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Hi All, My next project will be Special Hobby's Albacore Mk.II. I built Tamiya's mighty Swordfish last year and had another biplane itch, so what better than the Stringbag's replacement to scratch it ?! (ICM's 1:32 Gladiator almost got the gig, but I fancied an FAA build!) Here's the box art: You can see that an Operation Torch aircraft is one of the schemes included - here's all three options: I'm not sure that any of those schemes really float my boat - more on that later. Here's the sprue shots: All usual SH fare, with their hard mid-grey plastic and what looks to be good surface detail. Here's the decals, PE and instrument panel film: All look to be nicely done. Here's the resin components for the engine, machine gun and other assorted bits & pieces: Finally to the ordnance. This kit is supplied without a torpedo, but fortunately I did not use the tin fish from my Swordfish build, so here it is in all its glory: That will do nicely! As to the scheme, I'm rather tempted to have a go at a TSS/Night combination such as this one, X8942 of 828 Sqn FAA, based at Hal Far in 1942. There are a few nice photos of aircraft in similar schemes: All show a significant amount of wear, which I shall attempt to replicate. So, on with the build! Thanks for looking, Roger

So this is my first attempt at putting some words and pictures together regarding my latest build. The model is the TAMIYA 1/48 scale Grumman F4F-4. I decided to build a Royal Navy WILDCAT V and chose JV394 of 842 sqn using decals from Eagle Strike. I like to have folded wings on my carrier borne aircraft and so also have a resin conversion kit from AIRES. Main components laid out ready for next stage.

Hi everyone, Here is the last kit I finished for 2021 which has been collecting a little dust before I could get some photos. It is the 1/72 Hellcat Mk I/II Dual Combo Profi Pack from Eduard painted in one of the kit schemes being 1844 SQN from HMS Indomitable. The kit which went together in typical Eduard fashion (meaning any mistakes are all mine) and was painted in my trusty Humbrol enamels. After a little research here in regards to ANA colours, I went with Humbrol 155 Olive Drab, 125 US Dark Grey and 90 Sky which looks alright to me. I went a little too heavy with the weathering in some spots, but apart from that I'm pretty happy with it. Sending everyone best wishes for a successful 2022 at their work bench! JayGee.

Hi All, My first completion for 2022 is Special Hobby's 1:48 Blackburn Skua. The model was completed as L2963 of 803 Sqn FAA, pilot Lt C H Filmer, TAG Midn T A Mckee DSC, flying from HMS Ark Royal. The aircraft was shot down during the raid on the Scharnhorst on 13th July 1940, and force landed near Trondheim with both crew being taken as PoWs. The aircraft was recovered by German forces, and several good photos of the aircraft therefore exist (copyright Michael Balss - images used for discussion only and will be removed on request). There are a couple of notable things about the scheme: - The non-standard centre to the fuselage roundels - The interesting personal marking by the cockpit, which shows an arm in naval uniform firing a Luger at a wasp with a human Hitler head (of course) - The propeller is finished with an aluminium front and black rear Here's the scheme as presented by SH: I have replicated the non-standard fuselage roundels, but chose to use standard 'B' type roundels on the wings instead of the 'A' type provided, as I felt these would be more appropriate(due to their small size I used 1:72 wing roundels from a Wildcat, which were the perfect size ). I also retained the black & white underside, although there had been an Admiralty order around this time to overpaint the underside in Sky (invoking Modeller Rule #1 - it's my model and I shall do as I wish!) The kit as presented has a couple of inaccuracies, some of which I chose to correct (some of which I learned about too late!). In no particular order: - The underside cavity for the bomb is the wrong shape - it should be rectangular, rather than the 'lozenge' shape presented. - This aircraft should only have a landing light on the port wing, rather than both (this was serial number dependent) As I had applied primer before I was aware of these inaccuracies, I chose to let them lie. I did however make a number of additions which hopefully have improved the end result: - Scratch built the rear bulkhead in the TAG position - Boxed in the landing lights and added lamps - Added wingtip formation lights using clear sprue - Scratch built the distinctive bomb release crutch using plastic rod - Drilled wingtip hand holds - Modified the main undercarriage legs to emulate the distinctive vertical stance - Added non-slip walkways to both wing roots - Changed the a/c code letter on the tail from black to blue, as was standard FAA practice at this time Here's the WIP if anyone is interested: I've thoroughly enjoyed learning about this unusual type, and the quality of the build has been helped immensely by several contributors, including @iang, @mick b, @Grey Beema, and @Heather Kay - thank you all very much for your advice and contribution. Anyway, enough waffle and on with the photos! Finally (and just to illustrate scale, you understand ), I took a couple of shots with FAA contemporaries the Fairey Swordfish and Vought Chesapeake (one of which was a lumbering old dog, and the other was a Swordfish 🤣): I've very much enjoyed building this most unusual of aircraft, and learning more about its significant contribution in the dark early days of the war. The desire to build a companion Blackburn Roc has significantly increased, as it would be rather rude not to! Thanks for looking, Roger

Hi All, Having recently RFI'd my Sptfire Mk.I, I now have the appetite for something a little less... mainstream, shall we say? What better than an early war, twin seat, Bristol-(under)powered beastie to get the juices flowing? I've had Special Hobby's Skua peeking at me from the stash for a while, and I'm feeling suitably strong-willed to give it a red-hot crack. Here's the box art: As you can see, this is the 'Norwegian Campaign' boxing, which allows completion of 3 schemes from 800 or 803 Sqn FAA, all of which were embarked aboard HMS Ark Royal in July 1940. All 3 aircraft were also shot down during the attack on the Scharnhorst on 13th July 1940, although only one of the six crew were killed (Lt. R S Bostock) - happily(?) the rest were taken as PoWs. Of the 15 aircraft which took part in the raid, 8 were shot down - brave men indeed. As we all know, the prototype Skua was powered by the Bristol Mercury, but the Mk.II was Perseus-powered, and 190 aircraft were delivered to the FAA. Although they acquitted themselves well in Norway and the Mediterranean, they struggled against more modern opposition, and were withdrawn from front line service in 1941. I'm going to complete as this scheme: This is L2963 of 803 Sqn FAA. I've never completed an FAA aircraft in Sky Grey before, so this will be an exciting new experience! A quick image search does not turn up any pics identifiable as L2963, but there are a number of pics of Skuas from 803 Sqn aboard Ark Royal in 1940: Some nice details visible there. Here's another: Finally, here's a nice shot of the cockpit: On to the kit - here's the sprue shots: Moulded in the usual SH hard, mid-grey plastic. The surface detail looks reasonable, although I might have to give Rosie an outing... Here's the transparencies and resin parts, which includes what looks to be a very nice Lewis gun: Here's the decals, PE fret and the mask set I picked up: So off we go on another FAA adventure! I also have a Hurricane Mk.I (Tropical) I might build in parallel just for a bit of light relief, inspired by @bigbadbadge's lovely recent 'spaghetti' scheme (watch this space!) Thanks for looking, Roger

Blackburn B-24 Skua MkII, L2991/Q of No 803 Squadron FAA Operating from HMS Ark Royal from April to July 1940. On 13 July, L2991 was shot down during an attack on Scharnhorst. It force-landed at Langvik, Norway, and the crew of Lt Cdr J Casson and Lt P E Fanshawe were taken as prisoners of war. The first operational Royal Navy all-metal monoplane, Britain’s first naval dive-bomber, first deck-landing aircraft with flaps, retractable undercarriage and variable pitch propeller. A pretty impressive list of firsts for the Blackburn Skua, which certainly can’t claim to be among the most attractive of aircraft. The prototype Skua flew in February 1937, powered by a Bristol Mercury IX of 840hp. It proved satisfactory, and was sent off for intensive tests at the A&AEE Martlesham Heath. Orders were placed for 190 aircraft before the prototype had even flown. All the Mercury engines were earmarked for the Bristol Blenheim, the 890hp Bristol Perseus XII was chosen for the production Skua, which became the MkII. All the ordered aircraft were delivered between October 1938 and March 1940, with the first FAA squadrons to see the new planes being Nos 800 and 803 in late 1938. Both squadrons were soon embarked on HMS Ark Royal. The Skua was a two-seat naval fighter/dive-bomber. It was armed with four forward-firing 0.303in Browning machine guns in the wings, and a Lewis gun on a flexible mount in the rear cockpit. Beneath the fuselage was a recess that could be fitted with a crutch mechanism to carry a 500lb bomb. During a dive-bombing manoeuvre, the crutch let the bomb swing away from the aircraft’s propeller arc. Underwing racks could also carry eight 30lb bombs. The wings were designed to fold, saving space in the hangar decks of carriers. The Perseus sleeve-valve engine could get the Skua to 225mph at 6,500ft, gave a service ceiling of just north of 20,000ft and a useful range of 760 miles. As a fighter at the outset of the Second World War, the Skua was already obsolete. As a dive-bomber, however, the type was surprisingly good. Skuas and Rocs were deployed during the Norway campaign in April 1940, and claimed the sinking of the German cruiser Königsberg in Bergen harbour. Many aircraft were lost in a later operation against Narvik. Skuas and Rocs also flew from RAF Detling in Kent, covering Operation Dynamo, the withdrawal of troops from Dunkirk. Skuas were withdrawn from service in 1941, their squadrons being equipped with the Fairey Fulmar and Hawker Sea Hurricane. There is no complete Skua airframe, but a wreck has been salvaged from a lake in Norway, and can be seen on display at the FAA Museum, Yeovilton. Built from the Special Hobby kit, straight from the box, painted with ColourCoats enamels, Revell and Humbrol acrylics for detail painting, and using the kit transfers. The build thread can be found here:

I’m feeling a bit of group build burnout, so I’ve decided to start a couple of builds of kits that have been occupying the stash for some time. Both, obviously, fit my 1940 remit, and both will probably be a fairly slow burn. First up, a final Fleet Air Arm build - until I can get a Fairey Sea Fox, Gloster Sea Gladiator and possibly a floatplane Swordfish - is the Blackburn Skua MkII from Special Hobby. Ages ago, I built the Roc turret fighter from SH, and this kit shares many similarities. This boxing dates from 2009, and offers three aircraft that took part in the attack on the Scharnhorst in July 1940. I may dig around and see if there are other aircraft I might choose, but one of the three in the box will probably be quite adequate. Typical SH family instructions. I’ve already made notes on colour callouts, and I will go over the runner trees with a fine felt tip to number the parts. Three runners of pale grey plastic form most of the parts. Some fine flash is evident, and some care tidying up feed points will be needed. The clear parts are a single piece canopy, so no chance of having the clamshell open for the observer, plus two landing light covers. A small PE fret for cockpit fittings, belts and engine detail. The engine is resin, and every inlet and exhaust pipe is separate. Transfers by AviPrint. I may be tempted to try cutting my own stencils and painting the markings, now I have the Silhouette. So, that’s what’s in the box. I’m not sure quite when I shall make a start on construction, but it won’t be too long. While my day job work is still busy, I am getting styrene and plastic cement fumes withdrawal symptoms!

Hi all, Hot off the bench today Blackburn Skua II L2927/A. 803 Naval Air Squadron HMS Ark Royal, Mediterranean, July 1940. Green Leader and Squadron CO Lt JM Bruen. Special Hobby 1/48 Kit, Paint - Hataka / Xtracrylics. Markings - Mix of kit, spares, generic and made. Scheme:- Ark Royal interpretation of the order to paint the undersides of the aircraft Sky (without having seen Sky Paint). I need to thank @iang for all his time and help in identifying what this aircraft probably looked like.. 803 NAS HMS Ark Royal Operation Catapult Mers-el- Kébi (French Algeria). Dakar 03.07.40. (1830) Curtis Hawk Damaged. (1910) Moraine 46 Damaged. (1930) Breguet Br.521 Damaged. 06.07.40. Shadowing flying boat Shared Destroyed 09.07.40. Air strikes against Cagliari planned. Z506B Shared Destroyed. 02.08.40. Air strikes against Cagliari. Z01 Shared Destroyed. 31.08.40. Operation HATS. 1/3 Cant Z501 Shared Destroyed, ½ S.79 Shared Destroyed, off Balearic Isles. Off now to prep for the Hellcat Group Build in which I’ll be building a Hellcat with a family connection.. Thanks for looking in..

Hi All, I've taken a bit of a battering in the mojo stakes lately, so I wanted something uncomplicated for my next build. I was perusing the stash and eyed up Airfix' 1:48 Mk.Ia Spitfire, and thought 'nah, boring'. I then happened to catch sight of Special Hobby's 1:48 Seafire F Mk. XV, and the germ of an idea was born. 💡 What about a build which spanned the wartime service of this iconic aircraft? As I thought about this, more interesting juxtapositions came to mind: - Special Hobby vs. Airfix - RAF vs. FAA - Merlin vs. Griffon - Cannon vs. machine gun So, here we go. Here's the box art of the Spit: Now I've never particularly been a fan of early Spit schemes, but my self-imposed bookending of WW2 directs me towards this scheme: FY*Q of 611 (West Lancashire) Sqn RAF based at Duxford in Autumn 1939 - perfect! Here's a photo of the aircraft: It's difficult to tell from the photo the shape of the canopy, but the kit shows a bulged version so I'll go with that unless I see some definitive evidence to the contrary. This aircraft also has the early windscreen armour, a lack of seatback armour, and the early pole-style antenna. Along with the distinctive lighter fuselage roundels, the aluminium & white/black undersides will surely add some visual interest - I'm liking it the more I look at it! Here's the sprue shots: You can see a selection of canopy options here: The decals look lovely: I have a couple of extras to add to the build, which will otherwise be OOB: My second subject will be Seafire F Mk.XV 13-9/T of 806 Sqn FAA, based at Trincomalee, Ceylon in Summer 1945 - perfect again! Here's the box art: I cannot find a photo of 13-9/T, but here's another aircraft from 806 aboard HMS Implacable, which clearly came to an ignominious end in early1946: Here's the scheme: In a bizarre twist of fate, NEITHER AIRCRAFT HAS A VISIBLE SERIAL NUMBER!!!! The comparisons in this build are going to be endless (and possibly tiresome). Here's the sprue shots (3 for SH vs. 5 for Airfix): There's a small PE fret: The decals look straightforward enough: That instrument panel looks distinctly dodgy - will avoid it, methinks. I may need to spray the wingwalk lines - did Seafires even have these? Anyway, off we toddle on A Tale of Two Fires - please feel welcome to join me on the quest! Thanks for looking, Roger

WWII RAF Coastal Command & RN Fleet Air Arm Colours (AK11728) AK Interactive It’s been a while since we’ve reviewed any products from Spanish Paint & Weathering company AK Interactive, but they haven’t been sat idly twiddling their thumbs. They’ve been working on a new range of acrylic paints, which they refer to as third generation acrylics, aiming for excellent coverage, what they describe as awesome grip, and a promise of no clogging of your airbrush if you paint using one. They also state that they’re great for use with a paint brush undiluted, but they should be diluted with water or their own thinners if using with an airbrush, which I’ll be testing later with my usual devil-may-care semi-skimmed milk thickness being the goal, and using Ultimate Thinners as my usual thinners of choice. Each pot arrives in a 17ml dropper bottle with sharp contours at the shoulder and a cruciform profile to the white screw-top cap, which is also knurled near the bottom to improve grip further. The labels wrap around the body of the bottle giving general information about the new range, plus its name and product code near the top, and a bar code along one short edge. Overall, it’s a nice look, but that’s not why we’re here. The set arrives in a cardboard box with a clear plastic inner tray containing six bottles of paint to which I’m going to add glass beads, as I like those because they make paint mixing easier. The design of the packaging is simple and based on an overall white theme, with a slightly retro font on the front that is a little hard to read. The usual orange AK logo with the negative silhouette of an AK-47 in the centre is prominently displayed, as well as the Air Series logo that refers to the fact that this is an aviation set, not an airbrush specific set. That’s something that could be clearer. The 3G Acrylics brand logo is also present, with the product code above and the strapline “Scale Reduction Factor” below. This refers to scale colour, which can be a divisive theme, although I’m personally OK with that. Essentially, it refers to the perceived lightening of a colour applied to a scale model, as if seeing it through “scale air”, or aerial perspective, which reduces the saturation of any colour over distance, a well-known technique used in art, especially to depict the effects of distance in scenery and other distant objects. Some folks may not subscribe to it however, and that’s ok too. The set includes the following colours: AK11844 RAF Sky AK11848 RAF Sky Grey AK11849 RAF Dark Slate Grey AK11850 RAF Extra Dark Sea Grey AK11868 White (FS17875) AK11029 Black The first item of note is that this set includes both black and white. Is this going to be a theme, as with one or two other brands that will leave you with masses of unused duplicate bottles of paint? Well, we’ve got five larger sets of between 6-8 bottles per set in for review, and this is the only one that includes black and white. That’s a good thing from a duplication and waste point of view, and also makes it an ideal first set to get for your average Britmodeller so that you can use those colours to lighten or darken other colours. Also, don’t forget D-Day stripes, which were a thing in the summer of 1944 and were definitely black and white. Now we need to put some paint on a “model”. I’ll be using plastic spoons, so please accept my apologies that it’s not a WWII FAA subject. I’ll also be priming everything with Alclad Grey primer, which is what I’m using at the moment. I’m a firm believer in priming models to improve adherence and harmonise the colour and texture of the model before painting. I’ll also do a quick test without primer to test this fêted adhesion they talk about, which will be tested by burnishing down some Tamiya tape then ripping it off in a careless manner – think waxing strips if you’ve ever seen that happening. In Action Through an Airbrush The paint leaves the bottle quick thickly, and I’d imagine that brush-painting would require a little thinning to keep the brush-marks to a minimum. For airbrush use they need to be thinned quite a lot, so a little goes a long way. As I write this I’ve sprayed out three colours and had no problems using the Ultimate Thinners, although I’ve put too much in one, which has made coverage slower. Coverage is best achieved by light coats, starting with a mist coat so that the paint doesn’t bead on the surface. I read somewhere that this is the best way to spray them, but I can’t find that anymore, so I suspect it was on their site. The paint is pigment dense, as advertised, and goes down well on a prepared surface, which I keyed with a light sanding with a fine stick. It also covers well on un-primed surface which was also keyed in the same manner. Talk amongst yourselves now while I finish spraying out the other colours and brush them out on the other side of the spoons. I had a few issues with the white, which could do with being a little more pigment dense, because by the time you’ve thinned it down, it’s a little translucent. It took several coats to complete the spoon in the photo, and if you look really closely you will still be able to see a little of the primer through it in places. It’s entirely possible that I’ve over-thinned it, but I don’t think I did. I’ve been wrong before though, so I’ll leave it to you to decide. Now I’ve finished, I can report back that all the colours are nice, spray out matt, and with the exception of the white, they cover well. In Action with a Paintbrush I’m not a brush painter. The only time I pick up a paintbrush is for detail painting, weathering, or for a review like this one. I’ll be using an AMMO #6 Synthetic Filbert brush for this job, as they’re a reasonably wide brush but without sharp edges, so when laying off to reduce brush marks, it doesn’t leave tramlines. At this point I’ve given each spoon one coat, and they all seem to have a very slight satin sheen. What is surprising in a good way is that the Sky, Sky Grey and Black were very dense, and could probably be left at one coat, although I’m going to give the Sky Grey another coat because I can still see slight variations in tone. The other colours have covered pretty well, but you can still see the white plastic through, and that’s not bad at all. Now all the remaining spoons have their second coat, they’re pretty good. Only one spoon needed a third coat, mainly because I put more paint on before it was properly dry, so it pulled the first coat up in a few places, so you can blame that one on me. I’m really impressed with the coverage, and managed to get a reasonably smooth finish, even though I’m by no means an expert. In daylight the paint looks good, again bearing in mind my inexperience with hand painting things. In Action - Conclusion Each spoon has been scratched now, and while the paint does lift with the passing of my thumbnail, there’s not an acrylic around that wouldn’t suffer the same and probably worse under those circumstances. The primed airbrushed spoons survived the scratching slightly better, but the hand painted spoons stood up pretty well. These acrylics are at the strongest end of the spectrum, but you must prepare the surface properly, as the paint just rubbed off on a spoon I forgot to prime. Whilst not as shiny as your average spoon, a slick model surface that may have finger oils or mould residue won’t hold any kind of paint very well. I also sprayed out a couple of spoons without primer, and where I hadn't quite managed to get the buffing stick in, the paint didn’t stick well. Again, that’s to be expected. Where I did prep the surface however, the un-primed spoons took the paint very well, and it appears that it is almost as well adhered as the primed spoons. That should prove interesting to those of us that don’t like to prime. Buff your model, and as long as the colour of the styrene is uniform, you should be able to cover it in a few coats with confidence. The next test is to see how they cope with masking tape. Using a 18mm roll of Tamiya kabuki/Washi tape that you can get at most model shops, I burnished the tape down firmly and left it for a while to get a good grip. Then I ripped off the tape with abandon, as described above somewhere, and there wasn’t a bit of lifting evident on primed airbrush paint, or the un-primed hand brushed paint. Only the RAF Dark Sea Grey had a very slight (barely noticeable) colour change thanks burnishing of the adhesive into the surface, so that’s all gone very well overall. The fact that the un-primed spoons survived unaffected says more about the adhesion of the paint and the value of micro-keying the surface than I ever could. From your side of the screen the colour of the paints is difficult to gauge because 99% of the screens out there haven’t been colour calibrated, but on my ageing Samsung panel the colours appear almost identical to the spoons in my hands right now. They also look good to me from an accuracy point of view, but I’m not one to obsess over colour and certainly wouldn’t be confident about a shade that has been decided upon by looking at a black and white photograph or an aged chip of paint. I also wouldn’t know how to measure a colour on the Munsell scale, but to my untrained eye they look ok. I do have an Art A Level if that’s any comfort! 😊 Final Conclusion I like these paints in use, their bottles are also practical and attractive, although I’m not massively keen on the font used on the box artwork. It reminds me of WordArt, but as that’s immaterial, so we’ll ignore it. There’s a whole range of these colours available for the aircraft, AFV and other modelling genres, and we’ll be reviewing some other sets soon. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

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

Not one of the usual suspects for a Beaufighter kit, firstly a Merlin engined option and one from High Planes Models. Last but not least all three options in the box are Fleet Air Arm options. The FAA used Beaufighters in a number of secondary roles especially in and around Africa; fleet requirements and convoy protection being the main ones. The HPM kit will take a bit of work to get it knocked into shape, the majority of the kit is a hard plastic with a fair amount of flash but under that there's a fair amount of nice detail. Vac formed canopies (in duplicate for the crack handed like me), white metal undercarriage and a transfer sheet with three options. And some etch. Fairly basic instructions, and colour call outs for three options. Once the starting pistol goes I see a bit of sanding in my future.

And we’re off!!! I am probably bitting off more than I can chew but I want to try and build two Hellcats in this Group Build. Both aircraft were flown by Pilots who went on to become Aces whilst flying with 1844 Naval Air Squadron FAA aboard HMS Indomitable. Trouble with two is that I’m a slow builder with not much time but we’ll give it a go.. I’m using the Eduard 1/48 Hellcat MkI & MkII kit(s). I won’t bore you with the sprue shots, just the box opening (after all there are several of this kit being built). I am going to attempt both the MkI and MkII though. I’m starting with the MkI first. The specific aircraft I am building is FN411/R5°E. This aircraft was used by Sub Lieutenant Edward (Tug) Wilson to destroy two Ki-45s on 12.01.45 during air strikes over Nicobar Islands (Operation Millet). SLt Wilson was a Volunteer in the South African Naval Force serving with the FAA. Once I have the cockpit safely installed in the fuselage I will start on the MkII. This will be another 1844 aircraft flown by a distant cousin of mine Sub Lieutenant William (Bill) Atkinson during Operation Iceberg again building and installing the cockpit in the fuselage before moving the two aircraft along in parallel. The build starts in the Cockpit and I have gone with the coloured etch for the panels (you get decals as well but I’ll save them for a couple of weekend editions I have). So this is my day’s work (stopping for the GP)... Thanks for stopping by.

Fairey Swordfish MkI, K8393/E5A flown by Captain Oliver Patch RM and Lieutenant David G Goodwin RN, No 824 Naval Air Squadron, Fleet Air Arm, HMS Eagle. No 824 Squadron was originally part of HMS Eagle's air group in the Mediterranean, and was transferred to HMS Illustrious just before taking part in Operation Judgement, the attack against the Italian fleet at Taranto, Italy, 11/12 November 1940. Operation Judgement was itself part of a larger series of operations under the codename Operation MB8. It's a complex story, best read on the Wikipedia page. The Swordfish, nicknamed the Stringbag for its ability to carry almost anything rather like the 1940s housewives' string bag, really needs no introduction. If you are unfamiliar with the aircraft, perhaps a start with the Wikipedia entry would be a good primer for you. The new tool (albeit nearly a decade old now!) Airfix kit needs some effort, but makes up into a tidy scale representation of the classic biplane. I was lucky to acquire this particular boxing containing the Taranto raid markings as a secondhand purchase from a fellow Britmodeller. I added a photo etched rigging set from SBS Models, but otherwise the kit is built out of the box. I had been anticipating this build for some time, being a bit worried at the parts count and, well, it's a biplane. I felt it would make a good entry into the High Wing Group Build, and so the die was cast. I needn't have worried, as the kit was well thought through, and built up with very little trouble if you take your time over it. If you want to see the WIP thread, the link is below. As well as the aftermarket rigging set, I used the kit transfers, ColourCoats enamels for the main camouflage, and Humbrol acrylics and enamels for the detail painting. I have one or two more models to build to complete this part of my Fleet Air Arm 1940 collection, though I have yet to acquire a Sea Gladiator.

I found this thread from a decade ago about the alterations which Blackburn's staff made to F6F-3 Hellcats destined for the FAA. Is this information still representative of current knowledge? It mentions a Blackburn chart: is that viewable online? I have Bert Kinzey's book about Hellcats, but it hardly mentions the FAA Hellcats: do any books cover them well? Did anyone ever find out where that map pocket went? If you can answer these questions, you have my earnest thanks and big respect.

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

Hi All, My latest completion is Special Hobby's Fairey Fulmar. The Fulmar was a carrier-borne reconnaissance & fighter aircraft operated by the Fleet Air Arm during the earlier years of the war, eventually being replaced by single seat aircraft such as the Sea Hurricane, Seafire and Martlet. Despite being slow relative to these aircraft, the Fulmar acquitted itself well in combat throughout the Mediterranean theatre, and at its peak equipped 20 squadrons of the FAA. The SH kit allows for 5 schemes. I have chosen to complete as N2015 of 805 Sqn, which flew from HMS Eagle during 1941. Here's a link to a photo of N2015 (kindly added to the WIP by @Grey Beema - thanks GB!): https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205046496 Here is a link to the WIP if anybody is interested: This scheme was notable for a few reasons: - The white sunscreen applied to the pilot's glazing - The lighter covers for the wing machine guns (which I mistakenly omitted) - Most notably, the locally applied 'spaghetti' camouflage applied to the leading edges and lower surface of the cowling. This was applied in order to confuse enemy troops during ground attack sorties This was one of my most complex paint schemes to date - sadly, it is almost certainly incorrect! @iang supplied some information during the WIP (thanks very much Ian!), which strongly suggests that N2015 had a Sky underside, rather than the B/W & Sky as I've depicted. Furthermore, the leading edges would have been painted in Sky, and the 'spaghetti' elements applied with paints which would have been in store onboard Eagle, such as Roundel Red and Dark Slate Grey. If anyone is considering this scheme I would strongly recommend that you have a look at Ian's very credible advice. I did briefly consider respraying to the correct colours but decided that I would likely make matters worse so pushed on regardless. The kit is the usual SH fare, with vague fit and engineering, but lovely surface detail. The resin cockpit, whilst beautifully detailed, was a woeful fit so much cursing and sanding was expended in getting the thing to fit. With all that said, I'm not displeased with the overall outcome. Anyway, on with the photos: Here's a final shot with another FAA Merlin-powered stablemate: I'm glad I've given this kit a bash - although it's a little frustrating to have knowingly finished the scheme incorrectly, I still think it looks pretty good, and it's good to have the type in my collection! Thanks for looking, Roger

Hi All, My next project will be Special Hobby's 1:48 Fairey Fulmar. This aircraft was introduced into service with the Fleet Air Arm in 1940, and continued the tradition of two seat aircraft employed by that service, the act of navigation whilst flying considered beyond a mere pilot. Powered by the Merlin III, the Fulmar MkI was underpowered compared to its single seat RAF equivalents. Nevertheless, the aircraft saw combat in a variety of theatres and at its peak equipped 20 FAA squadrons. Here's the box art: And the sprue shots: There's also a couple of frets of PE: And a quite extensive collection of resin parts, mainly pertaining to the cockpits: The decals look to be in good register and are highly glossy (and a little bright to my eye?): 5 schemes are catered for in this boxing. I'm going to complete as N2015 of 805 Sqn FAA, HMS Eagle, which was operating in the Mediterranean in February 1941: I can find no photos of this aircraft, but have no reason to doubt the efficacy of the scheme. It is quite interesting as the leading edges and underside of the cowling are painted in a locally applied 'spaghetti' scheme, which was apparently employed to cause confusion during ground attack sorties. In addition, the pilot's upper canopy had a white sun shade installed. I have also seen a version of this scheme with a straight 'Sky' underside - does anyone have any definitive references for this scheme? I may choose to omit the night/white elements to simplify the scheme, but would appreciate any input on the accuracy as presented. Anyway, onwards and upwards with the build! Thanks for looking, Roger

Another off the bench today. Hawker Hurricane Serial unknown / AK°U. 213 Sqn RAF which seems to have become the regular mount of Sub Lieutenant Dennis Jeram RN. SLt DM Jeram was seconded to 213 Sqn RAF after completing OTU Course No7 (Naval) in June 1940 and fought with them during the Battle of Britain. On 11.08.40 Jeram Destroyed a Ju88 and also probably destroyed another whilst flying this aircraft. Flying this same aircraft, on 15.09.40, he destroyed a Do17. Jeram went on to fly Martlets during Operation Torch in 1942, Operation Husky in 1943 and commanded 1839 NAS flying Hellcats in the Pacific. The model - Airfix 1/48 MkI (Sea Hurricane boxing - all the same bits in the box) OOB. Paint - Hataka RAF Set (to do a comparison with Xtracrylics). Markings, Box, Spares Box and generic sets. I’m not really happy with the finish. I just could not get the right satin finish for my liking. Not the right staining.. Oh well - next time... Here are the pictures:- Thanks for looking in..

G'day all, Here is my attempt at the Airfix Phantom FG.1 in FAA colours. This is the first jet I have done for quite a few years and given the amount of decals on this thing, it will be the last jet I do for a long time yet! I used the Eduard interior set along with Aerocraft Models Detailed Intakes for the intake splitter plates and engine grills (correct name?) at the aft end. The Aerocraft set adds that little bit of extra detail that was lacking and any fit issues you see are from my inexperience in plastic surgery. The detail set comes with enough intake plates and grills for 2 aircraft, so once I have recovered from the latest decalling session I may have to get another kit to wack these onto..... which will be a couple of years down the track. The main issue I had wasn't until I went to put on the 'R' decals onto the vertical stab. After a quick look at some photos, it was then I realised that these FAA jets shouldn't have the antennas attached (I think that's what they are). Oh well if I don't tell anyone, no one will notice right? Just for added interest which might not be accurate, I dropped the Ailerons and Speed Brakes slightly as that is what I saw in a few photos when these were parked. Plus you can't argue with a full missile load either. Thanks for looking. I'm beginning to notice a little trend going on here........

Hi All, My next project will be Eduard's Dual Combo boxing of the Hellcat (so I'm moving in quick succession from the Stringbag to this beast!) The boxing allows for building a MkI and a MkII. Here's the box art: Here's the sprue shots: You can see that the MkI fuselage has a rear quarter window, whereas the MkII does not: There's also some beautifully cast resin wheels: Here's the transparent parts, the PE etch and some masks: Finally a most comprehensive decal sheet, which allows for 3 MkI and 3 MkII schemes. For the MkI I have chosen JV131, which as part of 800 Sqn FAA operated from HMS Emperor in June 1944 in support of Operation Overlord: I've turned up a couple of shots of JV131: Hmmm - can't quite place my finger on it, but something is missing . This will be finished in the standard EDSG/DSG over Sky, with the distinctive red cowling (and of course the invasion stripes!) For the MkII I will be modelling JX814 of 1844 Sqn FAA, operating from HMS Indomitable off Okinawa in April 1945. Here's the scheme: I can't find a pic of JX814, but here's another MkII from 800 Sqn: This will be completed in the ANA equivalent colours of Olive Drab, Dark Grey and Sky Grey - I will also depict the overpainted roundel on the starboard wing. These airframes became very worn as can be seen from this shot: I shall do my best to depict something similar. Anyway, on with the build! Cheers, Roger

Hi All, My latest completion is Hobby Boss' Grumman Avenger, or the Tarpon as it was initially known in FAA service. Although the Hobby Boss kit is generally pretty good in terms of detail and fit, there are a few notable omissions to present an accurate FAA aircraft. I therefore made some modifications to the original, including the following: - Scratch-built the observer's position, including radar scope and chart table - Plunge moulded blister windows for the lower side positions - Scratch-built an instrument panel following a PE disaster Here's the WIP if anyone is interested: I've chosen to model the aircraft as JZ257 of 849 Sqn, which was operating from HMS Victorious as part of the BPF in January 1945. Although I have not found a photo of JZ257, here's a couple of shots of BPF Avengers: The cockpit and observer positions were painted Bronze Green, with the rest of the interior in Interior Green. I chose to complete the undercarriage in white, as I felt that there was sufficient contrast in the above photos to suggest that it was not the underside colour used. The kit decals were dispensed with and I used the lovely Xtradecal 'Yanks with Roundels Part 3'. Paints were EDSG Mr Hobby, DSG Vallejo and AK Interactives Sky Anyway, on with the pics: This one has sat idle for over a year, so I'm really pleased to have got it over the line. It's a beast of an aircraft and I'm glad to have it in the collection! Thanks for looking, Roger

Hi All, Hot on the heels of my finished Tarpon is this lovely pair! This was Eduard's Dual Combo, which allows the construction of a MkI and MkII aircraft, which have assorted minor variations. Both aircraft were built OOB, as the Eduard offering is very comprehensive with decals for 6 aircraft, masks, PE and resin. Here's the WIP if anyone is interested: The MkI was completed as JV131 of 800 Sqn, which flew from HMS Emperor during the D-Day landings. Here's a couple of photos of JV131: The MkII was completed as JX814 of 1844 Sqn, which was operating from HMS Indomitable off Okinawa in April 1945. Although I could not find a photo of JX814 here's another aircraft from 1844 Sqn: And here's another shot showing the battering these airframes withstood: Both models were sprayed using aqueous acrylics; Mr Hobby EDSG, Vallejo DSG and AK Interactives Sky. The MkII had the roundels oversprayed as per the convention for BPF aircraft. Anyway, on with the pics - firstly the MkI: Here's the MkII: Here's a couple of the pair: Finally here's a couple of shots with the Tarpon which was completed concurrently: This was a very pleasurable build, and the fact that I dragged the Tarpon over the line was an added bonus! Thanks for looking, Roger

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

Hi All, My next completion is Tamiya's mighty Stringbag, which I will say from the outset is a superb kit. I've completed it as LS276, which flew as part of 836 Sqn FAA from Merchant Aircraft Carrier (MAC) Amastra in 1943. Here's a photo of Amastra, which was a coverted oil carrier: I couldn't find any photos of LS276, but here's another aircraft from 836 Sqn: These aircraft were unusual in that the 'Royal Navy' above the a/c serial was overpainted with 'Merchant Navy', initially as a joke but eventually a source of some pride. As my grandfather served in the Merchant Navy throughout the war I feel a small personal connection - these aircraft could well have been flying as part of the many convoys he sailed across the Atlantic. Here's the WIP if anyone is interested: The kit was built OOB with the exception of the Tamiya rigging PE set, which was veeeerrry fiddly. This build nearly ended up on the Shelf of Doom due to decal disasters, so I'm glad I had a word with myself and pushed it over the line. Anyway, on with the photos: Despite a myriad of minor imperfections and errors I'm pretty pleased with the way she's turned out, and she certainly has shelf presence. I might move on to something a little simpler next time though! Thanks for looking, Roger