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+++ Yanks Abroad: US made or designed stuff used by other Countries And we made it to 30 !


Giorgio N

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As the Brits Abroad GB had a decent success, with a number of very nice models wearing very interesting markings, and with good memories of the Soviet in Foreign Service GB, I'm thinking that it would be good to have a similar Group Build dedicated to the USA !

US built military hardware has seen service in Countries in any part of the world, particularly starting in WW2 with the many aircraft, tanks and ships given to Britain, The USSR, France, Australia and others. The Cold War then saw the supply of huge number of US weapons to friendly countries in NATO and Asia while most Latin American countries used almost exclusively US gear. Even today the US are the largest exporter of military equipment and it's hard to find a country that does not have at least one item coming from there.

In the same way as the Brits Abroad GB, I'd also like to have the GB open to non military subjects, for example cars and trucks, where the rule would be quite easy: any US built or designed vehicle registered in another country.

A few examples:

Aircrafts: all the US types used in WW2 by the RAF and FAA (Mustang, P-40, Martlets, Corsairs); all the WW2 types given to friendly countries right after the war ( Latin American Mustang and Thunderbolts, RAF Washingtons, C-47s all around the world, RAAF Mustangs in Korea); all the typesin service with NATO countries (F-104s, Sabres, Thunderjets, F-5s); all the types used in countless wars by Israel (Phantom, F-15, F-16); dozen of users of F-4s (Iran, RAF, FAA, Germany, Egypt...) F-104s (Canada Italy, Denmark, Taiwan, Pakistan,...), F-5s ( Venezuela, Chile, Norway, Philippines, Yemen...) and F-16s (Indonesia, Greece, UAE, Poland...). I may keep going for hours !

Tanks and military vehicles: again all the types given to Britain in WW2, all the Shermans sold to countless countries after the war (over 30 users), the many users of the M47 and M48 tanks, not to mention the M113 series (over 50 countries worldwide). And don't forget the Jeep.... eligible in both military and civilian guises

Ships: a large number of destroyers and other types were given to friendly countries after WW2, some still in service today. Postwar classes that saw export included the FFG-7 and the Charles Adams, while the Kidd class were all sold abroad after US service. Of course the US also supplied a number of ships to the Royal Navy in WW2 and any of these is eligible.

Cars and trucks: US cars are not too popular as daily drivers in Europe but some models have quite a following, so it's not impossible to find a UK registered Corvette or Mustang. Other parts of the world have seen more use of US cars, what about one of those great '50s Chevys still used today in Cuba ? US trucks are also quite popular in Australia

Figures: as the US have supplied large quantity of small arms, uniforms and other gear to many countries after the war, there's plenty of options here ! To be eligible a figure should just represent a foreign soldier carrying a US made weapon or wearing apparel of US origin.. an SAS trooper with an M16 in Borneo for example would be fine.

 

So, plenty of options for all modellers, markings that range from the universally known RAF 112 Sqn. Tomahawk to the very obscure Ethiopian F-5s, anyone interested ?

 

1) Giorgio N

2) Tempestmkv

3) Phantombigstu

4) Jabba

5) Beard

6) corsairfoxfouruncle

7) gary from darwin

8 ) zegeye

9) Col.

10) Wez

11) modelling minion

12) JackG

13)  BlackAck

14) Romeo Alpha Yankee

15) zebra

16) Arniec

17) helios16v

18 ) CliffB 

19) vppelt68

20) Grandboof

21) Ale85

22) Richellis

23) Angus Tura

24) rob85

25) DaveJL

26) whiskey

27) Robert Stuart

28) almac

29) Paul821

30) theplasticsurgeon

31) stevehnz

 

 

And we made it to the magic number of 30 ! Thanks to all the members who have expressed their interest ! We'll now go to the poll, fingers crossed and don't forget to vote for this GB

 

 

 

 

Edited by Giorgio N
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Good afternoon Giorgio

 Very good idea I am in but if I can make a suggestion don't forget the aircraft used by the French , Poles , Bresilian , Mexican (and more others.. ) pilots during WW2   ..

 

Cheers

Patrice

 

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I've started a list and added your names ! Since the proposal will run for a spot in the 2020 GB calendar, there's plenty of time to attract interested parties but better start sooner than later

 

2 hours ago, TEMPESTMK5 said:

Good afternoon Giorgio

 Very good idea I am in but if I can make a suggestion don't forget the aircraft used by the French , Poles , Bresilian , Mexican (and more others.. ) pilots during WW2   ..

 

Cheers

Patrice

 

 

My view is that all aircraft of units attached to the USAAF that carried their own markings would be eligible. This include for example the Brasilian Squadron in Italy and the Mexican operating in the Pacific. The machines of individual pilots not US citizens opeating within the US forces however do not IMHO fit within the scope of the GB.

US built aircraft in for example the Free French forces would of course be eligible, as these units could be seen as either French or RAF controlled, in any case not being part of the USAAF.

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On 11/6/2018 at 10:54 PM, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

Good excuse for me to build a corsair in Foreign markings. Now Kiwi, French, Argentinean, or soccer war ? :hmmm:

 

As someone would say, why not build them all ! 😁

They all sound good to me ! Sometime I feel that the more obscure the better, but at the same time the better known ones are so for soem good reason and make better modelling subjects

 

20 hours ago, gary from darwin said:

count me in

 

 

cheers

gaz

 

Great, added to the list ! 👍

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11 hours ago, zegeye said:

Count me to. Have some stuff for this. Mexican or Brit Thunderbolt, Chinese Curtiss hawks or even Japanese Seversky. Will be pleasure to build one of them. 

 

Some nice interesting ideas, would love to see these built ! Added to the list ! Anyone else ?

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2 hours ago, Giorgio N said:

Some nice interesting ideas, would love to see these built ! Added to the list ! Anyone else ?

Can I play? There's a few US manufactured subjects in my stash that will wear Fleet Air Arm markings and a Corsair for the Aeronavale :) 

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2 minutes ago, Col. said:

Can I play? There's a few US manufactured subjects in my stash that will wear Fleet Air Arm markings and a Corsair for the Aeronavale :) 

 

You sure can ! US built FAA subjects are just one example of the variety of this GB and the FAA used plenty of US types in WW2 (and a few after the war).  Will add you to the list ASAP !

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What about license build examples Giorgio? I'm thinking specifically the Italian ANA Starfighter but sure there are other examples of items both civilian and military that were produced abroad by US manufacturers or from US designs.

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39 minutes ago, Col. said:

What about license build examples Giorgio? I'm thinking specifically the Italian ANA Starfighter but sure there are other examples of items both civilian and military that were produced abroad by US manufacturers or from US designs.

 

My view would be the same adopted for the Brits Abroad GB: anything license built that retains the main features of the original American design and is immediately recognisable as such is allowed. This would mean that any foreign built F-104 for example is eligible, even the S as it still is pretty much an F-104.

A Westland Wessex on the other hand would probably be excluded as the "British content" is such that this can be seen as a separate type.

There are some subjects where things are a bit more complicated, like Sabres. No problem for a Canadair Mk.2 or 4, the 5 however had a different engine. Still it was externally identical fo an F-86F. The Mk.6 then introduced a type of wing that no US built Sabre ever had, how should we consider this ? Personally I would consider all eligible and the same would apply to the most modified of all foreign built Sabres, the CAC Avon powered variants.

The Westland Sea King is another potentially troublesome subject, from one side they are a separate family but from the other they are still Sea Kings... really, if modellers don't have any particular strong feeling I'd just consider them all eligible. At this point I may even consider the Wessex as eligible

 

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3 hours ago, Wez said:

I'm in!

 

Great, added to the list !

 

14 minutes ago, modelling minion said:

As long as I can build something from an obscure country then I'm in too! No offence meant if you live in the country I choose.

 

Of course you can ! There's potential for some very obscure users in this GB, and I'm all for lesser known markings.

 

1 minute ago, JackG said:

Definitely have my support on this one.  Hopefully when the time comes to build, I will actually finish something ...

 

regards,

Jack

 

Thanks Jack, added you to the list ! I share your feelings, finishing something for a GB is never easy and I am myself often guilty of starting and never finishing models.

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15 hours ago, BlackAck said:

I'd be up for this GB whenever it happens

 

That's great ! Date will be sometime in 2020, we'll likely have to go through a vote around October 2019 and the GB proposals with more votes will go through for 2020. I know, I probably started a bit early to check for interested parties, but what do they say about early birds ? 😁

 

9 hours ago, Romeo Alpha Yankee said:

Count me in Giorgio, I have plenty of kits and decal options for this one.

 

Brilliant, added to the list ! It's good when the stash has something for a GB, and at the same GBs are a good "excuse" to take a box from the stash

 

5 hours ago, zebra said:

I’m in. Loads to choose from but maybe an airliner this time.

 

Added to the list ! Airliners make for interesting subjects and considering that US manufacturers have always had a huge part in this market it's not hard to find ideas for a GB like this

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