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Hi all. I'm new to this community and this is only my second thread, the first being on the intros section, but thought I'd jump straight in with a completed build. I was half way through this when I joined up and the build was being documented elsewehere and I thought I'd post here for your amusement and / or pleasure. Hope you like it. If I can get to grips with this photo hosting I'll see if I can't share a build or two.

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..

I thought I would paste up one of my latest finished models - de Havilland Mosquito Mk XIII HK422/RO*Z 29 Squadron RAF. During the period Oct 1943 to Oct 1944 Lieutenant DRO Price RNVR with his Observer Sub. Lieutenant B Armitage RNVR were seconded to 29 Sqn RAF to learn the art of AI and Night Fighting. During that period Price and Armitage made three claims. 09/10. 06.44 Ju188 Destroyed 21/22.04.44 Me110 Destroyed 17/18.09.44 Me110 Destroyed Unfortunately 29 Sqn RAF only recorded in the Operations Record Book that, on each occasion, they were flying a MkXIII Mosquito rather than aircraft codes or serials. HK422/RO*Z is a representative aircraft of 29 Sqn through the period rather than one definitely flown by Price & Armitage. The model itself has been converted from the bulk standard Tamiya 1/48 MkVI/NFII boxing but with the addition of the Blackbird Nose, which I had a bit of trouble fitting (measure twice, cut once). I also scratch built the new junction boxes in the rear cockpit and scratched a GEE set (and aerial) plus Harnesses to Pilot & Observer. Paints are Xtracrylic over Halfords Grey Primer (honestly not much different to Med Sea Grey). Roundels were Tamiya Squadron codes I printed up myself. I need to thank both @Seahawk & @Graham Boak for their help and guidance during the research for this aircraft..

Just completed:- Grumman Martlet MkIV FN112/Ø7*D 888 NAS HMS Formidable Operation Torch Nov.1942 Following up on my slowly growing Fleet Air Arm Aces Collection I needed a Martlet IV to represent that flown by Lieutenant DM Jeram during Operation Torch. Dennis Jeram made two claims in this aircraft:- 06.11.42 Bloch 175 Destroyed 09.11.42 Ju88 Shared Destroyed (Italian Markings with a German Crew). The model is the 1/48 Tamiya F4F-4. I converted the Twin Wasp engine to a Wright Cyclone, by removing all of the cylinders and replacing with 9 cylinders in a single bank. Added the ignition cables for the engine, replaced the propeller with a Hamilton standard cut down from a Corsair. Shortened the cord of the cowling and lengthened the fuselage (less complicated than it sounds). Opened up the flaps and built a structure inside. Pilot from an Airfix Hurricane (and I remembered to cut away the floor so the pilot can see through the lower fuselage windows). Paint is Xtracrylix, Decals are Printscale. The real thing for comparison.. I hope you like it and thanks for stopping by...

I need some help identifying a 29 Squadron RAF Mosquito Mk XIII particularly the serial number and aircraft code. The particular aircraft I am trying to identify was involved in the destruction of an Me110 Night Fighter some time after 2300hrs 17.09.44. in the Arnhem area. The aircraft was flown by Lieutenant D Price with Sub Lieutenant R Armitage as his AI operator who had been seconded to the RAF to learn Airbourne Interception and bring the learnings back to the Fleet Air Arm to develop their Night Fighting capability. The Me110 was their final claim and the third aircraft they destroyed (two other damaged claims had been made) making them the top scoring night fighting team in the Fleet Air Arm. I have looked at the 29 Squadron ORB both Summary and Detailed and all it tells you is that aircraft type (Mosquito XIII with Mk VIII A.I.). The 29 Squadron Combat Reports don't help either, although there is a narrative of each patrol all it gives is the aircraft type as above. My last hope is Lieutenant Price's Log Book but an internet search has revealed nothing so far. I have seen some pictures of 29 Squadron aircraft - which bear the squadron letters RO. I assume that the colour scheme would be standard intruder scheme with Night undersides and by September 44 at partial invasion stripes.. Any information would be great fully received, or if you know of the whereabouts of any source of information that could lead me to the identity of this aircraft or aircraft assigned to 29 Squadron at the time it will be greatfully recieved... Many thanks in advance..

The Royal Australian Navy operated Wirraway trainers from HMAS Albatross, Nowra from 1948 through the 1950's. This is the Special Hobby "First Blood over Rabaul" kit with the "Boring Old Silver" decal set from Red Roo Models. It's basically out of the box apart from scratch-built undercarriage doors (the originals being rather thick). This is my first completed model in well over a year.

Hi all, I'm in the process of building an Academy 1/72 F4U-1 modified to a Fleet Air Arm Corsair Mk.II operating in the Pacific theater and I was wondering about the colour of the wheel wells. Was it the regular US interior green colour or was it Sky like the underside? - Cam

The new Airfix Sea Fury arrived today, First impressions: very clean moulding with good engraved and raised detail no flash and a lot of clever use of separate ejector pin sprue bits to minimise ejector pin marks from small parts. The markings are limited, one from HMS Glory during the Korean War for which there are a lot of optional loads, including a RATO unit to go under the fuselage, plus rockets, bombs and auxiliary tanks of various sizes. There is one that looks like a tank, but the front is cut flat, does anyone know what it is? The instructions are devoid of explanation! The second set of markings are of the RNAS Historical Aircraft Flight aircraft VR930 in the colours she wore during service with 802 NAS in Northern Ireland. For this kit Airfix offer NO underwing load suggestions. This may be correct for the display aircraft, but surely not for the period in service. Can anyone suggest what would have been a typical underwing load for training flights at that time? A couple of fuel tanks, perhaps plus training RPs or bombs? Any advice most welcome...

No 888 Naval Air Squadron HMS Formidable November 1942 Here's one I finished last year. It's the Airfix Grumman Martlet Mk IV in 1/72 scale. This is a great little kit which I would recommend to anyone interested in FAA subjects. Construction was fairly straightforward although the undercarriage is very fragile and easily broken. Other than that there were no major problems although I lost a painted and decalled wheel to the CM and was clearing a space on the shelf of shame when I found it quite by chance on the floor of the children's bedroom. It was built OOB except for the seat harness which was either Eduard etch from the spares box or made out of masking tape, I can't remember which! It was painted using Humbrol enamels for the Beige Green and EDSG thinned with white spirit while the Dark Slate Grey was Humbrol acrylic thinned with water. Paints were sprayed using a Harder & Steinbeck Evolution and went on very nicely. Here are a few photos for your enjoment. As usual, all comments are welcome.

I am (very slowly) building a collection of the aircraft of various Royal Navy Aces (based on the Osprey book). This model represents Vought Corsair MkII JT537/P136. 1836 NAS, HMS Victorious, Operation Iceberg May 1945. On 4th May 1945 SLt DJ Sheppard (RCN) used this aircraft to destroy a D4Y Judy. SLt DJ Sheppard was the first Royal Canadian Navy Ace of WWII. The kit is the Tamiya F4U-1D kit. Throw it in the air and it assembles itself, except it has the rather excellent MCD MkII conversion set with new cockpit sidewalls, seat with harness, CO vents and external tank. TTS uses Xtracrylix paints. Markings are made up from various Xtradecal sets. I chose this aeroplane for my collection rather than the usual T8*B in which Sheppard scored the majority of his victories as I already have a Corsair in the Blue/White roundel (Lt Col R Hay) and I wanted a Corsair with the BFP Roundel and Bars. Anyway enough of the chat... Here is P147 onboard USS Essex for comparison... And in the cabinet... Hope you like it and thanks for stopping by...

Seafire F.46 - RNAS Lossiemouth Station Flight, 1948 Scratch conversion of Airfix 1/72 Spitfire Mk.22 - Model Alliance Markings I'm still immobile and broken at this end, so modelling on a coffee table next to my sofa whilst my bones heal! However, that's no excuse, so this month I have tried something a little more adventurous. The Seafire 46 is essentially a navalised Spit 22, so a relatively easy conversion in this scale and this is exactly what Airfix did with their 1/48 kit (same markings too!). The contra-rotating prop was scratched up from the kit spinner, suitably extended and thinned by a blob of Milliput, plus a spare blade from another kit. Shaping it, then drilling holes for the blades was a fairly major challenge under the circumstances, so it is a little rough, but I'm pleased to have managed at all. Likewise, the tail-hook will require some more work when I am back on my feet again and can fabricate an actual hook. Decals come from a Model Alliance set for the Lossie CO (Capt Caspar John RN)'s personal mount, which was, by all accounts, maintained to gleaming Captain's rounds standard. Brush painted as always, with Humbrol Enamels, a light oily wash and Klear topcoats (and I went for a half black/half green cockpit option FWIW). With thanks to Mrs T, who is doing a lot of the basics for me at the moment, but happily did a lot of extra fetching and carrying for me from my model room to my coffee table! FredT

I have been a member of the forum since the year dot and believe it or not I have never taken part in a Group Build. Group builds are risky for me due to the glacial pace at which I build but I've decided to risk it and join the build but what to build. Two possibilities spring straight to mind which fit in with my current "Aces of the FAA" theme. Airfix 1/48 Sea Hurricane. Which will be finished as 800 NAS Sea Hurricane Ib Z4550/G aboard HMS Indomitable Op. Pedestal 12.08.42. This aircraft was flown by Lt Cdr JM Bruen and has a couple of victories to its name. Eduard 1/48 Hellcat I. To be finished as 800 NAS JV132/E*F HMS Emperor Op. Hoops(?) Norway 08.05.44 when Lt B Ritchie destroyed a FW190. I asked on the Group Chat and got a "build the Hellcat" and "build both" so I have decided to go with the build both option with the proviso that if I'm running short of time one will be prioritised over the other.. so so here we go.... The box content (with additional artwork cover the markings that they will be finished in) Hurricane primed with the gun covers removed and the Instrument panel painted and decalled. Hellcat I (Weekend edition) primed, cockpit sides painted and cockpiit quite well advanced.. Who decided to open the cowl flaps? Thanks for stopping by...

Although it fills the last remaining gap in my Seafire collection http://www.gengriz.co.uk/RNPropsweb/seafire.htm , this month's kit really tested my patience. Whilst the end result is quite pleasing, this really wasn't an enjoyable build. This is the Czech Master Resins Seafire F.45, a kit for which I had very high expectations, but which proved to be a spectacularly difficult build. In fact it was nearly abandoned on several occasions. My problem was that I really couldn't get the resin parts to adhere to each other, despite using different types and batches of superglue. In the end I used Araldite as a last result for some parts, which worked. However, as a result of multiple gluing attempts, including flooding some parts with superglue, I did lose some of the detail and by the end I just wanted to finish. The kit had a few small issues too - the separate fuselage parts were not identical sizes and the resin seemed to flake when sanded. I was still partly bed-ridden for much of the build, which didn't help frustration levels. Much thanks to Mrs T for going by bus into town on a search for replacement superglue mid-build! ... And here she is with last month's Seafire 46. Once I can climb ladders again and reach their stowage boxes in the loft, I will do some shots of all 14 of my Seafire builds together! FredT

Welcome to my first WIP on the forum. I'm a student modeller who's been modelling for much of my life but haven't done much forum posting. My general modelling philosophy is 'cheap and cheerful'. Although I think it's fun to make a model as accurate as possible, I can leave super detailing to those who can afford the expensive kits and PE sets whilst I chug along with whatever cheap plastic is available. This subject is a kit I picked up for just £8 recently in Halifax Modellers World. With so many of the model shops of my childhood now closed it was lovely to find such a great shop open and busy on my visit to the city. The Hobbycraft kit was cheap for a reason. The recessed panel lines and overall fit seem OK, but throughout, detail is a little soft. The decals are completely unusable; they're completely out of register and are extremely limited anyway. No stencils or details; just the basic insignia. So I've tracked down a scheme which I'll be able to reproduce without purchasing a decal sheet (remember my 'cheap' modelling philosophy - I'd rather spend the money on more kits!). I've turned up this rather handsome aircraft: These plans come from the rather more expensive Special Hobby kit of the same aircraft. I think it is rather handsome, and I have a soft spot for FAA subjects, having grown up visiting Yeovilton's Fleet Air Arm museum and its fantastic model show (RIP ). To recreate this scheme, I'm going to use a new tool for me - a circle cutter - to create masks to paint those roundels. I've got some appropriate numbers left on a decal sheet. I might also have a go at masking some stencil detailing, such as the black lines on the wings. So this whole project could go wrong quickly! Unfortunately, I actually sold a perfect set of decals for this aircraft on ebay 6 months ago, but I got almost enough to cover the costs of the kit for them, so hey ho. I'll post some pictures of the kit, and interior work so far, a little later in the day.

All fingers legs arms and toes crossed here that this coming week brings this particular model subject much closer to reality; subject to wind and tide, we should see a Royal Navy Aircraft Carrier back at sea for the first time in many years, ready for the first F-35B to land on later next year. These markings for 809 Sqn in HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH and HMS PRINCE OF WALES are largely from my own imagination and courtesy of my inkjet printer, but perhaps not that far from the truth. This is Fujimi's delightful 1/72 F-35B kit, with a little hacking about from me (e.g. the rather obvious auxiliary air inlet is missing on the kit) and my own decals. I haven't fitted any weapons in the open bays yet - but some scratch built Meteors and SPEAR 3s are on the workbench! For those who doubt that colour can ever be applied to these aircraft, check out the USN variants at sea now! And as a comparison, here she is alongside Italeri/Revell's old X-35B kit Edit - here is a link to my second build scheme and an update of this one post FoC Flying Trials: 2018 Updates FLY (ROYAL) NAVY ! FredT

Please may I present to you my just completed 1/48 Special Hobby Blackburn Skua II. I have finished my Skua as the aeroplane of the Royal Navy's first "Ace" of WWII Lt WP Lucy RN of 803 NAS. Blackburn Skua II L2925/F of HMS Glorious flown by Lt Lucy was involved in operations off Norway during April and May 1940. Lt Lucy had been involved in the attacked that sunk the Konigsberg. He went on to share in the destruction of 7 enemy aircraft, 1 probably destroyed, 3 shared damaged. In L2925/F he shared in the destruction of 2 He.111s on 24.04.40 & 07.05.40 but was killed with his observed when the aeroplane exploded attacking a He.111 14.05.40. The kit was constructed out of the box (boxing comes with some resin elements and some etch). Paint is Xtracolour and Tamiya acrylic. Markings were cobbled together using various sets but mainly Xtradecal standard sheets. Anyway enough ramble, here is a couple of pictures.. Hope you like it. By the looks of the pictures I need more matt varnish on those tyres... Thanks for stopping by.. The Blackburn Skua was notable for a Royal Navy aircraft for the large number of ‘firsts’ she notched up in such a short career: First –monoplane in Royal Naval service; First –all-metal aircraft in Royal Naval service; First –British aircraft to shoot down a Confirmed German aircraft in the Second World War; First –aircraft in the world to sink a major warship by dive-bombing; First –British aircraft to have a bomb-ejector fork for bomb to clear propeller in dive; First –British aircraft with sleeve-valve engine; First –British aircraft to feature Koffman starter gun for engine; First –British aircraft to mount four Browning guns clear of prop. No CC gear; First –British aircraft to feature two-speed propeller (two pitch positions); First –and only aircraft to be fitted with anti-spin tail parachute; First –British aircraft equipped with radio-homing beacon on new VHF; First –British aircraft to have front gun reflector sight; First –British aircraft fitted with oxygen bottles and supply lines." Skua:-The Royal Navy's Dive-Bomber: The Royal Navy's Dive-Bomber" by Peter Smith

De Havilland DH.104 Sea Devon C Mk.20 - 718 Sqn Fleet Air Arm - Amodel 1/72 My attempt to build at least one of everything in Ray Sturtivant's Aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm takes another step forward with this relatively obscure aircraft. The RN's Sea Devons were ex-civil machines used as VIP and light transport aircraft, based out of RNAS Culdrose in Cornwall. Definitely a short run kit, this one is very nicely formed, but needs a little care in building. The cabin windows caused me a lot of angst, but it was worth it. FredT

My entry will be a 1:72 scale Sea Hurricane I, built from the new-tool Airfix kit using the Alley Cat conversion set and decals from the DP Casper "Forgotten Operations" sheet for Operation Pedestal:

I'm interested in the Sea Mosquito and I wondered if this new book offered any additional information to that provided by Richard's book The De Havilland Mosquito: A Comprehensive Guide for the Modeller (SAM Modellers Datafile 1). For example, does the new book offer plans for the TR37?

Hi folks, have just completed this Fleet Air Arm corsair MkII, as flown by Lt. N Hanson of 1833 Sqn. This aircraft took part in several of the East Indies Fleet raids against the Japanese and is shown in a series of photographs having returned from attacking Port Blair in 1944. Lt. Hanson named his first 3 mounts 'Kathleen' after his wife. So this one is Kathleen III. I made a few changes to the kit, I used MDC conversion kit for British corsairs, added the underside scoop, placed the fuel filler caps in the correct place, added the whip aerials from stretched sprue, put the flaps up and cut out the rudder to reposition it. It was painted all with Xtracrylix and some enamel washes. The base I got off of Ebay, it's supposed to be portion of a British carrier deck. Thanks very much to David and Tony for their help. The Wip cane be found here: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234988298-148-tamiya-corsair-mkii-1833-sqn-hms-illustrious/

Here's an old build, renovated somewhat a couple of years ago: the old Premiere kit of the Sea Venom, in the markings of 890 NAS, RNAS Yeovilton/HMS Ark Royal, 1956.

Here's another two decade-old build, restored somewhat and improved with the addition of Tasman Models drop tanks. An F.20 of 771 NAS at RNAS Ford in the early 1950s.

Here's my build of the Skybirds '86 kit, with the outer drop tanks substituted by AGM-12D Bullpup AGMs, converted from the items in the Hasegawa weapons set. Markings for 803 NAS on the Ark during 1965.

Hello Chaps, This is my attempt at converting the Revell 1/72 Merlin Mk.1 kit into a Merlin Mk.2. If you've got this far, thanks for looking - I know helicopters aren't as popular as Spitfires and the like, but I'm not very experienced at this and it took me ages, so thank you for having a gander! The main little tweaks to convert include positioning a third pitot tube on the LHS of the nose, another circular aerial on the top of the tail rotor drive shaft, the two homing aerials on each side of the nose wheel bay, the little black protrusion just behind the RHS of the cockpit and a couple of other things on the aircraft's underside. Some of the original instructions were incorrect for a Mk.1 or Mk.2 (such as the window for the cargo door) and some of the decals. The main rotor head folding mechanism was truly, truly awful and resulted in me having to drizzle superglue carefully into the rotor head. The folding tail boom is very loose, so needed magnets fitting to secure it. If anybody has any queries, please do shout out. If you've ever been subjected to a kit which requires over 200 decals within millimetres of each other, please give me a sympathy thumbs up vote! Thanks again for browsing! Here's the build thread:

Hello Guys, I've just started with a Revell Merlin HMA1 kit which I intend to convert to a Merlin Mk2 - externally, anyway, at least. I've added a couple of pilots from an old Puma kit and made a very simple pistol and cartridge stowage, first aid kit and fire extinguisher for the cockpit. Very early days but here it is so far: