mumbles

Cheers

Obvously not the non-combat types, but I'm intending to finish a Blenheim as a hack and wondering if I should fit guns in the turret (or fit the turret at all).

Moebius 1/32 BSG raider with a Tyridium Models lighting kit. Painted mostly with Tamiya rattlecans and a bit of artistic license.

I found not having the "bin" (for empty ammunition magazines?) installed at the rear of the cockpit enabled it to flex a bit more. It was a snug fit but eventually it popped into place more or less (meaning I'm not totally sure of how I sorted it!).

Yes, I came across it a few times while researching this build. Thanks, I'm not the most prolific builder but I'll do my best

Thanks Marc. Note that while the aerial wire is fixed in these pics, if you look closely you can see where I reattached the forward part of the pitot tube after breaking it during the photo shoot . . .

Reminds me of a slightly under-equipped NZ Army unit in Vietnam that was supposely nicknamed "the hydraulics", because they would 'lift' anything they could

Thank you Here is a pic of the original machine just to prove I'm not making it up .When I say "stolen" in the OP it's because it wasn't captured so much as deliberately appropriated. Apparently it was spotted on the ground in no-mans land by 73 Sqn RAF (Hurricanes) pilots after force landing due to fuel starvation. Having ascertained it was unattended they loaded a truck with fuel and went out and acquired themselves a Stuka.

New tool Airfix 1/48 Stuka B-1 finished as an Italian R-2 captured/stolen by the RAF in 1941. The B-2/R-2 propellor, exhausts, and bomb rack are all in the B-1 box. The B-2 engine cowls though are not, which is why they aren't on the model The guns were removed from the captured aircraft, so the wing gun fairings were drilled out to remove the barrels, and the mount and ammunition cans left out of the rear cockpit. Decals by LF Models (which turned out to be a little too thin, I'd probably paint the white cross on the tail if I did this again), and some of the more prominent piping added to the engine with solder. The kit is mostly brilliantly engineered (there are poorly placed sprue gates and ejector pin marks in a couple of places, and a few sink marks) and is one of the best fitting kits I've ever built. There are a couple of missing instructions though. There is no instruction to add the rear gunners back support strap despite it being included as a part and shown fitted, and there is no guidance at all on fitting the bomb cradle with the cowls off. Aside from those minor criticisms it was a really enjoyable build.

I'm in the middle of building the new-tool 1/48 Ju-87B from Airfix, and noticed from reference pics (all B+W) that that the piping and some accessories appeared not to be in the tones listed in the instructions. On comparing with builds and instructions for the Airfix 1/24 Stuka a different set of colours is specified. Which one is likely to be more accurate?

Never live dropped from an A-4 but USN A-4's certainly stood alert on carriers with live weapons, either in times of crisis or for SIOP commitments. There is one at the bottom of the Phillippine Sea with the bomb still attached: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1965_Philippine_Sea_A-4_incident

Is the vertical fin on yours bent like my example is? Looking good so far, I'm building mine in the same scheme.

Lovely work (and my favourite/most nostalgic RNZAF Skyhawk scheme ), I have the Kahu version sitting idle on the bench at the moment while I figure out how to build the HUD and instrument coaming. My only query is are you sure you have the right size roundels? They look a little large for that scheme.

If still of use here is a walkaround of a RSAF Hunter in NZ http://www.kiwiaircraftimages.com/hunter.html

I've always thought she looked best in this scheme myself

J-52 powered A-4's also have an oil breather pipe venting on the starboard side. It and the resultant staining are visible forward of the roundel in both of these images: I think the J-65 vent in question may have been on the other side: http://tailspintopics.blogspot.co.nz/2012_07_01_archive.html

Getting to do that was an "I've always wanted to do this" thing for this civilian on a hangar tour of the demonstrator A-4K's after the RNZAF combat wing was disbanded . That particular machine I was told had the best slats in the fleet, after the damage incurred during the energetic solo display at the disbandment ceremony was repaired

The slats were fixed closed rather than removed and IIRC the BA TA-4's weren't subject to the modification. As far as I can tell the Blue Angels were the only A-4 display team to fix the slats. Other A-4 teams like Kiwi Red (RNZAF) and the Black Knights (RSAF) operated with the slats as per normal.

Not an OA-4M, but if you want footage of an A-4M on a US carrier, here it is. From "The Right Stuff", released 1983. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kj06C0GzgHs

I've built both the Hasegawa and Academy F-8's and the latter is far superior, but being 20 years younger as a moulding probably helps. Hasegawa at top, and Academy at bottom, both with wings altered for the proper droop/flap configuration for a raised wing (which neither manufacturer allows for out of the box).

If a Gladiator was leaving a Maintenance Unit for delivery to a Squadron in September 1940 what are the odds it would in the new scheme if this was issued in August?

Just seen this, lovely build.

This is good, and vindicating the "seedcorn initiative" undertaken to place RAF Maritime aircrew in other air forces to keep the skills up.

A bit late to the party, but here's my build of this kit if you want another reference - probably the worst part of mine was the landing lights and wheel spats, and getting the wing struts to attach where they should. Enjoying what I've seen so far http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/50258-132-lysander/

Nice! I have this kit in the stash, intending to model this scheme so very inspiring