bobmig

Here’s a look at the latest IPMS Canada decal sheet that was sent free to all members recently, and for which we did the artwork. Fortunately, there is a supply of extra sheets now available for purchase for only $10.00 (plus shipping).. At this link – https://www.ipmscanada.com/product/rt-45-3-decals/ – you will also find a PDF of the colourful instruction articles. The sheet contains (in both 1/48 and 1/72) a specially-marked CF-18; a heritage finish CT-156 Harvard II; an RCAF Kittyhawk IA; a Snowbirds T-Bird; and a couple of Korean War Sherman tanks that are in 1/35.

Just posted some info and colour photos on our Facebook page that you may find helpful and interesting: facebook.com/iliad-design

IPMS Canada's emailed newsletter (as opposed to their printed magazine) had a good article on beer-carrying Spits in the July 2016 issue: https://www.ipmscanada.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/beaveRTales_07_2016.pdf

They're at the printer now, and should be coming soon! First we have a sheet of 1/48 Ansons for the beautiful new Airfix kit. These are aircraft operated in Canada under the BCATP (British Commonwealth Air Training Plan). We've assembled a selection of aircraft sporting a nice variety of colour schemes and markings. We also have a sheet of 1/48 markings for the Lockheed P-38J Lightning which, again, includes various colourful schemes. We'll let you know as soon as they're back and ready to go!

Here are a couple photos of a CF-5 seat that I found in some old IPMS Canada files http://www.iliad-design.com/misc/brit/seat.jpg

I thought about this a bit more and believe I may have the answer. I had been looking at rank flags for Admiral of the Fleet, when it actually looks like it's the rank insignia for an Admiral of the Fleet... probably on a blue background. That would make it something like this. Does that make sense?

This is a bit of a puzzle… at least for me! The AVI kit of the Cessna L-19 in its “Korean War Top Brass Cab” boxing provides markings for “1st Sea Lord, Admiral of the Fleet Sir R. R. McGrigor”. The command flag placard marking is puzzling, as I’ve been unable to find anything depicting a flag with four gold stars arranged in a square on a red field. Indeed, the decal for the Eisenhower/MacArthur aircraft is also in error, as it shows five gold stars on a red field. Gold on red was used for USMC brass… Army personnel should have white stars on red. I also found an in-flight photo of Cessna 14754, and a close look shows a flag that looks nothing like the kit markings. Does anyone know what this flag in the photo represents… or what flag an Admiral of the Fleet would have carried on his aircraft?

Here are a couple of photos showing the white upper surface and grey lower surface on PAF 104s.

There was no instruction sheet per se, William. The decal sheet was sent out to all then current IPMS Canada members, and the issue of our publication, RT, in which it was sent served as the instructions. I've extracted the relevant pages from that issue (Vol. 36, No. 4) and you can view a PDF here: http://www.iliad-design.com/misc/50th.pdf

It would be yellow. This is a typical Canadian BCATP scheme of yellow wing and fuselage panels over the camouflage finish.

IPMS Canada's emailed newsletter, beaveRTales (as opposed to their print publication, RT) had an article on 442 Sqn. Mustangs some years ago. Here's a link: https://www.ipmscanada.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/beaveRTales_04_2016.pdf

Our two new decal sheets are now back from the printer and available for purchase. The first is a 1/48 scale sheet for the Piper L-4 “Grasshopper”. This is perfect for the new Special Hobby L-4 kit, and is what we used to test-fit the decals. There are some very interesting aircraft here. 54-J was involved in a dogfight with a Fi 156 Storch which the crew shot down with handguns. There is sand & OD aircraft from Camp Clipper, a desert training facility in California. And there’s “Humphrie’s FLYING WEASEL” in its overall aluminum finish and bomber group markings. Add to those some Free French Grasshoppers and a US Navy machine. The other is a 1/72 sheet of “More Twin Otters”. Our first Twin Otter sheet was very popular and in fact we reprinted it, with the addition of an additional scheme. This “More Twin Otters” sheet has some really colourful aircraft. There’s an overall white Twotter in UN markings and a US Army Parachute Team aircraft in a special D-Day scheme. There’s an Ethiopian Army and a Panamanian Navy aircraft, and a rare Chilean SAR Twin Otter that operated out of Easter Island. We’ve included one with floats this time… a Peruvian Air Force machine in red and white with black & white military/civy TANS markings. Available direct from our website: www.iliad-design.com

We now have two new decal sheets at the printer. One is a 1/48 scale sheet for the Piper L-4 “Grasshopper”. This is perfect for the new Special Hobby L-4 kit, and is what we used to test-fit the decals. There are some very interesting aircraft here. 54-J was involved in a dogfight with a Fi 156 Storch which the crew shot down with handguns. There is sand & OD aircraft from Camp Clipper, a desert training facility in California. And there’s “Humphrie’s FLYING WEASEL” in its overall aluminum finish and bomber group markings. Add to those some Free French Grasshoppers and a US Navy machine. The other is a 1/72 sheet of “More Twin Otters”. Our first Twin Otter sheet was very popular and in fact we reprinted it, with the addition of an additional scheme. This “More Twin Otters” sheet has some really colourful aircraft. There’s an overall white Twotter in UN markings and a US Army Parachute Team aircraft in a special D-Day scheme. There’s an Ethiopian Army and a Panamanian Navy aircraft, and a rare Chilean SAR Twin Otter that operated out of Easter Island. We’ve included one with floats this time… a Peruvian Air Force machine in red and white with black & white TANS markings. We’ll let you know as soon as the sheets are available for purchase.

The forward cargo door had a smaller panel inset which could be removed from the inside. I don't really know whether this was ever done in flight, or if they were always removed on the ground. Here's a pic of a 101st paratrooper posing "in the door". notice that the opening is about 10" narrower than the full door, which could make it awkward for a fully loaded paratroop to exit. Also notice how handles, latches, hinges, etc. aft of the opening are usually taped over to prevent any lines or equipment from snagging on exit. And here's a good view of the inside of the door. You can see the handles used to secure it in place. You will also find examples of the entire door being removed. I don't know if this is because not all doors had the inset panel, or because they wanted a larger opening.

We now have our two latest decal sheets in hand! The first is a often-requested reprint of our 1/48 Bf 109G-6 ‘cartoon’ aircraft. These are aircraft of 7./JG 53 operating in Sicily in June 1943. Each bears a unique cartoon personal marking which were created by one of the unit’s ground crew. They refer, one assumes, to pilot nicknames, various events, or “in” jokes. This reprint has a couple of small changes from the original version, incorporating new information that research has yielded over the years. The other reprinted sheet is 1/48 Special Ops Skyraiders. The original sold out very quickly, and we anticipate this will as well. This sheet also has a small correction based on additional research, plus an extra added scheme. Available from our website – www.iliad-design.com

You may find this interesting. It's from the cover of an old (Nov. 1970) issue of IPMS Canada's magazine, RT. The author, H. Robert Hall, was an aircraft refinisher in the RCAF. The cover comment reads: "The vampire aircraft was of composite construction. The fuselage was a sandwich affair of ply and balsa laminations over which a linen covering was doped, thereby pre­senting a seamless surface finish. The tail booms, wings and empennage were of dural, and the quality of the rivetting and general metal work was quite crude. As a result, many wide and un-aerodynamic seams and gaps were present. In order to rectify this, a layer of aluminium paste was applied to all metal areas, in some cases to a thickness of 3/16". This paste filler was re-enforced along the leading edge of the wing with a strip of doped linen. Next came a liberal use of sandpaper and a final coat of aluminium lacquer. "All markings, including the anti-glare panel on the nose, were tn gloss lacquer. The reason for this rather strange state of affairs was that the author was an apprentice with the squadron at the time, and to me, black was just black! "The red area on the nose met with the aluminium in a soft line with a three-inch over­ lap. It should be mentioned that the bat face varied slightly from a/c to a/c, occasion­ally even in the number of teeth. These a/c got a lot of rough usage and were repaint­ed at least once a year, so without photographic evidence, who's to say you're wrong for any specific year as long as you follow the general scheme. "All markings on the booms and the vertical tails were carried on one (the outboard) side only. An earlier scheme had fin flashes on both sides of the vertical tail. Cockpit interiors were light green with flat black instrument panels, and the seat was covered with dark green leather. Toward the end of their careers, all the stencilling on these aircraft became overpainted, as all the bods knew where everything was!"

If you can find a copy, the best reference for the Mk. XII is IPMS Canada's magazine, RT, Vol. 38, No. 3. It has 21 pages on the Canadian-built aircraft, 1/48 scale conversion, colour schemes, etc. Lots of good details and build photos and colour art.

Over the last week or so we’ve been tweaking our website to make it a little more interesting and informative. Most of the new changes are on our Decals page, where we’ve added small images of each instruction sheet to click on as a link to the larger images of the instructions front & back and the actual decals. We also added some brief descriptions of the sheet contents. This should give you a better idea of just what’s on each decal sheet, so you can decide which ones you want to see in greater detail. Go to our site… explore… play with it… check the images and links. Let us know what you think of the new configuration.

Our two latest decal sheets have now been sent to the printer! The first is a often-requested reprint of our 1/48 Bf 109G-6 ‘cartoon’ aircraft. These are aircraft of 7./JG 53 operating in Sicily in June 1943. Each bears a unique cartoon personal marking which were created by one of the unit’s ground mechanics. They refer, one assumes, to pilot nicknames, various events, or “in” jokes. Very colourful and unique markings. We also have another reprinted sheet, this time it’s our 1/48 Special Ops Skyraiders, the original of which sold out very quickly. This sheet has a small correction based on additional research, plus an extra added scheme. We’ll announce their availability as soon as they’re ready.

Our 1/48 "Starfighters in Combat" sheet has markings for the F-104G of Capt. Shin-Lin Hu, in which he shot down a Chinese J-6 (MiG-19)

You might find the following excerpt interesting or useful. It’s an excerpt from an old article titled “Story of a Flight”. It is not credited because no one seems to know who wrote it. The original manuscript was typed on paper which has aged and yellowed considerably, and its marginal notes, penned in ink, are also fading. I would estimate that it was written not long after the events described, concerning a Halifax of Polish 1586 (Special Duties) Flight. “…The pilot extracts the last ounce of power from the bomber's four engines, forcing the overloaded machine off the runway before the ground drops in a steep escarpment to the waves of the Adriatic. Beneath the undercarriage wheels, bearing over thirty tons of plane and war material, the rumble of the metal runway grids increases in volume and pitch, until the wings have gripped enough of the furnace-hot air to lift the clumsy fuselage. “The seven members of the crew have gathered for the take-off in the cockpit and anxiously measure the rapidly diminishing distance from the little flags marking the end of the runway. Faster and faster races the sand into oblivion behind the tail wheel whilst power surges into the body of the plane. Just at the edge of the escarpment Wladek pulls the stick gently, the wheels cease their banging, the surf line flashes underneath and the bomber starts to gain height over the blue waters. “After take-off each member of the crew worms his way to his own position. The pilot and engineer are already in theirs, the radio operator dives into his cage under the pilot's cabin, the air gunner and despatcher begin sorting the containers which, for the take-off, have to be placed as near as possible to the pilot's cabin. Rom, navigator and skipper, clambers down to his "office" in the nose, plugs in the intercom to pass the course to Wladek, and checks his instruments….”

We now have our two new decal sheets back from the printer! First there’s a sheet of very colourful 1/48 T-38C Talons in neat ‘Heritage” schemes. In special colours and markings, these commemorate the squadrons’ ancestor units, and there are examples here from the early 1940s through the Vietnam-era. There's also a 1/48 scale sheet of More Naval T-Birds. This is a sequel to our first Naval T-Bird sheet – one of our most popular subjects. This time we have a US Navy aircraft from VX-4; two USMC aircraft – one natural metal and one overall Light Gull Grey; and an eye-catching Royal Canadian Navy bird in natural metal with hi-vis Day-Glo areas. Here are some images of the instruction sheets, decals, and original subjects. You can see photos of the actual aircraft on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/iliad.design

While looking at aircraft of 1586 Special Duties Flight I noticed something odd. The POLAND emblem carried on various aircraft were not all oriented the same. A bit of additional searching seemed to indicate that this was not uncommon. As I understand it, the “official” insignia of the wartime Polish Air Force always had the red square of the checkerboard at the top left. The Moranes and Caudrons I found had it at the top right. In the RAF it could go either way. Was there some significance to this, or was it simply unfamiliarity on the part of the ground crew that applied the markings? Perhaps one of our Polish friends can chime in.

What you really want are sheets produced by Canuck Decals. Unfortunately they are no longer in business, but Flightdeca (www.flightdecs.ca) has some in stock.

Currently at the printer... two new sheets that we think will be very well received. First there is a sheet of 1/48 markings for Northrop T-38Cs in an assortment of very colourful Heritage Schemes. These commemorate the squadrons' ancestor units dating back to WW II. Next we have a follow-up to our very popular 1/48 Naval T-Birds sheet – More Naval T-Birds. This time, in addition to USN and USMC aircraft we have an eye-catching Royal Canadian Navy bird. We'll let you know when they're back and ready to ship.