RelativeBrit

Wheels up painting?. That presumes that there was enough support equipment in the filed. Cannot paint an aircraft while it is on its belly!

I would say the Skua wells were the underside color. Remember many were filed repainted and as the wing were probably folded back for ease of painting, the wells were fully exposed. Also, it would add an extra degree of protection. The picture I have of the Roc prototype shows aluminum wells. I would say green was the least likely possibility. NOTE: This picture would seem to show that at one point this aircraft had a black under-wing on the port side.

Everyone out there knows about the Storch, it should sell like crazy. After all doesn't the Storch deliver new babies to all those expectant parents. I wonder if Tamiya will put a 1/48 scale baby in a diaper in the box. It's only dramatic claim to fame was that helped rescue Mussolini. What a waste of time and effort that was. Can 1/48 diorama builders really keep this model afloat? Tamiya is the same company that brought you the D. 520, and it were not for Randy Lutz, sales would have been only one quarter of what they were. Bottom line, can you take a finished Storch, hold it in your hands and say: "takatakatakatakataka....Vaaarooooom!"

You Brits may have your critical view of the US, and who gives a crap about it, but no VAT, no duty on plastic kits and our big retailers don't overcharge us. The United States of America, home of the free, the brave and the reasonably priced model kit, which may or may not be subject to local tax. Gary, since when did the number of parts have anything to do with a retail price?

The Vampire is a bit of a mess, bloody mess. John de Aeroclub's replacement fuselage et al doesn't help much, as fit is still a problem. I understand the Venom is an improvement. Brett Green did a three part video on building the Venom. Search it out. As for the bashing, the same silly twits who bash CA laud the efforts of Special Hobby. They conveniently forget that the kits all come from the same source, MPM or Sword, with Sword producing a bit better kit. The Fulmar was a lump; an overpriced lump at that. As for the Skua, less said the better.

Clearly Brits love to bash CA, but no one else has come close with regard to subject matter. Not like CA is doing a Mark IX Spitfire, which has been butt-loved by everyone including Airfix.

If Special Hobby (MPM) does release an early Firefly in 1/48, I would bet it will be the one MPM did for Grand Phoenix. I've been hunting for the GP kit for a while. It would be nice to have it available again. Here is another writeup on the Grand Phoenix kit. http://www.rollmodels.net/nreviews/airplan...fly/firefly.php

Given the Trumpeter 1/48 Wyvern and Seahawk and the quality of the 1/72 Gannet, the odds are that a 1/48 Gannet will also be a winner. But there are consequences that flow from your decision and similar decisions by many others. The little guys who pioneered the off beat stuff get it not so gently from the Chinese. Be careful what one wishes for. Similar decisions were made when buying kits in general, and now no one should wonder what happened to the local hobby shop. :(

"Right thats it , Trumpeter are off my future lists due to prices and now CA are too. I better make the most of this kit and really go to town detailing it." But this post did suggest that CA is the one over-pricing the kit.

If you are being screwed, it is by your own mates. Not CA. CA sets it's world wide price in USD$ and transacts business only in USD$. That's the way I deal with them. So, not including VAT, the retail in the UK should be about £32.50. The wholesale price to the shop keeper should be anywhere from 40% to 50%+5% of the MSRP, depending on volume of purchase. Why not punish the greedy shop keeper rather than the kit maker.

From MM: plastickit Posted: Aug 16 2007, 07:48 AM Report Post Nugget Group: Members Posts: 39 Member No.: 2,413 Joined: 6-March 05 First it was 835 Squadron aboard HMS Nairana. The Sea Hurricanes were in the normal Temperate Sea Scheme and over painted in white. The area in front of the windscreen was not painted white, so the EDSG and DSG showed through. The markings were not over-sprayed The underside was left in Sky with the white brought over the leading edge.

Pray tell, what is the "correct" scheme? Please don't withhold such invaluable information, which will, I am sure, reveal the true path to enlightenment.

Be very careful about anything listed as Insignia Yellow. 13538 is the FS approximation. Insignia Yellow is usually much brighter than USN Yellow for the wings. Some modellers used Gunze Orange-Yellow. Chrome Yellow is close, but not quite orange enough.

IIRC, the Skua was not factory painted, therefore I am not sure if the A/B scheme was followed based on serial numbers. Further information would be appreciated. And be aware that the wing fits poorly. Large gap between the outboard and inboard tops and less so on the bottom.

Yes, it was nice a build, and I can live with most of the errors, except perhaps one. The spinner and nose look all bollixed. Shape of nose and that blob of a spinner. What were they thinking? Almost as bad as the nose on the CA Hurricane. AAArrrrrggggghhhhh! Another kit that will cost nearly twice its price because of the need for at least a new prop.

Cowling and name are in yellow it would appear. But should be a light blue.

Why doesn't anyone want to bell the cat? The £ is now buying the $ at $2.05. I bet Squadron prices the kit in $$, meaning fewer £ buys more kits. Those kits do not necessarily go to Texas and then back. Most likely they arrive directly from Czech. Even without VAT, kits from US based companies kits are way overpriced in the UK.

Given those very large gaps in the wing and the way the kit is designed, I wonder if MPM/SH intended it to have a folded wing version. Beautiful kit with odd and very large gaps in the wing. Brett did a very fine job.

Did I tell anyone not to buy or build it? Thought not. Is this a modeling discussion forum, or the British version of ARC? I've bought and built. Now you do the same. It falls far short of the MPM/SH Skua. It cost more to buy than other comparable kits because of the absurd packaging. The interior simply sucks and not worthy of what can be done in modeling today. It is about 10 year behind what the Czeh companies are producing now.

And you must remember that when Interior Green was made up it varied from company to company and batch to batch. Basically, they used carbon black, Indian Red (Corsair Salmon color) and black enamel mixed with ZC. It was done at the production facility. Curtiss just tried to make it easier for themselves. A contracted for color that allegedly matched what the USAAF wanted. Finally, the ANA 611 Cockpit Green was reported as yellower than the mixed Interior Green. All P-40Es would have had the cockpit painted the same. C-46 would be a bit late for Bronze Green. That was left behind when America went to war.

The box art seems to be the only "accurate" (AFAIK) representation. Sky Grey underside is correct.

Based on a number of discussions at HyperScale, it appears that the markings are totally screwed up. Including the reversal of the Black / White under-wing markings. Go to HyperScale.com and just put Skua in search box.

Yes, you are quite correct about the photographs in that book. The only problem is that the earliest photograph showing the red patches dates back only to April, 1941. Later than the date the 602 Squadron aircraft were photographed.

If I am not mistaken, were not the gun patches, such as on those beautiful 602 sq. aircraft, in a camouflage color, i.e. Dark Earth, rather than red?

Rocket up the bottom, hell. More like a fart in the pants. See my comments to the other Fulmar post. Show me the resin! Show me the etched metal. Not there; and at a very dear price, I might add. From the same company that did the SM 79 for CA. MPM needs cash in a hurry and that was the intent of this kit, if I dare say. :shithappens: