JWM Posted April 23, 2016 Share Posted April 23, 2016 (edited) Hi, I did this model some years ago - not so many in fact. It was short after I was visiting UK and in Airplane magazine there was a kind of monography of AW Albemarle showing on one photo a piece of fuselage of rather badly weathered mashine from 295 Squadron. Perhaps I made it too heavy exploited. In painting I followed the profile from this web page: http://www.britisharmedforces.org/ns/ns/raf/nat_albemarle1.htm But now I have doubts about the lettering - should be rather 8Z.A, not 8.ZA sice the squadron code was 8Z not ZA... Is the profile I followed wrong or the squadron made an exception in writing codes??? Here she is: Comments welcome and regards Jerzy-Wojtek Edited July 21, 2017 by JWM Switch to Flickr 38 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted April 23, 2016 Share Posted April 23, 2016 Nicely done Jerzy,.....how was it to build? Cheers Tony 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cngaero Posted April 23, 2016 Share Posted April 23, 2016 I like that. You don't see many of these completed. It's a strange beasties, very nicely done though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luis Alfonso Posted April 23, 2016 Share Posted April 23, 2016 Hi Jerzy!!! I think the way you did the lettering is right, because if you watched the other profiles, the numbers and so crowded that are almost unreadable, even thought the wikipedia can give any ligth to other ideas as they say that the code 8Z was used from November 1943 thru January 1946 for the ('A' Flt)) in this link you can check here: https://en.wikipedia...95_Squadron_RAF BUT I think if you have followed the profile you found on the site you gave, its correct as those were supplied there from MOD. This is a plane that has made me a click since first time I watched her advertised in Squadron Mail Order some time ago, and have watched carefully the pics you shared here. I like the way you finished her, seems that the main and secondary joints are wonderful, nice crystal clear parts, wonderful version and painting job and well, the nice soft and well apllied weathering is great and for sure think you are here having a First Prize in any contest!!! Hope one day to build one as this one is a nice looking aircraft and a little obscure that is not frequently seen in every place, while, have the pleasure to admire your nice looking example and think in the day when I get mine and how to build her. Thank you very much for sharing, Cheers, Luis Alfonso 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWM Posted April 23, 2016 Author Share Posted April 23, 2016 Thank Tony, Luis-Alfonso and Chris for comments. Appreciete it... how was it to build? Tony, first of all the canopies (both nose and main) are not well matching with fuselage, what is a common problem of many Valom models, as I know. However the main problem was the heavy weight needed to balance long and relatively heavy (made of thick plastic) fuselage and tail. Tho nose is with a lot of transparent parts so the bobs you can give mostly behind the cockpit, and the arm to act is very short. Therfore I had to add some lead bobs also behing engines. Alltogether it was a bit diffcult to measure what weight of bobs is enough. Small confusion was also with rear big square windows since they curve suggested that frames are from inside - but perhaps it was only in my model from some reasons. Anyway I mounted they this way and add frames from decal from outsice. Some small windows are ommitted and one have to do them from Clear. I remember also some problem with turret but do not remember now what exactly it was. I think I was trying to do it rotating perhaps... Anyway - despite some unperfecties I think it is nice of Valom, that they made this kit Cheers J-W 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted April 23, 2016 Share Posted April 23, 2016 Thanks Jerzy,....oh yes I agree,...big thumbs up to Valom for releasing this kit,.....I had built the old Contrail vacuform but binned that and bought the Valom kit when it came out,......but have not started it yet. I want to make models of all of the aircraft used by British Airborne Forces. Cheers Tony 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzy Posted April 23, 2016 Share Posted April 23, 2016 Nice build, I've never seen one of these before thanks. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWM Posted April 24, 2016 Author Share Posted April 24, 2016 I want to make models of all of the aircraft used by British Airborne Forces. Tony - i am not surprised since you are former paratrooper, what I 've learnt from some your posts BTW - my collegue from school - who is a paratrooper as you and he is also a son of paratrooper is trying to collect all models from which he or his father were jumping. Some, like for example Shcherbakov Shche-2 are really hard to get (http://www.modelarstwo.org.pl/forum/viewtopic.php?t=40268) Cheers Jerzy-Wojtek 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted April 24, 2016 Share Posted April 24, 2016 Even though it wasn't a particularly successful aircraft, I've long thought the Albemarle was a very handsome aircraft & your model catchs the look of it really nicely. Steve. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zebra Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 Nice job Jerzy. You don't see many of these finished, shame as it's an interesting aeroplane. Then again perhaps there are plenty of modellers like me out there who have one in the stash and always seem to find something else they want to build first! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
general melchett Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 Nicely done Jerzy, funnily enough I'm building the B.Mk 1 bomber version, at the moment for AMW and our Bomber Command SIG, It's an 'interesting' model with several issues to overcome but all the more fun for that. I agree the aircraft had quite a career behind it totally failed as a bomber, (it flew all of two missions in that role), it found it's niche in other roles. An odd design with nothing quite looking right, small fins, angular wing and tailplane and deep body it does have a certain something about it.......mainly woodworm and rust ! I agree about the huge amount of lead weight needed to keep it from being a tailsitter.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 (edited) Apparently the Para`s jumping from an Albemarle had to adopt a special exit procedure due to the confined space towards the rear of the fuselage where the exit door was positioned in the floor,.....the stick of heavily laden Para`s had to `bunny hop' along the fuselage and down and out through the hole,.......at night on D-Day with flak everywhere that cannot have been easy! Edit,.....the above photo depicts the spacious interior of the Stirling,....but does show the loads that the troops carried while bunny hopping down the fuselage!! The nearest blokes are sat on the parachute exit doors,....with the view looking forward to the front of the aircraft. Below is `your' Albemarle which dropped men of the 22nd Independent Parachute Company,....the Pathfinders for 6th Airborne Division. Cheers Tony Edited April 25, 2016 by tonyot 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aeronut Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 Just for the sake of completeness, the interior shot above is a Stirling. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 Just for the sake of completeness, the interior shot above is a Stirling. Yes you are right,.....I thought that it was too big for an Albemarle,.......it was captioned as an Albemarle so thought that it just might be the larger area around the mid upper turret,....I`ll add a warning above! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWM Posted April 25, 2016 Author Share Posted April 25, 2016 Many thanks for comments - and the photo of "mine" Albemarle shows codes written this way: 8.ZA - indeed!, So, the profile was correct and I did not made a mistake at least from this (left) side of machine I am very glad about it... Thanks you - Tony - for showing this photo Cheers Jerzy-Wojtek 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted April 26, 2016 Share Posted April 26, 2016 Nice build and thanks for the pictures Tony! Martin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted October 28, 2016 Share Posted October 28, 2016 Hi Jerzy, hope you don't mind if I bump this thread up again, I found it when I was googling Valom Albemarles, Early on in the thread you wondered if your lettering was correct & Tony Ot's pictures establish that the left side was spot on. Sorry, but the right side not quite so, it appears that 295 carried the pair of aircraft codes to the rear of the fuselage roundel as in this one here. Don't feel bad about it though, your effort was much better than Valoms own rendering of the same subject, kitted as a ST Mk II where it should be a ST Mk V, their codes placing & size is all wrong. Whether you would want to redo the right side codes is immaterial really, I like your effort well the way it is & hope to do as well with one someday. My impetus has come from this thread recently. Steve. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWM Posted October 28, 2016 Author Share Posted October 28, 2016 Many thanks Steve for this photo and comment. It clarify all. At moment I do not have extra red lettering to make a correction - one day I hope to do it... Best regards across the globe! Jerzy-Wojtek 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warreni Posted August 11, 2019 Share Posted August 11, 2019 I started one yesterday and am questioning my wisdom in building it... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWM Posted August 12, 2019 Author Share Posted August 12, 2019 9 hours ago, warreni said: I started one yesterday and am questioning my wisdom in building it... Have a good luck in build. IT is rather demanding kit with many problems, the main problems (AFAIR, some years elepsed from build) 1. The width of main canopy - I pilled out fuselage to make it matching 2. The room for balance - I put lead behind cackpit, below floor in front but also in engine fairing (naclles) 3. Something was wrong with turret - I do not remeber details now but it does not fit well as OOB... Regards and do not not quit! J-W 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rapid Rich Posted May 1, 2023 Share Posted May 1, 2023 Hi. My Dad is in that queue waiting to load on. That very Albemarle was actually the very first plane to 'drop' on D-Day V1740 8 ZA My Dad's name was was Robert 'Bob' Stoodley and under Captain Bob Midwood. They dropped on DZ - K at 00:17 Took off from RAF Harwell at 23:03 on the 5th June 1944 http://www.rapidrich.co.uk Dads story is here. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWM Posted May 1, 2023 Author Share Posted May 1, 2023 2 hours ago, Rapid Rich said: Hi. My Dad is in that queue waiting to load on. That very Albemarle was actually the very first plane to 'drop' on D-Day V1740 8 ZA That is incerdible! I am very happy for coincidence. To be honest, i have chosen ZA,8 just to do something different from P5.S....And now it got the human face...The face of your father....Thank you for sharing! J-W Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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