KRK4m

Fortunately, it's not that bad here. GDR purchased 120 Lim-5 (MiG-17F) and 40 Lim-5P (MiG-17PF) from Poland. After seeing the effectiveness of Polish Lim-6 during joint Warsaw Pact maneuvers, the GDR air force expressed interest in modifying their Lim-5s to the close-support aircraft role. In 1971 (thus 7 years after the end of Polish Lim-6 production), 60 sets of rocket launchers and necessary wiring looms to carry out the modification were ordered from WSK Mielec. The modernization was carried out during the aircraft overhaul in GDR in the 70s. The Polish Air Force Lim-5s did not receive such a modification, because all Polish assault regiments had plenty of Lim-6 (M, MR and bis) armed with these launchers as standard. Cheers Michael

On the one hand, I should be happy that, having a choice of over 30 air forces using the Mig-17s, you chose a plane in Polish colours. And I have to congratulate you, because the amount of work and attention to detail is amazing. On the other hand - and I'm sorry to say - you were deceived by the manufacturer of this kit, or your imagination got a bit carried away. The #1C1023, exhibited in the Polish Aviation Museum in Krakow since 1988, is a Lim-5. So it can't have UB-16-57 unguided missile launchers under its wings, because no Lim-5 has hardpoints there or is wired for them. We have several other Lims in Krakow with such missile pods, but they are: Lim-6M, Lim-6MR (both with a Mig-17PF nose) and Lim-6bis (with a standard nose, but with a braking parachute above the tailpipe). These hadpoints and their wiring loom are elements inseparable from the Lim-6 designation. And one more detail: both AZ in their 1/72 kit and Ammo in this new 1/48 kit incorrectly reproduced the camouflage of this plane. On the upper surfaces it has not 3 colours, but 4 - the green in the cockpit area is a dark, bluish shade of the British Racing Green or Italian Verde Bottiglia type, and the one on the rear of the fuselage is a light, yellow-green, one might say grassy shade of the RAF WW2 Light Green type. I wrote about it on BM several times, attaching photos. https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235060726-172-albatros-ciii-by-kovozávody-prostějov-kp-released/#comment-3484964 https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235121299-148-mikoyan-gurevich-mig-17flim-5-shenyang-j-5-fresco-c-by-ammo-by-mig-released/#comment-4610635 And it hurts me twice, because on the document transferring this very plane from the regiment in Babimost to the Krakow museum you can find... my own signature. Cheers Michael

Sorry - moved to another topic Cheers Michael

The tail insignia looks OK to my eye. The starboard fuselage roundel is rotated 90 degrees, and the one on the port fuselage side should be on the underside of the right wing. Unlike the Dutch insignia, where the white field on the fuselage is always directed downwards and on the wing white is directed backwards, the Czechs have a blue field on both the tail, fuselage and wing, which is always directed forward. And the white is above the red on the fuselage and tail, while on the wings white points outwards - towards the tip. Cheers Michael

Purchased online as Vijayanta, after unpacking the file it seemed to be Olifant. However, after printing, the boxes on the fenders, silencers, and sappers' tools began to "not fit" me, and after consulting @Old pro, I decided that it would be easier to modify the rear of the turret and make it into a Sho't Kal than to stick to the African design and redo all this mess on the fenders and rear wall of the hull. In this way, unintended two months ago, I have a second Centurion in the display case. I have already described my 50-year "Centurion hunger" and the history of this first British MBT since its debut in the last month of European WW2 operations here Of course, it is difficult to consider the Centurion (like the Yankee M26 Pershing, from which all Pattons up to the M60A2 “spaceship” are derived) as a WW2 tank. Together with the Soviet T-44/54/55, they constituted the first generation of Cold War MBTs. They fought in Korea, Vietnam and 3 subsequent (1956-1967-1973) wars between Israel and its Arab neighbours. But each of these three Middle Eastern cases looked completely different. In 1956, the Centurions were already present in British and Egyptian army - the Israeli Shermans and AMX-13 were helpless in comparison to them. In 1967, the British no longer played in this theatre, but Iraq, Jordan and Israel also had Centurions. Before the outbreak of the war, the latter managed to fit all 290 vehicles (called Sho't - in Hebrew: whip) with the British 105 mm L7 gun. After this war, the number of Centurions in the Israeli army increased by over a hundred tanks captured from the Egyptians and Jordanians. Then it was time to deal with this tank's most important shortcomings - fuel consumption and range. A simple trick was used - transplanting a diesel engine and transmission (almost the entire rear of the hull) from the American M48 Patton, widely used in Israel. The operation marked a double success - the cross-country range of the Sho'ts increased from 70 to 150 miles, and at the same time all 1,000+ Israeli MBTs (both British- and US-made) had the same L7 gun and the same Continental engine, which significantly improved logistics. In 1973, Israel defeated Arab armoured forces - on the Golan Heights alone, 150 Sho't Kals (Kal is the Hebrew abbreviation for Continental) stopped 520 Syrian T-54/55/62s. In total, Israel has modified over 1,400 Centurions to the Sho't Kal standard (this figure clearly shows that the IDF was - after the British Army - the second largest user of the Centurion).The last of them were withdrawn from service in 2002, although many of their chassis are still used today as heavy IFV Nagmachon, heavy APC Nagmashot and Nakpadon, and heavy engineering vehicles Puma. Crewed by four, the Sho't Kal in its 1973 configuration weighed 52 tons. It was armed with a British 105 mm L7 gun and two coaxial Browning MGs (1x .5” and 1x .3"). In addition, two movable .3” Brownings could be installed in yokes on the turret roof. The engine was a 750 hp liquid-cooled 29-litre Continental AVDS-1790 V-12 Diesel. As for the model, well? 3D printing (if someone wants to buy a file for printing Vickers MBT and Vijayanta, please avoid the website https://www.3dforprint.com/3dmodel/vickers-mk-i-and-tm/10103 ). That's where this Sho't Kal comes from. My son modified the file to obtain a rotating turret, then the model only required shortening and drilling the barrel and replacing the Olifant-style rear bin basket. According to the instructions from AFV Club, ACE and Amusing Hobby kits, the camouflage colour is Humbrol 168, applied with an Italeri brush. The model depicts the Sho't Kal Alef from the IDF 7th Armored Brigade (under the command of Polish-born 37-year-old Gen. Janusz Goldlust “Ben-Gal”) fighting in the October 1973 Yom Kippur War in the Valley of Tears on the Golan Heights. Decals are courtesy of my drawer. Finally the Vallejo matt acrylic varnish was brush-applied overall. The photos are taken with an LG smartphone. Comments are welcome Cheers Michael

Your investigation @ICMF is impressive, but I absolutely cannot agree with this one statement. In my opinion, the lack of the new F-4B/N tool in 1/72 is what the market suffers the most. And here I think you mixed up some facts. The only Far Eastern manufacturer that started its Phantom adventure with the thin-winged F-4B/N was Academy. But it was in 1/48, because in 1/72 - despite promises that are already 10 years old - the Academy still does not offer this original variant. Tamiya also has F-4B only in 1/48, because in 1/72 it only has Italeri reboxes (but also without F-4B/N). Hasegawa released the Phantom as a "new tool" three times in 1/72 IIRC. First, in the mid-1960s it was the F-4C, less than 10 years later they made the long-nosed family, which was initiated by the F-4EJ boxing, and the latest tool from the 1990s debuted as the F-4J (incidentally, the same as the 1/72 Academy some 30 years later). Moreover, in 1/48 Hasegawa also started somewhere in the mid-1980s with the F-4J, which was soon joined by the British FG.1. And Zoukei-Mura, first of all, does not have the Phantom in 1/72, and in 1/48 it offers 11 boxes, covering all variants except... F-4A/B/N and all RF-4s. To sum up - I and thousands like me have been waiting for the 1/72 new tool F-4B for years Cheers Michael

What year of manufacture is this? Isn't it four-color "shadow-shading" with low demarcation and a yellow underside? Cheers Michael

Chieftain? No. Vickers MBT? Neither. Challenger? Especially not! An inconspicuous hero of the Falkland Islands, also used against Saddam. The first of a large (+3,500 vehicles) family of light tracked AFVs, including tanks and tank destroyers, personnel carriers, recce, engineering, command and ambulance vehicles. In other words: FV101 Scorpion - holder of the current Guinness World Record for tank speed (82 km/h). Introduced into service in 1972, the Alvis Scorpion was a transposition of the interwar British idea for a light tank to an era 40 years later. Therefore, the 3-person crew benefits from the full NBC protection. Only 15 ft long (like the classic Jaguar 420, from which it took the legendary 170 hp XK 4.2-litre inline-6 DOHC engine), it is armed with a 76 mm gun (even 90 mm in export versions) and exceeds 50 mph . Thanks to its weight of only 8 tons (aluminum armor), it floats well and can be carried by larger helicopters (e.g. CH-47 Chinook), while the C-130 Hercules transports them in pairs. The FV101 light tank was the most numerous (1,240) variant of the entire family. The FV107 Scimitar (600) recce vehicle had an identical low hull and rotating turret (but with a 30 mm cannon). The rest were raised-roof variants: FV102 Striker (350) missile-armed tank destroyer, FV103 Spartan (970) APC, FV104 Samaritan (100) ambulance, FV105 Sultan (130) command vehicle and FV106 Samson (140) ARV. Some of them are even faster than tanks and reach speeds between 60 mph and 100 km/h. Already in the 21st century, several hundred Scorpions and Scimitars were refurbished. Fitted with different turrets, the FV101s became FV101 Sabre recce vehicles with a 30 mm gun, and the FV107 Scimitar Mk.2 now have the existing turret built on a raised-roof FV102-106 type hull. Previously, all members of this family had their engines replaced with modern 190 hp Cummins 6BTA turbodiesels. The model is a 3D print made 3 years ago by my son, who wanted to solve the problem of the unavailability of the 1:72 FV101 kit on the market (and hence the lack of it in my collection). Once upon a time I was supposed to make miracle honey out of it. But recently, after 5 years of hunting, I managed to buy the ACE 72417 kit on Ebay and probably in some time it will be added to my cabinet in the colours of the Royal Hussars from the Falkland Islands. That's why today I present the result of my fun with a 3D print taken out of the drawer on Christmas evening: FV101 Scorpion with licence plates 00GH35, which took part in Operation Granby in Iraq in 1991. The construction of this tiny (2.5" long) model took literally a few hours and consisted of sanding, painting with an Italeri brush (Humbrol 74) and applying decals (from the ACE kit). The Vallejo acrylic matt varnish was brush-applied overall. The photos are taken with an LG smartphone. Comments are welcome Cheers Michael

Three years ago in January, I had some hope that in 2021 I would be able to complete half a dozen aircraft carriers in 1:700, the construction of which I started in 2019-2020. Unfortunately - @desert falcon was right. I haven't finished a single one – neither in 2021 nor in 2022 nor in 2023. Even in the worst assumptions, I was not even afraid that Putin’s invasion of Ukraine would affect my hobby so much. But in general – although BM is probably not the right place for such outpourings of a psychological nature – my problem concerns not only modeling. For years, I have always devoted the period from May to September to renovating my classic cars (full-size metal ones, of course). And this year, too, I pushed these topics VERY slightly forward. To sum up: the war brutally reminded me how fragile and frail our lives are, and the prospect of its sudden and unexpected end makes virtually any creative activity senseless, leaving only those activities that allow us to live from day to day... Well, the whole effect of my 2023 fun in modeling is just SIX tanks - all in 1:72. Three of them are WW2 small Axis tanks: the medium Chi-Ha, the light Ha-Go and the CV-33 tankette. The remaining three are participants of the Middle Eastern wars of 1956-90: the French AMX-13/75, the Iraqi T-54A and the British FV101 Scorpion. These are not all the kits I dealt with this year - there were many more of them. The reason for not finishing is almost always the same – when something stopped me, I would reach for the next box from the stash. So on New 2024 Year's Eve, the state of my workbench is as follows: started six 1:700 aircraft carriers (4 US, 1 British, and 1 Russian), fifteen 1:72 AFV (7 US, 6 Russian, plus 2 British), eight 1:72 aircraft (3 British, 2 Polish, 2 US, and 1 German) and four 1:32 vintage cars (3 Airfix and 1 Matchbox). What will this year be like? Will we live to see another Christmas? Will there be any note of optimism and hope that will restore my desire to build more models? Will I build more of them than in the record-breaking 2021 or even less than in the monstrous 2022. I do not undertake divination – time will tell. Cheers Michael

And you think it's better to sell tens of 1:48 Culvers than tons of 1:72 Masters? Cheers Michael

It is exactly as you write. A quite decent cutaway drawing of the PZL-37 (almost 200 numbered details) you can find in the October 1968 Air International on pages 194-195. As standard, the Łoś had 5 fuel tanks: one in the fuselage under the cockpit, in front of the bomb bay, two in the outer wing caissons and two in the upper part of the engine nacelles. The maximum bomb load (3010 kg) included: 4x300 kg in the fuselage, 16x110 kg in the central part of the wing and 4x12.5 kg (flares) under the wings. If the 300 kg bombs were abandoned, an additional sixth fuel tank (900 l, roughly 200 Imp gal.) was installed in the fuselage bomb bay. The action radius with the maximum (3,010 kg) bomb load was 435 miles, and with a 1,810 kg bomb load and a tank in the bomb bay - 810 miles. It was not possible to install any fuel tanks in the bomb bays between the fuselage and the engines. I hope this helps. Cheers Michael

Dear @Graham Boak, unlike you, I am not an aerodynamicist, but an architect. But the drawing I am attaching comes from Cynk's book. The IAW-743 profile has a maximum thickness at 40% of the chord, which has been reported by all sources for over 70 years. https://pwm.org.pl/viewtopic.php?f=14&p=1000435 However, the fuel tanks in the PZL-37 were not placed between the fuselage and the engines - only the bomb bays were there. Integral fuel tanks were located in the caissons of the wing outer parts, i.e. outside the engines. Stalin went down in history with many more or less accurate sayings. When, in the summer of 1944, the Prime Minister of the Polish government in exile, Mikołajczyk, learned during a visit to Moscow about the project agreed in Tehran to shift Poland's borders by approx. 150 miles to the west, he asked Stalin "why are you taking Lviv from us - after all, Lviv was never Russian." Stalin replied: "OK - Lviv wasn't Russian, but Warsaw was. Do you want to switch?" Well - the Soviet sense of humor... Cheers Michael

And this is the answer I wanted - finally everything is clear. I amputate this mess at the back of the turret, make a small open mesh basket and it will be the ShotKal Alef from YomKippur War. I even have such decals somewhere in my drawer. Cheers Michael

Yes, Polish fighters were already antique in 1939, but you can't fault Łoś - the world first production aircraft with a laminar wing profile. Empty weight equal to 48% of the MTOW, size and speed somewhere between Blenheim and Beaufort, but bomb load of 2,500 kg (more than Wellington) with a range of 950 miles. Or 1,700 kg with 800 miles combat radius. Show me a better bomber in service in 1938. We all know Stalin's quote: quantity itself is the highest quality. From this point of view, the quality of Polish planes was indeed poor - only 120 Łoś bombers were built... Cheers Michael

There are even more of them. The 7-cylinder with the cylinder hanging vertically down is the British Armstrong Siddeley Civet. The identical 5-cylinder is AS Genet. Both (seen from the front) rotate clockwise. And the 5-cylinder rotating anti-clockwise is the US Kinner K-5, B-5 or R-5. As far as I remember, AS always have a rear exhaust, and Kinners come with an exhaust manifold either at the front or at the rear. Cheers Michael

@Old pro, you mean this whole mess of boxes surrounded by plates, aprons and nets? This is the least of the problems - since the kit had Olifant 1A written on the bag with a marker, I spent a few hours and added it very quickly. And it was only when I was looking for a photo of a specific tank to recreate the camo scheme that the little pieces mounted on the fenders stopped fitting into the puzzle. These fuel cans, shovels, too small exhaust mufflers. And then there are the track links on the glacis and the back wall - a revelation: it's a Shotkal after all. Now I'm just wondering if it would be easier to redo the mess on the fenders and remove the track links (and get the correct Olifan 1A), or leave the hull and fenders intact and remove the laboriously made mess at the rear of the turret and have a Shotkal Alef? I'm afraid it'll be easier that way... Cheers Michael

Thanks, @PeteH1969 & @Old pro. Unfortunately, this is what I was afraid of. I'm attaching a few photos of the details, because he would like to know what I built And whether to paint it as Shotkal or Olifant and what decals to look for. Cheers Michael

Something like a Wirraway in advanced pregnancy. A rare sight, anyway. Congrats! Cheers Michael

I came across an unusual Centurion kit. Without box, instructions and decals. Since I don't consider myself an AFV expert, I'm asking for your help. At first glance, it seems to me to be the result of some sort of love affair between Olifant and Shotkal. The engine is definitely a Yankee Diesel from the M60, the gun is definitely a 105mm L7. Huge rectangular silencers, a barrel support on the right end of the hull, a sapper kit on the rear end of the left fender, two sets of 3 track links on the front glacis, the same set on the left side of the rear wall. Up until this point, it would have been a typical Alef. But the devil is in the details - all Shotkal models I know have the left (two-piece) hatch in the turret with its longest side located along the turret edge (and the pentagon apex towards the turret centre). And here it is the other way around - as in the typical (e.g. Tamiya 1:35) British Mk.5 or Olifant 1A. The question is whether such a tank really existed. Because I don't know how to paint it Cheers Michael

Remember this is 1:48. Culver in this scale is exactly the same size as Tempest/Hellcat/Corsair/Thunderbolt in 1:72. And there I don't think anyone would be surprised by 4 sprues. Cheers Michael

Are you sure it's called T-36? I'm building identical crap in 1:72 and it said T-37 on the box. Cheers Michael BTW. Well done

Apparently so, but on the other hand, Arma has already incurred the costs of developing this P-51D and, I'm afraid, maybe also sculpting the moulds. Therefore, when releasing a kit to the market, there are no costs anymore, because the total price of styrene, box, instructions and decals is a minimal fraction of the kit market price. From now on, you only make money on each piece sold. Cheers Michael

No, my dear friend, learn to read and understand. The fundamental argument in this consideration is the dimension of time - not noticed by everyone. I tried to explain it step by step so that everyone could understand. But as I see, not everyone got it. The first moment when the Soviets could forbid the Czechs to do anything was the summer of 1948. And at that moment the P-51D/K (no matter how much we valued and loved it) was already outdated junk and the Czechs - at that time having several Spitfire regiments, dozens of S.199s and plenty of La-7s had no interest in Mustangs at all. Because if they were there in 1947, the Americans would have sold them to them without any problems, just like they sold them to Italians or Filipinos. And Eduard's boss announced half a year ago that their new set was a plane on which the Czechs couldn't fly because the Russians forbade them. So I ask: when? In 1944, when Polish squadrons received Mustangs from the RAF? In 1946, when Czechoslovakia forgot to apply for it to the Americans? Was it in 1950, when they already had jets? That's why I repeat: either Jan Sulc does not know history, or he is cynically misleading public opinion. Which probably won't stop me from buying their new P-51D/K anyway Cheers Michael

So - to sum up - as Mr. Sulc said 7 months ago: "Poor Czechs couldn't fly Mustangs because they fell into vassalism towards the Soviets, who forbade them". Well, if anyone ("forbade" is too strong a word, perhaps rather "didn't allow") them to fly the P-51D, it was the British, because the Czech RAF fighter squadrons flew Spitfires until the end of the war, while 5 Polish squadrons were rearmed with Mustangs (including one with the Mk.IV, i.e. P-51D/K). And the Czechs returned to their country on their Spitfires, where they continued to fly them until 1948. If the Czech RAF squadrons had flown Mustangs in 1945, they would probably have served in the Czech air force, regardless of what the Soviets would have thought about it. The second country that could have prevented the Czechs from possessing the P-51D/K could have been the USA - if only in the period 1945-48 the Czechs wanted to purchase a batch of P-51D from the USAAF surplus (just like Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, the Philippines or the Dominican Republic). And again, the Soviets would have nothing to say about it, except that the Czechs simply didn't want these Mustangs back then. Their fighter aviation had too many aircraft - several Spitfire regiments, several Russian La-5 and La-7 regiments, and German Bf109s (called Avia S-199), which were still coming off the assembly line in dozens. The communist coup in the Czech Republic took place only in 1948. And if the Czechs had wanted (though I doubt it) to switch to Mustangs in the summer of 1948, the Russians could indeed have forbidden them to do so. But instead of Mustangs, they were provided with Yak-23 jets in 1949. And I think the Czechs turned out better for it. So sorry, Mr. Sulc. You make great kits, but either you have no idea about history or you're just lying.🤔 Cheers Michael

While in terms of darkness (artists call it value) the 1941 Sea Blue Gray is only slightly darker than the 1943 Intermediate Blue. However, the main difference lies in the hue of both these greyish blues. The older one (which you need for your F4F) was made by mixing a dark blue pigment with the yellowish Light Gray used on the lower surfaces, so the effect skewed towards green (you could call it Prussian Blue). On the other hand, all three colours introduced in 1943 were based on ultramarine dyes, which makes them have a more purple shade. Cheers Michael