1:48 FAA Tarpon, 849 Sqn

[Dunny]

Hi all,

Since I built my Defiant I’m now on a turret roll, so I’m going to drag myself kicking & screaming from my OOB comfort zone and attempt to build Hobby Boss’ “British Fleet Air Arm Avenger MkI” as an FAA Tarpon. From what I can tell, Hobby Boss have taken their “standard” US Avenger kit, sourced a new set of decals, made up a couple of paint schemes and issued it as an FAA version. All of the shortcomings and errors of this version of the kit have been well documented – thanks to @tonyot, @85sqn, @trickyrich and others for easing my journey of discovery with their excellent and insightful information (see below).

 

Armed with that rapidly assimilated wisdom here is the kit box:

 

 

Shots of the sprues – the detail level and crispness of the parts all bode pretty well:

 

 

 

 

 

Transparencies – again, very nice:

 

 

Kit decals – not so nice. Not convinced of the accuracy of these – the red of the national insignia alone is quite hallucinogenic. They’ll go straight into the dodgy pile…

 

 

I’ve sourced a couple of extras for the build; Eduard instrument panel (which is intended for the Accurate Miniatures kit, so we’ll see how that goes), Eduard masks (a must for all that glazing!) and Eduard harnesses. So Eduard everything, basically.

 

 

I’ve been hankering after a BPF build, so I’ve decided to model this aircraft; JZ257 of 849 Sqn, HMS Victorious, January 1945.

 

 

I believe that this aircraft would have taken part in the Operation Meridian raid on the Palembang oil refinery in January 1945 (849 Sqn was certainly involved). Here’s a shot of Tarpons on that raid (albeit from a different squadron flying off HMS Illustrious):

 

 

From what I can tell, JZ257 was one of the second batch of 200 Avenger MkIs delivered to the FAA. The aircraft would therefore have been equivalent to a Grumman-manufactured TBF-1C. This aircraft would have had the following configuration:

- 2 x 0.50” machine guns mounted in the wing roots, as opposed to the single cowling-mounted gun of the earlier batch. The kit has these gun ports - ü.

- Observer’s position in the central cockpit, including radar scope and plotting table. The kit as it stands is configured as a ‘standard’ US aircraft with electronics in place of the Observer position, so this is where the major surgery needs to happen. This will be my first real attempt at scratch building, so I’ll give it my best shot! Grumman-built aircraft had the cockpit, Observer’s position and turret interior painted in Bronze-Green.

- The remainder of the aircraft interior including the bomb bay was painted Interior Green (with the exception of the cowling interior, which was Light Grey).

- I have seen varying claims that the undercarriage and bays were painted Insignia White, the underside colour or even Zinc Chromate Yellow. The colour photo showing the faded paintwork a bit later looks to me like white might be the go – it’s definitely not ZCY (although other Eastern-manufactured aircraft could have had this configuration).

- There is varying information around the ventral 0.3” gun (and whether it was replaced with an F24 camera). I’m going to stick with the gun – the decal sheet shows it in place so it must be right, right?

- Round blister windows over the original window cavities. These provided significant improvements in visibility – they’re nicely shown in the shot below (forward of the access door):

 

 

The kit windows are as fitted to the original batch of MkIs so are incorrect. I’m going to try crash-moulding these blisters, which could be interesting (think I’ll leave that til last) 

In terms of paint finish, from what I can tell the Grumman aircraft would have been finished in ‘standard’ FAA colours i.e. Dark Slate Grey and Extra Dark Sea Grey over Sky – I will be using these colours as opposed to those recommended on the Xtradecals ‘Yanks with Roundels’ sheet (although the decals look to be excellent otherwise). I also see a Corsair and Hellcat somewhere in my future 😉

 

 

It’s well documented that most BPF aircraft were heavily weathered and faded so I’ll push my weathering skills to the limit. The shot below is a great guide as to the level of fading of the paintwork, as well as being a very evocative shot of the conditions in which the aircraft (and crews) operated from temporary land bases (Ceylon, I’m guessing?).

 

 

Another one (showing a Hellcat, but you get the general idea). It’s interesting to note that there’s very little bare metal on show, though the paint has worn through to the zinc chromate primer in heavy-wear areas. I might try and replicate that effect. 

 

 

And a couple of nice reference shots:

 

 

The camo demarcation looks to be pretty hard from the above shot, so no freestylie on the airbrush…

 

 

The kit contains a number of ordnance options including rockets, torpedo, depth charges and 500lb bombs. I’m guessing the Tarpons on the Palembang raid would have used the latter (and the kit rockets are bobbins), so I intend to do the same as shown above. From what I have read Hellcats & Corsairs took the role of combat air patrol and ground attack on that raid, so it kind of makes sense that the Tarpons would be bombing (along with Barracudas, if memory serves). The raid is  detailed in the excellent ‘Carrier Pilot’ by Norman Hanson, which is well worth a read.

 

 

So with all that under my belt I shall gird my loins and crack on with the build! Thanks for looking – until next time,

Roger

 

[85sqn]

Best of luck with it. Avengers are great fun. I have an AM kit to get involved with at some point.

[Dunny]

11 minutes ago, 85sqn said:

Best of luck with it. Avengers are great fun. I have an AM kit to get involved with at some point.

Thanks @85sqn. If mine turns out half as well as yours I shall be happy - I salute you sir!

[tonyot]

Good luck with it,...... your research is good so you should be OK,...... maybe ask on here if anybody has some spare bubble windows from the Accurate Miniatures kit which was also released by Italeri? 

For the undercarriage bay and undercarriage I have always gone with the interior colour,.....ie Sky for the British aircraft. 

Remember that for the Palembang raids the aircraft wore Eastern Fleet blue and white roundels and that BPF markings were not introduced until they left the Indian Ocean and moved to the Pacific.

All the best mate

                           Tony

[Dunny]

13 minutes ago, tonyot said:

Good luck with it,...... your research is good so you should be OK,...... maybe ask on here if anybody has some spare bubble windows from the Accurate Miniatures kit which was also released by Italeri? 

For the undercarriage bay and undercarriage I have always gone with the interior colour,.....ie Sky for the British aircraft. 

Remember that for the Palembang raids the aircraft wore Eastern Fleet blue and white roundels and that BPF markings were not introduced until they left the Indian Ocean and moved to the Pacific.

All the best mate

                           Tony

Thanks @tonyot your advice is appreciated...

[moaning dolphin]

Great choice! I'm doing a similar build on the 'In the Navy' Group Build, but using the Accurate Miniatures kit. The Hobbyboss one looks nice and I'll follow along to see how the kit goes together as I have options for further Avenger kits down the line.

On 13/02/2020 at 19:09, Dunny said:

 

 

Another one (showing a Hellcat, but you get the general idea). It’s interesting to note that there’s very little bare metal on show, though the paint has worn through to the zinc chromate primer in heavy-wear areas. I might try and replicate that effect. 

 

 

Love these posed photos. No idea what the guys are doing to that Hellcat especially the bloke in the light T shirt trying to pull the U/C door off but it looks good!

Bob

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

You’ve got to admire the pose of the Zen Master Brakeman in the cockpit, too.  Ommmmmmmmmmmmmm

[moaning dolphin]

3 minutes ago, Ex-FAAWAFU said:

You’ve got to admire the pose of the Zen Master Brakeman in the cockpit, too.  Ommmmmmmmmmmmmm

Lol never noticed him, do you think he is wearing his take of a Hachimaki?

[Dunny]

12 hours ago, tonyot said:

Good luck with it,...... your research is good so you should be OK,...... maybe ask on here if anybody has some spare bubble windows from the Accurate Miniatures kit which was also released by Italeri? 

For the undercarriage bay and undercarriage I have always gone with the interior colour,.....ie Sky for the British aircraft. 

Remember that for the Palembang raids the aircraft wore Eastern Fleet blue and white roundels and that BPF markings were not introduced until they left the Indian Ocean and moved to the Pacific.

All the best mate

                           Tony

Thanks @tonyot - that is a timely hint on the roundels. On that basis I may choose to spray the insignia rather than b*gger around cutting the decals! I've got a bit of time to procrastinate on that one 

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

[tonyot]

2 minutes ago, Dunny said:

Thanks @tonyot - that is a timely hint on the roundels. On that basis I may choose to spray the insignia rather than b*gger around cutting the decals! I've got a bit of time to procrastinate on that one 

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

You could get away with the roundels from the Hellcat, although the upper wing roundels should be a bit bigger, plus a set of smaller blue and white roundels, but you would need codes too as the three number code with carrier deck letter was introduced with BPF roundels and not used at Palembang. I always like to model from photos where possible and to be fair,..... the BPF markings are fine and the Avenger units flew lots of important raids in these markings toooff Okinanawa and over Japan. 

There was an Aeomaster sheet with P1X on it, not sure if you can still get it? Here are some of my other Avengers;

 

[Dunny]

3 minutes ago, tonyot said:

You could get away with the roundels from the Hellcat, although the upper wing roundels should be a bit bigger, plus a set of smaller blue and white roundels, but you would need codes too as the three number code with carrier deck letter was introduced with BPF roundels and not used at Palembang. I always like to model from photos where possible and to be fair,..... the BPF markings are fine and the Avenger units flew lots of important raids in these markings toooff Okinanawa and over Japan. 

There was an Aeomaster sheet with P1X on it, not sure if you can still get it? Here are some of my other Avengers;

 

Maybe I'll just forget about Palembang and use the decals as is!!🤣 Lovely Avengers (and Helldiver!)

[tonyot]

11 hours ago, Dunny said:

Maybe I'll just forget about Palembang and use the decals as is!!🤣 Lovely Avengers (and Helldiver!)

I think thats a good call,..... and thanks mate,....much appreciated.

[rob85]

Looks a great build, always surprises me how big these things are, I remember seeing the duxford one and thinking the same.

 

greet references, looking forward to this one.

 

Rob 

[Dunny]

Ok, so some progress today. The kit would have you start with the construction of the engine, but I figured the Observer's position is the high-risk enterprise, so I decided to start there if I'm going to take an early bath! Reference materials for the position are very thin on the ground, but others have already highlighted this schematic:

 

 

This was pretty basic but a good start. The following also shows a plan view of the Observer's seat:

 

 

There are scant references to a plotting table, which would be a logical inclusion given the varied mission profiles for these aircraft. In addition the radar fitted to FAA aircraft were the Westinghouse ASB unit, as shown below:

 

 

So with these slim pickings I put together a design scheme for the Observer position. Here's the cockpit floor prior to surgery - the areas to be removed are highlighted:

 

 

10 minutes' work with a razor saw got us to this:

 

 

I then decided to fit a false deck to cover up the resulting 'oles. Here's the dry-fitted assembly (trim, fit. trim, fit - close enough is good enough).

 

 

Next, My first true venture into scratch building. Here's the seat after a good deal of firtling, cursing and repeats:

 

 

Next I had a go at the mounting frame, using some 0.3mm brass tube. I eventually got the mounting holes in the right place too 

 

 

And a frankly rather rubbish shot of the seat in position. In the foreground you can also see the ASB unit prior to painting. I elected to leave the screen off until I'd painted the unit (see later for finished results).

 

 

As there's no evidence available for the plotting table configuration I decided to place the table on the left, with a mounting shelf for the radar on the right. Here's a shot of both components installed:

 

 

I then completed the sub-assemblies and added control column, pilot's seat and other gubbins. I didn't have any Bronze Green to hand, so made up a home-brew of Luftwaffe Schwarzgrun and Mid-Stone - it turned out as a reasonable facsimile to my eye. So here's the state of progress with the radar unit added - you may note a couple of support straps on the radar shelf mount.

 

 

 

I know this is a long way from some of the frankly astonishing scratch work elsewhere on this site, but I'm pretty pleased with my first attempt (I might yet tidy up the scope a little more though). To my eye it looks like it's meant to be there, and I'm sure it will pop out once harnesses are added along with some weathering. Anyway, thanks for looking, and enjoy your weekend!

 

Roger

 

[TonkaGuy]

Coming along well! The book is definitely a worthwhile read! 

[Jackson Duvalier]

Congrats on your first steps into scratching up a cockpit, Roger.  It looks good to me, as does your rendition of Bronze Green.

 

The detail drawings and photo are also helpful as I plan to rework a Hasegawa Avenger to the TBF-1 configuration and I've been having a deuce of a time finding information on the back seat.

[Grey Beema]

Don’t knock your scratch building efforts.  It’s a good job.  Bit of weathering and a dirty wash around it it will be great.  Looking through the kit cockpit, you won’t see all the detail you’ve added..

[Dunny]

1 hour ago, TonkaGuy said:

Coming along well! The book is definitely a worthwhile read! 

 

48 minutes ago, Jackson Duvalier said:

Congrats on your first steps into scratching up a cockpit, Roger.  It looks good to me, as does your rendition of Bronze Green.

 

The detail drawings and photo are also helpful as I plan to rework a Hasegawa Avenger to the TBF-1 configuration and I've been having a deuce of a time finding information on the back seat.

 

46 minutes ago, Grey Beema said:

Don’t knock your scratch building efforts.  It’s a good job.  Bit of weathering and a dirty wash around it it will be great.  Looking through the kit cockpit, you won’t see all the detail you’ve added..

Thanks for all your kind words - I might yet get to enjoy this scratchbuilding lark! Thanks for looking,

 

Roger

[bigbadbadge]

Very excited to see your build on the go as I have the same kit in the stash .  Thank you for including the observer's cockpit too as this will be very helpful indeed when building mine too.  

Great work on the scratch building so far and it's going to look very convincing when viewed in place . 

I will be bookmarking your thread for future reference.

 

Keep up the good work

All the best

Chris.

 

[Dunny]

2 minutes ago, bigbadbadge said:

Very excited to see your build on the go as I have the same kit in the stash .  Thank you for including the observer's cockpit too as this will be very helpful indeed when building mine too.  

Great work on the scratch building so far and it's going to look very convincing when viewed in place . 

I will be bookmarking your thread for future reference.

 

Keep up the good work

All the best

Chris.

 

Thanks Chris - good luck with your build!

 

Roger

[moaning dolphin]

Great stuff so far, it is really difficult to know how to build that area up. The best i can find is this screen shot from a you tube video

 

 

Doesnt show anything inside but shows what an Observer would take in with him. Although i cant help thinking the Daily Mail would have a meltdown over the official secrets on display! 🤣 Keep up the good work.

Bob

[Dunny]

On 15/02/2020 at 22:28, moaning dolphin said:

Great stuff so far, it is really difficult to know how to build that area up. The best i can find is this screen shot from a you tube video

 

 

 

Doesnt show anything inside but shows what an Observer would take in with him. Although i cant help thinking the Daily Mail would have a meltdown over the official secrets on display! 🤣 Keep up the good work.

Bob

Aaaah - the mobile plotting table! Thanks for the kind words,

 

Roger

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

1 minute ago, Dunny said:

Aaaah - the mobile plotting table! Thanks for the kind words,

 

Roger

I had wondered about that; the “Bigsworth Board” was standard issue to all RN WW2 Observers - I had my Dad’s until well into the 1970s, when it eventually fell apart after bing played with once too often!

 

But the Tarpon / Avenger was a US design, so I’d stick with what you’ve scratch-built, if it were me.  

[Dunny]

1 hour ago, Ex-FAAWAFU said:

I had wondered about that; the “Bigsworth Board” was standard issue to all RN WW2 Observers - I had my Dad’s until well into the 1970s, when it eventually fell apart after bing played with once too often!

 

But the Tarpon / Avenger was a US design, so I’d stick with what you’ve scratch-built, if it were me.  

Haven't we all played with our Bigsworth once too often? I thank you and good night...

[Dunny]

Another quick update - haven't had too much benchtime today with life getting in the way! I started by getting the harnesses in place - they stand out quite nicely against the Bronze Green. A little drybrushing and chipping with Tamiya AS11 too...

 

 

 

Clearly I have displeased the modelling gods in some way, because this is the current state of the IP. The PE coating reacted poorly to the Tamiya Extra Thin I was using. It's completely undef'able...

 

 

Also, because I had used the kit IP as a base, I'd removed all the detail from the surface - doh!

 

 

Anyway, Plan B is required. I think I'll find some suitable instrument decals and scratch a binnacle together - looking on the positive side I get to test my scratchbuilding skills again... 

 

Anyway, here's the cockpit dry-fitted into a fuselage half just to check paint alignment - all good (so not a completely bad day!)

 

 

Finally I applied an Abteilung Shadow Brown oil wash - not looking too bad! It sure is going to be gloomy once the fuselage is buttoned up!

 

 

Anyway, I'm mid-way through cooking a Sunday roast so until next time,

 

Thanks for looking, 

 

Roger