Grizly

Further to my last, did Edwards ever fly the Hawker Hurricane, the P-40B/C or the P-40E prior to flying the P-40K???

I started this discussion back in 2016 and am surprised to see it is still alive. I have since completed my models of Edwards' 190 and Spit XVIe. The 190 is the Revell 1/32 F-8 kit less guns, bomb rack and underwing antenna and the Spit is a combination of Tamiya's 1/32 IXc and XVIe. The additional photos of his 190 posted by Dave Fleming are greatly appreciated. As a follow-on project, I'd like to build Hasegawa 1/32 models of his P-40K and Bf-109F-4Trop that he flew in North Africa. Regarding the latter, unlike colour interpretations found on line, I believe the 109 actually had a yellow band mid fuselage and a yellow underside. Unfortunately, both kits are somewhat hard to find these days.

All the photos I have found of FAA F4U-1Ds indicate the rocket rails were not installed/removed. With that in mind, how would one modify the Tamiya 1/32 scale kit? Would it simply be a matter of filling in the stub mounting holes or should the mounting plate also be removed?

I'm modifying the HKM 1/48 Lanc to reflect a Canadian late B.X with the Martin turret. Does anyone have an accurate drawing of the reinforcing strips applied to either side of the fuselage beside the Martin turret?

So a P-40K it will be. Now all I have to do is find an example of the out-of-production Hasegawa 1/32 P-40E/K kit. Wish me luck.

I have initiated a project to model four of the aircraft flown by Stocky Edwards. So far, I have built a model of his Spit XVIe and Fw-190F-8 (see below) and am looking towards his P-40 as the next project. The P-40 in question was 260 Squadron's HS*B FR350. My problem is that photos of 260 Squadron aircraft and at least one artist's impression of HS*B show it to be a short tailed P-40K whereas the book "British Military Aircraft Serials 1912 - 1969" show FR350 to be a long tailed P-40M. Would anybody care to point me in the right direction???

I just discovered a video of the interior of Lancaster NX611 "Just Jane" and the interior from the nose back to but not including the radio operator's station is predominately black. From the radio operator's station aft is grey/green. True, it is a Mk.VII, a late production aircraft, which may be in keeping with the above comments by Elger.

While most kit painting guides would have you paint the cockpit area of the Lancaster grey/green, the more I look at photos, I am slowly becoming convinced that it, like the nose and turrets, was black as far back as the radio officer's station with the balance of the interior being grey/green. By my reasoning, it doesn't follow that the cockpit of a night bomber, like other areas visible from the outside, would be grey/green and not black. Conversely, I can understand that post-war Lancs might be given green cockpits in their maritime or other roles. Anybody care to comment?

Brewerjerry, my mistake, I should have indicated my HKM Lanc is 1/48 scale.

I'm currently working towards converting the HKM Lancaster kit to a Mk.X. So far I've eliminated the side windows as can be seen below and am looking ahead at installing Hamilton Standard paddle blade propellors. Would anybody care to suggest an after market source for the required props?

In 1945, the then Wing Commander (flying) James Francis Edwards, later and better known as Stocky Edwards, had his own Spitfire Mk.XVIe and a Fw-190F-8. The Spit is a Tamiya 1/32 Mk.IXc razor back/Mk.XVIe bubble top hybrid with some Aries and Edward added and the 190 is the Revell 1/32 kit less all guns and bomb racks and again with some Eduard detail added. Precision Designs in Altona provided the "JFE"s for both aircraft and the Spit serial number decals. As an aside, Stocky lives on Vancouver Island and recently celebrated his 100 birthday.

I'm working on converting HK Models' 1/48 B-17F to a Coastal Command aircraft and would like to install a typical bomb load. While I would asume that Mk.53 depth bombs factored into a load, I would appreciate any input on what was included in a typical bomb load and how many of each.

A question regarding the B-17s used by RAF's Coastal Command - since their role exposed them to sea salt, were the areas of the interior such as the bomb bays and rear fuselage, which were normally unpainted when they left the factory, given a protective coating to minimize corrosion?

The Shuttleworth's Gladiator I has cockpit grey green upper surfaces and presumably doped aluminum finish in the lower half. Conversely, the ICM Sea Gladiator instructions would have you paint the entire interior grey green. My goal is to complete my model as one of the Malta defenders and wonder if anybody would care to offer some educated thought on the subject.

Specifically, my interest lies with the Malta defenders - Faith, Hope and Charity. I recently purchased the excellent 1/32 ICM kit and on researching the previously mentioned aircraft there appears to be differing opinions as to their paint scheme. Of the two prevailing schemes, one is simply Extra Dark Sea Grey, Dark Slate Grey over Sky Grey while the other is somewhat more complex with the upper surfaces in the Extra Dark Sea Grey and Dark Slate Grey, the lower wing in Dark Sea grey and Light Slate Grey, the fuselage sides in Sky Grey and the underside in white and night. Anybody have any thoughts that might point to one or the other (or another)? As an aside, I understand they didn't have the dingy housing or the arrestor hook installed.

I'd like to build my 1/32 Revell Arado AR-196 as a captured aircraft as flown by either the RAF or RN. Could someone provide photos/schematics/drawings that might assist?

Two of my favourite pictures were two I took while I was a student pilot in 1971 and practicing formation flying out of Canadian Forces Base Gimli (hence the 'G' on the tail). My instructor took control while I snapped the pictures.

I am in the process of building the Airfix 1/24 F6F-5 Hellcat as the FAA aircraft 119,JW772 as flown by William Atkinson. In one photo I have, it is clearly evident that the US style harness was replaced with the Sutton harness. While I would imagine the lap portion was a simple swap, does anyone know how the shoulder straps were installed?

If you look closely at the attached photo taken on her way to rendezvous with the Bismarck , you can see the roundel on the forward turret. Presumably, it was a recognition feature for aircraft just like the Germans were prone to painting swastikas on the decks fore and aft. The attached illustration from the Hood Association website also shows the roundel. The same website, to which I referred to continuously during my build, indicates that the blast bags were, at that time, grey.

The Trumpeter kit is good and the Pontos Detail Up set is fantastic. Combine both and you have a 1/200 model of HMS Hood that is BIG - over 50 inches long. I know, I still have to add the rigging but, being that is not my favourite aspect of the build, it will have to wait until I'm in the mood.

The Tamiya kit presented absolutely no problems and the Aviaeology decals went on without any silvering. Conversely, some silvering was encountered with the Tamiya stencils . As for the Brassin engine, the detail is exceptional but the build/instructions are somewhat demanding. Various specific gauges of wire are also required for the Brassin engine which, unfortunately, are not included.

It's the Tamiya 1/32 kit with the Eduard Brassin port engine, Xtracolor paints and Aviaeology decals. The aircraft represents one flown by Squadron Leader Vic Cherry, a Texan who flew with the RCAF's 418 Squadron.

As indicated, it's the Airfix 1/24 scale kit with the Yahu instrument panel, mostly Xtracolor paints and Aviaeology decals. The kit instruction offer three build options wrt the engine compartment. I adopted a fourth and enclosed only the radiator while exposing the rest of the engine compartment.

Part C-26 it will be. Thank you both for your response and info. Greatly appreciated.