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I see on Hong Kong models Facebook page announcing a B-25 and A-20 both in 1:48. I’ll certainly be interested in the A-20 👍 https://www.facebook.com/share/p/BxdjRdSMrEnxXSG1/?mibextid=WC7FNe

For the longest, I thought that this was the rear gun position on all until the turret. The guns, whether single or dual, regardless of caliber, would be on a semi-circular skate rail similar to the pulpit in the halftracks of the time. Singular .30 Cal Browning: Dual .30 Cal Brownings: Single .50 Cal Browning with 30 round box: A-20B TM image showing .50 Cal on a semi-circular skate rail: Then, I saw this in the Crowood book and it has a transverse straight rail which was installed from the A-20G-1-DO to the A-20G-15-DO. Now let's look at the lower, aka ventral, gun position. From the Boston and early Havoc manuals, we see a fold down arm incorporating a swing arm and the mount at its tip: The Russian manuals love using these types of illustrations as opposed to photography.. Starting with the A-20G-1-DO, the manuals show a belt fed .50 Cal and it also seems mounted on a straight transverse track. Image from the A-20G Aeroplane Parts Catalog by Aero Trader: Image from the A-20G-1-DO manual:

Next installment is on the life raft locations. Here we see what appears to be an A20B but pay attention to the verbiage about difference in models. "Airplane models and equipment stowage vary... Adapt this procedure to fit the specific model you are flying" I don't know the publication date but the inset on the top right does show a life raft and supplies in the walkway behind the pilot's cockpit: A close up of text instructions for each crew member: However, the actual A-20B manual has this figure stating that the gunner is to remove and inflate the raft, see step III: Another ditching instructions for the early Boston/Havoc. Locations of parachutes, circled, and the dinghy (boxed). Note that the locations did vary from model to model. Text for pilot from illustration below. Left side: Pilot - Exits through top hatch either by turning plane on its back and dropping out, or by crawling back over port wing and dropping from trailing edge. Last to leave plane. Right side text for Pilot: Pilot - Wears back-type parachute and dinghy in seat position. Exits through top hatch, either by turning plane on its back and dropping out, or crawling over port wing and dropping from trailing edge. Last to leave plane. My point is to take care to cross-check documents prior to believing them blindly. Moving backwards in the production timeline for USAAF aircraft. The A-20A manuals do not state anything about life rafts, simply life preservers. Here is a USAAF A-20A serial 40-109, named Spook, and written off in an accident on November 5th, 1941. Flying from New Guinea over open water and should be equipped with a life raft, if at all. However, the walkway behind the pilot is clear, as you can see in the video after the screen grab: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQ0esWOZ56c No mention of rafts in the Havoc Mk. IIIa/A-20C manuals I have... The Boston Mk.III manual mentions K type dinghies for the crew. These are one-man rafts. This is the raft, the container, Type C, will follow. Sources of image and others: https://www.historicflyingclothing.com/en-GB/ww2-raf-survival-equipment/raf-k-type-dinghy-complete/prod_16130 https://www.airministrymilitaria.com/en-GB/escape-survival-gear/raf-k-type-dinghy/prod_10118 RAF type C dinghy pack, for the single man K type dinghy. Source of image plus others: https://www.airministrymilitaria.com/en-GB/escape-survival-gear/raf-k-type-dinghy-pack/prod_10388 Now, for the Boston Mk. IIIa based on the A-20C - A screen grab from a video claiming these to be Havoc Mk. IIIa (again, I defer to Wing Leader's greater knowledge) but I do see the horizontal windscreen brace introduced with the A-20C production for the armored windscreen glass. While the USAAF had it inside the cockpit with a folding mount. The British seem to have it mounted here on the outside, like the Spitfire. Video source for the screen grab: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q87tdo--QZU Since HKM has released a 1/48th scale Boston Mk.III, I also took a look at that - I believe this is a Boston Mk. III. The ground crew is obviously standing where you placed a life raft. The video from which this screen grab was taken: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7J_QZlI4xg After the A-20C, the A-20G entered full scale production. From the A-20G-1-DO to the A-20G-15-DO, I have not found any images or videos showing a life raft positioned in the pilots walkway. Screen grab from an A-20G-15-DO, serial 42-54282: Video source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpGcFnqnfwo However, with the introduction of the Martin turret, the life raft, when so equipped, would be too cumbersome for the hatch aft of the turret so all models produced from the A-20G-20-DO on, to include the A-20H/J/K, would have the stowage standardized at this location:

Let's look at images of the secondary aircraft controls located in the gunner's compartment. I'm trying to find a usable image from an A-20C (Havoc Mk. IIIa) manual. A-20A Manual: From A-20A Parts Catalog. Of interest is the stowage for the control column (A). F-3 (Reconnaissance variant of A-20). The zippered curtain is access to the camera man's location if what is the rear bomb bay section. F-3 could revert back to their bomber roles as no equipment was removed, only added. F-3 (recon variant): A-20B Manual. A-20C interior... Still looking for manual image to see of the control stick is stowed or missing. A-20G-1 Manual (note the gun nose and the open rear gunner's area). Aileron controls don't reach the gunner's compartment, therefore the aircraft controls are no longer there. Rudder and elevator controls do run to the rear past the gunner's compartment so can't be used to prove the lack of a secondary set of aircraft controls.

Hong Kong (HK) Models Co Ltd has just announced they will attend the IPMS Scale Model World in Telford with a Douglas A-20 Havoc/Boston flight formation picture... A clue ? Wait & see. Source: https://www.facebook.com/hkmmodels/posts/pfbid02wxtM6bS7UkbaG4fYee2s8AAkegtpvHxYQEDKVvwC3rjoPpNtvt6Pin7ztfoGf5SEl V.P.

While not included in any scale Havoc or Boston kits, the A-20B had an interesting formation light pattern (seen on the A-20C and the A-20A which describes it in the manual): A-20A manual description of lights and locations - A-20B with rear firing nacelle guns as well. This one seems to have a light (formation or passing) on the top of the bombardier's section of the nose: A-20B serial 41-3040L On the A-20A (this one might have another formation of passing light on the nose above the bombardier): A-20C:

In order to ensure I am not missing the forest for the trees, let me present what I have come up with so far and the reasoning behind it. With the announcement of HK Models 1/48th scale A-20B/C kit, I decided to focus on my AMT kit which I spend quite some time detailing. Looking at the nacelles, it didn't seem to correspond with the text in various books about the fourteen exhaust ejector pipes being divided by five under fixed cowl flaps on the outboard side, four under the fixed cowl flaps on the inboard side with the remaining six under formed movable cowl flaps. Note that, instead of six formed ejector pipe covering cowl flaps, one nacelle has seven! So, I decided to look at the manuals illustrations and photographs. I need to state that I don't trust restorations, particularly those for flyable examples, as concessions on accuracy are made for safety and/or convenience. Let's start with the port side - One clearly sees five exhaust ejector pipes under the fixed cowling followed by a plain movable cowl flap, another formed to cover a pair of exhaust ejector pipes, and a gap before we see another formed shaped: While I don't trust flyable restorations, this one has open cowl flaps showing the same port side and the orientation: Inner side of port nacelle showing two pairs of exhaust ejector pipes under their respective movable cowl flaps: Also seen in a training film: Now, the starboard side from outer to inner - Period photograph showing seven formed movable cowl flaps: Here we see that under the fixed cowl flap, we see an open movable cowl flap formed to cover a pair of exhaust ejector pipes, followed by a plain movable cowl flap, and then another covering a pair of exhaust ejector pipes. Barely visible is a gap and the shape of a formed flap: From the rear, the TM illustration seems to show only four exhaust ejector pipes under the fixed cowl flap (contradicting the text of the books): Reverting to the non-flyable restored example, we see the continuation: Photo taken from the inner lower side of the starboard nacelle shows (continuing from the outboard), a blank movable cowl flap, a pair formed one, a single formed one, and another pair formed one. Completing the tour, we see that there are three exhaust ejector pipes under the inner fixed cowl flap: So, this is what the kit provides meaning that it is correct all along and the expensive 1/32nd scale HK Models kit is not: Trying to figure out how HK Models got it wrong on their 1/32nd scale kit (and hopefully will be corrected on their 1/48th scale kit), one simply has to look at the Lewis Flying Air Legends' example: HK Models 32nd scale kit and they copied this, along with the inaccurately sized nose wheel from the museum example, perfectly! Port side: Starboard side is VERY strange as they seem to have four exhaust ejector pipes under each fixed cowl flap with the remaining six in the same orientation as the port side. Red dots indicate the open exhaust ejector pipe ends: So, have I lost my bearings? Let me know.

After the Ka-52 (link), Arma Models is to release a 1/48th Mil Mi-28N "Havoc-B" 3D printed kit. Source: https://m.vk.com/wall-114983756_398946 First renders V.P.

Takom/Snowman Model is to release a 1/35th Mil Mi-28N Night Hunter/"Havoc" kit - ref. 2610 & SP2610 Source: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid02NjYWBjfzR5kXBio9ohEhmkvYBZBKi7QnV2LvSrJwZudfkHpGNgvhTMEJ1sn7ZZQKl&id=100057593795167 V.P.

Thanks Luis Pacheco - link . Worth a dedicated thread ! A strong rumour coming from Moscovia: Zvezda has a 1/48th Mil Mi-28 "Havoc" kit in design. Nonetheless Zvezda is reported having decided to give now the priority to its 1/48th Ka-52 project - thread link To be followed. Source: https://dzen.ru/a/ZM4FGUonYhvCyrvu?share_to=vk&utm_referer=away.vk.com V.P.

P-70 “Dusty”, 6th NFS, New Guinea, 1943 P-70 was a night fighter version of A-20 Havoc light bomber and it was used to test night fighter tactics before the first dedicated US night fighters (P-61 Black Widow) made an appearance. Plexiglass nose was painted over and radar installed - also extra weapons installed in the underside gondola. The kit is by High Planes and let me tell you it was not easy. There are lot of things missing (like the wheel wells are completely empty) and not all things line up perfectly etc. but I'm still relatively happy with the result, considering the starting point. But for my next Havoc, I think I will try the MPM/Special Hobby kit instead... 😄 Painted with Vallejo acrylics and weathered with Flory Models washes. WIP here:

Out now, and chock full of the usual detailed close ups and big colour profiles. Check out the insides at www.wingleader.co.uk.

A-20A/B/C/DB-7C Havoc/Boston "Early Gunships" 1:72 Special Hobby The A-20/DB-7 Havoc, known in Royal Air Force circles as the as the Boston, was a light bomber developed by the California-based Douglas Aircraft Company. Designed to a US Air Force specification issued in 1937, the aircraft’s first customer was actually the French Air Force, representatives of which had been impressed by its performance whilst visiting the USA as part of a pre-war purchasing commission. Those aircraft not delivered to France by the time the armistice had been signed in 1940 were taken up by the RAF instead. The Soviet Union was a major user of the type, with the Soviet Air Force and Soviet Naval Aviation acquiring nearly 3000 Bostons before the end of the war. The Kit It Was back in 2009 first iteration of this kit was released under the MPM Production label. The kit has been re-released about 20 times since then, including a re-box of the Boston Mk.V by big boys Revell. This time around the kit includes extra parts in resin, plastic and photo etched brass for earl;y gunship versions featuring extra guns in the nose. Inside the box are the usual five sprues of grey plastic and two sprues of clear plastic (the original sprue plus a new sprue for the turret transparencies. Together they hold over 160 parts, which is very respectable for a kit of this size. The mouldings look crisp and clean and there are no flaws in the plastic as far as I can tell. Surface details are comprised of fine, engraved panel lines and convincing textures on the rudder and horizontal tail. Although Special Hobby have had their money's worth out of these moulds, they seem to be holding up well and the overall impression is pretty good. The cockpit is rather well-appointed for a kit in this scale. It is made up of a floor, seat, rudder pedals, two-part control column, instrument panel, sidewalls and bulkheads. Details on parts such as the instrument panel are picked out with fine, raised details. The bomb aimer/observer position is just as good and includes a very nice bomb sight. The rear gunner's position is just as good, with nice extra details such as spare magazines for the lower defensive machine gun. The engine nacelles are made up at this point also and put aside for later. Once the fuselage halves have been joined together, the wings and horizontal stabilisers can be assembled and fixed to the fuselage. Unlike some limited run kits, the parts have location tabs and slots to help ensure a positive fit. The prominent nacelles, which house the large Double-Cyclone engines, are each made up of seven parts, while the engines themselves are made up of three parts – two rows of seven cylinders and the reduction gearing. They are nicely detailed and should look good once assembled. New resin cowlings are included for some of the decal options. The undercarriage looks well detailed, but frighteningly complex. Each of the main gear legs is made up of no fewer than six parts, plus the wheels themselves. I would recommend taking great care over these stages in the instructions as you don't want to end up with a wonky aeroplane when you come to rest it on its boots. The main gear legs actually fit directly to the wings, and it is possible to fit the rear engine nacelles over these parts afterwards. This should make things a little less frustrating as you will be able to place the parts precisely rather than having to stuff them inside a cramped undercarriage bay, but it will obviously make the task of painting the model a little more laborious. The remainder of the build is concerned with the addition of the transparent parts and some fine details such as the the radio antenna and propellers. The transparent parts are thin and clear and shouldn’t present any problems, although I have not been able to check to see how well they fit at this point in time. Different parts for the different nose gun options need to be fitted into the nose the decal option being modelled. Side blisters with additional guns are also added where needed. Decals Markings for five aircraft are provided on the decal sheet. A-20 13357/14 "Dirty Gertie" 47th Bomb Group, Tunisia 1944 A-20A 0166/13 "Little Hellion" 89th Bomb Sqn, 3rd Bomb Group, Port Moresby, 1942. This aircraft crashed and was repaired, later it was renamed "The Steak and Egg Special" As above but sporting the "Steak and Egg Special" Officially a non existent airframe re built from 2 crashed aircraft (and bits of others including Japanese ones) by mechanics. Again as above but stripped of its camo., and polished, the name was shortened to "Steak & Eggs" This aircraft then crashed of Low Wood Island Australia, where the wreckage remains to this day. Boston III, RAAF A28-9 "She's Apples" The decals are nicely printed and look quite thin and glossy. Conclusion This is the only modern tooling of the Boston in 1:72 scale, so it’s fairly easy to recommend it to modellers interested in adding the type to their collection. It looks good on the sprue, although opinion seems to be divided as to how easy it is to build. Some people have reported fit issues whilst others have stated that the kit practically falls together. Nevertheless, it is still the best Boston out there and with the interesting twist of the new gunship marking options, it can be firmly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Special Hobby is to release in June 2016 a 1/72nd Douglas A-20B\C Boston with a UTK-1 dorsal turret kit - ref. SH72337 Source: http://www.specialhobby.net/2016/05/sh72337-20bc-boston-with-utk-1-turret.html V.P.

A-20G/H/K/J Havoc/Boston Mk.IV/V Resin Upgrades (4726 & 4727 for Special Hobby) 1:72 CMK by Special Hobby These two sets are to upgrade the detail to Special Hobby’s 1:72 kit, with modular upgrades that require minimum alteration to the kit parts. Both sets arrive in the yellow-themed blister pack with card backing and instructions supporting the resin and Photo-Etch (PE) parts from harm, with a further acrylic sheet provided to prevent denting of the PE parts by the resin jostling during transport. Interior Set (4726) This set includes 10 resin parts, a small fret of PE and a slip of pre-printed acetate sheet. In preparation for insertion, the fuselage sides should be sanded or scraped thin to accommodate the sidewall detail parts, which is best done before main assembly. The cockpit is made up on a stepped two-part platform, with instrument panel and PE/Acetate sandwich applied to the front, PE rudder pedals, resin and PE control column, pilot seat with PE belts and a dinghy pack to the rear. The kit front bulkhead and nose gear bay are attached, then with the aforementioned sidewall details pre-fitted, and an insert to the sides of the dinghy bay added, the new cockpit can be fitted between the fuselage halves, with a small PE sight added to the windscreen hoop. Gun Turret (7427) This set increases the level of detail in the fuselage under the mid-upper gun turret, as well as replacing the kit guns with new more detailed resin parts. Again, the fuselage where the bay will be placed needs scraping thin to accommodate the bay, which is made up from an L-profile floor, two large side parts with another two small parts adding length and detail. The turret itself is augmented with the guns, plus turret base and curved part over the top. The kit’s glazing is utilised to close-in the new detail. Conclusion The devil’s in the detail, and at 1:72 these sets will make quite a difference to the finished model, begging to be shown off. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Kitty Hawk has a 1/48th Mil Mi-28 "Havoc" kit in project/design - ref. KH???? Source: https://www.facebook.com/groups/369828906819827/permalink/668836086919106/ 3D renders V.P.

Hi mates, I finished this one a few days ago, one of my favourite planes. This model from Special Hobby is very nice detailed, with almost a very good fitting, and came with nice PE from Eduard. I added some scratch and wires and some rivets with my Trumpeter's riveting wheel. I enjoyed it a lot and I hope you like it... Cheers Ricardo

Hi all, here is my new 1/72 MPM Douglas A-20G Havoc "la france libre": Construction: MPM has created a superb kit in 1/72 for the Douglas Havoc / Boston variants. In 2008 i brought the D-Day Havocs kit variants with the solid gun nose. At first, I wanted to build OOB, but after a while, some details were added scratch: Cockpit: Life raft and details Nose: Brass MG barrels (accessory), fuselage reinforcement, MG ejectors Fuselage: Rudimentary fuselage installation, rear exit Turret: Entire tower structure, brass MG barrels (accessory) Engines: Cables, valve lifters, exhaust pipes, slightly opened cooling flaps Charger: Inlet details, open outlet Gear: Brake lines, resin wheels (accessory) With some creative breaks, I worked on the model for almost 6 months. Original aircraft: My model, the "la france libre" was the first Havoc in Europe with 100 successful mission missions and was called "Miss laid" for a long time. The plane was sent to Paris in the autumn of 1944 for the French liberation celebration as a part of an exhibition and renamed for this reason. Most of the Havocs were heavily weathered. Source: worldwarphotos.info Finish: I wanted to transfer the impression of the original photo above to my model. The paintjob was started as standard for me on an Alclad Airframe aluminum primer. After that preshading, three glazing layers per colour, painting scratches with a silver pin, masking and painting of the walk-ways, masking, painting and weathering of the invasion stripes, intermediate finish with future, decals, washing, painted exhaust gas traces, dust oil paints, chalks etc. etc. Walkaround: Bottom: Details: I hope you like my model. Criticism, notes, and comments are gladly welcome. Kai

HpH is to release in 2017 a 1/32nd Douglas A-20G Havoc resin kit. Source: http://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?showtopic=28641&p=801592 V.P.

In late 1943-1944 771 Squadron FAA based at Twatt in the Shetlands, was issued with a number of Boston and Havoc aircraft, mostly Turbinlites, for use on radar calibration and target simulation purposes for Home Fleet units preparing to deploy to the Pacific. One of these was Havoc II AH507 "T8A" (Sturtivant calls it a Boston II but I think he is wrong on that). Air Britain does not record it as one of the many aircraft from that particular Havoc batch converted to Turbinlite configuration and it had previously served with 85 Sq so I conclude it was one of the aircraft fitted with the Martin-Baker 12-gun nose. In Sturtivant's FAA Aircraft there is a photo of this aircraft, taken from the starboard rear quarter, after running off the runway into mud on 8 November 1943. It is very useful for many details, including the nacelle configuration, but the nose is not visible. Question 1: is anyone aware of any other photos of this incident, preferable showing the aircraft nose. I am assuming that the redundant AI radar has been removed (it clearly has been from the less camera-shy Turbinlite aircraft) but am unclear whether the gun muzzles would have been left open, doped over but still visible or plugged. Question 2: since the chances of a positive answer to q.1 seem very slim, is anyone prepared to speculate on the most likely option? Are there any photos of other 12-gun Havocs on second -line duties late in the war? My inclination is to think that on an aircraft operating from one of the wettest places known to man any superfluous orifices would have been securely plugged against the all-pervasive damp. For me it would be easiest for fill all the gun apertures but my hair-shirt mode says I ought to drill all 12 of them out. Any leads/thoughts?

A Google search on "Helmore Turbinlite" has thrown up this picture of a Turbinlite Havoc. https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=helmore+turbinlite&tbm=isch&source=hp&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjGs4ThtcDgAhVsVBUIHeLeA1wQsAR6BAgEEAE&biw=1536&bih=747#imgrc=uiXMuMRBynh5pM: You will note that the aircraft is in the later Medium Sea Grey/Dark Green camouflage rather than the more normal black. There are also 3 men in the foreground parading with a flag. I think that I have seen a captioned version of the photo before and that the gentlemen are Polish. Can anyone identify where and roughly when the photo was taken? I am wondering if it is one of the Turbinlites used by the FAA (eg 771, 772 Sqs) as fast targets for units working up to serve in the British Pacific Fleet. Any details on the aircraft itself would be wonderful but probably too much to hope for.

Canopy Masks for MPM Douglas Havoc Turbinlite (X72014) 1:72 MH Masks via Special Hobby This is a set of the masks for the MPM (now Special Hobby) 1/72 Douglas Havoc Mk.II Turbanlite kit. The kit has extensive glazing which will be difficult to mask in 1.72. These masks from MH Models should help. They are of the vinyl type. Conclusion Sometimes kits can benefit from masks, and this is one. Recommended. Review sample courtesy of

I am looking for info on the recce fit of the Douglas F-3A Havoc. I want to start on my conversion of the AMT/ERTL 1/48 A-20J, and do a bird from the 155th Night Photo Sqn, 10th PRG. I plan to do either "Sleepy Time Gal" (preferred) or "Starize", using the AeroMaster decals. I did a search here on Britmodeller, but found nothing (Flaky search engine?). What I am looking for is info (Drawings/photos) of the camera fit & location, including the Edgerton Lamp (SP?). I have found some written info on the equipment fit, but not specific enough. I could either do the Edgerton fit, or load up the bomb bay with photoflash bombs, even though the latter would require much more scratch building/converting. I am also looking for confirmation of whether the plane would still have the upper gun turret, or a clear dome, or just faired over. If you have info, but don't want to post the photos/drawings online, you can email me direct at lengesath(AT)cox(DOT)net. Larry

Good day, gentlemen. It's my next model.

Hello All, As part of my garage clearing and stash organising (260-odd, if you are wondering), I came across some old-old models of my Dad's, from WWII. Here's a "Grace Airplanes" kit, including "everything you need to build the model", including paint, bamboo, and pins: You even get spare wood! Here's a Hudson: I also have an "Airlines" kit. This seems to be a bit more basic, shown here next to the new Airfix Defiant to show that things have progressed a leetle bit: Not a scrap of balsa in sight! Presumably it was all going into 1:1 Mosquitoes at the time. Paint of the day was based on a cellulose dope formula: One of them was even liquid! The brown, after a lot of stirring, came out quite well: Although then, as now, nobody quite agreed about Sky: My Dad had got quite a long way through a Havoc build: So I thought I would continue it in keeping with the spirit of the build. It was going to need crew - these fellows are carved from a lollipop stick. Any similarity to Captain Pugwash characters is accidental! Although the plunge-formed canopies from the time (on the right) are still very usable, I made a new plug from balsa to fit the model better and vac-formed some new ones (on the left): Detail was limited to a pair of Brownings, from wood and pins: I painted the whole airframe black from a tube of acrylic and applied the decals. The fuselage decals went on perfectly! I knew I was going to have trouble when the wing and tail decals started drifting into pieces on the sheet. I applied them by placing my thumb on the decal and pulling the paper out from underneath. I teased the various broken bits back into position and touched up the missing bits. I am unable to say how well they conformed into panel lines... A coat of matt varnish and done! It was quite nostalgic to take part in a posthumous joint build, so here's to my Dad: Thanks for looking, Adrian