Search the Community
Showing results for tags 'BPF'.
Found 10 results
-
Hi all I have been working on this kit. I have modelled DK438 a Mk1 of 1771 Squadron, HMS Implacable, task force 37.1 Pacific Ocean 1945. The Sqadron carried out strikes over the Japanese Mainland at the end of the war. The Grand Phoenix model is a limited run kit and has some astonishing detailing in the cockpits, undercarriage bays and radiator in the form of resin parts and although it is a limited run kit, goes together quite well. The model was brush painted in Humbrol enamels . I had a bit of Loss of Mojo early on in the build but overall it was an enjoyable build. I also used some aftermarket parts, a less bulbus spinnered prop, wheels cannons from Barracuda and also the rear cockpit glazing was a vacform part, but I couldn't get the windscreen right so used the kit front canopy parts. Anyway enough waffle here's the link to the WIP and some photos. A look through the arched window Some cruelly close Macro shots Thanks for looking in and thanks fofcyhe support along the way. Chris- 45 replies
-
- 70
-
-
- 1/48
- Grand Phoenix
- (and 1 more)
-
No, not the Marvel film, but the final stages of WW2 and a nod to VE Day - this is the FROG Grumman Avenger, first released 47 years ago, in 1973. This was a 1974 issue, and the decals are original, for Fleet Air Arm 857 Sqn of the British Pacific Fleet, embarked in HMS INDOMITABLE. It is very similar to the Academy kit, albeit with raised panel lines instead of engraved. Mine had warped somewhat in the box, particularly the starboard wing; I managed to fix it reasonably well, but the wings seem to have more dihedral than I think they should. Whether this is the result of my fix, or the rather vague wing root joints, or perhaps a feature of the original kit, I'm not sure. The markings are a little suspect as the fuselage roundel is a smaller version (they did change) and it still carries the Eastern Fleet tail flash. Perhaps it reflects the early days of the BPF. Nevertheless, this is a reasonable kit that builds relatively easily, albeit that some planning ahead is needed in places and confirms that if you want a quick modelling fix, the older FROGs are still worth building! And with my Academy build from a few years back.
- 9 replies
-
- 40
-
-
- BPF
- Grumman Avenger
- (and 1 more)
-
These Corsairs are part of an ongoing build regarding joint British Pacific Fleet (BPF) and USN operations in the last few months of World War II, beginning with Operation Iceberg and ending with carrier raids on the Japanese mainland itself. Both are from the 1/72 Tamiya kit. The BPF Corsair IV (Goodyear FG-1A) had to have the wingtips clipped and I added tiny fuselage vents - kudos to your eyesight if you can pick them out. Here's my traditional attempt at matching one of the reference pics. The 'X' on the tail denotes that this Corsair was based on (edit - thanks @Grey Beema!) Formidable, but I think the reference pic was taken on the USS Intrepid (the US carrier with the most British sounding name). The paint is Colourcoats Glossy Sea blue (WWII version), post-shaded with a little light grey added to the airbrush cup. The USN half of the pair is an F4U-1D with the 'diamond butterfly wings' Geometric markings belonging to the USS Essex. The over spray on the markings was on purpose, believe it or not, and was quite a challenge to reproduce. I couldn't find a reference pic for '185' so I based the markings and weathering on these two pics of Essex Corsairs. Paint is Colourcoats again, but post-shaded with Lifecolor acrylics. Here they are alongside the first completion of the project, a 1/72 Academy Helldiver. The Helldiver RFI can be found here. Off to start on the next triple, two BPF Hellcats and a Seafire.
- 26 replies
-
- 42
-
-
My house is packed up for a move (to somewhere, who knows?), along with the kit stash, books and many of my tools. A perfect time to start a build! I needed a kit that would be easy to build with the shoebox of tools that I spared from long term storage just in case the whole moving process took long enough to require them. Good call past Cookie - I really owe you one this time. This 1/72 Academy Helldiver from the USS Randolph during Operation Iceberg caught my eye. The boxart also provided a theme for a multi-build - the British Pacific Fleet played a large role in Iceberg, and this affords the opportunity to build a couple of FAA subjects that have been on the list for a long time: A Corsair IV from the HMS Formidable, and the two BPF Indomitable based Hellcats featured in the Eduard dual-combo boxing. Oh, and I'm planning to add an Essex based F4U-1D Corsair for good measure. This could turn into an @Beard level never ending build.
- 251 replies
-
- 10
-
-
Hello everybody, I'm in the process of building a FAA Hellcat Mk.I used during Operation Meridian I/II. Many questions on details I could solve myself while analyzing, I think, nearly every picture and video accessible on the Internet, or by reading books and posts in various forums. Only one very important question I couldn't solve to my satisfaction at all yet: Which specific airplane I'm building? Of the many pictures I looked at, most were seemingly taken in 1944 (many pics are dated definitely wrong throughout the Internet) and I don't like to guesstimate if the aircraft, this long after, used the same code during the raids on Palembang. Also the FAA registrations are not easy to make out most of the time, and I'm not familiar with the codes used by the 1839/44 NAS nor any other FAA squadron. So the questions is: Does anyone know which specific Hellcats were flown during the 24th/29th January 1945? I would highly appreciate if you could include the source of the information, but the ultimate goal would be a picture of the specific plane. Still just a registration number would already help a lot, as this would clarify at least which style of cowling would be accurate. If you can contribute anything I'm very grateful! Any other commend, picture, etc., is of course appreciated as well - you never know everything or could locate every picture.
-
I am trying to determine the serial number and possibly plane code of a 894 Squadron Seafire piloted by Sub-Lt Fred Hockley lost near Tokyo Bay Aug 15, 1945. I have Morgan & Shacklady's big book of Spitfires but am at a loss finding this particular aircraft. Any other resources on-line or in print that might possibly help? Many thanks, Donald Anderson -
This is my completed TBF-1C Avenger, JZ257/373 'P', 849 NAS HMS Victorious 1945. I used the Italeri kit, Xtradecal markings and an Eduard cockpit detail set. The build log is at the link below: http://www.aussiemodeller.com.au/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=10881 The images: For more images go to the link below: http://www.aussiemodeller.com.au/pages/Gallery/Aircraft_E-H/Harvey%20FAA%20Avenger01.html
- 19 replies
-
- 37
-
-
Hi folks, here is Special Hobby's 1/48 Fairey Firefly in the markings of 1771 Sqn onboard HMS Implacable in 1945. The kit was finished with Xtracrylix and also I used Alclad for the first time as an underlayer for chipping. I found the kit quite challenging in some places notably the fit of the rear canopy to the fuselage and a fair bit of filler was required here and there. Cheers Nick- 17 replies
-
- 34
-
-
Sorry to unearth this old chestnut. Over in the "FAA Pacific Theatre Corsair Paint Question" thread ClaudioN linked to a very interesting Canadian biography of Don Sheppard, a Corsair pilot: http://www.vintagewi...Bitter-End.aspx Buried in the text is a mention of 1844 Sq (Hellcats) using rocket projectiles for the first time on 31 March 1945. I don't think this was new to me: I believe I have seen references to BPF RP expenditures in posts by Iang. It seems to me there are 2 options: either these were Hellcats fitted with British 60lb RPs complete with rails and massive blast plates (I have seen photos of these both in rear areas (eg S Africa, Australia) and with the East Indies Fleet, but never with the BPF) or these are late model Hellcats fitted with stubs for HVARs (introduced from BuNo 42185 so from somewhere about JV190-221 in the UK serial allocation). The former seems more likely to me. Quite apart from the received wisdom eg from David Hobbs that the BPF only used UK munitions, the pilots complain (as reported in the Sheppard article) about the reduced speed and rate of climb, which didn't improve even after the weapons had been expended: I don't imagine that HVAR stubs would have had that much effect on the aircraft's performance. On the other hand the UK RP installation was too bulky to overlook so I'm surprised it hasn't turned up in photographic evidence before now. So: has anyone any photographic evidence of rocket-firing Hellcats in the BPF?
-
Chaps and chapesses, I have recently bought a Hobby Boss Easy build Corsair F4U-4 and I had the idea of completing it as a late WWII FAA machine. If I wanted to be very subtle, I could build it in GSB as a BPF machine, but I quite fancied something in the ETO - perhaps as used in the invasion of Norway in late 1945. So, TSS would be a good guess, I'd have thought. However, when did the EDSG / Sky scheme come in for FAA machines? Was this something that could have happened when the war was on*, or was it a reaction to peacetime? If the former, it might look a bit different on a Corsair! Any thoughts? regards, Martin * Yep, I know: my what-if, my rules, but I'd like to make it not too "unbelievable", if you get my drift.
