The original Kit Builder

Without getting too drawn into a speculative exchange, there were huge stocks of Eau De Nil in MU's and units during the BoB. It was the standard colour used for the interior of all airfield support vehicles from the early thirties on and was still in use until the early eighties, such were the existing stocks. All RAF ambulances, bowsers, crew busses, cranes and lorry cabs were finished in it, as were many NAAFI vans. As has been said, there is also some evidence that some fighters and day bombers built from the mid to late thirties suffered from this shade.

Has anyone built the Hasegawa P51-D? I have a couple of Tamiya's, but wondered what the Hasegawa offering is like, in terms of accuracy and fit, etc.

Many years ago, when I served at RAF St Mawgan, I assisted in the application, by the RAAF contingent of the Fincastle Trophy competition, of the dog from Footrot Flats along 10-12 feet of the upper fuselage of a RNZAF P-3. That was a hell of a zap!

FK115/41-7391 was built as one of a block of 62 B26A-1's, 52 of which were allocated to the RAF. This aircraft had P&W R2800-39's and would have had the shorter wing and fuselage, along with the early type windscreen and no ventral gun. I'm still not entirely clear about the intakes and filters, though, as the larger size was supposedly introduced on the R2800-41 powered B26B. Definitely a Marauder 1, though, as has been pointed out.

Having seen these three in the flesh, as it were, I can tell you that the pics definitely don't do them justice. And the kettle comment is so like my daughter!

Not harsh at all!

Even the Missus was impressed!

Denstore, thanks for correcting me. I was thinking of the Occidental offering. My apologies to all. The old noddle ain't what it once was!

When these first came out, I jumped at the chance to have a look at one, but didn't pursue it, because there was no gull wing. The centre section was flat. If that's now been corrected, then it's time for me to look again, because I do agree that the overall fuselage is better. I do like the Ultracast bits, too.

I have done a bit of checking and the picture is now quite unclear. According to a US source, FK 115 was built as 41-7391, a B26B and supplied to the RAF as Marauder 1 on Jun 15 1942, being struck off charge on 12 July 1945. However, most UK sources list it as a Marauder 2. If the most obvious indicators of the sub-type have been removed or changed, it is possible that the conclusion that "Hellzapoppin" is a Marauder 2 has come about by inspection of photo's taken after the changes. Given the Bu No allocated by the US Army Air Corps, she would indeed be a Marauder 1 and I have no reason to doubt such specific and traceable information. You need pictures of the wings, aft fuselage and fin and the ventral and waist areas to be sure.

Careful with this one! The Marauder 1A was actually a B26B, which had a 28 inches longer fuselage that the Marauder 1/B26A. This variant also introduced a ventral gun position and larger carburettor intakes on the top of the cowlings. The B26B-4 block introduced a loger nose leg in an attempt to shorten the take-off run and deleted the ventral gun, replacing it with flexible single .50 cal beam guns, port and starboard. The B26B-10 block introduced the longer wing and a taller fin, to improve directional stability and control and the -45 block introduced a revised windscreen. Nineteen of these were supplied to the RAF as Marauder 1A's and it was these that operated in the middle east. The B26C/Marauder 2 deleted the spinners and introduced mechanically improved engines of similar output to the 1A. there were also changes to the cowlings. If "Hellzapoppin" is a Marauder 1A, there could be two reasons for the absence of spinners. First, they were discarded as unnecessary, in order to ease propeller maintenance in the middle east theatre, or the photo was taken after the Marauder 2 was introduced and the engines had been retrofitted to the Marauder 1A for commonality, though I have no evidence of this being the case. I will try to find something less speculative.

ICM Spitfires have been widely criticised for their inaccuracies and fit problems. The most difficult thing to fix is the "gull wing" on the lower centre section. The Hasegawa offering has its problems, but is more accurate and goes together pretty well.

Never had a problem with Revell SM 301, but I have had some difficulty with Xtracolor Barley Grey, which was odd, because the first application dried perfectly well and the second didn't. And I've NEVER managed to get the Humbrol Mattcote or Satincote to dry fully. Even years after completion, my Tamiya 1/32 Zero is still a little tacky. It's the main reason I now use Microscale products.

I've seen and had very good results using screenwash as a thinner for acrylics, though I've never used Xtracrilix. The slight blue tint in many screenwashes isn't strong enough to cause problems, either.

I've been building one of these for about four years, now. I really must stop putting it off!

Good luck with your aspiration to fly in 407, Paul. There is little more satisfying aircraft to fly in than a Spitfire.

From Kiwi Aircraft Images. # LF Mk.IXe ML407 (CBAF-8463) was taken on charge by the RAF at 33 MU Lynham on April 23 1944. Issued to 485(NZ) Squadron on April 30. Also served with 341, 308, 349, 345, and 332 Squadrons. It was placed in storage with 29 MU on September 27, 1945. On July 19 1950 the aircraft was passed to Vickers. Registered as G-15-175, it was rebuilt as one of six type 509 (T Mk.IX) two-seat trainers for the Irish Air Corp. The remodelled aircraft was first flown on July 24, 1951. Delivered on July 30, the aircraft was serialled '162'. The aircraft made its last service flight on July 8 1960, and became an instructional airframe. It was stored disassembled at Baldonnel from 1962 to 1968 when it was sold on March 4 to N.Samuelson for use in the movie "Battle of Britain" (although it did not appear). The aircraft was sold in 1970 to Sir William Roberts and moved to Shoreham, from where it moved several times before it became part of the Strathallan Collection. The aircraft remained in storage in a dissaembled state. It was acquired by Nick Grace for restoration on August 9 1979 and registered as G-LFIX on February 1 1980. The first post-restoration flight did not occur however until April 16 1985 at St.Merryn, Cornwall. Chris Horsley took a share in the aircraft and it was based at Middle Wallop and then Eastleigh. After Nick Grace's untimely death in a car accident in October 1988, his wife Carolyn has operated the aircraft (as the sole owner since 1989). Today the aircraft is based at Duxford where it flies in 485(NZ) Squadron colours as OU-V. (illustrated in special section at bottom of page) The photo is of the aircraft as it is today. And from the Royal Gunpowder Mills website regarding the Grace Spitfire Special Event May 2006. The Grace Spitfire ML 407 was built at Castle Bromwich in early 1944 as a single seat LF Mark IX fighter equipped with one .5-inch Browning machine gun and one 20mm cannon per wing and served in the front line of battle throughout the last twelve months of World War II. This Spitfire, which recently appeared on national TV in the acclaimed series ‘Spitfire Ace’, has a remarkable wartime history. ML407 was delivered on the 29th April 1944 by the acclaimed woman pilot, Jackie Moggridge of the ATA to 485 (New Zealand Squadron) at Selsey for Flying Officer Johnnie Houlton DFC. ML407 went straight into action. On D-Day Johnnie Houlton in ML407 (code OU-V) was given Ministry accreditation for having shot down the first enemy aircraft a Junkers 88 over the Normandy beach head and a ½ share in a second JU 88 spotted in the same area and it is painted in the full D-Day scheme today. ML 407 did a total of 176 operational sorties, a large number being ground attack, amassing over 200 combat hours whilst in the 2nd Tactical Air Force (TAF) going from 485 New Zealand Squadron to 341 Free French, 308 Polish, 349 Belgian, 345 Free French, 332 Norwegian Squadrons returning to 485 New Zealand Squadron at the cessation of hostilities with a total score of 3 ¼ enemy aircraft destroyed and one damaged. My bold text.

Just to muddy the waters a bit, the official history has it that ML407 was built as a LFMkIX at Castle Bromwich in 1944. This should mean that it was built with clipped wing tips and a Merlin 76. As far as I know, the correct wing would be the E wing. ML407 was converted to a two seater, by Vickers as the type 509, as one of 6 for the Irish Air Corps. An additional 3 were built for the Dutch, with 2 more bought by India. Five of the original Irish two seaters are still airworthy, including the second aircraft bought by Nick Grace to provide spares for 407. If it is the case that ML407 was built as a LF Mk IXe, it seems likely that the engine and wings were replaced by Vickers as part of the conversion, but the history isn't that clear.

Try to get hold of the Tamiya one. It isn't perfect, but is much better than the rest of what's available. You might get lucky and find it in one of those vintage kit shops, or on E-Bay. I don't think it's in the current catalogue. Edited to say, that is in 1/100 scale, though, as I recall.

For some answers, check out this link. http://www.richard-seaman.com/Aircraft/Air...tWw2/index.html There is a photo of a late C-47, (actually an AC-47) which quite clearly shows the long intake and the propellor gearboxes extending ahead of the cowlings. However, it doesn't have the cylindrical cowlings, but the more bulged ones more typical of the later, larger engined versions, most of which were C-47's. There are a huge number of variations in the engine installations and intakes across an enormous production run. There are as many different configurations of aerials and there are differences in the termination of the tailcone, with almost all DC3 builds tapering to a point, whilst C-47's are truncated. It seems to me that Trumpeter's test shots shows that they have been confused by the sheer variety of combinations and created something of a hybrid, but certainly nothing that a competent modeller can't fix. With regard to rivets, many early DC3's were built using semi-raised type visible in the photo's above. This was carried over to the early C-47, as they are easier to set than countersunk, or flush, rivets. This speeds up production. Some late pre-war DC3's were flush rivetted mainly for cosmetic reasons. After the war, the final production types were a mixture, as flush rivetting was phased back in. Very similar to Spitfire production, really. The vast majority, however, had raised rivets. For my money, this is a welcome addition to what's available and, after all, if it looks like a C-47...

As YB-40's were intended to operate as bomber formation escort/defence aircraft, concealed within the bomber formations, they had to retain the same colour scheme in order to blend in. As it happens, they weren't operationally effective, because they were too heavy to keep up with standard B17's. Their chin turret was carried over to the B17G, though.

Well, having looked at the photo's on Eduard's site and not being entirely unfamiliar with the real Hellcat, having actually worked on a couple of historics, I have to say that I can't see overmuch on this kit that stands out as glaringly inaccurate. The width of the wheels looks OK and the cowling profile seems at least as good as all the other Hellcat out there and better than most. Personally, I appreciate the effort that Eduard put into their kits. They set a high standard of accuracy and more to the point, they are more affordable than some of the market leaders, particularly given their quality. Sadly, the sort of sniping reviews that seem prevalent in some corners, only contribute to the decline of the hobby by putting younger and newer modellers off.

Funnily enough, Paul, I'm looking at that airframe out of my office window right now, I think. Unless it's the next one in, of course.

It was the difference in the fire concentration and the stability of the Hurricane as a gun platform that prompted Fighter Command to use Hurricanes as the preferred attacker of bombers, whilst the Spitfire, being more agile, was primarily employed as an anti-escort fighter shield, placed to protect the Hurricanes engaging the bombers. It wasn't unknown for Hurricanes and Spitfires to empty their entire ammunition supply into a bomber with no apparent effect. The weight of fire from eight rifle calibre maching guns was simply insufficient. This was recognised during the battle of France and is why the cannon Spitfire was devised. Hurricanes actually shot down more than three times the number of enemy aircraft as Spitfires and, even taking into accout the greater number of Hurricanes available, they still shot down proportionately more. This might be explained by the difference in the way the two types were used.

The Spitfires that took part in the Battle of Britain were actually Mk1a and Mk2a. These aircraft incorporated all the improvements to the Mk1 and 2, including the blown canopy, variable pitch three bladed propellor and, for the most part, armour. The only real difference between the two marks was that the Mk2 was built at the shadow factory at Castle Bromwich. As to the end of the battle, the date on which it is now commemorated is a device of convenience, neither the Germans or the RAF officially declaring an end to what has now become the Battle of Britain. It was merely a step change into a new tactic and, indeed, daylight raids continued right into November 1940, though never in the strength of the period between May and September. I'll try to provide a bit more later, when I'm not at work. Right. The Mk2 first flew in June, 1940 and entered service with 611 Sqn at Digby in August, 1940. Just over 170 were built, with a small number being Mk2b's, with two 20mm cannon and four .303 MG's. Both the Mk1b and the Mk2b suffered from problems with the feed trays and the cannons freezing at altitude. The majority were converted to eight gun configuration before the end of August and about 17 or so, IIRC, were converted to Mk2c's, retaining the cannons and having the addition of a small bomb rack to carry smoke floats. These were used in the Air/Sea Rescue role, lower altitude operation preventing the freezing of the cannons. By the late spring of 1941, almost all Fighter Command Spitfires had been converted to MkV standard.