Jump to content

Search the Community

Showing results for tags 'China'.

  • Search By Tags

    Type tags separated by commas.
  • Search By Author

Content Type


Calendars

  • Community Calendar
  • Group Builds
  • Model Show Calendar

Forums

  • Forum Functionality & Forum Software Help and Support
    • FAQs
    • Help & Support for Forum Issues
    • New Members
  • Aircraft Modelling
    • Military Aircraft Modelling Discussion by Era
    • Civil Aircraft Modelling Discussion by Era
    • Work in Progress - Aircraft
    • Ready for Inspection - Aircraft
    • Aircraft Related Subjects
  • AFV Modelling (armour, military vehicles & artillery)
    • Armour Discussion by Era
    • Work in Progress - Armour
    • Ready for Inspection - Armour
    • Armour Related Subjects
    • large Scale AFVs (1:16 and above)
  • Maritime Modelling (Ships and subs)
    • Maritime Discussion by era
    • Work in Progress - Maritime
    • Ready for Inspection - Maritime
  • Vehicle Modelling (non-military)
    • Vehicle Discussion
    • Work In Progress - Vehicles
    • Ready For Inspection - Vehicles
  • Science Fiction & RealSpace
    • Science Fiction Discussion
    • RealSpace Discussion
    • Work In Progress - SF & RealSpace
    • Ready for Inspection - SF & RealSpace
  • Figure Modelling
    • Figure Discussion
    • Figure Work In Progress
    • Figure Ready for Inspection
  • Dioramas, Vignettes & Scenery
    • Diorama Chat
    • Work In Progress - Dioramas
    • Ready For Inspection - Dioramas
  • Reviews, News & Walkarounds
    • Reviews
    • Current News
    • Build Articles
    • Tips & Tricks
    • Walkarounds
  • Modelling using 3D Printing
    • 3D Printing Basics
    • 3D Printing Chat
    • 3D Makerspace
  • Modelling
    • Group Builds
    • The Rumourmonger
    • Manufacturer News
    • Other Modelling Genres
    • Britmodeller Yearbooks
    • Tools & Tips
  • General Discussion
    • Chat
    • Shows
    • Photography
    • Members' Wishlists
  • Shops, manufacturers & vendors
    • Aerocraft Models
    • Air-craft.net
    • Amarket Model
    • A.M.U.R. Reaver
    • Atlantic Models
    • Beacon Models
    • BlackMike Models
    • Bring-It!
    • Copper State Models
    • Freightdog Models
    • Hannants
    • fantasy Printshop
    • Fonthill Media
    • HMH Publications
    • Hobby Paint'n'Stuff
    • Hypersonic Models
    • Iliad Design
    • Hobby Colours & Accessories
    • KLP Publishing
    • L'Arsenal 2.0
    • Kingkit
    • MikroMir
    • Model Designs
    • Modellingtools.co.uk
    • Maketar Paint Masks
    • Marmaduke Press Decals
    • Parkes682Decals
    • Paulus Victor Decals
    • Red Roo Models
    • RES/KIT
    • Sovereign Hobbies
    • Special Hobby
    • Test Valley Models
    • Tiger Hobbies
    • Ultimate Modelling Products
    • Videoaviation Italy
    • Wingleader Publications
  • Archive
    • 2007 Group Builds
    • 2008 Group Builds
    • 2009 Group Builds
    • 2010 Group Builds
    • 2011 Group Builds
    • 2012 Group Builds
    • 2013 Group Builds

Categories

  • New Features
  • Other

Find results in...

Find results that contain...


Date Created

  • Start

    End


Last Updated

  • Start

    End


Filter by number of...

Joined

  • Start

    End


Group


AIM


MSN


Website URL


ICQ


Yahoo


Jabber


Skype


Location


Interests

Found 24 results

  1. This is a great little kit from Meng. There's plenty of detail, although the surface detail may not to be to some people's choice (yes I know about Mustang wings and putty). The kit is snap tight and can be assembled without any glue at all. I did use glue. although it's near perfect fit allows you to snap the parts together and run glue into the joints. I did add some seat belts to the cockpit. Decals look very thick and I had my doubts about them, but the right application of setting solution and a press down saw them dry nicely and settle into the surface detail. You do get the option of cuffed and uncuffed propeller along with different spinner and canopy. Two decal options are included, both PLA aircraft. I chose the one with the biggest national insignia. Rudder flash is supplied, but I chose to mask and paint mine. The Communist Chinese captured around 40 Mustangs from Nationalist forces at the end of the Chinese Civil War, when the Nationalist forces retreated to Taiwan. I'm not sure how long they were in service for, but were probably quickly retired once the supply of Russian Mig 15's arrived.
  2. Hi, all! Have two absolutely identical photo FC-1 first prototype N01: But where is true blue color? Also have other photos this FC-1 prototype 01: I marked the photo from one to five from top to bottom, you can vote for the blue color that you consider the most reliable. You can indicate your shade, it will be very good if you give arguments in favor of your choice. (Six question, traditional just for fun!😉😁) In order to finally confuse everything!😁 1.For Photoshop fans who like to tweak the white balance. Wing missiles will not work as a fulcrum! Because they are not white: ...oops! 2. 50 shadow😁 Chinese blue: Link, because problem with copyright Airliners.net: https://www.airliners.net/photo/China-Air-Force/Shenyang-J-6A/1196708 But look as difference one shadow blue depending on the lighting! Decal interpretation: (FS34108???? Seriously??? Green???) Decal interpretation: Also difference FS35095 or FS35183 as blue. 3. Most interesting moment! Thanks to this, the topic: Have close shadow blue colour Myanmar Air Force's JF-17, first prototype FC-1 and JL-9: ....but, other photo JL-9, first prototype FC-1: Also have close blue shadow! Why did I have this question? The fact is that I actually have a model FC-1 from Trumpeter in 72nd scale ready for painting. I don't like the paint options out of the Trumpeter box, because I don't like mutants, where the plane bears a lot of insignia while being built in one country. Of course my interesting this blue color in the interpretation of paints GS or Tamiya....🙄 The opinion @Thant would be very interesting in this topic! B.R. Serge P.S. scalemodels.ru user opinion was split in half on analogue topic.🤗
  3. Here is my Dragon 1:144 Changhe (CAIC) WZ-10 attack helicopter which I built back in 2012. It represents LH95112, one of the prototypes, People's Republic of China, from 2004 onwards. Information then was sketchy and different prototypes had some different configurations. The only alteration I did was re-shape the tips of the main rotor blades from square to curved. The tail rotor is wrong. It should be an "X" rather than a cross but I left it as it came. The kit lacked a cockpit and I used a Matador Models white metal Mi-28 cockpit which fitted perfectly. The kit was fully painted with brush and only the final matt coat was airbrushed. Thanks for looking Miguel
  4. Hey guys: Does anyone have any experience with the multitude of new 1/35 WWII military figures from China that are popping up on EBay? Some are obvious recasts 😡 but the majority look like new CAD products http./1/35 Resin WWII German Officer & Soldier Panzer Crew Unpainted Unbuild BL535 from “Fashonzon” is an example. Has anybody ordered from any of these companies? Thanks, Marty
  5. Dear friends, This is the last addition to my collection, a P-26 Peashooter in Chinese colors (in fact the Chinese version was named Boeing model 281). Painted in overall light grey, the majority of these aircrafts were changed to green later. The kit was surprisingly good for its age, no fit issues, a good cockpit (that I enhanced with some belts), and a good engine too. The only difficulty in construction concerned the engine exhausts and rigging, which I represented using Albion Alloys 0.2mm nickel rod. Overall a pleasant construction. Hope you like it, Dimitrios K.
  6. Hi, all. Until I wasn't at home, this cat: has surfed on my table where there were details J-10B for coloring. As a result I haven't got one nose wheel (detail D5) and is HUD (detail G7). Nose wheel not a problem for my, because I can make the copy from remained. Not problem to make HUD most if there is a photo or the drawing. Whether somebody can at whom have unbulit J-10B (Trumpeter 1/72, item no.:01651) to make HUD photo (a detail G7) near a ruler? Three photos the front view, the top view and a side view are necessary!!! To me three photos are necessary because at J-10B rather irregular shape is HUD: (resource photo:http://errymath.blogspot.com/2015/01/jf-17-block-iii-pictures.html?m=0#.WbwmrBmOGBY ) and just I haven't enough photos from the Internet for production of this detail. Of course I will look for these details, but if the cat hasn't eaten them, then he has dumped them from a table on a carpet. But "a big carpet monster" doesn't give fine details! Therefore it is possible they should be done most. For this purpose the photo is necessary. Please help! B.R. Serge
  7. Hi, Introducing Asian air Arms SIG. Although focussed on post-1945 Asian military aviation there were so many WWII aircraft used in this region until the late 1950s that I though it might be of interest to WWIIers! It offers some wild colour schemes and bizarre partnerships. What about Pakistani Halifax, Communist Chinese Lavochkin La-11, Indonesian Mustang and Tupolev Tu-2, Taiwanese B-24, Thai Helldiver, Japanese Avenger, Filippino Mustang? And on, and on and on.....! Asian Air Arms SIG has been set up to enable modellers to access a huge resource of post-1945 military aircraft subjects from 26 Asian countries: Mongolia to the Maldives, and from Japan to Afghanistan. Huge website http://www.asianairarms.com offers thousands of photos, colour schemes, research, contemporary accounts, kit lists, decal info, photos of members' models and air arms' lists of serial numbers. We exhibit at many UK shows including North East, Midlands and South West. Members are encouraged to display under our banner. Next two shows: Boscombe Down 6th August, and IPMS Avon 13th August. We welcome all, particularly those with specialised knowledge to help add to, and improve the accuracy of, our resources. Costs nothing to join, just click "Join Here" on our website and you'll go straight on to our mailing list.
  8. Hi, Want some wild colour schemes and bizarre partnerships? What about Bangladesh Canadair CL-13 Sabre, Sri Lankan Pioneer, Taiwanese U-2, Malaysian Albatross, Burmese Bristol Freighter, South Korean T-33, Communist Chinese MiG-9, Indian Ouragan? And on, and on and on.....! Asian Air Arms SIG has been set up to enable modellers to access a huge resource of post-1945 military aircraft subjects from 26 Asian countries: Mongolia to the Maldives, and from Japan to Afghanistan. Huge website http://www.asianairarms.com offers thousands of photos, colour schemes, research, contemporary accounts, kit lists, decal info, photos of members' models and air arms' lists of serial numbers. We exhibit at many UK shows including North East, Midlands and South West. Members are encouraged to display under our banner. Next two shows: Boscombe Down 6th August, and IPMS Avon 13th August. We welcome all, particularly those with specialised knowledge to help add to, and improve the accuracy of, our resources. Costs nothing to join, just click "Join Here" on our website and you'll go straight on to our mailing list.
  9. Hi, all! Maybe somebody saw a photo not retouched number on a fin of the front line (not a prototype) of Chengdu J-10B with Woshan WS-10A «Taihang» ? Chengdu J-10B with Lulka AL-31F at which I saw not retouched numbers on a fin, Chengdu J-10B with Woshan WS-10A «Taihang» didn't meet.... And still question of a camouflage of J-10. Instructions recommend to paint Chengdu J-10 in GS Aqueous Hobby Colour 61 tops and bottom GS Aqueous Hobby Colour 308 + white . GS Aqueous Hobby Colour 61 is gray with a yellowish shade, but on a photo of Chengdu J-10 from above is painted in gray with a bluish shade... maybe someone saw Chengdu J-10B in live can also clear what at it actually a shade of gray - yellowish or bluish? Maybe take place to be both options of a gray shade by the real airplanes? Then what pattern? B.R. Serge
  10. Hi, Next one of ths year - Italian interwar fighter Breda Ba 27 "Metallico" in Chineese colours from 1937. Model made from AZ kit practicly OOB. Only small modification like spinning prop and home made bars in riging instead of PE provided in kit. Some 12 of them were in use in China and not many more of them were build at all. Here she is: So my Chinees '37-'40 shelf get a bit more crawdy: Coments welcome Best regards Jerzy-Wojtek
  11. i Second I-16 variant done recently by me. It is a two seater, unarmed UTI-4 in Chineese markings (on profile I followed it was said "1938", on second of the same machine it was "1940"). I found photo of her as well... Anyway - she looks like this: Comments welcome Regards J-W
  12. When in July of 1937 China's Nationalist Party government resolved on war in the face of Japanese military action near Peking, the Curtiss Hawk III was the chief fighter plane of the Chinese air force. The first Chinese fighter pilot to shoot down a Japanese aircraft, Colonel Kao Chi-hang, did so from the cockpit of a Curtiss Hawk III biplane. How the Curtiss Hawk III came into being, and came to its prominent position in Nationalist China's air service, is a strange and tangled tale. In the late nineteen twenties, Curtiss modified the Army's 'Falcon' attack plane for the Navy and Marines, producing the flamboyantly named Helldiver, a true dive bomber, and one of the earliest. In 1932, Curtiss presented the Navy with a single seat machine, the F11C-2, capable of fighter operations and of dive-bombing, with the same 500lb load the 'Helldiver' carried, and able as well to undertake scouting duties with a large external fuel tank fitted in place of bombs. As this was going into production, the Grumman company won a Navy contract for a two seat machine with retracting landing gear and an all-metal frame, which out-performed the Curtiss single-seater. The Navy wanted something similar from Curtiss, and an early producton example of the F11C-2 was pulled for modification, fitted with wings framed in aluminum, and with an arrangement in which its landing gear retracted manually into two 'lobes' extending down on either side near the nose. This last gave the resulting aircraft a quite distinctive profile, as well as a ventral channel on its center-line where a large bomb or fuel tank could be carried. This was accepted by the Navy as the BF2C-1, and the first production examples were delivered near the end of 1934. There were some difficulties with the landing gear, and the ventral channel disturbed the flow of air to the elevators and rudder when a bomb or tank was carried on the center-line rack. These things were fixed readily enough, the latter by a venturi ring fitted between the 'lobes' at the front of the ventral channel. But the great problem was that at normal cruising speeds, the metal structure of the wings proved to resonate to the the vibrations of the Cyclone motor, inducing severe flutter that made the airplane difficult to control, and fatigued its structure. The phenomenon was poorly understood at the time, but the effect it produced ought to have been caught in pre-production trials. In the absence of a good understanding of what was going on, no remedy for the metal wing's vibrations could be found, though tests along several lines were carried out in the attempt. Curtiss proposed replacing the wings with the original wooden structures, but the Navy would not pay for this and Curtiss would not do it for free. When one BF2C-1 disintegrated in flight early in 1935, the Navy pulled the type out of service. The airframes were stripped of everything useable, then unceremoniously dumped in the sea off the California coast, and it was questionable for some time if Curtiss would be able to supply any airplanes to the Navy at all after the debacle. When the BF2C-1 was fitted with the original wooden wings which had served the Hawk biplane series so well for a decade, since the first P-1 Hawk fighter went into production, the Curtiss company had in this aircraft a perfectly serviceable fighter-bomber, but one in which no armed service of the United States had the slightest interest. To salvage the design as a business proposition, Curtiss turned to the export market, offering the machine around the globe as the Hawk III. It would become the company's best selling export design. While there were sales to be made in Latin America, and in the Kingdom of Siam, the biggest prize in the export market for military aircraft at this time was Nationalist China. There not only the Nationalist government at Nanking, but also a rival government at Canton claiming to be the true Nationalist government, were seeking to augment their military forces, and particularly their air services. The Curtiss company was represented in China by one William Pawley, whose dexterity as a salesman and a shrewd political operator may be gauged by his career to date: Pawley had sold earlier Hawk fighters to Nanking, arranged a flying school for Canton, and begun to construct and operate aircraft factories for both the Canton and Nanking governments. He sold sixty Hawk IIIs to Nanking and eleven to Canton, with deliveries beginning in May, 1936, and Canton receiving its first examples shortly before Nanking did. By the time the full order of Hawk IIIs had been delivered to Canton, the government there collapsed, with troops loyal to Gen. Chiang Kai-shek at Nanking entering the city. A further contract was struck, for parts from which another thirty Hawk IIIs were to be assembled in China by the Central Aircraft Manufacturing Company, a firm set up by Pawley to provide an aircraft factory for the Nanking government. But no finished aircraft were delivered from this till the spring of 1938, well after open war between Nationalist China and Imperial Japan had commenced. For all the odor of skullduggery emanating from Mr. Pawley's operations, and the decided air of lemons to lemonade clinging to the aeroplane itself, it is hard to fault the Chinese decision to acquire the Hawk III in quantity. They had got about the best machine immediately available to them, and one well suited to the full range of their needs, as they conceived them to be when the purchase was made. There were better machines flying, some even in service, and much better ones on the drawing boards, but none of these were on the market. The Hawk III's performance was comparable to such well-regarded contemporaries as the Fiat CR 32, the Gloster Gauntlet, and the Grumman F3F-1. Its ability to double as a light bomber, and great range with an external tank, which few of its contemporaries could match, were of great potential use in a vast country whose government was necessarily as concerned with internal rebellion as foreign foes. The basic structure Curtiss employed in its Hawk biplanes had hardly changed in a decade; if this meant it was old-fashioned, it also meant that it was known to be rugged and would require no great new investment in new training for ground crew. When Nationalist China's air arm entered combat with Japan in the summer of 1937, two thirds of its first line fighters were Hawk IIIs, the remaining portion being a mix of surviving 'Old Hawks' (Hawk Is and Hawk IIs), Boeing 281 and Breda 27 monoplanes, and Fiat CR32s. It remains open to debate just how matters came to the pitch of open war between Imperial Japan and Nationalist China in July, 1937. What can be stated certainly is that local commanders took a leading role on both sides in pressing events to wider hostilities, and that neither the government in Tokyo nor the government in Nanking had made any particular preparations for war that summer. While fighting began in the Peking area, it was not really till mid-August, when fighting commenced in Shanghai, that the die was truly cast on both sides for war, and it was only then that the air services of either side came into significant play. For the fighting at Shanghai drew into the fray the Imperial Japanese Navy, and it was this service, rather than the Army, which possessed the stronger air arm, and the capacity for strategic bombing. In assessing the combat performance of the Hawk III, it is hard to separate out the institutional inadequacies of the Nationalist Chinese air service from the qualities of the machine itself. The Hawk III performed quite well as an interceptor engaging unescorted bombers of even the most modern type, and proved a serviceable light bomber over Shaghai. In the earliest days of air fighting round Shanghai, small groups of Japanese Type 90 Carrier Fighters severely handled large formations of Hawk IIIs on at least two occasions. Since the Type 90 Carrier Fighter was decidely obsolescent, much slower than Hawk the III, it is hard to explain such outcomes without invoking great differentials in training, both in skills of flight and in tactics, between the average pilot of the opposing forces. When the Type 96 Carrier Fighter, a fast monoplane, was introduced to the combat, Hawk III losses became routine and severe. Yet on occasion skilled and experienced Chinese pilots in Hawk iIIs were able not just to survive but prevail against the Type 96. Still, the Hawk III was virtually shot out the Chinese air force by November, 1937, with the void left filled largely by Soviet equipment. Hawk IIIs re-appeared sporadically in small numbers, as new ones were assembled and others patched together from salvaged parts and spares --- one squadron was flying Hawk IIIs in defense of Chungking against Japanese bombers in 1940. Those machines still surviving continued as trainers after U.S. lend-lease equipment, and elements of the U.S. Army Air Forces, began arriving in China after Pearl Harbor. This model represents the Hawk III flown by Maj. Kao Chi-hang, as it would have appeared in July of 1937. Kao Chi-hang was at that time a very experienced pilot. He had come up through the military service of the great Manchurian war lord, Marshall Chang Tso-lin. Kao Chi-hang was the eldest son of a well-to-do Catholic family in Fengtien province, and attended a French Catholic high school in Mukden. He was accepted as an artillery cadet on graduation, but decided on a military flying career. After being turned down initially, he wrote in French directly to the son of 'The Old Marshall', Chang Hsiueh-liang, among whose titles was Commandant of the Aviation Bureau. That worthy was sufficiently impressed with Kao's language and audacity that he saw to the young man's being selected as one of a group of cadets being sent to France to learn to fly. These were trained extensively at the schools of the Morane and Caudron firms, and returned to Manchuria in 1927. Kao Chi-hang was assigned to the 'Eagle' squadron. What Kao flew in that squadron cannot be known (equipment was extremely mixed) nor can it be said for sure whether Kao saw service against the National Revolutionary Army of Gen. Chiang Kai-shek during the final years of the Northern Expedition. When the 'Old Marshall' was assassinated by the Japanese, and his son Chang Hsiueh-liang gave loyalty to the Nationalist party in 1929, Kao Chi-hang became a flight instructor at Mukden, doing so in company for a while with several Japanese Army fliers. When the Japanese occupied Mukden in September, 1931, Kao disguised himself and made his way south. He joined the air service of the Nanking government, and became a flight instructor at the Central Aviation School at Hangchow, working with American fliers led by Col. Jouett. He was a member of a Chinese delegation sent to Italy to examine Italian aircraft on offer to China in 1934. In 1936, Kao Chi-hang had the rank of Major, and was commander of the 4th Pursuit Group, whose three squadrons were newly equipped with the 'New Hawk' Curtiss Hawk III. With the Japanese closing in on Peking at the end of July, the 4th Pursuit Group was sent north from Hangchow to Chow Chia Kou, in the east of Honan Province. When on August 9 a Japanese Navy officer at Shanghai was killed for refusing to leave the environs of a Chinese aerodrome, Gen. Chiang Kai-shek resolved to begin offensive operations, but at Shanghai in the Yangtze valley, not in the north. Maj. Kao was summoned to Nanking for a commanders conference; on August 14 the Chinese air force was to go into action at Shanghai. Maj. Kao was flown to the 4th Pursuit Group's base at Hangchow, not far from Nanking, and the group's squadrons flew there direct from Chow Chia Kou. The Japanese had also decided to commence aerial operations, at Shanghai and in the Chinese interior, on the 14th of August. Typhoon conditions off the coast prevented Japanese carriers from launching planned attacks, but the long-range G3M Navy bombers based on Formosa, fast twin-engine, twin-rudder machines, were able to take off, though the weather played hob with their navigation and formations. Two squadrons of the 4th Pursuit had landed, low on fuel, when warning came Japanese bombers were approaching, flying low under the clouds. Machines were hurriedly fueled and took off to engage. Maj. Kao's IV-1, flown down by a ferry pilot, landed, and Kao evicted the pilot, climbed into the cockpit and took off. Maj. Kao saw one Japanese bomber under attack by one of his pilots, who was firing at an impossibly long range. Kao closed with the G3M from the port rear, where its port fin blocked the bomber's defensive fire. At point-blank range, Kao shot up the fuselage, and there was no further fire from the Japanese gunners. Kao fired into the port engine of the Japanese plane; the motor stopped, fuel tanks at the wing root caught fire, and the G3M crashed. Maj. Kao engaged a second bomber, again shooting up its port engine, but by now his fuel tanks were empty; he had to break off and make a dead-stick landing. Another Chinese pilot subsequently engaged this plane, and though it was claimed and confirmed as destroyed, its pilot brought it back to land at its base, where it was written off as past repair. Next day, the seas and wind had moderated sufficiently that the Japanese carriers could put aircraft into the air. The area was still afflicted with low, dense cloud, however. Japanese planes were sighted approaching the 4th Pursuit Group's airfield with just moments to spare. It was a formation of eight Type 91 bombers, big biplanes barely able to break a hundred miles an hour with a full war-load. They were set upon among the thick clouds by some twenty Hawk IIIs. The first one Maj. Kao engaged was, oddly, the only one of the Japanese planes which made it back to its carrier. Kao attacked two more, claiming them shot down in flames. He also was shot from behind shortly after engaging his last target; the bullet went through one arm, through the instrument panel, and damaged his Hawk's motor. Maj. Kao managed to make it back to his airfield and land safely, but he would be in hospital for two months. When Maj. Kao returned to his unit, matters were greatly changed, and for the worse. Casualties from the new Mitsubishi Type 96 monoplane fighters in the air, and from Japanese bombs on the ground, were so great that all the Chinese pursuit groups were brigaded together, and even so could muster little more than the original peacetime strength of a single squadron. They had not taken off to engage the Japanese for weeks. Kao ordered the Hawk IIIs to be stripped of everything extraneous to flying and fighting; racks for bombs and fuel tanks, landing lights, the venturi cowl, and more, were discarded. In this lightened condition the climb, nimbleness, and speed of the Hawk III were appreciably improved. On the afternoon of October 12, nine G3M bombers escorted by Type 96 fighters were reported heading for Nanking. Maj. Kao led every available Chinese fighter to intercept --- five Hawk IIIs, two Boeing Model 281 monoplanes, and one remaining Fiat CR 32. There proved to be eleven of the Type 96 fighters, and the Chinese fighters never got near the bombers, but rather were engaged in a melee with the Japanese fighters that went on some time. Maj. Kao attacked a Japanese fighter on the tail of one of his pilots, outmanouvered it and sent it down trailing smoke to crash. He was then engaged by three Japanese fighters. The experienced Kao Chi-hang managed to keep himself out of his opponent's sights with extreme manouvers, and even got off a few quick bursts himself. Eventually two of the Japanese broke off the fight; the third remained, performing loop after loop. Kao had mortally wounded its pilot, and in dying he had clutched the stick to his belly. The plane eventually came down and was salvaged reasonably intact. Two other Japanese fighters were downed in this engagement, losses acknowledged in Japanese records. Only one Chinese fighter, a Hawk III, was brought down, though several took some damage. This was about the last hurrah of the original fighter strength of the Chinese air force, however. New equipment was en route from the Soviet Union, some to be flown by Soviet 'volunteers' and some to be issued to Chinese units. Kao Chi-hang in November was promoted to Chief of Fighter Aviation with the rank of colonel, while retaining command of the 4th Pursuit Group, whose pilots he led north to Lanchow, in far away Kansu Province, where they would receive Polikarpov I-15bis biplanes and I-16tip5 monoplanes. After a short period of familiarization with the new machines, the 4th Pursuit Group began flying back towards Nanking by stages. On 21 November, they landed at Chow Chia Quo to refuel. They weather went bad and take-off was delayed. A force of Japanese G3M bombers appeared overhead nonetheless, and rained down bombs. One struck alongside Col. Kao's I-16 as he and several ground crew were trying to get its balky motor started, and all were killed instantly. The model is built from the new Special Hobby 1/72 Curtiss 68/Hawk III kit, in its 'First Chinese Ace' boxing. The kit is not really new, but rather the old MPM Hawk III offering, with some improvements and alterations: better surface detail, the proper bulges for a Chinese version, an injected windscreen and semi-canopy, and a small effort at sidewall detail for the cockpit, among others. It remains a limited-run style kit, though of very good quality for its kind. It has the great virtue of being there, the only kit available in 1/72 for this odd and significant aeroplane; for aficionados of subjects Chinese, and the inter-war period in general, that does count for, and can excuse, quite a lot. It does need work. The cowling and motor are too small; I increased the diameter of the cowling by a bit over half a millimeter, with shims in four locations. Otherwise, there just wouldn't have been room for the individual exhausts between the cowling and the nose, or for the carburetor intake at the top of the nose. I built up the 'horns' of the resin Cyclone motor provided to increase its diameter by one millimeter, otherwise it could not have fit the cowling (it started out too small). There is no positive point of attachment for the motor at the nose; I cut the faceplate away and put in a piece scalloped to receive cylinders from an RS Models Hawk II kit (it fit perfectly). I made my own exhausts; the kit provides a resin ring/manifold that strikes me as most dubious. There should be cut-outs in the trailing edges of the lower wings at the root, and I cut these in. I obliterated extremely thick walkways at the root. I trimmed off the bell-crank fairings, preserved them, and re-attached them after putting the 'Suns' on the lower wing, then painted them to match the national markings. I made my own bomb-racks and landing lights (the kit does not include the latter, and does have some generic photo-etch for the former). I put in some center-line detail as well in the ventral tunnel. I did not use a photo-etch piece provided for the front of the venturi ring, no photo I have seen shows anything remotely like it. The instructions would have you remove some plastic at the tail and use a bare tail wheel assembly, but this is not accurate for Hawk IIIs near the start of the fighting (one machine, 'white 88', the instructions call-out as operating at Shanghai in 1937, is actually a lingering trainer at Kunming six or seven years later, and certainly had a bare tail-wheel). I did some work at the wheel wells, and made the minor landing gear elements and the little doors myself, only the main legs and wheels are from the kit. I scratch-built the cockpit interior. The kit gives very thick edges to the cockpit opening at the sides, and the seat would not fit if properly placed unless these are taken down. The windscreen needs a little trimming to get it to seat properly on the forward edges of the cockpit opening. I added turnbuckle fairings. Fit for fuselage and tail is good, except for the central piece of the ventral tunnel; that was a bit tricky. I had some trouble this time (I've done the new and old kits before) getting the interplane struts to fit. I expect that was me, not the kit, as I do not recall such difficulties in earlier runs at the plastic. I may have got the dihedral, or the angle of attack, wrong on the lower wings. But I pieced together the big 'N' struts, adding them element by element and trimmed to fit. It seems to have come out right --- the aileron actuator struts I made from thin strip are the same length on each side. Next one of these I do I will be paying serious attention to the lower wing attachment. A note to the eagle-eyed. There are only eleven tail stripes, not twelve, as it should be. The kit decals have a white stripe at the top, but it should be blue at the top, and the top stripe on the Curtiss at least was a little thicker than the rest. Like an idiot I did not notice this till I had the decals on and the rudder attached. So I painted blue to the top, so at least it would seem right at first glance. I expect I will go back and put new decals on that are properly striped, once we get our new printer working well.... Work In Progress thread for the build may be found here: It contains some interesting reference material.
  13. This is the 1/72 Trumpeter J-10S, with the addition of DreamModel etched cockpit details and exhaust nozzle. I’m sure that it is humanly possible to make the DreamModel etched exhaust work ... but I couldn’t manage it! I just used the afterburner ring and put one part of the etched detail inside the kit nozzle for what I think is a pleasing effect; the cockpit set on the other hand worked fine. Markings are one of the kit decal options. The Trumpeter kit goes together easily and, although I can’t vouch for the accuracy of the form in every regard, I think it looks good.
  14. Hi, Douglas O2M (or O38) is one of long series of early Douglas light bomber and observation airplanes. O2MC was produced in some variants - O2MC, O2MC2,..., O2MC6 and O2MC10. Main difference was in different engines. The variant O2MC2 is identical wih US Army variant O38B. O2MC's were export versions to China (and also produced there). This is a machine from a times of Potez XXV, Breguet 19, Polikarpov R5 or Hawker Hart and based on similar basic concepts. Model is a resin kit by Arpol (72045 Douglas O38A/B), almost OOB (what I did extra? - for example I made a rotable prop, what I do always in kits, even with resin engines). The original kit contains only US decals, so I used scheme from this profile (the middle one): BTW - if anybody can translate what is wiritten in Chineese about this machine on this chart, please. It will be appreciated very much Here she is: The Ardpol kit has very detailed inside, nice surface and perfect quality of parts. The weakest part is instruction which does not show for example the exact positions of bomb racks nor how exactly the small details provided in kit should be arranged in cockpit. Decals (Chineese national insignia) I took from a Blue Rider I16 set, numbers from drawer. This is my first finished in 2017 and first finished since end of August. I started it in July, but then in Autumn was too busy with other things to finished. I came back to it after Christmas. The Autumn break in modelling was also perhaps due to making Me 321 and Me 323 in summer holidays. Apparently I needed some break afterward...). And whole mine China '37-39 shelf (Polikarpov I153, Vultee V11, Dewoitine D 501, Northrop Gamma 2e and Douglas O2MC2) Thank you for watching Comments welcome Best regards and all the best in whole new 2017 for all! Jerzy-Wojtek
  15. I have literally for years been looking to find a picture of a 2(AC) Sqdn Bristol at Shanghai in the summer of 1927. Late last night I came upon this, on a site that monitors memorabilia auctions. It is captioned 'aeroplane from HMS Hermes flying over Shanghai Aug 1927'. (HMS Hermes was present, with Fairey IIID and I believe also Flycatchers; No. 2(AC) came with HMS Argus.)* The serial number of the Bristol in the picture is J7652, which is among the four serials Mr. Bruce gives in the Windsock Bristol vol 2 as being the machines 2(AC) assembled and flew from the racecourse at Shanghai. The rooftops agree with some other low angle aerial photographs I have seen on a 'Virtual Shanghai' site dated to the twenties and thirties. I am not certain the photograph is not a composite, with a picture of the Bristol put into a picture of Shanghai rooftops for sale, but the serial number argues for authenticity of the central element of the image; that is not information I would expect a casual artiste to have, and odds are strongly against a random draw of a picture of even a 2(AC) Bristol pulling one of the right pictures. If anyone has any more information about this deployment of 2(AC), particularly any photographs, I would be most grateful. * Teach me to type without checking sources. HMS Argus brought 441 Flight to Shanghai; No 2(AC) did come on HMS Hermes.
  16. This model represents a machine flown by Sgt. Maj. Kyushiro Ohtake, who flew four years in China and has the distinction of being sole pilot of the 25th Sentai to survive WWII. The Type 1 Army Fighter Ki-43 Hayabusa (Peregrine Falcon; also known by Allied reporting name 'Oscar") is in some ways a Japanese analogue to the Curtiss P-40, a type it engaged frequently in its combat service. Both machines were designed as expressions of an out of date concept of air fighting to which air service leaders remained deeply attached; both were built in large numbers, and kept in service for many years, even though they verged on obsolescence already when they went into production; both achieved solid service records which owed more to the quality of their pilots than their quality as fighting machines. The Imperial Japanese Army requested a replacement for Nakajima's earlier Type 97 within months of that fighter's going into production. The new design was to be faster, have a longer range, incorporate a retracting landing gear, and yet be every bit as manouverable as the earlier fighter .This Nakajima managed, albeit with a bit of fudging. Wing loading was kept down with incredibly tight weight management, but in the end horizontal manouverability could only be kept comperable to the earlier type by installation of 'combat flaps', which, at some cost to speed, greatly reduced turn radius. The paring of every structural element to lighten weight in the prototype led to damage at the wing roots of early examples once they were in service, and required a program of repair and revisions to further production. Even so, the Type 1 remained a very fragile machine. Later examples did receive some armor for the pilot, and 'bladder' style self-sealing fuel tanks, which helped somewhat. Armament was originally just the old Great War standard of two 7.7mm machine-guns, tucked under the upper decking; soon, one of these typically was replaced by a 12.7mm gun (referred to as an automatic cannon in Japanese parlance) which fired explosive rounds. Inadequate armament and a fragile structure left the pilot of a Type 1 only the recourse of extreme nimbleness. He had to avoid being hit at all costs, and could not count on delivering a solid blow when he had a firing position. Sgt. Maj. Kyushiro Ohtake was nineteen years old when he was assigned out of flight school to the 10th Independent Chutai in China, which was redesignated the 25th Sentai in November, 1942. The unit flew against the 14th Air Force, mostly from Hankow. Kyushiro Ohtake gained a name for himself as a man with keen eyesight, often first to sight enemy aircraft. He is credited with anywhere from 10 to 15 U.S. or Chinese aircraft destroyed, but Japanese tallies are odd and hard to set accurately; victories were ascribed to the unit, or even to the aircraft, rather than the individual pilot in official reports. But his reputation, as well as his survival for four years, suggest he was good at the work. At the very end of the war, the remnant of 25th Sentai was withdrawn to Korea, and two days before the war ended, Sgt. Maj. Kyushiro Ohtake was severely injured when his fighter was set ablaze over Seoul. He survived bailing out, but never fully recovered, and died of the lingering effects of his wounds in 1951. This model is based on a very widely circulated photograph of Sgt. Maj. Kyushiro Ohtake's machine. I have seen it captioned as being taken at dates ranging from 1943 to 1945, and as being taken at places ranging from Hankow to Nanking. I have no opinion on the matter, beyond that it was taken on a sunny day. I believe the original finish was a sort of 'snake-weave' in green, applied in the field over bare metal without any surface preparation, as was the practice of the IJAAF in the mid-war period. Some profiles show this machine with only bare metal on the fuselage in the region of the cockpit, but I think this is a misreading of the intense glare in the photograph at that area. The machine is probably a Ki-43-2, with a more powerful supercharged engine and slightly heavier structure, likely bearing the mixed armament of one 7.7mm and one 12.7mm. The finish is achieved by first covering the model in foil, then dabbing dark green paint on this, rubbing it down when dry with a 3000 grit polishing pad, and repeating the process. Fabric areas are painted a pale grey basic color, and the green left more dense, as paint adhesion was better on these. Markings are improvised: a white stripe and a narrower red stripe over it, dry transfer numbers on clear film applied, then the five 'adjusted' by brush to come closer to the picture's font. The model is the old 1/72 Hasegawa kit, in a training unit boxing. It was rescued from the 'cupboard of doom' after several years residence there. I intended it to be an OOB standard build, and varied from this only to replace a couple of items, a tail wheel broken off and lost heaven only knows when, and a radio mast that broke removing it from the sprue. The plastic seems to have gotten a bit brittle with age, the kit was old already when I got it. There were bad sink-marks on the trailing edge of the upper surface, which I eliminated by a combination of filling with CA gel, and serious sanding with cutting grit emery. In any case, as the panel lines were raised, I would have had to scribe the thing anyway. It is a nice old kit, and I would like to take a run at another one or two of them. I cannot praise the fit highly enough. I would swear you could almost have assembled the wings to the fuselage as a snap-fit, without even glue, let alone fillers, and the same with the cowling pieces and tail pieces. Note to the eagle-eyed: I have noticed since taking the pictures I omitted to attach the pitot tube in my hurry to have the thing done. Also, a little more embarrassing, I did not put the pilot's headrest/armor in before attaching the canopy. I don't do a lot of enclosed cockpits, and need to be in a 'zone' to tackle them. The moment was right, and I neglected to get the detail in first. For what it is worth, the canopy fit on this old kit was very, very good. I have also learned that I ought to have brought the yellow ID stripes closer to the wing roots.
  17. Good Afternoon, I recently acquired a photo and would really like to pin down some details on the airplane. It is Hurricane Mk.II HW805 photographed in China at the end of the war in US markings. Mark
  18. Now that I've got your attention I'll explain what I intend to be building for this GB. I am going to attempt my first double build having seen it done on a few other GB's as it seems to make a lot of sense, they are both the same aircraft (more or less) with the same interior colours and the same overall colour scheme (probably). I lay most of the blame for this at David's (MirageIV's) feet for his continued prolific high quality builds of pairs (or more) of aircraft in the time it takes me to build one, so hopefully I can burn through the stash more quickly. Anyway onto the kits.... Any of you who have seen any of my builds in the past will know that I have an aversion to building aircraft in the usual colour schemes, so nothing American here! My P-47N will be built as an aircraft that was supplied to the Nationalist Chinese on Taiwan after they had fled there following losing the Chinese Civil War. here is a closer picture of the kit and extras.... I found a resin cockpit by HiTech in the box (amazing the things you forget you've got) which I may or may not use and the decals are by a Taiwanese company called Bestfong whose decals I have never used before so I will be interested to see how they perform. The aircraft I have chosen to build is shown below, but to be fair they all looked alike other than for unit markings. The second aircraft will be from the Hasegawa boxing which comes with all the bits to do any version of the bubbletop D variant and builds up very nicely (I did one a couple of years ago). This will be a Latin American one but I am not sure which country yet, I am torn between either Mexico or Cuba. Here is a picture of the bundle.... The picture below shows the Mexican aircraft I might build (probably the favourite at the moment) which is from a sheet by Aztec whose decals I have used before and whose research is very good. My other option is for a Cuban aircraft and I even have a choice to make as to which scheme I use as I can build one in either natural metal or one in a locally applied olive green colour. These decals are by Aeromaster whose decals we all know so they will work fine, their research however can be a little sketchy but they have this one done well. Here is a picture of their sheet. Anyway that's the plan. All comments and criticisms will be gratefully received, and any preference as to which scheme to use for my D will be helpful. Thanks for looking in. Craig.
  19. The Curtiss company sold aircraft all over the world in the twenties and thirties of the last century, but its greatest export success came in China, and was attended by intrigue and skullduggery which would not have been out of place in the 'Yellow Peril' tales so common in the pulp magazines of the day. Curtiss' first large sale to China, booked in spring of 1932, set the tone: 18 export Hawk I fighters sold, through an intermediary company, to a body in open rebellion against the internationally recognized central government of China. How there came to exist in 1932 two governments, one at Canton and one at Nanking, each claiming to be the Nationalist Party government of the Republic of China, is, I hope you will agree, worth some small digression. I assure you what follows is brutally compressed.... Dr. Sun Yat-sen and his Nationalist Party (Koumintang/KMT) made the revolution in 1911 that established the Republic of China, but were expelled from any share in governing it by Yuan Shi-kai, the premier general of the day. The good Doctor and his Party survived only by the patronage of local generals in the south who resented the dominance of the northerner Yuan Shi-kai. When Yuan died in 1916, and China entered the War Lord Period of conflict between generals for hegemony over the land, Dr. Sun Yat-sen and his Nationalists remained little more than pawns of military figures at Canton. To provide the Nationalist Party an army of its own, Dr. Sun sought assistance from the Soviet Union in 1924. Part of the price was alliance with the fledgling Chinese Communist Party. While the Communists focused on organizing laborers and peasants, the new National Revolutionary Army came into being, led by Gen. Chiang Kai-shek, a young revolutionary activist who had become Dr. Sun's counsel on military affairs. Dr. Sun Yat-sen died in 1925, and leadership of the Nationalist Party devolved on his old comrade Hu Han-min, with Chiang Kai-shek directing military affairs from his base at the Whampoa Military Academy near Canton. In the summer of 1926 Gen. Chiang Kai-shek led the new National Revolutionary Army on the epic Northern Expedition, engaging in turn and defeating (or co-opting) the various war lords controlling eastern and northern China. In the course of this open hostilities broke out between Chiang Kai-shek and the Communists, with much of the political and intellectual leadership of the Nationalist Party caught in the middle. Chiang's final victory in the north was greatly assisted by a populist war lord, Gen. Feng Yu-hsiang, but once Chiang had secured allegiance to his government at Nanking from his last remaining opponents in Manchuria, in 1930 he turned on Feng with assistance of troops from Manchuria. When Chiang Kai-shek placed Dr. Sun's old comrade Hu Han-min under house arrest early in 1931, generals in Kwangtung and Kwangsi provinces joined remaining leftist Nationalist political leaders in opposing Chiang's dominance of the Party and the country, led by the commander of the Canton garrison, Gen. Chen Chi-tang. He declared a new 'National Government' existed at Canton in June. Chiang at Nanking was unable to move immediately against this combination of Kwangtung and Kwangsi, as his forces were deeply involved against Communist guerrillas, but that summer it was clear civil war impended. Japan's invasion and occupation of Manchuria, begun with the Mukden Incident of September 18, 1931, made it politically impossible for Nanking and Canton to come to open blows, and Chiang's decision not to resist Japan militarily gave the Canton government grounds to assail him in the name of national patriotism. The purchase of 18 Hawk I pursuit ships by the Canton government was no trifle: when the order was placed in May, 1932, these were greatly superior to any aircraft the Nanking government possessed, though by the time delivery to Canton commenced in July, 1933, Nanking had placed an order with Curtiss for some 32 similar Hawk II pursuits. The radial engined export Hawks were broadly similar to the F11C-2 'Goshawk' going into service with the U.S. Navy early in 1933, but differed appreciably in detail, being little more than P-6Es with a radial motor replacing the glycol-cooled Conqueror V-12 employed by the U.S.A.A.C. pursuit already in service some years. The Curtiss Co.'s operations in China from the start of 1933 were in the hands of an extraordinarily lithe and ruthless fellow, one William Pawley. It was he who sold the Nanking government its first Hawk pursuits, and the following year, even as that order was still being completed, he was negotiating with the Canton government to build an aircraft factory on its territory, to assemble both Vultee and Curtiss designs. He went on to sell new Curtiss machines to both Canton and Nanking, with Canton beginning to receive parts for assembly at its new factory early in 1936. By then Gen. Chiang Kai-shek, having driven the Communists to the northwest fringes of China, was concentrating troops in the south. In May, 1936, the old revolutionary Hu Han-min died, and with him went most of the political legitimacy of the Canton government. Gen. Chen Chi-tang at Canton re-christened his forces as 'The Anti-Japanese Salvation Army' and set out in June marching northwards. Little enthusiasm was displayed, and the matter was brought to an end by the defection en masse on July 18 of the Canton Air Force, whose pilots flew their equipment, including fourteen or fifteen Hawk I pursuits remaining serviceable, to fields controlled by Nanking loyalists. Two days latter Gen. Chiang Kai-shek's soldiers were in Canton itself. The aircraft and personnel of the Canton Air Force were incorporated into the Chinese Nationalist Air Force, maintained as a separate unit. Its men were never completely trusted by Chiang --- after all, they had show themselves capable of turning on their leader, and for all the use Chiang made of suborning betrayal, he himself valued loyalty above all else, even competence. The Hawk pursuits purchased by Canton which still survived when open war commenced between Imperial Japan and Nationalist China in July, 1937, were expended in combat over northern China, mostly against Japanese Army fighters. The visible differences between the radial engined export Hawk and the Navy F11C-2 are considerable. The Goshawk had extended landing gear legs, a turtle-back behind the cockpit incorporating the headrest, and a tail-wheel at the stern-post with a cut-out in the rudder to accommodate a shock absorber. The export Hawk I (and Hawk II) retained the original landing gear, separate head-rest, and rudder of the P-6E, though it did employ a simple tail-skid rather than a tail-wheel. Accordingly, this model is a blend of several kits. It is basically an old 1/72 Monogram Goshawk kit, but it has grafted onto it the rear fuselage of a Monogram P-6E kit (remains of an Accurate Miniatures re-issued 'double'), while the motor, landing gear, slipper tank, rudder, and decals, as well as much cockpit detail, comes from an RS Models Hawk kit. That I have chosen to treat the RS kit as a sort of 'detail pack' in this build should not be taken to indicate I think the RS kit is a poor one; it most definitely is not. Among its virtues is that it is the only kit I have yet seen that does a decent job of replicating the general arrangements of a Curtiss biplane cockpit. It does, however, have some noticeable differences in dimension from the Monogram kit, in wing chord and fuselage height; I do not know which is right, mind, but I have built up several of the Monograms, and prefer their leaner look. One thing the RS people definitely do get wrong, however, is attributing the plane they provide Chinese decals for to the Kwangsi Air Force. Kwangsi never bought any Curtiss machines, and the markings they provide definitely are for a Canton machine. The red ring around the 'sun in the sky' was the original Nationalist marking, which the Canton and Kwangsi aircraft maintained down the several years of independence. I also think it is incorrect to indicate the machine is painted in aluminum dope. Photographs of Canton Hawks show a deeper grey tone than usually associated with aluminum finishes, and Boeing 281 pursuits delivered not long after the Hawks were painted an overall pale grey. I have finished this model accordingly. I have been informed that 'the characters on the side read (in standard Mandarin pronunciation) Guangzhou Shi Xiao Hao, which is ambiguously 'School [of] Guangzhou City' or 'City School [of] Guangzhou', so their meaning would seem to be that the machine was paid for by funds collected from or by a university or university students in Canton. On edit, 25/8/15: I feel rather dim; I called this done before it actually was. The project had sat on the shelf a good while, hovering just short of completion, and I guess I lost the thread a bit. When wife got back from hospital last month, after an extended stay (long story...), and I could relax and start at least a little modelling, I picked this as one to finish. But I noticed looking back at these pictures I had neglected a few wires on the tail assembly. They are on now, and here are a few fresh shots to repair the omission....
  20. Neither of these are the greatest of kits to be honest but there's not a lot of choice in this scale... That'll probably be because they are all repops of the old Crown kit. I'm going to be using these lovely decals from Miniscale.
  21. Hi, Today we have a day off in my country - I made some photos... therefore third post on RFI.... Dewoitine D510 - a French fighter designed in early 1930. - something between upper-wing or biplanes of 1920. and modern low-wing monoplane of second half of 1930. Like Boeing P26 or Breda 27 but with V-engine, not radial one. Model is almost OOB from Heller kit except of removal of aerodynamic covers of wheels and China markings of 41 Squadron, Yunnan-Fu, October 1938. Comments welcome Regards Jerzy-Wojtek
  22. Hi everyone, Here's my take on ICM's new-tool 1/72 Polikarpov I-153. It's been completed using LF Models decals (HERE) to represent an aircraft of the Nationalist Chinese Air Force in 1941. It's hand painted throughout, using Humbrol enamels, then glossed using Humbrol Clear for decalling then finally flat coated using a Humbrol Matt Varnish rattle can. As is my normal modus operandi for biplanes, it's unrigged. As for the kit itself, it's rather nice. The only thing I would watch out for is the plastic, it's quite brittle. I ended up breaking the interior cockpit frame, tailplane struts and parts of the undercarriage during the clean up process! Other than that it goes together easily with only a bit of filler needed around the wingroots, the wing-to-fuselage join underneath and the upper cowling intake where it joins the top wing. Here it is alongside the new tool Airfix Gladiator I completed in CAF markings at Christmas 2013: Comments welcome! Mike.
  23. Hi,just trying to catch up on mail,etc,im just very suprised,ive not heard more on this story,maybe more to come?but dont you think its a bit james bond? http://freebeacon.com/china-testing-new-space-weapons/ cheers Don theres some intresting web sites mentioned in this article you might want to note for future ref? https://medium.com/war-is-boring/630a858923ec cheers Don
  24. This is a bit off my usual 'wind in the wires' patch, but I do have an abiding interest in matters Chinese, and the successors to the old China Air Task Force certainly wedge in there. Airmen of the 14th Air Force attempted to vindicate Claire Chennault's view that U.S. air power alone would be sufficient to defeat the Japanese Army in China (a view that was very congenial to Gen. Chiang Kai-shek, as if true, it would mean no changes need be made in the practices or deployment of Chinese armies). While the 14th's airmen achieved a great deal, the Japanese ICHIGO offensive of 1944 proved Chennault badly mistaken, demonstrating that his air power could not even fend off a major advance by the Japanese, let alone defeat them in theater. By the end of the year, advanced bases like Kweilin were in Japanese hands. The P-40N was the final production version of the P-40. Design of this variant concentrated on shaving weight from its structure and improving pilot visibility; it also received a slightly more power version of the Allison V-12. In clean condition its performance was improved, but in practice, equipment added for ground attack missions and long range operations ate up the improved performance margin. China, where the chief air opposition remained the Japanese Army's Type 1 Hayabusa ('Oscar' in U.S. parlance), was one theater where the P-40N was perfectly adequate as a front-line fighter, and a dangerous attack machine into the bargain. This is the Academy P-40N kit, and it looks like a P-40N to me. By my standards the kit was a dream to assemble; everything fit, even the clear bits. I started it with the intention of completing it in a weekend, as a break from trickier projects with vintage kits, and almost managed to finish it on that schedule. It is also wholly 'out of box', with the only additions being tape seat-belts, so I have finally managed to build something that would meet the competition OOB standard (something of a change, even a break-through, for me...)... I used some new techniques on this model, that I think worth describing for my fellow brush-painters here. I normally use acrylics (PollyScale or Model Master), cut heavily with Future, and applied over a base of white primer. It takes several coats to build up solid coverage, so I suppose technically this is a series of 'filter' coats. I decided to take advantage of this to try a sort of 'pre-shading'. I went over the panel lines with black before applying any color. I was not overly careful about it. I then hit the surface with a 3000 grit pad from an auto supply store, which feathered the excess a bit. I then applied a color coat, then ran a knife blade along the lines, lightly. This revealed the black already there. I then applied black again, and worked things with the pad again. I repeated this several times, only on the final color coat I did not re-apply black after opening the lines again with the knife. When the decals were applied, I slit them along the lines, and hit them with the 3000 grit pad as well, before any sealing coat. I distressed the color a bit with very thin washes between sanding. The sealing coat of Future, and the matte coat of Tamiya flat base in Future, also received the pad treatment. I am very enamored of this routine now, as it gives a very smooth surface, without a trace of brush-mark, and allows for considerable variation within a color area. Opening down to previously applied black is, for me, at least, a pretty much trouble-free and simple means of enhancing a line. It is important, though, to use a light touch when doing this; you do not want to go all the way down to the white primer. This one will be going up on display at my local hobby shop.
×
×
  • Create New...