T-6 Texan in Biafra; Finished

[georgeusa]

My entry into the Lesser Built Air Forces Group Build is the 1/32 T-6 Texan by Kittyhawk.

When this kit came out Zotz decals did “North American T-6 ‘Texan in the African Wars’”. I zapped that puppy up as soon as it was available.

After looking at the choices on the sheet (there are 12!) I was drawn to the aircraft serving in Biafra due to its very different camo scheme.

Of course astute observers will notice, nice camo scheme, but where are the national markings? It seems I am using a very fancy decal sheet that has many and various colorful options solely as a painting guide! It does not appear to have any markings on the craft and all of the stencils were painted over when the camo scheme was applied. Looks like I will have to be forced to buy a few more of these kits to justify the purchase of the decal sheet. (Hey any reason, no matter how small or illogical, will work when it comes to feeding the stash monster.) My next task is to do a bit more research to see how these were used, the weapons load and if there were any markings on them. I am looking forward to this build as this will be my first Kittyhawk kit.

[milktrip]

That Biafra scheme looks darn cool! Daft question, is it just a paint mask for that scheme?

[georgeusa]

That Biafra scheme looks darn cool! Daft question, is it just a paint mask for that scheme?

Oh no, that would be so easy. It seems I have picked a scheme from the very extensive Zotz decal sheet that has no decals and has no masks. Literally the only thing provided is the profile for the camo scheme for this version. It is a very nice decal sheet though.

[milktrip]

Excellent, this will be fun to watch!!!

I'm impressed with zotz, I bought the roundels of the world (Middle East) and although I've noticed they don't have the specific type of roundel I need for Oman, the range of different roundel styles is great. Their whole range looks really interesting but they seem to cater more for larger scale.

[hgbn]

Looking forward to this

[Av8fan]

Well, That looks like a pretty cool scheme IMHO. Cant wait to see it.

This is a another interesting challenge. I think that you can more or less get away with any pattern that you like on the A/C as photos are few and far between it looks like. Just my 2 cents.

There are aftermarket companies that can make you some national markings decals for the kit if you decide to put them on.

[CliffB]

Oh no, that would be so easy. It seems I have picked a scheme from the very extensive Zotz decal sheet that has no decals and has no masks. Literally the only thing provided is the profile for the camo scheme for this version. It is a very nice decal sheet though.

I love it - you couldn't make it up!

It's going to be a great addition to the GB, national markings or not!

Cliff

[Col.]

Sorry to hear you now have to buy more kits to justify the cost of that decal sheet George. What a shame

At least you don't have to be concerned about the decals silvering for this scheme.

[philp]

Hmm, the one on the sheet appears to be a lot lighter colored than what I can find on the web.

http://www.abpic.co.uk/photo/1219375/

http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s93/fabriziofabfi/T6_biafra.jpg

http://i575.photobucket.com/albums/ss200/Greg7AC/BiafrianT6.jpg(these 2 supposedly did not make it to Biafra)

http://aces.safarikovi.org/victories/obr1/aircraft_t-6_harvard_biafra.jpg

http://www.clavework-graphics.co.uk/aircraft/northamerican_t6/T6G_Biafra_1.jpg

http://britishbattles.homestead.com/files/airwar/North_American_T6_Texan_in_Biafran_air_force_service.jpg

Course the artwork is all subjective. I always wanted to do a 72nd Mini Coin in Biafran markings.

[georgeusa]

Hmm, the one on the sheet appears to be a lot lighter colored than what I can find on the web.

http://www.abpic.co.uk/photo/1219375/

http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s93/fabriziofabfi/T6_biafra.jpg

http://i575.photobucket.com/albums/ss200/Greg7AC/BiafrianT6.jpg(these 2 supposedly did not make it to Biafra)

http://aces.safarikovi.org/victories/obr1/aircraft_t-6_harvard_biafra.jpg

http://www.clavework-graphics.co.uk/aircraft/northamerican_t6/T6G_Biafra_1.jpg

http://britishbattles.homestead.com/files/airwar/North_American_T6_Texan_in_Biafran_air_force_service.jpg

Course the artwork is all subjective. I always wanted to do a 72nd Mini Coin in Biafran markings.

I have seen all of these pictures and there is some controversy as to the camo scheme. The main issue seems to be whether the scheme has the outline in black or a dark green color. I am still looking, but I bet I don't come up with a definite answer one way or the other.

[hgbn]

Just build one of each George

[stevehnz]

Colour photos & profiles in Michael Drapers amazing work about the air side of the Biafran war "Shadows", shows the T-6Gs in a scheme of all over mid green (Hu78?) with Dark Green blotches (Hu149?) with the latter having a black/very dark green outline. My colour calls are a bit of a guess but not too far off reckon. The Zotz diagram with those colours would be much closer imho. The Air Britain picture in the links above is of one that actually served, the Zotz diagram closer to some that never made it into service. For the Air britain scheme, which was one that was flown into exile by its mercenary pilot & had sat in the tropical sun for 8 years when that shot was taken, something like 78 & 91 with black blotches too, the two greens having faded into each other in that shot, only the black appearing dark still, would be closer, no outline being shown. The later scheme with the outline show no evidence of a brown/sand shade in shadow as I see it.

Steve.

[Av8fan]

I have seen all of these pictures and there is some controversy as to the camo scheme. The main issue seems to be whether the scheme has the outline in black or a dark green colour. I am still looking, but I bet I don't come up with a definite answer one way or the other.

Well, if there is any voting for this, I think the scheme would look great with a NATO green or a black green. Of course you always do a test on a chunk of styrene sheet and see which you like better. This looks to be almost undocumented..so who is to say?

[georgeusa]

So far the color schemes are:

I have also found a profile with all of the colors different shades of green.

From North American T-6: A Definitive History of the World’s Most Famous Trainer by Dan Hagedorn, his description of the color scheme is green/khaki/black.

From "Texans in Biafra" by Joao Vidal there are color profiles that show a green/brown/black scheme.

Another description was "paint scheme of the aircraft was basically matt olive drab green on all surfaces with patches of matt dark green, outlined in very dark green superimposed."

Choices, choices, choices. Most of the descriptions agree there were not any national markings or individual markings on any of the Texans. There is also fairly much agreement the interior of the cockpit was green, the outline of the canopy silver, the wheel wells silver, the propeller hub silver, if a propeller hub was installed it was olive green, the inside of the landing gear doors silver and the underside light blue.

The color profile from Zotz has just brown and black tones. For the most part, given all the other descriptions and profiles, I think this is incorrect. All of the other sources indicate at least some portion of the camo scheme was green. It appears the base color was green. Thereafter it varies as to the splotches being either another shade of green, tan or brown with either a black or dark green border. Very confusing. I did find these 2 profiles for the A-26

I may have to do a companion aircraft to the Texan with an A-26.

More research is necessary, but I think it will boil down to aesthetically, what combination of colors do I want to use? Any votes on the matter? I am open to suggestions.

[hgbn]

Not often I can use this! Looking forward to what you decide

[hgbn]

If it was me I would use the black and white photo as a starting point. I would deem the lightest colour as a light tan shade, the darker as a green and the dark outlines as very dark green

[georgeusa]

That is one vote for the green/tan/dark green scheme. I guess I should lay out the choices:

1 green/tan/black

green/brown/black

1 green/tan/dark green

green/brown/dark green

1 green/light green/dark green

tan/brown/black

[Seahawk]

I first saw the "BiafrianT6" photo (lower in post 14) in Michael Bowyer's "Photopage" in Airfix Magazine at around the time of the Biafran conflict. In fact it's so grainy it might be a scan from that source. Anyway, might be worth checking the caption the photos (I think there were about 3) received at the time. ISTR there were some notes on the colours. What's stuck in my memory is tan/dark green/black but you need to beware False Memory Syndrome.

[Pauly Boy]

Great subject choice!

I have been interested in the Biafran conflict for years. Not a great deal of info out there compared to many other conflicts. I have to agree with other's here that there is no definitive colour scheme for the aircraft other than a general camo look.

As for marking's, I haven't seen photo's of any on a T6 and they seem to have been used hit/miss on other aircraft eg: Minicon, B26.

All in all whatever you decide to do the T6 will be more or less correct.

Will follow this build with great interest.

Paul

[HOUSTON]

George. ..

Ooh I am looking forward to seeing you build this. .

no matter what you choose, it will be tremendous fun following your WIP.

GOOD LUCK..Happy New Year.

[georgeusa]

Somehow I lost the pictures at the start of the thread. They have now been reposted.

[Pauly Boy]

Hey Georgeusa

I noticed at the bottom of page #14 you said you might want to do an A26 as a companion piece. Albatross Productions (?) made a set of decals for the A26 family. A set for the Biafran Enugu Shark was included along with a resin conversion nose.

Biafra had 2 B26's. One solid nose(conversion) and 1 glass nose. Both kind of cool looking.

Just thought I'd let you know!

Cheer's Paul

[modelling minion]

About the only thing you can be certain of from the pictures is that the canopy framing is left in natural metal!

Damned inconsiderate of them not to use good quality colour film, apart from the Air Britain pic.

I look forward to seeing your choice of scheme.

Good luck.

[georgeusa]

And we are off. The obligatory box/sprue shot.

First up is the cockpit. There are 3 pages devoted to the cockpit build; these are the parts for the first page of the build.

The quality of plastic is very high in that the kit parts have great detail and are very finely molded. Some of the parts are extremely thin and if you are ham handed, like me, this happens.

But seriously, look at the detail in some of these small parts.

The very tip of my bent, pointy tweezers is in the picture to give a sense of scale. And Nigel, eat your heart out as this was in the box.

A very nicely done fire extinguisher. It almost rivals your homemade concoctions!

Now the down side of the plastic. There are some aspects to this kit that remind me it is not that far from a short run kit. There are sink holes to be filled.

And injector pins and marks that must be dealt with in very obvious places

So the filler is broken out and the various pin marks are dealt with

Then there are the injection towers that are prevalent. This is the backing part where the front IP panel will attach.

Those lovely pieces of slag plastic are cut away and the nubbins sanded off. Now, construction begins with the various sub-assemblies of the cockpit.

The above IP panel got a base coat of black. I am debating between using the kit decals for the instrument panel or just painting it. I probably will opt for the decal, but the detail is very nice by itself. More parts are taken off of the sprues to go into the cockpit as we are on page 2 of the cockpit instructions. These also have some problems with injection marks, towers and sink holes.

The parts for the main side console are gathered together.

And, the rest of the parts, including the rear IP panel

Again, the detail on the IP panel is really, really good. I just may have to paint the instruments and ditch the decals! All the rest of the cockpit sub-assemblies are put together.

So here is everything that is needed to build up the cockpit. I am not talented enough to build it up and then somehow work my fat fingers into the nooks and crannies to paint it all at once. I have to do it in sections, so the painting will begin.

Everything gets a base coat of interior green, black or silver.

Then individual black boxes and such are picked out and painted. Over these base colors a wash is done to grubby the innards up as these are used hand me down planes from the French and who knows where they got them from!

The top side section is in the base colors; the bottom side section has received its first wash of black. And the rest of the parts get their own dirty baths.

Now the weathering begins along with any decals that will be put on. (Yeah, I wimped out and decided to use the kit IP decals.

The IP decals were a bit of a problem to get in place where the instruments matched the surface detail. Once that was done, Micro Sol was called into action to make them nestle in place. Right now, they need more nestling! Work then begins on the side console. Here is where I began to differ from the kit paint instructions. When Mr. Heath was here in the Fall, we went to a few air museums. At two of these museums there were more than a few Texans (the airplane, not the citizens) to view. At the Number 1 British Flying Training Museum there were a couple of Texans without their side panels on to allow the innards to be viewed. (If you are ever in the Dallas/Fort Worth area it is a little out of the way, but well worth the effort to visit. It must have been a hoot when all the fine young men from GB got their first taste of rural Texas!) Now, the instruction color callouts for the two wheels on the side console and the tank would have them painted in either black or interior green. However, at the museum, on one of the Texans, the wheel was red.

On the other Texan the wheel was yellow and the tank red.

I’m going with the most colorful option. And, this is my rendition.

After buttoning up all of the parts, the cockpit looks pretty nice out of the box.

The IP decals finally settled into place and really look nice. The IP panel color though is a bit suspect, but the actual instruments themselves look mighty good. After I assembled the cockpit and was looking at it, it just didn’t seem right. Finally, it dawned on me, where are the seat belts? The kit does have them and they were tucked in with the kit decals. I appreciate their coming with the kit, but Eduard quality they are not.

They leave a lot to be desired. I tried to jazz them up a bit with a wash of smoke on the white section and a wash of rust to represent some leather. One set has been done; the other is as it comes in the kit.

So, gentle sirs, do I go with the kit belts, slightly painted, or just bite the bullet and dig out some Fine Mold or Eduard seat belts? I have time to decide, I would appreciate your opinion as to my seat belt path. (Oh yeah, I am still taking votes as to the type of camo to be applied. See post 17.)

And this is where I will stop for the day. My initial impression of Kitty Hawk after working a bit on this kit is a nicely done effort, which is well engineered, but does have some limited run aspects to the build. It is nothing too difficult to overcome and I will probably buy more kits from them. (I have to buy at least one more Texan. I have all the kit decal options, plus all the ones on the Zotz sheet. My version will just use the IP decals and maybe some propeller decals!) As always, all comments are welcome.

[Giorgio N]

Great work on the cockpit ! I have to say I had never seen one of these kits before, the level of detail offered from the box is amazing. If only they could avoid all those injection marks...