'm keeping it. Mustangs had one too. Paint the radiator
skipping over my provision for a properly interior, fit the mesh, and cement in place. Re-
running propeller, we come to section E, the The shutter (Section H part 2) is a different
matter. It's quite thick in real life, and both its drill for the actuators (around 0.015" diameter)
radiator - another good bit, mostly. The upper lip and feed through some finely stretched sprue.
is a bit longer than the lower - easily trimmed - operating rods and the rear casing supports are
round, not flat and broadside to the airflow, so Flash with MEK, and shave off when dry. Lightly
and the intake is too shallow, so shave it out notch the rounded corners at the rear of the
slightly, top and bottom. The radiator core, part that obviates PE33,34 and 45. Instead, use a
razor-saw either side of the shutter, forward to radiator shell, and (with your 0.015" drill resting
25, needs its sides trimming, though it's nicely in said notch) re-drill into the square panels.
detailed, albeit on one side only (make it aft, it the hinge, with one of SAM's 0.004" jobs. Then
scribe, with a burin or the top edge of a knife tip, Insert more sprue. All this works on any
shows more). Hurricane kit (though most need paring-out
deeply into the hinge line from outside. This
Here we have the chance of allows the shutter to be opened partly and first) and really looks the part. Check the Haynes
a nicely detailed radiator, secured in position with just a touch of MEK. Hurricane manual to see if I'm right.
with all these photoetched Section F of Eduard's instructions implies the
parts, so pass The operating rods run from the shutter, mid-
chord near the edges, vertically upwards to the single-part propeller of the Mk II kits. In fact, we
part get the choice of DH or Rotol blades, with
mid-points of the
appropriate backplate, but the fit is so
good it's no trouble. The
photoetched

34 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
 WORKBENCH

backplate (PE50) is only called out for option D. Klear and dry overnight: then press the roof into
So far, I can only find this flat-plate oil catcher on hard foam or soft rubber, using a brush handle
Middle East Hurris with DH props and spinners, or thick wire, to curve it to shape. This technique
so that's all right. The bent-channel catcher has been successfully used since the 1940s...
seems to have come in on the Mk II, rather than The open canopy also exposes its running
with the late Rotol spinner, part 40, and it's rails. These are simply narrow grooves just under
moulded on the Mk II kits. the sill. Now the moulded sill is a bit low, to suit
As this will be Peter Brothers' machine, I didn't the closed canopy, so lightly chamfer the sill
need either of the photoetched mirrors edge and cement a strip of 0.005" card on top.
(section I). He had a bespoke internal Somewhere in among all this, and before any
arrangement, courtesy of his rigger and the local breakable small parts were at risk, I got the main
garage, which I could only guess at. I used a painting done. Biggin Hill seems to have used
generic item of primordial photoetch, attached Eau-de-Nil in lieu of Sky. 32 Sqn were otherwise
with UV-set resin. quite conventional except for their less-than-
The gunsight, section J, is a pain. It's very like usually undersize code letters (Some Ministry
some Quickboost sights I bought once: too small bright spark - maybe with the Wellington in
to make and too big once installed. I cut a small mind - specified 48" high code letters for
rectangle from the film provided, no wider than everything. 32 Sqn's erks tried, but about 40" was
the sight head, and bent the lower end over at all they could fit. They were still the biggest
45 deg. This I glued directly to the forward side codes in Fighter Command. Note that in this
of part 10. It's still too big, but it'll have to do. case they don't encroach on the National
Section K. Of course all this detail is only Marking itself, only on the yellow surround.
visible with the canopy open, which brings me These are HisAirDec decals, at least 50 years old,
to the Arma kit's main flaw, its excessively thick and rather thick. For the insignia, I used the kit
canopy. The ‘closed’ hood sits over a recessed decals, which were marvellous: quick releasing,
doghouse, which neatly hides its non-scale opaque, non-crumbly of edge, and happy to sit
thickness. The ‘open’ hood sits up on top, down into fine panel lines. Bliss!
flaunting both its own excess thickness and the What else? Home-printed serial and ‘Blue
non-scale recess in the doghouse below. I Peter’ flag, boarding step from the old Heller kit
believe the best cure is to fill the doghouse (the photoetch item being too, too thin), and a
recess - not forgetting the taper on the front end conundrum. There is a starboard-side photo of
- and to replace the hood with one made from this aircraft (to complement the Osprey artwork),
bent acetate sheet. The attached template works which appears to show a lack of radio mast. Flt Lt
for material of 0.012" - 0.015" thickness. I've used Brothers is known to have personalised his
full-size dimensions - and a SAM scale rule - to machine in some ways, but this seems a bit
avoid passing on any rounding errors. Make an much and if it had worked (given it a couple
acetate master, and scribe round that for copies, more mph while still leaving the radio
lining up the intermediate frames of one with serviceable) it would surely have caught on?
the end frames of the other to get the full set. Evidence-based comments welcome!
Scribe firmly, and the space between should fill Varnish, add all the myriad fragile details,
with paint from a teeny brush. Allow to dry for touch up, and write up. Summary? A very
half an hour, and remove overflows with a sharp excellent kit of parts indeed, but I for one will
cocktail stick. Give the whole a coat or two of finish my other copies with the canopies closed.

JANUARY 2023 • VOLUME 44 • ISSUE 11 35

M E T E O R F.8

The Meteor lands...

By Bill Clark

conversion sets for Matchbox’s Night Fighter kit, but with a few innovations. I fully understand
Gloster Meteor F.8
and I can also remember Rareplanes issuing a why Airfix have used them, but in one area in
Kit No: A04064 vacuum formed kit. I never got around to particular it doesn’t really work. More of that
Scale: 1/72 finishing that one ... anon.
There were also really nice resin examples The plastic parts are of a harder, darker grey
Type: Injection Moulded Plastic
issued by CMR and PJ Models. Airfix have, of than has been Airfix’s norm of late, which
Manufacturer: Airfix course, issued their own Meteor Mk III /F.3, which provides the modeller with crisp and well-
www.airfix.com seems to be available on that well-known defined details and panel lines, all finely
auction site, and might come in handy for a bit recessed. They’re also consistent across the
Meteor F.8 Kits in 1/72 of cross-kitting in the future. whole model, unlike some Airfix kits that seem
to have had different tooling in differing areas.

I
’ve been looking forward to this kit for a long Given that the F.8 was the most widely used
time. It’s not the first F.8 to have appeared in version of the Meteor and considering its service
an Airfix box though, as they did provide us both for the RAF and as an export version, I find What’s in the Box?
with a kit containing the Special Hobby kit (also it a bit surprising really that Airfix took so long to The kit has both types of air intake, the earlier
issued by Xtrakit), which in itself was quite nice, tool their own, but first impressions are that it’s ‘narrow breather’ and the later ‘wide’ or ‘deep
but with a few niggly problems. Other attempts been well worth that wait. Upon inspection of breather’. The latter was installed on the WKxxx
at the F.8 go back to the late ‘fifties with Frog’s the sprues, four plastic and one clear, it’s and WLxxx series F.8s, along with some T7s, and
kit. Merlin and Aeroclub issued limited run apparent that Airfix has applied a very similar FR9s. These afforded an extra 200lbs of thrust to
injection-moulded kits. Aeroclub also issued breakdown to that used on their 1/48 beauty, the air-thirsty Derwent engines. I have read that

Both ‘Wide’ and ‘narrow breather’ intakes are

supplied in the kit, the former, fitted on F.8s in
the WKxxx and WLxxx series, gave the Airfix’s dark grey plastic provides the kit with
Derwent 8 engines an additional 200lbs of nice sharp detail.
thrust.
Airfix’s decal sheets
Airfix’s Meteor, with superb Adam Toomy are absolutely
artwork. stunning nowadays.
Plenty of colourful
choices include
markings for 74 Sqn
RAF, 500 Sqn
RAuxAF, and 350
SQN Belgian AF, and
a fair few stencils
that will keep you
Plenty of parts in this sprue ... ... and more on this one, including the occupied and test
undercarriage parts. your eyesight!

36 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
 M E T E O R F.8

The clear parts include both early and later

canopies. Other inclusions suggest further I found it easier to paint everything that Detail for the cockpit is more than adequate in
boxings including an Australian F.8 and a FR.9. needed to be black now, while on the sprue. this scale. Decals have been used for the
This included the tyres, which was a bit of a instrument panel.
waste of time!
The built-
up cockpit
tub.

With the tub added you can see the ample

space below for the required nose weight. One ‘buttoned-up’ fuselage. The rudder
assembly has to be added now and can be
posed deflected.

Jet pipes
are added.

Most of the internal wing detail is added to

the lower wing. Note the flashed over holes, Meteors’ wings featured a continuous leading
suggesting a further boxing for an Australian edge. Airfix provide this with the front spar.
‘Korean War’ F.8.

It’s certainly beginning to look like a Meteor.

With the wheel wells built up, the upper wing ... the mainplanes can then be joined to the Ready for the Intakes and engine exhaust
sections can be added ... fuselage. cones to be added.

some earlier ‘narrow breather’ aircraft were The Build facets being integral to the main spar. Wheel
retrofitted with the wider version, but I’ve seen bays are simply built up around these spars,
I started my build with the cockpit and seat.
no concrete evidence to suggest the numbers which made for a very sturdy wing. Holes for
Both are very nicely moulded and were built up
involved. Also included in the kit are both types mounting the fuel tanks, if required, need to be
with little drama. I added seatbelts to the seat,
of canopies used, both the one-piece clear drilled out now in the lower wing. The engine
from strips of masking tape, as the tiny pilot
version and the earlier one with its distinctive exhaust pipes were then added, as were the
metal rear portion, and in addition earlier and would not be required. I followed the
Derwent engine fronts. With the upper wing
late production separate ailerons are included. instructions carefully here as I didn’t want to
parts added, this assembly was offered up to the
miss out anything important. Once the cockpit pre-built fuselage. The fit was excellent, though I
These alternatives alone mean that any in-
tub had been secured into one half of the did need to apply a bit of filler on the separately
service F.8 can be built from the kit, apart from
fuselage, I could mate the two halves together. supplied rear wing root.
maybe an Australian F.8 carrying RPs, although
provision has been allowed in the kit for this There is plenty of space to add the required
The front nose gear has to be dealt with next.
with flashed over holes in the lower wing, just as weight. I used lumps of lead, which were
This is quite fiddly, and I’d maybe use a different
Airfix did in 1/48. An RAAF version should follow. wedged under the cockpit tub. This was
approach when building the next one. The nose-
The clear radio-compass fairing is also included superglued in place and had Milliput added to
gear bulkhead has locating bars on the rear
on the clear sprue, as are the FR.9’s side camera seal it in and avoid any lead coming loose. cockpit facing side. These should fit into areas
windows. The wings were next. Each wheel bay is above and below the internal cockpit tub
constructed from walls with the front and rear construction, but I couldn’t get this to work, so I

JANUARY 2023 • VOLUME 44 • ISSUE 11 37

M E T E O R F.8

A bit of filler was required on the rear wing

root fairing. The intakes also required a bit of
sanding down to get them to blend in
seamlessly. ... this made for a much better fit. I’d suggest
I had to remove the raised locating bars from adding the nose cone as two separate parts, I
the rear of the forward gear bulkhead ... certainly will next time.

Upper surfaces
primed in black.

I used tape and liquid masking for the canopy.

Ready to fire up the compressor and add
The card fills a gap between the windscreen
some paint.
and canopy.

In the end I opted for the kit’s RAF 74 Sqn

colours.
My go-to High Speed Silver. Vallejo Model Air
Silver RLM01. Xtracrylic Dark Green and Dark Sea Grey
applied. The white wingtips were added as my
initial plan was to feature a 19 Sqn machine
featuring blue and white chequers.

Once added the gear looks okay. The added

A Flory wash was applied to scruff up the The main wheel gear! Not my favourite part of actuating bracing and doors can be a bit
lower surfaces. this build. fiddly to apply.

removed the bars and filed the area flush. This two halves, left and right with deep recesses in detail. Wheels were also handed so the ‘holed’
made for a much better fit. I joined the two- the upper part of each tyre, which should fit, side would always face the starboard whereas
piece nose cone together. This should fit snuggly snugly into the mud guard on the gear leg. the brake side would always face port. Airfix has
over the nose gear and onto the nose. It worked The problem I had was that the wheels didn’t holes incorrectly on both sides. Luckily these are
reasonably well, though the next time I think I’ll fit, and it required an awful lot of pre-painted largely unnoticeable, but it’s an odd mistake to
add the two halves separately and join them plastic to be pared away to resolve this. I used a have made, particularly when they got it right on
together on the kit. This might provide a better scalpel tip, carefully, and with constant checking. their 1/48 kit …
fit. These parts are small, and I found the whole
process a bit frustrating to be honest. I would Painting
Reinventing the Wheel have much preferred a more traditional
A coat of matt black primer was applied on
approach, with a separate wheel that fitted into
With the tailplane assembly added, I could the top surfaces and light grey below. This
the mudguard.
then set about the undercarriage. I know what highlighted a few areas that required a bit of
Airfix were attempting here, but I found the Another point about the mainwheels. Meteor attention. Once I was happy with these
whole process to be a bit overdone and wheels had different detail on each side of the corrections, I applied the silver lower surfaces,
unnecessarily complicated. Each wheel comes in hub. One side featured six holes, the other brake using Vallejo Model Air Silver RLM01 (71.063).

38 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
 M E T E O R F.8

This was masked off when dry and the upper Decals are typically Airfix - superb with loads straightforward for the type. I have been critical
Dark Sea Grey and Dark Green applied, using of stencils. They settled down onto the glossy of the wheel assembly, as I personally I feel that
Xtracrylic XA1004 and XA1001 respectively. It surface requiring no setting solutions this was just a bit too over-elaborate for a kit this
seems that there were quite a few variations to whatsoever. With decaling complete a coat of size. The option is there for an ‘in-flight’ display,
the camouflage patterns used, so do be careful. matt varnish was lightly applied to tone the high and the one-piece lower wing doors insert
Prior to commencing with the decaling gloss down. provided by Airfix would make this an appealing
process, a couple of good coats of gloss varnish I added a pitot tube from a section of a option ... though the pilot could do with being a
were applied, which gives the decals a good needle, replacing the kits plastic one, which had bit larger.
surface to adhere to and eliminates the risk of snapped off earlier in the build, and navigation I have no doubt, given the breakdown of the
any carrier film silvering. Initially I had planned lights from small lenses from Hobbycraft, parts here that other boxings will follow, which
on using the decals from Xtradecal sheet X72- superglued into recesses cut out previously. look to include an Australian Korean War version
114 to portray WK974 of 19 Sqn. This These were given their respective green and red and an FR.9. These I am certain will prove to be
camouflaged machine had Dark Blue and White clear coats and a touch of superglue added to very popular. They kit also could provide the
chequered wing tips, but I wasn’t too confident create the lens cover. basis of a bit of cross kitting, certainly with
that the aftermarket decals for this would As the canopy would sit open, I added the Airfix’s F.3 kit, for an F.4 maybe? But that’s for
conform, as the decals were most likely meant retractable pilot step from sprue and attached it another time. Bearing in mind that the F.8 served
for the Special Hobby-tooled kit. As a precaution into a predrilled slot, and there it was finished. with more than twenty RAF front-line squadrons,
I had painted the wing tips white, in case I had to over a period that included the change from
add the blue as well, but in the end, I wasn’t High Speed Silver to camouflage, that’s an awful
happy with that combination, so the Conclusion lot of schemes to choose from. Then of course
wingtips were given their respective If this kit is going to be Airfix’s new standard, there are the second line units, and export
camo colours and I opted for the kit’s 74 Sqn then a lot of us modellers will be very happy. The versions. Despite my reservations regarding the
machine example. fit of parts overall was exceptional and the undercarriage, I somehow have the feeling that
breakdown of the build was fairly this kit may keep me rather busy for a while!

JANUARY 2023 • VOLUME 44 • ISSUE 11 39

 SPRUCE

By Rogério ‘Rato’ Marczak

A
t the end of WWII, the Japanese mainland one of the dedicated RS boxings, so I grabbed
was being prepared to face a probable Allied one to avoid having to outsource decals for it.
invasion. Everything was to be used, from Construction started by assembling the
bamboo spears to obsolete aircraft. The Tachikawa cockpit cage. I added fake pedals and drilled
Ki-9 trainer was available in good numbers and several holes I found in prototype photos. The
was hastily converted into a low-tech Kamikaze by control panel came from the photoetched fret
adding a fuel drum to the back seat. Flying low at included in the kit. In the first edition of this
night, it could have claimed the lives of many tooling, the photoetched parts were pre-
aboard the invaders’ fleet. painted, but later boxings seem to have
The Imperial Japanese Army and Navy made abandoned this. To make positioning of the
use of biplanes throughout WWII, perhaps more individual instrument decals easier, I used the
than any other nation. The Tachikawa Ki-9 photoetched front control panel part as a mask
Spruce was the main IJA primary trainer and a and sprayed white over the back panel. All
Tachikawa Ki-9 Spruce ‘Special Unit’ cockpit subassemblies and details were painted,
formidable aircraft for first-time fliers. In 1/72,
Kit No: 92049 there are currently only two options to build a weathered, and set aside while I worked on the
Spruce, the Choroszy resin kit, and the RS fuselage. I had only had to worry about the front
Scale: 1/72 cockpit here, as the back seat and instruments
Models injected plastic offering. After studying
Type: Injection Moulded Plastic period photos of lines of Spruces armed with were not installed, to make room for the fuel
fuel drums on the back seat, to be used as drum.
Manufacturer: RS Models
kamikazes, I decided to have one in my The rudder was carefully removed from its
www.rsmodels.cz
collection. Incidentally, the version I chose was fuselage half to be posed in a deflected position

Cockpit parts
A simple tip to help install individual
painted and
instrument decals is to use the front photoetch
detailed.
Cockpit parts were improved, but only the panel (perforated) as a mask to mark the
front cockpit needed to be worked on, as the position of the instruments on the back panel.
back cockpit would carry a fuel drum.

The rudder is integrated into one of the The elevators were not removed, but scored The lower wing was installed and the basic
fuselage halves. It was removed to be installed along the hinge line to allow bending to the airframe was primed. The non-hinged lines of
in a more natural position later. usual deflected attitude. the control surfaces were opened up with a saw.

JANUARY 2023 • VOLUME 44 • ISSUE 11 41

SPRUCE

The landing gear struts were also cemented in I opted for installing the wing struts earlier.
Wing struts were reinforced with 0.3mm wires place at this stage. I reasoned it would be Although it was a risky decision, I succeeded
to fit in pre-drilled holes, since there is no easier to align them correctly before the in not breaking them during the project. The
alignment feature for them in the kit. model was painted with the final colours. model was then painted in trainer yellow with
metal areas in a semi-gloss IJA green.

The IJA green was mixed from Tamiya acrylics The chipping was not so successful on the
thinned with alcohol, deliberately leaving the After masking the metal areas, the green paint fuselage and lower wings because the
yellow undercoat visible in some small places. was very gently sanded using 3000 grit scallops of the fabric-covered areas were not
This was a thin coat, to facilitate the paint sandpaper and lots of water to reveal the as well defined as in the main wing. It would
chipping to come. yellow base colour at high spots. be corrected later with pencils.

The wings were weathered exclusively with oils (no washes used) over
the flat Tamiya paint. Being the most distinct part of the aircraft, I
wanted the upper wing to show the effects of the elements upon a The same weathering routine as the upper side of the wing was
machine stored outside. repeated to the lower side, although lighter.

later. I did the same for the elevators, but it complicated to assemble. After making sure that As for the basic camouflage colours, again I
wasn’t necessary to remove them completely – I the wheels’ axle was aligned and the lower mixed Tamiya acrylics because I think their Army
just scored them with the hobby knife on the wings level, I added liquid cement to strengthen Green is too dark for 1/72 scale. I masked the
underside, softened the hinge line with liquid the joints. Acrylic putty was used to fill small areas supposedly covered by metal and sprayed
cement, and bent them to a more natural gaps and cleaned with a damp cotton swab. my interpretation of Army Green almost
position, again following reference photos. Before loading the airbrush I had some translucent, purposely leaving some areas with
The cockpit details were installed inside the important decisions to make. The first was the yellow showing through. I understand that
fuselage and it was closed. I also installed the whether or not to install the tail surfaces. The the green was hastily applied over the yellow the
lower wings and checked for alignment and other was riskier: should I install the wing struts better to conceal the newly promoted kamikaze,
seam issues. As usual for me, the aileron lines now, having so much handling of the model and it shows in period photos.
were re-scored and sawed at the ends to make ahead? I opted for gluing all airframe items At this point, I started with the most
them look like movable surfaces. RS Models do except the top wing, although somewhat important weathering step of the project: to
not provide any aids for the fitting of the wing resigned that I would probably break the struts simulate the green paint chipping from the
struts, therefore I drilled the corresponding sooner or later… I painted the model with a mix previous yellow finish. The effect is visible in
locations on the wings and inserted 0.3 mm of Tamiya acrylics to represent the yellow trainer wartime photos of Spruces similarly overpainted.
piano wire in the struts. This would not only help colour, then masked metal-covered areas and My previous experiences with the hairspray
immensely with the top wing assembly later on painted them with semi-gloss colour, to method proved not exactly controllable, and in
but also add some structural strength to the distinguish them from the flat camouflage tone 1/72, any weathering attempt must be in scale. I
model. The landing gear truss was also to come. protected the metallic areas with masking tape

42 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
 SPRUCE

After applying the decals, a Derwent yellow

pencil beefed up the green chipped areas on Careful alignment allowed the installation of Rigging was effected with stretched sprue cut
the fuselage, while a 000 brush and dark the upper wing to the lower wing struts first. to size. Double wires were glued parallel
green paint were used to simulate the Only then were the cabane struts and the before being attached to the wings. No effort
chipping on the markings. ailerons connecting rods glued in place, was made to represent the turnbuckles.
adding rigidity to the assembly.

The tiny wire stays were made with bits of

tubing and wire. They were glued over the
Wingtip lights are simple blue and red crossing points of the wing rigging. The engine is as provided - all it requires is a
transparent paint over grey decals, cut to careful painting of the photoetched ignition
shape and applied to the wings. wiring, also included in the kit.

The propeller and engine cowling were

painted and weathered to match the rest of A new windscreen was made from acetate,
The oil cooler was refined by scoring a thin the airframe. The characteristic fuel drum using the overly thick kit part as a guide.
saw along the part to deepen the recesses came from the spare parts box, to be inserted Correct thickness plays a particularly
between the cooling fins. . in the back seat. important role in small-scale models.

A number of small scratchbuilt items had to The anti-slip stripe on the lower wing is a
be added near the end. This included the fuel piece of spare decal painted, weathered, and
lines and the Pitot tubes screwed to the wing installed in place. Much easier and safer than The last items installed were the wheels, taking
struts, both evident from period photos. painting. care to preserve the characteristic camber.

and started gently to sand the green coat using visible. I would correct this later on with pencils. were painted using circular masks. The same
3000 grit sandpaper and plenty of water. This The next weathering steps involved oil paint treatment was used on the undersurfaces of the
method will subtly remove the green paint from rendering. No clear coat was applied, and all the wings, except that I added more streaks than on
the highlights. It is a progressive process: you do effects were added directly over the flat Tamiya the upper surfaces.
a pass with the sandpaper, check your work, paints. No wash was used either, everything was The kit decals are very brittle and I had some
double-check the photos, and do it again if obtained by working with oils only. I played with trouble with them cracking during the
necessary. The same method was used on the them to simulate fuel stains in the central wing, application. A flat coat over the decals prepared
fuselage/lower wing, although the scallops of and darker colours along control surfaces and the model for the final paint chipping, which
the fabric-covered areas were not so crisply wing joints. The result simulates a wing exposed consisted of brush painting green chippings
defined in the kit there, so the effect was not so to the elements for some time. The Hinomarus over the fuselage numbers (as per period

JANUARY 2023 • VOLUME 44 • ISSUE 11 43

SPRUCE

photos), and retouching/emphasizing the

chipping wherever the sandpaper didn’t cut
through the green camouflage. This was
achieved by scrubbing an orange Derwent
pencil along edges and corners. The walkway
stripe on the lower wing is a pre-painted decal
cut to shape.
Only then was the upper wing cemented to
the struts. Once the alignment was checked, I
glued the aileron connecting rods and the
central (cabane) struts. The plan worked without
breaking anything and I was able to proceed to
the rigging. I adopted the simplest recipe here:
stretched sprue. Dark grey sprues become light
grey once stretched, simulating the metallic
rigging wires nicely in scale, and therefore I
didn’t need to paint them. It was just a matter of
selecting the straight ones, cutting them to the
correct length, and gluing them in place using
PVA glue.
With the airframe ready I could take care of
the smaller details. I would not be able to paint
the wingtip lights by hand, so I cheated by
overpainting a grey piece of decal with clear
colours, cutting them to shape, and applying
them to the wings. The rigging wire stays (those
rods connecting the wing wires to avoid
vibration) were made from telescoping bits of
plastic and wire. The engine was built following
the instructions. I had to resort to some wartime
photos to be sure about the colour of the
cylinders. The photoetched parts included in the
kit helped immensely with the ignition wires,
although they were difficult to paint after
installation. The cowling was weathered to
match the rest of the airframe. In the Spruce, the
oil cooler was quite apparent on the starboard
side of the fuselage, but the kit part poorly
represented the cooling fins. This was corrected
by simply scoring a thin saw along the part to
deepen the recesses between the fins. The result
was convincing enough, avoiding an
otherwise complex scratch built
replacement.
The propeller was painted and
stained to look well used. For
some reason, Spruces had the
propellers painted dark green
instead of the ubiquitous
brown colour. Oh, and I could
not forget the fuel drum! I
used one from my spare parts
box. These little things were
painted and weathered before
gluing to the model. I didn’t
like the thickness of the clear parts, so I
transferred the windscreen shape to a piece of
acetate, cut it, and folded it to have a more
realistic windscreen. The windscreen frames
were made with painted stripes of decal before
gluing it to
the front
cockpit. The pitot
tubes, absent in the kit, were
made from plastic rods and
attached to the wing struts. I also
added the fuel lines hanging from
the top wing to the fuselage. All
these subassemblies were
carefully installed into the
model. I played safe and
used a piece of spare decal painted
and weathered to simulate the anti-slip stripe
on the lower wing. The last items were the
wheels. I flattened their bottoms,
paying attention to the characteristic
camber, then painted and
weathered them. As a final touch,
I prepared one of my standard
wood bases to build a
vignette depicting period
photos of Spruces waiting
for their final flight.

44 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
 AIRCRAFT iN PrOFiLe

ISSUE 80

A US Navy OV-10A
Bronco of VAL-4, ‘The
Black Ponies’ operating
North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco By Colin ‘Flying’ Pickett
from an airfield in
Vietnam during late 1969

T
he Bronco is based around a concept for a counter insurgency aircraft maximised for observation by the use of a canopy substantially wider than
by W.H. Beckett and Lt. Col. K.P. rice and was originally constructed as the cockpit, allowing a field of view that rivalled that of a helicopter.
a fiberglass prototype in a household garage in the early 1960s. This in order for the Bronco to operate in hostile environments the aircraft
concept was then presented to North American Aviation as a light attack,
was also equipped with two LW-3B zero-zero ejection-seats for the crew,
observation and forward air control aircraft. After development by North
along with armour protection, and an armoured windscreen along with
American the twin-turboprop concept was placed into competition with
self-sealing fuel tanks. These features, coupled with its simple and rugged
eleven other designs including those from by Beech, Douglas, Convair,
Goodyear, Helio, Hiller, Lockheed, and Martin, who had produced their own construction, allowed it a great deal of survivability in the combat zone.
variations on the requirements set out by the US military. The Bronco was The design of the Bronco allowed for operations in remote areas and
chosen as the superior design in August 1964 and so a contract for the forward operating bases, so the aircraft was equipped with landing gear
production of seven prototype OV-10 aircraft was issued to North designed to withstand the rigours of rough field operations and the
American during October 1964. required short take off and landings (STOL) it performed, even from assault
The OV-10 Bronco first flew on 16 July 1965 and developed into a ships and carrier decks without the need for arresting gear. it also operated
flexible twin-turboprop, multi-mission aircraft in an unusual configuration free from the requirement of starting equipment, removing the need for
with the main fuselage pod located below the main wing between the two extensive ground crew and additional support resources, and was able to
engines and tail booms. The view available from the cockpit was use a wide range of fuel, from standard automotive fuel to high octane.

A US Marines Bronco OV-10A prepares for take-off at Marble Mountain Air Facility in Vietnam. The
Bronco is on the way to support the 1st Marine Division during a seek and destroy the mission. (USAF)
AIRCRAFT IN PROFILE

A North American OV-10A Bronco

of US Marines Squadron VMO-2 at
the Marble Mountain Air Facility,
Vietnam, 6 July 1968 (USAF)

The OV-10 possesses seven external store points, four on the fuselage observer’s seat being relocated to this rearwards facing position to monitor
stub sponsons, two under the wings and a centreline fuselage position operations. Sixteen aircraft, classed as the OV-10B(Z), had an additional
along with four 7.62 mm guns installed in two stub sponsons either side of J85-GE-4 turbojet engine installed on struts above the fuselage, seeing a
the lower fuselage, along with two thousand rounds of ammunition. The 100mph increase in top speed.
wing pylons could be fitted with a LAU-7/A launcher which allowed the OV-10C – In the early 1970s the Royal Thai Air Force purchased thirty two
Bronco to carry rockets or missiles. In addition the centre-line store station OV-10C aircraft, based on the OV-10A standard, for use in the counter
could be equipped with a 20mm gun pod. Typical armament carried on insurgency role. The Royal Thai Air Force started to donate their OV-10C
OV-10A operations during the Vietnam War included a pair of seven-round aircraft to the Philippines in 2004 with the final aircraft leaving service in
2.75 inch (70mm) rocket pods loaded with white phosphorus marker 2011.
rounds or high-explosive rockets, or 5 inch (127mm) four-shot Zuni rocket
YOV-10D - Two YOV-10D aircraft were built to operate as the prototype
pods. Other stores carried include standard iron (dumb) bombs, ADSIDS
and development airframes for the US Marine Corps Night Observation
air-delivered/parachute dropped seismic sensors, as well as battlefield
Gunship (NOGS) variant.
illumination flares for night-time operations. Range and loiter times could
be extended by the use of external fuel tanks resulting in a maximum time OV-10D – Derived from the NOGS development program, the OV-10D was
in the air of five and a half hours depending on the size of the tank fitted, a direct modification of the OV-10A production aircraft with updated
with either 150, 230, or 300 gallon external fuel tanks being available. features including an extended nose to house a turret mounted camera, a
forward-looking infra-red camera for operation with night vision
The Bronco could also be converted to a civilian standard by removal of
equipment along with associated avionics upgrades.
the stub sponsons, armour, and the observer’s seat, which allowed the
aircraft to carry 3,200lbs (1452kg) of cargo. OV-10D+ - A further upgrade of the OV-10D standard for the USMC and
produced from aircraft modified at MCAS Cherry Point Naval Air Rework
Facility.
Variants and Operations OV-10E - The Venezuelan Air Force has operated a mixed inventory of new
The service life of the Bronco is long and varied, with some in civilian build OV-10Es and ex-USAF OV-10As in the Counter Insurgency role.
service today. As such a wide range of variants were developed. OV-10F – These sixteen export aircraft were based on the OV-10A, and sold
YOV-10A - Seven prototype aircraft were produced to allow the to Indonesia for use in counter insurgency operations.
development and assessment of the aircraft. OV-10G+ - During May 2015 two OV-10s were operated by United States
OV-10A – The first production version of the Bronco series seeing Special Operations Command as part of the Combat Dragon II evaluation
extensive action in Vietnam. for a potential counter-insurgency aircraft, undertaking light attack
OV-10B – Eighteen aircraft in total were operated as target towing aircraft operations in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, flying combat
by the Luftwaffe, with a target towing pod fitted underneath the fuselage. missions over Iraq and Syria, completing 120 missions over 82 days.
The rear fuselage was fitted with a clear observation dome with the OV-10M - The OV-10M is a modification of the OV-10A produced for the

A US Navy Rockwell OV-10A Bronco of

VAL-4 ‘Black Ponies’ takes off from a
Vietnamese air base to provide air cover
for a river patrol boat engaging the enemy
in the Mekong Delta area, August 1969.
 AIRCRAFT IN PROFILE

OV-10A, Bu.No 155471, VAL-4, Chi Lang, Vietnam, 1970

OV-10A, Bu.No 155475, VAL-4, Bing Thuy, Vietnam, 1971

OV-10A, Bu.No 155470, VS-41, NAS North Island, 1971

OV-10A-1-NH, 66-13552, Naval Air Test Center, NAS Patuxent River, June 1970

OV-10A, Bu.No 155499, Naval Air Test Center, NAS Patuxent River, June 1972
AIRCRAFT IN PROFILE

OV-10A, Bu.No 155496, Headquarters and Maintenance

Squadron 24, Naval Weapons Center China Lake, 1975

OV-10A, Bu.No 155401, VMO-4, NAS North Island, 1980

OV-10A, Bu.No 155405, VMO-2, MCAS New River, 1991

OV-10A-1-NH, 66-13559, 601st Tactical Air

Support Squadron, 601st Tactical Control
Wing, Sembach, 1977

OV-10A-25-NH, 67-14649, 19th Tactical Air

Support Squadron, 51st Composite Wing
(Tactical), Osan, 1982
 AIRCRAFT IN PROFILE

OV-10A-40-NH, 67-14697, 22nd Tactical Air

Support Squadron, 602nd Tactical Air Control
Wing, George AFB, 1990

OV-10A, Bu.No 155433, Forces Aériennes

Royales du Maroc, Kenitra, 1981

OV-10B(Z), D-9562, Schießplatzstaffel,

Luftwaffe, Lübeck, 1970s

OV-10A, 14630, 16th Strike Squadron, 15th

Strike Wing, Danilo Atienza, 1990s

OV-10E, FAV-7970, Grupo Aéreo de Operaciones

Especiales Nº15, Libertador, Venezuelan AF, 2011
AIRCRAFT IN PROFILE

OV-10A, FAC2213, Grupo Aéreo del Casanare,

Fuerza Aérea Colombiana, Gacas, 2013

OV-10D, Bu.No 155479, VMO-2, Camp Pendleton, March 1980

OV-10D, Bu.No 155395, VMO-2, Al Jubail AB, Saudi Arabia, January 1991

OV-10D, Bu.No 155468, VMO-1, MCAS New River, 1992

OV-10D+, Bu.No 155436, VMO-4, NAS Atlanta, 1994

 AIRCRAFT IN PROFILE

OV-10A, US Navy OV-10A, USMC

'Lizard' Scheme

OV-10A, USAF
Europe-1

OV-10A, USMC OV-10A, USMC,

Desert Storm
AIRCRAFT IN PROFILe

Two US Navy OV-10As of VAL-4

‘Black Ponies’ flying low over
the Rung Sat Special Zone in
South Vietnam, in search of
NVA activity, June 1969. (USAF)

Piper L-4s of the 8th Reconnaissance

Squadron carried the unit's emblem under the
cockpit. (Radek Pelikan)

Philippine Air Force by Marsh Aviation. taking place with VMO-5 squadron based at established. The OV-10 was finally phased out of
OV-10T – The T version of the Bronco was Camp Pendleton, California. The Bronco entered the US Marine Corps during 1995 following its
proposed during the Vietnam War as a pure combat in Vietnam on 6 July 1968 with VMO-2, use as a forward air control asset during
transport STOL aircraft capable of carrying up to based at Marble Mountain airstrip near Da Nang. Operation Desert Storm in Iraq, during which it
twelve troops or 4,500 pounds (2,000 kg) of VMO-1 followed as the second operational OV- proved to be vulnerable to the current anti-
cargo. 10 squadron in Vietnam during October 1968. aircraft weapons employed.
The third operational OV-10 squadron was VMO-
OV-10X –Boeing proposed a totally modernised
6, conducting missions from Quang Tri. The US USAF
and improved version of the Bronco in the form
Marines were to operate the OV-10A in every
of the OV-10X, intending to capitalise on the The first combat-ready USAF OV-10As were
envisaged role during the course of the Vietnam
existing proven design with the addition of a deployed to Vietnam on 31 July 1968 as part of
War, including Forward Air Control, radio relay
glass cockpit and updated avionics suite. an operational testing and evaluation of the
station, artillery spotter, helicopter escort, visual
aircraft entitled ‘Operation Combat Bronco’,
reconnaissance, convoy escort and attack
attached to the 19th Tactical Air Support
USMC aircraft.
Squadron of the 504th Tactical Air Support
The OV-10 was placed in service by the US Following the end of the Vietnam War the US Group operating from Bien Hoa Air Base in South
Marine Corps and US Air Force, with the official Marines reduced their OV-10 squadron strength Vietnam. The Bronco was evaluated in the full
acceptance ceremony in taking place at to two with each Marine Corps' observation range of missions assigned to Forward Air
Columbus, Ohio, on 23 February 1968 with the squadron (VMO) operating eighteen aircraft Control aircraft by the USAF. The Bronco’s
delivery of the first aircraft. The Marine Corps each, a combination of nine OV-10A and nine internal smoke generation capability was found
was the first to establish a training program in OV-10Ds night observation aircraft. A Marine Air particularly effective in the strike direction role.
March 1968, with Bronco transition training Reserve observation squadron was also Operation Combat Bronco was deemed a

An OV-10A Bronco of Marine observation squadron

VMO-1 parked on the flight deck of amphibious
assault ship USS Nassau (LHA-4) in 1983. (US Navy)
 AIRCRAFT IN PROFILE

A US OV-10A
parked in a
revetment at Binh
Thuy Air Base,
Vietnam, armed
and ready for its
next mission, June
1969. (US Navy)

success and therefore brought to a close on 30 South Vietnam's III Corps Tactical Zone and addition of the Pave Spot target laser designator
October 1968. proved successful and as such all USAF Broncos pod allowing the Bronco to illuminate targets for
The USAF began to deploy increasing were fitted with internal .308in (7.62mm) M60C aircraft carrying laser-guided bombs, as well as
numbers of the OV-10 to the 19th Tactical Air machine guns, which been removed during the the replacement of Starsight night vision
Support Squadron at Bien Hoa) and the 20th initial Combat Bronco FAC evaluations and equipment with a specialized night periscope,
Tactical Air Support Squadron based at Da Nang therefore in the following operational and LORAN navigation equipment. Following
Air Base) as well as the 23rd Tactical Air Support deployment. The fitment of High explosive the modification 23rd Tactical Air Support
Squadron operating from Nakhom Phanom in 2.75in (70mm) rockets was also added to the Squadron operated under the ‘Nail’ call sign,
Thailand, which provided support for ‘out-of- Bronco’s inventory of weapons for use in the air- providing support for operations against the
country’ special operations missions such as to-ground role after October 1969. North Vietnamese transport of troops and
Operation Igloo White and Operation Prairie Fire. During 1971, OV-10A Broncos operated by the supplies along the Ho Chi Minh Trail, operating
As a result of the successful operation of the 23rd Tactical Air Support Squadron received in the targeting role for the laser-guided bombs
Bronco as a Forward Air Control aircraft the USAF electronics modifications and upgrades as part carried by McDonnell F-4 Phantom IIs. Following
conducted operation Misty Bronco between of project Pave Nail. The modifications were the end of operations in 1974 the modified
April and June 1969 to test the aircrafts use as a undertaken by the contractor LTV aircraft were converted back to standard OV-10A
light strike aircraft. The operation took place in Electrosystems and primarily included the equipment levels.

A flight deck crewman uses an MD-3A tow tractor to position an

OV-10A of Marine
Dutch Naval observation
aircrew of No. 321squadron VMO-1 onRAF
(Dutch) Squadron thegather
port elevator
of
inthe amphibious
front assault
of their Avro Ansonship
MkUSS
Is atNassau in 1983.
RAF Carew (US Navy)
Cheriton.
AIRCRAFT IN PROFILE

The USAF took delivery of over one hundred Moroccan Air Force obtained six ex-US Marine
and fifty seven OV-10As prior to the cessation of Corps OV-10As for use in counter-insurgency North AMeriCAN
production by North American in April 1969. operations using rocket and gun pods. roCkwell oV-10D BroNCo
Overall the USAF lost 64 OV-10 Broncos during
NASA has utilised a small number of Broncos Crew: 2
the Vietnam War. The OV-10 was finally retired
from USAF service on 1 September 1991. of differing versions for a wide range of research Capacity: Cargo compartment can be
programs. These include a study on low-speed used for personnel without seats or
Although never actually operated directly by
the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and Royal
flight undertaken with the third prototype 3,200lb (1,451kg) of freight
during the 1970s as well as experiments on the length: 44ft 0in (13.41m)
New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF), thirteen pilots
from each country flew the OV-10A on Forward reduction of aircraft noise and wake turbulence.
wingspan: 40ft 0in (12.19m)
Air Control (FAC) missions over Vietnam while The US Department of State (DoS) aircraft are
attached to USAF squadrons between 1968 and
height: 15ft 2in (4.62m)
former US Air Force OV-10A and Marine Corps
1971. OV-10D aircraft operated under contract by wing area: 291.0sq ft (27.03m2)
DynCorp International in support of US drug empty weight: 6,893lb (3,127kg)
US Navy interception and eradication efforts in South Gross weight:
America. The aircraft are based at a the 14,444lb (6,552kg) (overload)
'While not initially envisaged as an aircraft
Department of State /DynCorp International
destined for carrier operations, the Bronco was Max take off weight (Mtow):
to equip a single US Navy squadron, Light Attack facility at Patrick Space Force Base in Florida. 14,444lb (6,552kg) (overload)
Squadron Four (VAL-4), also known as the ‘Black The US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Fuel capacity: 252 US gal (210 imperial
Ponies’. The squadron was formed on 3 January operated seven OV-10As for use as firefighting gallons; 950 L) internal
1969, undertaking operations in Vietnam aircraft, a number that included a YOV-10A
between April 1969 and April 1972. The US Navy Powerplant: 2 × Garrett
prototype airframe. The role included leading
utilised the Bronco OV-10A as a light ground T76-G-420/421 turboprop engines,
the much larger firefighting air tankers along the
attack aircraft, in the interdiction of enemy 1,040shp (780kW) each equivalent
intended flight paths to the fire retardant target
logistics and operating as fire-support of Marine, Propellers: 3-bladed Hamilton Standard,
areas using a smoke system to mark the path to
SEAL and naval riverine force vessel missions 8 feet 6 inch (2.59 meter) diameter
with great success. VAL-4 was decommissioned the target for the tanker aircraft. Whilst the
aircraft were operated in the standard military constant-speed fully feathering
shortly after the end of the Vietnam War with a propellers
loss of seven aircraft. VAL-4's surviving OV-10s configurations the ejection seats were disabled
were transferred to the inventory of the US to reduce operational complexity. The US Bureau Maximum speed: 250 knots (290mph,
Marine Corps after their withdrawal from service. of Land Management retired the Bronco from 460km/h) at sea level
In addition the Naval Air Test Center (NATC) their inventory during 1999. Combat range: 198 nautical miles
operated at least two Broncos as test bed aircraft The California Department of Forestry and Fire (228 miles, 367 kilometers)
during the 1970s at NAS Patuxent River, Protection (CALFIRE) has acquired a number of Ferry range: 1,200 nautical miles
Maryland, USA. OV-10As as a replacement for their existing (1,400 miles, 2,200 kilometers) with
The majority of airworthy Broncos were Cessna O-2 Skymasters as lead-in aircraft for auxiliary fuel
passed on to operations in civil government firefighting operations. The California Service ceiling:
agencies in the US, while some were sold or Department of Forestry and Fire Protection 30,000ft (9,100m)
donated to other countries with US interests. Broncos are operated with a crew of two, the rate of climb: 1,090 feet per minute min
pilot and the CAL FIRE Air Tactical Group / 5.5 meters per second
Colombia Supervisor (ATGS), whose role is to coordinate all
take-off run: 740ft (226m)
The Colombian Air Force were provided with aerial assets fighting the fire in liaison with the
Incident Commander on the ground in a similar Armament: Guns: 1 × 20mm (0.79in)
twelve ex-USAF OV-10As during 1991. In
manner to the aircraft’s intended Close Air M197 electric cannon (YOV-10D) or 4 ×
addition a further three ex-USMC OV-10A were
Support role. As such the OV-10A is the aerial 7.62×51mm M60C machine guns
procured to act parts supply resources.
Colombia operated the aircraft in the Counter operation co-ordination platform. This is in (OV-10D/D+)
Insurgency role with at least one aircraft being addition to operating as the tanker lead-in
Hardpoints: 5 fuselage and 2 underwing ,
lost in service. The remaining OV-10As were with provisions to carry combinations
aircraft.
upgraded to meet the OV-10D standard of of: Rockets: 7- or 19-tube launchers for
Despite the long service undertaken by the 2.75 in (70 mm) Mk 4 Folding-Fin Aerial
airframe. During November 2015 the Colombian
Bronco family of aircraft the final operational Rocket (FFARs)/ Wrap-Around-Fin Aircraft
Air Force retired the OV-10 aircraft from service.
flight of the type cannot be far away, with the Rocket (WAFAR) or 2- or 4-tube launchers
Morocco remaining airworthy airframes being used by for 5 in (127 mm) FFARs or WAFARs
During the course of 1981 the Royal civilian operators as display aircraft. Missiles: AIM-9 Sidewinder on wings only
Bombs: up to 500lb (227kg)

A Marine OV-10 at the An Hoa

airstrip after flying in support
of Marines fighting on the
ground in Operation Taylor
Common, 22 miles southwest
of Da Nang (USMC)
CO LO U R C O N U N D R U M

White Luftwaffe Nightfighters1943/44?

Part 1
By Paul Lucas

This Bf 110 appears to have been finished in a 74, 75 and 76 scheme that had been modified by painting the wing leading edges, including the wing
slats and the engine cowlings, in a lighter colour that is shown here as being something like the greyish-white Farbton 67. Note the thin black outline
around the 'A'.

T
his Colour Conundrum emerged on 5 the Luftwaffe Research Group website Mr Ritger here are and hopefully someone will put their head
October 2022 when US Aviation Historian ended the post with the comment: above the parapet shortly. At the time that these
Lynn Ritger opened a thread on Hyperscale Soooo… if I’m reading this correctly, it sounds like words were written in mid-November 2022
in the ‘Plane Talking’ section entitled ‘A possibly the He 219A-0s which flew the first missions nobody had. So…
brand new discovery about Nachtjager paint apparently had a white finish of some sort, and this
schemes! Yes, really – read on.’ Mr Ritger had white finish should be applied to night fighters
been going through minutes of meetings held A New Discovery?
currently being produced as of mid-late July 1943. I
within the German Air Ministry as part of the don’t think I’ve seen this before… is this new info, It is perhaps surprising that it is difficult to say
research he was carrying out with the view to or am I just late to the party? whether this constitutes a new discovery or not.
writing a book on the Messerschmitt 109 when Certainly the information as presented by Mr
he found a reference to Night Fighter Ritger in its original form and translation was
camouflage in the minutes of a meeting held on new to this author, but the idea that some
16 July 1943. Mr Ritger posted a copy of the Luftwaffe Night Fighters utilised a ‘white’ colour
relevant part of this document and offered the in their camouflage scheme has been around for
following English translation: a long time.
General der Nachtjagd asks that the white The earliest references to some Luftwaffe
camouflage coating currently used on the I./xxx Night Fighters utilising a ‘white’ colour in their
(not clear in the document – maybe NJG1?)be camouflage scheme known to the author were
generally introduced since it has proven to be both made in books published during 1956. In
excellent. his book Duel Under the Stars, Hauptmann
The Generalfeldmarchall (Milch) orders: (Captain) Wilhelm Johnen’s account of his
experiences as a Luftwaffe Night Fighter pilot
a. The planes which are now produced as night
between 1941 and 1945 contains several
fighters, are given a white coat of fighter
references to the Bf 110s that he flew being
camouflage, as has been tried and
‘white’. These will be
tested

when
discussed in more
Hptm Meurer was
detail below. The second reference
deployed.
was made by Bruce Robertson on page 155 of
b. The Nachtjagd corps carries out experiments his book Aircraft Camouflage and
with light blue and reports on the outcome of The Luftwaffe Markings 1907-1954. Under the heading
the same. Research Group ‘Special Schemes and Markings’ Mr
thread came to an Unfortunately, it is not
c. A white colour is developed, which is roughly the clear as to whether this Robertson stated that:
shade of Meurer’s plane, with the only difference end after just 8
light finish extended over Night-flying schemes varied considerably
being that it is applied as the base colour. posts with a
the nose to any great from a Ju88g, with light grey speckled
comment by a
Mr Ritger then went on to link this white finish degree as this part of the with darker grey on the upper surfaces
member of the site’s
with the colour scheme of the first Heinkel He airframe, including the and black beneath to a He 219 painted
management that
219A-0s to serve with I./NGJ 1 for operational Lichtenstein B/C aerial half black and half white.
said: This is a very
evaluation during early June 1943. Whilst the interesting post and array, is under water in a A third reference was made by Karl Reis
thread that subsequently emerged failed an intriguing tidbit. I canal and out of view in in his book Markings and Camouflage
conclusively to resolve the question as to am by no means an the photograph on Systems of Luftwaffe Aircraft in World
whether Luftwaffe Night Fighters ever employed NJG guy but a which this illustration has War II published in 1966. In referring to
a white camouflage finish, it did provide a fair number of forum been based. the colour schemes of Night Fighter
amount of information, especially photographs, members Units on page 15, Mr Reis wrote that:
that stimulated the discussion. Some of these
It was not until 1940 beginning with NJG1, the first
photographs have been used as a basis for the
night fighter Geschwader were fitted out with Bf
illustrations offered here.
110’s. They were used jointly in the defence of the
In a similar posting made on the same date on

58 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
 CO LO U R C O N U N D R U M

“Reich” considered
and in long – range to have been very
night fighting with the Ju 88 C’s. All successful in delaying the visual
visible parts were coloured black until the middle of 3./NJG acquisition of the Do 217J, which
1941; then dark and light grey camouflage was 1 and a rising star It is suggested that because was a relatively large aircraft.
introduced and retained till the end of hostilities. of the Luftwaffe white was the colour that To what extent this trial
Some Beleuchter-Gruppen were grey-white Night Fighter force reflected the most incident influenced subsequent events is
coloured which enabled them to be recognised at the time that his light, that it was found to be not known, but it does serve to
quickly and surely by their own night fighter name came up in beneficial to paint the frontal establish a link between
Gruppen in the combat area. the document aspect of the Night Fighters camouflage trials with a very light
quoted here. white in an attempt to reduce
The Balkenkreuze on the fuselage were light to colour that might have been a
According to their silhouette against the
dark grey, but sometimes they appeared in normal white of some description, NJG 1,
Wikipedia, since the night sky. RAF Coastal
black and white. and, by extension, to Hauptmann
beginning of the Command employed exactly
Mr Reis returned to the subject on page 16 of Meurer and his successes during
Battle of the Rhur this camouflage technique on
Markings and Camouflage Systems of Luftwaffe the Battle of the Rhur, involving
on 5 March 1943, its anti-submarine aircraft.
Aircraft in World War II Volume IV that was an aircraft that incorporated some
Hauptmann Meurer
published in 1972. Again under the heading sort of white finish in its
had destroyed 33
‘Night fighter units’ he listed a progression of camouflage scheme, all of which
RAF Bombers at
camouflage schemes such as ‘c) spraying-on of took place prior to the meeting of 16 July 1943.
spots in 02, 75 on base finish of 76’ before Whilst Hauptmann Meurer’s entry in Wikipedia
ending with: provides details of the aircraft he shot down by
type, often including the serial number, it says
d) spraying of entire aircraft with white-grey paint nothing about the aircraft he was flying at the
(illuminator groups) time. In view of this, it is currently assumed that
As can be seen, by this stage he was using RLM he was flying a Bf 110 as this is the type with
numbers to identify some of the colours but did night and it would appear from Mr Ritger’s
which NJG 1 was then equipped.
not assign a number to the ‘white-grey’ paint document that the aircraft that he flew during
that he states was used as an overall finish by the this period had its (or their) camouflage scheme
Illuminator Gruppen. modified in some way by the addition of some Shades of White
white. It might therefore be the case that it was
A fourth reference is to be found on page 110 of Mr Ritger’s document seems quite certain that
thought that the modified camouflage of
Luftwaffe Camouflage and Markings 1935 – 45 the colour that was to be introduced was to be a
Hauptmann Meurer’s aircraft had played some
Volume 3 by JR Smith and JD Gallaspy, published shade of white as the final order given by
role in his string of successes and that this is the
by Kookaburra in 1977. This reads as follows: Generalfeldmarchall Milch was that:
reason why Generalfeldmarchall Milch ordered
The aircraft of the Beluechter Gruppen (groups that the white finish be introduced across the A white colour is developed, which is roughly the
which dropped flares and other pyrotechnics to aid Night Fighter force as a whole. shade of Captain Meurer’s plane, with the only
both conventional and wild boar night fighters) difference being that it is applied as the base
NGJ 1 is known to have been involved in a
were often painted white (or possibly greyish-white colour.
trial of some kind of very light camouflage finish
77) overall, sometimes with black under surfaces. at some point after the introduction to service of The first question to arise out of this passage
This was done mainly to aid rapid identification the Dornier Do 217J in the summer of 1942, as is what shade of white was applied, whilst the
over the target area. Perhaps the most important on page 306 of Volume 2 of Luftwaffe second question relates to the extent to which it
of these groups was I.(Bel)/NJG 7 equipped with the Camouflage and Markings 1933-1945, the late was applied to Hauptmann Meurer’s aircraft?
Ju 88, which was formed from III./KG3 late in 1943, Ken Merrick describes an experiment carried out With regard to the shade, there were at one
eventually to become IV./NJG 2 in October 1944. to compare the overall Black Farbton 22 finish point two different standard colours, both
Thus the idea that some Luftwaffe Night applied to NJG 1’s Bf 110 aircraft with a very light named ‘White’ in the RLM listings, White Farbton
Fighters utilised some kind of ‘white’ colour in finish applied to a Dornier Do 217J belonging to 21 and White Farbton 67, both of which first
their camouflage has been around for some 66 NJG 3. The photograph of the Do 217J appeared as standard colours in 1936.
years. What is new however is the fact that the reproduced in the book shows the very light White Farbton 21was used as a marking colour
document quoted by Mr Ritger suggests a point finish to have been applied virtually all over the in the national markings as well as for many
of origin for the scheme as being with NJG1 aircraft with the exception of the yellow under other marking purposes. In 1943 this was
sometime in the spring or early summer of 1943. surface wing tips. This included the propeller available both as a permanent finish as Aviation
This can be seen from the date of the document, blades, cooling fans on the front of the engines, Lacquer 7160.21, which was used to apply the
16 July 1943 and the order that: radar aerial array, and gun barrels. national and other markings and as a temporary
The planes that are now produced as night Unfortunately, no date is given for this trial, finish manufactured by Ikarin as camouflage
fighters, are given a white coat of fighter nor is the exact shade of the very light colour paint A2515.21, was used as snow camouflage. A
camouflage as has been tried and tested when identified. Mr Merrick suggested that it might sample of White Farbton 21 is rendered in Ken
Hptm. Meurer was deployed. have been a mix of Farbton 21 White and Farbton Merrick’s Luftwaffe Camouflage and Markings
77, a medium grey, applied using temporary 1933-1945 Volume 1. In NCS 1950 terms this
The ‘Hptm Meurer’ that is referred to in the
materials that might have resulted in a shade of rendition of White Farbton 21 is something like
document was almost certainly Hauptmann
greyish off-white. Whatever this finish was, it was NCS S 0603-G80Y. In FS 595 terms it is something
Manfred Meurer who was Staffelkapetan of
like FS 27880. Farbton 21 was one of the colours

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CO LO U R C O N U N D R U M

If He 219 A-0 WNr 190009 coded ‘G9+FB’ of Stab./NJG1 was actually white as suggested by Mr Ritger, it might have been logical for the material used for
this purpose to be the same ‘excellent… white coat of fighter camouflage as has been tried and tested when Hptm Meurer was deployed’.

linked to the RAL 840R colour standard where its Luftwaffe Camouflage and Markings 1933-1945. Hauptmann Meurer’s aircraft and the new
RAL designation was 9001. In the modern RAL This was demonstrated by photographs showing scheme being that the new scheme was to be
Classic range, RAL 9001 is called Cremeweiss, and part of the wing slat in close proximity to the applied as the ‘base colour,’ it seems likely that
appears as a more ‘creamy’ colour than the colour chart from the book. The person who Hauptmann Meurer’s aircraft had the white finish
rendition in Mr Merrick’s book. made the post noted that whilst there was a on only part of the airframe.
The second white that was included in the colour present on the artefact that correlated One of the photographs posted in the
RLM listings, White Farbton 67, seems to have closely with the chart rendition of Farbton 02, Hyperscale thread suggests how Hauptmann
been intended from the beginning as a the remainder of the paint did not correlate at all Meurer’s aircraft might have appeared. The
camouflage colour. A sample of this colour is with the chart’s rendition of Farbton 76. In photograph of Bf 110 WNr 5427, coded C9+AK,
also rendered in Luftwaffe Camouflage and referring to the colour present on the artefact of II./NJG 5 included in Post No.82, shows this
Markings 1933-1945 Volume 1 where in NCS 1950 the poster stated that: aircraft following a forced landing as a result of
terms it is something like NCS S 2002 – G50Y, …the 76, is way lighter than any of the samples, combat damage on the night of 12-13 June
appearing as a greyish off-white that could and not bluish at all, so now i am confused, do i 1943. The aircraft appears to have been finished
perhaps be colloquially described as an have to change idea regarding 76, or ??? in a 74, 75 and 76 scheme that had been
extremely pale grey. In FS 595 terms this is modified by painting the wing leading edges,
As rendered on a computer monitor, the
something like FS 37722. including the wing slats and the engine
colour present on the artefact appears to be very
It is interesting to note that as rendered in Mr similar to the rendition of White Farbton 67 in cowlings, in a lighter colour than the Farbton 76
Merrick’s book, Farbton 67 bears a striking Volume 1 of Mr Merrick’s book. That is to say that finish that is visible on the sides of the fuselage
similarity to RAL 9002 that today is named it appears to be a light greyish off-white, thus and fins, but this lighter colour is not as light as
Grauweiss (Greywhite). White Farbton 67 was providing the reason that the link from the the White Farbton 21 used in the national
introduced at about the same time as a number Britmodeller thread to the Hyperscale thread was markings. Unfortunately it is not clear as to
of other RLM camouflage colours in the ‘60’ established. whether this light finish extended over the nose
series that are known to have been taken from to any great degree as this part of the airframe,
In response to the post quoted above a
the then current RAL 840R, such as Farbton 61, including the Lichtenstein B/C aerial array, is
number of suggestions were made as to why
RAL 8019; Farbton 62, RAL 6002, Farbton 63, RAL under water in a canal and out of view.
such a colour might be present on the artefacts.
7004 and Farbton 66, RAL 7019. According to the
These included that the paint had discoloured The reason for the application of a white finish
colour table taken from the ‘Paint Shop
due to a chemical reaction with the soil in which of some kind in this manner might be related to
Handbook (1944)’ that is reproduced in Michael
it had been buried for over 65 years, that this the tactics employed by Luftwaffe Night Fighters
Ullmann’s book Luftwaffe Colours 1935-1945
was a form of the much more pale and less blue in attacking RAF Night Bombers. Before the
published by Hikoki in 2002, RAL 9002 was used
late-war version of Farbton 76 that used a widespread introduction of the upward firing
by both the Wehrmacht and Kreigsmarine as
different pigment to the earlier version, and Schrage Musik installation, Luftwaffe Night
‘Weiss 1/840 B 2’ and ‘Weiss 14’ respectively. It is
finally, that it might have been a late war light Fighters had to attack their prey using a
therefore at least possible that RAL 9002 was the
grey that had also been found on Fw190s that traditional curve of pursuit stern chase approach
origin of White Farbton 67. Whilst this might
resembled FS 26373. during which it was the frontal aspect of the
suggest that White Farbton 67 could have been
the identity of the white-grey paint that Mr Reis There is of course no way of knowing for fighter that was exposed to the view of the
was referring to, it seems to have been dropped certain which, if any, of these suggestions might defending air gunners in the Bombers. It might
from the RLM colour range in 1938 and the be correct, but it might be possible that in light therefore have been the case that because white
purpose for which it was originally intended is of Generalfeldmarchall Milch’s order to introduce was the colour that reflected the most incident
unknown. a white finish for Night Fighters similar to that light, it was found to be beneficial to paint the
used by Hauptmann Meurer, it was decided to frontal aspect of the Night Fighters white in an
Thus whilst it might therefore appear that attempt to reduce their head-on silhouette
White Farbton 21 would be the prime suspect for reintroduce White Farbton 67 sometime around
October 1943 for this purpose. If this was the against the night sky. RAF Coastal Command
the adoption of a ‘white’ finish, there is both
case, then it might explain why the presence of employed exactly this camouflage technique on
physical and photographic evidence that
the unidentified pale grey colour on a number of its anti-submarine aircraft from August 1941 so
suggests that this might not have been the case.
artefacts, such as the pieces of the Bf 110G-4 as to approach a surfaced U-Boat more closely
During the discussion that took place in the
WNr 14037 and the Fw 190s referred to above, before being seen.
Hyperscale thread, Post No.37 reproduced a
number of colour photographs showing part of that did not necessitate the issue of a new RLM The quote in Mr Ritger’s document that the
the wreckage from an excavated Bf 110G-4 and number in the 80 series higher than 83, appears new white finish was to be applied as the ‘base
provided a link to the Britmodeller thread from to date from November 1943. Presumably, all the colour’ led to some discussion in the Hyperscale
where they were taken, that dated back to 2012. paint manufacturers would have to have done to thread as to what this phrase meant. In this
This Britmodeller thread was entitled ‘RLM 76’ manufacture this colour would have been to put author’s opinion, the use of the phrase ‘base
and was opened on April 6 2012 in the ‘Aircraft the formula for White Aircraft Lacquer 7122.67, colour’ implied that the white finish would be
WWII’ section. that presumably existed between 1936 and applied as a top coat colour over the whole of
The wreckage was part of a Bf 110G-4, whose 1938, into production. the aircraft. Mr Reis used exactly the same
Werk Nummer was stated to be ‘Wn 14037,’ that With regard to the question as to the extent to terminology in the quotes given previously to
was lost on 4 August 1944, and the reason that which the white finish was applied to describe the overall Farbton 76 finish and this
the Britmodeller thread was opened was that the Hauptmann Meurer’s aircraft, there is very little seems to be borne out by the photographic
colour of the paint on the wreckage did not look evidence to suggest how this might have been evidence that shows some aircraft to be the
anything like the renditions of Farbton 76 that done. From the comment made in the passage same very pale colour overall.
were presented in Volume 2 of Mr Merrick’s book quoted above about the difference between

60 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
 CO LO U R C O N U N D R U M

So as to illustrate this aircraft in an

overall white scheme, as suggested
by Mr Ritger, it has been illustrated
here as being the greyish-white hue
similar to that of White Farbton 67.

permanent
white snow
White He 219A-0s? camouflage material to
replace the temporary Ikarin A2515.21
A small number of He 219A-0s began to
finish mentioned previously. Mr Ullmann quotes
arrive at Venlo, the Dutch base of I./NJG1, for
Luftwaffe Directive Sheet 27, Issue 21 of June
operational evaluation during the first week of
1943 as follows:
June 1943. The first operational flight was made
on the night of June 11-12 during RAF attacks on The Ikarin camouflage paint A2515.21 as used for
Dusseldorf and Munster during the course of last winter for snow camouflage of aircraft should
which Major Werner Streib shot down 5 RAF in future be indented for only under the
Bombers, flying WNr 190009 coded ‘G9+FB,’ only designation Aircraft paint 7126.21. A TAGL
for a malfunction of the flaps to cause the (Technical Directive Director General Procurement
aircraft to be wrecked during landing. Mr Ritger and Supply) with user’s instructions will be
made the following comments in the Hyperscale available from GL/C-TT.
thread with regard to the colour scheme of this Mr Ullmann then went on to quote Luftwaffe
aircraft; also posting two photographs that were Directive Sheet 43; Issue 4 dated 4 October 1943
taken following its landing mishap, on which the as follows:
illustrations offered here have been based: Paints for winter camouflaging aircraft and
Those of you who are into Night Fighters aircraft equipment
will recall Werner Streib’s He 219A-0 prototype, WNr 1. Aircraft
190009, which crashed on landing after its first
mission… that thing has always looked really In accordance with TAGL I Q 2e No.1, serial
bright to me, but I figured it must be something number 437/43, the following is to be used for the
with the photo reproduction quality. Well, no, it winter camouflage (white camouflage) of aircraft
sounds like the damn thing was actually white! and aircraft equipment, provided such latter is
For what it’s worth, the Platz/Dragon 1/72 He fitted to the aircraft or protrudes from it (e.g. on-
219A-0 kit gives those marking options but calls board armament): Camouflage paint, white
out the light scheme as overall RLM 77… props to aircraft paint 7126.21.
them for picking up on the different tone, but I It would appear that Aviation Lacquer 7126.21
don’t think they would have known about the ‘excellent… white coat of fighter camouflage as would have been suitable for application as an
order to paint these aircraft white. has been tried and tested when Hptm Meurer overall base colour on Luftwaffe Night Fighters
Strictly speaking, the chronology as it is was deployed’ to be used on the aircraft during for three reasons. Firstly, it was intended to be
currently understood would not have allowed their operational trials. So as to illustrate He 219 applied over the top of an existing finish, such as
the NJG 1 He 219A-0s to have been painted WNr 190009 coded ‘G9+FB’ of Stab./NJG1 in early Aviation Lacquer 7122, which was the standard
overall white as a result of Generalfeldmarchall June 1943 in an overall white scheme as lacquer used for exterior camouflage painting in
Milch’s order. That said, if NJG 1 was already suggested by Mr Ritger, it has been illustrated its various shades. Secondly, unlike its temporary
conducting camouflage experiments with some here as being finished in the greyish-white hue Ikarin A2515.21 predecessor, it was a permanent
kind of white paint when the He 219A-0s were similar to that of White Farbton 67. finish, and thirdly, because it had a Luftwaffe
ready for issue in the early part of June, then it Alternatively, whilst it might be nothing more paint designation number it would have been
might perhaps be logical for the same than a coincidence, on page 99 of his book Mr easy for units to procure through the usual
Ullmann refers to the introduction of a new supply chain.

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R A F A I R B U S A 400 M I N 1/ 72

Francisco Guedes shoulders the

responsibility of building Revell’s 1/72
titanic transport.

Airbus A400M ‘Grizzly’

Kit No: 04800
Scale: 1/72
Type: Injection Moulded
Manufacturer: Revell asked me if I could build it for the with adhesive that sucked them black for the instrument panels and
www.revell.de magazine. And, so the endeavour onto the plastic, but was also easy then dry brushed them to pop out
of building the A400 was on track, a to remove without damage. the detail – my favourite technique

I
’ve always had a soft spot for this slow track admittedly, but on track. I began the project by adding for this in 1/72. As this model,
big aircraft, so when Revell Aftermarket for the kit was the masks inside and outside the would of course, be a tail sitter I
released one a few years ago, I limited to the beautiful KV Masks canopy, so I could paint the inside now added lots of weight into both
knew that I’d have to build it. In set for the canopy, Armory Models directly for a morerealistic look. In the nose and the four engine
2019 at SMW in Telford, I saw a wheels, and a steel flight refuelling this scale, one might consider this gondolas, using lead shot.
Revell A400 with an almost totally probe from an unknown Russian superfluous but this is a big beast The fuselage assembly should
wrecked box on a second-hand kit manufacturer. I’d never used KV and the canopy is large, so its have been quite straightforward if
stall for the bargain price of £12. By Masks before but it was a really interior makes a difference. I'd used a good quality gap-filling
the size of the kit, I thought it pleasant surprise. Masks are given The rest of the cockpit was very superglue and several clamps. My
probably would spend a lot of time for both the exterior of the canopy, straightforward, as I’d intended not superglue was a little old so I still
in my stash. However, as I was and interior. They worked very well, to have any doors or windows open needed to use some Tamiya putty
passing the SAM stand, the editor lifting easily from the backing film anyway. I painted it light grey with to eliminate a few gaps along the

Revell’s cockpit ‘as it comes’. Careful painting

and dry brushing were enough for me,
The inside of the canopy can be painted, although the moulded-on seat belts are worth
preventing that ‘shiny’ look when viewed picking out.
Rather like Eduard’s Tface sets, these KV ones through the windows. Just don’t forget to
provide internal masks for the windows too. remove them before you stick the canopy on!

Leave the
fiddly
undercarriage
until much
later, and you
can see the
filling needed
for the
underside
join – my fault
for not
The instructions say 80g of nose weight are selecting the The size of the beast is shown here – that’s
needed, which is a lot of .53g lead pellets (and correct 15cm on that rule. Note the filling work
it’s often better to over-egg these things too). adhesive. started around the nacelles and dorsal join.

62 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
 R A F A I R B U S A 400 M I N 1/ 72

Starting to re-scribe the fuselage. Note the

internal detail, which is given as a full insert. Tamiya extra thin cement helps ‘seal’ the re-
This helps prevent shrinkage marks on the scribed panel lines to create a cleaner recess.
external fuselage. Filler is essential to blend-in the canopy
section, and wing, to the fuselage. Masking
tape helps prevent it spreading, thus saving
clean up time and preserving detail.

With its decidedly cyberpunk finish, AK’s But this is what it’s designed for. The scale lets
reaming tool looks like a Dr Who prop, but is you ream holes to a known diameter, and
A ‘probe-ectomy’ was performed. The clear
intended for practical use not special effects . allows you to do this consistently too.
superiority of the metal replacement is
evident here.

Everything is filled, and the refuelling probe

attached. Now is the time to check joins and The large fin and tailplane fit very well, with The refuelling probe plastic actually fits the
re-scribing. The external masks are in place just a smear of filler needed. It gives a fuselage well, which is at odds with the rest of
too now. somewhat cetacean feel to the aircraft. the kit’s occasionally iffy fit.

top and bottom seams. I don't think I can blame any panel lines lost during this clean up, I wet remaining windows and worked well. One last
the kit for this. At this point, I’d also started to sanded the area starting with 400 grit, then area of preparation that I almost forgot was to
install the undercarriage, but If I made this moving through 800, 1000, 1500 and 2000 grits coat the metal probe with GSI Mr Metal Primer
model again, I’d leave it all off until the end to leave the fuselage and canopy nice and (MP242). It works like a charm and really does
because It’s very fragile and fiddly. polished. stop further layers of paint peeling or chipping
While the putty dried, I worked on the My first aftermarket update for the model was off. After checking everything was now ready I
engines, and this revealed one of the kit’s main the flight refuelling probe. On eBay, I found a could finally paint.
headaches– the poor fit of the engine nacelle metal probe from a Russian seller that was I started painting with the black radome for
parts to each other and the wing. clearly more correct in size and shape than the which I airbrushed Tamiya acrylic black. Masking
Even with lots of dry fitting, I still had to use one in the kit. Its installation also seemed easy this off isn’t easy as the nose is round, so I used
Tamiya putty and much sanding was needed. considering the instructions that were available Tamiya Tape for curves (the newer white
This done, the next step was re-scribing. This was in the Ebay listing. I couldn’t find anything ‘stretchy’ tape), which is designed for these
especially needed around the engines. The similar so I assumed it was from a completely areas.
always trustworthy Hasegawa Trytool made unknown brand. As it wasn't expensive, I The kit instructions reference the paints
short work of redefining all the panel lines ordered it, and once it arrived it went straight to needed to Revell’s own range, but I don’t keep
deleted during the sanding process. the bench. these in stock, so I did some research and came
With all done, I could attach the wing sub- The first task was to amputate the kit part to the conclusion that the best exterior colour
assembly to the fuselage. As expected, it wasn’t using the JLC saw, which gave a clean cut. After for the RAF A400 is FS 36173 Neutral Gray.
a perfect fit but after my experience with the gently sanding the surface, I used a new tool (Airbus painted all their A400s in FS36173
engines, I was expecting the worst. So, more that I had just bought from AK, a Hollow Handle regardless of customer. The initial Revell release
putty was used on the wings and also around edge reamer (ref. AK9166). I have to confess, I had a guess at some of the colours, as the
the cockpit canopy. Checking real photos of the love this tool, it’s perfect for enlarging holes with aircraft were not yet delivered, but their newer
A400, the fuselage is continuous all the way to absolute precision. This allowed me to create a kits specify the same colour for all. Ed.) So, after
the windshield, but the canopy is a bit taller than perfectly sized hole in the plastic part into which perusing some paint conversion charts, I used
the fuselage and creates a step. Once again it the new metal probe fitted exactly. It was an the Tamiya Neutral Grey (XF-53).
was nothing that some putty and patience easy job for a very noticeable improvement. I did not apply any pre-shading, just the
would not solve. So after filling, and re-scribing The KV Masks were now applied to all the Tamiya paint, thinned about fifty-fifty with

JANUARY 2023 • VOLUME 44 • ISSUE 11 63

R A F A I R B U S A 400 M I N 1/ 72

The first stages in breaking up all the grey.

I nearly forgot to prime the metal probe. This

A few different colour variations are built up,
is an etch primer so prepares the metal for the
concentrating on the areas within the
following paint layers by giving them a key to
walkways.
bond onto.

These are then blended in with a thin coat of

the base colour to give a subtly distressed look.

The kit’s instructions give a paper template for

the fuselage walkway area, which I used to A very slightly paler and greener shade of
mask around. I also extended the front section paint was then airbrushed, taking care not to
Just what according to my references. eradicate the tonal changes beneath.
I wanted.

While Tamiya tape was used to define the Masking the prop stripes requires both 2mm With The yellow tips sprayed another round of
masking edge, the cheaper Tessa tape is used and 1mm tape to act as spacers and masks. masking was used to create the metal
to fill around this for a more economical way Like anything repetitive, once you get into a leading-edge strips. The two strips of large
of masking large areas. rhythm… It's still repetitive! tape set the length of the strip.

Tamiya lacquer thinner, directly onto the plastic. presents almost no risk of damaging the paint Tamiya Grey-Green (XF-76) added. This was
A word of caution here - this aircraft is big, you beneath. A thin layer of base colour was then thinned half and half again, and the colour was
will need the large Tamiya bottle to paint this applied over it all to blend things together and built up slowly using my trusty Harder and
one. As usual the Tamiya paint gave me no create interesting, but subtle, contrasts. Steenbeck Infinity Plus CR airbrush. Then when I
problem at all, but as this is a large aircraft, with The A400 has a large and complex-shaped removed all the masking tape, I was relieved to
lots of grey, I had to do something to break up walkway atop its fuselage. find no ‘surprises’, just a perfectly masked area in
the vast monochromatic expanse. a colour that seems very close to the real thing
Revell has thought about the modeller for this according to the recent photos I’ve seen.
So I mixed up some variations of the XF-53, and printed a template in the instructions, which
adding white, and some light and medium can be cut out and used as a mask. So, I cut it While building the model, I always had
browns. Using AK masking stencils, I airbrushed out, put it in place and masked around the photographs of this specific aircraft to hand on
these to break up all the grey. I really like the AK edges. To create the distinctive walkway colour I my Ipad, and so I saw that I needed to paint the
masking stencil because its light, soft plastic is used the base colour with a bit of white and edges of the wings in aluminium. Revell's
flexible and easy to bend around things yet painting options had no such indication but

64 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
 R A F A I R B U S A 400 M I N 1/ 72

Masking and respraying the walkway lines

Armory’s wheels are far more accurate and The masking set saves a lot of laborious work was somewhat time consuming. Note the tail
have a slightly weighted sit. here. decal silvering, which I need to address too.

If you apply masking tape to fresh paint, it tends to act as a glue and Finally redone! Note the white hatch on the roof that needed new
pulls up the original decal stripes beneath stencilling. I can now get back to eradicating the silvering.

there wasn’t a British option in their markings used the Tamiya tape for curves to mark the and good density. Their application was very
(the newer boxing revises and shows this. Ed) so it leading edges of each blade. I set the length of smooth and without problem, adhering to the
was done using a lot of Tesa masking tape (ref. each edge simply by using two pieces of tape to surface well and reacting positively with Micro
4334), which is very similar to the Tamiya stuff, measure off a regular length on each blade. Set and Sol. Sadly the stencils from Revell’s sheet
but much cheaper. Having prepared everything, I brush-painted the weren't in a good state, but the worst was yet to
With this all done, I decided to take a break edges with acrylic aluminium from Vallejo. come. I applied all the walkway outlines and
from the airframe painting and embrace a task After that, I dedicated myself to the wheels, when dry found that they were almost the same
for which I had no desire – the propellers. There replacing the kit ones with those from Armory, colour as the paint, making them almost
are four of these each with eight blades. That which is an upgrade well worth doing. Armory’s invisible.
meant I had to mask and paint thirty-two wheels are dimensionally more correct and with So once
propeller blades, each with two yellow lines at much better detail. again it was
their tips and an aluminium leading edge. To The decals presented another problem. My kit out with the
ensure I had a consistent width between the two was bought second hand and, not only was the 1mm wide
stripes I first applied a 2mm-wide PDMA brand box badly damaged, but the decals were also masking
tape strip across the top of each blade. Then not in great condition. I knew I’d have to use the tape. I
using their 1mm width tape I masked a gap, and stencils, but for the main markings I used a sheet first
added another strip of the 2mm tape and from Babibi Decals, Airbus A-400M Atlas
removed the 1mm between. The second Multinational (ref. ddt-01020). These are
2mm strip was then masked sharply printed by Microscale, and
up-to, and once the entire have accurate colours
blade was protected, the two
2mm tapes were removed
to leave the areas to paint
yellow bands. After
repeating this another thirty-
one times I could finally spray
them yellow. With the
yellow tips all
done, I

JANUARY 2023 • VOLUME 44 • ISSUE 11 65

R A F A I R B U S A 400 M I N 1/ 72

painted the colour I wanted for the outline (the thin layers of gloss varnish to protect the paint varnish to create the final lustre.
Tamiya Neutral Grey mixed with a little black) for a wash of thinned dark grey to pull out any The A400 is a beautiful aircraft and the
and then masked the fresh paint using the details. finished Revell model does it full justice.
narrow tape. An airbrushed coat of XF-53 got As one last test of modelling spirit, I had to
everything uniform and tidy. But, the best was Was it an easy build? Not really. The engines
paint the door stencils in white because my are no walk in the park, and my secondhand kit
yet to come. When I removed the masking tape, version had the white doors and the Revell
some of the decal walkway line beneath pulled with dilapidated decals created extra challenges
original stencils were in grey. too. However, when I look at the final result, the
up with the tape. I had no choice but to repeat
my paint, mask, paint stages to remedy this area, The wheels and the landing gear were last to extra work was definitely worth it.
which worked but was really time consuming add and proved somewhat difficult to install and
and somewhat frustrating. Finally I sprayed two align. The model then received a coat of matt

66 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
REVIEWS

MARK 1 MODELS

Fiat G.50 Bis

By Huw Morgan
unobtainable resin kit by Japanese garage separate central upper piece. Fit
manufacturer Kami de Korokoro. Three boxings between the wing parts and
of the basic kit have been issued, essentially between the fuselage and wing wasn't great,
identical, with each offering four marking with some heavy sanding to thin the trailing
options for the two complete kits in each box. edges being necessary to improve things, and a
There are alternative parts for the exhaust, small amount of filler was used to blend the
spinners, fin, and air cleaner fairing to suit the wing root joint. With the right choice of fin made
specific early or late types as seen in the for the type, the tail empennage can be fitted,
alternative boxings. although typically, the tiny gluing area found on
Each kit is presented on a single sprue of 42 1/144 scale single seaters meant that these
plastic parts, together with a miniscule clear remained vulnerable right through to finishing.
Kit No: 144129 windscreen. The parts are neatly moulded with The exhaust is sandwiched between the front of
some fine detail and surface engraving although the fuselage and the two-piece cowling, both
Scale: 1/144 the plastic is soft and proved difficult to sand these needing some carving and adjusting to
achieve a reasonable fit.
Type: Injection Moulded Plastic cleanly. Some of the parts are typically tiny and
require some dexterity and sparing use of glue, With the cockpits stuffed with a tiny piece of
Manufacturer: Mark 1 Models and the instructions are adequate although not foam the airframes can be primed with the
www.4pluspublications.com particularly clear on the location of some bits. ubiquitous Halfords Grey primer and any
The box built here was of the later G.50bis as remedial work undertaken, mostly around the
wing root and the intermediate wing joint.

T
he Fiat G.50 was a low-wing monoplane used in Africa, with three schemes for Italian
designed by Giuseppe Gabrelli in the mid- aircraft in a variety of sand and green Primer suitably cleaned up, and the first finish
1930s. Following a protracted design and camouflage, and an airframe captured by South coats could be applied, in this case light sand for
development process, the prototypes flew in African forces and seen at Castel Benito in 1943 378 – 8 of the 155 Fighter Squadron, and a
early 1937 and immediately demonstrated a in that country's markings. sand/green aircraft captured by the South
tendency to spin, which was never eradicated, Given the low parts count, the build is pretty Africans. The former had a faint green mottle
even in later models. Very early pre-production straightforward and logical, the main issues over the sand and a yellow cowl typical of the
aircraft had an enclosed cockpit, which was arising from the relatively imprecise moulding of Italian forces in the desert, and the latter a red
quickly changed to a semi-open version at the the smaller parts, - they are tiny, in particular the cowl ring and spinner. Mark 1's decals worked
behest of its Italian pilots. A total of 778 exhausts, which protrude through the cowling, well, settling with plain water without any
airframes were built, and although it served on and the cowling itself. First up is fitting the silvering or excessive backing film.
many fronts from Spain to the Balkans, the G.50 cockpit floor, rear bulkhead/seat and instrument Finishing only required fitting the
was always on the back foot compared with its panel to one of the fuselage halves before undercarriage (patience needed while the
Luftwaffe and Allied contemporaries. Almost all painting the interior medium grey with an superglue set) and some minor detail painting
G.50s were used by Italian forces, the only aluminium seat and black for the instrument and touch-ups. Weathering was restricted to the
exports being ten to the Croat Government and panel. There are very small decals for the actual application of some pastel chalks to represent
thirty five to Finland, who used the type with instruments but these are rather ill defined, and dust and gun stains.
some effect in the 1941-1944 Continuation War. in fact so little is visible that I left them off. The Overall a welcome release by Mark 1 of a
Mark 1 Models' kit of the G.50 is the only fuselage halves can be closed around the little-known Italian aircraft, which had potential
injection-moulded version available in 1/144 cockpit and the assembly set onto the wing, that was never realised.
scale, the only other being a currently- itself made up of a full-span lower section and a

68 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
REVIEWS

BRENGUN

Kokusai Ta-Go,
w/ Brengun Etch
set
By Bruce Leyland-Jones

tactic was already proving beneficial, but the February 1945, the whole area was effectively
sheer, incessant numbers of Allied war machines bombed out of existence and the prototype was
meant that both Imperial Army and Naval utterly destroyed.
Aviation units were rapidly running out of The Captain then took his drawings and
aircraft, even if they still had some very poorly- determination to the Nippon Kokusai Kogyo K.K
Kit No: BRP72046 trained pilots to fly them. The success of the (Japanese International Aviation Industries Ltd),
Scale: 1/72 Allied bombing campaign and associated naval who reviewed his work and agreed to build a
blockades was quickly depleting whatever prototype aircraft. Kokusai specialised in light
Type: Injection Moulded Plastic limited material resources Japan had, and even aircraft and immediately saw potential in the
Manufacturer: Brengun though the few surviving factories had managed design but demanded some changes. Since his
to disperse and survive the firestorms, initial design, resources and manpower had
Brengun Accessory Set manufacturing capacity was limited and depleted further still and so many changes had
Kit No: BRL72269 shrinking fast. to be made, scaling the aircraft down
Scale: 1/72 Acutely aware of all of this, Captain Mizuyama significantly. Even the proposed mission for it
designed a simple aircraft whose sole purpose had shrunk, with the resultant aircraft now only
Type: Photoetch and Resin would be to carry a useful payload to the intended to be thrown at any invading forces on
Status: New Tool (2022) expected armour, artillery, ships, and men of the the beaches, being armed with a 100kg bomb
www.brengun.cz invading forces. Taking his drawings to and powered by a much simpler Hitachi 4-
Tachikawa Hikōki Kabushiki Kaisha, of the cylinder, 110hp engine.
Tachikawa Aircraft Company, he was rejected The Ta-Go was now made almost entirely of
A Desperate Spear out of hand because he did not have State cheap wood, with the only metal used being for

I
n 1944, with his nation’s dreams of Empire approval and their limited resources had the engine, its simple mounting, and the
blazing and burning around him, with his apparently been required for their existing range undercarriage. The fuel tank was placed above
contemporaries being driven back to the of liaison and training aircraft. the engine, being gravity-fed and negating the
homeland and the civilian population he was Undeterred, the Captain found a small need for a fuel pump, and only the most basic
sworn to protect being fire-bombed out of woodworking shop and set to building a instruments were supplied; altimeter, compass,
existence by the seemingly unstoppable and prototype, which was powered by a Hitachi speedometer, and engine-related gauges. A
relentless Allied forces, Captain Yoshiyuka 450hp 9-cylinder radial engine, and was to have folded sheet of acrylic provided some protection
Mizuyama, of the Imperial Japanese Army’s carried a 500kg bomb. With the few resources in from the elements in the now-open cockpit.
Aviation Division, wanted to make an mind, he built a simple aircraft constructed of One interesting design feature was that the
honourable difference. plywood and wood lathes, with fabric-skinned wings could
The harsh mathematics of reality, coupled control surfaces and some thin metal sheets for be folded,
with the all-too successful indoctrination of the the engine cowling and over the enclosed with the
Bushido code, made the decision to crash one cockpit. The undercarriage was fixed and the hinge-line
Japanese pilot into the enemy forces and killing bomb, once attached, could not be released. being just
and maiming dozens, if not hundreds of teki Unfortunately, (although fortunately for the outward of
appear to be an obvious one. The kamikaze Allies), as the prototype neared completion in the

70 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
 REVIEWS

undercarriage. Whilst this would create more covered surfaces. There are only a few decals, abetted by clearly marked location points.
factory space, it would also mean that examples but they are of good colour and, being only The instrument panel, as supplied in the kit, is
could be hidden away in caves and other small either white or red, there are no registry issues. reasonably moulded and would be relatively
hidey holes, to harass the invaders in the (Carrier film appears minimal). easy to paint up, without resorting to the
anticipated guerrilla war. Smaller details, however, are less crisp and I photoetch of the detail set. I would’ve taken a
On 25 June, 1945, the company test pilot took could also anticipate some difficulties in keeping photo, but the Carpet Monster grabbed a snack
the one and only Ta-Go to the air and returned the surface details, whilst addressing the likely and rather pursue the wee beastie through
with what today would have been described as seams, once construction began. With that in numerous interdimensional portals, I reached
useful feedback (Remember that this was mind, I was most chuffed to receive the etched instead for that supplied by the detail set. This
effectively a small wooden Wendy House, and resin detail set from Brengun, intended to consists of an acetate film sandwich between
powered by a 2-stroke and attached to a bomb). supplement the kit, but not included. This offers two plates of fine etch. I painted the base plate
More test flights were made, with some features resin details to replace the fuel tank, wheels, and of the photoetch white, so as better to show off
tweaked accordingly, and in August 1945 the the 100kg bomb, and etch to replace the the dials on the acetate film, and then placed the
United States dropped atomic bombs on moulded-on restraining straps, and to add some painted instrument panel on top. I deliberately
Hiroshima and Nagasaki. On 15 August, Emperor extra surface details and to seriously enhance rubbed the paint off the dial bevels and, I
Hirohito gave a recorded radio address to his that aforementioned ordnance. Acetate film is promise you, it looks far better in The Real than it
nation, announcing the formal surrender of provided for the windscreen and instruments. does in the unforgiving photos.
Japan to the Allies, and thus ended the Second The cockpit was built, with a light grey floor, As it’s an open cockpit, I was pleased that the
World War and any further need for the Ta-Go. aluminium rudder pedals, dark grey control panel fitted as well as it did - and note that you
So what of the kit? column and a wooden seat. The extra detail set could add it after you’ve joined up the two
Brengun are now clearly established as one of provided me with the harness. Whilst the cockpit fuselage halves, if that’s how you like your baps
the relatively mainstream producers of short-run sidewalls are also light grey, there are two buttered.
kits and the quality of their output has ‘wooden’ bulkheads, fore and aft and I enjoyed Being short-run, there are no locating pins
consistently improved over the years. They are painting these in streaky browns, ‘varnished’ and holes, merely butt joints, but as previously
also imaginative (and brave) enough to offer with Humbrol Orange Clearcoat. There is some suggested, it isn’t a large model and the
subjects that can be described as somewhat ‘off raised framework detail on the inner cockpit thickness of the plastic facilitated a secure join,
the wall’ and usually very different from those of walls and I emphasised these by dry-brushing using my favourite superglue gel. In spite of this,
other more mainstream kit producers and this, some graphite powder I had to hand. Because I there was a central seam line to address and at
the Kokusai Ta-Go, is no exception. now have a few kits under my belt and was this point, I was very happy to have the extra
taught modelling proper, back in the day, I dry- detail set to hand, as it meant that I could sand
It's a small aircraft and the simplicity of its fitted the fuselage halves together, with those
construction is readily reflected within the low the seam away, without worrying
bulkheads in place, and quickly learned that about maintaining the integrity of
parts count. That said, each of those parts is some surgery was required.
nicely produced, with very, very little flash and those raised details. To add the
only the slightest of mould seam lines evident Having reduced the width of the extra details, I needed to remove
around some of them. Surface detailing consists bulkheads by about 2mm, I was then the moulded on restraining straps
of raised details and fine panel lines and there is able to fit in the cockpit sub- anyway and, if I was to tackle the kit
a nice distinction between the hard and fabric- assembly centrally, aided and without the extra photoetch, I’d

JANUARY 2023 • VOLUME 44 • ISSUE 11 71

REVIEWS

probably use some plastic strip, or even strips of though the model is, I’m reassured re the decals, but the white design for the fin and the
tape, post-sanding. security of my wings. I scored the elevators a red hinomaru behaved impeccably over some
The kit-supplied propeller has a nice enough little, to facilitate an anticipated droop to the Klear, settling down nicely over the raised detail.
boss, but the two photoetch pieces improve it aircraft at rest and, granted, the tail planes A final coat of Humbrol Mattcote gave me the
somewhat, to my eye at least, (assuming you fix remain butt jointed, they also have the benefit required finish and the model was done.
them in place correctly). Extra surface details are of fine brass struttery to keep everything
added to the engine cowling area, including perpendicular.
Summary
replacement photoetch restraining straps, and The undercarriage, as per The Real Thing, was
these do look quite impressive naked, but a simple affair, though the resin wheels, with Putting aside the unique subject matter, this
remember that they’ll largely disappear once treaded tyres, were a definite improvement on is a kit I could recommend to anyone with a few
paint is applied. the kit doughnuts. Again, the fit to the fuselage under their trouser holding-up devices. As a
was very good. short-run kit, there’s absolutely nothing difficult
One detail piece I really did appreciate was
about it and it should be in reach of most. I can
the resin fuel tank, with photoetched strap. This With the end of the build now in sight, I
easily recommend it, if only to add interest to a
in particular is a worthwhile addition and, realised that I appeared to have a plethora,
collection.
besides the overall clunky shape of the thing, a nay…a myriad of fine photoetched brassparts
strapped on fuel tank just emphasises the remaining upon the fret, and determined these Too often extra detail sets are unnecessary,
rushed and ‘rustic’ nature of the whole aircraft. to be further enhancements for the extra-detail especially when coupled with already well-
ordnance. The kit-supplied bomb, already moulded kits, and many times those fine etched
Another area that benefits from the detail set
moulded onto its pylon, was a rather sad affair details are lost forever,, immediately a canopy is
is the exhausts. As previously mentioned, short-
when compared to the separate resin pylon, put in place, or the fuselage closed up. In this
run kittery often has difficulty with the finer
with etched clamps for the resin bomb body, instance, I do believe that the extra detail set
things in life and the kit-supplied exhaust are no
itself embellished with brass fins and fine does genuinely enhance the model and I can
exception, being simply little nubs of styrene.
connecting struts! Better modellers than I, (and recommend it. Given the handling of the very
Without the detail set, I would have resorted to
there are a fair few, let me tell you) have often fine photoetch and the necessity of superglue,
cutting up fine tubing, but with the detail set, I
told me to treat any ordnance as a separate kit perhaps an absolute beginner might struggle in
can truly appreciate the resin caster’s art. Such is
and Brengun appear to have taken this concept places, but even they should have fun if they
the poor quality of the kit exhausts that it isn’t
to heart. The main model took me a leisurely choose to omit the ordnance.
evident that they are of different lengths. The
resin items clearly are and the longer ones go to couple of days, but a whole evening was spent Whilst it is comfortable from the perspective
the rear, taking into account the slightly tapering on the 100kg bomb … and that’s before I started of the victor to view the whole episode of the Ta-
nature of the nose. Note that there are ports painting and masking for the stripes! Go as extreme futility in the making, perhaps we
already moulded in for the exhaust pipes, but I For the finish, IJA 43 Black Olive Drab was could consider the following…
did get my drill out to clean them up a little and, quoted for the overall colour and, of course, this Towards the end of the Pacific campaign,
whilst I had my drill to hand, I had a go at was a paint I didn’t have amongst my extensive much more armoured, powerful and faster
opening up the small pitot. Humbrol range. I then spent several days aircraft, converted for Kamikaze use, were being
Moving onto the flying surfaces, the wings researching the colour and trying to find a wiped out of the sky by the increased and
consist of upper and lower halves. These are suitable match, all to no substantial avail. Then I improved anti-aircraft defences of the Allied
quite chunky and it would have been impossible had a couple of those infamous ‘Light Bulb forces. With this in mind, it does seem unlikely
to produce them as single pieces without Moments’ our esteemed Editor occasionally that those flimsy and unarmoured little sheds,
making some horrible sink marks. As a experiences, the first being his suggestion of pottering around the flak-laden skies at less than
consequence, there’s a horizontal seam line to considering the 3 ‘A’s when modelling; 120mph, would have made much of an
clean up and here care had to be taken, because Authenticity, Accuracy and Artistry. This gave me impact…even as a swarm. As a consequence,
of the raised rib detail I needed to preserve. I permission to simply look at the kit box art and with only one ever having actually flown, this
took my time and managed well enough. pick what hue best satisfied my sensibilities. The aircraft, born out of desperation, had been
second ‘Ping’ was the realisation that no-one consigned to the depths of history… so my
As mentioned what seems aeons ago, this is a anywhere has an authenticated colour picture of appreciation goes to Brengun, both for their
short-run kit, usually bereft of locating pins, the Ta-Go and that paint supplies of the time imagination, and for their enterprise in bringing
holes, slots, and tabs. However, Brengun have would’ve been sporadic and haphazard at best. such a kit to us, and for the subsequent
endeavoured to create tabs for the wings, with Cutting a convoluted colour conundrum curtate, expansion to my education.
corresponding slots in the fuselage and, to be I opted for Humbrol H149 Dark Green, a colour
fair, they’ve made a fair stab at it. Once I’d *Kokusai Ta-Go: Kokusai translates loosely as
used to good effect on previous Japanese ‘international’, whilst ‘Ta’ is a contraction of ‘Take’,
removed the mould seam lines and opened up aircraft of mine.
the slots in the fuselage a little, all went together or spear/spear-length. ‘Go’ is the Japanese for ‘5’,
rather nicely. Only a little of my Call it artistry and don’t knock it until you’ve and it appears the Ta-Go was Captain Mizuyama’s
Perfect Plastic Putty saw found a genuine photo of the real thing. As I fifth design.
light of day and, small mentioned in the introduction, there are few

72 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
 REVIEWS

SPECIAL HOBBY

DC-2
By Joe Reiman

Kit No: SH72176

Scale: 1/72
Type: Injection Moulded Plastic
Manufacturer: Special Hobby
www.specialhobby.eu

M
y father flew various kinds of C-47 looking for a quick and stress-free build. Parts metal US Navy and Marine planes, an RAAF one
during WW II as well as the B-18, B-23, were mostly flash free and have fine engraved in the Foliage Green/Dark Earth/Sky Blue
and later, DC-3s with American Airlines, panel lines. Typical of shorter run kits there are scheme, and a Spanish Civil War machine in
so I was eager to construct the lineage of early no locating pins for mating pieces. Special green and sand over light blue. I didn’t use the
‘DC’ aircraft. Hobby have released several versions of this kit kit decals, but they seemed to be nicely printed,
Unsurprisingly, before the iconic DC-3 there with the same box parts, but with different in register, and accurate in colour.
were, the DC-1 and DC-2. The DC-1 was a one-off markings options. By the time the existence of As usual, the build commenced with the
aircraft developed in response to a Trans World this kit intruded into my consciousness, the only interior. The kit has a rudimentary flight deck
Airways specification and was the prototype for one I could find had marking options for natural and just a floor and fore and aft bulkheads for
the series. At the time it was a radical design
featuring all-metal monocoque construction,
cantilevered wing, retractable landing gear, and
two Wright radial engines, seating 12
passengers. After an enthusiastic reception by
TWA it was placed into production as the DC-2
with an initial order of 20 aircraft. The DC-2 was
slightly enlarged compared to the DC-1 and
seated 14 passengers. Several other airlines and
the US military were also impressed by the
aircraft, and when production transitioned to
the DC-3/C-47 a total of 198 were produced for
18 airlines and the US Army Air Corps, Navy, and
Marines. The DC-2 was designated C-33 for the
USAAC and R2D-1 for the Navy and Marines. The
C-39 was a composite of DC-2 and DC-3
components and was sometimes referred to
colloquially as the DC-2½. Many DC-2s
belonging to US airlines were impressed into US
service at the start of WWII. To demonstrate the
speed and reliability of the new generation of
commercial aircraft a ‘stock’ KLM DC-2 was
entered in the 1934 MacRobertson London-
Melbourne Air Race. It finished second to the
famous De Havilland DH.88 purpose-built racer
Grosvenor House.
The DC-2, although overshadowed by its
famous successor, proved that commercial air
travel could be safe, fast, and reliable. It put
Boeing, with its 247 restricted to United Airlines,
out of the commercial aircraft business for
decades.
For such a relatively large machine, the
Special Hobby DC-2 has a fairly small parts
count, 44 in all, including several parts for the C-
33 and C-39 that are not used for the DC-2 build,
moulded in the standard Special Hobby grey.
This was part of the attraction for me, as I was

JANUARY 2023 • VOLUME 44 • ISSUE 11 75

REVIEWS

the passenger compartment. Interior colours for in keeping with my simplified build process, and Aluminium (ALC 117) for contrast.
these early commercial aircraft are problematical in my opinion the ‘best commercial practices’ The engines are just partial cylinders on a
at best, and the instructions suggest either grey approach used by Douglas wouldn’t necessarily solid backplate, but look quite nice nestled
or interior green for the interior. No interior follow military specification requirements. Be inside the cowlings after careful hand painting,
detail is visible once the fuselage is closed up sure to use the correct smaller tails, specific to and a black wash on the cylinder fins. I painted
and I opted for Tamiya grey primer for the the DC-2. The larger C-39/DC-3 size tails are also the props Alclad Polished Aluminum (ALC105).
interior. For a purpose-built US military plane I included in the kit.
would probably go with Bronze Green in the The Tamiya Aluminum is glossy enough that it
I never could get the side cockpit windows to needs no clear gloss coat before decaling. I
cockpit although natural metal would be a stay glued in, so I decided early on just to use
reasonable guess too, particularly for the spent hours on the Internet looking for suitable
them for masking. Squares of tape were cut to airline decals and ultimately found a set that
passenger compartment. I painted the seats mask the windscreen transparency to effect the
brown and added Tamiya masking tape belts. At closely matched the TWA markings on the
correct framing. existing flightworthy DC-2. Tamiya clear gloss
least I know they’re in there.
The prop blades are separate and have to be sealed everything in. The main landing gear is
The only clear part I used was the windscreen, glued to the hub, hopefully achieving the made up of several parts which, provide a sturdy
so once the interior was painted I closed up the required 120 degree separation. I drew out a foundation when assembled. The side cockpit
fuselage. The fit was good, but I ended up with a template on card with three lines at the correct windows were popped out and the openings
mismatch along the top, which required some angles to help line things up. filled with Micro Crystal Clear, as were all the
filling and sanding to achieve the correct passenger windows. The clean lines of the DC-2
contour. Fortunately, the panel lines run fore and After a couple of easy filling, sanding, and
priming steps, the whole model was primed nose are spoiled by two bulging landing lights
aft, so thankfully, no rescribing was required. and a large pitot, which were added at this time.
with Tamiya rattle can primer grey, and then
The wing assemblies consist of a lower centre painted with Tamiya Bright Aluminium (TS17) This is a terrific kit, especially if you can
section, two lower outer sections, and two upper decanted from the can and sprayed with my restrain yourself from adding a lot of invisible
sections. Again, fit was generally fine with a little Iwata Eclipse. As we all know, natural metal interior detail and don’t obsess over the interior
filler in the upper wing-fuselage joint. There’s a finishes are a touchy process, and there followed paint colours. Its minimal parts count and
handy diagram on the plans indicating the two or three polishing and touch-up sessions to reasonably good fit facilitates a quick and easy
correct wing dihedral, that is, if you can figure remove scratches, runs, and lint. My intent was build. It makes up into a great replica of a truly
out how to measure and maintain 7 degrees to build a factory-fresh aircraft so I didn’t spend significant aircraft. I believe one of the other
while the glue dries! Wheel well colour a lot of effort masking and painting contrasting boxings has KLM markings, which presumably
alternatives are suggested as yellow zinc aluminium panels, as I would normally. All the could be built up as the MacRobertson race
chromate or aluminium. I went with aluminium fabric control surfaces were painted Alclad II Dull airplane?

76 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
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Telephone: (805) 584-9732
1754 Warfield Circle, Simi Valley,
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NF113 Douglas F4D Skyray $59.95
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The next release in our highly acclaimed Combat

Colours series by Nicholas Millman and Mark Rolfe

Combat Colours 9
Mitsubishi Zero
Type 0 Carrier Fighter (A6M) ’Zeke’ in World War Two
No.9 in the series charts the colour schemes and markings
worn by this iconic Japanese naval ghter which saw
service throughout thewhole of the Pacic War from 1940
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U P D AT E S

AERO
RESEARCH
www.aeroresearchcds.com
This month’s release from
Aero Research is titled
Stratolifter & Stratotanker.
This disc (PDF file
available) contains photos
of 165 aircraft of this
Boeing family. Included
are C-, EC-, JC-, KC-, OC-,
RC- and WC- variants of
the aircraft. Coverage is
provided of both US and
overseas operators.

AIR-GRAPHICS RAF Op Granby - British Military Aircraft in Gulf War 1990-1991 30th
Anniversary Special Part 1 1/72 (ref. AIR72-021)
www.air-graphics.uk
This decal pack, the latest special edition sheet from the On Target Decal
On Target Decals range, commemorates the thirtieth anniversary of Operation Granby. The
Boeing P-8A Poseidon MRA.1 in RAF Service 1/72 (Ref. AIR72-022) sheet contains decal options for fourteen Buccaneers, twelve Jaguars, five
The MRA.1 version of the Boeing Poseidon is an impressive aircraft, even Tornado F.3s, and nine Tornado Gr.1/a aircraft, a total of forty different
more so in 1/72 with the introduction of the Big Planes kit. Whilst the BPK aircraft used in the conflict. The first part of the decal sheet contains the
model doesn’t allow construction of an RAF aircraft straight from the box various nose art and individual aircraft identifiers whilst the second
due to the addition of various external sensors and aerials, this decal sheet contains the serial numbers, national markings and stencils. Finally a third
does provide for all of the markings required. The decal sheet allows the sheet contains the higher-detail nose art found on some aircraft
construction of any of the current fleet of nine P-8A aircraft in RAF service depending on the artistic ability of the crew involved. The instruction book
as it also carries the corresponding name given to each aircraft with the is a work of art, providing both placement and painting instructions for
details listed in the instruction booklet. The decals are crisply printed with each aircraft and aircraft type along with listing the suitable kits and
minimal carrier film, whilst including every stencil found on the aircraft. accessories to get the best possible results. In addition, a number of useful
Positioning of these is aided by the clear diagrams in the instruction reference photographs are also included making for a complete package.
booklet, which also includes some useful reference photographs to aid Well worth the investment for those with an interest in RAF operations or
painting and decal placement. the Gulf War in particular.

ARMA to provide nose weight. These fit into three recesses

within the moulded parts solving any concerns
www.armahobby.com
about the model being a tail sitter. The transparent
Bell P-39Q Airacobra 1/72 (ref.70055) parts are crystal clear and free from any mould lines
The Bell Airacobra was an innovative design for an or defects and should be very effective when painted
aircraft of the era, having a mid-mounted Allison V- using the mask set provided.
1710-85 engine to aid balance, with the power Construction will be aided by the instruction
reaching the propeller via a shaft that ran to the front booklet, which is well laid out and clear, showing
of the aircraft. This was in addition to its car door- each of the twenty four construction stages via a
style accessed cockpit. The Airacobra was fitted with series of exploded diagrams. The instructions contain
a 37mm T9 cannon mounted centrally, firing directly colour views for each of the five colour schemes
through the centre of the propeller hub providing an included on the decal sheet as well as a placement
accurate punch. The Arma Hobby kit follows on their diagram for the stencils. The kit provides for three
tradition of providing highly-detailed and well USAAF schemes, and one Italian as well as a Polish
thought out designs. In this case the kit is based aircraft, making for wide range of choices. The decals
around two light grey sprues packed with parts with are of superb quality, being sharply printed and with
exquisite detail on the surface, including those for good colour density.
other versions of the P-39 series of aircraft. This may Arma have produced a superb package that contains
lead some to claim the kit is over engineered everything you could wish for in terms of a 1/72 kit
however the high quality of the moulding should of the Airacobra and it should build into a fine and
mean construction is issue free and it is hard not to highly detailed replica. Although not for the
be impressed with the level of work that Arma have uninitiated due to the high volume of small
put into the kit. The clear sprue contains the main components the average modeller should have no
canopy as well as two doors to allow you to pose problem building a P-39 to be proud of.
them open or closed as well as a landing light and
gunsight. The box also contains three ball bearings

78 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
U P D AT E S

BLACKBIRD MODELS
www.blackbirdmodels.co.uk
RAF Bomber Command Pt 1 1/72 (ref. BMD72050).
The role of Bomber Command is commemorated on this decal
sheet, the first part of a series containing a variety of types
operated by the various squadrons of the RAF’s offensive
command during World War Two. This sheet contains the
required serials, codes, and national markings to enable you to
adorn your model correctly while the full colour instructions
guide the conversions and paint scheme needed to build an
accurate replica. The five aircraft included on this sheet are:
Avro Manchester I - L7301 ZN-D of No.106 Sqn RAF during 1942
Avro Manchester I - L7432 VN-Z of No.50 Sqn RAF during 1942
Douglas Boston III - BZ377 RH-F of No.88 Sqn RAF during D-Day
operations 1944
DH Mosquito B.XX - KB195 AZ-B of No.627 Sqn RAF during
D-Day operation. 1944
Avro Lancaster B.I - NG128 SR-B of No.101 Sqn RAF, 100 Group
The decals are well researched and of the high quality we have
come to expect from Blackbird.

EDUARD 33339 Yak-9K ZOOM for ICM kit

33340 Yak-9K seatbelts STEEL for ICM kit
www.eduard.com
1/48
This month’s updates from Eduard include a number of sets for both ICM’s 481094 Beaufort Mk I bomb bay for ICM kit
1/48 Beaufort, and their 1/32 Yak-9K:
481095 Beaufort Mk I landing flaps for ICM kit
Brassin and PRINT
491318 Beaufort Mk I for ICM kit
632183 Bf 109G-4 wheels for Revell kit
491320 Mi-4 for Trumpeter kit
632184 Bf 109G-2/4 exhaust stacks for Revell kit FE1318 Beaufort Mk I ZOOM for ICM kit
632185 Bf 109G-2/4 undercarriage legs BRONZE for Revell kit FE1319 Beaufort Mk I seatbelts STEEL for ICM kit
644186 Z-326 LööK for Eduard kit FE1320 Mi-4 ZOOM for Trumpeter kit
644187 F-35B LööK for Italeri kit FE1321 Mi-4 seatbelts STEEL for Trumpeter kit
644188 Mosquito B Mk IV LööK for Tamiya kit 1/72
644189 A6M3 Zero LööKplus for Eduard kit 72726 B-26B/C Marauder exterior for Hasegawa/Hobby 2000 kit
644190 Tornado IDS LööKplus for Revell kit 73783A-1H for Hasegawa/Hobby 2000 kit
648796 WWII USAAF oxygen cylinder A-4 PRINT 73784A-1J for Hasegawa/Hobby 2000 kit
648798 F6F wheel bays PRINT for Eduard kit 73785P-39Q for Arma Hobby kit
648802 A6M3 Type 32 landing flaps PRINT for Eduard kit 73786 B-26B/C Marauder interior for Hasegawa/Hobby 2000 kit
648806 A6M3 Type 22 folding wingtips PRINT for Eduard kit 73787 Yak-9D for Zvezda kit
648807 A6M3 Type 22 landing flaps PRINT for Eduard kit SS785 P-39Q ZOOM for Arma Hobby kit
648808 A6M wheels w/smooth tire for Eduard kit SS786 B-26B/C Marauder ZOOM for Hasegawa/Hobby 2000 kit
648811 P-38J seat PRINT for Tamiya kit SS787 Yak-9D ZOOM for Zvezda kit
648812 P-38J cockpit PRINT for Tamiya kit Masks
648814 1Buccaneer S.2C/D wheels for Airfix kit 1/72
Space CX634 Yak-9D for Zvezda kit
3DL32009 Yak-9K SPACE for ICM kit CX635 for Hasegawa/Hobby 2000 kit
3DL48094 Beaufort Mk I SPACE for ICM kit CX636 A-1J for Hasegawa/Hobby 2000 kit
3DL48095 Mi-4 SPACE for Trumpeter kit 1/48
3DL48096 Z-326 SPACE for Eduard kit EX908 Beaufort Mk I for ICM kit
3DL72005 Ki-84 Hayate SPACE for Arma Hobby kit EX909 Beaufort Mk I TFace for ICM kit
3DL72006 P-51B SPACE for Arma Hobby kit EX910 Mi-4 for Trumpeter kit
Photoetch Detail and ZOOM sets EX911 Mi-4 TFace for Trumpeter kit
1/32 1/32
321003 Yak-9K for ICM kit JX301 Yak-9K for ICM kit
32479 Yak-9K landing flaps for ICM kit JX302 Yak-9K TFace for ICM kit

80 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
 U P D AT E S

By Bill Clark
AIRFIX
www.airfix.com

I
n anticipation of the new 1/24 Spitfire Mk IX I was asked to
represent Scale Aircraft Modelling at an Airfix ‘Press Day’, held at
their secret south-coast location, to witness the kits being
manufactured. I was vaguely aware of some of the processes
employed, but was astonished all the same to hear the full story
behind the kit’s production.
They whole process starts with ‘Selection Criteria’. Factors such as
the release schedule, gaps in the market, and their existing themes
and previous best sellers come into play here. Once a subject is
identified then the research process starts. This includes of course
liaising with experts in that particular field, referring to as much
information as is possible and of course field visits. Once the
information is collated the design brief takes over. This being
particularly relevant to the mark of model and what, if any, changes
could be incorporated at a later date - in this case, tooling parts to
enable a Spitfire Mk VIII to be issued subsequently.
Modern technology and computerisation naturally play a very
large part in this process, and the Airfix team went to great lengths
to explain these stages in detail. I hear a lot of comments on social
media regarding ‘LIDAR Scanning’ and while the team at Airfix do
use this, where possible, it would be wrong to assume that this was
the be all and end all of the process. Far from it. Scanning is an
important part of the process, but it is just that - a part, or a tool to
achieve the end result. The team there are experts in their
respective fields, and I was very impressed by their dedication and
desire to get things right. You can’t achieve being ‘Just like the real
thing’ without this commitment and skill.

The Kit
The kit itself features some 442 parts and the instruction booklet
runs to 44 pages, with no less than 244 Steps. The box is quite
surprisingly small, but deep. The smaller parts on their respective
sprues are bagged, but the large wing and fuselage parts are
separated by thickish brown paper, to help reduce the need for
plastic. Included on the decal sheet are five different schemes, ‘5J:K’
ML214 of 126 Squadron, with full, partial, or no D-Day markings;
‘AE:B’, or ‘JE:J’ EN395 of 402 RCAF Sqn; ‘WZ-GJ’ Eleanor in a US Desert
scheme, or MJ897 GR2/33 Curieux of the French Air Force. All in all
some very colourful and interesting schemes. The decals, printed
by Cartograph, are perfectly in registration, with negligible carrier
film only apparent on the smaller stencils.
The wing included in the kit is the ‘C’ or ‘Universal’ wing, which
technically allowed a number of gun fits, but normally featured two
20mm cannons and four .303 machine guns. It’s the latter
configuration included in the kit. The gun and cannon bays can be
shown with hatches removed to show the considerable internal
detail. There appear to be no plans currently for an ‘E’ wing from
Airfix, so anyone contemplating a IXe, or XVIe will have to refer
themselves to the aftermarket bods.
They cockpit is incredibly well presented, and seat belts harnesses
are included as separate styrene pieces, designed to ‘drape’ over
the seat. I was worried that they might be a bit too thick, but on the
four built up examples they had at Airfix looked more than ok.
The team at Airfix explained that it was nigh on impossible to
achieve a correctly’ blown canopy’ moulded in one go so have to
approach this in two ‘passes’. As a result, there is a miniscule seam
line down the centre of one canopy. I have to say that this is hardly
noticeable, but it can be removed by gently polishing it out.
However, if that is something the modeller might be a bit reticent
at tackling, Airfix has provided a second canopy, not quite as
‘blown’ as it should be, to act as a very reasonable substitute. It was
suggested that this could also double as a paint mask!
All in all, this truly is a Superkit, in every sense of that meaning.
They say that there is no such thing as a ‘free-lunch’! Well, I
thoroughly enjoyed the M & S sandwich selection and endless
coffee provided, so thank you Dale and Airfix for the opportunity of
witnessing this kit being produced, and for the teams’ time in
making it such an enjoyable and informative visit. If I’m being
totally honest, I’m still ‘buzzing!

JANUARY 2023 • VOLUME 44 • ISSUE 11 81

U P D AT E S

freIGHTdoG models from air bubbles or any other casting defects.

Freightdog provide a single side A4 colour
www.freightdogmodels.co.uk
instruction sheet depicting the different colour
Bac mustard low speed research Vehicle 1/72 schemes, and written instructions for
This latest high quality release from Freightdog construction, although this is a pretty standard
Models represents a step in the development of affair so should pose no issue to the more
what would have been the BAC Space Shuttle experienced modeller.
equivalent, the MUSTARD (Multi-Unit Space
As the Mustard remained unbuilt in real life the
Transport Device). The low-speed glider kit
colour schemes provided are based on the
contains fifteen medium grey resin parts, which
different standards of the time, so yellow, blue, or
allow for the construction of one model with
silver dope and decals are provided to reflect the
either a tail-mounted rocket motor or a rounded
fairing depending on your preferences. The style of the period.
canopy is provided as a vacuum formed item with The Mustard is an attractive lifting body design
two enclosed to allow for any modelling errors. and one that will make for an interesting and
The parts feature engraved detail and are free alternative look at what could have been.

GuerrIlla models sets include the much larger 430 gallon slipper
www.guerrillamodels.co.uk tanks and a revised bomb bay door, which are
formed from medium grey resin. The parts are
A new modelling venture, the aim of the Guerrilla
Models range is to produce aviation conversion crisply moulded, free from any moulding defects
sets to reflect the smaller, often forgotten, and engraved to match the components in the
conflicts such as counterinsurgencies and proxy Airfix Kits. The modeller will need to add their own
wars from around the globe. The initial releases aerials, which are simply scratch built, whilst
allow the modeller to produce a South African Air decals can be sourced from both Kits-World and
Force Buccaneer S.50 from either the 1/72 Xtradecal. A great way to add an often overlooked
(ref.GM7201) or 1/48 (ref.GM4801) Airfix kits. The version of the Buccaneer to your collection.

House of PHanToms decals usafe Phantoms Part 1

www.houseofphantoms.com ramstein based f-4es of the 86th TfW and 26th TrW. 1/48
(ref.HoPd48003)
luftwaffe Phantoms – f-4f in norm 81a/1B camouflage 1/48
(ref. HoPd48002) Phantoms galore on this latest sheet from House of Phantoms Decals, this
time reflecting those of United States Air Force Europe based at Ramstein
TThe F-4F always looks good in Luftwaffe markings, especially in the two
between 1971 and 1986. The decal sheet contains markings for fifteen
tone grey Norm 81 scheme. House of Phantoms bring the modeller the individual aircraft and stencils to allow you to complete two airframes
chance to replicate this scheme in its glory with a huge total of thirty from this selection. The instructions are a highly comprehensive colour
different aircraft collected together on one sheet, including stencil decals document, providing views of both sides of the aircraft in question whilst
for two aircraft. The decals have been printed by Cartograf so the standard further top and lower view show the camouflage scheme and stencil
of the product is in no doubt and this is backed up with an impressive placement. Colour callouts are given in FS numbers so can be married up
thirty-one page instruction book to aid their use. The instructions feature to most paint ranges easily. Of course the Phantom is legendary amongst
two pages of colour photographs depicting the variations of the Norm 81 modellers for the numerous stencils it is clad in. These are shown in a well
camouflage design, which will prove to be highly useful, while each laid out diagram and so should only pose a challenge to the extent of your
different aircraft is given its own profile to provide a series of large and patience due to their number. The decals are printed by Cartograf and so
useful reference diagrams. The different paint colours are given in the RAL the quality and ease of application is assured. These markings are
standard and so will be easy to tie into most major paint brands. Overall a designed to fit the superb Zoukei Mura 1/48 F-4E kit and should also fit
worthwhile way to add a pair of Luftwaffe Phantoms to your collection, other F-4E kits with a little adjustment and care. A worthy purchase for the
leaving the only problem of which ones of the huge selection to choose phantom or Cold War aircraft modeller and a complete and well
from. researched package.

Isradecal discerning builder. allow the navigation lights to be depicted

www.isradecal.com The kit is based around two grey injection correctly. A pair of photoetch frets hold further
moulded sprues containing forty-six parts with small details such as the HUD frames and related
T-6a/c Texan II limited edition 1/48 engraved detail whilst the single piece injection- control panels.
(ref. 48100) moulded canopy is accompanied by a vinyl The comprehensive colour instructions are on a
Whilst the Texan II has been in service for several masking set to aid painting. In addition, a further double-sided sheet of A3, which also features
years the modelling community has been nine resin parts are included, which allow useful reference images of the full-size aircraft
relatively bereft of the ability to create a 1/48 greater detail to be shown on the ejection seats, where clarity is required.
scale replica, however Isradecal have released a main wheels, and nose/engine area, including Decal options are provided for four different
full multimedia kit of the aircraft for the the exhausts. Clear resin wingtips are included to aircraft

82 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
T-6C Texan II – XM329 of the Royal Air Force in grey over green heritage colour scheme This looks to be an impressive limited edition kit
overall black with yellow High Visibility markings resplendent with a flaming skull design on the of this widely used training aircraft, for the more
T-6C Texan II – FAC2350 of the Colombian Air front fuselage. advanced modeller due to its multi-media
Force in a white over light grey scheme The decal sheet also holds two options for the nature. That said it will also make for an ideal
T6A Texan II – USAF 01-3603 of the 432th FTS in cockpit instruments, which are laid over the introduction to the multi-media experience due
an all over grey ‘Scat’ heritage colour scheme. raised detail on the injection moulded to the clarity of the instructions and so we
T6A Texan II – USAF 03-3689 of the 89th FTS in a instrument panels. heartily recommend it.

JANUARY 2023 • VOLUME 44 • ISSUE 11 83

U P D AT E S

PLUS MODEL 1/48 AL7061 1/72 S2 Tracker wheels

www.plusmodel.cz AL4055 Bomb trailer Mk 2 AL7062 1/72 S2 Tracker propeller
New releases in three scales from AL4103 Bomb sight Norden AL7073 1/72 Bomb sight Norden
Plus Model in resin: AL4104 Bomb and gun sights for B-29 AL7074 Bomb and gun sights for B-29
1/32 1/72
AL3012 Pilot P-47 Thunderbolt AL7060 1/72 E2 Hawkeye wheels

RED FOX STUDIO

www.rfstudio.hu
From Red Fox Studio, distributed by AMMO, are the following beautifully
3D-printed instrument panel sets. Some other 3D-printed sets can seem
a little soft but Red Fox’s are very sharp and finely detailed.
1/48
RFSQS-48065 Messerschmitt ME 262A-1 & A2 with R4M & bomb selector
panels, recommended for the Tamiya kit.
SCALE AIRCRAFT CONVERSIONS
RFSQS-48085 F/A-18C Hornet, recommended for the Kinetic kit. www.scaleaircraftconversions.com
RFSQS-48099 Grumman F-14A Tomcat, recommended for the Tamiya kit. New Products for December 2022 from SAC:
1/32 32167 Yak-9T Landing Gear (ICM)
RFSQS-32034 F-16CJ Fighting Falcon, recommended for the Tamiya kit. 48429 CH-47A Chinook Landing Gear (HobbyBoss)
RFSQS-32094 Focke Wulf 190A-8, recommended for the Hasegawa kit. 48430 Westland Wyvern S4 (Early/Late) Landing Gear (Trumpeter)

84 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
U P D AT E S

SPECIAL HOBBY Quick & Easy Hobby kits

www.specialhobby.eu Q72403 1/72 Mirage IIIC Seat (MB Mk 4) for 7509 1/72 Beaufort Mk I Bomb Bay 1/72 /
New releases this month from Special Hobby’s Special Hobby kit Airfix kit
various imprints: Q48404 1/48 Bücker Bü 181/Zlín Z-181 Main 3D-Printed Parts
Special Mask Wheel s for Special Hobby kit P48003 1/48 Panzerfaust for Bücker Bü 181 1/48
M48011 1/48 Bugatti 100 Mask CMK
M48012 1/48 Breda Ba 65 Mask 7505 1/72 Ki-84 Hayate Armament for Arma

BUNNY FIGHTER CLUB access to unique Club kits and BFC. On top of all this you’ll get free
accessories, and even better prices at entry at Eduard’s annual E-day show,
www.blackbirdmodels.co.uk
Eduard’s trade stand at shows and for both days, and you’ll still get the
Check out the full range of ‘Bunny events. Membership also gets you a entry kit.
Lady’ kits and T-shirts, featuring the Club T-shirt with unique design and
Tempest Mk V from Bfc. Membership special barcode (used for event Join now at
gets you a 15% permanent club discounts). This exclusive T-shirt will www.eduard.com/bfc/
discount at Eduard’s online store, be only available to the members of

86 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
 GREAT WORLD
OF SMALL AIRCRAFT
ALL NEW MODELS FROM METAL MOLDS - PRODUCTION 2022

MiG-21FL India

NEW MODIFIED FORMS OF 2022 PRODUCTION

MiG-21FL Egypt La-5UTI 'EW-5'

La-5FN '25' La-5UTI '17' La-5FN '23' Czech

La-5FN '13' Kocfelda Fokker S-11 Israel

Fokker T-21 Brazil Fokker S-11 Dutch

U P D AT E S

2023 UK ShowS ~ Geoff Cooper-Smith of 580 Modellers

W
ith ScaleModelWorld having been and gone, along with Midlands. It is also good to see the Peterborough show returning,
the few remaining shows of 2022, and Christmas having found a new venue; all-in-all the show year is shaping up
approaching, we can all look forward to the 2023 Show into something to look forward too.
Calendar, which is filling up rather nicely. Thankfully, it would The intention is to keep the list of model shows as up-to-date as
appear that some resemblance of normality is returning with the possible so please contact Geoff Cooper-Smith at
clutch of shows traditional to the first quarter back on the agenda [email protected] or on 07841 417680 to ensure your event
– Bolton, IPMS Wakefield (this year in Leeds), Crewe, and East receives the promotion it deserves.

2023 Shows 21 May (Sunday) Model Show 2023 (IPMS Gloucester)

Churchdown Community Centre, Parton Road,
22 January (Sunday) IPMS Bolton Strikes Back Churchdown. GL3 2JH
Premiere Suite, University of Bolton Stadium,
Contact Jeff Brown: [email protected]
Burnden Way, Horwich, Bolton. BL6 6JW
Contact Rob Monfea: [email protected] 03 June (Saturday) IPMS Salisbury Scale Model Show
Wyvern St Edmund’s Sports Hall, Church Road,
04 February (Sunday) North Surrey Military Modelling Society
Laverstock. SP1 1RE
open Day
Contact: [email protected]
Banstead Community Hall, Park Road,
Banstead. SM7 3AJ 04 June (Sunday) Northern Model Show (IPMS Tyneside)
Contact via: www.nsmmg.org.uk Parks Sports Centre, Howdon Road,
05 February (Sunday) Sculthorpe heritage Centre Model Show North Shields. NE29 6TL
Wicken Green Rural Centre, Contact Rob Sullivan: [email protected]
Wicken Green. NR21 7RR 10 June (Saturday) The white Rose Figure world North 2023
Contact Ian Brown: [email protected] The Galtres Centre, Easingwold,
19 February (Sunday) The Leeds Model Show (IPMS wakefield) near York. YO61 3AE
Royal Armouries, Armouries Drive, Leeds. LS10 1LT Contact Nic Burden on 07986 619234
Contact Alan Paul: [email protected] 17 June (Saturday) Ipswich Model Show (IPMS Ipswich)
26 February (Sunday) South Cheshire Military Modelling Club Ipswich & District Indoor Bowling Club,
Universal Scale Model Show 136 Rushmere Road, Ipswich. IP4 4JU
Malbank 6th Form College, Welsh Row, Nantwich, Contact Graham Lovell: [email protected]
Cheshire. CW5 5HD 18 June (Sunday) MAFVA Nationals
Contact via: www.scmmc.co.uk The Burgess Hall, Westwood Road,
04 March (Saturday) Aldingbourne Modellers Modelex St Ives. PE27 6WU
Aldingbourne Community Sports Centre, Contact: [email protected]
Olivers Meadow, Chichester. PO20 3YA 25 June (Sunday) west Anglia Scale Model Show
Contact: [email protected]
(west Norfolk IPMS)
05 March (Sunday) Peterborough Scale Model Club Littleport Leisure Centre, Camel Road,
Scale Model Show Littleport, Ely. CB6 1EW
Arthur Mellows Village College, Helpston Road, Contact: [email protected]
Glinton. PE6 7JX
16 July (Sunday) Romsey Modellers Scale Model Show
Contact Ken Almen: peterboroughscalemodel
Crossfield Hall, Broadwater Hall,
[email protected]
Romsey. SO51 8GL
25 March (Sunday) Guideline Publications Spring Show Contact: [email protected]
Haverstock School, 24 Haverstock Hill, Chalk Farm,
London. NW3 2BQ 06 August (Sunday) IPMS Avon & Lincombe Barn’s combined
Contact Stella: [email protected] Modelling & wargaming Show
Thornbury Leisure Centre, Alveston Hill,
01 April (Saturday) Sword & Lance (Darlington Military
Thornbury. BS35 3JB
Modelling Society)
Confirmation awaited
The Northern Echo Arena,
Darlington Mowden Park RFC. DL2 1DL 13 August (Sunday) North Devon Model Show
Contact: [email protected] (North Devon Model Society)
02 April (Sunday) East Midlands Model Show (IPMS hinckley & The Park Community School, Park Lane,
hinckley Model Club) Barnstaple, Devon. EX32 9AX
Hinckley Leisure Centre, Argents Mead, Contact Sera Staples: [email protected]
Hinckley. LE10 1BZ 27 August (Sunday) Stoke Model Show (IPMS Stoke Model Club)
See: www.eastmidlandsmodelclub.co.uk Prestwood Centre, Staffordshire Show Ground,
29 April (Saturday) Scottish Nationals Weston Road, Stafford. ST18 0BD
& 30 April (Sunday) Dewars Centre, Glover Street, Perth. PH2 0TH Contacts: [email protected]
Contact via: Scotnats.org 17 September (Sunday) west Midlands Police Scale Model Club
14 May (Sunday) De havilland Aircraft Museum Model Show Blue Lamp Expo
Salisbury Hall, London Colney, Tally Ho Conference Centre, Pershore Road,
Hertfordshire. AL2 1BU Edgbaston. B5 7RN
Contact: [email protected] Contacts: [email protected]

88 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
 ion
Subscript
from
available
only £59
.00
rom
6 issues f
only £32
.00
IPMS UK

IPMS UK
By John Tapsell

By contrast, this is
the same exhibition
hall on Saturday.

This is Scale ModelWorld as most people

never see it. The tables have been set up but
the clubs and traders are only just arriving to
set up on Friday afternoon.

The Saturday morning queue was pretty

impressive at Scale ModelWorld this year, all This Ukrainian MiG caught my eye on one of Kinetic Models were one of the farthest
the way up to the cinema. Even more the club stands. The combination of pixel travelled traders to attend Scale ModelWorld,
impressive was how quickly it cleared once camouflage and the different blue hues is but they seem to have had a very successful
the doors opened. particularly striking weekend so hopefully they'll be back next year.

W
ell it's Christmas again, that time of I may preach about sharing my hobby with (UK) celebrates our 60th Anniversary and Scale
year when we reflect on all sorts of others, the actual models I buy are very personal ModelWorld will once again be the centrepiece
things. It's a time of celebrations, of to me. In part that reticence is based around the of our celebrations.
generosity and of family gatherings for many of self-imposed obligation that I feel requires me to Christmas is also the time of year when I
us, but it's a slightly odd time of year too. build the model I am given, whereas if I've reflect on what I've achieved in terms of my own
Everything (or so it seems) stops, gets delayed, purchased it myself, I don't have to feel guilty if I projects over the last 12 months. Thankfully I
or re-arranged to fit in around those two or three lose interest or mess it up royally.
don't purchase large numbers of models, so it's
days that is actually Christmas. Much as I enjoy Then of course there is the imposition on my not going to be a guilt trip about my stash. It's
this time of year, I also find it unsettling. My modelling time over the festive break. It's not more a review of what I've built, what needs
routine is interrupted. My time is even less my that I dislike spending time with friends and finishing, and what I'll probably never get
own than at any other time of year and that relatives (far from it), it's the way it interrupts my
inevitably impacts upon my modelling time too. around to. I'd normally expect to complete 8-10
routine. The weekends don't flow right; there are models (and start several more) but this year, for
It begins two or three months early, as public holidays on days I'd normally be working various personal and family reasons, has been a
relatives start to ask me what I want for and the times I would usually set aside for quiet one with just four models reaching the
Christmas. The answer is inevitably 'I don't know', disappearing into my man-cave are suddenly finishing line. In a similar vein, apart from Scale
which drives them up the wall. I know of other unavailable. When I do have time, I'm often not ModelWorld, I have only been to one other
modellers who religiously make lists of models in the right frame of mind. model show this year, instead of the 8-10 I
they want, so that their nearest and dearest can
The end of the calendar year also defines the normally go to. However, things are looking up
trawl the online shops, the show tables and the
end of the IPMS business year and it's a time to and I already have several shows on my list for
rapidly diminishing number of bricks and mortar
review what the last 12 months has thrown at us. 2023, either as a club member or with my official
shops, for those tantalising morsels. If it works
2022 has been a great year for the Society. Our IPMS 'hat' on.
for them, then that's fine, but it's not for me.
membership has bounced back to pretty much
Where's the spontaneity in that approach? I was As I write this column, I've seen news that one
pre-Covid levels and we are comfortably
never one for writing lists to Santa either. of my favourite manufacturers has announced
bubbling away at around 4,500 members. In this
Gifts (in my view) need to be appropriate, another new kit and it's a subject that appeals to
day and age, with vast arrays of other hobbies
unexpected and appreciated for the love and me. Already, my brain is ticking over with
and distractions, of instant gratification and non-
thought that has gone into choosing them (OK, possible projects and what options there might
stop communication, a traditional construction
maybe my expectations are unreasonable, but be for detailing or modifying the kit to suit my
hobby like ours is more healthy now than it has
that's how I try to operate when I'm choosing tastes. Things are definitely looking up and I feel
ever been. After months of angst and planning,
presents). If I need to make a list of what I want, I Scale ModelWorld came and went in a blur and far more positive about 2023 than I did
might as well just ask for a financial contribution. was far more successful than we feared. The vibe about 2022.
As you might expect, this approach means I was great and whilst the visitor numbers are still It just remains to wish you all the usual festive
rarely get models for Christmas (or birthdays), slightly down on our last 'normal' SMW in 2019, greetings, to hope that you enjoy my random
but that suits me fine. I'm an awkward beggar they are reassuring. The traders went away ramblings each month and a hope to see some
when it comes to what I buy and however much happy and it bodes well for 2023 when IPMS of you at various shows around the UK in 2023.

90 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
BOOKS

Title: Bloody April 1917 what became a turning point in allied British. The book provides a great base
The Birth of Modern Air Power, aviation tactics, and how these understanding of the RFC and
Air Campaign 33 lessons were applied in practice to RNAS system of
Author: Dr James S. Corum bring about measurable change. The operation in 1917, as
authoritive text is joined by a such providing a
Publisher: Osprey Publishing
combination of period superb source of
ISBN: 978 1 47285 305 9
photographs and informative inspiration for the
Format: Paperback captions, as well as an impressive modeller. Despite being
248mm x 185mm 96pp collection of custom-drawn maps a relatively thin volume
www.ospreypublishing.com and diagrams to help illustrate the author has managed
the air combat methodology in to pack a huge amount of

T he April of 1917 will remain as one of the

most horrendous of the RAF’s long history,
use at the time and how it
evolved into a more capable
information into ninety-
six pages in a format that
with unbearable numbers of casualties being approach by applying the will be instantly
inflicted by the German air force. In this latest swathe of lessons learned from recognisable to those who
book in the Air Campaign series from Osprey, the mistakes made by the have read others in the
the author explores the factors involved in allied forces, in the main the series.

Title: McDonnell XP-67 ‘Moonbat’ Moonbat using new sources of information rounded view and
X-PLANES 17 and photographs. These are coupled with one that shows
Author: Steve Richardson, some fascinating illustrations and drawings that not all was
Peggy Mason making the book a perfect reference for those lost when the
attempting to model this fascinating aircraft. prototype
Publisher: Osprey Publishing
The text is both informative and absorbing, burned. A highly
ISBN: 978 1 47285 303 5
whilst also including information provided by recommended
Format: Paperback those who worked on and flew the type, read for either
248mm x 185mm 80pp making for a great read. The authors cover the the modeller or
www.ospreypublishing.com whole life of the Moonbat, from its those
conception, prototype form, and its interested in
T he McDonnell XP-67 ‘Moonbat" is an
unusual aircraft to behold and one that
certainly befits its name. In the latest of the X-
unfortunate demise as well as comparing it to
its contemporaries. Finally the book looks at
aircraft
design of the
the influences the Moonbat’s design had on period.
Planes series Steve Richardson and Peggy the aircraft that followed, providing a well-
Mason explore the futuristic design of the

Title: DH Mosquito Bombers - Part 1 the numerous items that make up the aircraft, along with a listing of the points on
(Wingleader Photo Archive differences in the single-stage merlin each Mosquito that the modeller will want to
Number 17) Mosquito bomber variants. Rather than using consider when building their
Author: Ian Thirsk wide angle photographs showing the whole replica.
aircraft, the author has utilised cropped
Publisher: Wing Leader
images in some cases, allowing him to show
ISBN: 978 1 90875 728 9
the variances clearly. These are joined by
Format: Paperback annotations and arrows on the photographs
10mm x 297mm 80pp96pp with informative captions. The author
www.wingleader.co.uk provides detailed coverage of all the areas
of the aircraft making for an invaluable
C ontinuing in the vein of the other titles in
the superb Photo Archive series, this book
is another modeller’s delight, using the one
resource.
In addition a series of six colour three-view
hundred and eighty images, combined with plans are used to show the various
informative text, to explain and indicate all of camouflage schemes on six individual

Title: Flight Craft 28: McDonnell you to get planning or building, the chapter all the information needed to start building
Douglas F-4 Phantom of camouflage and markings must surely this heavyweight
Author: Geoff Coughlin succeed with its twenty four colour profiles combat jet. As a
Publisher: Air World giving a sample of the aircraft’s service life. source of
This leads us to the chapter entitled inspiration for a
ISBN: 978 1 39908 642 4
‘Modelling the Phantom’, and where we find phantom build
Format: Paperback
our main inspiration as the book brings this book is well
295mm x 210mm 96pp worth the
www.pen-and-sword.co.uk thirteen superb and high quality Phantom
consideration.
models to the reader, showing in detail how
This book opens with an introduction to the they were created and the techniques used.
worldwide aviation legend that is the The images are sharply printed on high gloss
Phantom, followed by a description of its pages, which helps to add to the joy of
design and development including its use reading the book. It would be impossible to
within the US armed forces. This is then cover the Phantom in depth in ninety six
expanded with a chapter on the numerous pages, so this book is very much a starting
foreign users. If this hasn’t failed to inspire point for some, whilst for others it will provide

92 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
 BOOKREVIEWS

Title: Air Forces of Latin America – to naval and then military aviation. The array aircraft.
Argentina of security and presidential services comes The book is rounded
Author: Santiago Rivas next. The author covers every single type of off with an order of
Publisher: Key Publishing aircraft operated, from UAV’s, gliders, and battle, listing all the
ISBN: 978 1 91387 092 8 various training types, including the various units and
indigenous Cicare helicopter trainer, all the the aircraft they
Format: Paperback
way through to fighter and transport aircraft operate. If you are
245mm x 170mm 96pp
of all manner of form as are necessary due to looking for a
www.keypublishing.com
the varying demands and geography of the guide to the
country. The text is informative and engaging, current
I n the first of this new series of Air Forces
books, Santiago Rivas looks at the different
explaining the reasons that each type is in
use, how it is operated, and how it fits into the
Argentine air
services then
aviation services of Argentina and the various overall picture of Argentine air operations this book is
aircraft currently employed by them. Starting from the Andes to Antarctica. The book is full written with
off with a short but informative introduction of photographs of the different aircraft in you in mind. A definite
to military aviation in Argentina, exploration action, which helps to provide context to the treat for the modeller, either for
of the Air Force is first before moving through text, especially for the less familiar types of inspiration or information.

Title: Lancaster MkI/III Early point. The aim of this book and its
Production counterpart, which covers the later versions,
(Wingleader Photo Archive is to help guide the modeller through the
Number 5) variations of the Lancaster part by part. The
Author: Richard Alexander book starts with a visual guide to the
Publisher: Wing Leader prototype aircraft before looking at the
various factories and their output as this
ISBN: 9781 90659 274 5
helps as a guide to different variables. The
Format: Paperback
book then steers you through elements of the
210mm x 297mm 80pp
aircraft, such as the different turret types
www.wingleader.co.uk
employed, radio fitments and the like, as well codes.
as markings. All of this information is The author has
A s one of the most popular modelling
subjects the Avro Lancaster requires no
provided chiefly using period photographs
with clear and informative captions. The book
presented us with a treasure-trove of
information tailored to the modeller and this
introduction, however its popularity also also contains a scattering of colour profiles to will certainly make for a series of books that
leads to a number of misconceptions, which help clarify the colour schemes used and will be visited on numerous occasions in the
undoubtedly end up in model form at some completes with a table of Lancaster squadron future.

Title: Lancaster MkI/III Late the type in its later forms, something that is made to that particular aircraft. Certainly if a
Production Batches wonderfully highlighted for modellers. Both Lancaster or indeed the aircraft of Bomber
1943 to 1945 small and larger detail changes are clearly Command are your modelling fare then these
(Wingleader Photo Archive described and confirmed with period books are well worth the
photographs along with clear indications of investment.
Number 15)
the aircraft that had them, helping to make
Author: Mark Postlethwaite
for accurate modelling. I like the
Publisher: Wing Leader unpretentious and friendly feel of these
ISBN: 978 1 90875 726 5 books. The quality of image reproduction is
Format: Paperback perfect for use as reference, as is the size,
210mm x 297mm 80pp meaning the need to peer at tiny hard to
www.wingleader.co.uk distinguish photographs isn’t an issue in
these pages. Again a series of colour profiles

F ollowing on in the same vein as volume

No.5, this book brings us the later versions
are shared through the pages, helping to
clarify the different camouflage schemes
of the Lancaster. The first thing brought to used as well as the different modifications
light is the number of modifications made to

Title: Mustang: The Untold Story book contains one hundred and forty collective value of the photographs and
Author: Matthew Willis illustration and photographs, some of them diagrams found within. The Appendix titled
Key Publishing
Publisher: previously unseen or rare, to help bring the ‘Mustang Colours’ will
ISBN: 978 1 91329 588 2 text to life. The book is divided into two be of particular interest
halves. The first section gives us the history of as it makes clear
Format: Hardback
the type in chronological order whilst the reference to the
243mm x 170mm 304pp
second appendix to the main body provides different paints used
www.keypublishing.com and their
an in-depth technical description. Both
sections are worthy of the time spent to manufacture. Overall
I n his latest book Matthew Willis explores the
early version of the renowned North
American Mustang series of aircraft powered
understand fully the Allison Mustang and
how it gained its undeserved reputation, and
this is a detailed and
comprehensively
researched title
by the Allison engine. In his usual absorbing how it was developed and utilised in roles
which will no
fashion he brings us the full story of the suited to its substantial abilities, despite
doubt become a
development and introduction of the playing second fiddle to the highly capable
cornerstone of
Mustang into service, providing great depth Merlin powered models. For the modeller the
reference on the
of insight into the archives and records of the book has great value, a wealth of information Allison versions
time to reveal the true story of this often on both the prototype aircraft and the in- of the Mustang.
berated version of the legendary fighter. The service types developed from it as well as the

JANUARY 2023 • VOLUME 44 • ISSUE 11 93

CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS

Modelling US reconnaissance assets in 1/72

Part 3: The Naval Confrontation
By Stephen J Di Nucci
with Vic Flintham

USS Canberra (CAG-2) underway at sea during the Cuban

Missile Crisis, 28 October 1962. TG 136.1 was the main
surface group comprising two cruisers and fifteen destroyers,
patrolling the 500-mile Walnut quarantine line, which
comprised twelve stations at 47-mile intervals. (US Navy)

S
aturday, 27 October 1962, Black Saturday to some, is widely regarded Another U-2 incident that day took place far away and unconnected
as the most dangerous day of the Cuban Missile Crisis. The reason: with Cuba, over Soviet territory in the area of the Chukotka Peninsula. U-2
several specific events took place, any one of which could so easily 56-6715 had taken off from Eielson AFB in Alaska just after midnight on an
have concluded with a very different result. The day began badly and then air sampling mission. Hours later the aircraft suffered a navigation error
got worse. while returning from the North Pole and strayed off course. Soviet MiGs
The Cuban airwaves had so far resonated with Cuban voices, but only were scrambled as were a pair of alert F-102s, but thankfully the opposing
days prior to the 27th the chatter had been replaced by the Russian sorties never encountered each other. Critically short of fuel, the U-2
language. Russian President Khrushchev had made it clear that American managed to regain Alaska, safely performing a glide landing on a rough
aircraft overflights were not to be shot at; no doubt he feared an strip.
immediate reprisal, and the fact that the US did not respond accordingly Most of the remaining risks presented by the 27th stemmed from the
following the shoot-down that morning was once again down to the naval blockade of Cuba, or rather the naval quarantine, given that
measured control of the US President and some of his advisers. ‘blockade’ was a word that could be interpreted as an act of war. The US
The day’s tensions began after Major Rudolph Anderson Jr had taken off President had fortunately rejected all of the other OPLANS, fearful of a
from McCoy AFB in his U-2 56-6676. He was a highly experienced U-2 pilot, huge loss of life in the event of an invasion, and of a forecast inability to
having qualified on the aircraft back in 1957. His flight on the day was destroy simultaneously all of the offensive missile sites in the case of a
already his sixth over Cuba since the Crisis began. Several weeks earlier, he single air strike. He had to acknowledge that this meant he couldn’t do
had transferred from the CIA to a USAF unit, the 4080th SRW. Part of his much about the missiles already delivered, but he believed instead he
overflight took him over Banes, near the coast at the southern end of Cuba, could show his resolve by preventing others arriving in Cuban ports. There
and he had already turned for home. At this point, he was fired on by a pair were huge risks even with this approach, as nobody could foresee what
of S-75 Dvina (NATO codename SA-2 Guideline) SAM missiles, one of which might happen if a ship refused to turn around and leave the quarantine
exploded near him. He probably died immediately when his pressure suit area. And nobody knew what part Soviet submarines might play. By the
was punctured by shrapnel, his aircraft crashed, and he was still strapped time of his address to his Nation on 22 October, he had decided upon the
in. It is on record that the decision to shoot had been taken by a pair of quarantine. He said:
Russian officers, faced with solely their own decision because they could To halt this offensive build-up, a strict quarantine of all offensive military
not contact their senior officer in time. equipment under shipment to Cuba is being initiated. All ships of any kind

A SP-2H Neptune of VP-18 flies over a

Soviet freighter during the Cuban missile
crisis in October 1962. Flying with Fleet
Air Wing 11, the aircraft was based at
Neptune Leeward Point, Guantanamo
Bay, during the crisis. (US Navy)

94 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
 CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS

A Canadair CP-107 Argus Mk II from No.415 (MP) Squadron of the Royal

Canadian Air Force (s/n 10736) flying in formation with a US Navy
Neptune (BuNo 147955) of Patrol Squadron 18 (VP-18). (US Navy)

TG 136.2 Anti-Submarine Group Table 6

Unit (tail code) Type Home base Crisis base
The Soviet freighter Kasimov is seen here in late September on its way to
Cuba with crated Il-28 Beagle bombers on deck. The same vessel was United States Navy Fleet Air Wing 3
photographed by US reconnaissance assets in December, after the crisis VP-10 (LD) P-2E Neptune NAS Brunswick Lajes
had passed, returning the still crated Beagles to the Soviet Union. (US Navy) VP-21 (LH) SP-2H Neptune NAS Brunswick Lajes
bound for Cuba from whatever nation or port will, if found to contain cargoes VP-11 (LE) P-2E Neptune NAS Brunswick Argentia
of offensive weapons, be turned back. VP-16 (LF) SP-2E Neptune NAS Jacksonville Keflavik
The quarantine came into force at 10.00 on 24 October. Much of the VP-23 (LJ) SP-2H Neptune NAS Brunswick Sigonella
enforcement of the quarantine would fall to US naval surface and air assets.
Admiral Robert Dennison, Commander in Chief Atlantic Fleet (CINCLANT),
VP-26 (LK) P-2E Neptune NAS Brunswick NAS Key West
had been instructed by the US Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) on 11 October to United States Navy Fleet Air Wing 5
get a force ready to implement contingency plans and to deploy off VP-44 (LM) P-3A Orion NAS Patuxent River NAS Bermuda
Florida. USS Independence had already slipped anchor from Norfolk, VP-8 (LC) P-3A Orion NAS Patuxent River NAS Bermuda
Virginia escorted by four destroyers. As part of Task Force 135, she would
be joined by USS Enterprise and USS Saratoga, and would be primarily VP-49 (LP) P-5B Marlin NAS Bermuda NAS Bermuda
responsible for the protection of Guantanamo (see table 4 last month for VP-45 (LN) P-5B Marlin NAS Bermuda NAS Bermuda
details of the embarked units of TF 135).
VP-30 (LL) P-5B Marlin NAS Jacksonville NAS Key West
The resources available to manage the actual quarantine were vast.
Enforcement was by units of Task Force 136, headed by the cruiser USS United States Navy Fleet Air Wing 11
Canberra (CAG-15). TG 136.1 was the main surface group comprising two VP-56 (LQ) P-2H Neptune NAS Norfolk Leeward Point
cruisers and fifteen destroyers, and they patrolled the 500-mile Walnut VP-7 (LB) SP-2H Neptune NAS Jacksonville Leeward Point
quarantine line; twelve stations at 47-mile intervals.
VP-18 (LG) SP-2H Neptune NAS Jacksonville Leeward Point
TG 136.2 Anti-Submarine Group Table 5 VP-24 (LR) SP-2H Neptune NAS Norfolk Leeward Point
CVSG-60 USS Essex CVS-9 tail code AW VP-5 (LA) P-2E Neptune NAS Jacksonville Leeward Point
VS-34 S-2F Tracker ASW Roosevelt Roads
United States Naval Reserve (from 27 October)
VS-39 S-2F Tracker ASW VP-721 P-2F Neptune Glenview, Ill Quonset Point RI
HS-9 SH-3A Sea King ASW VP-791 SP-2E Neptune Memphis, Tenn NAS Norfolk
VAW-12 det 9 E-1B Tracer Early warning VP-811 P-2D Neptune Minneapolis, Minn NAS Brunswick
CVSG-58 USS Randolph CVS-15, Tail Code AV VP-831 P-2E Neptune New York, NY NAS Patuxent R
VS-26 S-2A Tracker ASW
VP-883 P-2F Neptune Olathe, Kan NAS Jacksonville
VS-36 S-2A Tracker ASW
VP-911 P-2E Neptune S Weymouth, Mass S Weymouth, Mass
VAW-12 det 15 E-1B Tracer Early warning
Royal Canadian Air Force
HS-7 SH-34J Sea Horse ASW
404 Sqn Argus Summerside
CVSG-54 USS Wasp CVS-18, Tail Code AT (from 2 November)
VS-28 S-2C Tracker ASW 415 Sqn Argus Summerside
VS-31 S-2C Tracker ASW 405 Sqn Argus Greenwood
HS-11 SH-3A Sea King ASW Royal Canadian Navy
VA-64 det 18 A-4C Skyhawk Strike VS-880 CS2F-1 Tracker HMCS Shearwater HMCS Shearwater
VAW-33 det 18 EA-1B Skyraider Early warning Royal Air Force
HU-2 det 18 UH-25B Retriever Utility helicopter 42 Sqn Shackleton MR.2 St Mawgan St Mawgan
VRC 40 det 18 C-1A Trader COD 201 Sqn Shackleton MR.3 St Mawgan St Mawgan
CVSG-52 USS Lake Champlain CVS-39, Tail Code AS (from 18 November) 206 Sqn Shackleton MR.2 St Mawgan St Mawgan
VS-22 S-2A Tracker ASW 203 Sqn Shackleton MR.2 Ballykelly Ballykelly
VS-32 S-2A Tracker ASW 204 Sqn Shackleton MR.2 Ballykelly Ballykelly
HS-5 SH-34J Sea Horse ASW 210 Sqn Shackleton MR.2 Ballykelly Ballykelly
VAW-33 det 39 EA-1E Skyraider Early warning 120 Sqn Shackleton MR.3 Kinloss Kinloss
HU-2 det 39 UH-25B Retriever Utility helicopter 224 Sqn Shackleton MR.2 Gibraltar Gibraltar

JANUARY 2023 • VOLUME 44 • ISSUE 11 95

CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS

During the summer the Russians board refused to endorse the

had conducted an extensive naval despatch of the weapon. B-59
exercise in the Eastern Atlantic, surfaced again, now surrounded by
closely monitored by RAF USN units, but over the next two
Shackletons in Operation Tiara. In days refused all requests for
subsequent operations, Garbutt communication. With batteries now
and Garnet, the Shackletons fully charged, B-59 submerged and
tracked the submarines as they departed eastwards.
returned to their bases. The four
Foxtrots departed Murmansk on 1 On 30 October B-36, sail number
October and appear to have 911, was caught 400 miles north of
slipped through the Greenland- Puerto Rico by a Marlin of VP-45, a
Iceland-UK (GIUK) gap, and were Neptune of VP-5, and the USS
not picked up until around the Charles P Cecil (DDR-835), and
20th. forced to the surface. After several
days, and having re-charged its
Once in the area to the west of batteries, the submarine
Bermuda the submarines were submerged and headed for home.
instructed, by sealed order, to
USS Charles P. Cecil (DD-835) and a Martin SP-5B Marlin of VP-45 escort patrol the Sargasso Sea. On the B-130, sail number 945, was
the Soviet submarine B-36 during the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 25th the Americans sent the spotted by units of HUK Bravo
1962. (US Navy) Soviets a note to the effect that some 300 miles north east of the
small explosive charges would be Caicos Passage, also on 30 October.
The anti-submarine group, TG missiles, was turned around after dropped on suspect submarines as With only one diesel engine
136.2, comprised two hunter-killer the firing of five warning star shells a warning to surface and be operable the vessel was forced to
(HUK) groups based on USS by USN ships. Gradually, vessels identified. The USN hunter-killer surface after having been attacked
Randolph (CVS-15) (HUK Alpha), slowed or turned, but several (HUK) group Bravo based on Essex with warning grenades by USS
with CVSG-58 and CVSG-60 aboard horses had already bolted. Of was operating near the Bahamas Blandy (DD-843) and, like Savitsky
USS Essex (CVS-9) (HUK Bravo). Each freighters that had docked in and directing patrol aircraft from in B-59, Commander Shumkov
was escorted by four destroyers. Cuban harbours in the preceding shore bases. On the 26th a P-3A decided to load the special torpedo
The anti-submarine units were few weeks, Krasnograd had carried dropped a sonobuoy pattern in an ready for launch, although
supplemented by USS Wasp (CVS- SS-4s, Kasimov and Leninsky area believed to hold a Foxtrot and communications with Moscow
18) on 2 November and USS Lake Komsomol Il-28s, and Indigirka and after several hours contact was were still poor in the extreme and
Champlain (CVS-39) on the 18th. Alexandrovsk warheads for the SS- made, but then lost. like his comrades he still had no
Finally, TG 136.3 was the logistic 4s and the shorter-range tactical The next contact was with B-59, idea of whether or not the Soviet
support group comprising two missiles. Each of the latter vessels struggling with low battery levels Union was at war with the US. In
tankers, one ammunition ship and was armed with two 37mm cannon and a collapsed ventilation system, the event, once again wiser counsel
two destroyers. for defence. partly due to the constant pressure prevailed at the last minute and
The surface fleet was only part of In respect of Soviet submarines, from patrolling aircraft preventing catastrophe was narrowly avoided
the available resources for locating there was very real reason to be a surface presentation. On 27 as the submarine ambled off to
and tracking both freighters and concerned and their deployment October she decided to risk a rendezvous with the tug Pamir (SS-
Soviet submarines, 30 at least of twice almost led to nuclear disaster. surfacing, but was soon spotted by 20). Its engines had failed and it
which were adjudged to be In Operation Kama four Project 641 a Tracker from USS Randolph. B-59 had to be towed back to the Soviet
operational with the Northern (NATO codename Foxtrot) dived, but was then treated to Union.
Fleet, with up to ten likely to be in submarines (B-4, B-36, B-59, and B- several salvoes of warning charges On 28 October Khrushchev
the West Atlantic. The USN brought 130) of the 4th Submarine from the destroyer USS Beale. acceded to US demands and the
to bear many shore-based maritime Squadron had departed Murmansk Commander Savitsky in B-59, task of the USN turned from
patrol units, as did many allies, for Cuba, intended to pave the way having not been notified of the enforcing the quarantine to
including the Canadians. Even RAF for the establishment of a base at American use of signal charges, was monitoring the removal of missiles,
Shackletons monitored Soviet Mariel harbour for seven Project convinced he was being depth- their warheads, and then later the
shipping in the eastern Atlantic and 629 (Golf ) SSNs. They were each charged. He was also completely Il-28 medium bombers. The
North Sea - they were not part of armed with one 15KT nuclear- unaware as to whether or not the quarantine line was adjusted
any active plan although they did headed torpedo in addition to their world was already at war. The boat’s westwards to 150 miles out and
increase their watch on Soviet normal armament. In the event, nuclear torpedo was tube-loaded, renamed Chestnut.
shipping from 20 October. On the only B-4 actually reached Cuban but at the last minute one of the
23rd the whole force was placed at waters. vessel’s three senior officers on Next month: The Aftermath.
6 hours readiness. Then on
Saturday, 27 October crews from
42, 201 and 206 Sqns were called
into St Mawgan for briefing before
a deployment to the West Indies. In
the event they were stood down
the following day. It is not known
whether this was a unilateral
decision or a response to a request
from the US.
Fleet Air Wing 3 flew sorties over
the Atlantic extremes monitoring
the general flow of shipping. FAW 5
and FAW 11 monitored the Walnut
line working in concert with surface
vessels. Aircraft of FAW 5 also
monitored a large box in the
Western Atlantic sitting south of a
line from Cape Race in
Newfoundland to a point 300 miles
west of the Azores. The extreme
easterly end of the box was the
responsibility of Canadian Arguses.
The first vessel to be challenged
was the tanker Bucharest, stopped
by USS Gearing (DD-710) on 25
October, but allowed to proceed
when the cargo was confirmed to
be oil. The following day the first
vessel to be stopped and searched
was the Lebanese freighter Marucla
boarded from USS Joseph P US Navy Martin SP-5B Marlins of Patrol Squadron 45 (VP-45) ‘Pelicans’ (tail code ‘LN’) and VP-49 ‘Woodpeckers’
Kennedy (DD-850). It was cleared (tail code ‘LP’) at Naval Air Station Bermuda, in September 1962. The men in the foreground are working on the
after checking. On the 24th the ‘Trident Vertical Array’ underwater listening system, which was installed around Bermuda at that time. Crews
Poltava, carrying IRBMs on deck,
had actually turned around, and on from Western Electric and Bell Telephone Laboratory took receipt of the pieces on Bermuda and assembled
the 27th the Grozny, also carrying them before deployment. (US Navy)

96 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
 CO M I N G N E X T M O N T H

Coming Next Month A N D F I N A L LY…

I
n the next issue of Scale Aircraft Modelling the editorial
team present the usual eclectic mix of historical and
reference material, news, reviews, and, of course, the
Infinity Bat
By Jon Tabinor
best in modelling features, both out-of-the-box and
beyond. Here are a few of next month’s highlights:

1
Building an Old
Resin Kit
Old Wings Models CANT DH-100 Vampire F.Mk 3
Z.1015 Italian Bomber Kit No: 3203
By Harvey Low Scale: 1/32
Type: Injection Moulded with
photoetch and one resin part
Manufacturer: Infinity Models
2 www.infinitymodels.cz

Sea God come

R
eleased earlier this year, these
Good Vampire kits, the F.Mk 3 and
Lockheed P2V-7 newly released F.B.Mk 5,
represent the company’s second
Neptune in 1/72
venture into limited-run plastic kits.
By Huw Morgan The brand behind them, HpH, is better
known for its large scale resin kits, but
unlike the Helldiver these are the first
to go straight to styrene. The Mk 3 has
all the parts for a Mk 5 anyway – the
3 clipped wing tips of the latter are
Colour Conundrum provided on the clear sprue, as are two
types of drop tanks and rocket rails.
White Luftwaffe This kit’s ‘marmite’ moment will be the
Nightfighters1943/44? surface detail, which is extensive (and
Part 1 quite accurate), but the amount of
By Paul Lucas recessed rivets will of course annoy
just as many as it delights. I think it’s
about right, but the old adage of Squadron, RAuxAF, 1949-1952 when
‘under a coat of paint’ would seem to detached to Malta, and another for
cover as much of the further 17012, ‘Black 012’, of 442 (City of
discussion here, as it will the details! Vancouver) Squadron RCAF, British

4 Four sprues supply the main

components, which are flashy around
Columbia, 1948-1958. The decals are
very well printed and the colours look
- When Two their edges and details, but well good. They include full stencilling and
some gorgeous cockpit instrument
Become One… moulded nonetheless. I suspect the
decals.
limits of the moulding machine’s size
ICM’s Heinkel He-111Z-1 informed the parts breakdown as Accuracy wise, the nose looks a tad
‘Zwilling’ there are port and starboard upper bulbous, which means the rear
By Ethan Williams fuselage halves, each with an integral cannon ports are a little short. The kit
full upper wing. These attach to a one- also falls into the trap of assuming the
piece lower fuselage and inner wings, Vampire’s wing runs centrally along
to which outer wings and tail booms the fuselage datum. It runs just above
are added. A fifth sprue with the it, so there’s more fuselage below than
‘detail’ parts looks like an Eduard-style above. It will be interesting to see if
5 item and is far crisper, which will help
gild-the-lily no end. I’m told this sprue
this shows in the model’s ‘sit’ because
a first glance suggests something’s not
Cessna Model 180 was CAD designed, whereas the quite right with the rear fuselage as a
in Israeli Service others were hand-tooled, and that result.
KP’s 1/72 kit makes sense. The clear parts are thin I bought mine from France via
and distortion free, but the Mk 3’s Cocktail Distribution and it contains
By Yoav Efrati wing-tip lights come as upper and extra decals for two Armée de l’Air
lower halves, making joining them machines with canopy and rudder-
interesting! stripe masks, plus additional
An etched fret supplies belts and instructions.
buckles, plus raised external panel
Plus Colour Conundrum, and all our usual surrounds. This is all rounded off with
This is a good kit, albeit with the
updates on kits, decals, and, accessories, reservations above. If you are used to
book reviews, columns, and more. an excellent full-colour instruction cleaning-up parts and a bit of filling,
Please note – this contents list is speculative and the vagaries of deadlines booklet. I’d say you will have no problems
and print schedules can sometimes result in the magazine’s contents
changing later in production. Two markings are given, one for VT building this model (after twilight
821, ‘L’, of 601 (County of London) of course).

JANUARY 2023 • VOLUME 44 • ISSUE 11 97

NEW DECALS (Alanger, ICM and ModelSvit) £13.99
FBOT72043 1:72 Soviet Missile R-27ER/ET (AA-10 Alamo) & AKU-470 Stencils (Var.1) £2.99
26 Decals
FBOT72049 1:72 Soviet Missile R-73 (AA-11 Archer) & 7/8 points for
STS44004 1:144 Re-printed! Douglas DC-8-63 CP Air C-FCPL/C-FCPO/C-FCPP/
Sukhoi Su-27 Stencils £3.99
C-FCPQ/C-FCPS £10.80
FBOT72050 1:72 Soviet Missile R-73 (AA-11 Archer) & 7/8 points of Digital Sukhoi
STS44205 1:144 Re-printed! CP Air Boeing 747-217B £10.80
Su-27 Stencils £3.99
STS44248 1:144 Re-released! Douglas DC-8-43/DC-8-53 CP Air £10.80
FBOT72059 1:72 Ukrainian crocodiles: Mil Mi-24 Part II £13.99
STS44249 1:144 Re-released McDonnell-Douglas DC-10-30 CP Air £10.80
FBOT72060 1:72 Soviet interceptor and fighter aircraft Yakovlev Yak-9D (Alanger,
Dakoplast, Kitech, Valom and ICM) £13.99
Aims
FBOT32014A 1:32 Mikoyan MiG-29UB, Ukranian Air Forces, digital camouflage
AIMS48D034 1:48 Messerschmitt Bf-109data plates and engine numbers £5.50
(decals with masks) Trumpeter, Revell kits £45.99
AIMS48D035 1:48 Fw 190 Olea leg markings (plus extras) £3.60
Aircraft decals and paint masks (military)
AIMS48D036 1:48 Ju 88 data plates (plus extras) £5.50
FBOT48022A 1:48 Red Snake: Soviet P-39 Airacobras, Part 2 (Stencils not included)
AIMS72D037 1:72 KG 66 20x options. £16.00
for Accurate Miniatures, Eduard, Hasegawa, Monogram, Revell kits £12.99
FBOT48027A 1:48 Mikoyan MiG-29UB, Ukranian Air Forces, digital camouflage
Eagle Cal (decals with masks) £27.99
EAG24182 1:24 Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IXc KH-B MA585 Spitfire Mk IX P/O George
"Buzz" Beurling 403 Sqn RCAF September 1943; WD-W EN354 Spitfire HAD Models
Mk IX 1Lt. Leonard V. Helton 52nd FG June 1943 £25.99 HUN32091 1:32 Vought A-7E Corsair US NAVAL Air Test Center
EAG24183 1:24 Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IXc FU-N MH454 Spitfire Mk IX F/O J. " The final Countdown" £21.60
Boulton 453 Sqn RAAF June 1944; ZX-1 EN459 Spitfire Mk IX 145 Sqn RAF HUN32095 1:32 Sukhoi Su-27UB Ukrainian code 69 EXTENDED version £16.20
Spring 1943 £25.9 HUNE3210021:32 Grumman F-14A Tomcat Helmet and dress sewing markings
EAG24185 1:24 Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IXc YO-R BS104 Spitfire Mk IX F/O T.K. EXTENDED version. F-14 VF-1 wolfpack / VF-84 Jolly Rogers / VF-111
Ibbotson 401 Sqn RCAF August 1942; AE-W BS152 Spitfire Mk IX S/L Sundowners £14.40
Lorne M. Cameron 402 Sqn RCAF March 1943 £25.99 HUNE3210031:32 Ukrainian Sukhoi Su-27B/UB sewing patches and Helmet markings
decal £14.40
Foxbot Decals HUNE4810011:48 Sikorsky SH-3H Seaking "Final Countdown" movie collection
FBOT144002 1:144 Sukhoi Su-27S/P Ukranian Air Forces, digital camouflage Extended version £16.20
(Trumpeter kits)[Su-27B] £13.99 HUNE4810021:48 Grumman F-14A Tomcat Helmet and dress sewing markings
FBOT32014 1:32 Mikoyan MiG-29UB, Ukranian Air Forces, digital camouflage EXTENDED Version. VF-1 wolfpack / VF-84 Jolly Rogers / VF-111
Trumpeter, Revell kits £35.99 Sundowners £12.60
FBOT32017 1:32 Numbers for Sukhoi Su-27UBM, Ukranian Air Forces, digital HUNE4810031:48 Ukrainian Sukhoi Su-27B/Su-27UB sewing patches and Helmet
camouflage, Part 2 (Trumpeter) £5.99 markings decal sheet £12.60
FBOT48021A 1:48 Red Snake: Soviet P-39 Airacobras, Part 1 (Stencils not included) HUNE7210011:72 Sikorsky SH-3H Seaking "Final Countdown" movie collection
for Accurate Miniatures, Eduard, Hasegawa, Monogram, Revell kits £12.99 Extended version £16.20
FBOT48022 1:48 Red Snake: Soviet Bell P-39 Airacobras and Stencils, Part 2 HUNE7210021:72 Grumman F-14A Tomcat Helmet and dress sew on patches/
Accurate Miniatures, Eduard, Hasegawa, Monogram, Revell kits £19.99 markings. VF-1 wolfpack / VF-84 Jolly Rogers / VF-111 Sundowners £10.80
FBOT48052 1:48 Ukrainian Digital Albatrosses: Aero L-39C/M1 Eduard, MPM HUNE7210031:72 Ukrainian Sukhoi Su-27B/UB sewing patches and Helmet markings £10.80
Production, Special Hobby, (Trumpeter) £11.99 Aircraft paint masks (self adhesive)
FBOT48054 1:48 Flying Revenge: Ilyushin IL-2, Part II £11.99 MASK480011:48 Sukhoi Su-27PM-1 Flanker C Ukrainian digital camouflage pattern £32.40
FBOT48056 1:48 Soviet Missile R-27ER/ET (AA-10 Alamo) & AKU-470 Stencils (Var.2) £13.99 MASK48002 1:48 Sukhoi Su-27UBM-1 Flanker C Ukrainian digital camouflage pattern K £32.40
FBOT48067T 1:48 Sukhoi Su-27UBM, Ukranian AF, digital camouflage (decals with
numbers (FBOT48068) and masks) (Academy, Eduard, HobbyBoss, Great S & M Models
Wall Hobby and Kitty Hawk Model) £25.99 SMK77-2002 1:77 Ford Tri Motor Motor Company C-ABHF
FBOT48068 1:48 Numbers for Sukhoi Su-27UBM, Ukranian Air Forces, digital (Monogram and Revell kits)(MB) £9.99
camouflage (Academy, Eduard, HobbyBoss, Great Wall Hobby and Kitty SSM72-550 1:72 Jersey Ferry Airlines Scottish-Aviation Twin Pioneer
Hawk Model) £5.99 G-APHY /G-APHX (MB) £12.99
FBOT48072 1:48 Ukrainian crocodiles: Mil Mi-24, Part IV £13.99 SSM72-551 1:72 Flight One Scottish-Aviation Twin Pioneer G-AZHJ (MB) £12.99
FBOT48073 1:48 Soviet interceptor and fighter aircraft Yakovlev Yak-9 Midwar Heroes SSM72-552 1:72 Swissair Scottish-Aviation Twin Pioneer G-AOEO (MB) £12.99

NEW KITS Italeri Revell

All Injection moulded unless stated otherwise IT2520 1:32 Panavia Tornado IDS RV3824 1:144 Hughes AH-64A Apache £17.49
40th Anniversary £145.00
A & A Models IT2803 1:48 McDonnell F-15E Strike Eagle £44.99 Roden
AAM7226 1:72 Beechcraft 350 'Super King Air' £31.60 IT2818 1:48 McDonnell RF-4E Phantom II £39.99 ROD063 1:72 North-American AJ-1 Savage. £65.99

Academy Karaya RESIN KIT Sova-M

AC12345 1:48 Douglas SBD-3 Dauntless KY48001 1:48 Ansaldo A.1 Balilla Ltd re-release SVM-72030 1:72 General-Aviation Ga-43 Clark
"Battle of Midway" £27.99 with digitally printed decals £31.99 Western Air Express £33.50
AC12346 1:48 French AF Rafale C "EC 1/7 SVM-72033 1:72 General-Aviation GA-43 Clark
Provence 2012" £34.99 Kinetic Model Kits (Swiss Air) £33.50
AC12347 1:48 Lockheed USN PV-1 Ventura. " K48061 1:48 Back in Stock! SVM-72041 1:72 Beechcraft 1900D Central Mountain
Solomon Islands Theatre" £42.99 Dassault Super Etendard £49.99 Air (C-FCMU) £32.60
AC12575 1:72 Sikorsky CH-53D Sea Stallion
"Operation Frequent Wind" £21.99 Kora Special Hobby
KORPK72165 1:72 Loczy Hungaria III £29.50 SH48219 1:48 Bugatti 100 Racer In the
Aerotech RESIN KIT KORPK72166 1:72 Weiss-Manfred U-12B £29.50 pre-war years £20.25
AT32023 1:32 Messerschmitt Me-209V-1 D-INJR £198.00 KORPK72167 1:72 BFW Udet U-12B Latvian & SH48226 1:48 Breda 65A-80 'Aviazione Legionaria' £35.99
Chinese service £29.50 SH72468 1:72 Gloster Meteor T Mk.7 £17.80
Brengun SH72470 1:72 Junkers Ju-87D-3 'Stuka'. £19.80
BRP144018 1:144 Douglas SBD-5 Dauntless Kovozavody Prostejov SH72471 1:72 Aero 11 L-BUCD £17.99
'Atlantic theatre' £12.50 KPM72231 1:72 Back in stock! Cessna U-17A SH72472 1:72 Messerschmitt Bf-109E 'Slovak and
BRP144019 1:144 Douglas SBD-5 Dauntless Skywagon new tool £14.99 Rumanian Aces' £14.20
'Pacific theatre' £12.50
BRP72047 1:72 Henschel Hs-126K6/B1 LF Models Tamiya
GREECE-ESTONIA-USSR £17.20 LF-PE4807 1:48 Heinkel He-112B-0 over Spain £45.40 TA61124 1:48 Lockheed-Martin F-35A Lightning II £89.99
LF-PE4808 1:48 Heinkel He-112B-0/1/V9 over £74.99
Eduard kits Germany £45.40
EDK11168 1:48 Mitsubishi A6M3 Zero Trumpeter
SAMURAI DUAL COMBO £54.70 LF Models TU05819 1:48 Harbin Z-19 Chinese Light
EDK7032 1:72 Messerschmitt Bf-109E-3 ProfiPACK LF48016 1:48 Spartan 7W Executive 2 x USAF £74.70 Reconnaissance/attack Helicopter£47.99 £39.99
edition kit £14.50 LF48017 1:48 Spartan 7P-1 Executive TU05826 1:48 PLAAF J-10C Vigorous Dragon £47.99 £39.99
EDK7466 1:72 Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IXc Chinese Air Force £74.70
Weekend edition £10.80 LF48018 1:48 Spartan 7W Executive Spanish NEW ACCESSORIES
EDK8188 1:48 Focke-Wulf Fw-190D-9 ProfiPACK £32.98 Nationalist Air Force £59.00
EDK82119 1:48 Re-released! Messerschmitt LF48019 1:48 Spartan 7W Executive over Canada £74.70 Aims Aircraft conversions (resin)
Bf-109G-10 Mtt Regensburg ProfiPack £26.60 AIMS32P40 1:32 Junkers Ju-88A-0 conversion with
EDK84184 1:48 North-American P-51D-10 Mustang MAC Distribution four bladed spinners and two additional
Weekend edition £21.20 MAC72051 1:72 Back in stock! Spad S.VII C.1 'Over prop blades and 2x decal options for
France and Italy' new decals £15.80 the Revell Ju 88 A-1 kit £16.00
ICM AIMS48P032 1:48 Junkers Ju-88R-2 conversion
ICM48304 1:48 North-American/Rockwell OV-10A Minicraft (Dragon and Revell Ju 88 C-6) £51.00
Bronco US Navy. £39.80 MC11681 1:72 Back in stock! Lockheed PV-1 AIMS48P033 1:48 Junkers Ju-88 tail fin correction
ICM32117 1:32 Pilots of the Soviet Air Force Ventura USN (post war) WWII marking part for Dragon Ju 88 A-4, and Dragon
1943-1945 (100% new molds). £12.99 options £44.99 Ju 88 C-6 / Revell C-6 kits £7.50
 A & A Models Kora Sova-M Special Hobby Special Hobby
AAM7226 1:72 Beechcraft 350 'Super King Air' KORPK72166 1:72 Weiss-Manfred U-12B SVM-72041 1:72 Beechcraft 1900D Central SH48219 1:48 Bugatti 100 Racer SH48226 1:48 Breda 65A-80
£31.60 £29.50 Mountain Air (C-FCMU) £32.60 In the pre-war years £20.25 'Aviazione Legionaria' £35.99

AIMS48P034 1:48 Junkers Ju-88S-1 conversion for landing flaps 3D PRINTED 1/48 (Eduard) £10.80 PR Mk.XIX (Airfix) £13.99
Dragon Ju-88A-4 kit (Dragon) £51.00 ED648812 1:48 Lockheed P-38J Lightning cockpit QD48233 1:48 Sukhoi Su-27SM (Kitty Hawk Model) £23.80
AIMS48P035 1:48 Junkers Ju-88S-3 conversion for 3D PRINTED 1/48 (Tamiya) £22.70 QD48285 1:48 Mikoyan MiG-15bis (Trumpeter kits £17.20
Dragon Ju 88 G-6 kit (Dragon) £51.00 QD48327 1:48 Lockheed P-38J Lightning (Tamiya) £17.20
Eduard Brassin Aircraft exhausts (resin) QD72046 1:72 Bell UH-1B (Italeri) £10.80
Aires Aircraft detailing sets (resin) ED632184 1:32 Messerschmitt Bf-109G-2/4 exhaust stacks QD72049 1:72 Messerschmitt Me-262A-2A (Airfix) £5.40
AIRE4209 1:48 Re-released! Bristol Beaufighter 1/32 (Revell) £5.30 QDS-32033 1:32 Grumman F-14D Tomcat
TF Mk.X interior (Tamiya) £38.70 ED648811 1:48 Lockheed P-38J Lightning seat 3D PRINTED (Trumpeter) (small version) £31.40
AIRE4876 1:48 Lockheed TF-104 Startfighter wheel 1/48 (Tamiya) £3.20 QDS-32101 1:32 McDonnell-Douglas F/A-18C
bay (Kinetic Model) £9.30 ED632183 1:32 Messerschmitt Bf-109G-4 wheels 1/32 (Rev- Early (Academy) (Small version) £19.40
AIRE7380 1:72 McDonnell F-15E Strike Eagle ell) £8.30 QDS-32109 1:32 McDonnell-Douglas F/A-18C
exhaust nozzles (Revell) £12.50 ED648808 1:48 Mitsubishi A6M2/A6M3 wheels with smooth Late (Academy) £19.40
AIRE4033 1:48 Re-released! Daimler-Benz DB-601 tire 1/48 (Eduard) £5.30 QDS-32110 1:32 McDonnell-Douglas F/A-18A
engine £7.70 ED648814 1:48 Blackburn Buccaneer S.2C/D wheels 1/48 (Academy) (Small version) £19.40
AIRE2262 1:32 Mikoyan MiG-21MF Fishbed (Airfix) £5.30 QDS-32111 1:32 McDonnell-Douglas F/A-18A++
J exhaust nozzle - opened (Trumpeter) £31.60 (Academy) (Small version) £19.40
AIRE4877 1:48 RA-5C Vigilante exhaust Quickboost (by Aires) Aircraft detailing sets (resin) QDS-32119 1:32 McDonnell F-15E Eagle (Tamiya)
nozzles - late (Trumpeter) £28.99 QB32021 1:32 Re-released! Lockheed F-117A (small version) £32.40
AIRE4878 1:48 BAe Harrier T2/T4/T8 air brake Nighthawk (Hasegawa) £3.40 QDS-32131 1:32 McDonnell-Douglas F/A-18D
(Kinetic Model) £9.30 QB32296 1:32 North-American/Rockwell OV-10A/C Early (Academy) (Small version) £27.99
Bronco wing pylons (Kitty Hawk Model) £6.20 QDS-32141 1:32 Lockheed F-104G (Italeri)
CMK/Czech Master Kits Aircraft conversions (resin) QB32298 1:32 North-American/Rockwell OV-10D (small version) £19.40
CMK4455 1:48 Sukhoi Su-22M-3K Fitter J Bronco wing pylons (Kitty Hawk Model) £4.60 QDS-32142 1:32 Mikoyan MiG-29 9-13 Fulcrum C
(Tumansky R-29BS-300 engine) QB49027 1:48 North-American/Rockwell OV-10A (Trumpeter) (Small version) £26.99
Conversion (Kitty Hawk Model) £39.99 Bronco wing pylons (ICM) £4.60 QDS-32147 1:32 McDonnell-Douglas F/A-18B
Aircraft detailing sets (resin) QB49028 1:48 McDonnell F-4B Phantom II chin pod (Academy) (Small version) £27.99
CMK7503 1:72 Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate Cockpit AN/APR-25 system (Tamiya) £4.60 QDS-35068 1:35 KAMAZ-43509 SMALL VERSION
(Arma Hobby) £7.40 QB49030 1:48 McDonnell F-4B/N Phantom II (Zvezda) £9.80
CMK7505 1:72 Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate Armament air brakes (Tamiya) £4.60 QDS-48237 1:48 Douglas B-26K (ICM) (Small version) £10.80
(Arma Hobby kits). £7.70 QB49031 1:48 McDonnell F-4B Phantom II chin pod QDS-48249 1:48 Sukhoi Su-25 (Zvezda) (Small version) £10.80
CMK7506 1:72 Bristol Beaufort Mk.I Interior (Airfix) £12.60 AN/AAA-4 detector (Tamiya) £4.60 QDS-48266 1:48 Heinkel He-111H-3/H-6 (ICM)
CMK7509 1:72 Bristol Beaufort Mk.I QB49032 1:48 North-American/Rockwell OV-10D (Small version) £12.99
Bomb Bay (Airfix) £12.40 Bronco wing pylons (ICM) £4.60 QDS-48283 1:48 F/A-18A / F/A-18C early (Hasegawa)
CMQ72402 1:72 Dassault Mirage IIIC Atar 9B Engine QB49033 1:48 Lockheed F-104 Startfighter position (Small version) £9.80
Nozzle £6.30 & navigation lights - late ver. QDS-48295 1:48 Mil Mi-35M (Zvezda) (Small version) £19.40
CMQ72403 1:72 Dassault Mirage IIIC (M.-B. Mk.4) (Kinetic Model) £12.99 QP48003 1:48 Magenta rip tapes for
Seat (Special Hobby) £5.40 QB72675 1:72 North-American/Rockwell OV-10A Fokker Dr.(F)I-D.VII £8.99
CMQ48404 1:48 Bucker Bu-181/Zlin Z-181 Main Bronco wing pylons (Academy) £3.40 QP48004 1:48 Blue rib tapes for Fokker Dr.(F)I-D.VII £8.99
Wheel (Special Hobby) £3.60 QB72676 1:72 North-American/Rockwell OV-10D
CMQ72401 1:72 Dassault Mirage IIICR Wheels Resin Bronco wing pylons (Academy) £3.40 ResKit Aircraft detailing sets (etched)
cast wheels (Special Hobby) £4.70 QB32299 1:32 North-American/Rockwell OV-10A/C RSP72-0001 1:72 SUPER MYSTERE B.2 (Azur) £6.99
Figures (resin) Bronco propellers (Kitty Hawk Model) £6.20 RSP72-0002 1:72 McDonnell F-15C Eagle MCIP LL
CMF72385 1:72 Avia S-199 Pilot and Mechanic QB32147 1:32 Re-released! Vought A-7D Corsair II (Great Wall Hobby) £13.50
(Eduard and other) £7.40 ejection seat with safety belts (Trumpeter) £3.40 Aircraft detailing sets (resin)
RS32-0086 1:32 AIM-120 (A, B) AMRAAM
Eduard Brassin Aircraft detailing sets (metal) Quinta Studio missiles (4 pcs) £11.99
ED632185 1:32 Messerschmitt Bf-109G-2/4 3D-Printed & coloured Interior on decal paper RS32-0180 1:32 S-24 missiles with APU-68 (4 pcs) £11.80
undercarriage legs BRONZE 1/32 (Revell) £12.50 QD32109 1:32 McDonnell-Douglas RS32-0340 1:32 Triple Ejector Rack A/A37B-6
ED644186 1:48 Zlin Z-326 Trener LooK 1/48 (Eduard) £8.30 F/A-18C Late (Academy) £43.20 (TER-7) (5 pcs) £9.50
ED644187 1:48 Lockheed-Martin F-35B Lightning II QD32110 1:32 McDonnell- RS32-0366 1:32 GBU-54 (LJDAM) bombs thermally
LooK 1/48 (Italeri) £7.20 Douglas F/A-18A (Academy) £43.20 protected (4 pcs) £12.60
ED644188 1:48 de Havilland Mosquito B Mk.IV LooK QD32111 1:32 McDonnell-Douglas RS32-0367 1:32 AIM-120C (C-7) AMRAAM
1/48 (Tamiya) £8.30 F/A-18A++ (Academy) £43.20 missiles (4 pcs) £11.99
ED648796 1:48 WWII USAAF oxygen cylinder A-4 3D £2.99 QD32131 1:32 McDonnell-Douglas RS32-0384 1:32 BRU-42/A Improved Triple Ejector
ED648798 1:48 Grumman F6F Hellcat wheel bays 3D F/A-18D Early (Academy) £54.99 Rack (ITER) (5 pcs) £9.50
PRINTED 1/48 (Eduard) £15.60 QD32147 1:32 McDonnell-Douglas RS32-0387 1:32 TER-9/A MOD Triple Ejector Rack for
ED648802 1:48 Mitsubishi A6M3 Zero Type 32 F/A-18B (Academy) £54.99 F-16 (2 pcs) (3D Printing) £7.20
landing flaps 3D PRINTED 1/48 (Eduard) £10.80 QD35036 1:35 Back in stock! Studebaker US6 (ICM) £6.99 RS48-0340 1:48 Triple ejector rack A/A37B-6
ED648806 1:48 Mitsubishi A6M3 Zero Type 22 folding QD35047 1:35 ZiS-151 (Zvezda) £5.40 (TER-7) (5 pcs) £7.50
wingtips 3D PRINTED 1/48 (Eduard) £5.30 QD35048 1:35 STZ-5 (Zvezda) £4.40 RS48-0352 1:48 Triple ejector rack A/A37B-6
ED648807 1:48 Mitsubishi A6M3 Zero Type 22 QD48144 1:48 Supermarine Spitfire (TER-7) (5 pcs) £7.50

Special Hobby Special Hobby RS Models Special Hobby Sword

SH72468 1:72 Gloster Meteor T Mk.7 SH72471 1:72 Aero 11 L-BUCD RSMI92276 1:72 Junkers Ju-86P SH72463 1:72 Gloster Meteor Mk.8/Mk.9 IAF SW72139 :72 North-American FJ-3/FJ-3M Fury
£17.80 £17.99 £43.99 £22.50 £17.99
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