tempestfan

That's actually the Frog kit, whose mould is owned by Revell (and hence made an appearance in a Matchbox when they were licensee for the trademark).

If Scalemates is correct re the 1986 date, then this predates the Italeri.

Luckily, we are not talking about 83 Squadron here

Both Airfix boxings have identical plastic IIRC, with only decals differing. I think you are correct re the Israeli decals in the C boxing, and the G had US "A"(?) markings included IIRC. Testors is/was a long time collaborator with Italeri too, so it probably depends on when the Testors boxing was released whether it may have been Italeri. I am rather certain Revell also did a G boxing from the Italeri tooling (#4420), which apparently went out their programme in 1997, as I bought one from their annual stock clearance sale then.

So you claim that Jochen Prien and Peter Rodeike are "Stümper" not knowing what they talk about? Starker Tobak. No one knows it all, and I do have strong reservations against anyone claiming so for himself. Excepting me, of course By the same logic, you would have to claim there are no G-6s as a series, as there are standard 605s, AS's, low tail, high tail from wood, high tail from metal, and a bazillion of other differences.

Thanks Michael, in the end I found them when scrolling down, as the link is tucked away at the very bottom of the "photos" page. Their site design is a bit - awkward (but I like it nonetheless).

I have never been and will never be good in interpreting photos, but what causes the "wrap around leading edge" effect on the centre plane? The rear edge looks too uniform to be worn off white distemper (or similar), and the front quarter lower wing looks too dark (to me) to be Sky or Silver, which may have been the delivery colour. I also find the colour demarcation on the nose of some machines in this thread interesting; looks a bit like early US painted Airacobras (admittedly only a bit). Is this style tied to a specific plant?

Thanks for the update - that one has completely escaped my radar. Seems I have to stop living in the 90s...

The only 48th 53 I am aware of is the Revell one.

You made me google Skrzydlata Polska P-51. I ended up with a seller in Belgium. Lots of great books with heavy discounts. You know how the story goes If I am not mistaken, all K/IVa's were from Dallas. I'd expect all or at least most of them to have the "Dallas hood".

Indeed - I am pretty sure it used the standard B wings without the enlarged leg fairings, and it was unimpressive on all other aspects. Revell was never shy to rebox crap, but for this one I am unaware of any later boxing than the Smithsonian. Not even by Bünde. RIP, mould - probably now with Atlantis.

Ah well, but doesn't size matter? The good old Revell is 32nd - which is 50% larger than 48th And kidding aside, I think this still is a gorgeous kit, with all of its wonderful rivets. Helos NEED rivets.

I am aware you are attracted by some all singing/dancing kit, but if you don't mind some fun, the venerable Revell AH-1G may be something for you (yes, I am aware it may be considered the opposite of all singing/dancing, but maybe just the songs have changed in the past 50-odd years). Dress her up with the ammo sponsons and a 20 on each inner pylon - I am sure there is (at least was) resin around for that purpose.

Nice observation re that fairing! Just had a look at the Monogram, it's also portrayed there, though with less of a sharp break. I had a short look at various pics at the Vought site, but they are small size/low res. If I could find my Fairford pics from the 90s, I'd have a look there (as I certainly did a number of shots of the FN there). Indeed, Heller probably had kind support by the Aéronavale when designing their kit.

While the Airfix rivets are a bit Tyneside admittedly, I am pretty sure the 53 had rather prominent raised rivets (at least the legacy versions) as many helos including Sea King and Puma did; and that there were quite a few overlapping panels. While countersunk may look better to some, they are no more accurate IMHO. And the Airfix rivets are (IIRC) a lot less pronounced than on some of their worst offenders, including the Islander and 109E. I think the Italeri designers attempted to replicate the rivet pattern with their patchwork quilt panel lines; arguably, the Airfix approach looks much better, not being in scale notwithstanding.

The Vought heritage site used to have drawings on it (of somewhat variable quality) including a set on the F4U (IIRC of a reputed draughtsman whose name escapes me) but I can't find them...? Other -4 sets I am aware of are by Alf Granger (printed in Wingspan and Squadron's Aerodata USN carrier a/c) and Aero Detail. Edit: Sometimes scrolling down helps There is this Illustrated Parts Breakdown and this GA drawing.

That's precisely the one I was referring to - Ginter Naval Fighters #108. @Tailspin Turtle, I am always for letting the money go where it belongs instead of one of the big platforms, but unfortunately it's 50 bucks at his site. Add to this s&h, import VAT and the carrier's "mishandling fee" for doing the customs it will probably end up north of 80 € - which is double that of what I paid for mine. If he does transatlantic shipping in the first place...

That bedsheet sadly is missing from my copy... Are the basic drawings the same as in the Aero Detail (IIRC also by Mr Nohara)? If you'd like anything specific translated, drop a PM after arrival.

While the Fujimi and Hase kits in 72nd are much more refined, there were also mid 60s kits of the B by Airfix and Revell, with both being reasonably accurate for a B (but not the later versions they later had add-ons for). Both kits were in production literally for decades, in particular the Airfix, so should be rather easy and cheap to find - not so sure regarding the Fujimi in the "easy" aspect. It may make sense to use a cheaper older kit in light of the required chopping, in particular if you do it from scratch. As @Giorgio N said, the -1s were a rather diverse breed. IIRC, the radome diameter and length grew considerably, with the final ones looking quite similar to the B, apart from the "flush" canopy. In particular if you are going the scratch route, potentially helpful could be a slim booklet I bought at the Aviation Book Shop in 1991 (those were the days :-)), but it covers only the early stages and is probably unobtainable these days. No idea if the planned further volumes were released? The Aeromodeller range had some drawings that did not look that bad (reprinted in one of the Aircraft Archive Post War Jets volumes). But if you want THE reference on the -1, get the Ginter book by the wonderful gentlemen Tommy Thomason @Tailspin Turtle. It wasn't cheap when I bought it and has now a significant "ouch" factor (at least the offer I just had a look at), but it is the only publication I am aware of that systematically and comprehensively traces development of the early Toom.

OT I know, but... Reinsehlen is a mere 35 miles south of Hamburg city centre The MPM kit really is from the Dark Ages, but quite some improvement over their early Smer/Heller-based 262 versions... Those u/c retraction struts remind me of the Italeri D-9.

As I need something to touch, I ordered the book a year ago. Not cheap especially with the ancillary cost, but worth every Cent/Penny IMHO.

Well...the rear part of the starboard cowling/nacelle looks rather brownish, but this is probably exhaust discolouration.

Otherwise, Verde Vómito would have done a great job @GiampieroSilvestri - I just had a look if I have HDL 48-25, as I bought the entire remaining decal stock off a Hamburg shop when it closed down, including loads of HDL - but unfortunately the 48ers do not go higher than #20. Probably the shop never ordered any newer sheets "because we have so many of the older ones". That's the spirit @Diego: I guess you do not need any of your older sheets for documentary purposes? Long time no see, by the way I still get shivers when I remember our Dortmund trip with the team - was that in 1999?

@fightersweep - oh well, life has been rather busy in the past 3 years in particular... Well, I bet there are some on a certain collecting forum that would be interested in your Heller kits, in particular as many of the black boxes are rather scarce and have gorgeous Bergèse artwork. Well, I branched into Heller, too, back in my active collecting days... To get back to the Potez, a quick google brought up this thread which is not particularly relevant to your question, but may be of help re interior colours. And it confirms that there must have been something in Replic not later than February 2002...

Tsts... you should be building Airfix kits from T6 boxes Which makes me wonder how your collection has developed in this respect? Long time no see, somewhere else... I had a look in some ancient Polish booklet which covers Polish units in Armée de l'Air and RAF service, as I thought it might have a diagram of a 631 in it, but regrettably not. I ***think*** Replic had a big feature article on the 631, but that must have been some 20 years ago. I'd have a look if you told me where the box(es) with the Replics is/are...