Troy Smith

May i suggest joining Aussiemodeller http://www.aussiemodeller.com.au/forum/ the 'boss' is Harvs73 here, and if they might be interested in the photos, and you may well get a better answer. A fair few members there are here too though. There is some information there on the [minor] detail problems with the Special Hobby Wirraway kit. HTH T

Bit more time, dug out a 'Jet Planes of the third Reich' no drawings, but reminded me of a couple of photos this both of which seems to show the forward position of the gear. HTH T

Hi Nick AFAIK, the wing shape and main gear legs stayed the same, different gear door shapes perhaps? Not got time to check, sorry I tried contacting A Bentley a couple of times with no response. PS a High Planes Me262 V3 build shows this. http://1-72.forumgratuit.org/t800p10-high-planes-models-messerschmitt-me-262-prototype-v3 so maybe the gear was in a different place. Apologies if any of the above is complete cobblers, on child care duty...

The CA Hurricane nose section has been seen on ebay US. As it was resin small runs are feasible. Yes, some CA kits are still about, and some sold out fast. Some of the CA kits are redone by other Czech companies, eg Spit VC by Special Hobby, Eduard and Italeri[!] and there are others, so many of the existing moulds are probably still viable, thought some may have worn out. The Blenhiem I was also used by Finland and Romania, so this has some potential. camper1 on the sale pages is listing 5 CA Blenhiems BTW. cheers T

Hi Rene probably too late, the shell ejector slots as done by Eduard are too wide, the are not as wide as the link ejector slots. also, the underwings lights, one is a plain white, the other is more complex, as can be seen just in the above the one in the starboard wings is like this! from http://www.hawkertempest.se/index.php/indetail/walkarounds/category/5-nv778 Still, your Temepst is getting built, mine is in a box cheers T

regarding distorted drawings http://www.albentley-drawings.com/drawings/ http://www.albentley-drawings.com/drawings/de-havilland-dh108-swallow/de-havilland-dh108-swallow/ HTH T

Those wheel wells have really come out well Rene. The general opinion is Tempest wells were grey-green by this point, the photos I posted are of the 2nd prototype of the Tempest MkII, so are probably not representative. Factory line shots look about the right tone to be grey-green. Will you be adding some washes/drybrushing to 'pop out' the detail? cheers T

Very interesting. http://www.hannants.co.uk/product/CF4155 But it is 50 quid... wonder if they will do some exclusives of some of the other CA kits which are of particular British interest, eg Meteor family, Gannet, Venom's etc which are rather too expensive and/or hard to find these days, through £50 is about what Blenhiems go for on evilbay ? Hannants did do a CA Meteor exclusive at one point though. F8 IIRC. But, does this mean CA are coming out of retirement?

No, you can't,, as all the fabric has been stripped off the rear fuselage, meaning squadron codes and serial number have gone. Appears to be 2 shots of the same plane. All that can be said is it's most likely taken in during the Battle of France, it has belly landed, has metal wings and a Hurricane type DH prop, and it was taken after the fin stripes were introduced. These photo are also on the LEMB thread of captured/crashed Hurricanes. Unfortunately many of these have the same problem, stripped or burnt off fabric, thus removing the aircraft identity

Thanks for the speedy reply. My opinion on the above photo is this is more likely a British built Hurricane, as it usefully shows the cockpit, note that the frame work shows up lighter than the port cockpit wall, which is an indicator this is painted aluminium. Would not the ZMAJ built planes use whatever they used for cockpits? Was there a standard colour? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zmaj_aircraft Is there any documentation of what they used in license built Fury's? Are there any photos of the salvaged cockpit parts or oxygen bottle from the Zmaj built Hurricane from 2.LP?

That is also a complex question, and scale dependent. Many postings here on various recipes though. My tip, use google to search the site, add britmodeller into your search term, works better than the site search HTH T

ah, therein lies a problem, as British built planes were mostly Aluminium paint inside, cockpit side walls and back armour grey green being the exceptions up until 1942. please see here , and the links in this post http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234963507-all-the-stupid-hurricane-questions-here/page-3#entry1682406 The ZMAJ Hurricanes, the interior colour was of Yugoslav origin?

A quick summary. the factory scheme on a Bv138 is RLM72/73/65. The float does not look like it has been repainted, the scratches show bare metal. There does not appear to be a field applied 2nd coat. [check the flickr pics] so this is the factory paint. the RLM 65 is lighter in the photo than when new, as is the what is most likely RLM 72. I don't know the history of this float, but it's most likely known? http://axis.classicwings.com/Luftwaffe/relics/Relics%20BV.htm there are two floats in different Norwegian musuems Unless evidence of repainting emerges, it's a Bv138 float still in factory paint, which were 72/73/65. As RLM72 is a Munsell blue, that's what the dark colour is, unless someone can use on of the advanced analytical techniques to compare this to a known sample of RLM 72. The researcher who is saying this is a new colour is a controversial person when it comes to dealing with colour research. Dave, which bit of the Spitfire has been repainted? I said it has been repainted, but by the British, not the VVS. The Spitfire has had part of the fuselage repainted, but by the British when red stars were applied before sending to the Soviets. "I really liked the Spitfire photo WHAT extensive repainting? If has been, why has it still got an RAF serial? here's the Supermarine diagram here's the plane 'extensively repainted' bear in mind that British lend-lease planes usually were delivered with red stars painted on by the British, not by the VVS, which is why they don't show overpainting of the RAF roundels as British paint was used. Photos of this being done are in Red Stars 4 Deviations from the factory pattern are most likely a result of this.

I just bought a Vac Vultee P-66 and i'm not 50, yet. Bandai/Academy did a few of these, Piper Cherokee, http://www.austinsms.org/article3_05.php and a Cessna 172 http://modelingmadness.com/scott/viet/previews/minicraft/11646.htm, and there are some biz jets as well.

Note Nick says as RLM 72/73 were specifically for sea camouflage, blue or blue green is not really surprising. Somewhere in this or the LEMB thread it says that 'RLM83 blue' was for field use, as a maritime aircraft, a Bv138 would be factory painted in RLM72/73? If this was an aircraft that was not specifically for maritime use, and we were examining a 'dark blue' fragment then that would be a better example. Ideally the Bv138 float needs to be compared to a known RLM72 sample.

regarding the Bv138 float, it may well be just faded out RLM72? vs anyone got a better scan of RLM 72 for comparison?

This has been posted on LEMB http://www.luftwaffe-experten.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=9035#entry121658

This is a very good question Aidrian. The variations maybe the result of factory or MU applied paint, and the 'dark shaded parts on camo diagram' confusion? Given Dark Slate Grey is a very green grey, it's possible that the navy 'green' went over the Dark green and the EDSG went over the Ocean Grey? a quick look at the old Mason 1962 book on the Hurricane, and it seems apart from a batch of IIC's [built KW***, naval conversion serialed NF688-NF703] which were done at Langley, the others Sea Hurricanes are not listed in much detail. I'm presuming the rest were conversion not done by the factory? A question that now comes to mind is how many Sea Hurricanes were made? No time now for more searching. cheers T

sadly the photos have gone, but this should still be of use http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/27282-two-stage-merlin-engines-made-easy/ Anyone save the photos? cheers T

a pH test on paint, gives a reading of 7.6, proves it's mildly alkaline? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PH which doesn't seem to prove anything about the colour to me. So, is this is this a different kind Ph? if so, what is it? what is the 7.6 reading? The name 'Pilawskii' in association with paint tends to start alarm bells ringing with me I'm afraid, and as it says 'Kjetil and myself' it must be Mr Pilawskii. please see - http://sovietwarplanes.com/board/index.php?topic=1071.0 and - http://sovietwarplanes.com/board/index.php?topic=1351.0 The float photos could be a dark blue, or they could be chalked and faded version of 72/73, which are blue hued greens. A quick look at the chips in the Official Monogram Guide to Painting German Aircraft shows this could easily be a faded and chalked version of RLM72 but without comparison chips or paint chart on the float then who knows. HTH T

I got an Airfix 1/24th Hurricane for my 10th, which was 1976, cost £3.30 then. It was a big deal for me [what a surprise] , but was not really expensive even then. Not pocket money, but certainly birthday or xmas present affordable, and we were not rich, this was my main present, certainly the only one I remember. How much was a Chopper bike back then? Not £3.30 I'd bet. Don't know, didn't have one. A series 1 kit was about 20p for comparison. Hard to say, as it was the late 70's and we did have high inflation so prices went up fast. Some from the vaults A series 4 1/48 Hurricane or Spitfire was £1.95 in 1979 A Tamiya Lancaster was £13.99 in July 1980, which was expensive! By then VAT had been raised to a flat 15% as well..anyone else remember kits going up in may 1979 as result. [i have boxes with price stickers still on from then. Me, a Pack Rat? never ] See below for more on inflation and kit prices.... But, then this kit is not really for 10 year olds, [though for the 10 year old me it would have been a 'must have'] and I could have built it then, but not very well. But how many 10 year old do you see now with expensive trainers , or mobile phones? I did get in 1976 over the year the 1/24th Bf109, Mustang, and saved up for the Stuka for xmas and also then got the Spitfire. That said it was my only hobby and this is what ALL the money I got went on, I'd not buy sweets or the like with pocket money, kits or kit related items. Not much has changed then! But, as I disturbingly realised, the 1970's are now 40 or so years in the past, more than the war was when I was 10 .... so how relevant is this to 10 year old, back then ww2 veterans were in their 50's... I think most of these kits are going to be bought by, well, middle aged men. And stashed, as has been pointed out, how many 1/24th Mossie do you see built up, though it sold out. Which will bother Airfix not a jot what gets done with them as long as they sell, but good for Airfix, they are really listening and improving, as Edgar says, they are paying attention to these forums, and using the input of subject matter experts, as witnessed by Chris Thomas involvement. Their new 1/48 Spitfire VB is an improvement on the excellent 1/48th PR XIX as another example. Kits have gone up more then straight inflation BTW. For comparison, from here http://www.measuringworth.com/ukcompare/ In 2013, the relative value of £3.30 from 1976 ranges from £18.92 to £41.39. A simple Purchasing Power Calculator would say the relative value is £20.72. This answer is obtained by multiplying £3.30 by the percentage increase in the RPI from 1976 to 2013. This may not be the best answer. The best measure of the relative value over time depends on if you are interested in comparing the cost or value of a Commodity , Income or Wealth , or a Project . For more discussion on how to pick the best measure, read the essay "Explaining the Measures of Worth." If you want to compare the value of a £3.30 Commodity in 1976 there are three choices. In 2013 the relative: real price of that commodity is £20.72 labour value of that commodity is £30.79 income value of that commodity is £36.53 If you want to compare the value of a £3.30 Income or Wealth , in 1976 there are three choices. In 2013 the relative: historic standard of living value of that income or wealth is £20.72 economic status value of that income or wealth is £36.53 economic power value of that income or wealth is £41.39 make what you will of that, and note the RRP of the same [long amortised] kit is £56.99 at Hannants.. Airfix planned a 1/24th Mosquito in the late 70's, didn't do it, but the research went into their 1/48th version in 79 or 80, which is still a contender now with a few modelling skills, and was the best of their late 70's 1/48th kits. Patrick Stephens Ltd, PSL, did Spitfire, Bf109, Mustang, Hurricane, Stuka, for the 1/24th kits] then Lancaster, B-17 and Mosquito. I have had the Spitfire and Hurricane 'since then' and they are still useful, I picked up the Mustang, Stuka and Lancaster cheapish recently the Lanc is best of the 3, the Mustang and Stuka are OK, though the conversions leave much to be desired, Mustang does not address different wing of A and B/C models, and the Stuka is not that good. I have a pdf of the Bf109 book too. I'd only get the big Typhoon if/when if on sale, which eventually it will be, [and even then it's a 'maybe] like the Mossie, and then gone for a while.... enough of my rambling, hope some points of interest.

very interesting how the paint demarcation on the nose does not follow the panel line! Is a version with the rest of the demarcation possible? cheers T

My pleasure Simon For you, and others, it may not be obvious from the spinners and props thread but, and without spending ages checking, the early style Tempest prop maybe not be an exact match for the Typhoon, but it's certainly better than the 'toothpicky' 4 blader in the hase kit and is a cheap way to get a 4 blade for the Hase/Italeri Typhoon, the 4 blade one is not in the Italeri boxing and only in some of the very very annoying Hasegawa multiple boxings which would bug me less if the decals were not worthless! Has anyone had a good look at the Italeri boxings decals? Also, Ultracast do various Tiffie bits, which are cheapest in the UK via 3-D kits http://www.3d-kits.co.uk/online-shop/index.php?main_page=advanced_search_result&search_in_description=1&zenid=3tp0tn55edqhtbvo5esfu73eo1&keyword=typhoon&x=-306&y=-152 There are more, see the Ultracast site, 3-D order from Ultracast on a regular basis, I suggest them as post from Canada is very expensive and will soon take you into the realms of customs charges if you are unlucky, 3-D charge a flat £1.50 in the UK

you make it look so easy Oz! great job and some useful tips. cheers

Hi Simon Neither 1/48th kit gets the wheel well right, Cutting Edge and Aires do resin ones, Jon Kunac-Tabinor did a sterling build of the Hase kit here http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234929066-hawker-typhoon-hasegawa-148th-with-ultracast-and-scratch-and-a-bloody-big-sharkmouth/ Including a scratch built wheel well. Of the resin ones, the Cutting Edge set looks to be less work than the 'take a belt sander to casting block' Aires one. This is worth a read http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234937847-typhoontempest-spinners-and-props/ The Monogram kit is well shaped, though the bubble hood is apparently oversized. Dating from 1968, well, raised panel lines and basic detail. The Exhaust are the faring type, but the kit does a better job of the fishplate strengtheners, the Hase kit has recessed panel lines around them! Does not have the Tempest type tailplane though, but these days with amount of Alleycat Tempest tail replacement, Eduard Tempest tailplanes will be in many a spares bin! Recent buil of the Mono kit http://modelingmadness.com/review/allies/cleaver/gb/tctyph.htm If you are looking to pick one up, I'd look for an offer on the Italeri boxing of the kit, unless you can get the Mono kit really cheap. KMC did a cockpit upgrade and 3 blade prop for the Mono kit, and also a cardoor conversion, as do Falcon in one of their sets. The general consensus on the Hase cockpit insert is to align the bottom edge and fuse curve, and fill the spine gap. HTH T