1/48 Arii P-40E Kittyhawk - "a desert relic"

[Bandsaw Steve]

Hi Cambridge,  

Great work! Congratulations on what you have achieved so far - this is shaping up To be a terrific final product. 👍

 

If I may make a comment / suggestion on your ‘scale sand’ problem. In my experience getting any naturally occurring sand fine enough to look convincing is really difficult. However, I work as a Geologist and frequently deal with Geochemical assaying labs. When such a lab receives a sample (rock, Soil, Sand, whatever) they will generally dry it, crush it and then pulverise a portion of it. By pulverise I mean mechanically reduce the grains to a few microns in diameter- turning it into ‘rock flour’. Almost all ‘griittiness’ is Removed. This material is then chemically analysed but there’s generally some left over and either temporarily stored or just discarded.

The rock flour retains the colour of the original sample so, depending on what the lab has been processing there can be a very wide variety of earth material colours. 

So, if you have a University with a Geology department nearby or a commercial geochemistry lab with a friendly manager you might be able to secure a supply of pulverised rock. I’ve used some on a couple of vignette  bases and I reckon it’s just about ideal.

 

 

 

 

[Killingholme]

I'm not usually one for sentimentality, but the crass "restoration" of this aircraft really got to me.  It not only erased the story of the aircraft, but it erased the story of F/Sgt Copping- a lad of 24 who managed to successfully land a 1200hp fighter in a boulder field without flipping it over and killing himself. When did that euphoria turn to the realisation that nobody knew wherever he was? How loud did that broken-hot metallic tick tick tick of the shattered engine sound amongst the silence of the desert ? How many times did he pace circling that aircraft- trying every access panel for an answer? When did he realise he was done? When did he accept it? Did he accept it? What was he thinking when he took the aircraft's compass and his revolver and set out into the sands?

 

That lad deserved more than a bit of cheap fibreglass and a tin of automotive spray paint as a memorial. 

 

Keep up the good work on the model.