rossm

I think the impression of white is just a combination of lighting and exposure. I put the lower pic into Photoshop and the white of the star and bar measured as a brighter tone than the adjacent underside so if that was white the star would be whiter than white. The upper shot looks as if there is strong sidelighting with glare so I think it's just local overexposure - unless you think the side of the fuselage behind the intake section is also white. I've often thought the 36622 model paints look dark compared to photos, must dig out my F-4E and compare to the FS595 colour chip.

I'm just in the process of scanning some of my old SAMs and have seen some Ian Huntley articles referring to high gloss white overall with different numbers of coats to give differing thickness of coating to different areas.

Apologies if well known as not quite the exact aircraft but there is a picture of JZ594 W.1A "about to attack a Japanese oil refinery on 20 Dec 1944" on p346 of Scale Aircraft Modelling May 1984. It's credited to the FAA Museum so may well have appeared elsewhere. The interesting thing for me was the use of small (SEAC ?) roundels.

Was that all lettering or just their title and the aircraft name?

The Putnam volume on HP states Hannibal had its first public appearance after delivery to Imperial Airways "wearing its name and the owners title painted on the polished aluminium fuselage in dark blue lettering; the registration marks on the rear fuselage and the wings were in black on aluminium-doped fabric."

I use the "old faithful" MicroSol and MicroSet. These often cause decals to wrinkle but most then suck down into panel lines and even show the camouflage paint demarcation after drying. If I feel nervous I will us a lint free cloth to gently burnish them when they are not quite dry. This is most noticeable with my old Modeldecals but Xtradecal and Superscale also seem to work this way.

For us GB virgins please could someone, maybe @JOCKNEY or @Rabbit Leader, enlighten us on what we do and post when? Maybe "Group Builds in Easy Steps"? I know there is a thread supposedly drawing all the other threads on GBs together but it's about as clear as a Contrail kit canopy to me. I'm ready to start whenever the gun is fired but I doubt I'll be first to the tape

Best I can offer : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvmVTzN8exQ https://uk.flightaware.com/live/flight/NASA926 926 and 927 have flown recently, 928 not for over a year

Like @Dave Fleming I found it via Google but if you PM me your email address I can send you a pdf.

The source image for the "orange patches" scheme may be the 3rd one on this page - open to interpretation but it does show an aircraft 'A' of 208 squadron in a scheme with some sort of high level demarcation. https://www.key.aero/article/low-leve-recce Now does a better quality print exist? Not in any of my Meteor books and British Combat Aircraft In Action since 1945 shows a Meteor FR.9 in silver in the section on Suez but I wonder if that is a generic photo. As for WX962 I don't have that exact aircraft but Air Enthusiast No.59 has clear B+W photos of some 208 Sqdn FR.9s on a visit to South Africa in June 1954 where you can see an aircraft with dark nose and rear canopy section and one with light nose and rear canopy section. The underwing tanks also carry trim in matching tones. It's not much of a stretch to take the light tone as yellow and it is distinctly different from the silver fuselage in both places. Edit: Doh! - scrolling down that low level recce link there's a colour pic of a 208 Meteor with yellow nose and rear canopy!

Apologies if generally known but it was a new find for me with lots of individual aircraft histories https://www.ab-ix.co.uk/pdfs/ including BEA and BOAC fleet lists and, as an example, Comper Swift histories https://www.ab-ix.co.uk/pdfs/comperswift.pdf but there are many more.

There will be some thickness to the structure, with sharp leading and trailing edges which will give a shape - whether airfoil or slab sided I don't know, sorry. Your photos suggest the latter to me.

This page may help, I've got most of the Twotter bits and they look good in the box, waiting impatiently to start mine on 8th. https://aerocraftmodels.bigcartel.com/category/1-72nd?page=2

It "could" be one of the original 5 Harts supplied to Rhodesia if they all got renumbered as per the example in the Mushroom book - SR-2 to 102 - and survived that long. It's an alternative explanation but I've no idea if it's a better one. The Mushroom book also quotes SAAF Hinds numbered 101-199.

There are current IM kits in 1/144 and 1/72 for Viking and Viscount so you can hone your modelling skills on conversions The Tudor is more difficult with the only old Contrail vacform appearing occasionally on fleabay. I'd prefer an IM kit of the Tudor to come out before the jet prototypes.

I share the doubts about that photo, it doesn't look like Ikeja........ ROYAL AIR FORCE: WEST AFRICA COMMAND, 1941-1945.. © IWM (CM 3015) IWM Non Commercial License

Having consulted The Mushroom book on the Hart family I think the code and serial indicate a machine originally delivered to the South African Air Force and used for training. To quote from the section on South Africa, "The Harts started to arrive from April 1940 onwards. They were allocated the serials 301-500 and 2041-2069. Again they mostly served with 2FTS until late 1944" There is a photo of an SAAF Audax in a similar scheme, code 55, "possibly with 2FTS at Kimberly". There were 5 Harts delivered to the Rhodesian AF at Cranborne in 1937 but the book is vague as to their fate and the serials given e.g SR-2 later 102, don't seem to tie up with your photo. That's my "best guess".

The profile I've seen shows full Day Fighter Scheme with Dark Green / Ocean Grey topsides. According to the Ducimus Camouflage & Markings booklet UK based Tomahawks were included in the Day Fighter Scheme markings with Sky spinner and fuselage band and Yellow leading edges. Next questions - did that scheme apply in Nigeria? Where did 349 get their Tomahawks from - surplus from the UK or from supplies intended for the Western Desert? The former could be in DFS, the latter in desert scheme? Sorry, not much of an answer.

As I'm whiffing one of my T55's I have a spare set - PM me your address and I'll get them off "dreckly"

Thanks, Pat. I've just done the archaeology necessary to find the kit and the only work done is the cockpit put together as in the old photo and the wing halves have been joined so plenty still to do.

TE452 7B.A of A Flight, 5 Sqdn - photo in RAF Chivenor in the Britain in Old Photos series. It isn't the sharpest photo but I'd say it has exhaust glare shields, something I've not seen on a Spitfire before.

If you want another Orange Aircraft series I hope my long stalled build of the Lightning T55 as a WHIF will fit under the 25% rule, I'll have to check but I don't think I've done any more to it- It's a bit optimistic to think I can do this and the Twotter but I'll give it a go.

I have X31 BS538 Post Office Red which I think is correct for the red and there is X030 RAF Post War Roundel Blue BS110 enamel IIRC there was no such thing as 1930's 'Bright' shades - they were the same as the postwar shades. I think there's been at least one thread about this.

Some things which may help........ https://aerocraftmodels.bigcartel.com/category/1-72nd?page=2 My u/c and cockpit are on the way and I've already got the engine/prop set and the tail surfaces.

I'm going for PK-127, the Twotter. I think it's an original Matchbox kit as it comes in grey, black and white plastic but it didn't have a box. I'll be adding some AM parts and decals.