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Elsewhere I've previously shared photos of my large stash of small kits . . . It includes a double Sweet kit of FM-2s, and I think one or two of these will be fun to include in this GB!

This build was completed yesterday. It was done OOB, with the addition of Eduard seatbelts. Paint is Vallejo Model Air, applied over a black base mottled with gray shades. I bought the Arma Hobby FM-2 "Training Cats" edition, initially with the intention of using some aftermarket decals to build a deployed, combat area aircraft. I decided against that, and set about building a "Training Cat." Deciding which one to replicate proved very difficult! Ultimately, I chose to replicate LS03, unit unknown. The mix of the Atlantic camo scheme with a mismatched cowl grabbed my attention. The build was a pleasant experience, and assembly went very smoothly. Thankfully, I researched the kit and read about a build technique that greatly simplified assembly of the landing gear. This would have been very difficult just going off the instructions. I noticed the landing gear, as supplied, seemed to be missing a strut on each side. I cut some styrene rod and added them- 5th photo, circled in red. The cockpit was washed with Flory grime wash, and the wear was done with Vallejo Metal Color dull aluminum applied with a sponge. The exterior weathering was done with Flory washes, oils, and Tamiya Weathering Master. I tried a new (for me) airbrush technique for the exhaust staining. I built up a layer of "engine soot", followed by thinned NATO black, and finished with a thinned mixture of a grayish tan color I made by mixing Light Gull Gray and "yellow sand". I included a photo of the actual aircraft at the end. If anyone knows anything more about this aircraft, such as where it was stationed, I would like to hear about it. Thanks for looking, and feedback is always appreciated.

Hello All, I am wanting to buy a few of the Airfix 172 F4F-4 Wildcats, as I see them pretty cheap at the moment. I would like to backdate/convert one to a -3 variant in British markings. I read that some had folding wings, some didn't. All had the two-flap cowl and 4 guns? On converting one to a Gloss Sea Blue late variant, say a FM-2, too much surgery and best to buy a whole different kit? Thanks for any advice/light you can shed. Jeffer

In October 1943 almost four dozen of US a/c (20 Dauntless, 14 Wildcats and 10 Avengers) attacked the German shipping in Norwegian fjords near Bodo - just north of the Arctic circle. Several photos show the SBD-5s (no upper cowling air intake) with red-surrounded stars-and-bars and single- ot two-digit number on the fin. The well-known photo of SBD No.19 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Leader#/media/File:SBD-3_CV-4_Norway_1943_NAN10-1-45.jpg shows the plane in two-tone camouflage of Blue Gray and Light Gray - the undersides surely aren't white and there's no difference between the fuselage sides and top colour. Another photo http://www.airgroup4.com/la-plata-1.jpg shows starboard wing uppersurface decidely NOT in the NS Sea Blue (that should be darker than the sea below it), while next one http://www.airgroup4.com/leader-03.jpg shows the port wing uppersurface much lighter than Insignia Blue. Nevertheless there's still another (well-known) photo of two SBDs http://www.airgroup4.com/skomver-lighthouse-norway.jpg where the undersides CAN be white, while the sharp border along the fuselage side below the cockpit suggests later three-tone USN camouflage. So my question is whether could these VB-4 SBDs wear Atlantic three-tone camouflage of Dark and Light Gull Grays over White, introduced in early (April?) 1943? It's worth of mention, that during the same raid the VT-4 Avengers still wore Blue Gray over Light Gray two-tone camouflage, OLD insignia (stars with no bars) and OLD numbers (e.g. 4-T-11) in black on fuselage sides. Another interesting question concerns Wildcat fighters. Most sources list F4F-4s here, while (following Ernest L. Crochet journal http://www.airgroup4.com/crochet.htm) since August 1943 all Wildcat crashes on the Ranger CV-4 are described as FM-2. Also the photo http://www.airgroup4.com/torch1.jpg taken (presumably) in mid-1943 show Wildcats taking-off from the USS Ranger deck as tall-finned FM-2s (four wing guns and lack of upper cowling air intake do stay for such conclusion too). BTW what camouflage do these FM-2s wear? White number on the fin precludes two-tone Artlantic scheme, white undersides make two-tone Blue Gray/Light Gray (there were no FM-2s painted such AFAIK) also impossible. So which three tone: Atlantic Scheme One (of two greys over white) or standard scheme of two blues over white?