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Hi all, I'm trying to model a 48 Sqdn Dakota Mk.III as per Operation Tonga. I've seen many photos where the two-letter squadron codes and individual aircraft code(s) have been obliterated by invasion stripes, and a few others where they are still visible, either painted around or repainted over. Does anyone know if there's any consistent pattern to which base/squadron did what? Also, how common was it for the individual aircraft code(s) to be painted on the nose, presumably after the fuselage one had been painted over? I'm particularly interested in KG408 (I2-AK).

Hello guys, Just bought the Italeri Dakota Mk.III, and I need your help regarding details about the fit of the kit. I've read some build reviews in here, stating the kit had poor fit in some areas. I'll be picking mine next Wednesday, and I'd like to see the kit unpainted, showing the troublesome areas. P.D: The Airfix new tool kit was unavailable. Thank you all!

The last three months have been somewhat of a rollercoaster. We've become grandparents; endured 11 weeks of hard lockdown; purchased a new home; moved from NSW to ACT while negotiating a kaleidoscope of permits and exemptions to travel lockdown rules; I've chosen this time as a good one to change jobs (and career direction, no less); and now made it through 14 days of hotel quarantine. Whew! I planned to do some modelling in quarantine and accordingly brought a basic assembly tool kit. I chose two kits to build, a Dragon 1/48 Ta 152H-1 and an Airfix 1/72 Dakota III which will be the subject of this WIP. As it turned out, I didn't get as much modelling done as I thought and indeed only made some progress on the Ta 152. Most of its major assemble is complete and I'll complete that later, after the Dakota. Those that followed along with my previous Dakota build to commemorate the "Flying Nightingales" will have read about my intention to build the same airframe's markings once it had been passed on to the RCAF. To do this, I needed to create and get printed some customer decals and they finally arrived from the US a few weeks ago, albeit to an address I wasn't allowed to go to in locked down Sydney. However, I persuaded someone to mail them for me and as you can see below, they're now in my possession and look pretty good. Construction will begin shortly, and while this WIP has potential to be a bit of a repeat of the previous, I will try to bring in a bit more of the history of this airframe to keep it interesting. *Hint* - there may be one more build in this series! Cheers; Mark.

G'day all; Here's my recently finished Airfix 1/72 Dakota finished as an aircraft belonging to No.233 Squadron, RAF. I chose this particular aircraft to build for a few reasons, not the least being that I've actually been inside it as it's housed in the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum in Hamilton, Ontario (not far from where I used to live). The build itself was inspired by the story of the "Flying Nightingales" and I built the model and wrote my piece around those remarkable, courageous and largely unsung women who risked their lives in these Air Ambulances; the aircraft weren't marked with the Red Cross because they carried munitions and supplies on the outward leg of each trip. More info in the sig link. So, here's the WIP which as usual outlines the build as well as the decisions I made in how to mark and weather the model. And, here's the photos of the model. It's not perfect (the most egregious fault being the way the astrodome has sunk into the fuselage - I tried to get it out but it was well stuck) but I very much enjoyed building it and will certainly build another. I'd like to complete one as the next iteration of FZ692 when it joined No.437 Squadron RCAF in September 1944. Cheers; Mark.

After pondering the next project for a week or so, waiting for inspiration, it actually came from an unusual source. My wife sent me this photo and said "isn't it about time one of your projects was about what women did in the war?" She's right, as usual, it definitely is about time. Two weeks after D-Day the RAF's Dakota's began to be used as Air Ambulances with nurses of the WAAF flying outbound with the supplies and ammunition and returning with wounded servicemen. These women soon became known as "Flying Nightingales" and it is in their honour this project is purposed. Choosing my subject aircraft was also quite easy because I've actually been inside it. FZ692 was built for the USAAF, delivered to the RAF's 233 Squadron and then joined the RCAF in September 1944 with 437 Squadron, the Huskys. FZ692 while with 233 Squadron. Not FZ692 but it would have been marked very much like this 437 Squadron RCAF Dakota. After the war FZ692 remained with the RCAF and when finally struck off charge in 1973 it continued earning its keep with Environment Canada as an environmental monitoring aircraft. When its professional career finally ended in 2014 (think about that for a moment!), it was donated to the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum where it now enjoys an active [airworthy] retirement. I used to live quite close to the museum and visited many times, even as recently as 2019 on a visit back to Canada, and have been on board several times (though sadly, not for a flight, much to my regret). A lack of available display space forces me back to 1/72 scale. Not my favourite scale at all, but I have no room for a 1/48 scale Dakota III and my recent 72nd scale Lancaster wasn't so bad - the newer Airfix kit is is. I'm going to have a couple of challenges in the markings, depending on when in its active service I model it. If I go with the RAF markings as at or just after D-Day I'll need to find some way to add the "KWICHERBITCHEN" and mission markings. If I model it later, at "Market Garden" with 437 Squadron RCAF (which is the current plan) I'll likely have to paint much of the markings but the the "Royal Canadian Air Force" writ large on the fuselage is something I'll need to search for. The RCAF markings also off more weathering opportunities. I'll make a start tomorrow, all are welcome to follow along. Please don't be shy about offering advice as the Dakota is new territory for me. Tips, tricks and accuracy hints are all very welcome. Cheers; Mark.

I'll be building this... Guess I'll need to leave the optional machine gun and howitzer for the Jeep out for this GB! I'll do all the sprue shots, etc. when I get around to starting it - which probably won't be for a while!

I'm hoping my comrades in arms on BM can help me out here! After several months lurking in the background on this fantastic site, I've decided to blow the 12 year old cobwebs off my stash and build Italeri's 1/72 C47 Skytrain. The airframe I'd like to depict is Dakota III FL652 of 1383 (formerly 109) (T) OTU at RAF Crosby on Eden. This is the aircraft my father made his final RAF flight in on 25 September 1945, after converting from Halifaxes. Now, here come the questions! 1. What colour scheme would these aircraft have had? I have seen photographs of Daks in standard RAF green/brown but understand that the USAAF scheme was also encountered on British marked aircraft. 2. There appears to be some mystery over squadron codes. 109 OTU used 'GY' but were disbanded and reformed as 1383 OTU in August 1945. According to what sources you're looking at, 1383 OTU used 'CU' or 'GZ'. All well and good, but how quickly were 109 OTU aircraft re-coded? 3. Are there any late 1945 photographs knocking about of Crosby on Eden Dakotas? Lots of high resolution colour ones of FL652 with squadron and aircraft codes would be really nice. Who am I trying to kid??? Many thanks for your help! Quentin