fightersweep

Oh yes! Looks superb! I'll be buying several of these beauties. Wish I could scale it up to 1/32 scale! Regards; Steve

Hi All; Just bumping this thread up. I'm still waiting for a replacement test pot from Humbrol (hope they haven't forgotten!), so nothing to report on here yet. Wondering if anyone else has had a chance to try the Luftwaffe enamels and what observations there might be? Regards; Steve

I'll second Goodbye Mickey Mouse, as well as a good film about Hans Marseille. I know this was done back in the 1950's, but I've not seen it yet. (Must be on Youtube...time to go and have a look.) Aside from that, I think a film based on Al Deere's Nine Lives would make a great watch! Regards; Steve

Hi all; Found the following text online which seems to reference astrodomes fitted to later B-26's; Arriving at Selfridge (or Omaha, for those few who picked up their airplanes there) the 386th found that all had the longer wingspan - 71 feet - and many other refinements which were designed to make the Marauder an outstanding fighting machine. The vertical fin had been lengthened, increasing control in single engine emergencies. Four .50 caliber "package" guns were mounted, two on each side of the fuselage, firing forward. some had Bell hydraulic power tail turret in place of the twin flexible mount .50's. All the bomb stations in the rear bomb bays had been removed and the doors sealed. The Bombardier's position in the plexiglas nose held all the controls for the bomb doors and the bomb racks, provisions for a bomb sight and a flexible .50 caliber machine gun. A few models also had a fixed .50 caliber firing forward. This fixed gun was generally removed after the 386th reached England. A navigator's and radio operator's compartment, located just aft of the cockpit, provided space and facilities for the navigators and carried the long range liaison radio. A hatch which was equipped with an astro-dome, allowed sextant shooting for celestial navigation. It also provided a spot for a crewmember to ride during taxi in congested areas. He was thus able to clear the wingtips and the tail section and prevent collisions with other aircraft or fixed objects. I thought this was interesting as it related to 386th BG training with the long span B-26B's, yet also mentions the astrodome. There's also mention in the Osprey Publishing B-26 book (page 35) of an incident where the group CO of the 320th BG received head injuries whilst observing a raid from the astrodome of a B-26B-45 (42-95759 "Tiger Lily"). I know that the vast majority of B-26B photos show the astrodome stowed/deleted, but there is evidence that they were still being used. The B-26 astrodome we had in our museum was recovered along with the fuselage of B-26C-25 41-35253 that was recovered from a scrapyard in Warrington. So were the astrodomes completely deleted? Having said that, If I were building another B-26, I would have the hatch installed as opposed to an astrodome. It does seem to be the most common configuration. Regards; Steve

I used to be with the Rebel Air Museum at Earls Colne, and the collection very dedicated to the B-26 Marauder. We had one of these astrodomes in the collection. It had two release handles each side of the dome. I'll need to fish out my references, but if I remember correctly, all B-26's had these as standard. What I can't remember off hand is if the dome folded inwards inside the fuselage, to be replaced with the hatch cover. I think that it was stowed in the radio operator/navigators compartment. I've got the manuals in the man cave...I'll look as soon as I get the chance. Regards; Steve

Don't know why I've only just stumbled across this thread, but better late than never I suppose. Good on WH Smiths for bringing the hobby back to the high street. Sure, it may not cater for all of our needs, but it's something at least. It will be interesting to see how they expand the range, if at all. What interested me was the comments about grumpy LHS owners. I've never really got that to be honest, unless business was so dire that they had lost the will to live! Recently, I travelled a 40 mile round trip to pick up the new Humbrol Luftwaffe colours. It was the first time I had been to a LHS for quite some time. I came out of the shop wondering if the guy had actually wanted my business...I'm not even sure there was any sort of conversation! I wouldn't be like that I tell ya! When I was the buyer at Midland Counties at Hinckley way back when, I was tasked with getting them set up for the first time with model kits. ( I had nagged them to do this for years! ) I was tasked with ordering all the stock from scratch, getting things set up and also helping out with the marketing and promotions for the kits too. I've never been happier! Being an OCD plastic fondler myself, I also got to deal with most customer kit related enquiries over the phone and in the showroom. It was a pleasure to do and quite frankly, I felt lucky being paid to do it. The customers appreciated being able to deal with someone who knew the hobby and it was the happiest I've ever been in a job! Within six months, the kits were about a quarter of our business. That's why I don't get some LHS people being so grumpy! I know Midland vanished ( No fault of our own, we were doing ok! )...but I would give my right arm to get back into the trade. Maybe the new WH Smiths Modelzone might have a few jobs! Regards; Steve

It is good! Their customer service has always been the tops. Wish some other manufacturers would take a leaf out of Airfix/Hornby's book! Regards; Steve

Right ho! I got a very helpful reply from Humbrol. Aside from passing my email onto QC, they have asked me to supply the batch number from one tin. Then they will send me one replacement. If the replacement is ok, they will replace my entire batch. If these replacments do not solve the problem, then I guess things will be taken further. However, if it has been already passed to QC, then I imagine that they will be looking into it anyway once I supply the batch number. I'll keep you all posted. Regards; Steve

I've just been discussing this release over on the LSP forums. Really pleased to see this conversion set released, and well pleased to see the inclusion of BoB film markings. What REALLY pleased me, was that it includes decals for 6J+PR, the CASA 2.111 that used to live in the Southend Historic Aircraft Museum. As a Southend lad, I have fond memories of drooloing over this aircraft back in the late 70's. Thanks for bringing this to us Heritage! PS.. I see it includes new glazing. Is the CASA 2.111 different from the He-111 in this respect, or do these new canopies correct some shape issues too? Regards; Steve

I have an Airfix Spitfire Vb Trop kit. Not sure which boxing I have, but it does have an internally armoured windscreen. It's not 100% accurate as the screen seems to have gained a couple of extra canopy frames that the real aircraft didn't have! No great problem as a rub down and polish will do the trick. I'll check which boxing I have. Edit: It's the boxing with the Ian "Widge" Gleed markings... Regards; Steve

Allan.. I'll let you have the Do-217...but not before I get my Do-17z! My Ju-88A-1 and Heinkel He-111 are looking a little lonely Can't wait to see that Spitfire Mk II though... Regards; Steve

Hi Eric; A Spitfire Pr XIX in 1/32 scale eh? You'll need one of these... http://www.greymatterfigures.com/index.php?p=2&id=64 Hope this this helps! Regards; Steve

Hi Allan; Nice examples of what can be done with a brush there...and that Victor is a big canvas to brush! Thanks for posting the photos! John; That's good coverage from that tin of 23! I have a few tins of the new UK made paints, and I have found them to be very mixed. Some are just great straight from the tin, others, like the coal black that I picked up, are very thick and oily and brush terribly! I agree there is something amiss with the Luftwaffe colours. I will be straight here as soon as I get a reply from Humbrol. Regards; Steve

Well, I'm another keeping my fingers firmly crossed for a 1/32 Dornier 17z to complete the trio of Luftwaffe BoB bombers. Always largely ignored by manufacturers in favour of the He-111 and Ju-88, I'm hoping that the Goodwin Sands recovery will spark some interest with Revell as it has with Airfix. I would buy a couple in a flash as the venerable old Do-17 somehow personifies the Luftwaffe's role in the summer of 1940 for me. Come on Revell..the Classic Airframes kit sold like hot cakes...can we have one in 1/32 please? Regards; Steve

No Worries Tom..Glad to help out. I'll post a picture of how I install the wing spar when I get the chance, and also a pic of the spar itself. I have a few built up as I make up several at a time, so you're welcome to one if you want. Do go for all of the available Grey Matter stuff...you won't be disappointed! Regards; Steve

Ok Chaps; Please excuse the total rubbish quality of my photo's, but hopefully they will illustrate the point. All samples except the Gloy RLM 76 were unthinned and brushed onto plastic card in one coat. The RLM 02 doesn't come out too well and is very translucent. Of note is the quality of the old Humbrol Authentic RLM 70 compared to it's newer equivalent...No contest methinks! The Gloy RLM 76 was pre-thinned some while ago, but it is still one coat. Anyway, let's see if this helps.. Regards; Steve (Who clearly has nothing better to do on Christmas day!)

Seahawk; I absolutely agree. I'm just about to post up a couple of comparisons, but I'm just waiting for my camera to charge up. One of the colours I've compared is the old HG 1 Schwartzgrun and the new Humbrol equivalent. The contrast is quite amazing. The old HG 1 covered a piece of white plastic card in one coat and dried to a perfect and even finish. The new version came nowhere close! Give me ten minutes and I'll post up the results.. Regards; Steve

John; Lovely Ju-290 you have there! Sure took a fair few coats of paint though! I've managed to do some paint tests with the batch of Humbrol Luftwaffe paints I have, and compared them to some of the older paints I have. Results are quite stark! I need to photograph them, and I will post them up tomorrow. Jason; As promised, here's a couple more vintage kits I painted up with a hairy stick and some vinatge paints...the old Revell Fokker D.VII and F4U-1 in 1/72 scale. Merry Christmas! Regards; Steve

Go for it! I attacked my Airfix 1/24 Spitfire Mk I and had a whale of a time scratchbuilding for it. The kit positively screams out for it and in such a large scale, it's not too much of a chore. Most of what I did on the kit was a first for me, and I enjoyed every minute of it, and had the satisfaction of having done the work myself. As Tom says, there is loads of reference out there. The Grey Matter parts are great and fit either the Trumpeter or Airfix kit. Knowing Vasko Barbic who mastered these parts, they were originally produced for the Airfix kit as the Trumpy kit wasn't available when he produced them. The seat is a must as the kit seat is way overscale. Also grab the radio mast, U/C selector unit. Waldron did a nice placard set with etch throttle quadrant included and Aircsale do a replacement instrument panel decal. Contact Resine used to do replacement resin wheels. Go to town in the cockpit, and the wheel wells need scratched, but this is not too difficult to do. A wing spar is a must for this kit as the wings will droop. I've built a few of these kits and have seven more in the stash. I build up a spar out of box section plastic card that does the trick perfectly...easy to fit to. I've often thought about casting them and making them available. I happily make one up for you if you like. Regards; Steve

Hi John; Many thanks for that appraisal. Very interesting and the coverage doesn't seem to be too bad to my eye. As soon as I get the chance, I will do the same thing with the paints I have and post here for comparison. I couldn't get coverage like that after 5 to 6 coats. I must have a duff batch. Regards; Steve

Jason; Sure! I'll snap some photos as soon as I get the chance...it's a bit hectic at the moment with four kids, Christmas and all, but I will do it and post on this thread. In the meantime, here is a "What If" I posted here about a year back.. http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234921255-172-what-if-westland-sea-whirlwind-nf6/ The only method I use when I brush paint is first of all find a good paint...apply in two or three thinned coats and use a good quality flat brush for larger areas. I've been using the Italeri range of brushes and find them very good and reasonably priced. Regards; Steve

Hi Lasermonkey; That's interesting! The other problem I had lately was also with a new tin of Humbrol 56...same issues as you. I also had a Humbrol Coal Black which was very thick, but after thinning was still very translucent. We seem to be building a fan club for old paints here! Agree with the Gloy RLM 74/75/76 colours. Just painted a 1/72 Airfix Fw-190D-9 in these colours and it looks great! I've decided that rather than buy new paints now, I buy up as many old paints as I can find and use them instead. The only one I'm having problems finding is an old tin of Humbrol RLM 76. Just used mine up and I can't find another at the moment. There must be an old warehouse full of them somewhere! Regards; Steve

I'd better make sure I have a tin of white handy as for some reason I have about 20 unused tins of Gloy RAF Dark Earth in the stash! Picked them up still in the trade boxes! I agree with Greycap. From the point of view of brush painting, the older paints are superb. Just for fun, I recently built the old Revell 1/32 Bf-109G. I brush painted it entirely with Gloy and Humbrol Authentics. I would have been hard pushed to get a better finish with my airbrush. My old Humbrol RLM 76 gave a superb finish in two thinned coats, but one would have done the job ok. Most of my Humbrol Authentics from the 70's and 80's are marked as non toxic, so are they really harmful in any way compared to today's paints? Is there a market for a return to this formula of paint? Regards; Steve

Hi Allan; I've had no issues with other Humbrol paints that I have bought recently, just the batch of the new Luftwaffe colours that I picked up a couple of days ago. Here's hoping that it's just a problem with a particular batch. I'll await a reply from Humbrol. Regards; Steve

Hi Greycap; Kindred spirits it seems! Keep a regular watch on Ebay and around the model shows. Airfix paints can be sought after as collectors go for them too, but they can be found. Gloy paints and Humbrol Authentics do turn up and I also managed to bag several of the boxed authentic colour sets such as the RAF overseas set and FAA set for example. All of these paints have been un-opened and unused and after a good stir are just superb. As I said, I've been very impressed with Gloy..better than I remembered them to be. Nothing quite like building my retro kits and painting them with retro paints! Regards; Steve