e8n2

Steve Ginter has given up his website. Check out Tailhook Topics at: http://tailspintopics.blogspot.com/ Tommy says how to order books directly from Steve Ginter now. Later, Dave

I'm no expert and I don't play one on TV either (Americans of a certain age will get the reference), but logically if you don't want someone stepping on a leading edge panel then it seems to me that the black line would be placed so that the line is still on the part you can walk on, not on the edge of the panel they don't want you to walk on. Later, Dave

I did a search on BM for Wolfpak decals and something actually popped up! Seven pages worth! The results are here: https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/search/&q="Wolfpak decals"&quick=1&search_and_or=or&sortby=relevancy You may be able to find something out if they produced what you are looking for. Later, Dave

Fantasy Printshop is trying to sell their business and retire. The Wolfpak decals shown are for archival purposes only. They are selling sheets on E-bay. I did send them an e-mail through E-bay asking about a sheet that they still have, but I have yet to receive a response. Also bear in mind that Wolfpak decals are no longer being produced as the man making and selling the decals passed away from a heart attack several years ago. They were very good decals and had great instructions. Later, Dave

First off, AFAIK, the aqueous colors are no longer being made. At least Sprue Brothers doesn't list them. The regular Mr Color paints are still around. From the Urban Fredriksson color charts, C317 is FS 36231 and C324 is FS 36307. If you want to go with the scale effect, they 36307 would be a way to go. FS 36231 is the normal color for most cockpits on U.S. designed aircraft. FS 36307 is lighter than 36231. The last three numbers in the FS colors refers to the light reflectivity. Therefor 307 reflects more light than 231. Later, Dave Color Chart for Gunze Sangyo paints can be found at: https://www.ipmsstockholm.se/home/urbans-colour-reference-charts-part-ii/urbans-colour-reference-charts-gunze-sangyo/

One other problem the Academy B-17 has is the lack of the wingtip vent for the Tokyo Tanks. These were introduced during the production run and retrofitted to aircraft still in service, to include a few F models. The vents are clearly visible in this photo. Later, Dave

The instructions say "Dark Sea Blue". The 35052 is a typo, it should be 35042. Check IPMS/Stockholm for the Urban Fredericksen color pages and you may very well find an equivalent for RAL 3001. Later, Dave

The Italeri ones that I have are all #127. To know for sure if you have an ESCI mold kit is to see if there are flashed over holes and slots on the bottom of the cargo floor just behind the cockpit. The Italeri mold kits do not have those flashed over openings. Later, Dave

I have a couple of Italeri Gooney Birds in the stash and built one a few years back. They are the same as the ones I remember building 40 years ago. Some of the ESCI kits of the C-47 have a radio compartment to assemble, if the parts are included in the kit, like the Polar Explorer version. Italeri had never had this. ESCI used a common floor with flashed over holes for the radio compartment walls. Later, Dave

Try going to Scalemates and look over the instructions for the Enola Gay/BoxCar boxing of the kit. If anything, it will probably have more than what you need. Also check photos of the Washingtons for antennas that may have to be added or moved. Later, Dave

OK Later, Dave

If you are only looking for the radome and don't want to buy the Airfix Fortress Mk III or B-17G, I have two more in the stash that will not need the radome. Send me a PM if you are interested in getting one set of the radomes. Later, Dave

The Airfix Fortress Mk III has the same radome in retracted and extended postion. Later, Dave

If it is the same diameter as the belly turret, then you could always try the belly radome from the Airfix Fortress Mk III. The kit has two of them, one raised and one lowered. I am not familiar with the type of radome Costal Command was using on the Libs, but it sounds like it might be the same as the Fortress Mk III had. Later, Dave P.S. If it is the same as on the Fortress Mk III and you don't have any in your stash, send me a PM. We can work something out since I have two more of them in my stash and they will not be done as RAF machines.

The Pitot tube itself is unpainted. On the aircraft I was around during my career, the mast and the tube were both unpainted, but some of them had the static ports in the mast along with the pitot tube. It seems to me that F4Us had an arrow shaped pitot tube. the upper triangular part was for the static system to slow down the air that entered the pitot tube for the static system. Later, Dave

I noticed that the cover we have been discussing is at fuselage station 216. Whenever the Air Force decided to standardize the naming of T.O.s they changed the name of the -4s to Illustrated Parts Breakdown. About 30 years ago, at least for cargo aircraft, they adopted the civilian airliner system of numbering systems T.O.s, but the IPB is still the -4! Later, Dave

Just a couple of side comments here. The Tech Order number ends in -4. To this day, any aircraft tech order that is the -4, e.g. 1C-141B-4, is the Illustrated Parts Breakdown (IPB). The cover in figure 7, part 31 "Door Assy - Cockpit enclosure actuating cable pulley station 216 access.", if it is also from the 1953 revision, most likely refers to fuselage station 216. That station would be 216" away from Fuselage Station 0. On most aircraft of the time, fuselage station 0 would be at the very front of the nose. Most aircraft nowadays have fuselage station 0 set out far in front of the nose, typically where the intrumentation boom would have started at on the prototypes. In my avatar picture the vertical piece in the middle of the picture is at fuselage station 506 on a C-5. Fuselage station 0 is far in front of where the nose radome begins, but where the front of the test boom was on the prototypes. Later, Dave "

That looks to me as it might have been covering up a previous or unused location for the mast antenna. If it is a cover, that would explain it being raised a little bit. Sheet metal mechanics would not try to get it to fit flush as it would require replacing several panels, so just put a small piece over the hole. Its height above the skin is not going to make that much of a difference in performance for what they had at the time. Later, Dave

By rectangle, are you referring to the slot just behind the canopy? That is supposed to be there. I guess you could call it a guide post on the aft end of the canopy rail that slid through the slot. I remember very well several decades ago when Monogram came out with a new 48th scale P-51D and included the slot. Some dummy at one of the American modeling magazines in his review said the slot should not be there and filled it in. It just so happened that the new Wing Commander at Offutt AFB had his personal P-51D stored in the hangar that we used for Security Police operations. I took a look at his plane, and the slot was there! Later, Dave

From the book, "The Lexington Class Carriers", by Robert C. Stern says, based on a report of Material Inspection of the U.S.S. Lexington on 37 - 29 October 1931, that the flight deck was painted maroon with orange striping to facilitate aircraft operations. For most of the length of the deck there are two stripes, one close to the island and the other about mid deck with a thinner stripe by the starboard deck edge. Look for photos of the Lexington from the 30s to get a good idea of the location of the stripes. You could also try Scalemates to see if the have the instructions for the pre-war Lexington. If not, try for the pre-war Saratoga. They should have the painting guide included. Later, Dave

Not that I am totally aware of, but you could try the US Navy Ships (Camouflage) website at: http://www.shipcamouflage.com/warship_camouflage.htm It is specifically geared toward the camouflage and markings of WW II ships, but there is also some documentary sources that might be able to provide insight into the pre-war markings. Other than saying the lines were painted yellow and they had a code painted on the rear of the flight deck for the ship, such as SARA for the Saratoga, that is about all I know. You could also ask on the WW II Naval forum of this website as well. Pre-war they didn't have catapults either and the early carriers were meant to be able to launch and recover from either the bow or stern, but stern launches were rare. I think they did away with the requirement by the time the Essex class carriers came on line. Later, Dave

Not a problem. They call it Mahogany, but it will work. I'll be using it later on for a 700th scale Saratoga and 350th scale Langley. When I do the Lexington CV-2 it will have the war time blue stain for the flight deck. Later, Dave

Colourcoats paint US15 is available from White Ensign Models at www.whiteensignmodels.com. They are in southern California so it would be no problem getting it shipped to you in Nebraska (sudden case of shivers remembering my time at Offutt AFB). Later, Dave

I have two of an older boxing of the H-19A. I checked one of them the other day and it definitely has a slight downward bent and the one piece butterfly tail surfaces with the skinny rear rotor blade mount. The mount on the H-19B is much bigger than on the A model. Later, Dave P.S. If it is still available, I highly recommend the Eduard etched brass set for this kit. The kit DOES NOT have the fairing in the cargo box that covers up the drive shaft from the engine to the main rotors. Both the H-19 and H-34, along with the British equivalents have this fairing and it is very noticeable. I have only seen it on the Eduard sets, but not on the Airwaves sets.

Oh, it was a mistake! The pilot didn't realize he had landed in the UK until the ground crew came up to the aircraft. When he noticed that they didn't have the black overalls of German ground crew he tried to gun the engine to get out of there fast, but the RAF ground crew were quicker and beat him up to prevent his leaving. The Red Cross was not advised of the aircrew's capture until months later. As an interesting side note on all of this, at the time, RAF Woodbridge (my first permanent duty station) was also the home for the secret Aphrodite Project. This was the project to fill up war weary bombers with explosives and fly them out to the German submarine pens and after the pilots bailed out, control the aircraft as a crude cruise missile. After the Ju 88 made its unplanned landing at RAF Woodbridge, the Aphrodite people were so spooked thinking the Germans knew about the program and that it was at Woodbridge that shortly there after they moved the whole unit out to a different base somewhere in Norfolk IIRC. In reality the Germans knew nothing about it until after they started to fly the missions. Wikipedia has a good article on it. Later, Dave