48-Alone-Is-Great

Thanks for the heads-up, I've changed the text in my post. Seems that hell only arrives on mobile devices. On desk/laptop it should be fine (well, it is on mine), so try to copy-paste it: http://www.geocities.ws/gustin_e/fgun/fgun-in.html because it really has a LOT of info on this topic. After more searching, I think I've found the actual official site: https://flying-guns.com/ this one seems spam-free!

Gustin has answered all your questions on his website The WWII Fighter Gun Debate: http://www.geocities.ws/gustin_e/fgun/fgun-in.html . I posted the link here before, but it appears it is only accessible with a desk/laptop. On mobile devices it forwards to lots of aggressive and unwanted advert sites. The site does have loads of info, so just copy-patse the address on your desk/laptop and enjoy! After more searching, I think I've found the actual official site: https://flying-guns.com/ this one seems spam-free!

None: was patiently waiting for the French fighters so I might finally start collecting ...

Politics has become so polarized, there is only ‘my way’. Everything is black and white. Yet somehow this GB isn’t 30 strong yet … are ... are BM members politically sensible? Surely not for a GB!? Come on! So many options to choose from! Like these: Arrow, Austrian, Betty, Blackbird, Black Knight, Brunswicker, White Scar ... from 1800 to 40K, why wait?

That was the farewell flight of the Mirage III in Swiss service: http://www.safc.ch/2003/sac/airshow3.html and https://www.pbase.com/m_mutsaers/goodbye_swiss_mirage And yes, that A-10 was black and white. They also did a 3-tone with grey: https://warthognews.blogspot.com/2012/01/10-80-0221-in-experimental-arctic.html

The choice is simple, there are no grey areas! So stop procrastinating and decide: either black or white ... (or both?) Join the Paint it Black GB! Here more inspiration:

Hey @trickyrich, I'll join. Never done any 1:32 plane. Just now bought something for it, colourful and smallish (span under 30cm/12", length under 20cm/8") so it's not too scary: Hasegawa's Boeing F4B. Might also do some 1/144 shipping. Come to think of it ... looong ago got/bought the Matchbox 109, it's hiding in a cupboard somewhere. BJ

More inspiration, who'll join too?

I'll join. I'll try to finish a Caproni triplane bomber.

I'll bite.

Yes! And the whitewashed winter schemes and Japanese surrender (basically all Japanese types) ... so you are in?

and if you want a real challenge, do a B&W pair of the same type (true heroes of course do an extra combo one):

Paint It Black … or white or both That says it all really: the main colour scheme should be black, or white, or a combination of the two (combination yes, so not "I've combined the two colours by mixing them to get US Navy light grey"). A black Black Widow, a white Gustav, a waterline Titanic, a white stealthy Mercedes camper van (with full interior detail of course), a SWAT officer, a UN APC, a black Blackhawk, a White Scars Dreadnought, you name it. Bonus points if you manage to work Rolling Stones into your theme. I’ll finally get started on my Josef Jacobs triplanes, perhaps on an airfield that has a couple of boulders. Anyone else interested to paint it black? @48-Alone-Is-Great @Corsairfoxfouruncle @Andwil @Marklo @CliffB @dnl42 @zebra @gingerbob @Redstaff @Adam Poultney @Col. @Paul J ...

OK, too bad. I can't find that rule about a 3 year wait though. Is "Paint it black ... or white" admissable? The main colour scheme is black or white or both (pics of just a pair of red hot exhausts or piercing eyes against a black background will probably be disqualified; a nice diorama of the Rolling Stones might just make it).

Halve the size, double the joy!™ A Matchbox Nostalgia Group Effort ploy ... let's make scale models of those scale models. As a group let’s try to build all Matchbox multicolour models, in all versions, i.e. the painting instruction versions and the original multicolour, but in half the original size, so there’s actually a chance to get it done. In other words, that 1:72 PK-115 Messerschmit 110 becomes a pair of 1:144 Me-110s (from whichever brand): one painted in the Matchbox plastic two-tone, the other as one of the fully camouflaged versions depicted on the back of the box. Each of your scaled down Matchbox entries should ideally be such a pair. You can enter as many (pairs) as you want, as long as you have a good backstory to explain the connection between them. "One from each of the 1:72 aircraft series." "The first three Matchbox models I ever built." "All the biplanes … duh!” "All types that have a 7." Etc, you get it. Planes, tanks, ships, men, cars, bikes. Inspiration found here: www.matchboxkits.org . Other than that, the more the merrier. If we’ll see dozens of Spits, but few or no Foxes, then so be it. I'll add the Ten Commandments for this GB all the way below, if more than ten fellow Britmodellers are interested ... who is? 48-Alone-Is-Great ...

It's not a unit. Badin is the common French term for air speed indicator. I think the book's "135 badin" is a typo. One would expect "Vitesse de décollage: 135km/h au badin" i.e. "Take-off speed: 135km/h IAS".

That AJ article doesn't mention 110073. It says that prototype V54 "supposedly was tested at Guyancourt by 5.(F)/123 in January 1944, with the one MG 151 and an Rb 75/30 camera." Also "supposedly several machines were delivered to an experimental/special unit based in Guyancourt, or to a reconnaissance unit - (F)121, code 7A - based in Bernay, under the command of Hauptmann Heinzer. These two units could well be the same, part of (F)121 stationed until August 1944 in Toussus-le-Noble and Guyancourt." But, it says, all of that might as well refer to V54.

If this plane (110073) is a G-5/"GS" (i.e. ASM) with pressurized cockpit, upgraded in France to H with an 'Einbau', then I think the drawing: 1- shouldn't have the air scoops below the windscreen; 2- shouldn't have head armour in the Erla hood; 3- should show its special 500 litre auxiliary tank; 4- shouldn't have landing gear doors; 5- should have the standard G-5/AS tail, i.e. -a- with fixed tailwheel (see image below); -b- with standard G-5 tailplane; Re. 4 & 5: there is no mention of any Me-209 parts and the order states H-Einbau, which fits inserting a 2m wing center section, but not adding a whole new tail section (then I'd expect 'Aufbau'). If however the drawing has to be as per document shown in the first post (i.e. a form completed in Augsburg, not on location in France), then replace 4 and 5 above with: 4'- should show the water coolers mentioned, in the new wing section. 5'- should show a complete Me-209 tail section, not just the tailplane: only the rudder should be G-5/AS;

Here are X-1, a Fokker C-X, and X-3, a Fokker S-IX aka S-9: However … these were otherwise unregistered temporary codes for test flights (prototypes and exports), used whenever the number was available, so there are several X-1s, X-2s etc: X-1 Fokker C-X (c/n 5418) X-1 Fokker F-VIIb-3m (c/n 5249, to Japan) X-2 Fokker G-1 (c/n 5419, possibly later LVA 366) X-2 Fokker G-1 (c/n 5557, later LVA 341) X-2 Fokker G-1 (c/n 5558, for Estlonia) X-2 Fokker G-1 (c/n 5559, later LVA 342) X-2 Fokker G-1 (c/n 5560, later LVA 343) X-2 Fokker F-VIIb-3m (c/n 5250, to Japan) X-3 Fokker S-IX (c/n 5479, later 996) X-4 Fokker D-XXIII (c/n 5614, later 998) X-4 Fokker F-VIIb-3m (c/n 5235, to Japan) In those days Koolhoven used Z and others Y. All these codes and more here: http://www.hdekker.info/registermap/TEST.htm Btw, X-1 to –36 were also used operationally, from 1937 to 1942 in the NEI, on Dornier Do-24s.

USS Guadalcanal's Wildcats and Avengers from that period sure look like Scheme II, unless Scheme I's light Gull Gray is very, very (very) close to Scheme II's nonspecular White.

John Elliot describes the two antisubmarine warfare schemes in detail in his The Official Monogram US Navy & Marine Corps Aircraft Color Guide, Vol 2, 1940-1949, on page 37 to 45. P37: “On July 19, 1943, Commander Aircraft Atlantic (COMAIR-LANT), sent a message to all aircraft units under his control specifying two new antisubmarine warfare paint schemes. Scheme I was for use in areas where the prevailing weather was clear or clear with broken clouds. This, in general, meant the southern United States seaboard, the Gulf, Caribbean and South American areas. The topside was to be painted nonspecular Dark Gull Gray. The sides were to be painted nonspecular light Gull Gray, while the bottom was painted glossy Insignia White. The leading edges of airfoils, engine cowl openings, reduction gear housing, inside of the engine nose cowl ring, propeller hub and propeller blades out to the diameter of the cowl ring were to be painted nonspecular White. As was done in the three-tone scheme, areas of the fuselage, hull and engine nacelles that were under horizontal airfoils were to be whitened to lighten the shadow areas. Scheme II was for use in areas where the prevailing weather was overcast or heavily clouded. This, in general, meant the middle and northern United Stales seaboard and the North Atlantic areas. In this scheme the topside was to be nonspecular Gray. The Sides were to be nonspecular White and the bottom glossy Insignia White. All other areas to be as described in Scheme I. In both Schemes there was to be no hard line or abrupt change in tone. This message authorized all Fleet Air Wings (new title for Patrol Wings) and Commanding Officers of escort carriers to paint aircraft under their command depending on their geographic location. However, this authority was granted for aircraft employed in antisubmarine operations only when attack by enemy aircraft was not probable.” P45: “SR-2e, dated June 26, 1944, with an effective date of October 7, 1944, spelled out for the first time the color schemes for use on all types of aircraft. […] Aircraft assigned to antisubmarine warfare were to be painted in the ASW Gray and White schemes. Scheme II was modified to be the same as Scheme I with the exception of the Light Gull Gray which was replaced by non specular White.” Elliot has ASW scheme photos of Avenger, Dauntless, Harpoon, Helldiver, Liberator, Mariner, and Wildcat (FM-1 & -2).

To me this looks like two different wing fragments. A light coloured one with insignia in front of a dark coloured one with damaged aileron. No need to explain partly painted wing undersides and back-to-front insignias. Btw, there's that pic, taken from the link above:

So Crosley says "I went in through the double doors into a dimly lit, steel-sided, empty- cathedral of a place. There, in a far corner, I could see two Brewster Buffaloes, painted in light grey paint. My heart missed a treat, particularly as I saw that they were fitted with arrester hooks." The Beglian Buffaloes didn't have arrester hooks. So what then did he actually see in that dimly lit far corner, which still was close and bright enough to see the hooks? One also wonders about his "terrible stories about the Buffalo - and that it had the unreliable Cyclone engine and very poor flying characteristics", when a navy pilot who'd actually flown it (805 Sq commander Black) said it was manoeuvrable, a delight to fly, and a great fighter but for the lack of replacement parts. Perhaps Crosley heard those stories much later, the experience of RAF's Pacific Buffalo pilots, six months after the RN quit theirs in the Med ... but then how did they cost him a night's sleep long before?

French page about Madon, his squadron and the planes: http://albindenis.free.fr/Site_escadrille/escadrille038.htm

Here another one of AX815, from Couston's book, makes an interesting diorama. I've always interpreted the colours as the US version of Belgian Dark Earth and Dark Green, plus the original alu-dope painted over with British Sky, and Belgian serials (rudder) painted over with British colours.