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Wez

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    1/72 - Dassault Mirage 2000C/EG/5F by Modelsvit - M2000C/-5F released - two seats M2000B/D/N in 2023

    in The Rumourmonger

    Posted

    12 minutes ago, CharlieGolf2009 said:

     

    Mine arrived yesterday. And what a great "little" kit it is! 😀

     

    Sprue G comes with the correct nose for a 2000-5 and correct tail for the 2000-5F version (as shown earlier when @Homebee posted here the test shots present at Modelsvit's FB page), and it will be hard to resist not making the specially decorated aircraft with low viz markings for the 50th anniversary of EC 2/2. 😅

     

     

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    That's good to hear - you could always save it for the Marcel Bloch/Dassault GB due to start in February, that's not long to wait...

    • Like 2

    All the Wildcat/Martlet questions you wanted to ask

    in Aircraft WWII

    Posted

    Thanks to all that replied, from this I've surmised that FAA FM-2s would be painted in equivalent colours, not MAP matched colours and that the Euro Decals codes are unlikely to be yellow (I agree with @iang here, I think white is more likely).

     

    Also, I never appreciated there was a difference between Semi-Gloss Sea Blue and Gloss Sea Blue, does this mean that Tamiya AS-8 Navy Blue (US Navy), is not a good equivalent?

    Spitfire antenna base plate

    in Aircraft WWII

    Posted

    14 hours ago, Tbolt said:

     

     

    This resin mast says that it was bakelite.

     

    https://www.scalemates.com/kits/grey-matter-figures-gmaa2406-spitfire-aerial-mast-with-bakelite-base--1281852

     

    But was it bakelite or somebody's interpretation of the material?  To the layman, bakelite and Paxolin look superficially similar but Paxolin is far more flexible and durable than bakelite (which doesn't age well under external environmental conditions and isn't flexible).  Paxolin is still in use in legacy systems to this day, it's extremely tough and durable, it withstands impacts and vibration well, anyone who's worked with it knows that it's an absolute sod of a material to work with hand tools but it can be machined.

     

    13 hours ago, Peter Roberts said:

    Similar coloured rings each side of the fuselage where the IFF wires entered, when installed.

    8 hours ago, modelmania said:

    This would suggest it was an insulating material to prevent electrical interference, both to the aerial wire/mast and the IFF wires/system as well.

     

    I'm planning a visit to Duxford to sit in N3200 and notice that it has the aerial base plate painted in the camo colour so perhaps painted and unpainted could be observed?

     

    This is common in aircraft antenna installations, there are some systems such as modern UHF/VHF/Tac VHF where the aerial requires a ground-plane,  the antenna base is bonded to the aircraft surface via conductive gaskets and /or sealant material but HF/low frequency VHF systems such as those fitted to wartime aircraft don't.  With these the aerial wire acts as a di-pole antenna, the Antenna Tuning Unit (ATU) electronically lengthens or shortens the antenna length depending upon the required frequency (the lower the frequency the longer the antenna due to λ = C/f (where λ = wavelength, C = speed of light and f = frequency).  I've worked with ATUs that do this electronically by induction, winding a length of wire onto an internal drum, others which do it using capacitive plates to provide tuning and more modern ones which do this through a whole load of electronic shenanigans.

     

    The older systems used an insulated feeder which passed through the airframe which isolated the aerial from the airframe (if we got HF tuning problems we'd always check the feeder to make sure it hadn't deteriorated).

     

    I'd be careful using N3200 as your reference, it may have the antenna wire fitted but I very much doubt it has an operational HF system fitted, there's no need, it's more likely to have a modern VHF set fitted which wouldn't use this antenna.  The antenna's just there as an historic representation.

     

    1 hour ago, BS_w said:

    the insulation resistance of mast to earth to be not less than 5 MOhms so it was prescribe care taken to not paint insulators.

     

    unfortunately the material of of insulator plate(547) is not noted, but it was probably bakelite or laminated plastic

     

    John, thanks for sharing that, it's interesting to see the rubber gasket beneath the insulator plate, that would allow the insulator to be secured to the airframe without damage to either, having said Paxolin is flexible, it is also quite unyielding, the rubber gasket would take up the subtle differences in the contours between the airframe and the underside of the insulator.

     

    I've quoted Paxolin throughout this because that's a material I know which has been used on British aircraft from the 1940's through to the current time.  There was another material used for a long time which was similar to Paxolin but used paper impregnated into the resin rather than the linen of Paxolin, but for the life of me, I can't remember its name.  The paper or linen are there to provide the structural element to the resin.

    • Like 2
    • Thanks 2

    All the Wildcat/Martlet questions you wanted to ask

    in Aircraft WWII

    Posted

    Sorry to kick the wasps nest but I need some colour clarification (I've read through this thread and I must confess, I'm a bit bewildered).  Also, I'm sure I've asked one of these questions before but in spite of carrying out a search, I can't find the thread.

     

    I've got the Euro Decals sheet for FAA Martlets/Wildcats which includes some options for Wildcat VI's of 853 NAS on HMS Queen c1945.  My questions are:

     

    1.  Euro Decals state these aircraft were painted in Extra Dark Sea Grey/Dark Slate Grey/Sky Type "S".  Is this the case or were they painted in US equivalent colours?  I'd read many times that Vought used ANA shades which were close to UK shades on their Corsairs but that Grumman (and potentially Eastern), were a bit more fastidious in their colour matching.  Can anyone confirm this please?

     

    2.  Euro Decals show the codes in yellow, also, they appear to be in a smaller font than expected.  I've always thought yellow codes were used by 2nd line (e.g. 7xx numbered) Sqns and that operational Sqns used red or white codes.  Measuring the decals they're 5mm in 1/72nd which equates to a full scale height of jut over 14" which seems a bit off to me.  Can anyone comment on the correctness of the codes.

     

    Googling Gumman Wildcat VI HMS Queen 1945 doesn't really help.

     

    One thing I've got from this thread is that I need to remove the underwing oil coolers from a MkVI (FM-2 equivalent).

     

    Thanks in advance,

     

    Wez

    Spitfire antenna base plate

    in Aircraft WWII

    Posted

    Just a guess on my part based on knowledge of aircraft radio installations.

     

    It'll probably be an insulating material, something like Paxolin maybe which is a resin impregnated with linen.  Paxolin ranges from a reddish brown to an almost dark brown, the exterior finish is glossy.

     

    Hopefully somebody can confirm what the actual material is.

    • Like 1
    • Thanks 1

    Meteor Color callouts (Humbrol)

    in Aircraft Cold War

    Posted

    Cockpits are rarely one uniform colour.  The basic structure of the cockpit will be fairly uniform but individual panels get buffed and will take up a different sheen,  Then there's all of the LRUs which go into the cockpit.  The LRUs will be made by different manufacturers, they will be following a specification which will result in a multitude of sheens of the base colour.

     

    How does this apply to the Meteor?  Having been an aircraft engineer for 39 years now (wow, where did the time go), spent mostly in the maintenance environment, here's my observations:

     

    1.  The base structure will be fairly consistent, it will be a matt black (Tamiya NATO Black is a good choice here).

    2.  Those areas which come into contact with humans will be polished and worn by that contact.  Those areas touched by both the aircrew and groundcrew will be worn the most, the groundcrew will also access areas not touched by the aircrew.  The groundcrew will spend more time fixing/servicing the aircraft than the aircrew will flying it.  This wear can be achieved by rubbing certain areas with a dry cloth will add a satin sheen to the Tamiya NATO black.

    3.  Certain areas will get worn more than others such as cockpit sills and console corners, the floor under the rudder pedals for instance, can get worn through the base colour via primer to bare metal (using a silvery paint of your choice).

    4.  Some areas only but rarely accessed by the groundcrew may show signs of (ahem), wear.  Fitting those ejection seats into a tight area is a bit awkward which may result in the otherwise pristine base colour getting dinked as the groundcrew struggle to get a quart into a pint pot.  This is going to result in an isolated metallic chip or two.

    5.  Sub components (or Line Replaceable Units - LRUs).  These will be manufactured by a number of providers (in the case of the Meteor I'm guessing at Smiths, Decca, Plessey, Collins, Sperry etc), some supplied direct from the manufacturer, some supplied as Government Furnished Equipment (GFE).  Therefore some will be new, some will have been fitted elsewhere and around the block.  Although matt black would have been the specified colour, some areas would be more satin black than dead matt (it's a combination of the type of paint applied, the surface it's applied to and surface area playing games with how light is reflected).  What does this mean?  You need more than just Tamiya NATO black, equivalents to Hu85 (Coal Black - a satin black), and Hu33 (a matt black), will also be required.

    6.  Structural panels/blanking plates/access panels get replaced, they could be older or newer but they could have a different patina/sheen to what was already there.  More shades of black/very dark grey needed.

    7.  Dirt gets into nooks and crannies, matt finishes are very good at attracting dust and keeping hold of it.  Also back then, the RAFs FOD practices were a lot more lax than they are now (the current practices were introduced in the mid-1970s). 

     

    What does all of this mean?  It means that matt black isn't just matt black, it's black with shades of black and different lustres.  I'm not telling you how to make/paint your kit, just trying to give you an insight to aircraft maintenance and operation which may impact your decision making.

     

    Unfortunately for me, I spend far too much time obsessing over things like this than I do making models - it's a cross I have to bear!

    • Like 5

    New Academy 1/72nd F-104 - Whose plastic in the box?

    in Aircraft Cold War

    Posted

    2 hours ago, Orso said:

    Not knowing anything must be even better. Just build without worrying about details. 😀

     

    Ah simpler times!  There's some merit in that approach.

     

    1 hour ago, Giorgio N said:

    It's not a brilliant kit anyway, still second best to the Hasegawa older offering both in terms of accuracy and fit. Although it is likely "inspired" by the Japanese kit

     

    It's a shame really, I bought a couple of the Revell kits when the Hasegawa kits weren't generally available and, in the case of the C, because Hasegawa didn't do one.

    Meteor F8 Ailerons - when did they change?

    in Aircraft Cold War

    Posted

    I don't know the timeline but it was introduced as a modification.  I would suspect later aircraft were delivered with them fitted, the remainder of the fleet would have had them fitted as they cycled through maintenance (probably Minor/Minor Star/Major rather than Sqn level Primary/Primary Star).

     

    This obviously makes things tricky because it's something you'd want to know applied to the particular aircraft your modelling, hopefully you can find a photo of your subject which shows this detail.

    • Like 1
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