Arnhem Pair,.....USAAF C-47A `Turf Sport Special' and Horsa glider of the British Glider Pilot Regiment, September 1944.

[tonyot]

Hiya Folks,

                 I built these two 1/72nd scale models quite some time ago and having found some old 35mm photos from the time, I`ve scanned them to share them here.

 

The C-47A model represents “Turf Sport Special” belonging to the 61st Troop Carrier Squadron, 314th Troop Carrier Group at RAF Barkston Heath during Operation Market Garden in September 1944 and was built from the old Esci kit, which apart from its skinny looking nose was probably the best kit available until Airfix released their new kit. On the 17th September the 61st dropped British paratroopers of the 3rd Parachute Battalion,  1st Parachute Brigade onto DZ X and on the 18th dropped 11th Battalion of the 4th Parachute Battalion onto DZ Y.  The aircraft still survives at the Air Mobility Command Museum at Dover AFB, Delaware and after I included the model in a magazine article back in the day the pilot from those days kindly wrote to me to say how much he liked the model!

 

The real aircraft,...... September 1944;

And Paratroopers of the British 1st Airborne Division aboard a C-47, they have not actually been eating too many pies,......these men were super fit and the chubby bellies are actually the soldiers laden smallpack and webbing stored under the outer jump Jerkin and unlike US Paratroopers, the British did not use a reserve parachute either,..... usually jumping with over 100lb of kit; 

 

And,......today at Dover AFB;

 

 

The decals used,... however the incorrect yellow codes were overpainted on the model using Medium Sea Grey;

 

The model;

 

 

The Horsa glider is a Mk.I variant, made from the Italeri kit and it represents DP283, one of the gliders used to convey the British 1st Airlanding Brigade to Arnhem on the 17th September 1944,.... as with the C-47, it is brush painted;  

 

After the Horsa Mk.I landed, explosive bolts were used to blow the tail off so that the load could drive straight out;

The Horsa Mk.II had a slightly longer nose with a side opening nose section, making loading much simpler, here is one with Army pilots of the Glider Pilot Regiment;

 

 

The Model, being loaded with an Airborne Jeep and  a 6 Pounder ant tank gun;

 

Cheers,

           Tony

 

 

Edited November 15, 2019 by tonyot

[janneman36]

Looking good Tony despite being one from yesteryear...the Turfsport was a real scruffy aircraft by september 44...

Great looking diorama together with that Horsa👌

 

Cheers, Jan

[72modeler]

What a wonderful pair! The invasion stripes on the C-47 are sooo very well done! Masterful brush-painting, Tony! 👍 👍

Mike

[JosephLalor]

Nice one Tony.  Got me wondering where I've stashed my Horsa.  Out of sight and, until now, out of mind.

[tonyot]

2 hours ago, janneman36 said:

Looking good Tony despite being one from yesteryear...the Turfsport was a real scruffy aircraft by september 44...

Great looking diorama together with that Horsa👌

 

Cheers, Jan

Thanks Jan,..... talking about the Turfsport,...the ex pilot told me that the museum were unsure about the identity of the aircraft,......so his old crew chief went and sat on a certain seat in the back,......looked up and said,.....yup,...... this is Turfsport OK,......pointing at a patch in the roof,....... he had been sitting on that seat in 1944 and just after he got up a bullet came up through the seat and exited through the roof!! 

 

2 hours ago, 72modeler said:

What a wonderful pair! The invasion stripes on the C-47 are sooo very well done! Masterful brush-painting, Tony! 👍 👍

Mike

Cheers Mike,..... glad you like them mate,..... I sanded the upper surface stripes on the C-47 to simulate them wearing away. 

 

2 hours ago, JosephLalor said:

Nice one Tony.  Got me wondering where I've stashed my Horsa.  Out of sight and, until now, out of mind.

Thanks Joseph,.... go on dig it out,..... it is quite nice but needs some tlc to get the best out of it. I also added a scratch built central roof spar in the cockpit, which runs along the centre of the roof and then down inside centre of the windscreen., just to add a bit of realism as otherwise the cockpit looks too large and open.

 

Cheers folks,

                    Tony  

[Baldy]

Evocative pair Tony and superb weathering on the C-47. 

 

Cheers

 

Malcolm

[noelh]

I always like TO'T's contributions. I guess your interests match mine. Definitely like this one. 

[Bedders]

In this 75th anniversary year, a great reminder of events (I'm reading Antony Beevor' account now). And just wonderful models too.  

 

Justin

[ivan-o]

Super pair! Good job👌

[woody37]

Gorgeous builds Tony, they’ve scanned really well too. Must of been great to get a compliment from the pilot of the aircraft 

[mick b]

Excellent as ever Tony, had the stripes worn away or been scrubbed off, apart from the fuselage underside, as per the directive ?

 

mike

[Bullbasket]

Great looking Dak and Horsa Tony, and I like the CMP and Matador as well.

Certa Cito.

 

John.

[tonyot]

On 11/15/2019 at 10:03 PM, Baldy said:

Evocative pair Tony and superb weathering on the C-47. 

 

Cheers

 

Malcolm

Thanks Malcolm.

 

23 hours ago, noelh said:

I always like TO'T's contributions. I guess your interests match mine. Definitely like this one. 

We do seem to don`t we,.... thanks Noel. 

 

23 hours ago, Bedders said:

In this 75th anniversary year, a great reminder of events (I'm reading Antony Beevor' account now). And just wonderful models too.  

 

Justin

Thanks Justin,...... I read Beevor`s book recently,..... it was good but it wasn`t quite as good as his others,.....he seemed to let a few personal `beefs' get into his writing? 

 

13 hours ago, ivan-o said:

Super pair! Good job👌

Thanks Ivan.

 

5 hours ago, woody37 said:

Gorgeous builds Tony, they’ve scanned really well too. Must of been great to get a compliment from the pilot of the aircraft 

Chees Neil,...... yeah they have scanned OK,....... the letter from the pilot came with some photos and it was brilliant mate,...... what a nice thing for him to do.

 

4 hours ago, mick b said:

Excellent as ever Tony, had the stripes worn away or been scrubbed off, apart from the fuselage underside, as per the directive ?

 

mike

Thanks Mike,..... the stripes were partially scrubbed away, the weather did the rest while the lower stripes were kept maintained,... as per regs like you say. 

 

3 hours ago, Bullbasket said:

Great looking Dak and Horsa Tony, and I like the CMP and Matador as well.

Certa Cito.

 

John.

Cheers John,..... glad you like the veh`s too,...... Certa Cito mate!

 

Thanks for your kind remarks,

                                               Tony

[Viking]

What a great post, very informative back story, photos, and two lovely models. Especially interesting that that actual aircraft is preserved in its colors from Market Garden.

 

Cheers

 

John

[tonyot]

On 11/18/2019 at 8:09 AM, Viking said:

What a great post, very informative back story, photos, and two lovely models. Especially interesting that that actual aircraft is preserved in its colors from Market Garden.

 

Cheers

 

John

Thanks John,...... the aircraft was one of the decal options in the original 1/48th Monogram C-47 kit too,..... the pilot was telling me where they got it wrong!!