Seahawk

So: is there anyone out there who HAS cobbled together 2 2c wings to make a 2e one? How did you get on? Any tips on what to do/not to do?

Much more crisply moulded -AND with movable flaps: what’s not to like? 😂 It’s such a pity that Airfix mucked up their new one: it has the best outline shape of any of the options IMHO. Pity it’s best viewed from 3m.

The Barracuda undercarriage set does look very nice and addresses one of the kit's most visible shortcomings. But not cheap.

1/72. The tragic part is that this IS one of their newest releases - well, 2017. Thank you for the good wishes.

Tell me about it! I think this kit must be a contender for the worst-fitting release by a mainstream kit manufacturer this century. Each gondola had taken about an hour of hacking and filing (even using a full-size file at one point). Even after my re-engineering (“trimming to fit” is way too genteel a term) the 2nd nacelle is currently clamped in place with two of the beefiest clamps I could find (never ever found a use for them before): we’ll see how it has turned out. And don’t get me going on the woefully soft detail on the smaller parts. The pilot figure is no more than a blob. To think I have another one in the stash. I may need therapy.

So Airfix got it right. Thank you.

I'm currently building the Airfix Me 262 kit as aircraft 500200 Black X of 2./KG51 at the end of the war. The kit instructions indicate that the code letter is forward of the cross on both sides of the fuselage. However, according to Hugh Morgan's Stormbird Rising (p.165), during preservation work the Australian War Museum established that its full code was 9K+XK. I would therefore expect the aircraft's individual code to be in the 3rd position, ie immediately to the right of the cross, on both sides of the aircraft, whether or not the rest of the code was painted up. I have found various photos of the aircraft during its time in Australia but none shows either side of the fuselage with sufficient clarity to identify where the code is placed. Does anyone please have any clear photos showing the fuselage code positions on this aircraft, either during its service with the Luftwaffe or as currently preserved in its original colours in Australia? It would be nice to know whether I am correct - or just overthinking things as usual!

Agreed. Been there, done that. I’ve an Esci hull for each of the 3 PSC turrets. The latter are a bit crude and caricaturised but serviceable.

I'm a fan of the aged but basically accurate ESCI/Italeri Valentines. The Fujimi 1/76 Valentine, should you ever find one, has a laughably undersized turret.

I was mainly thinking of new readers reading the thread title and jumping straight to the last post. BS 298 is available in the Xtracolor range as X28 RN Helicopter Olive Drab, if that’s any help.

Apologies if I’m teaching Grandma to suck eggs but (looping back to the title of the thread) if it says SCC 15 on the tin it won’t be a match for US Olive Drab. SCC 15 was a British paint. Although intended to correspond to US Olive Drab, it is a distinctly green shade whereas US Olive Drab is a definite brown.

Many thanks for the namecheck. Apologies: only just seen this. Have nothing to add (and in any case would have speedily deferred to @iang as soon as he chimed in). Best wishes with the model: I look forward to seeing it. @iang Is your book on BPF colours and markings still progressing?

Not that redundant. Centaur IV CS were built as such, with the 95mm howitzer: it wasn't some last-minute lash-up culled from the Army's junkyards. The Cromwell VI and the Churchill V, both with the same gun, were in Army service. And new Churchill VIIIs, again with the 95mm howitzer, were rolling off the production line.

Top of my list too for airframe details. However I haven/t seen the Wingleader book yet which may trump it. The WL won't have the scale drawings of the 4+ book.

Do you have Shipcraft 1 German Pocket Battleships by Roger Chesneau? It includes 2 sets of 1/700 drawings showing Scheer appearance changes 1939-40 and 1940-43. The good news is that Scheer is closer to Graf Spee than Luetzow/Deutschland was.