Doug A Jones

My understanding is that Curtiss was paid extra for a 3 colour camouflage scheme and persisted in applying this well after being instructed by the USAAF procurement folks to stop. Only when the payments for the additional colour were refused did they desist and revert to the OD/NG scheme. I'm not sure what date this happened.

Folks - on the link to the ADF Serial Telegraph above - check out the article on the 18 (NEI) Sqn B-25's. Some excellent info on the D waist turrets, nose and cheek guns, and the 'empty shell deflectors' under the nose. Also some good stuff on RAAF A-20s. I too was highly skeptical of the 2-tone disruptive OD/MG....though certainly no expert on the subject, no photos of 5th USAAF A-20s I've ever seen looked to have anything other than standard OD uppers (albeit heavily weathered) over NG lowers. Cheers Doug

Problem is, for a P-35A, the Wolfpack Designs version (and its antecedent Academy and Hobbycraft plastic) lack the fairing extending forward from the wing roots to incorporate the exhausts. Special Hobby appear to have captured this detail nicely in 1/72, and from what I can see from their online images, Dora Wings appears to have got it right in 1/48 in their upcoming P-35, but TBC. Hobbycraft also got the hatch into the luggage compartment wrong (it should be rectangular) and there are a number of other deficiencies that Wolfpack don't seem to have corrected. There's a good summary of the Hobbycraft incarnation in Werner Scheibling's build at http://www.hyperscale.com/features/2001/p35aws_1.htm I think I'll wait to see what Dora Wings comes up with. Cheers Doug

Thanks Gwart - as you say, not the clearest but better than anything else I have....much appreciated.

Thanks Chris. I have the SAM Datafile and failing all else that will provide an adequate profile and plan view to work from. I'm just not sure what is in the rectangular opening in the front...presumably a circular camera lens if no better information comes to hand. Cheers Doug

Hi folks - inspired by the new Xtradecal 1/48 sheet X48188, I've decided to build SEAC Beaufighter TF Mk X, RD515. This a/c has the gun camera mounted in a faired housing on the fuselage spine immediately behind the cockpit. The Airfix 1/72 kit A05043 of the late TF.X shows the camera fitting I'm talking about. This item is not provided in the Tamiya 1/48 TF.X kit so it's a scratchbuild job. I've done a lot of searching on the net but so far have failed to find a nice close up of the camera. Plenty of distant ones, but nothing showing the front of the camera in particular. If anyone could provide a photo or point me in the right direction I'd really appreciate it Cheers Doug

This subject has come up at least twice before on this forum, with equally inconclusive discussions regarding possible colours....May 21, 2011 and November 5, 2012. Anyone for Mauve and Stone? Cheers Doug

Thanks Graham. So X4928 at Akyab in TLS would be a contender for a code-less Mk 1?

Are there any code - serial marry-ups for the Ceylon or Akyab Mk I's? Cheers Doug

There's a remove-before-flight tag on the pitot tube. Cheers Doug

Hi Bone - I had the same problem with my MPM P-63. I used a cheap week-end edition of Eduard's P-39 as a donor for quite a few parts including the canopy. From memory the rear canopy is virtually a drop fit. The windscreen needs to be ground out and a flat armor-glass pane put in. The front part in general needs a little fettling but fits well when done. The doors....well forget about having the port door closed as usually seen in period photos. Note the rear edge of the door forming part of the roll-over structure needs to be canted backwards a bit...it's not vertical. And I believe there should be an armour glass panel built into the roll-over structure. I posted mine on HyperScale....not sure if it's still there. Cheers Doug Just checked - it's still there with comments on a lot of other bits I took from the Eduard P-39 - including the front end of the fuselage and spinner. Look here: http://www.network54.com/Forum/47751/thread/1372595581/1-48+MPM+P-63C

Just received my copy direct from the publishers - 55 Euros total delivered directly to me in Perth, Western Australia. Paid by Paypal. Ordered 3rd March, arrived 1st April. Cheers Doug

Received an email from Aviation Megastore - it's back in stock for 43.35 Euros plus postage. As pointed out above, it is English contrary to AM's information. Cheers Doug Edit - just got the P&P - 40.17 Euros to Perth, Western Australia or 83.52 Euros total. A bit rich for me. I'll see what the publishers P&P costs are.

A number of B-17F's in the Pacific were converted to unarmed transports at the end of their combat lives, and in some cases stripped back to NMF. One example was Lulu Belle, B-17F #41-24358 of the 43rd BG. Images can be seen here: http://kensmen.com/63b6.html Cheers Doug

OK, point taken Syd....actually South Asia rather than South East Asia (or ABDACOM as it was known up until just before the fall of the NEI). Cheers Doug Great information Graham. Do you have any serials & codes for the Ceylon Mk I's? Cheers Doug

Re Hurricane Mk I's in SEA - quite a few Mk I's were sent to India for training purposes, notably to 151 OTU at Risalpur (now in modern Pakistan). One of these was BOB veteran R4118 - its full story is told here: http://www.airshowspresent.com/hawker-hurricane-mki---r4118.html There are photos of several others at this site, where AG291, NB-F features prominently....is that a Mk I serial?: http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Galleries/History/WW2/Moolgavkar/ http://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=15307 https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b3/Royal_Air_Force_Operations_in_the_Far_East%2C_1941-1945._CI444.jpg Not convinced about this one but labeled as a Mk I. The Mk I's in Ceylon are mentioned in Osprey's Hurricane Mk I-V (p61) where they equipped 258 Squadron in the defense of Ceylon from the Japanese raids of April 5-9, 1942. Somewhere I read these Mk I's were upgraded to Mk II standard (re-engined maybe?). Finally - Russ C posted a very nicely done Risalpur Hurri Mk I on the august pages of this very forum: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234944845-hurricane-mk-i-tropical-indian-air-force-risalapor-1942/?hl=%2Bhurricane+%2Bruss HTH Doug

Thanks Peter.....looks like I can forget about using the Airfix Mk I kit for a KNIL bird then. Hopefully they'll put out a Mk IIB and I can build that instead. My current Hasegawa build is going to be a Burma-based RAF machine. Cheers Doug

Thanks Troy - I was aware of the thread on Britmodeller you mention. I got confused as to where I'd actually seen the reference. Checking up, I found the thread I was referring to came from here: http://www.forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=161986 I also mis-attributed the quote to Peter Boer when it was Ruud Deurenberg (although Peter was involved in the discussion). That site seems to have repeated verbatim from this site: http://planesandpilotsofww2.totalh.net/Gustin/hhids.html?ckattempt=1 To quote: "In 1941, the Dutch East Indies Air Force ordered twelve Hurricanes, but they were not delivered because there was a shortage of powerplants. In late 1941, a total of 24 Hurricane Mk Is on route to Singapore for the Royal Air Force (RAF) were delivered in crates to Tjililitan at Java for use by the Dutch East Indies Air Force. They had no radio equipment and no oxygen equipment. On 16 February 1942, they were flown to Kalidjati, where they were probably serialed (1 to 24?) and a red - white - blue flag was painted on the tail at Ngoro. Of the two squadrons of the Java Air Force, one squadron defended Batavia." However, it gets a bit murkier, because on some other sites the exact text above is used but Hurricane Mk IIb is substituted for Mk I. So now I'm unsure. I read elsewhere that some (all) the Mk I's sent to the Far East (e.g Ceylon) were upgraded to Mk II standard, although those sent to Indian AF training squadrons look to my eye to be standard Mk I's. Anyway, hopefully someone with better knowledge of the subject can help out. Oh, and I have no intention of modifying the Airfix kit to Mk II configuration.....too many other easier projects to do, like actually finishing the Hasegawa Mk IIb that's sitting half completed on my bench! Cheers Doug

Great to hear your book is coming to fruition Peter - I'll certainly be interested in acquiring a copy to add to my Bloody Shambles and Every Day a Nightmare coverage of the dark days of early 1942 in the NEI. In the meantime, a question you may be able to answer. I'm interested in modelling one of the 24 Hurricane Mk I's sent to the KNIL in Java just before the collapse, using the new Airfix 1/48 kit. I understand from another thread you've contributed to that these aircraft were given hastily applied Dutch national markings and a number in the range 1 to 24. Do you have any further detail to add to this? I'm assuming the national marking was the tri-colour rather than the orange triangle but where were they applied.....rear fuselage or tail, underwings? Likewise with the aircraft number? I also assume they retained RAF camo (Dark Green-Dark Earth-Sky) but what about the RAF serial - was it removed/painted over? Given the absence of documentation and photographs of these a/c I realize these might be difficult questions to answer definitively, but I'd certainly be interested to get your views. Cheers Doug Jones

Ultracast do 100 Gal tanks for the Tamiya 1/48 Mosquito.

If you want to reference an amazingly detailed build of this kit see the construction log by Dave Hughes at www.militarymodelling.com/forums/postings.asp?th=64928&p=1 Cheers Doug

Thanks Edgar - looking at RAAF Spitfire VIII photos it's evident they a) didn't have the wing root bulges but b ) they do have the Coffman bulges. And looks like the flat upper cowl is the way to go. You're right about the leading edge tanks being almost invisible, even when you know they're there.

Because I can't wait, and I like the challenge...can't help myself! I've got the leading edge tanks covered, and the short ailerons. Need to check the side cowl details for various bumps....also the wing root bumps. Cheers Doug

Hi folks - I'm doing a conversion of the Eduard 1/48 Spitfire IX to a RAAF VIII. Ultracast have recently released single piece resin upper cowls to replace the fiddly two piece plastic parts. Can anyone advise whether I need the 'flat' or 'bulged' versions for a RAAF VIII? Cheers Doug

The other interesting feature of the first photo is the apparent pairing of SEAC fin flash with a Type B fuselage roundel....at least it looks to me like the fin flash India White is much lighter than the centre of the fuselage roundel. Type B roundels were common on PR Spitfires but I don't recall seeing them paired with SEAC fin flashes before. Cheers Doug