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Built as part of the Grumman Hellcat Single Type Group Build but fitting in with my overall build theme of aircraft of FAA Aces, I though you might want to have a quick look at these.. The kit used was the 1/48 Eduard MkI / MkII Combo boxing. The models were painted using Xtracrylics for the base camouflage. Anti corrosion treatment / new paint was using Hataka Acrylics (slight difference in colours). Tamiya / Life colour for weathering. Box / Xtradecal generic marking sets for the markings.. The two aircraft I chose to build were:- Hellcat MkI FN411/5°E 1839 NAS HMS Indomitable Oct 1944, Operation Millet. Flown by Sub Lieutenant Edward “Tug” Wilson. Wilson’s family heralded from Co. Meath and emigrated to South Africa between the wars. Tug Wilson volunteered for the South African Naval forced and served as a member of the Fleet Air Arm On 19.10.44 (1010) SLt Wilson destroyed 2 x Ki-43 ‘Oscar’ 3m S of Car Nicobar flying Hellcat I FN411/5*E “In the meantime the enemy made an appearance over the fleet, but were met by our Hellcats and Vics’s Corsairs. The Corsairs shot down four and the Hellcats three, all Oscars. Tug Wilson destroyed two and (John) Smithwick one. They were flying with Bing (John Hawkins) and Claude (Lt RC Westfield), who was just about to press the ‘tit’ when Tug nipped in before him and shot it down. Bing got on a Jap, but his electrics failed so his guns failed to fire”. SLt R McKenzie Hellcat I FN411/5*E This is the effect I was after This is how it turned out Hellcat MkII JW867/W116 1844 NAS HMS Indomitable May 1945 Operation Iceberg Oolong, flown by Sub Lieutenant William “Bill” Atkinson. On 21st May The one success had been when Hellcats from Indomitable on a CAP, had been vectored out to investigate a radar plot at about 30,000 feet, 36 miles from the fleet. They found a Myrt shadowing the task force and after a brief fight it was shot down. 21.05.45 Nakajima C6N ‘Myrt’ Shared destroyed Grumman Hellcat II JW867/W116 Here is (I think) the real aircraft in April when the CO had an encounter with the barrier. This is my interpretation one month later. Couple of slides from my Aces pack (where I keep pictures of my models) Hope you enjoyed them Thanks for stopping by..

I am looking for information on the markings of 802 Squadron Sea Gladiators on the HMS Glorious in the spring/summer of 1939. I have seen several profiles of one, the squadron commander's machine, presumably, G6A, serial N5519, like this one: A photograph in the Warpaint Gladiator monograph shows the squadron diamond pattern on the upper wing of this aircraft. I have seen it represented as being blue in some sources and yellow in others. Does anyone know for certain which is correct? It was for most of the inter-war period standard practice for the Royal Navy to paint metal panels grey, while aluminum dope was used on fabric. There is usually a perceptible difference, as in this picture of a Nimrod: In photographs of Sea Gladiators, such a difference in tone is not apparent. Were Sea Gladiators painted in over-all aluminum (like the aluminum paint applied to Skuas)? Were serials marked under the lower wings of Sea Gladiators? I have seen photographs showing such a marking, but none of the decal sets offered for G6A by various companies indicate such underwing serials. Finally, are the identities of any other 802 Squadron Sea Gladiators in this period known? Is there anywhere known, for example, what the serial number of G6B was? I presume, at least, there would have been a G6A down through G6I?

A little late to the party here... but better late than never! I might not get this done within the duration of this GB, but it's a worthy excuse to start this Firefly kit which has been sitting in my stash for a while. This is the 1982 boxing of the 1966 kit. The original release featured the dynamic Roy Cross art shown below: I'm no expert on carrier operations, but the Firefly above seems too far back on the carrier deck to be airborne from the catapult, so it must have been a landing which missed the wires and had to go around, but the hook is not down... so we'll just leave it as a mystery! The Firefly is one of 3 kits I have which will replicate the 3 aircraft types shown in this fabulous photo of RAN FAA aircraft flying over Sydney harbour in June 1961 (Garden Island naval dock is below the Firefly & Sea Fury, and yachts in Rushcutters Bay are visible at the middle left). The full set will obviously be the Firefly, Sea Fury and Gannet. The Firefly "842" is WB518 of 723 Squadron RAN, originally delivered as an AS.6 and converted to TT.6. Here are are the three kits, with the Airfix classic at the top: And here's the bag of bits for the Firefly. A fairly simple build, but who knows if I'll get it done by November? It's not immediately obvious from the black & white photo above, but the Firefly is actually in colourful target tug livery, like below (except WB518 has kangaroo roundels in all positions): To help me get this done, I have the PrintScale decals which depict WB271, so I'll just need to make up some new side codes.

Sea Hurricane Mk.IIc (40009) 1:48 Arma Hobby The Hawker Hurricane was one of Britain's foremost fighters of WWII, and although overshadowed by the more graceful and slender Spitfire during the Battle of Britain, it was a capable aircraft that was available in large numbers, and achieved more than its fair share of kills during the conflict. It went on to see service to the end of the war, but was relegated to less onerous tasks as technology leapt forward resulting in faster, more agile aircraft that came on stream on both sides of the conflict. The type originated in the early 30s and first took to the sky in 1935, despite the Air Ministry’s tepid reaction to monoplanes at the time, and it was an aircraft that set standards for fighters that followed it, being a monoplane with a predominantly metal airframe, retractable landing gear, an enclosed cockpit and of course the delightfully powerful and throaty Rolls-Royce Merlin engine. Compared to the Spitfire it was a little old-fashioned, starting out with a fabric-covered ‘rag’ wing that was eventually replaced by an all-metal aerofoil, and it was less aerodynamically streamlined, with a thicker wing and overall chunkier, blunt appearance. Although the wing was replaced by a metal aerofoil later, it retained the fabric rear fuselage and as such was able to have minor damage repaired quickly and easily, compared to the Spitfire that would have to go back to a repair facility, even for structurally insignificant through-and-through bullet damage. A fabric patch followed by a few coats of dope, and the Hurri would be back to the fray, which endeared it both to its pilots and ground crew alike. By the time the improvements to the airframe resulted in the Mk.IIC, it was tasked with ground attack, taking out German tanks, which weren’t as easy to crack as first expected, because 20mm cannon shells would often ricochet off the frontal and side armour, and bombing a relatively small target such as a tank was a matter of pure luck, all while the enemy poured lead in your general direction. It was withdrawn from front-line fighter service at this stage of the war, as by then the enemy aircraft outclassed it in most respects, so it carried on in ground-attack, night fighter and intruder roles where it excelled, without unnecessary exposure to enemy fighters. At sea, it was converted into the Sea Hurricane by adding catapult spools and an arrestor hook under the tail, using the Merlin XX to power it to around 320mph. Around 60 were built as Sea Hurricane Mk.IIcs, while another 50 Mk.IIbs were converted, many having C wings installed to bring them up to specification. Although they weren’t succeeded by any later Hurricane marks, the Mk XIIA was a Canadian-built Mk.I that ran a Merlin 29. On land, the Mk.IIc was succeeded by the D that mounted a pair of 40mm cannon in gondolas under the wings, increasing its offensive power appreciably, at which point it acquired the nickname ‘The Flying Can Opener’, adding additional frontal armour to the airframe that was exposed during the run-in to target. They carried on in that role until the Typhoon came into service, which was capable of doing the job faster and more efficiently without the worry of being bounced by enemy fighters that outclassed it. The Kit This is a new boxing of the recent tooling from Arma Hobby, which was one that many 1:48 modellers had been waiting for, as their 1:72 kits have a reputation for excellent detail, with the inference being that in a larger scale the detail would be even better. Spoiler Alert: It was and still is, and the detail is present in copious quantities. The kit arrives in an end-opening box with a sturdy tray inside that prevents the dreaded crushing in storage. The painting of a white cannon armed fighter having just set fire to both starboard engines of a German Junkers Ju.290, is dramatic and well-executed, with the side profiles of the decal options on the rear of the box. Inside the box is a cardboard tray that contains three sprues of grey styrene, a clear sprue, a sheet of pre-cut yellow kabuki-tape masks, 3D printed parts protected in a triangular cardboard insert stapled into a corner, decals, and an instruction booklet that is printed on glossy paper in colour, with colour profiles on the rearmost pages. Detail is everything we have come to expect from Arma, with crisp engraved panel lines, fine raised rivets, restrained fabric scalloping effect on the fuselage rear, and plenty of raised and recessed features that should result in a superb model if care is taken during building and painting. If this is your first Arma kit, you should know that they have a technique of adding stiffening ribs and stringers inside their kits, and they hide away their ejector-pins in places that won’t be seen, usually with a circle of tiny turrets around them. They are generally placed so that they can be left intact without affecting assembly, but when they do need to be removed, you’ll be advised in the instructions. Construction begins with the lower wing for a change, drilling out holes applicable to whether you intend to fit bombs or drop-tanks under the wings of your model. The holes are marked in red for tanks, and blue for bombs, which is helpful, and the diagrams are accompanied by a little explanatory text that advises that neither the bombs or tanks are used in the decal options of this boxing, catering to those that might want to use aftermarket decals. The gear bay is created from a well-detailed section of spar that has a pair of retraction jacks and a pressurised cylinder applied to it, then has the remaining walls and their ribs mated to it and covered by the bay roof, feeding a brass-painted hose through the bay once completed. Attention then shifts to the cockpit for a moment, building the seat from four parts, which is supplied with decal seatbelts and is glued to the rear bulkhead for later installation in the cockpit, unless you prefer to use the 3D printed seat, which has belts moulded-in, cutting down on the number of parts whilst adding excellent detail. We return to the wing again, cutting a new rectangular hole nearby, filling in the original with a piece of scrap styrene or filler whilst you are there. The gear bay assembly is glued into the full-span upper wing, adding another short spar closer to the rear, then joining them together after removing a short length of the ridge behind the landing light bays to achieve a better fit for the inserts. Now we learn why we didn’t build the entire cockpit earlier, as it is built in the space between the wings once they are completed, starting with the control linkage and frame, with the foot rests/trays over the top, and a small lever glued to a cross-member on the left. The side frames are painted and inserted at the perimeter, locating in slots in the upper wing centre, and these are joined by the rudder pedals on a central mount, and a V-frame that stiffens the assembly. The control column is built from three parts and includes the linkages that lead aft under the pilot’s seat, which is inserted last over the V-braces at the rear, locating on more slots in the upper wing. Flipping the wing over, a pair of rods are inserted into the bays, their location shown by another drawing that highlights them in blue. The instrument panel is next, raised details depicting the instrument bezels and other switches, with a decal included for it and the compass that fits between two legs under the panel, which you are advised to cut into sections for an easier fit. It is glued into the starboard fuselage half with a pair of small pieces of equipment, with six more in the port side, and the option to pose the foot step on the exterior skin in the lowered position, which is a nice touch. There is also a decal for a pair of dials moulded into the fuselage sidewall. With that, the fuselage halves can be brought together, seams dealt with, and then carefully mated with the wings, taking care not to damage the lovely detail in the cockpit. Two vents are removed on both sides of the fuselage low down near the root fairing for the included decal options, then if you plan on modelling your canopy closed, you should also cut away the rails as indicated in red on a scrap diagram at this stage to allow the closed canopy to fit firmly. The underside of the fuselage has a 3D printed insert with the tail-wheel fairing and arrestor hook trough moulded-in, leaving the standard underside on the sprues for this boxing. The central radiator housing has its core made from front and rear sections with the matrix texture moulded-in, and a circular insert with hosing, all of which is glued to the underside of the fuselage and covered by the cowling that is made from body, intake lip and cooling flap at the rear, locating in a shallow recess in the lower wing that has a horseshoe flange with fasteners to add to the detail, and scribing two panel lines nearby for one decal option. The tail wheel inserts in the hole under the rear of the fuselage, adding a full-span elevator panel with separate flying surfaces that fills the recess in the top of the tail, fitting the two-part fin to a stepped lug in the fairing, and fixing the rudder to the rear, allowing all the tail surfaces to be posed deflected if you wish. The main gear legs are made from a strut with a retraction jack moulded-in, and another added to the rear, plus a captive bay door that fits on the outboard side, and a two-part wheel fitted on the inner axle. Two of the decal options have modified main gear bays, one having the forward section cut away diagonally, the other having a curved cut, likely to avoid damaging the deck during hard landings. There are clear lenses to cover the landing lights, and the clear wingtip lights have a recess in their mating surface that you can add some green or red paint to depict the bulb before you glue them in position. The gunsight and clear lens are glued to a recess in the cockpit coaming at this stage, taking care not to disturb it before the windscreen is installed, and slotting a gun camera into the leading-edge of the starboard wing root. There is a choice of two styles of cannon barrels, using either the styrene parts from the kit, or replacing them with the more detailed 3D printed parts that accompany this boxing. While the model is inverted, a pitot probe and crew step are added to the port underside, and a clear recognition light is inserted just behind the radiator, painting it a clear amber. The rest of the work on the airframe is done with the model resting on its wheels (if you’ve fitted them yet), installing a choice of 3D printed or styrene exhausts and mounting blisters in recesses in the nose cowling, and an aerial mast in the spine behind the cockpit. A two-part intake is fitted under the chin, and the prop uses a three-blade part trapped between the spinner and back-plate parts, plus a washer inside the spinner that can be glued carefully to allow the prop to remain mobile after building. The windscreen is a single part with a rear-view mirror at the peak, and to close the canopy, part T2 is used, but if you intend to leave the canopy slid back, a slightly wider part is supplied, marked T3, with pre-cut masks provided for all options, as well as the wheel hubs and landing lights. As already mentioned, drop-tanks are included for this boxing, built from two halves that trap the location pegs between them, and have a small stencil for one side, only to be used if you are using after market decals and your references require it. The instructions also show the bombs being built up from four parts each, along with their pylons, even though they also tell you they’re not used for any options in this boxing. Again, if you are using aftermarket decals, these may be of use to you. Check your references to be sure. Markings There are three quite different options on the decal sheet, each having a full page of colour profiles at the back of the instruction booklet, with letter codes corresponding to a table on the front page that gives codes for Hataka, AK RealColor, Mission Models, AMMO, Humbrol, Vallejo and Tamiya ranges, which should be sufficient for most of us, although FS numbers are also included for many colours to help you further. From the box you can build one of the following: Sea Hurricane Mk.IIc NF672 ‘7K’, No. 835 Sqn., HMS Nairana, Pilot Sub.Lt. A R Burgham, first half 1944 Sea Hurricane Mk.X AM277, No. 04 Sqn., HMS Dasher, Operation Torch, November 1942 Sea Hurricane Mk.IIC JS310 ‘S’, No. 825 Sqn., HMS Vindex, early 1944 There is a small slip of paper inside the kit box, which notes that the decal designers found out at the last minute, that one decal option had a tiger head instead of the decal they had intended, which was pointed out to them by our very own Troy Smith, and Ian Burgham, with a note of thanks to those two. Decals are by Techmod, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Conclusion A fabulously well detailed model that shows amazing attention to detail, and deserves to be the new de facto Sea Hurricane standard in this scale. The addition of 3D printed parts takes it to even higher levels that have been hitherto unavailable from an out-of-box build. VERY highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

I need some help from Fleet Air Arm experts. As you may know by now, I am trying to build a collection of aircraft used to score air to air victories by Fleet Air Arm Pilots. Two pilots I am trying to focus on at the moment are Lt William Barnes (6 confirmed victories) and S/Lt AJ ‘Jackie’ Sewell (5 or 6 Confirmed victories) who both flew Fairey Fulmars with 806 NAS. I want to join in the “Go Navy” Group Build with at least one Fulmar (Barnes or Sewell) and may build a second in the MTO GB later in the year but to do that I need to identify aircraft flown be Barnes and by Sewell in their air combats. Previously I turned to Aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm 1939 to 1945 Sturtivant & Burrows - but the air combats I am looking for are in the Unidentified listing against the Fulmar. Recently, I purchased a kindle edition of a new book 806 Naval Air Squadron. The FAA’s Top Scoring Squadron of WWII Brian Cull & Fredrick Galea (2019). There is an appendix of 806 Naval Air Squadron (NAS) claims which gives me the information I am looking for, dates, claims serial number and aircraft marking (letter). As you you would expect, I was delighted until I started to compare the information with that in Fleet Air Arm Aircraft 39-45 and I find inconsistencies. Like; Fulmar N1866 was involved in air combat 3 months after it was written off, N1940 was involved in air combat before it was delivered to 806 NAS. I know that history is dynamic and information is always being discovered and updated and that Fleet Air Arm Aircraft was first published in the 1990s and 806 Naval Air Squadron is a 2019 book. I also understand that I am looking at secondary references and I don’t have access to the primary references but is there anyone on the forum who can help me identify one of the 806 NAS Fulmars used for a claim for either Lt Barnes or SLt Sewell? @iang, @Seahawk, @Lee Howard, @tonyot Lt WLL ‘Bill’ Barnes Claim. Cull & Galea Sturtivant information 02/09/40 2 x S79 destroyed. Fulmar N1879 6B. Unknown. Deld. 806 NAS 07/40 04/09/40 S79 Shared Destroyed. Fulmar N1879 6B. Unknown. 17/09/40 Z501 Shared Destroyed Fulmar N1940 6A. Unknown. Deld. 806 NAS 28/10/40 12/10/40 Z501 Shared Destroyed. Fulmar N1940 6A. Unknown 10/11/40 Z501 Shared Destroyed. Fulmar N1940 6A. Unknown 10/01/41 Ju87 Destroyed. Fulmar N1940 6A. Serial unknown (6A) 16/01/41 Ju88 Destroyed. Fulmar N1940 6A. Unknown 19/01/41 2 x Ju87 Destroyed. Fulmar N1866 6Y. Not listed. Deld. 806 NAS 08/40. Cat Z 06/10/40. S/Lt AJ ‘Jackie’ Sewell 04/09/40 2 x S79 Destroyed. Fulmar N1865 6Q. Unknown. Deld. 806 NAS 06/40. Cat Z 10/05/41 12/10/40. Z501 Shared Destroyed. Fulmar N1865 6Q. Unknown. 01/11/40. Z506 Destroyed. Fulmar N1866 6Y. Serial Unknown (6Y). Deld. 806 08/40. Cat Z 10/05/41. 10/11/40. Z501 Shared Destroyed. Fulmar N1865 6Q. Not listed. See N1865 above. 10/01/41. S79 Shared Destroyed. Fulmar N1865 6Q. Serial Unknown (6Q). 18/01/41. Ju87 or Ju88 Destroyed. Fulmar N1881 6F. Not listed. Deld. 806 NAS 06/40. Photo in FAA Camouflage & Marking of N1881 6H. 20/04/41. Z1007 Shared Destroyed. Fulmar Unknown. Unknown 22/04/41. Ju88 Shared Probable. Fulmar Unknown. Unknown 25/05/41. He111 Destroyed. Fulmar Unknown. Not Listed. Thanks in advance..

Not satisfied with one fixer-upper opportunity in the form of the 1/48 Trumpeter Wellington IC, I have decided to also plunge in to Trumpeter’s latest and perhaps not so greatest, in the form of the Fairey Fulmar I. This will plug a hole in my collection as the Fulmar had a walk on role in the Battle of Britain, and was a prominent early war mainstay of the Fleet Air Arm. I do have an MPM kit as well, but I haven’t summoned up the courage to get it underway. I will post some shots of the kit contents in due course, but thought I would start by getting what I suspect is the hardest part of the build out of the way first. Photos of the kit have been posted in the Rumourmonger section now for months, and having the kit in my hot little hands confirmed what the photos suggested - the top decking and canopies of the kit have a very flat top with a sharp angle to the sides, rather than having a gentle curve to the top section. The kit also looked rather familiar - it matches the Warpaint 41 - Fairey Fulmar- plans by Ian Huntley very closely, save that the canopies etc have been even more squared off than appears on that plan. The sad state of the canopy has been discussed on the Rumourmonger thread, and compared unfavorably to that in the MPM kit. I did venture to suggest that there might be enough ‘meat’ in the Trumpeter kit parts to allow for some gentle reprofiling to achieve a more rounded appearance. The new kit also has two complete sets of the observer’s greenhouse, one closed up and one as three separate parts, presumably so that it can be displayed with the centre section open (more on that in a moment). This means you can experiment without ruining the kit. So, having opened my big trap on this subject, the greenhouse is where I commenced the build. I used some very good quality wet and dry stuck to a flat surface to rough out the new profile, then did some follow up with wet and dry sanding sticks. I have taken the sanding to a 4000 grit, but won’t polish further until I am nearly ready to instal them and fair them into the fuselage. I used the separate canopy sections, as it’s easier to sand the three sections consistently - the joined up greenhouse has a step at each end of the centre section which would make it more difficult to get the shapes right. To make it easier to follow what I have done, I drew around both the unmodified canopies ends, and the equivalent section of the sanded canopies. To make it a complete comparison, I also did a compare and contrast with the equivalent canopy parts from an MPM/Special Hobby Fulmar. Top line is before and after Trumpeter canopy profiles, bottom line compares the modified Trumpeter parts with the MPM canopy parts. So, there is enough thickness in the Trumpy parts to get a nice rounded profile. It does get quite thin at the shoulders of the curve so care is needed, and of course it doesn’t fix the internal profile. I am going to minimise that problem by attaching new frame ends with an inner profile matching the outer curve, which will make the mismatch less prominent . I also think that it will be possible to get the sliding centre section under the forward greenhouse section with a bit of work. I will trim it down a bit at the base and have already started reducing its overall thickness from the outside. So far, about an hour’s work and a lot easier than widening the undercarriage on the Wimpy! Of course the top decking of the fuselage will also need to be reshaped, and the pilot’s canopy could also benefit with some rounding off, and there are some other infelicities, but we are on our way!

808 Squadron formed in July 1940 at Worthy Down with an initial equipment of 12 Fulmar I’s and was one of two FAA squadrons officially listed as participating in the Battle of Britain. Perhaps fortunately, 808 Squadron was mostly tasked with protection of ports and fleet bases in the Irish Sea and Scotland during the Battle, and did not see action against the Luftwaffe before joining HMS Ark Royal later that year. This aircraft, N1868, was one of the first Fulmars off the production line, and carries a ‘transitional’ camouflage scheme, with a sky coloured paint applied to the lower surfaces, original sky grey visible on the sides and tail, and Extra Dark Sea Grey and Dark Slate Grey on top surfaces. My interpretation of this scheme, with a wing fillet matching the upper camouflage colours, differs somewhat from published profiles, based on a close study of the one and only photo I could find of this aircraft in Stuart Lloyd's excellent publication on FAA camouflage and markings, and comparison with photos of other early Fulmars with close serial numbers. Reading Paul Lucas’ recent colour conundrum on early FAA camouflage I also took a punt and made my lower surface ‘sky’ a Sky Blue. It’s possible the strict plan-view repainting of the undersides in ‘Sky’ was to hide previous black/white undersurfaces applied at the factory. The Trumpeter kit has a contemporary level of surface detail, an excellent folded wing option, a mediocre interior, simplified undercarriage and incorrect wheels. It builds very easily and fits well. It is likely based on the plans by Ian Huntley in Warpaint 41, and shares the peculiarities of that plan including a strangely staggered arrangement for the wing guns and a forward wing/ wing fillet line that needs adjusting. Marring an otherwise quite good likeness in outline is a severely squared off upper canopy and decking profile. It also comes with parts for open canopies that can’t be used as such because they are too thick. I turned the thickness of the clear parts into a virtue and was able to correct the canopies and decking profile, modified the observer’s canopy so I could pose it open, and fixed everything else I could - read the Work in Progress if you want to see what needs to be done. Additions to the kit include Eduard harnesses for the seats, better instrument decals from Airscale, resin wheels from Barracuda Studios(meant for a Whirlwind but they match the hub style and diameter ) a set of Eduard early Spitfire exhausts and wireless aerials. The floor in the observer’s compartment is too high so I lowered it and added detail to the sidewalls. The kit decals were chucked, the wing roundels are painted on and the fuselage roundels are from a Fundekals Spitfire sheet. I didn’t do code letters as the Squadron was land-based in July-August 1940, and the lack of underwing roundels reflects the initial marking policy after sky undersurfaces for fighters were introduced. All camouflage paints are Colourcoats and I have kept the weathering and wear to moderate levels. Out of interest, I have also posed the Fulmar together with a Spitfire IA, both powered by similar Merlin engines. I think you can see why the Fulmar’s performance was, at best, sedate, when compared with contemporary high performance single seaters. I’ve also shown it with the Defiant, which is its twin seat RAF contemporary, and even here, the sheer size of the Fulmar is noticeable.

Rejoining with this Revell 1/72 Gannet. This kit cost me £10 at Jet Age in 2020. This one to be built as Royal Navy 🇬🇧 Fleet Air Arm. Fuselage bits. Engraved surface detail - I like it! Wings And transparencies.

Hi All, My third completion for 2024 is SH's Barracuda, finished as LS503 of 815 Sqn FAA, flying from HMS Indomitable in August 1944. Although I have not been able to find a photo of LS403 here is a Barracuda from Indomitable from around the same time: The build was OOB - here is the WIP if anybody is interested: And on with the photos: I couldn't resist a couple of companion shots, both with 3-crew FAA brethren: And one with a stable-mate: I have to say I've really enjoyed this build, and it's nice to have a Barracuda in the collection. Thanks to all of those who have added kind words and encouragement along the way - it has been much appreciated! Thanks for looking, Roger

Hi All, I had a feeling that it had been a while since my last FAA build, so I looked back through the annals and it seems it's been an entire 12 months! I thought it was high time to rectify that, so I dragged this out from the stash. Here's the box art: Here's the sprues: The transparencies: Decals, which look rather nice, and allow for 4 schemes: I'm leaning towards this scheme, although I haven't yet found a photo: This should be fun! Thanks for looking, Roger

When the 1/48 Sea Fury appeared, I bought one. After looking and thinking that the Yeovilton Display aircraft looked cool it went in the stash...then late last year as I was just finishing the Airfix DH Vampire FGA 9, as flown by 502 Squadron RAuxF It was the last Vampire of 3, F1 (Square Tail) and F3 from the FGA 9, straight from the box, but with Rockets and Bombs...not included by Airfix I remembered that I wouldn't need the under wing load included with the Sea Fury so I thought I'd like to build the Sea Fury...and I needed something that wouldn't drive me mad, as the Vampires did. The initial build went well, no surprises. For the first time this build was all Airbrush/Acrylic with the hairy stick only brought into play on some very small details. I was impressed by the even density of colour and the amount of detail that showsd through. So, the first view.... I followed the Airfix Colour suggestions, but using Vallejo Acrylic paints. The resultant colour for the underside and interiro were a little surprising..... Comments, anyone? Anyway, on to the U/C and other external details, I'm enjoying this!

On the 12th April 1945 two 1770 Squadron Fairey Fireflys; DT941/S276 (Lt Thomson and S/Lt Miller) and DV119/S281 (S/Lt Stott and Lt Ward) took off from HMS Indefatigable at 07.45 on 12 April on a DUMBOCAP to rendezvous with, and provide cover for, a USN Mariner on ASR duties off Yonakuni Shoma searching for a downed Pilot after raids by the Fleet Air Arm on Northern Formosa during Operation Iceberg Oolong. During the Escort mission the two Fireflies engaged with five Ki51s and shot down two each. With two enemy aircraft confirmed destroyed and 3 confirmed shared destroyed (from earlier in the year) S/Lt Stott became the top scoring Firefly pilot. My model represents the aircraft of S/Lt Stott and Lt Ward. It is the Special Hobby 1/48 Fairey Firefly I, built out of the box (with the exception of a few bits of wire and some markings). Paint in Xtracrylics slightly lighted to mimic fading. The nearest I could get to a photograph of the aircraft I wanted to model is this:- IMG_1454 It is probably DT941/S276 Lt Thompson & Millers' aircraft used in the same action, which I decided to use as the template for my own. Of note is the fact that the Carrier letter 'S' and the aircraft number '281' appear to be painter in Sky rather than white (unlike my decal set), they also appear to be narrower that the decal set I had. I printed up my own decals but decided they were to dark and over painted them in Sky. TBH I was not in the best humour building the aircraft and I think shows. The Observers canopy is a little narrow, I think if i were going to build another I would go for an after-market canopy and would consider a canopy mask. Anyway - enough wittering - Hope you enjoy the pictures:- IMG_0284 IMG_0289 IMG_0298 IMG_0299 IMG_0310 IMG_0311 IMG_0305 IMG_0306 Thanks for looking in...

Hi All This is one of many KUTA qualifiers . Started for a GB many moons ago . Hopefully everything is still there . First a clean up . more soon Martin H

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.

OrHi all, I have a 1/72 Hasegawa Corsair F4U in the stash and would like to present it as an aircraft I know a relative to have flown (1830 NAS aboard HMS Illustrious). I've seen a number of aftermarket decals but while period correct, none of them are from the squadron or even ship. Does anyone have any tips on how to recreate a specific aircraft without it costing a fortune? I don't have the skills to be airbrushing stencils or creating my own decal sets. As an aside, when did the FAA move from the red and blue roundels to the blue and white SEAC? There is a specific date when he shot down a Zero so I'd like to be spot on with it

Couple of models I have just managed to finish up. The Korea pair should have been completed as part of the "Here comes the Fleet Air Arm" Group Build but unfortunately I became unwell and was unable to finish them until now. Not quite up to my usual standard but I am hoping to get back there. Anyway - here we go.. First up Supermarine Seafire 47 VP480/180P 800 NAS, 13th CAG, HMS Triumph. Korea Aug 1950 13.08.50 Armed Reconnaissance Chinnampo Harbour Korea. Flown by Lt RA "Dick" Peters. Airfix 1/48. Barracuda replacement bonnet. Airscale instrument decals. Colour Coats Enamel paint. OOB Decals. Next For six decades, the credit for the first jet kill by a piston engine fighter in Korea had gone to Lt Peter “Hoagy” Carmichael. This was accepted fact however, recent research has proven beyond doubt the actual pilot who bagged the Mig-15 was another pilot in Carmichaels Flight, Sub Lieutenant Brian “Smoo” Ellis. Ellis has now been given official recognition for his amazing feat of airmanship. Hawker Sea Fury FB.11. WJ223/O106 802 NAS, HMS Ocean. Korea 09.08.1952. Mig-15 Destroyed SLt Brian "Smoo" Ellis. Airfix 1/48. Barracuda cowling & engine. Eduard interior and exterior detail sets. Paint:- Colourcoats enamel Markings:- Fundekals Did go quite as hoped. Fitters need to do a bit more cleaning on the airframe Last up Eastern Built Wildcat V JV384 6*F 882 NAS, HMS Searcher Operation Hoops May-1944 06.05.44 0820 2x BV138 Shared Destroyed with JV538/7*X(?). Off Vevang Norway. S/Lt John Arthur Cotching Cotching was killed two days later whilst attacking flak ships defending a convoy. He had previously served in Orange Section, ‘A’ Flight, 806 NAS HMS Indomitable Operation Pedestal Aug-1942 12.08.40 S.79 Destroyed, Re.2001 Destroyed. Grumman Martlet MkII AM968/8M. Kit:- Hobby Boss FM-1 1/48 Paint:- Colourcoates Enamels Markings:- Mix of what I had available. Thanks for stopping by..

I seem to be late to the opening threads. I have been doing some deliberating over what to build (built a Fulmar and Sea Hurricane already this year so it was down to a Corsair, Seafire III or Hellcat) and where I do have a Wildcat MkV in progress but very much under 20% complete, I am not going to build that as part of this GB. Instead I am going to move away from my usual WWII fare and I am going to build two aircraft from the Korean war. Two in parallel is a bit of a stretch for me so we'll see how it goes. The first aircraft I will be building is:- Its the Airfix 1/48 Sea Fury FB11. I have some etch and some after market for it, so we'll see how that goes. This will be completed as Hawker Sea Fury FB11 WJ223/O106, 802 NAS HMS Ocean. Korea - Jun '52. The aircraft that SLt B "Smoo" Ellis has now been credited with destroying a Mig 15. I have the Fundekals set for this aircraft - so I'll be using them. The second aircraft for this GB will be this rather elderly:- Airfix 1/48 Seafire FR47. Again with a little bit of aftermarket (new prop blades are on their way). This will be completed as an aircraft assigned to 800 NAS, 13th CAG, HMS Triumph, Jun - Sep 1950. I need to research a specific Aircraft / sortie / pilot for this model (or just use the box markings). I know they often carried RPs on Armed reconnaissance sorties and am thinking aux tanks and RPs with RATOG rockets but am unsure about the Tank/RP combination. Any ideas? I will carry on with the WIldcat and await the order to start engines..

Grumman Hellcats in FAA service - when did they turn Blue? Hi all, I want to use to the collective brain to try and resolve a little dilemma for me. On the theme of Fleet Air Arm Aces I intend building a few more Hellcats representing aircraft of 5th Navy Fighter Wing Pilots (1839 & 1844 NAS) and I have hit a bit of a dilemma. I have as WIP at the moment a MkI and an MkI of the FN999 and JW999 Serial range but I intend to build a couple more:- Hellcat II JX814/W132 - ‘Tony’ destroyed, ‘Oscar’ destroyed 12.04.45 SLt WMC Foster. Hellcat II JX886/W126 - ‘Judy’ Shared destroyed 06.04.45 SLt TE Wilson. Both of these victories were during Op Iceberg April ‘45. JX814 & JX886 were both allocated in 03.45. My question is, should these aircraft be in TSS or GSB? I have not seen any photos of either JX814 or JX886 but the common view is (and repeated in artwork in Andrew Thomas’ Royal Navy Aces of WW2) that if they are Iceberg aircraft they are in TSS but should this be the case? I have a still from a film taken on HMS Formidable showing the Corsairs being serviced, in the background is Hellcat X119 that is identified by Sturtivant as JX772 the aircraft flown by SLt Atkinson to destroy three ‘Grace’ bombers on 25.07.45 (also written into Atkinson’s log book). The aircraft being allocated to 1839 NAS 06.45 and reallocated to 1844 NAS 07.45 - it is painted Dark Blue. If JX814 and JX886 have a higher s/n that JX772 should they not also be in GSB or was JX772 built out of sequence or repainted? (or is my my sequential build assumption wrong?).. If it helps I think JX814 and JX886 are in the BuAer Group 71638-77112 and JX772 in group 71163-71237 but my maths might have failed me.. Hope someone can help or I will just go with TSS which seems to be the scheme at the time.. Thanks in advance..

Here's something from the First Generation of the jet age, the Supermarine Attacker, F.1. It was also the first jet supplied to the FAA in the early 1950s. As the wiki page says, like many 1st Gen aircraft it didn't last long. The 2nd generation was quick in taking its place. Still, there it was. I have had this kit for a few years and it looks like it's time to move it off the shelf and onto the bench. Bogart Box art...older AZ Model art and it's an older, short-run kit. The sprue looks basic. As I recall this grey plastic can be a bit soft when it comes to details. I'll see how it all fits. I'm given two canopies and an under-fuselage fuel tank for an F.2 conversion if I want, but I am sticking with the F.1. Also included is a resin seat. Decals look good and in register... And the profile is typically shark-like with its dark grey/sky configuration. I'll get into this presently. --John

Continuing my jet odyssey, but in an earlier era in naval jet aviation than the A-7E, a FAA Hawker Sea Hawk. This one, to be specific. I’m going to try to replicate it exactly (as near as I can) as it appears in this photo, damaged fuel tank included. I may change that slightly and fold the wings, but that’ll be a decision for later. I will be using the Trumpeter 48th scale kit with the Eduard PE and Jaguar resin wings (which actually don’t seem much of an improvement over the kit parts). I’ve made a start. The cockpit PE is self adhesive which is novel, for me, and quite easy to use. What you see below is an evening’s work. I base painted, attached the PE and sealed with a clear coat. I’ve also added a grime wash. Interestingly, the “black” on the PE really isn’t black at all, more of a midnight blue. The instrument panel in particular lightened under the clear coat. Next will be a dry brush, some clear gloss into the instrumentation and a little bit of detail painting before I’ll call the cockpit done. Cheers.

Well, my parcel from Poland arrived on Wednesday, it took a wee bit longer than previous parcels from Arma Hobby, but considering the postal situation at the moment it was still reasonably quick, only 12 days. The sturdy card box contained one Expert Set FM-2 Wildcat and 3 sets of Overtrees neatly wrapped in bubble wrap, I've got a few sets of decals for Martlet/Wildcat VI's, so there's a fewe schemes for me to choose from. Wednesday afternoon the Expert Set was unboxed and had a good fondling whilst I perused a selection of references. Box and contents:- The overtrees supplied are just the two grey sprues and the clear sprue, nothing else. The kit comprises of a main sprue for the FM-2 / Wildcat VI release:- Plus a common sprue for this and the forthcoming F4F-4 release:- The clear sprue is also common with the F4F-4 release, as it contains the lower fuselage windows and wing landing light cover not used on this FM-2 / Wildcat VI release. Also shown here are the small etch sheet and the masking sheet for the canopy and wheels which are only included in the Expert Set:- And here's the decal sheet from the Expert Set which covers 5 US FM-2's, and 3 FAA Wildcat VI's, all of 882 NAS on HMS Searcher, 3 individual code/serials being supplied for the same basic scheme:- If you want to see photo's better than my phone snaps above, there's more on the Arma Hobby website, unfortunately the links they provide on this page for the instructions don't seem to work for me. Initial impressions? It looks like a top quality product, with pretty much all you'd need to build a well detailed model straight out of the box.

Don't know about you mates, but this lockdown unleashed the inner beast in me For this build I took inspiration from the the wonderful Attacker build presented by @Navy Bird here: All issues described were present in my kit as well, except for the misalignment of the fuselage halves. I have added the boundary layer plates, reshaped and boxed the tailhook compartment (albeit a bit deeper then needed) and the tailwheel well too. Added the aerials, scratchbuilt a new tailhook. I regret not opening the canopy as the fit of the closed one was awful. I like the "pregnant" look with the belly tank and added this too. However, after the long and painful process of glueing, trimming and fitting the tank in place and filling the ever-present large gaps, the plane still retained his elegant lines and that puzzled me . When comparing with the photos in the Richard Franks' book it seems to me that the tank AZ offers us in the kit is the one from the prototype that differs from production ones by being shorter and slimmer (photo on p. 13 for the lucky ones to have his book on the subject). I never knew that there were two types of external tanks for the Attacker (different capacity, probably?). Modified the landing gear a bit by adding scissor links and some missing rods I tried to keep her clean as the photos show that the fleet was well maintained. Oh, BTW, managed to pull the paint off twice while removing the masks... 😠 Hope you will enjoy it! Stay safe!

Kit - Eduard (Weekend Edition) Paint - All acrylics Decals - Freightdog Extras - Eduard kit-specific Zoom set. Grumman Hellcat II 800 NAS Trincomalee, Sri Lanka (Ceylon) Autumn 1945. Built this at the same time as the Hurricane I posted here a few weeks ago but only got around to finishing it this morning. Fairly straightforward build, could have done without the separate fin-tip antenna post which was instantly gobbled-up by the carpet monster but that may have been down to 'user error'. Paint is all Tamiya acrylics, as usual mixed by eye. Not too much else to say, very relaxing and rejuvenating project, now ready for something more challenging. Please feel free to comment, question or criticise. Cheers from NZ. Ian.

OK. I went though the threads and I figured I will build the Sea Vixen, having never built one before. A Sea Venom, yes, but not this. I also have a Sea Tempest, SeaFire, Phantom, etc...But this one caught my eye. I actually have the Revell reboxing too, but I like the options of building one of the birds off of the Hermes and, well, @Enzo the Magnificent is building the Revell kit...anyway...This kit does give me an option for the Hermes, two for the Eagle and three from Yeovilton. I'll take the Hermes. Sprue in bags... A lot of options... The profile (For now. I might change my mind.) Now that I have a clean bench, I will take a day to gather my thoughts. --John

This is the 3rd scheme (C) offered by the new Airfix 1:48 Hawker Hunter release. In this case it is the GA.11 , Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton, Somerset, England, 1976. I always love doing the Fleet Air Arm scheme and it looks striking on this aircaft!