ACDC

ASW Wessex and Wasp blades were black/MSG but Lynx have always been painted green. This is the Mk2 in the FAA museum. Be careful, there are photos on the web of an Oxford Blue lynx with BERP blades. That was a Mk3 specially painted for 702 sqn. Mk2s never had BERP blades. Brian. Deleted - Airliners.net. Read the pinned post in chat.

Jerry, don't know if you have seen this already but it has some interesting stuff: https://www.atlantikwall.co.uk/atlantikwall/edev_harrowbeer.php Brian

Jerry, I took the dog for a walk there on Sunday and stood in the same spot where the camera would have been. The woods are also still there (Knighton Wood) and the fighter dispersals and some of the buildings. Looking more closely, it could be a trick of the camera and the old film, but the colour of the underside of the engine cowling looks considerably darker than the spinner, ignoring the black band. Could they actually be in Day Fighter scheme and not TSS?

Just come across this on Youtube. Interesting images of 276 Sqn ASR Spitfires at RAF Warmwell. One of the hangars and the blast wall in the back ground are still there. Brian

Thanks for the replies. I perhaps need to clarify. This is the Defiant dinghy pack illustrated in all the references, but is a 'Trial' fit. I have not found any evidence that it was actually adopted in service. Agreed this would be under the port wing and the light series carrier under the stbd wing. The Lindholme dinghy below was normally used by Hudson or Warwick aircraft. The reference of this fitted to a Defiant is intriguing to say the least. ASR Defiants were modified for the role, but what that involved I don't know. But to even fit just the dinghy pack from this set up would mean using a universal carrier somehow.

I am looking for help from any B.P. Defiant experts out there. I am planning to build an ASR Defiant T4051 AQ-N which was based at RAF Warmwell and crashed near West Stafford, (which is only a couple of miles from where I live) 22 Jan 1943. I have trawled a lot of good information from previous threads and other sources and have even scratch built a dinghy pack. However, I have just got a copy of 'In the Nick of Time - Wartime experiences of an RAF Air Sea Rescue pilot with 276 Sqn' by Nick Berryman from ebay. In there he describes joining 276 "A" Flight at Warmwell and describes ".........the ground crew attached two smoke floats and a bomber type 'Lindholme' dinghy to the underside of the wing." This throws up the conundrum that the Lindholme dinghy consists of 5 packs (dinghy and survival aids), which the I doubt the Defiant would be able to carry. But could possibly carry the dinghy pack only. I assume this would have to be fitted to a Universal Carrier. The question is, could it be possible to fit a Universal Carrier to the existing lugs for the Light Series bomb rack?

The above photo is when the squadron was embarked on HMS Queen (hence the'Q' codes) in 1945 when their role changed to Anti Submarine patrols. The aircraft were repainted with white undersides as a result at Hatston. Before this they had he standard TSS camouflage and possibly the '6' code (if anyone has the Ray Sturtivant book they may be able to confirm). There are some photos around if you do some digging. https://www.royalnavyresearcharchive.org.uk/Article_853_brief_history.htm

Absolutely stunning build Andrew. It is extremely likely the kill marks were retained. I was on 899NAS in 2000 and I remember there being one of the aircraft then that still had a kill marking, even after FA2 conversion.

Have a look at the Wingleader series of books Battle of Britain archive. Volume 5 covers the date you want. https://wingleader.co.uk/books/battle-of-britain-combat-archive-volume-5/ They are excellent books and cover every combat action with some very good illustrations and photographs.

Allan, have a look on here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XLgwxBmu48kzU31bVP4xhbTlP7CvwLx4jWajeOEqDQQ/edit?usp=sharing . There is a wealth of information and photos of 609 mainly in the Battle of Britain. Good luck Brian

I agree with Giorgio, the Esci/Italeri kit is far superior. I started the Airfix FA2 kit a few years ago but got frustrated with the amount of inaccuracies, both in detail and dimensions, that I gave up and converted an Esci kit I got from ebay. It is a lot of work but makes a far better representation. Get yourself some good scale drawings to work from. I used the Pavla FA2 nose (but needs extending 3mm), Pavla cockpit and seat, new resin 190 gal drop tanks - I think from Freightdog, as Airfix ones are the wrong shape and the Esci kit has the 100 gal. The fuselage 'plug' I made from Plasticard and filler. The various antenna and pitot were donated from the Airfix kit. The Airfix decals were also used as they are pretty good quality.

Re. KingTiger435. The restraint cables on the ramp are only needed if the ramp is open in flight so the crew can stand there safely, or have a GPMG fitted. If the ramp is in contact with the ground for loading purposes, then the cables are not fitted.

Thanks for the replies. I have found the Squadron B-29 Vacuform on ebay, but only available from the USA but costs an arm and a leg including postage! I will take Grey Beema's advice and try the plunge moulding again.

Appreciate this might be a long shot, but does anyone have spare 1/48 Grumman Avenger bubble windows or know where I can get some? My wife bought me the Hobby Boss Fleet Air Arm Avenger (which actually isn't) which I want to model as 853 NAS on HMS Queen 1945 which my Dad served on, but the kit only has the standard TBF/M-1C flat window. I have tried my hand at plunge molding but unsuccessfully so far. Many thanks. Brian

Xtracolor X013 from Hannants is an accurate match. https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/X013?result-token=4bCvl

Pappy. A good photo on this post. https://twitter.com/navylookout/status/816567496945831936 there are 10 sonobuoys on each dispenser https://www.navylookout.com/royal-navy-begins-initiative-to-maintain-its-anti-submarine-edge/

Troffa is correct that the early Merlin wheel bay and torsion boxes were black, as that was the standard spec. Later variants are all painted to either customer specification or more commonly to match the airframe. e.g. the NAWSARH aircraft wheel bays were painted black on the first aircraft but the customer then wanted it changed to white along with the landing gear.

Pappy, I think the landing gear is Light Aircraft Grey the same as Lynx. Gear wells are MSG the same as the airframe. If you look at the photos in https://www.seaforces.org/wpnsys/SURFACE/Stingray-torpedo.htm the photo half way down of the Stingray with a yellow band on the forward end is a 'Warshot'. There would still be a black nose cap fitted for an air dropped torpedo to protect the sonar sensors. BJ

ROYAL NAVY and cabin door codes - 8" A/C serial numbers and ship's flight code on tail - 4" Ship's name on nose - 1.5 - 2" depends on who applied them. Xtradecal (X72157, X72158) do sets of black and white stencils in various sizes for 1/72. The 2" letters will be hard to find. Look up Railtec Transfers, they do a lot of waterslide decals for model railways in various fonts and sizes.

As Georgio said above, the letters are 'Spandex' vinyl stickers locally made in the dope shop. The 'silvering' is a clear lacquer (intended for use on tool colour coding) applied to seal the edges and prevent them lifting due to constant exposure to salt water.

Look in www.I8ter.com RAF_PW_ATH is the one you are looking for.

Neil there are a few Pavla FRS1 cockpits around but getting hard to find: https://www.super-hobby.it/products/Sea-Harrier-FRS.1-Airfix-1743424.html This is for the Airfix kit but can be modified to fit, I have used it on the Esci/Italeri kits very successfully. The seat is different on the FRS1 - MB Mk10H available at Hannants: https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/PAVS72060 You could use the Eduard etch (again for Airfix) available on ebay: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Eduard-73384-1-72-Photo-Etch-For-Airfix-Sea-Harrier/254781429070?_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D225114%26meid%3D560e2c8d5be54ac1936e36ace68ff7a1%26pid%3D100675%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D15%26mehot%3Dnone%26sd%3D254781429070%26itm%3D254781429070%26pmt%3D0%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D2380057%26brand%3DEduard&_trksid=p2380057.c100675.m4236&_trkparms=pageci%3Aedeb5745-2d4c-11eb-889f-f2f438a04678%7Cparentrq%3Af3948a801750ad4eac5acf27ffed6616%7Ciid%3A1 There are a few differences in the instrument panel layout. There are some good reference photos available on line, But you could easily modify the GR3 cockpit in 1/72 scale and get away with it. Good luck.

If you look at the instruction sheet .pdf here: http://www.belcherbits.com/lines/kits/bk5.htm there is some useful info on modelling the different variants.

NeOmega Resin do a Super Lynx detail set (Top engine cover, turbines, exhausts, IR sensors, blade linkage etc) for the Hobby Boss kit, which is basically the Mk 8 stuff, but the engine bay doors can also be used for a Gulf modified Mk 3. I have used a couple of these and they are pretty good. https://www.neomega-resin.com/172nd-super-lynx-146-p.asp

have a look here: http://www.theworldwars.net/resources/resource.php?r=camo_rafmod There is some useful stuff on this website.