datguy

Thanks Anthony. A great help to me too

That's perfect, Dave. Exactly the information I was hoping to find. Thanks! - David

Photos of this aircraft from April 1945 show a strike camera/gun camera in a nonstandard fairing on the midline of the nose just above the machine guns. I have some questions about this fitting. Are there any drawings or detail photos available that show the size and shape of the fairing, and how it was fitted to the nose piece? Is it known whether this camera arrangement was first fitted as part of the trials with the tiered rocket launchers and drop tanks, or was it fitted to this aircraft for use in documenting the Strike Wings' attacks? Thanks for any information you can share. David

I agree that the Monogram 1/72 F8F belly store is close to the proper shape and dimensions for the 150 gallon tanks. A long time ago in a galaxy far away, I made resin copies to put on the Monogram F7F. David

Me too. My copy arrived in the States straight from Japan earlier this month. The plastic is lovely, but painting some of the more exotic local schemes, especially the yellow ones (or dare I say white and purple a la Newcastle) will be a challenge. The main body is cast in a rather lurid red, with gray and black sprues for chassis and mechanical bits. DG

I concur with Steve. Use a Klear/Future/Whatever-they-call-it-now gloss coat, put a drop on the model where the decal will go (diluted is fine) and apply the decal. The "setting" drop seems to dissolve the underlying gloss coat and pull the decal down into the finish as it dries. DG

This may help a little: B-45 centerline cutaway

"Patience you must have, my young padawan" - Yoda You need to give the internet a bit more than 6 hours on a Sunday to solve an existential crises over a color scheme from over 45 years ago. That being said, Google took me here in 5 seconds: Aztec Decals: Soccer War Corsairs

It sounds like you may have the Minicraft boxing of the Hasegawa EA-6B plastic. Sprue shoots are here: Hasegawa EA-6B review. You'll see some pods with a wide flare along the lower edge. Those are the "low band" pods of the ALQ-99 system. There are also pods with parallel sides and no flare at the bottom. Those should be the same outline and size as the ALQ-76 and therefore suitable for the ERA-3B.

The ERA-3B carried ALQ-76 pods. Pods on the EA-6B were part of the ALQ-99 system. Their internal fit,operation, and performance were very different. That being said, the external shape is generally similar. You can't do better for A-3 information than Tommy Thomason's Tailhook Topics blog: The Mighty Skywarrior

The wheels and tires of a PR Hellcat from 888 Sqn FAA in 1945 are illustrated in a photo from post #10 in this this thread: Forum topic: FAA Corsair IV pilot It shows the combination of diamond tread and flat spokes a depicted above. DG

Oh no! I feel the first of many lost evenings coming on. Thanks, Jessica! What is it about ramp photos? What are they so addictive? David

There are 1/72 side view drawings in Model Aircraft December 2013, Vol 12, Issue 12 that illustrate the tank and the EMI pod. Measurements from those drawings confirm 102mm for the EMI and 90mm for the centreline tank.

The EMI pod is VERY big. This photo should allow you to scale out the correct version. https://c1.staticflickr.com/7/6040/6344395476_a748eb73ab_b.jpg A prior BM thread, that I can't locate right now, also suggested the Matchbox pod to be the better size match.

I agree. A lovely product, and I plan to use it. However, since USAF and USN are both mentioned in the labeling it is probably most appropriate for the post-1970 period, when the USN and USAF painting instructions call for the same color, FS595 12197. Prior to 1970, the painting specifications called for different colors. The Mr.Paint product color would be appropriate for the Navy/Marines from the introduction of non-day-glo hi viz markings through the present. At least on the Navy birds I've seen, the modern formulations of 12197 seem remarkably resistant to fading.* DG *now awaiting the deluge of photos showing heavily faded Navy hi-viz schemes

Arctic panels on USAF were either insignia red or day-glo until the T.O.-114 was changed in 1970. See here for details: http://www.network54.com/Forum/149674/thread/1313000556 . I am also building an F-89 from the Insignia Red period. Most photographs from that time seem to show the red as brighter than FS 31136. Internet lore says some of that is likely due to the relative instability of the cyan (red-absorbing) layer of most color film of the 1950s and some is likely due to preferential fading of red pigments in the paint under high UV conditions (say, high altitude at subpolar latitudes), leaving components more reflective of yellow wavelengths behind. I follow the observation of my personal color guru, Nick Millman, about this. In another thread on reds, Nick said: "Colour photos are simply not paint colour. They are at best a facsimile of how paint might have looked under that illumination at that time but lots of dependent factors, if's, but's and maybe's." My plan is to try to represent faded 31136 using layers of white, yellow, and red from Vallejo. In the end, it will probably look a lot like MM Guard Red on upper surfaces and 31136 on surfaces less exposed to UV light. DG

Yes definitely. Dayglo's red pigments faded horribly, leaving the yellow components exposed in a very patchy way. This link from ARC shows the same effect on a B-52: http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index.php?showtopic=256584

I used Vallejo 70-733 Fluorescent Orange slightly faded with their flat yellow on my F4D. It went on over a white base coat. If a local shop doesn't have them, Vallejo colors are readily available on Amazon. The photograph doesn't capture the Day Glo phenomenon very well, but it looks good in person.

I can also confirm that SS-22 was issued; a set is securely tucked inside the box of my FGR.2

I can confirm that the Print Scale sheet for the C-54 (72-203) has the incorrect 45° lettering style, and it appears the "United States Navy" fuselage titles are larger than those depicted in the photo above. Caracal Decals 72-045 has the correct lettering size and style for the US Navy. See http://caracalmodels.com/cd72045.html. Hannants list some in stock as of today. DG *I have no commercial relationship with any of the companies mentioned.

The 1991-era new mold Revell D/J is a great kit. I was just fondling the plastic today. I have built it previously and loved it. I do not have experience with the Academy/Hobbycraft moldings but they are your only choice for the versions before the D. The new-tool Revell kit history is here https://www.scalemates.com/kits/122476-revell-4320-northrop-f-89d-j-scorpion. The older 1950s era version is about 1:77 and presented herehttps://www.scalemates.com/kits/134845-revell-h-221-89-northrop-f-89d-scorpion DG

Caracal Decal sheet 48046 calls out overall ADC Gray (FS595 16473) http://www.caracalmodels.com/cd48046.html

According to Isradecal's instructions for the OV-1D, the earlier Israeli scheme is overall FS 30488 Olive Drab, and the two tone camouflage scheme is Brown FS 20095 over Gray FS 36375. The OD and Gray are common US colors readily available in many model paint lines. For 20095, Vallejo suggests their color 70.316 (Dark Mud) and the model paint database( http://scalemodeldb.com/paint) suggests 70.824 (German.camo.orange ochre).

I apologize for the bad form in following up to my own post, but I wanted to make sure to have everthing in one place for future reference. I found a copy of Arnaud Prudhomme's French-language monograph on the Alize for an outstandingly good price (<10 USD with shipping). Though I don't read French, I have enough schoolboy Latin to make sense of most of the text and Google Translate helps with the finer points. The photos are well worth the language barrier at that price. His descriptions of the colors don't line up exactly with the ones posted above. There is certainly less detail in the Prudhomme book. He describes the early scheme as Grey-Blue over Cream (blanc-creme). The second scheme, from 1978 replaced the cream with pure white. The lo-viz scheme emerged from 1989 and has the upper color described as dark grey (not grey blue). Oddly the lower light gray is not mentioned at all. Photos in the book suggest the upper surface grey-blue in the first two schemes may be the same as that worn on the early (white underside) Etendard. Some photos suggest fading (or repainting?) to a greyer tone later on. Prudhomme states that the Indian Navy Alize's wore the same colors as the French aircraft in the earliest scheme. The mystery (and ongoing contradictions) continue.

No, I don't think that's true. We know the actual specification is for "Gris Bleu Fonce." Assuming the French maintained consistency in their color names and hues over time, there are numerous matches for Gris Bleu Fonce cited here on BM http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/80419-dewotine-d520/ These include Humbrol 79, and Xtracolour X125. I have used Testors ModelMaster 1720 Intermediate Blue 35164 to my satisfaction to represent postwar French Gray-Blue with some fading from exposure.