DaveJL

I've built the ZM and Meng kits in the last number of months. Personally, I prefer the ZM kit, although as stated above, you'll need a slat conversion for a late model. My (non expert!) comparisons are listed toward the end of the Meng thread. ZM - Meng - Dave

Snap! Had seen that video and included it in the first post! Love the commentary! I think I'll go ahead and fit them, adds a bit of interest and I can't confirm either way so anyones guess . I picked up a copy of Osprey's PBY units in the Pacific for a few quid off eBay so will see if that sheds anymore light. I also can't conclude if the black was applied over the blue/white paint or straight onto the metal. Any ideas? Also, am I right in saying the control surfaces were covered in fabric?

Thanks James! That's good to know, not that I would have put anymore detail in anyway

Cheers Craig!

Cheers Craig! Would they have been fitted in mid/late 1943? I can't find any conclusive answers in the Squadron book or online.

Thanks chaps.

Finally cut some plastic, stuck some plastic together and threw some paint on this one. Interior is a bit bare, but for all you see it's not the worst. The etch seat belts for the cockpit and 3D panels add a little bit of detail. I added some panel wash and chipping with XF-16: I may have sliced a little too much off one of the wheels there . The .50s sit nicely in the blister openings: Pretty much ready to attach the fuselage halves, once I pop in the front turret and some weight. I'm confident 'Pistol Packin' Mama' had the twin .30s in the nose and no radar above the cockpit, but would anyone be able to suggest if it would have carried the wing mounted antenna? Not sure what they are. The instructions suggest these were only carried by early PBY-5As but I've seen a few completed kits with these fitted. Parts A22/23. I've scored them out as you can see thinking they weren't needed Enjoying the kit so far! The main fun will be the weathering 😃 Dave

Thanks Dennis!

Hello all, Here is my entry for this GB - Tamiya's 1/48 A-1H Skyraider marked as BuNo 139768 of VA-25 'Fist of the Fleet', flying off the USS Midway during the Vietnam war in 1965. Delivered to the Navy in 1956, this Skyraider served with VA-42 and VA-122 prior to being transferred to VA-25 in July 1964. On the 20th June 1965, this aircraft was piloted by Lt Clint Johnson and was credited with downing a North Vietnamese MIG-17 along with Lt Charlie Hartman. 139768 was passed to VA-115 in 1966 and forced to ditch in the Gulf of Tonkin due to battle damage in March 1967. Kit: Extras: I'll be adding a Quinta cockpit set, Quickboost resin cockpit piece, New Ware masks and Aeromaster decals. I've seen a few images of Spads carrying MK.81 250lb bombs, so I retrieved a few old Hasegawa examples from the spares and will add these to some the kit supplied ordnance (of which there is a lot!) Reference: Been wanting to do this one for a while so looking forward to getting started (need to get that Catalina under way first though!). Dave

Thanks all! @MarkTurner, there's a few close ups in the build thread!

Thanks! Yes, the probe doors were often removed as they had a tendency to break off, or be pulled away, when tanking with USAF KC-135s. I believe it was something to do with the rigidity of the baskets used at the time, unlike a softer basket used by USN S-3s, USAF KC-10s and RAF tankers. Thanks Rod! Thanks Ruari! You’re right about the time period, I’ve a VF-154 A and VF-32 B in the pipeline along with a few more from OEF.

1/48 Tamiya F-14D VF-31 'Tomcatters' Iraqi Freedom, 2003. Build thread Cheers Dave

Thanks all! @Retired Bob, yes, all kit weapons. There are plenty included! @chrispisme tell me about it, this is my 11th! @Farmerboy, it's a tremendous kit! Thanks Alex!

Hello all, Here is my recently completed 1/48 Tamiya F-14D Tomcat, in the markings of VF-31 'Tomcatters' during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. BuNo 159618 was delivered to the Navy in 1975 as an F-14A, serving with VF-124 before being the 17th of 18 F-14As rebuilt as an F-14D in 1990/91. The jet returned to VF-124, before being moved to VF-101 and finally VF-31 in 1995. During OIF, 159618 dropped 35 JDAMs/LGBs and was inloved in a strafing run, seeing it expend 193 20mm cannon rounds. The aircraft was scrapped in late 2003. Build thread is below: Extras used included: Twobobs - Decals Quickboost - Ejection seats Quinta - Cockpit set New Ware - masks Eduard - canopy masks Tamiya - detail set Paints are from MRP with the weathering a mixture of post shading, Flory wash, Abteilung oils and Tamiya weathering sets. Thanks for looking. Dave

Last details added and we're done! More pictures in RFI: As always, thanks to all who commented/followed the build. Dave

Cheers! Can’t beat a grubby ‘cat!

Thanks Col! We're getting there! Flat coat and weathering done yesterday. A mixture of Abteilung oils, Tamiya powders and post shading. Today then, undercarriage on followed by the wings, tails and stabilisers. Once set, I added the fuel tanks, ordnance and pitot tube. Just the seats to pop in and details to add to the canopy. Dave

Thanks for the tips all! Hoping to make a start soon! Thanks for the info! On the topic of undercarriage bays, what colour would they be and what colour would the struts be? I've seen images of completed models with black wells and struts but wanted to check if this was correct!

More done. Wasn't happy with the modex numbers on the nose, so carefully peeled them off with the aid of a lot of Mr Mark Softer solution. From watching the last cruise video, it looks like 110 was vertical on the nose, as opposed to slightly canted. So I was able to butcher some number from the spares. Once done, I oversprayed some stencils in a mixture of the greys before throwing on the panel wash. Excess removed after an hour or so: Wings and stabs just set on for now. Top coat and oils next. Dave

Decals on over the last few evenings. Generally very good for an old sheet, though I think the sizing of the nose modex number is slightly too big, with the sheet being sized for the Hasegawa kit. Walkways and 'slime' lights are from the kit with the intake warning stencils coming from a Furball sheet. Bomb tally, quite impressive! Unlike most other squadrons, VF-31 didn't differentiate between JDAMs and LGBs on their bomb tallies, instead going for Felix holding a bomb. Doesn't get much cooler than that, no wait it does, the Tommy gun symbol showing that this jet used it's 20mm cannon in anger. All deals sealed in with a top coat of gloss. Hoping to get the panel wash done tomorrow. Dave

More progress. Painting was done over the last few days, with the detailed areas done today. Some post shading of various panels with a mixture of the TPS colours to get a bit of a worn look which will be further highlighted when we get to weathering. Wings, stabilisers and tail fins: Pylons and fuel tanks: Photos aren't great, think my lens is starting to show it's age! Any suggestions for a good lens for taking pictures of builds, Nikon D7000 body? More soon Dave

Some more progress, feel like this one is going at a snail's pace . Anyway, the JDAMs were finished. Boy, these were a pain in the backside to mask up! As per some reference images, I added some grime and dirt to the bodies, but left the grey guidance kit relatively clean. Undercarriage doors finished. The trusty red Sharpie used for the edging! Airframe, wings, tails, stabs and tanks all primed, sanded with a 3000 grit Tamiya sanding sponge, then pre-shaded: Finally, a couple of new books arrived. The Detail and Scale book is very good indeed and compliments the Daco book bible well. Hoping to get the paint on over the weekend. Dave

Very nice Rich! I was considering the same scheme as you but couldn't resist a weathered low viz example!

Thanks mate! A little more done. I focused on the missiles and LANTIRN pod. Stencils are all from the kit: I added a little chipping to the leading edge of the pod, as per some images in the Daco book. Undercarriage was next, again some chipping, this time with the aid of a few AK pencils. Wing sweep 'bags' and arrestor hook also finished: Next jobs will be to paint and detail the JDAMs and the undercarriage doors. More soon, Dave

Thanks Martin. Happy New Year to you all! I was fast asleep long before midnight, but several pints of Guinness throughout the afternoon meant I was nursing a slight hangover when I returned to the bench this morning 🤪. Still, I managed to get the seats finished: Kit stencils were used and I removed the resin ejection pulls from the seats and replaced them with Quinta's offering. RIO's coaming was next, again with some Quinta details added: Exhausts were next. I painted these with Tamiya XF-69 'Nato Black' before using the New Ware masking sheet to mask off the individual 'petals'. Once done, a few coats of MRP titanium. Tamiya weathering sets for the insides: Not much and plenty of small jobs to do before the airframe gets looked at but we're getting there More soon Dave