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A Very `Special' Ventura Mk.II- The New Revell kit in SD colours


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Hello Folks,

I`ve been waiting for this kit for ages and thanks to Gary at MAM I received this 1/48th scale Revell Ventura Mk.II kit which I`ve finished in a scheme that I have been researching for years,.....as one of two Mk.II`s flown by 1575 (Special Duties) Flight from N.Africa for missions over S. France, Corsica and Italy. I`ve submitted the article to MAM so won`t give too much away, however I will say that it is a nice kit, the BP Type C turret is very nice, the masks provided in the kit are great but Revell forgot to add a new canopy with clear bulges in the roof and left hand side and have simply put the original canopy from the PV-1 kit in the box instead! My attempt at rectifying this was to carve a pair of blisters from the spare canopy left over from an Arba resin Blenheim kit and attach these instead,....but it is nowhere near perfect and it would be great if Revell did a new part or the aftermarket came to the rescue.

Anyway,....here is the model;

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I do hope that this kit is imported into the UK soon as there are so many more that I want to build and Aviaology in Canada have just released a pair of sheets featuring some extremely interesting Ventura`s,....I want to build at least four of them!

Hope you like it and thanks to Gary for the model,.....the full article will hopefully appear in MAM or SAMI magazines soon,

Cheers

Tony

PS- I meant to add that this Ventura, AE881 failed to return from a Special Duties `Wireless' sortie to Italy during September 1943 and the crew are remembered on the RAF Memorial at Floriana in Malta as they have no known grave, I`d like to dedicate the model to them.

PPS- Since sending the article off for printing I`ve been in contact with one of the surviving Ventura crew members from 624 (SD) Sqn called John Russell who confirms that;

 

- The Ventura coded A was AE 881 and B was AE 948, although according to his logbook AE 881 was changed to X, in the middle of August 43. He doesn`t recall any squadron letters being applied,...just the individual code letters A & B.

 

- No guns were fitted in the nose glazing.

 

- He also recalls that the camouflage was all over grey, not black,...however the photo of the real AE881/A does prove otherwise. Maybe they were changed at a later date?

 

- The Ventura`s were used for for ferrying SOE staff,mostly between Algiers and Tunis and some communication, between SOE operators on the ground using a specially installed set.

 

- AE 881 must have landed at Palermo,Sicily to refuel on the night that it was lost with its crew, probably to extend its time over the target in Italy.

 

All the best

Tony

Edited by tonyot
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Gorgeous Tony, really like the desert camo, you keep coming up with these unusual schemes. Like the detailing inside too, the map, the sun blind etc and you'd never believe those blisters were stuck on.

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Wonderful model. They are in the local hobby shops here in the states. Saw a couple 2 days ago and almost bought one. Since I haven't built the PV-1 yet, thought I should wait. (Don't worry, did leave with some obscure kits from Mania, MPM, Fujimi and CMK.) I look forward to your article as I always enjoy them as they are well written, informative, well researched and entertaining. Please let us know if it makes it to one of the modeling mags.

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Very nice indeed Tony, wonderful finish, very reminicent of the scheme on the Twin Pioneers of the '60s. I like the cockpit overhead blind and cabin area curtains.

Colin

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