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Steve, Not trying to prove you wrong either, but I've seen those references too and photographic evidence shows otherwise. The RAF Mustangs had the standard N.American pistol grip. There are photos of the cockpits of Polish Mustang IIIs that show the standard grip, and I believe the illustrations in the Air Ministry Mustang III Pilot's Notes also show the pistol grip. Of course all that stuff is on my computer at home. I should actually be working at the moment... Cheers, Richard

Excellent job on what is a very difficult kit! What a brute of an aircraft, would love to see it in 1/32!! Cheers, Richard

Ian, I've never had one of the Matchbox kits, so I couldn't really say. Maybe one of the Buccaneer experts here might be able to give us an idea. The problem with the Airfix nose as you know is that it missed the subtle "pinch-in" where the radome meets the fuselage in front of the windscreen. To be honest it's one of those things that really isn't glaringly obvious, until someone points it out to you! Then you can't stop seeing it. I suppose it would be possible to sand the nose into shape, but I tend to overdo things. The Airkit Enterprises corrections and conversions had all kinds of bits for Fleet Air Arm aircraft, mostly in 1/72 I think. Now I have to take a look around to see if I can find a Matchbox Buccaneer...just for comparisons of course. Cheers, Richard

This is really odd, because I just this week won some Bucc bits and pieces by Airkit on eBay, including two corrected noses. So they do come up occasionally. And I'm sorry but both noses are already committed to planned builds, one already started. Might be time for maybe Pavla or Quickboost to do one, unless Trumpeter surprises us with a new-tooled 1/72 scale kit. Cheers, Richard

Same here, I'm not going to let this one go by me this time around. Cheers, Richard

Those Spitfire photos are just stunning!! The colours are so rich and true...like they were taken yesterday. Kodachrome I'm guessing. Wow, lots of interesting things to note on those. Thank you Steven!! Cheers, Richard

Any news for those of us who couldn't get to SMW? Or should I give Roy a chance to get home first? Cheers, Richard

Jim... the article on the Australian/Mediterranean Mustangs that your link leads to is awesome. I have seen some of this before, but the connections he establishes between some of the odd schemes seen in the UK and the Med tie some loose ends together. This is a very interesting thread so far. Cheers, Richard

Thanks, I was a bit confused there ... Actually, I'm really curious to see what this will look like!!

Hope I'm not misreading your post, but none of the squadrons flying escort to the the shipping strikes to Norway flew Tempests. Also, none of the Polish squadrons was equipped with the Tempest. All that being said (and hope this is what you wanted)... 315 and 316 Squadrons of the Polish Air Force flew escorts, as well as 19 and 65 Squadrons RAF. All flew Mustangs, the Poles flew Mustang IIIs, and when 19 and 65 took over they had transitioned to Mustang IVs (P-51D/K). Hope that helped, and if you need photos or markings let me know. Cheers, Richard

Great news to start the week!! All the best with this new venture. A lot of people will be watching with interest to see what's coming. Cheers, Richard

First on my list: HMS Warspite. Has to be the best value for money ever from a warship and a stubborn lady at that. Even at the end wouldn't go to the breakers obediently and grounded herself on the way. Was involved in WWI, was at Jutland (where she did her pirouette in front of the German Fleet) survived to WWII and served almost everywhere, Narvik, the Med (Matapan), the Pacific (even visited British Columbia), Normandy, the Channel Campaign. Took a German radio controlled bomb and after repairs came back again, with one turret u/s. Not the biggest or fastest or even best looking (though she is in my books however) I would love to see a 1/350 kit of Warspite. As for the rest, have to think about that. Cheers, Richard

Very sad to hear this, but he had been living in pain for a long time. He was very generous with his knowledge and connections, and always sent me copies of Canadian Mustang material he crossed in his research. He was a modest man, and the veterans seemed to take to him because he took the time to know his stuff. He lived and breathed aviation, but he LOVED the Spitfire, and was determined to make the Canadian public aware of the stories from the pilots and ground crew. Although the published books were not exactly as he wanted (mainstream publishers are not all that bothered by printing to a proper scale, and I think if it was his choice the first book would have been 600+ pages!) he fought to keep them quality references. He made a mark for sure, and contributed to the understanding of an important piece of Canadian military history, and the Canadian character. His health struggles make that accomplishment all the more remarkable. Rest in Peace Robert...

WOW John! Tremendous amount of information there. Thank you so much. Cheers. Richard

Thank you John. Very kind of you to do that! Cheers, Richard

For the Mig 21 it depends on which version you want. Mig-21F: the Revell is the one. Clean and crisp but the intake is a bit undersized. You can either ignore it or Quickboost has a resin correction that is a simple replacement. Mig 21PF: Bilek, a little rough but accurate and engraved panel lines Mig 21PFM: Zvezda, beautiful kit, engraved panel lines, nice crisp molding and accurate outline Mig 21MF: still waiting for a good one, you could alter the Zvezda Mig 21bis by reducing the spine/tail profile, the KP kit has a pretty good outline but has raised panel lines and is a very old tooling. There is also the Fujimi kit if you have to, it is a beautiful crisp molding but it suffers from some serious outline issues...it's a bit bloated. Mig 21bis: new Zvezda kit, again beautiful simple kit. Accurate outline, engraved panel lines, crisp molding Mi 21U and UM: two-seaters, Bilek. They are a bit rough in surface texture, but are accurate and engraved. Some of the others: The Mig 23MF: the Academy kit is I believe the Hasegawa kit redone with engraved panel lines. Not bad but nose and tail need work. Zvezda/Italeri somewhat better shape, raised panel lines (if that matters to you) Sabre: as the others have said, Fujimi, Hobbycraft or Academy F-104: Hasegawa British Phantoms : Fujimi Hope this helps. Cheers, Richard

That is just hilarious! Brilliantly executed and very creative. I just love the whole idea. Well done!! It just looks so clean. Cheers, Richard

Thank you so much...this is what I was waiting to hear! I should have thought of Mr. Bentley first. I will likely be building more than one, so the plans will be worth it. Thank you Edgar for the direct link! Richard

Thank you Edgar for the explanation of the wing root problem. It didn't look right to me, but I didn't know if it was an illlusion. It doesn't help that the Matchbox parts are clunky and fiddly at that point. I know the Spit 21/22/24 wing differed from the earlier Marques, but wasn't sure how it would affect things at the root. The Fleet Air Arm colour scheme doesn't help either, seems to exaggerate the sweep of the root and trailing edge. The radiators may be accidentally correct, as they are shorter and do have the cutback angle at the rear to clear the bigger flaps. Not sure if they are deep enough. Hopefully some good drawings will help answer these questions. It's the only game in town though, so I'm glad Matchbox produced it. Jen's conversion bits are lovely, and are going to save a lot of work and time! Cheers, Richard

Thank you Matthew, I ordered a copy of the Datafile this evening. Hopefully it won't be too long coming. There is also the AJ Press book from Poland that covers late Spitfires and Seafires which should also have some good drawings. I'm just concerned about the wing-root area on the kit which looks somehow too wide, especially where it curves into the fuselage at the trailing edge. I would like to compare it to some good drawings. ANd thank you Lee for the flap drawings, that should be a help. I had wanted to model it with one wing folded and one wing down and locked, but since the wing-folding was hydralic I'm guessing they would both have to be either up or down. The notch on the smaller inboard flap section is interesting... not something I noticed before. Cheers all, it's 12:30am here, time for hitting the sack, Richard

Thank you everybody for the leads so far, looks like I'll have to purchase the Griffon-engined Spitfire/Seafire Modeller's Datafile and the On-Target Seafire book. I've just been bitten by the Seafire bug, and bought Jen's "Brit Bits" Seafire 47 conversion (I bought 2 actually!) for the 1/32 Matchbox Spitfire. I love the look of the Seafire 47, and would like to build one to put beside an early Spitfire I as a sort of "first and last in service" display. That's the plan anyway... Cheers, Richard

Could anyone point me to some accurate Seafire 47 drawings? I have the Warpaint title on the Griffon Seafires, but the arrangement drawings don't include the 47. The colour profiles missed the curved windscreen, so not sure what else is not quite right. The Morgan/Shacklady Spitfire bible has some good detail drawings of wing hinges, panels and interior plumbing and detail but no three/four views. I'd like something I can enlarge to 1/32. Cheers, Richard

The HobbyCraft Sea Fury has featured in a number of threads on the Large Scale Planes website. One build in particular will show you what can be done: Hobbycraft Sea Fury build It is a basic kit but the fit is very good. The cockpit and wheel wells in particular need help, the canopy needs replacing, and the panel lines are a bit heavy handed but bearable. It does look very much like it is a 1/48 kit scaled up. One major error was they seem to have got the airfoil of the wings upside down, i.e.: the flatter part is on the wing upper surfaces, while the curved surface is underneath. One of those things that until it is pointed out you don't really notice, but once you do know, it is obvious. The other aspect that needs to be corrected is the slope in front of the windscreen. Apart from being a bit too steep, instead of being curved it has flat sides. It will take a bit of sanding to restore the correct shape. Visit the large Scale Planes website and you'll find a few references with lots of pics. Here is one thread where I took a number of close-ups: Sea Fury first impressions For $39.95CAN I am happy with it. Cheers, Richard

Your're right, it's a cheap and quick conversion. Airfix got the dimensions of the F-86D wings correct or very close, so you could use them to convert other 1/72 Sabre models back to the narrower chord wings. Saves chopping and sawing a narrow strip out of the 6-3 wings. Was planning to try this on some Hobbycraft Sabres to build some earlier marks of Canadair Sabres. Actually, the Airfix F-86D is not a bad kit at all. Cheers, Richard

Hope this isn't a repeat message, but I was saddened to hear that noted aviation historian Chaz Bowyer passed away last week at the age of 81. Can hardly be an aviation enthusiast that hasn't read or used one of his books. The following message was apparently sent out by his daughter to the Key Publishing Aviation Forum (Flypast Magazine, etc.): With regret I would like to report the death of my father, aviation historian Chaz Bowyer. He passed away peacefully yesterday (18th June) at the Norfolk and Norwich hospital aged 81, after a brief illness. His immediate family were all with him. I am Chaz's daughter and would like to thank all the well-wishers for their e-mails of condolence which are a great comfort to the family at this time. Dad lived and breathed aircraft and the brave airmen that flew them from a very young age and his interest and passion for the subject never diminished. I know he would have been touched at some of the tributes we have been sent. If anybody would like to contact me please use my e-mail address at - [email protected] Please feel free to pass this information on to any forums you feel may be interested in Dads passing, I would like to let the wider Aviation community know. Thanks - Lisa Cheers, Richard