Steven Eisenman

OMG now does one have to kiss rings? Sorry accept my sincerest apologies. One usually posts unasked for information out of an interest simply to provide it. If asked for, then. But sorry, if belatedly.

Perhaps if you had been clearer. You stated: "Yes they are all D-22's and their serial numbers are quite close, but it's hard to save if they were painted anything other than OD with the way it weathered and those photos. Personally I would just use a slightly greener OD for the Belle, rather than a browner one." Your statement could be read to mean that they were originally OD. RAF paints were often used for depot applied camouflage. Does not look like OD at all.

Look at the canopies and windshield, look at the light color rear quarter panel. When they depot painted the NMF aircraft, they masked the entiore canopy and windshiled, so it was not painted. They did not mask individual frames. The area in the rear quarter panel is NMF. On one aircraft, you can see the paint flake off the fin, on another on the cowl, revealing NMF. Paint was not applied as carefully as in a factory. These are NMF aircraft, as other were in the unit. Here is UN*L and one that has not even received unit codes. Here is a depot painted bubbletop

Note that the Belle was a NMF aircraft [as was UN*D and UN*B] that received painting in UK. That last picture looks a bit too green for Dark OD. Pewrhaps RAF painrt. So the over painting could be any paint available.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/RAF-Hawker-Hurricane-Photo-/331430910816?pt=UK_Collectables_Militaria_LE&hash=item4d2ad25b60 http://www.ebay.com/itm/RAF-Hawker-Hurricane-Photo-/331430910853?pt=UK_Collectables_Militaria_LE&hash=item4d2ad25b85 http://www.ebay.com/itm/RAF-Hawker-Hurricane-Photo-/331430910915?pt=UK_Collectables_Militaria_LE&hash=item4d2ad25bc3 http://www.ebay.com/itm/RAF-Hawker-Hurricane-Photo-/391016116966?pt=UK_Collectables_Militaria_LE&hash=item5b0a6072e6 http://www.ebay.com/itm/RAF-Hawker-Hurricane-Photo-/391016116987?pt=UK_Collectables_Militaria_LE&hash=item5b0a6072fb http://www.ebay.com/itm/RAF-Hawker-Hurricane-Photo-/391016116987?pt=UK_Collectables_Militaria_LE&hash=item5b0a6072fb http://www.ebay.com/itm/RAF-Hawker-Hurricane-Photo-/391016117015?pt=UK_Collectables_Militaria_LE&hash=item5b0a607317 http://www.ebay.com/itm/RAF-Hawker-Hurricane-Photo-/331430911173?pt=UK_Collectables_Militaria_LE&hash=item4d2ad25cc5 http://www.ebay.com/itm/RAF-Hawker-Hurricane-Photo-/391016117058?pt=UK_Collectables_Militaria_LE&hash=item5b0a607342

I know I'm going to catch it for this, and have a good discussion of light, shadows and munsell.... BUT... The gear door looks to be a distinctly different colour from the colour on the underside of the wing, andf there appears to be a different colour on the fuselage than on the underside of the wing... Or is the underside of the wing different because of some unidentified staining or the ZC showing? But it is all abouty my one year old iMac 27 inch montor...I know...

That is odd indeed. As I understand it, Briggs made the outer wing portions for all three Corsair producers (V,B&G). Three methods of shortening the tips were used, but Briggs did the cut tip. Some Corsair Is were returned to the UK with full tips, but this is the first reference I've seern to IIIs having full span. Perhaps more infgo will come form Dana Bells's ne monograph.

B&W, but it contains good visual.

It was a totally different design for the 20mm. Shape and structure. It was shallower, for one thing.

I understand that the F was a redesign, with changed supercharger design. I believe the H-3 could be fitted with ETC in the belly. I actually have a picture of a P model with what appears to be an external ETC, so retro to an H-2 would be likely. As for the forward ventral gun, this is subject to confusion. I've seen a reference say introduced on the H-6! But it may have been a retrofit to earlier model. I have a picture of what appears to be a H-2 or -3 with a foward ventral gun.

The shape of the cowling appears closer to the P than the H-6, it is more rounded. The H-6 cowl appears a bit "chunkier", after all it had a bigger engine. As a result the spinner was larger and less pointed. The intake on the right side of the cowling was quite short with the area in front of the intake a trough. The intake on top of the cowling is much smaller and lower. It is part of ther rear of the cowling and does not stand proud as a scoop. The exhaust was a straight pipe, and the shape of the cowling and exhauts are where it met the leading edge of the wing was quite different ferom the H-6 No rear-firing MG. The H-2 had five lower fusewlage windows above the ventral position and three in the ventral position. Some pctures show the windows in the ventral position paintted or covered. Basically, need to rebuild the entire engine cowling.

Don't need to hazard a guess, the infomation came from "Venäläiset hävittäjät" (Russian Fighters) by Keskinen and Stenman, 2004. There were some old references to VH-201/21 as being a Type 18. But, I'd say the reference is abouit as good as it gets for the subject Below are links to articles on the various I-16 types. Given it is 1/72, looks like it "might look like a 24" ;-) Actually, given that it started life as a 27, it was quite close to the 18 fuselage. The referernce does not explain fully how it was "24-ized". Clearly the spinner cap was not used. I'd say go for it. Note that in the picture I posted of VH-21 in Warpaint, it does not have the fuselage access hatch nor the cockpit door on the right side of the 24. It is more 18 than 24. From the link below: "The very last examples of the Type 27 made use of the remaining components of Type 18 manufacture (which was being replaced by the Type 24), apparently including in some cases the entire fuselage assembly. Thus, one will occasionally see a photo of a Type 27 sporting underwing rockets, and other such later features." http://vvs.hobbyvista.com/Modeling/Polikarpov/I-16/Kit_Comparison/ http://vvs.hobbyvista.com/Modeling/Polikarpov/I-16/Kit_Comparison/description.php#type24 The skis were Russian, hewre is IR-101 when captured. A similar "style" was used on the Gladiators, including the Swedish Gladiators. Could have been of Swedish design.

As for accuracy, the Finns did not operate the Type 18. VH-101 / VH-21 was a type 27 reconfigured by the Finns to be similar to the Type 24. The other operational I-16 was a Type 6, IR-101. It had skis of a dfferent configuration. So if accuracy is of concern, ditch the Type 18 kit and just do skis. Here is VH-201 renumbered as VH-21 after application of Warpaint.

Then there were those Birdcage Corsair Is at Brunswick ME training facility that had their wings switched out (replacement due to damage?) to "cut-tips". As to JS479, what are those rivets around the canopy frame? [/url]