Tom Zeller

Yes, I know. Spellcheck got me again! Thanks for the catch. I appreciate your additional info. i

I searched for this info here and several other places but haven’t been able to find a comprehensive list of aircraft flown by him during his career during WWII and post-war. This is what I have so far. Please add to it if you can by providing as much info as you have about the aircraft and when he flew it. Here’s what I have now: Wartime Aircraft “K2” Messerschmitt Bf 109G-4 W.Nr. ? 7/JG52 May 1943 Source: Hasegawa kit # 09303 Special Version “Yellow 1” Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6 W.Nr. 20499 9/JG52 October 1943 Source: AeroMaster Decal Set 48-706 “Ace of Aces — Erich Hartmann” “Yellow 1” Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6 W.Nr. 166221 9/JG52 August 1944 Source: AeroMaster Decal Set 48-706 “Ace of Aces — Erich Hartmann” “White 1” Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6 W.Nr. ? 7/JG52 October 1944 Source: AeroMaster Decal Set 48-706 “Ace of Aces — Erich Hartmann” “White 1” Messerschmitt Bf 109G-14 W.Nr. ? 4/JG52 October 1944 Source: Hasegawa kit # 07447 Limited Edition “Gruppenkommandeur” MesserschmittBf 109G-6 W.Nr. ? JG53 February 1945 Source: AeroMaster Decal Set 48-706 “Ace of Aces — Erich Hartmann” “Gruppenkommandeur” Messerschmitt Bf 109G-10 W.Nr. 610937 JG52 April 1945 Source: AeroMaster Decal Set 48-706 “Ace of Aces — Erich Hartmann” From here we see some contention. For example, Hasegawa kit # 09148 presents the 109 AeroMaster says is a Gruppenkommandeur’s G-6 as a G-14. Also there is disagreement over whether he flew an Me Bf 109K-4 or not. Peddinghaus sells the decals for “Black 4” with a red tulip on the nose instead of the usual black tulip pattern. Post-War Aircraft We know Hartmann flew the F-84 in training but I don’t have any more info about the aircraft than that. ”JA-111” Canadair Sabre MK. 6 “Black Tulip” JG71 “Richthofen” 1961 - 1962? Source: Hasegawa kit # 09532 Special Version and finally the F-104 he despised so much it ended his career.

AeroMaster decals says it is W.Nr. 20499 This is from their “Ace of Aces — Erich Hartmann” decal set 48-706. Hope this helps.

I’m just flipping through posts looking for useful info and ideas after having managed to get ahold of Magna Models 1/48 Sea Devon. I have to say this build took my breath away! Just a beautiful build! Definitely set the bar quite high.

You’re not going to keep an official page going if the company is on hiatus. Monitoring and answering that page is part of being active not being on hiatus. Besides the public group is very strong with over 4,600 members and most questions that might come up can likely be answered there. I’m not saying they’re not gone for good but neither is there any certainty yet that they are. So far as I’m aware of the only comment from Kitty Hawk themselves is that they are closing production down due to Covid and shipping costs. They didn’t say the company itself was closed. They said they aren’t producing for now.

I’ve read that due to the limitations imposed by the pandemic that Kitty Hawk was suspending operations until they got enough more orders from venders. That doesn’t sound like a “goodbye” to me but rather a hiatus. Is there any confirmation that they’re gone for good? If not I think it best not to say they are, but rather acknowledge that the possibility exists with no certainty that it has happened. As for Kitty Hawk’s kits, their quality, and answers for them I’ve found them to be like most kit makers whose products I’ve bought to be a mixed bag. Neither universally good nor universally bad. I have some of their kits and have been largely happy with them - especially the recent Fury 2 and just out Fury 3 kits. They’re well worth getting IMHO.

The Hasegawa will suit my purposes for creating a PR MK. XI. Sure I could probably horseshoe the kit to fit but unless I have some compelling reason I'd just as soon do what the kit recommends. I did say that I'm buying Eduard's three MK. IX kits which will be sufficiant to show that progression of Spitfire development. The PR MK. XI is a part of a side project showing the development of photo recon Spits. I don't need an Eduard kit for that. The whole endeavour is far from cheap so I will find savings where I can. I got the Hasewaga quite inexpensively. It would be inadvisable to throw it away and buy an Eduard at this point. Thanks again for your suggestions.

Yep, I quite agree re: Eduard for MK. IX Spits. I do have all three of theirs in my plans. However, as I said in my post, the Quickboost PR MK. XI coversion kit requires the Hasewaga. Thanks very much for your reply and the link. I appreciate all your help. - Tom Thanks, 303! I think that's the very picture I saw in my research. Good to know I'm not completely bonkers. - Tom

Thanks for answering so quickly, Troy. I would try fitting them if they were both here but the Hasagawa is enroute still. Doing some ordering and I thought I'd get a jump on it. I have seen the XI wearing a slipper and it was in my history reading that I even came across this. It's an important mark to my project because, at least according to my reading, the PR XI was the most produced PR. The reading stated that the PR. XI was an adapted MK. IX and that is indeed what Quickboost calls for in their kit. I appreciate the link. I'll look through it. I guess I'll just order the slipper tank later if I need it. No biggie. Just thought someone might've already done the Quickboost conversion and would know. - Tom

One of the builds I have planned is a conversion of the 1/48 Hasegawa Spitfire MK IX to a PR. MK. XI using the Quickboost parts. In my reading I noted that the PR. MK. XI often used a 90 gal. slipper tank which Quickboost does sell for the Hasegawa MK IX. In getting other builds ready I noticed my Airfix Spitfire MK. I kit with all the wonderful extra parts in the newer red box has a 90 gal. slipper tank. Will this fit the Hasegawa or do I really need the Quickboost slipper tank because of fuselage width? TIA

I've been doing a lot of reading for my Spitfire project and along the way I read that the MK XII was the first Spit to be equipped with a Griffin but they used MK IX fuselages that were adapted to accomodate the Griffon. The Spitfire MK XIV and later Spitfires and Seafires has fuselages that were designed for the Griffon rather than being adapted Merlin fuselages. I would surmise that this was the reason for the magnetos' bump.

I don't know Mosquitoes that well but ScaleMates says this canopy mask from Montex will work on more than one Mosquito including the 1/48 Airfix PR. XVI. https://www.scalemates.com/kits/198940-montex-mm48230-dh-98-mosquito-b-mk-xvi-pr-xvi

Thanks, Graeme! I appreciate the info very much. I hadn't seen those. Yours and Troy's additional info are quite helpful. Tom

I'm sorry you've taken an adversarial stance. That wasn't my intention. You express concern with having threads "spread all over the place" while I'm concerned with having to sift through a bunch of posts to find what I'm looking for. I think it better to have threads about the topic title. Silly me.