1/72nd Special Hobby Boston Mk.III, 24 Sqn, SAAF, Western Desert.

[tonyot]

Hiya Folks,

                 Another one from the shelf of doom, caused my severe modellers block,....... the Special Hobby Boston isn`t the easiest kit to build but it is the best kit available in 1/72nd scale. The South African Air Force were great proponents of the Boston in the fighting in the Middle East,..... with 12 and 24 Sqn`s SAAF equipped with the type and at one point they aquired individual squadon codes,..... 12 Sqn with VZ and 24 Sqn with OZ.  These spanned the period of the national markings being changed from the larger A1 Type to the smaller C1 Type and many had signs of the larger roundel being painted out.

 

Here is a 12 Sqn Boston, from the IWM Collection. This is AL691, VL-W which was lost on the 25th June 1942 to Flak over Sidi Barrani;

 

 

VL-Y,.... note the squadron insignia on the nose;

 

And then 24 Sqn Boston,...here is OZ-W, AL???

; 

 

OZ-Y `Marie';

 

Z2228, OZ-N;

 

OZ-Z;

 

And the subject of the model, Z2221, OZ-F, note the overpainted A1 roundel and the smaller C1 Type replacement,.... I wasn`t sure whether it had the SAAF orange centre to the roundels or like many did it retained the RAF red,...... so rightly or wrongly,.....I went for red;

 

Here is my attempt at replicating Z2221, OZ-F,.......... I used spares box decals with cut down Xtradecal black letters and the model was brush painted using Humbrol enamel Middle Stone, Pactra acrylic Dark Earth and Polly Scale acrylic Azure Blue plus some other mixed colours;

 

And this one in Royal Navy markings is following on its heels;

 

Cheers

         Tony

 

 

Edited May 9, 2020 by tonyot

[Vinnie]

Lovely job again, Tony. You are becoming a veritable production line.

[Aces High]

Very nice! I'm working on a special hobby kit at the moment, I've built two in past but had forgotten just how difficult they are to build... Great detail though.

[tonyot]

24 minutes ago, Vinnie said:

Lovely job again, Tony. You are becoming a veritable production line.

LOL,.... thanks Vinnie,...... just clearing up a lot of part finished models at the moment mate! 

 

23 minutes ago, Aces High said:

Very nice! I'm working on a special hobby kit at the moment, I've built two in past but had forgotten just how difficult they are to build... Great detail though.

Thanks mate,..... yeah I`ve built a few too,....... sorts your sanding muscles out eh,..... but worth it in the end after you`ve sorted that undercarriage out. Good luck with yours,........ I love how sleek they look without the undercarriage down,..... I want to make a 2 Group Boston with its wheels up and looking like it is skeeting along at zero feet between Dutch windmills. 

[Wulfman]

Beautiful Boston, great modelling !

 

Wulfman 

[Eric Mc]

That is a lovely Boston and the second one is looking good too.

 

I built the Airfix one recently. It's pretty basic but I enjoyed the build.

 

https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235062176-douglas-boston-iii-airfix-172/&tab=comments#comment-3471477

 

Edited May 9, 2020 by Eric Mc

[bigbadbadge]

Great work as usual Tony, love the look of the Boston, it looks fantastic in this scheme too. Ooooooooo a Navy Boston too looking forward to seeing this.

Got mine painted now and pleased with it so far.  Lost the steering wheel though when it dropped on the floor when testing the weight inside.  Despite all the weight it is still a tail sitter!!!

Great work fella.

All the best

Chris

[Dunny]

Love 'em both Tony. Wish I had a Boston in the stash!

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

[Eric Mc]

The Boston was a very advanced aeroplane for its time - and it was pretty fast. What you can appreciate when building one in kit form is how narrow they were.

[tonyot]

1 hour ago, Wulfman said:

Beautiful Boston, great modelling !

 

Wulfman 

Cheers Wulfman,

 

42 minutes ago, Eric Mc said:

That is a lovely Boston and the second one is looking good too.

 

I built the Airfix one recently. It's pretty basic but I enjoyed the build.

 

https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235062176-douglas-boston-iii-airfix-172/&tab=comments#comment-3471477

 

Thanks Eric,....... I do like the Airfix kit,..... but just cannot tell whether it looks right or not,..... it was fantastic for its day mind you,... as was the real aeroplane and like the Baltimore and Maryland of the same vintage,...... very narrow indeed with seperate crew positions which could not be reached from within. 

 

21 minutes ago, bigbadbadge said:

Great work as usual Tony, love the look of the Boston, it looks fantastic in this scheme too. Ooooooooo a Navy Boston too looking forward to seeing this.

Got mine painted now and pleased with it so far.  Lost the steering wheel though when it dropped on the floor when testing the weight inside.  Despite all the weight it is still a tail sitter!!!

Great work fella.

All the best

Chris

Thanks Chris,...... I have a few more naval Boston`s/Havoc`s planned after this one too. Looking forward to seeing yours,..... mine was almost weighted right,.....but the uncercarriage is so delicate that it probably cannot take the weight required for it not to be a tail sitter,......as you ca see mine needed a prop under the engine nacelle! 

 

19 minutes ago, Dunny said:

Love 'em both Tony. Wish I had a Boston in the stash!

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

Thanks Roger,...... if you can find the Revell P-70 night fighter,...... well that can be built as a Boston as all the parts are included in the box (along with the Havoc Mk.II BP gun nose, standard US gun nose and a Turbinlite nose plus Boston and A-20 clear noses) and it costs £14.99,..... that is what I used to build the naval Havoc,..... with a fighter windscreen from another kit! This is the kit I mean in this link,.... and not the older Revell kt which is full of rivets!

https://www.scalemates.com/kits/revell-03939-lockheed-p-70-nighthawk--1012784

 

Cheers folks,

                    Tony

[Beard]

Nice result on a challenging kit Tony. The Boston looks good in almost any scheme.

I've got four in the stash, one of which has made it as far as my "let's have a look at the sprues" pile, and - after reading what I've read, I can't say I'm looking forward to assembling it.

[DaveyGair]

Lovely builds there Tony. Still don't know how you get such a good finish brush painting, a lot of learning I guess?

I have the Revell kit, also two MPM/SH boxings including the Russian one with the modified rear gunners position.  The one I'm looking forward to building (🙄) is High Planes Havoc MK I which I'll do in an experimental Night Intruder scheme which is included in the kit.

 

 

Davey.

[Vinnie]

3 hours ago, tonyot said:

LOL,.... thanks Vinnie,...... just clearing up a lot of part finished models at the moment mate! 

 

 

Yes I'm doing the same, Trying to clear the 'the shelf of doom'. Resurrect it or bin it is now the mantra.

[adey m]

4 hours ago, bigbadbadge said:

Lost the steering wheel though when it dropped on the floor when testing the weight inside

Did the carpet monster burp ................

 

regards, adey

[bigbadbadge]

5 hours ago, tonyot said:

Thanks Chris,...... I have a few more naval Boston`s/Havoc`s planned after this one too. Looking forward to seeing yours,..... mine was almost weighted right,.....but the uncercarriage is so delicate that it probably cannot take the weight required for it not to be a tail sitter,......as you ca see mine needed a prop under the engine nacelle!

Crikey how many have you got fella?  Your stash must be endless 😉

Be good to see more Navy ones .

 

1 hour ago, adey m said:

the carpet monster burp ................

He must have been hungry, but only got the steering wheel fortunately.  I will no doubt find it after scratching and installing a replacement!!! 

 

Cheers guys

All the best

Chris

[F-32]

Very nicely done

[tonyot]

5 hours ago, Beard said:

Nice result on a challenging kit Tony. The Boston looks good in almost any scheme.

I've got four in the stash, one of which has made it as far as my "let's have a look at the sprues" pile, and - after reading what I've read, I can't say I'm looking forward to assembling it.

Thanks Beard,..... yeah the Boston is one aeroplane that looks sleek from any angle or in any colour scheme! Best thing to do is just dive in and not be scared,..... although I have to admit that I`ve still not started my Airfix 1/24th Hellcat, Tamiya 1/32nd Spitfire or CMR 1/72nd Buccaneer`s for the very same reasons,.....they scare me!

 

3 hours ago, DaveyGair said:

Lovely builds there Tony. Still don't know how you get such a good finish brush painting, a lot of learning I guess?

I have the Revell kit, also two MPM/SH boxings including the Russian one with the modified rear gunners position.  The one I'm looking forward to building (🙄) is High Planes Havoc MK I which I'll do in an experimental Night Intruder scheme which is included in the kit.

 

 

Davey.

Thanks Davey,..... yeah just practice mate and when it goes wrong,..... sanding paper! I have a Havoc Mk.I from High Planes to build too,.... probably as a Fleet Air Arm aircraft of 771 NAS. I know the colour scheme you have in mind,.....nice. I`ve build one in the past in RAF markings as a Turbinlite,.... it is a nice kit;

 

3 hours ago, Vinnie said:

Yes I'm doing the same, Trying to clear the 'the shelf of doom'. Resurrect it or bin it is now the mantra.

Yeah I`m pretty much in the same mind frame,...... although the binning bit is still quite hard! 

 

24 minutes ago, bigbadbadge said:

Crikey how many have you got fella?  Your stash must be endless 😉

Be good to see more Navy ones .

All the best

Chris

Oh mate,.... the stash,...... don`t even go there,......... probably a bit like Kingkit crammed into my loft!

11 minutes ago, F-32 said:

Very nicely done

Thanks mate.

[Beard]

1 hour ago, tonyot said:

Best thing to do is just dive in and not be scared,....

That's not bad advice for most situations.

 

1 hour ago, tonyot said:

I have to admit that I`ve still not started my Airfix 1/24th Hellcat, Tamiya 1/32nd Spitfire or CMR 1/72nd Buccaneer`s for the very same reasons,.....they scare me!

If they scare you what hope is there for the rest of us?