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ChristianK

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Posts posted by ChristianK

  1. 1 hour ago, Claes said:

    I received mine. I'll just say that:

    Very very wide panel trenches. Today any good kit manufacturer has overcome that defect (it looks like a matchbox in the 70s)

    Poor quality plastic and thick parts. Today any good kit manufacturer has overcome that defect (even Italeri).

    Price well above its quality.

    Very disappointed although the same thing happened to me with the He111 and before with the do17.

    I hope someone "eduard" type is interested in these types of models. For the moment this one from Airfix will remain in the stash.

    Sure you didn't get the Italeri one?

    • Like 1
    • Haha 2
  2. 2 hours ago, AaCee26 said:

    Hi all,

     

    I'm wondering the 3U+CC white fuselage stripe. If it was located at the Kurland pocket it was in the Eastern front and thus shpuld be yellow?

     

    Cheers,

     

    AaCee

    In this case the white fuselage band was the marking of ZG 26. In 1944 this Geschwader belonged to Luftflotte Reich (aka "Reichsverteidigung"). No relation to the theater markings on the Eastern Front or in the Mediterranean.

    Also, the "Königsberg" this Me 410 was based in was not Königsberg (nowadays Kaliningrad) in East Prussia, but Königsberg in der Neumark (nowadays Chojna), south of Stettin.

    • Like 1
    • Thanks 3
  3. 6 minutes ago, vppelt68 said:

    I checked the few ZG 26 Me 410 pics at the LRG. They had pics, starboard side, of 3U+CC which Airfix has done correctly. One or two planes show the port side, not CC though, but they appear to have in +3U order.

    Where there any photos from second Gruppe among them? As I said, I have seen the "reversed" practice only on planes of I./ZG 26. Not on II. and III. Gruppe aircraft...

    • Like 1
  4. 1 hour ago, Ratch said:

    Another thing bugging me is the squadron markings for Stab II./ Zerstörergeschwader 26, Königsberg, 1944.

    As i understand it by looking at the four characters on the fuselage it is possible to find out exactly which unit and where an individual aircraft is within the Geschwader.
    For example: 3U+CC
    The two forward of the Balkenkreuz are the unit identification: 3U is that of ZG26.
    The first C is the individual aircraft letter.
    The colour of the individual letter and the fourth letter informs us which Staffel the aircraft belongs to, in this case II Gruppenstab.

    The Staffeln colours and letters are as follows:
    BLUE- Geschwaderstab (A)
    BRIGHT GREEN - I Gruppenstab (B), II Gruppenstab (C), III Gruppenstab (D), IV Gruppenstab (E), V Gruppenstab (F)
    WHITE - 1(H), 4(M), 7(R), 10(U), 13(X)
    RED - 2(K), 5(N), 8(S), 11(V), 14(Y)
    YELLOW - 3(L), 6(P), 9(T), 12(W),15(Z)

     

    I expect that 3U+Creads the same way on both sides of the fuselage, yet the decal sheet has the port side as CC+3U, is this usual? (I can't recall ever seeing it that way) 🤪

     

    It's difficult to say in this case.

    Yes, normally the unit code was applied to the left of the Balkenkreuz (both sides of the fuselage). But some units, especially Zerstörers, switched it around. One of these units seemed to have been I./ZG 26 - but not II./ZG 26 (to which 3U+CC would have belonged to). I just browsed trough the books by Meyer and Stipdonk on German night fighter and destroyer units and they have some photos of I./ZG 26 showing this practice. There also is a photo of 3U+CC (said there to be a B-variant because of the ZFR gunsight in the front canopy - which Airfix also doesn't represent), but only from the starboard side. Other photos of port sides of Me 410s from II./ZG 26 only show the standard practice (unit code to the left of the Balkenkreuz). So make of this what you will.

    My gut feeling would be that Airfix is wrong here, but you can easily modify the decal and fix this.

     

    Cheers,

    Christian

     

     

    • Thanks 1
  5. 13 hours ago, Bozothenutter said:

    I was wondering why the Germans would name an aircraft after a Dutch painter......

    Turns out it's a pirate....🤦🏾‍♂️

    Wouldn't be suprised if they didn't name it at all. Don't know exactly if this is also the case here, but there is a tendency to invent names for German weapons which they never actually carried..

    • Like 2
  6. 1 hour ago, Enzo the Magnificent said:

    Here's a question for those more knowledgable than I.  Was there any external differences between the engine nacelles of the A and B versions?

     

    Not that I'm aware of. The B-series was supposed to use different engines but this never materialized. It also was supposed to have a different oxygen system and a "strengthened undercarriage" - But I have no information if the latter lead to any visible differences. Can someone here answer this question?

    • Thanks 1
  7. Fantastic news! The main problem of the Fine Molds kit isn't so much the size of the engines but that they were placed perpendicular to the ground, while they should be slanted inwards (don't know if I have explained this correctly in English but I hope you get what I mean). A mistake which was almost impossible to correct. Airfix seems to have gotten this right.

     

    Also they managed to avoid their usual "trench" panel lines here. Very excited! Looks like we've got the first correct Me 410 in 1/72, yay :)

    • Like 3
    • Thanks 1
  8. Gentlemen,

     

    I want to build Tempest J5-J visible in the fourth photo in the second post here: https://www.key.aero/forum/historic-aviation/54728-gatow-1947-48 and have some questions about it.

     

    This aircraft is said to be SN344 and with some deliberate staring at this photo it sure looks like the serial starts with "34" - So far so good, could indeed be SN344.

     

    1. The starboard landing gear cover definitely has the numbers 9 and 5 on it. Could this be a replacement part from SN295 which had also belonged to 3 Squadron?

    2. Which were the spinner colors for 3 Squadron around 1946/47? I have green and white in my notes, but can this be confirmed?

    3. I would be extremely grateful for any other shot of this plane (or other Tempest Vs of this unit during this time frame - except the "silver" J5-H, which was kitted to death already). Can anyone help?

     

    Cheers,

    Christian

  9. 33 minutes ago, GTX said:

    Pity the kit comes from Russia.  Not buying from there until they cease invasion of Ukraine.

     

    Yep, same here. Even though this kit looks beautiful.

    Some days ago I was really tempted to buy a kit from a different company, but not only are they located in Russia, but they also have incorporated a big "Z" in their logo recently. Sorry, but no...

     

    Christian

    • Like 2
  10. Gentlemen,

    short question: Was there any deeper meaning behind the registration numbers seen on the doors and sides of so many red army vehicles (the six-digit ones)? More specifically: Did the letters or numbers refer in any way to the unit they served with or was it just a (more or less) arbitrary system?

     

    Regards,

    Christian

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