Selwyn
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Posts posted by Selwyn
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thanks so much..this is a sad news for me!
So, i think it's not a good idea to put an army car near a Spit...
ciao
Ale
And you must remember that all N European based RAF vehicles in WW2 were painted in Brown or green camoflage colours, RAF blue dissapeared in 1939/40 and did not reappear until 1947!
Selwyn
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When loading or reloading the Brownings on a spitfire I was lead to believe by an old RAF armourer that you did not have to remove the upper wing gun panels. Apparently the armourers had worked out a way to reload ammo and cock the gun mechanism by just accessing through though the bottom wing panels.
Doing it this way apparently considerably increased the speed of reloading. All the (few) pictures of reloading I have seen are taken from such a position that the top of the wing is not in view.
can anyone out there confirm that this was the case?
Selwyn
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Hi all
It arrived this morning, first impressions are very good will post a more detailed review this evening.
Jon
Very Good!
(now what on earth is a WMIK?)
Selwyn
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Hi all,
Quick question about the 1/72 US Hasegawa Ground equipment set, does anybody know how much of this is compatible with RAF equipment - I'm guessing from the 80's?
Thanks in advance
Simon
Quite simply nothing!
The RAF uses quite different ground equipment
Selwyn
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I am thinking about getting a Mirage III, which kit though Eduard or HobbyBoss?
Do you wast a IIIC or a IIIE?
Go for italeri for a IIIE (1/48).
Selwyn
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Right, I need a definitive list of what was different on the S.1 form the S.2. I know this:
Shorter wingspan and tips (how would I correctly modify an Airfix 48th Bucc S.2 to represent this?)
Different engine intakes (I have the heritage ones) and exhaust fairings (Again, how best to represent this?)
I also believe the flat bomb bay door was slightly different-can anyone clarify this?
Any help is appreciated, I'm a bit of a Bucc newby by kit building and reference standard
if I remember the Ejection seats were different as well.
selwyn
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Anyone has idea or pictures of where the safety pins are insert in the cockpit and seat?
Are the safety pins in the cockpit/seat attached to rbf flags?
Gerald
The seat pins did not have a RBF flag. Each pin has a large red tag on it. You would usuually have two positions of the pins, Safe for servicing and safe for parking. safe for servicing was for when work was taking place on the jet and safety pins would be in all the explosive components. Safe for parking there would only be a pin through each firing handle mount and one in the canopy jettison system. these were removed by the pilot when he strapped in. when not in the seat (ie flying) the pins were stowed in plain view on the cockpit coaming. have a look at the ejection site for further details.
Selwyn
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Hi guys,
Just finished the Manchester that's kept me out of mischief in the Lancaster Group Build. Having bought the conversion set from Smudge, I found out that the GB had started so set about the challenge.
Build thread HERE
Although the HBM conversion is designed for the Airfix kit, I prefer the Revell kit, so used that as a base. This brought about the problem of mating the wings, so B&Q came to the rescue with aluminium rod to hold the wings together through the spar box. It's finished in Xtracrylixs and decals donated by Colin from his 'Decalbank'. Whilst Colin got me some serial codes in red, the correct ones were in MS grey, so I had a go at painting them freehand in the correct colour onto decal paper. They came out OK after several attempts so these were used instead. Landing light apperture was scratch built using acetate and Little Cars 3mm clear lenses. Nav lights were from the Revell kit. Unfortunately, the rear turret has remained a Lanc turret as I couldn't get it to look like the Manchester turret and the mid upper isn't that clever. I'm currently on the hunt for two suitable props (1/48 Blenheim or 1/72 Typhoon) to finish the model as it's currently sporting the Lanc props which are too small and turning the wrong way. Anyway, here's the pics before you fall asleep !!!!
Thanks for looking
Neil
Neil
Gorgeous Manchester!
A quick decal tip I have used before. If your codes are the wrong colour, spray the side of your aircraft the desired code colour. Cut your (wrong colour) decals right up to the edges (remove all the clear decal film showing) and then apply and position the decal in the normal way. When the decals are dry, spray the model in your required camoflage colour (over the decals) and when this top coat has dried, carefully scrape off the decals with a craft knife and presto! Painted on codes in the correct colour.
Selwyn
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Building a RAF Havard in the Silver / Yellow band scheme from the early 1950s from the 1/48 Monogram kit
Does anyone know what harness system was used on the seats, was it the original NA system or drid the RAF modify it to their standard?
Selwyn
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Hi all,
am currently building an awful lot of RAF fast jets, so Barley (or light camouflage grey) grey is featuring alot. However, am still struggling to find an out of the tin barley grey that matches my mind's eye, if you know what I mean. The closest I have ever had was a tin of enamel Humbrol Barley grey (167), but subsequent tins were darker. I've looked at Xtracrylix Barley grey - way too dark, in common with alot of Xtracrylix colours - Vallejo Barley grey, which sprays beautifully but seems to be a little too blue, and Tamiya x-19 which I like but may be too light. In any case, what is the considered opinion of Britmodellers out there? What is the preferred acrylic option?
Would be grateful for any comments.
Regards, Paul
Barley grey was renamed Camoflage grey when it was included in British Standards (BS 381c No 626) Try Xtracolour or Xtracrilyx.
Selwyn
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Right, I think I may be about to pull the pin out of a proverbial hand grenade...so apologies if this re-ignites the arguement!
I’m trying to find the up-to-date colours of an RAF Eurofighter Typhoon. I’ve been searching on here plenty (I have several pages bookmarked, including the mass of pictures from the Resource thread) as well as Google and other forums, and I cannot find a definitive answer.
As a result, I’ve got a list of several paints that people seem to think are the correct ones, and have downloaded the Paint Conversion Chart recommended by Julien in the Paints section of the Tools and Tips Forum. Here is what I have, and was wondering if people could confirm this for me, correct me where I am wrong, and also add what I’ve missed?
Opinions are also welcome
Fuselage Colour:
FS595b 25237 (BS381c 626) RAF Camouflage (Barley) Grey
Vallejo Model Colour #990 Light Grey/Model Air #51 Barley Grey
Revell Aqua #36374 Grey (RAL7001)
FS595b 36314 RAF Camouflage (Barley) Grey
Humbrol #167 RAF Barley Grey
Tamiya XF19 Sky Grey
Cockpit Colours:
FS595b 36081 Deep Gray, F-4 Aircraft/Euro I Gray
Vallejo Model Colour #866 Grey Green/Model Air #55 Grey Green
Humbrol #32 Dark Grey
FS595b 36231 Gray Int’l, Aircraft Gray/Dark Gull Gray
Vallejo Model Colour #991 Dark Sea Grey/Vallejo Model Colour #992 Neutral Grey
Humbrol #140 Dark Gull Grey/Humbrol #27 Sea Grey
Tamiya XF54 Dark Sea Grey
Landing Gear and Wheel Wells:
FS595b 36495 Light Gray – Vallejo Model Colour #153 *edit: actually #907. Whoopsy*
Vallejo Model Colour #153 Pale Grey Blue
Humbrol #147 Light Grey
Tamiya XF14 Grey (IJA)
Radome and Air Intakes:
FS595b 36270 (BS381c 637) RAF Medium Sea Grey
Vallejo Model Colour #870 Medium Sea Grey
Humbrol #126 US Medium Grey
Tamiya XF20 Medium Grey/XF83 RAF Medium Sea Grey
Not sure about these two, and besides, I can’t find a direct equivalent in Vallejo/Humbrol/Tamiya etc...
Leading and Trailing Edge Interiors:
FS595b 63280
Air Intakes Aft of Intake Flap:
FS595b 26492
That’s all I’ve found so far...
Easy
Remove all FS colour Quotes. The RAF does not use Federal standard paints on its aircraft. all paint is to British Standard 381C. all the popular paints you quote are (very) approximate matches to the correct colour.
Only development aircraft have different grey colours inside flaps etc. operational RAF aircraft are one shade of grey (called officially Camoflage Grey BS 381c hue 626) overall that includes inside flaps etc. The radome looks slightly different as it is moulded at manufacture in grey BS 626 and not painted.
Barley grey was a trial colour. when it was adopted officially into Bs 381c it was renamed Camoflage grey.
Now that makes it easier doesn't it!
Selwyn
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Evening Gents. Once again thanks for all your help.
Picked the Osprey book on 617 Sqn. There is a couple of great shots of the bomb bay showing the chain and the frame holding the bomb in place.
I have also decided on which aircraft I will be building. I was thinking of doing one in the day time scheme, but something told me to go with the night. I have now found the perfect one. I will be modelling 'Jock' Calders PD112/YZ-S in night scheme. This was the first B.I Special to drop a Grand Slam.
There is quite a humourous story behind that raid. Apparently Calder and the C.O. Grp. Capt. Jonnie Fauquier were the two assigned to drop the first two Grand Slams on Bielefeld Viaduct. However Fauquier's Lanc developed engine trouble during pre-flight checks. Realising his aircraft was not going to get airborne he decided he would commandeer Calders PD112. Calder seeing his C.O. running towards his aircraft realised what was about to happen, turned his eyes to 'focus' on the runway and opened the throttles! Anyway off he went with a wee weed off C.O. on the ground, got to the target, dropped the Grand Slam which landed about 30 yards short but still took out a 260 foot section of the viaduct. When he got back, although Fauquier was still fuming he recommended Calder for a second DSO.
So this build will be a wee tribute to that aircraft and Jock Calder.
I hope to start this about September, as I am working on converting a Revell 1/32 Tornado IDS to an F.3, which will be followed by stretching Italeri's 1/48 C-130J Herc to a C130J-30. Then I will be hosting a Tornado Group Build.
Stay tuned.
T.T.F.N.
Steve
As we are on interesting stories about the grand slam bomb how about this one!
When Lincolnshire County Council were widening the road past RAF Scampton's main gate in about 1958, the 'gate guards' there had to be moved to make way for the new carriageway. Scampton was the WWII home of 617 Sqn, and said "gate guards" were a Lancaster...and a Grand Slam bomb.
When they went to lift the Grand Slam, thought for years to just be an empty casing, with an RAF 8 Ton Coles Crane, it wouldn't budge. "Oh, it must be filled with concrete" they said. Then somebody had a horrible thought.... No!..... It Couldn't be? ... Not after all these years out here open to the public to climb over and be photographed sitting astride! .... Could it? .... Then everyone raced off to get the Station Armament Officer. He carefully scraped off many layers of paint and gingerly unscrewed the base plate.
Yes, you guessed it, live 1944 explosive filling! The beast was very gently lifted onto an RAF 'Queen Mary' low loader, using a much larger civvy crane (I often wonder what, if anything, they told the crane driver), then driven slowly under massive police escort to the coastal experimental range at Shoeburyness. There it was rigged for demolition, and when it 'high ordered', it proved in no uncertain terms to anyone within a ten mile radius that the filling was still very much alive!
Exhaustive investigations then took place, but nobody could find the long-gone 1944, 1945 or 1946 records which might have shown how a live 22,000 lb bomb became a gate guard for nearly the next decade and a half. Some safety distance calculations were done, however, about the effect of a Grand Slam detonating at ground level in the open. Apart from the entire RAF Station, most of the northern part of the City of Lincoln, including Lincoln Cathedral, which dates back to 1250, would have been flattened.
Selwyn
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After finally managing to get my hands on a rare as hen's teeth Italeri S55, I fancy building it as the white over sky machine used in Operation Grapple as depicted on the latest 'conversion' kit from A2Z - would anyone be able to tell me the serial number of said helicopter please?
Now while I love A2Z's stuff & have bought much of it (& will do so again in the future when the Tucano & Balliol arrive!) I can't really justify buying this set for the decals (which I can make up from generic sheets) & a p.e. sheet which I wouldn't use as I hate the stuff!!
So if anyone is able to let me know the serial, I'd be very grateful!!!
Keef
Keef
I believe this helicopter should have the modified engine grille on the door side of the nose. it appears that all Westland built Whirlwinds were this configuration. (Different to the S55) some of the surviving US built Mk 21 and 22's were modified sometime in their lifetime as well. The one at the solway museum has the Modified grille.
Selwyn
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Hi guys
I am hoping to make a replica of an RAF Wildenrath phantom from 19 squadron. My dad was wing commander TJL Gauvain of 19 squadron from 1978-1980. I am enquiring here to see if anyone knows what the serial number of the aircraft he flew was. I'll see if i can find any of his old log books but if i can't i was wondering if any of you were based at Wildenrath at the time and may know? I have already bought the Air doc RAF phantoms of Germany decal sheet and have my fujimi phantom FGR.2 kit in the box.
Thank you, any help is greatly appreciated
By the term "his Aircraft I assume you mean the one with his name on it. In actual fact he would have flown all of the aircraft on the squadron at some time or the other.
Selwyn
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Have got the Revell 1/72 Shackleton Mk3 in the stash and taking a look at it there isn't much detail to speak of. Luckily I managed to get hold of the airwaves interior set so that improves the cockpit and raditor intakes. However I'd like to add some munitions to the bomb bay and looking at the February 2010 issue of 'Aeroplane' magazine and the cutaway diagram of the Shack , it says the bombay can accommodate combinations of the following:
- Mk 30 Torpedoes
- Mk 11 depth charges
- 1000 pounders (HE)
- varius parachute flares and markers
Does anyone know of a kit that has these munitions within it that I could kitbash , or is it a case of scratchbuilding them?
Try looking at the Gannet aftermarket bomb bay sets for the Mk 30 torpedo.
Mk 11 DC can be found in arfix RN lynx kits and Somebody does produce them aftermarket (Airwaves?)
for 1000lb bombs, Paragon (The Basic RAF 1000lb bomb design has been around from the early 1950's) they will look the same as bombs used on Tornado and Jag,(not High drag bombs though!) the main visual difference being the earlier bombs were single point suspension, (not noticable in 1/72) and with different pre NATO colour scheme, (Bronze Green with sky and red bands, not current Deep Bronze Green yellow band.)
Selwyn
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WOW!
Look forward to seeing the CPU123's, look very detailed. It should look great once is it done..
CPU 123 are VERY boring I mean 7" in diameter and about a foot long. whats great about that! Why dont you buy some UK 1000LB paveway II bombs instead with the MAU 169 Guidance (thats the one fitted with the CPU 123 computer section, CPU means CP= computer & U=unit ) Oh but I forgot Those silly people at Paragon cant be bothered to label their bits correctly!
Sorry about the Rant but Paragon perpetuate this myth and it annoys me immensely!
Selwyn (The Typhoon LGB man )
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Guys and Gals.
Many many moons ago I was based at RAF Cosford training to be A RAF Armourer.
When it came to the Weapon loading phase of the course, we did our training on a Ex RN Sea Vixen FAW 2, which we used specifically for loading M155 SNEB launchers (not the ones in the kit they are RN 2" rocket pods!) and 1000lb bombs.
Question. Did the Sea Vixen carry 1000lb bombs when in service? I have never seen any pictures or seen any references to show this, but obviously they did "fit" as our load training proved.
If I remember the Aircraft we used had its wings folded so we only loaded the inner wing section stations.
also does anyone have any idea of the identity of the aircraft in question, or if it still exists.
Yours
Selwyn
PS I also remember that the aircraft in the training hangars were a better museum than the Cosford museum at that time. I remember seeing a Javelin, Canberras, (B2 and PR9) Shackeltons, (MR3)
A early lightning (Maybe a pre production A/C) lots of Ex red arrow Gnats (used for marshalling training) and a Hunter T7 that we also used for weapon training.
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The aircraft sits in the same slightly nose up position as it does normally. The nose gear strut does not compress until the catapult pulls up and the engine power comes on.
My Dad used to do the ground runs on WZ-895 and WZ-937 at the RANFAA museum and he said the nose drops rather sharply when the throttle is pushed foward.
The holdback unit is located at the bottom of the tailpipe fairing just foward of the tail pipe drains.
Dannielle
Many thanks to all Just what i was looking for!
selwyn
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Guys and Gals,
Looking for some information on how a Sea Venom sat on the catapult before launch. I know where the strop pick up points are on the aircraft, but did the jet sit nose up?, was a hold back used or some other method? I asked earlier if anyone had a picture but that was inconclusive.
TIA
Selwyn
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Just to add to the answers above, that Tornado - for instance only- consists of three actual Greys (though fading/staining of each makes it look more). For example the rear spine is in the original Dark Sea Grey; The nose either side of the roundel is in the original Dark Camouflage Grey. The lighter colours are most likely replacement parts in Medium Sea Grey. Who said grey can't be sexy!!!
As for the Typhoon. the radome was a slightly different colour, I'd use Camouflage/Barley Grey with a touch of tan
Bill,
The Typhoon Radome is BS 626 Camoflage Grey. The reason that it appears different is that the radome is Moulded in that colour, wheras the airframe has been painted. so you get the "different paint batch" effect, and it looks a slightly different shade.
Selwyn
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Saw a new 1/72 Hasegawa Avenger at the unholy price of £53.99 at Modelzone.
My first reaction was, "it must be 1/48". Wrong.
My second reaction was, "there must be 2 kits in the box". Wrong.
So yeah, here we have it. The first plastic 1/72 single-engine kit to cost more than any jet and even most 4-engine bombers in its scale. And it's not even a new tooling or, even though I did not check, probably doesn't have any resin/photo-etch or even higher quality decals.
I wonder how many they expect to sell in the UK, I mean at that price and with JSDF markings which are unlikely to be highly appealing in the UK market...
Hasegawa, you have a winner. I only hope there is a special place in modelling hell for the person(s) who decided on this price. A special place where the parts don't fit, the canopies are dull and the decals break apart at first touch
Well its not going to be expensive for me, simply because I a not going to buy one!
I don't think I have ever paid over £20 for a single engined 1/72 kit (and that includes Resin). If I want a Avenger like this I will simply buy a cheaper offering from another manufacturer and spend some quality modelling time bringing it up to the required standard. After all, doing this is one of the reasons I enjoy modelling in the first place!
Selwyn
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Ok, simple question, but one I don't know because I haven't really done any RAF a/c past the Gulf war era...
What are the current greys used on a/c such as the Typhoon?
BS381C -626 Camoflage grey. It used to be called Barley grey years ago until it was properly put into British standards. if you want more info look at the Typhoon reference thread second down from the top of this forum!
Selwyn
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What colour have you painted the Paveway bombs, they look black in the photos?
Selwyn
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Didn't know Sopwith Camels had Ejection Seats!..
Ducks to avoid the rocket wrench.....
Spike,
The camel didnt need a Ejection seat! In a emergency you just kicked your way through the fabric! Mind you those wickerwork seats were far more comfy than any Martin Baker Product...............!
If you think the Harrier was old, when I did my Mech's course (AWM 55, I believe it was the first Plums course to start a Cosford after they moved from Halton in 1979) we did our aircraft loading training phase on A Sea Vixen!!
Selwyn
Khaki Paint
in AFV WWI & Interwar
Posted
Many thanks guys
Selwyn