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  1. My entry into the Journeys End Group Build. Supermarine Seafire MkIII LR866 / S121. 887 NAS HMS Indefatigable Japan. Sub Lieutenant Victor Souter Lowden Following the release of the Atomic bombs on Hiroshima 6th August and Nagasaki 9th AugustAmerican Tasks Force 38 remained off the coast of Japan. It was joined by a token Royal Navy group built around the carrier HMS Indefatigableand the battleship HMS King George Vwhich was designated Task Force 38.5. Strikes were ordered to commence at dawn on 15th August. At 0400 hrs a Firefly Ramrod was launched followed by six Avengers from 820 NAS with an escort of eight Seafire L Mk IIIs from 887 and 894 NAS. Five L Mk IIIs led by Lt F Hockley (894 NAS) would provide close and middle cover while SLt V. Lowden (887 NAS) would fly top cover with three remaining Seafire F Mk IIIs. As the Avengers approached their designated target, Kisarazu airfield, they found it shrouded in cloud, forcing them to attack their alternate target – a chemical factory near Odaki Bay. Odaki Bay airspace was a busy place on the morning of 15th August, not only the fourteen aircraft from HMS Indefatigablebut also six Hellcats and an unknown number of Corsairs from USS Yorktownheading for the airfields at Atsugi and Hokodo As the Fleet Air Arm aircraft climbed through low cloud to 6,000 to 8,000 feet a gaggle of a dozen A6M5 Zekes was seen coming down from the three o’clockhigh position. The diving Zekes passed the top cover and headed for the Avengers and close escort Seafires. Sufficient warnings were given to counter the bounce, but R/T failure doomed Fred Hockley and he was shot down in the first pass (the last Royal Navy Casualty of WWII). SLt Hockley managed to bale out of his Seafire but he was later captured and executed by his captors. The remaining Seafires turned into the Zekes. With the first element of Zekes out of range SLt VS. Lowden moved his flight into line abreast and engaged the second group of Zekes. The first Zeke was shot down was at long range, Lowden, opening fire at 800 yards and closing to 450 yards with excellent marksmanship. His port cannon jammed causing the aircraft to yaw as the starboard cannon fired but he hit a second Zeke at 250 yards and blew it up with three short bursts. His third victim was engaged at short range but as three more Zekes approached he left it to Slt Williams who had already destroyed an enemy aircraft in the first phase to finish it off. Lowden was forced to fight the new arrivals in turn and, when he ran out of ammunition, he pulled through into a 425 knot dive to disengage. Only Fred Hockley was lost during the engagement. Vic Lowden was the last to land, with no ammunition and a badly over heating engine. At 0700 a signal from Admiral Nimitz had been received which cancelled all further strike operations. CAP however was to be maintained. World War II was over. Slt Victor Lowden had launched at war and landed at peace. Lowdens Seafire that day LR866/S121 had been in service with 887 NAS for nearly two years by this time. I have chosen to portray LR866 as a rather war weary aircraft although I have no proof that it wasn’t repainted recently prior to August. 887 NAS used the 90 gallon slipper tank to extend their range for sterile operations against the Home Islands.. Thanks for stopping by..
  2. I started building this Seafire as part of the Spitfire and Seafire Group Build but unfortunately ran out of time. At last I have managed to finish it. Supermarine Seafire NN341/3A 886 NAS 3rd NFW Lee on Solent June β€˜44 Lt RM Crosley β€˜D’ Plus 1, Wednesday 7th June ’44. β€œLo and behold I saw another one like the first (Crosley had tried to stalk an aircraft a few minutes before), heading in a straight line for Deauville. This time I determined to take a good overtaking speed to make sure what he was, quickly. The top of the cloud was about 2000 feet below me and with 18 pounds of boost, everything shaking and clattering at about 360 knots on the way down, I was catching up fast. I still wasn’t sure whether he was one of ours. I got in behind him, very close indeed before I saw the black crosses on the side of his fuselage. I skidded behind him again as best I could without wasting time. He still had not seen me, but there was not much time left as I was going too fast for comfort and was overtaking him. I pressed the gun button at about 150 yards range for about two seconds, seeing many hits with the cannon on his wing and port fuselage. I pulled up to the left to avoid hitting him. I also felt as if he might have a number 2 up-sun of me, ready to pounce. I still could not understand how anyone could be so stupid to fly alone in full view of everyone above him and towards a beach-head crowded with our own fighters, unless he was a decoy”. β€œI reversed the pull up and had a look for him. I just caught sight of him, end on, before he hit the ground at the edge of the cloud cover, 3000 or 4000 feet below”. β€œI flew back weaving all the way expecting a furious German to come at me at any moment”. β€œOn landing I found that I had only used 20 cannon rounds per gun”. RM Crosley β€˜They Gave me a Seafire’. Kit:- Special Hobby 1/48 β€˜Eyes of the Fleet’ boxing. Paint:- Xtracrylics, Tamiya. Decals:- Kit & generic Xtradecals set. Thanks for looking in..
  3. The Grumman F6F Hellcat – Airframe & Miniature #15 ISBN: 9781912932115 Valiant Wings Publishing The Book The book is perfect-bound with 224 pages on glossy paper, tons of photographs, diagrams and profiles, the modern pictures being in colour, while the contemporary content is going to be black and white due to that being the predominant film format of the day. It is of course written by Richard A Franks, with profiles by Richard J Caruana, isometric drawings by Wojciech Sankowski and models by a group of fine modellers. If you're familiar with the series, you'll know that the pages are broken down into the Airframe section that deals with the 1:1 real thing, and the miniature section that covers the scale models and has a number of builds, plus a host of photographic detail that will be of great help to the modeller. The breakdown in more detail is as follows: Airframe Chapters 1. Protoypes 2. Production 3. Reconnaissance, Night-Fighters, Drones, Test Airframes & Projects 4. Camouflage & Markings and Colour Profiles Miniature Chapters 5. Hellcat Kits 6. Building a Selection 7. Building a Collection 8. In Detail: The Hellcat Engine, Cowlings & Propeller Cockpit & Canopy Mid & Aft Fuselage Tail Wings & Control Surfaces Undercarriage & Arrestor Hook Armament Electrical Equipment Appendices I. Hellcat Kits II. Hellcat Accessories III. Hellcat Decals & Masks IV. Bibliography A concertina sheets of 1:48 Scale plans captive in the rear cover (equivalent to 8 pages printed on both sides) The scale plans are nicely thought out, and fold out sideways with the left-hand edge captive to the inside cover, and the isometric drawings by Wojciech Sankowski that pick out the differences between variants and sub-variants are a dream for anyone like me that struggles to remember the details that separate the marks. As usual with the photographs in these titles, they're excellent for the most part, and as good as they can be for the occasional slightly grainy one that is all that remains of this or that variant. Afterall, there's only so much that modern photo editing software can do. The builds by Libor Jekl, John Wilkes and Steve A. Evans are all first-rate too, with two in 1:72, one in 1:48, one in 1:32 and one of the immense 1:24 Airfix kit, all of which wouldn't look out of place on competition tables at the highest level. Conclusion This book is brimming with interest and information, with something for everyone – the modeller, the aviation enthusiast or history buff. My personal favourite parts are the variant isometrics as previously mentioned, but there is so much to enjoy and it’s all good. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  4. I’m up and running, my entry into the Journeys End GB is:- Supermarine Seafire LF III LR866/S121 887 NAS 24th NFW HMS IndefatigableJapan Aug-1945 On 15.08.45 2 x Mitshibushi A6M Zeros were destroyed, 0.5 Mitsibushi A6M Zero was shared destroyed by S/Lt Vic Lowden Flying this aircraft. This was the last dogfight fought by British & Commonwealth forces in WWII. This is the Special Hobby 1/48 Seafire III β€˜Last fight over the Pacific’ boxing. Typical short run kit but if you take your time they build up really nicely. I am building this in tandem with another SH Seafire III β€˜Eye of the Fleet’ over in the Spitfire, Seafire GB which is headed for the paint shop, so today was catch up time for LR866. Mandatory box & Sprue shots.. I got stuck into this model and forgot to photograph the cockpit... Sorry... Cockpit is out of the box, with some extra plumbing and bits and bobs added. Surprisingly, no grinding out the fuselage to fit the cockpit (this is SH not Tamiya), I fitted the rather lovely, well detailed cockpit, (as you can see I slightly miss aligned the instrument faces with the etched panel) by taping the fuselage along the top and fitting from underneath then Tamiya Extra Thin around all of the joins with some liquid sprue as reinforcement. This is where I got to, hoped to get a little further, but it’s okay progress. Well we’re off anyway, hope to be finished by the time of the 75th Anniversary of the Dogfight... Thank for looking in....
  5. Last November, during the BTE (Best Trip EverTM), along with @CedB, @Terry1954, @Navy Bird, and the Mighty @Procopius, I got to visit the FAA Museum at Yeovilton, and found this prize in the gift shop: While paying for my new treasure, the kind women behind the counter asked if I'd like to have the author, David Morris, sign it for me, he was standing right there! BTE. Here's a pic I snapped of KD431 in the exhibit hall: Hopefully, this one helps me rebound from multiple recent modelling setbacks, we'll see. I was originally going to attempt this in the upcoming STGB, but I'm afraid that it's too big a project to do under a time pressure, please pardon this sinner Dennis @Corsairfoxfouruncle - I'll attempt a RNZAF Corsair in that one. Well, I want to build it as close as possible to how it's displayed at Yeovilton, so that means opening up the panel between the engine and fuel tank, and scratch building a bunch of stuff to put in there. Panel removed with scribing tool, then razor saw. The wide portion of an eye dropper will be the fuel tank. By a stroke of luck, the plasticard I have lying around is exactly half the thickness of Tamiya sprue, so if I glue two pieces together it is the right size to represent the ducting header for the tubes going from the wing root air intakes. I'm not looking for 100% (or even 78%) accuracy, I just want it to look busy in there.
  6. Does anyone have clear photos of the Supermarine Scimitar jury struts showing their attachment points to the wings - I assume there would be a small flap that opens to expose the attachment points - I've looked through the Scimitar File and Scimitar from the cockpit but nothing close up found. CJP
  7. Hello, I’ll skip the kit introduction as Eduard’s Hellcat in 72nd scale is well known to the community. I’m not a Hellcat aficionado and actually decided to give it a try thanks to the good press and the generous dimensions of the model in this scale. My knowledge on the subject is quite limited and the documentation even less – the good old β€œIn Action” booklet and the instruction sheet of the 1/24 Airfix kit! Subsequently I’ll heavily rely on community knowledge to guide me into the subject – a Grumman Hellcat Mk.I, obviously FAA, more precisely the JV131 with invasion stripes. The starting point is the Eduard ProfiPack dual combo (so 2 kits, a Mk.II or F6F-5/ -5N might come afterwards on the production line, who knows) and a several accessories (Big Ed set, various resins, etc.). Not sure if all those will find place in a single model. For me, the big β€œfirst” will be the rivet decal set – never tried it before; I’ll see. Please excuse the inherent English language mistakes that will be present in my post from time to time; obviously I’m not a native speaker but more of a β€œbad English” category. That being said, let’s roll. Started by removing exhausts pipes from the fuselage, not due to their representation – quite honest for the scale – but with the aim of simplifying the painting of the exhaust stains latter on; I’ll add some brass tube sections at the very end of the construction. I’ve also opened the tail wheel well; the blank proposal of the kit gives some sort of a toy appearance. I’ll recreate some dummy representation of the two fuselage frames in that area. Of course, the 2 ejector pin marks on fuselage inside are now visible and must be somehow handled. As my model will be a Mk.I – with the corresponding additional windows at the back of the cockpit – and because Eduard completely neglected any frame representation there, I’ve transferred the seat back panel to a piece of 1mm polystyrene and recreated the upper part of the back frame. Not 100% accurate, just to avoid a nasty void perspective. Still thinking if lower part of the abovementioned frame is needed. More to come; hopefully. Best regards, Iulian
  8. Hi all. As I wait for the paint I need for my Buffalo I thought I would start another kit. Italeri’s 1/72 Sea Harrier, which I believe was originally issued by Esci and was highly thought of at the time. This will be a straight forward out of the box build, no resin or PE. I will be doing the top one here: Sprues: L Finely engraved detail and very little flash, there a few ejector pins to be filled. My only quibble is with the main undercarriage leg which has to be attached as the fuselage is closed up which makes adjustment for a level sit impossible, so 🀞everything lines up. Also the auxiliary intake doors are moulded closed and will need to be opened out. Made a start cleaning up parts and filling the ejector pin holes: Wings assembled and rear fuselage closed up: Started on opening up the intake doors (a bit rough at the moment): AW
  9. During the recent Blitzbuild Group Build here on BM, I took the opportunity to drag out a long term stash resident the Frog Wildcat. Despite all the parts being off the spruces and the decals looking past their best, the kit turned out really well despite the interventions of our kitten that decided it would look much better on the floor with one wing removed ! The aircraft is a Wildcat Mk.IV. 896 Squadron, Fleet Air Arm, HMS Pursuer, February 1944. Work in progress below I hope you like it, let me know what you think. Cheers Pat
  10. This is my first work in progress post so please be gentle on me. This was going to be my winter project, then when I had to go into lockdown for 12 weeks it became my virus project. Unfortunately I have to go into hospital on Tuesday so this may be as far as I get. The kit is great so far, I am not sure if the kit is a lot better than the Typhoon or if I have got better, but so far there are no issues putting it together. I went for a cockpit upgrade kit and I don’t think it was worth it. The seat belts from HGW are excellent and well worth the investment. I have freestyled the inside of the back of the aircraft as I want to leave the bottom hatch showing. I have taken some inspiration from Nigels Modeling Bench but not followed him exactly. I have the Anyz engine upgrade set and brass undercarriage which I have to make a start on but I am leaving that until after my hospital visit. Eventually it will be finished in the FAA scheme as I am ex RN myself so it seemed the obvious choice. These close up photos show up errors and such that I just cant seen with the naked eye 😒
  11. For this Group Build I am building one of the 806 Naval Air Squadron Fulmars flown by Lt William Barnes one of the top scoring Aces of the Royal Navy. The difficulty with aircraft flown by 806 NAS in 1940 is that the serials were not documented by the pilots but what is known is that Barnes flew 6A / serial unknown. So my model will be without a serial. I have built the Special Hobby kit before, there are plastic, resin and etch replacement parts in the kit and there are a lot of them... Obligatory sprue shots Cockpit progress to date.. No seats in yet, and lots of work with a paint brush still to do... Observers cockpit Hopefully I might get to spend a bit more time working on the cockpits tomorrow and get them close to being finished.... Thanks for looking in..
  12. Evening all 😎 Just thought I'd introduce myself - I was going to say I'm new around here, but actually it turns out I registered on this forum back in 2015 . . . just haven't been a very active poster 🀐 I'm coming back to modelling after a very long break (35+ years to be precise, although I did half complete a few things along the way) , you know how it is, girls, motorbikes, children, jobs, houses, etc. all get in the way (and not necessarily in that order) My passion is RNAS/FAA aircraft, and preferably in the larger scales, eg 1:48 or 1:32 I've been slowly building up a stash of models and reference materials over the last 10 years or so, but every time I thought I was just about ready to put glue to plastic, something came along and got in the way, however with this enforced lockdown I now have no excuse. Well that's not entirely true as I run the communications team for our company and we've been VERY busy of late, although that seems to be slowing down and we now seem to be settling in for the long haul. The other fly in the ointment is that I'm in the process of moving out of London to a quieter place in the country, so put all my stuff into storage (elderly parents loft) and now can't get at it . So I'm now considerably poorer as I've had to go out and start from scratch in terms of paint, tools, and a couple of models, etc. I'm looking to get into using an airbrush for the first time, so may turn up asking basic questions in other sections - I have a compressor that a bought a while back that came with 2 free airbrushes, so shortly I'll find out how good they are/aren't My first kit to ease me back into the flow of things will be a 1:48 Airfix Seafire F.XVII πŸ˜€ However I'm also a sucker for punishment, so I'm also doing a Magna Models 1:72 Fairey Firefly T.2 πŸ€” Hope to see you around Simon
  13. Hi all Hope you are all well and able to stay safe. I have had this one on the shelf of Doom for a while and inspired by others on here with their shelf of doom builds I decided to finish this off. I started this last year as part of the Flying Boats and Floatplanes GB II but did not finish in time. This is the AZ \Model 1/48 Grumman Gosling. Here is the link to the started GB thread Built OOB with the addition of new scratch built seat frames, Consul above windscreen with throttle levers, Aileron actuator levers, ring aerial, hand grabs and cleats. The kit is brush painted as usual with Humbrol enamels and washed with Oils. The rigging and aerial wire is invisible thread. For a limited run Kit it was an enjoyable build. I was going to do the props as they would have been in wood below however did not think this would have been like this at the time used by the FAA I wasn't happy with the colour of the roundels being a bit too bright, but did not have anymore and I have already bought too many goodies recently !!! Apologies for the dust , it happens when you are doing building work unfortunately. Hope you enjoy Stay Safe and all the best Chris
  14. Hi mates, Having not gained any additional common sense from my last resin build, I decided to jump head first into another! This time it's the oft-neglected subject of the Supermarine Scimitar in glorious 1:72 scale, courtesy of the master craftsmen from the Czech Republic, CMR. The Scimitar, of course, was the last fighter to wear the Supermarine name, and the direct descendent of the legendary Walrus, er, Spitfire from WWII. Project: Supermarine Scimitar F.1 Kit: Czech Master Resin (CMR) Supermarine Scimitar F.1 (kit number 221) Scale: 1:72 (The Gentleman's Scale - then why am I here?) Decals: From the kit, representing XD324, 158-R, aboard H.M.S. Ark Royal in June of 1965 Photoetch: Included with the kit, primarily for the cockpit, air brakes, antennae, and wing fold area Vacuform: Two copies included with the kit, and for once I only needed one! Paint: Gunze H333 Extra Dark Sea Grey, H331 Dark Sea Grey, H339 Engine Grey FS16081;Testors 2143 RLM 21 Semi-gloss White, 2038 FS36492, 1168 Flat White; Alclad 101 Aluminum, 115 Stainless Steel, 314 Klear Kote Flat, and a bunch I forgot about. Weathering: Primarily post shading to simulate paint fading and wear, and the assorted stains and hydraulic fluid/oil streaks. I applied a light gray wash to the white underside, and black to the EDSG topside. Improvements/Corrections Just to fix ham-fisted mistakes from bone-headed modeller. Build thread: Link Now that all that nonsense is over, let's see some photos! Edit: The eagle-eyed amongst us will now doubt notice that I've had a bit of a nap and forgotten to add the port wing probe! Yikes! Please read through all the comments towards the end of the thread, and you'll find a photo showing the mysterious appearance of said probe, in its proper place on the port wing. No, not a bit of Photoshop magic, just the silly modeller fixing his mistake! I shot the underside before adding the outer wings and wing braces, since I didn't think I could figure out a way to prop it up when everything was finished! I couldn't resist some shots with her FAA stablemates and with her wing probe attached (in the photo with the Gannet). These photos were originally added in response to posts in this thread, but I figured while I was editing this (to replace the links to Photobucket) I would include them up front as well. It's back to normal (i.e. plastic) for my next build, if you call trying to build a B-24 kit from 1965 normal. Have a look in the Obsolete Kit Group Build every now and then and see how it used to be. You'll never complain about a missing rivet again! Cheers, Bill
  15. Hi. I would like to join in with a Eduard 1/48 scale Hellcat Mk.I Hellcat Mk.I JV131, 800 Sqn FAA, HMS Emperor, June, 1944 I don't have the box and the instructions because it is my half of a Dual Combo kit that I bought with a friend (he had the Mk.II) These are the sprues and accessories that I would like to use.
  16. Hi all, I was feeling a bit bruised by my Tarpon struggles (paused for a while) 😞, so I thought a nice stress-free, OOB build was required for restoration of flagging mojo. I decided on Airfix' 1:48 Sea Hurricane MkIB, AF955 as flown by Lt. 'Dickie' Cork DSO DFC, 880 Sqn FAA from HMS Indomitable during Operation 'Ironclad', the campaign to recapture Diego Suarez in Madagascar, 1942. I could not find too many images of the actual aircraft other than the one below second in line (copyright IWM): Built OOB with the addition of Eduard seatbelts and masks, finished in a mixture of AK Interactives and Humbrol acrylics. Critique and comments welcome as ever. Anyway, here she is - thanks for looking! Roger
  17. I have been off work self isolating so this kit has had some serious work on it the last 3 days. Only just put a coat of matt clear on last night and its still a bit tacky. This is the AZ kit which I believe was originally a Vista kit and has been issued by several different comapnies since its debut in 1996. The sprues were nicely moulded mostly flash free but the plastic used was soft and greasy feeling, it didnt cut or sand very well and where I would normally cut with the sprue cutters and give it a few goes with an emery board I instead ended up doing a lot of careful shaving away of material with a fresh 10A scalpel blade. Dry sanding just left deep scratches no matter what grade of emery I used, wet sanding was better but I had to be careful or I think I would have had a fuselage resembling a lace curtain pretty quickly. The etches for the wing folding were from the Airwaves brand and were nicely etched but were very thin and bend prone and didnt quite fit like the etches were 1/74 scale. All paints were Vallejo Air and splashed on with Hairy sticks as I really have fallen out with my airbrush at the moment. I painted the wing fold interior parts in Interior Grey Green which might be wrong I have seen the very few colour photos of original Fulmars and its 50/50 wether it should be Grey Green or Aluminium. I had a bottle of grey Green so went with that. I glued on the canopy with Ultra Violet setting resin glue and I was very impressed with it the canopy can be manipulated removed replaced tweaked anything the resin is liquid till you apply the Ultra Violet light then it sets within about 2 minutes, I left mine on the window sill in the sun for about 3 hours. When the resin is set its hard can be scraped or sanded and takes paint very well its also opytically clear so a little bit going on the see through parts of the canopy doesnt matter I missed a little bit which can only be seen with a magnifying glass in the right light. The fuselage letter number decal is wrong for my chosen aircraft it should be black 7R not red 7R but I ballsed up the correct decal and had to scrap and start again. I made a few mistakes in the build but it was a good learning experience and I am looking forward to doing more FAA folding wing jobs maybe even a Barracuda which looks when folded like it was in an horrendous accident. P1000870 by Stuart, on Flickr P1000883 by Stuart, on Flickr P1000871 by Stuart, on Flickr P1000872 by Stuart, on Flickr P1000871 by Stuart, on Flickr P1000876 by Stuart, on Flickr P1000875 by Stuart, on Flickr P1000877 by Stuart, on Flickr P1000882 by Stuart, on Flickr
  18. 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 β€˜Jackie’ Sewell (5 or 6 Confirmed victories) who both flew Fairey Fulmars with 806 NAS. I want to join in the β€œGo 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 β€˜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 β€˜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..
  19. This is my entry into the What-if section of this Group Build, you could say I was somewhat inspired by @Kallisti β€˜s various builds of American aircraft in FAA colours. Apologies if this is treading on your toes! I also happened to make a little Monogram 1/72 version of this aircraft when I was younger and not brave enough to adorn it with the yellow and black stripes. (That might give a hint of what I am going for). In the mid 1940s Westland started development of a carrier strike aircraft, with an engine layout similar to that of the Bell P-39. This resulted in interest from the Air Ministry and official specification N.11/44. The prototype W.34 was powered by a Rolls Royce Eagle H-24 engine, which was later cancelled. The aircraft was then planned to be powered by either a Rolls-Royce Clyde or Armstrong Siddeley Python. The Clyde was later cancelled but the airframe was planned to be fitted with a Napier Nomad, which was also then cancelled. Hopes rested on the Python to power the aircraft. (This where we differ from reality) After protracted development of the costly Python turboprop, the Wyvern was coming in over budget. The first prototype of which flew in 1949 and needed many modifications. The then Labour government had major economic issues to contend with and was looking in to all ways and means of cost cutting. This resulted in a defence white paper of 1950, in which Minister of Defence Emanuel Shinwell advocated the cancellation of Westland W.34 in favour of a cheaper, more versatile aircraft. The logic being that a Strike fighter was unnecessary with superior jet aircraft coming into play, Sea Hawk etc. It was decided, to the chagrin of the FAA, that the more conventional multi seat Douglas Skyraider AD-5 aircraft would be purchased to fill the gap of the cancelled Wyvern. This would be able to fulfil the role of a Strike aircraft, as well as that of COD. It’s wide fuselage meant that the aircraft had potential for further role changes in the future. Therefore, an order was placed and all squadrons that the Wyvern was intended for were equipped with the Skyraider AD-5. In keeping with the naming of other strike aircraft being named after mythical beasts, the Skyraider was dubbed the 'Cockatrice' in FAA service. The only differences being that this aircraft had the capacity to carry a torpedo and unguided rockets. This aircraft served well into the 1960s and served with a degree of success during Operation Musketeer in Suez. Along these lines the Whif model I shall be exhibiting will be a FAA β€˜Cockatrice’ of 827 Naval Air Squadron based aboard the HMS Eagle during the Suez crisis. This shall be modelled using the Revell/Matchbox 1/48 Skyraider and using decals for the 1/48 Wyvern from Berna Decals. This shall of course be in that classic EDSG over Sky, with Yellow and Black Invasion stripes. I shall start on this as soon as I finish my P-40 STGB commitment… I am very much looking forward to it Cheers, Ash
  20. Take a look at this gem well worth the watch...one day the big liz and big taffy will be like thisπŸ‘πŸ˜†πŸ˜¬πŸ€” https://youtu.be/e6ZFTawb73I
  21. Hi all I would like to build this little beauty. I will be building an FAA machine and would like to build it pretty much OOB. I am still finishing my very much modified Blackburn Shark in the Frog Squad build, although it is very nearly finished so this will act as a place marker until I can start. Resin parts cut from their Moulding plugs. I damaged the back of one of the U/C bays and so have covered it with plasticard. The rear cabin seat frames got damaged during cutting off and so I have sanded all but one off (needed the reference an will replace with brass rod, so much for OOB !!! Thanks for looking and good luck to all doing builds All the best Chris
  22. With my Airfix Wildcat approaching completion, I thought I would dig out another naval subject. Picked this up cheap late last year. Haven't made a Revell model in years so it will be an interesting change for me. Straight out of the box as I really like the gloss sea blue look. First time I have seen a black Revell box. Sprue shot. Looks Ok. Couple of nasty sink marks on the drop tanks, but I don't intend to use them. The wing tips for the FAA aircraft on the box. Canopy parts - which I gather are very thin and fragile. Neat decal sheet (that's just a bit of dust by the way - markings are fine). Instruction booklet - which os quite a difference from the old Revell standard printed on very poor recycled paper. Confusingly there are variations between the marking scheme in the instructions and the completed kit on the front of the instructions...... Instructions look nice and clear, with plenty of colour call outs. So from my reading around, the markings in the kit are for a Corsair Mk IV which is a Goodyear built FG-1. In terms of painting it should have an interior green cockpit and inside of the engine cowling, gloss sea blue wheel wells, undercarriage and wheel hubs and overall gloss sea blue for the main colour. So relatively straight forward. Lets see if I can mess it up!
  23. I was in the FAA Museum at Yeovilton, the other day and I was looking at a little watercolour sketch by S/Lt (A) Val Bennett R.N.V.R. who served with 1770 NAS. He wasn't an official war artist, but he recorded his surroundings as he travelled in service. So a unique (often colour) record. This sketch was a view of a couple of Grumman Goose and several Supermarine Walrus, parked up on hard standing in what seems a busy squadron scene. I assume it is 749 NAS as this seems to be where the FAA Geese ended up. I can't find a copy of this sketch on the internet, but for those who want to have a look, (if I remember correctly) it is in Hall 2 in the war in the pacific exhibition to the left of the hall. What drew my attention was the bright yellow markings carried by the Geese on their otherwise TSS upper surfaces. The fuselage spine is panted yellow with a chevron running from the centre front of the fuselage backwards so making an arrow shape. two more parallel strips are either side, spaced equally along the span of each wing so the pattern looks like / / /\ \ \. l Questions that come to mind are; Why were they applied? i.e. were they to help calibration, orientation or visability Were these markings standard throughout the squadron? i.e. there is a well known photo of FP503 code W2W (see Air Britain - FAA Aircraft 1939-45), It doesn't clearly show the upper surface and I wonder if it would have had said markings. When were they introduced? the sketched Geese appear to show type C.1 national markings, whilst FP503 has the earlier type A.1 markings, so the markings might not have yet been applied when the photo was taken. Discuss....
  24. Hi, everyone. I have a question about the form and style of the ventral tanks used on the F6F Hellcat. On Sprue Q of the big 1/24 Scale Hellcat there are 2 ventral tanks. Only one is mentioned in the instructions, this uses parts Q14 and Q15 and has the joint seam top and bottom and an aerofoil section between tank and fuselage, as detailed in Step 292. The other is parts Q12, Q13: it has no such mounting section, just 6 legs and a fuel pipe: there is no mention of the second one in the instructions! Why are these parts included? could Airfix be planning a later, possibly night fighter version? Anyone have any ideas?
  25. Hot on the heals of the Sea Venom comes another little-publicised Royal Navy jet, the Supermarine Attacker F.1. This kit is even more basic than the Frog Sea Venom! This is all there is ... Look at these! Most basic decals of all time? Luckily I had these left over on an old aftermarket decal sheet!
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