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More 48th scale Ventura`s- 34 OTU Mk.II & GR.V in Canada


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Hello Folks,

Here we go again,...more Ventura`s! 34 OTU at Pennfield Ridge in Canada was the main Ventura OTU for crews destined for British Commonwealth Ventura units based in Europe. It was originally set up to train crews destined for the Ventura units which formed 2 Group of Bomber Command in the UK and was therefore equipped with Ventura Mk.I`s & II`s but as the type was phased out of bomber service the Ventura GR.V (US Navy PV-1) gradually replaced them in 34 OTU which also trained RCAF crews bound for Home Service coastal patrol units. Here are the 1/48th scale Revell Ventura Mk.II & PV-1 kits with Aviaeology Decals replicating two of these aircraft starting with;

Ventura Mk.II, AE934/B2- Wearing the original style codes and roundels and with the A2Zee resin replacement canopy which provided the bubbles missing from the base kit. The engine cooling gills have been opened up and sun screens have been fitted over the flight deck while inside a new radio operators position has been added from scratch and the resin wheels with covered hubs came from Resicast ;

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Ventura GR.Mk.V, FN974/K2- Wearing the early US Navy Blue Grey and Light Grey scheme. To get the kit decals to fit properly the rear right hand window which is incorrectly placed on the kit was filled in and re opened up slightly lower down so that it appeared within the lower stroke of the number 2 as per a reference photo of the real aircraft.The engine cooling gills have been opened up and sun screens have been fitted over the flight deck while inside a new radio operators position has been added from scratch and the resin paddle bladed propellers came from Quickboost;

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Both Models in a suitably Canadian looking environment (actually Lancashire, UK!);

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As usual both models were brush painted using various acrylics and I hope that you like them.

My thanks go to Terry at Aviaeology and Ali at A2Zee for having the foresight to go ahead and bring their various wares to the market so that the Commonwealth Ventura story can be told in model form!

Cheers

Tony

Edited by tonyot
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Lovely work as usual and good to see some more examples of the Ventura. Im tempted by another myself having seen the recent post about them going for a tenner. Have you loaded up the bomb bays with anything?

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Fantastic job you have done, especially as they were brush painted! I envy you your mastery of the pinceau!!!

Congrats

JR

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Love them both!

The Boulton Paul turret lends a distinctly British air to the Ventura.

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Thanks everybody, glad you like them and Merry Christmas!

Lovely work as usual and good to see some more examples of the Ventura. Im tempted by another myself having seen the recent post about them going for a tenner. Have you loaded up the bomb bays with anything?

No, as they are both training machines I left the bomb bays empty but as many of the ramp photos from 34 OTU show the bomb bays open when they were parked up I elected to display them this way. If I had some Small Stores Carriers and practice bombs I would fit some of those, but I don`t have any!

When I do a 2 Group Ventura Mk.II in 48th scale I intend to add some British 250 & 500 pounders in the bomb bay.

Cheers

Tony

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Superb work as always Tony. Your Venturas are both an inspiration and an intimidation to building one. At first, I feel I should immediately tackle the 2 Revell Venturas in the stash, but am stopped as your builds are so good, mine would look like butchery compared to them. Always a delight to see your builds and read the research you put behind each. I hope the new year brings great modeling delight and a pleasant surprise regarding your back. Thanks for showing us these kits.

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Thanks again folks,

Cracking end to the year Tony, something leads me to believe you have a soft spot for the Ventura!!

Soft Spot,......nah,...really!?

Yes the old `Pig' definitely seems to have grown on me as I`ve researched it and found out lots of interesting stuff. There are so many colour schemes and markings options just for British Commonwealth operators such as the RAF, RAAF, RCAF, RNZAF & SAAF, never mind further afield and there are still lots that I`d like to model if I had the room.

There should be another Ventura article in the next issue of Model Aircraft dealing with a modification made to the Ventura which as far as I know has never appeared in print before,...I`ve never seen it anyway!

Cheers again everybody,

Tony

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Hi Tony, apologies, I missed these two yesterday, you snuck then in whilst I wasn't paying attention! Another cracking pair of Venturas, congratulations I do like the Navy scheme. Pity you missed out on some of those ten quid ones, otherwise I'm sure we would have seen more in the future...

Colin

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  • 4 weeks later...

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