fishplanebeer

Best bet is to consult the painting guide on the Sovereign Hobbies web site (makers of Colourcoats paints) as this confirms the correct colours to be used for the 3 (actually 4) colour scheme. They also stock all the correct paints that you will need, which I have bought myself for my next but one project of the 72nd scale Revell F4U-1A. You have to buy a minimum of 6 tins to keep postage down but you could also add the interior green and chromate yellow as well. https://www.sovereignhobbies.co.uk/pages/us-navy-aircraft-colour-schemes Regards Colin.

Sorry I missed this bit, it's the 72nd scale version but still very nicely detailed. Regards Colin.

Forgot to mention anything about the kit itself and the build so here goes. Overall I found the kit quite easy to build and IMHO better than the AZ kits, particularly the wing root to fuselage join arrangement which with the Zvezda kit is much simpler and required no filler at all. The canopy is a wee bit too long and requires fettling and the tail joint means that there is a horizontal seam half way up the tail on the starboard side that is tricky to get flat and smooth. The kit comes with a molded on pitot tube which will inevitably get damaged and broken (at least mine did) and it lacks the aileron balances along with the dust filter to build as a Trop version. I also drilled out the molded on cowling machine guns as they looked a bit unrealistic and replaced them with those from the AZ kit which I think looks better, plus it takes the pain out of trying to paint them - a real plus with my eyesight and unsteady hands. Apparently those in the know think the shape of the Zvezda kit is more accurate than AZ which may well be the case but for me I'm just happy that it came out looking like a Bf109F and would certainly build one again once I've tackled a few more pressing subjects such my Airfix Zero and Revell F4U-1A. Maybe I'll even feel confident enough to move onto slightly larger subjects when I have a few more build under my belt, to which end I've got the new Airfix Mosquito BXVI and Hobby 2000 Beaufighter If on back-order. Regards Colin.

Thank you, I forgot to add that I've attempted to show the F-4/Trop flown by Hans-Arnold Stahlschmidt albeit without the extra armoured glass windshield as this was apparently quite often removed due to dust and sand getting between it and the main canopy. Regards Colin.

This is just my second kit built since returning to the hobby after a hiatus of 25+ years so not up to the standards I regularly see on the forum but overall I'm still quite pleased with it even if I did make a few obvious mistakes, for example not cleaning the inside of the canopy to remove bits of dust before sticking it in place! To make the conversion I added some 'Quick Boost' items such as supercharger intake, dust filter, aileron balances and pitot tube, tail wheel from an AZ kit that ended up in the re-cycling bin and aerial wire from EZ Line. Normally I wouldn't try and weather a model for fear of making a complete mess but I've stumbled upon a method that seems to work-ish using artist's acrylic paints (the stuff sold in tubes) over a satin varnish, which seems to adhere reasonably well to the Humbrol Satincote (I'm an old time dedicated enamels user). Any comments and observations most welcome. Regards Colin.

The author has written a host of books on a wide range of aviation subjects some of which do overlap as in this instance but the drawing/image featured in this post is from his work/book first published in 1987 and still very much subject to copyright protection. His books 'Battle Over Britain' and 'The Avro Lancaster' are quite superb and well worth investing in if you don't already have them, and both were also re-published via the RAF Museum Hendon as limited editions back in 1990 and 1989 respectively. Regards Colin.

Mine also the RAF Museum Hendon Edition and dated 1990. Apparently first published with this format/content in 1987 by Aston Publications. Regards Colin.

Many thanks for all the responses which have helped me decide on what should be the correct colours. Basically it will be satin black for the cylinders and light grey for the crankcase, then some careful dry brushing to tease out the details. The Airfix engine isn't massively detailed but I intend to build it OOB without adding the ignition cables etc. so this should look quite accurate in this scale. Regards Colin.

I have said book and the illustration is on page 195, so may be an issue as the book carries the standard copyright clause preventing any form of reproduction. Regards Colin.

My next project is the Airfix A6M2b Zero and I have all the correct colours for a Mitsubishi built version, courtesy of Colourcoats, but have just one small question. I've read the previous posts regarding P&W radial engine colours but can't find any similar reference/post confirming what colours would be correct for Japanese radials so can anyone help please? Regards Colin.

I also have this kit and it could quite easily represent a standard B-29A in silver/natural finish as Enola Gay and Bocks Car had quite specific mods for obvious reasons. Mine is well down my to do list as it's a pretty detailed kit despite its age and will take quite a while to build, especially if you model with the bomb doors open to show the 32 individual bombs! Regards Colin.

If like me you have always struggled to apply a wash to an enamel gloss surface this may be of some help. After struggling to make the wash actually stay where I want it I've just tried using thinned acrylic paint, not the usual modeller's stuff but the artists acrylic paint that comes in tubes and is similar in appearance and consistency to the normal artist oil paints. The trick I've found is to apply a satin varnish instead of gloss and work gradually over the model allowing 3-4 minutes for each application to settle and dry. The excess than then be gradually washed off using a brush loaded with clean water and after a few applications hey presto the pigment stays where it should and the surrounding paint obtains a nice toned down and used look as well. Not rocket science but at last I've found a way of making my subject look like it hasn't just come out of the factory for a change so others may find this worth trying, and as it's acrylic then worst case is you can simply remove with more water. Kind Regards Colin.

Another vote for GS-Hypo cement which is for watch glasses, jewellery work etc.. but works a treat and gives a strong bond. It can be a bit stringy so some care is needed but the tubes have a very fine applicator which makes it very precise. I also fix the canopy before painting/spraying as this way you can fill in any gaps between the fuselage to get a nice fit although I tend to use pva as the filler or liquid putty. Regards Colin.

In defence of thin CA it definitely has its uses, especially when it comes to fixing small PE bits and any small details, such as the dust filter brackets on my current 72nd scale Bf109F-4/Trop, but generally I tend to use either Medium or Thick as it is far less likely to spread where you don't want it to go. The trouble generally with all CA glues is that I find the bottles dry/turn solid long before I've even used a quarter of them. Good news if you make the stuff but a pain in the wallet otherwise. Regards Colin.

As I always use enamel paints and varnishes (Humbrol, Xtracolor, Colourcoats) I'm wondering if applying an acrylic wash would work as this would presumably not eat or damage the oil base. By acrylics I'm referring to the Winsor & Newton artist painting stuff that comes in tubes the same as their oil paints but thinned with either water or possibly a brand (Testors, Xtracrlix, Tamiya) of acrylic thinner. Would this work similar to applying an oil wash over an acrylic/non-enamel gloss varnish? Regards Colin.

If Airfix ever do release a Manchester I would definitely be a customer, along with many others I suspect, so I'll wait and see. Regards Colin.

At just shy of £43 it's a little heavy price wise, so perhaps they will sell it under the Hasegawa brand to justify? On a serious note if you must have a Manchester then I'm sure it will be just what you are looking for, but better hurry as Hannants only seem to have 1 in stock. Regards Colin.

Given that Rudolf Hess ' arrived' early in proceedings in May 1941 the version of Bf110 extant at the time would have been considerably earlier, namely Messerschmitt Bf 110D "VJ+OQ", Werk Nr 3869. Some remains are held by the IWM. Regards Colin.

This may add some confusion but I've seen pics of downed Bf109E's during the BoB with a very dark interior which presumably would have been RLM66 so this would support the change from RLM02 being implemented some time around mid October 1940. By the way the Bf109E-4/B at Hendon is a composite utilising parts from at least 3 different captured examples in order to get it fit for flight evaluation and was given the serial number DG200. During testing and evaluation one of the pilots involved happened to be too tall to allow the hood to be closed, Rolls-Royce pilot Harvey Hayworth, so it was removed and then subsequently disappeared. A number of replacements were fitted over time, none correct, and eventually a reproduction hood was made by/for the museum and installed in 1975, albeit it is still the wrong type with the added middle framing as already mentioned. Apologies if I'm going over well trodden ground here. Regards Colin.

I've looked at the Valiant Wings and 4+ publications and none of the diagrams/plans even show or refer to the gear down indicators, indeed only one of the pro built examples in the Valiant Wings book has them in place, so this is or will be a bit of a guess I suspect. My personal best guess based upon one photo where it/they are visible would be white as it is definitely a light colour so probably not red. I suppose a quick e-mail to the RAF museum at Cosford or Hendon may yield more definitive information as they presumably have them in the correct colour for their two examples. One puzzle though is that a quite well known photo in 'Typhoon & Tempest At War' of a Tempest V being serviced shows several erks climbing all over the wing to service the aircraft and walking/standing where the indicator would be, so were they retracted in some way once the aircraft was at rest? Regards Colin.

Thank you all for your replies, I just wish I had discovered the Avalon decal set instead of relying upon the Xtradecal and Print Scale sets that I bought as it would have been perfect for my needs and accurate. As the model has been on the bench for a while and I cannot justify buying a new decal set or model just for one decal I went ahead with using the 'wrong facing' 1/JG27 emblem (smaller sized) and just hope that nobody is too critical, assuming they notice. By the way it seems that JG27 eventually had all 3 Gruppe at this time involved in N.Africa (?) with 1/JG27 having the emblem in question, 11(2)/JG27 having the black bear and 111(3)/JG27 the shield style emblem with three yellow fighters against a black cross. I've never been 100% about Luftwaffe codes and colours and why some machines displayed the Gruppe emblem and/or as well as the Staffeln one but as my chosen subject has its number in Red I'm assuming it was part of 2 Staffeln. Regards Colin.

I do have the Tamiya Bf109E but unfortunately it's the E-3 version and not the E4-7 one with the trop filter and decals and trying to get a decal sheet, or any other replacement part from Tamiya is fraught at best, but thanks for highlighting this to me. Regards Colin.

Every photo and colour plate I've found on 'tinternet show the badge figures looking to the left so all the current kit decals in 72nd scale would be appear to be incorrect, the only solution being to buy 2 of a particular set which is way too costly just to get one decal! Given how popular the Bf 109 is as a subject I'm surprised this question/issue has not been spotted before, or maybe it has and I've just not been able to find the relevant previous post(s)? Regards Colin.

That's great, thank you for clarifying. It seems the Xtradecal sheet is wrong and that both badges should have the figures looking to the left, so I now have to find another decal sheet that has them shown correctly. In addition to Peddinghaus I've also just checked the Kits World Luftwaffe units sheets and they also has them incorrectly reversed so it seems this is a common error with all decal manufacturers in 72nd scale when it comes to the JG27 badge, in which case I suspect I've no option but to use the ones I have as I'm not up to producing my own decals as yet. Regards Colin.

I'm now at the stage of finally applying the decals to my Bf109F-4/Trop and have chosen 'Red 1', a machine from 2/JG27 flown by Hans-Arnold Stahlschmidt from the Osprey book on Bf109 aces over North Africa. As expected on the port side it carries the circular JG27 emblem of two figures (Lion/Tiger plus a black figure) facing left towards the prop, and the decals I have for this from Xtradecal are fine, except that on the starboard side their decal faces to the right so that it also points towards the prop. My question is should the emblem on the starboard side actually face to the left, in other words the same as on the port side and therefore pointing towards the tail? My reason for asking is that I have seen a rather out of focus period image of JG27's machines in North Africa and I think it shows the emblem on the starboard side pointing left towards the tail. If it is the latter I then have the problem of sourcing the correctly orientated emblem but it would be good to know. Regards Colin.