ReccePhreak

Thanks @Ray_W & @Hornet133 for your replies. I have a few different decal sheets that have 1/48 RAAF roundels on them. I will just have to determine the proper sizes. All the sources for those Ventura decals are overseas, so there may be a delay in getting them with the CCP Pandemic lockdown of international mail. I will keep looking through my decal sheets, to see if I have any that I can use. For some reason, I had a set of decals for the Pavla 1/72 P-43A in my decal stash (But no kit). I printed a scaled up scan, so I can determine the size of decals I need. I think I should have everyt

I thought someone has done aftermarket 1/48 RAAF P-43A decals, but a Google search didn't turn up anything. I'd like to make my Classic Airframes kit as an Aussie recce bird. Larry

Interesting idea, but I don't know if it would work in the time frame the Royal Thai Navy would've been flying the Shackleton. I have to figure out what my WHIF time frame is, then look at what antiship weapons (Mavericks?) were in use at the time. Definitely will want torpedoes & depth charges I just pulled out my ESCI 1/72 Fokker F27-MK 400 MPA Maritime kit that I will be doing in RTN markings. I had some old magazine articles in it, for the RTN proposals, so I may use a lot of the weapons proposed for it. Underwing weapons pylons are a possibility, but if it's an interim aircraft,

James, THANK YOU for that sad, but fascinating picture. To see so many neat aircraft cut up for scrap is depressing, but I know it is necessary. I used to see similar stuff when I was first stationed at Davis Monthan AFB in Tucson, Arizona. At least a lot of them got saved for display in museums or on various military bases. Your comment about them being handheld for use in the beam lookout positions makes so much more sense, as it would be easier for a crewmember to aim them at specific targets, which would be very hard (and possibly dangerous) to do with a fixed vertical pointing camera

After reading about the camera, I am not surprised that the images were grainy. http://licm.org.uk/livingImage/WF117A.html I only see where they were hand held and operated, for targets of opportunity (subs & surface ships). Larry

Gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "Shaken, not stirred."

I agree. It doesn't look like any camera system I have ever seen, or worked on, especially with the way the "lenses" are pointed. That would cause the camera bodies to be in each others' way. Cheers, Larry

Wow, those are interesting looking cameras. No camera window, just the doors. So I only have to scribe the camera doors on my model. Now to decide if I want to add weapons to the bomb bay, or keep it closed. Larry

For some reason, I pulled out my NOVO 1/72 Avro Shackleton MR.3 kit, and thought about doing it in WHIF Royal Thai Navy markings. While browsing through the Haynes Owner's Workshop Manual on the Shackleton, I looked over the cutaway drawing and saw a reconnaissance camera in the fuselage, underneath the tailplanes. I haven't seen any walkarounds of a Shackleton that shows the camera window. Does anybody have a photo of such a window, or was this just "artistic license" on Mike Badrocke's part? Since I was planning on doing my Shack as a RTN bird, I thought I might want to put some weapons

Thanks Mike, for the info and the list of references. I have most of those and more, on my hard drive. The only one I am missing is the Aero Details book on the F4U Corsair (Book 25). I will compare the info from them all, especially the scale drawings, to figure out my needed changes. I think the kit has the proper R-2800 engine you are talking about. Larry

Can the Monogram/Promodeler 1/48 F4U-5N kit be used as a good starting point for an accurate F4U-5P Corsair? What major work/corrections need to be done to it, other than deleting the night fighter equipment & guns and adding the camera ports? Larry

Based on my ~20 years experience working on the cameras of various reconnaissance aircraft, they would not be armed. A recce aircraft pilot's job would be to go in, get the photos and return to base ASAP. If the planes had guns, rocket or bombs, then most pilots would be more inclined to try to shoot down enemy aircraft or attack their targets. That was the USAF's thinking and it made perfect sense. Recce pilots aren't glamorous, but aces are. I saw that reasoning in various official US military training films for recce crew members. Larry

@Tailspin Turtle Thanks for that info. I realize that like @72modeler mentioned, the camera windows were only opened in flight just before the photo run, I will have mine open so you can see the camera lenses. If numerous modelers can display a model of an aircraft fully loaded with weapons, up on jacks & numerous access panels open, for "artistic license", then I can have my camera windows exposed. Besides, they have to clean the windows before fight, anyway. Larry

@Tailspin Turtle Does the F7F-3P SAC mention the types of cameras (And lens sizes) installed, and the depression angles of the Left & Right Oblique cameras? Larry

Would the following Xtradecal sheet work for you? https://www.ultracast.ca/Xtradecal-X001-48-Phantom-FG-1-FGR-2-p/x48001.htm https://www.aviationmegastore.com/raf-phantom-fg1-43sq-111sq-x001-48-xtra-decal-x48001-aircraft-scale-modelling-decals/product/?action=prodinfo&art=2726 Larry