1:48 FAA Tarpon

[Dunny]

Hi All,

 

My latest completion is Hobby Boss' Grumman Avenger, or the Tarpon as it was initially known in FAA service. Although the Hobby Boss kit is generally pretty good in terms of detail and fit, there are a few notable omissions to present an accurate FAA aircraft. I therefore made some modifications to the original, including the following:

 

- Scratch-built the observer's position, including radar scope and chart table

- Plunge moulded blister windows for the lower side positions

- Scratch-built an instrument panel following a PE disaster

 

Here's the WIP if anyone is interested:

 

I've chosen to model the aircraft as JZ257 of 849 Sqn, which was operating from HMS Victorious as part of the BPF in January 1945. Although I have not found a photo of JZ257, here's a couple of shots of BPF Avengers:

 

 

 

The cockpit and observer positions were painted Bronze Green, with the rest of the interior in Interior Green. I chose to complete the undercarriage in white, as I felt that there was sufficient contrast in the above photos to suggest that it was not the underside colour used. The kit decals were dispensed with and I used the lovely Xtradecal 'Yanks with Roundels Part 3'. Paints were EDSG Mr Hobby, DSG Vallejo and AK Interactives Sky

 

Anyway, on with the pics:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This one has sat idle for over a year, so I'm really pleased to have got it over the line. It's a beast of an aircraft and I'm glad to have it in the collection!

 

Thanks for looking,

 

Roger

[dnl42]

Excellent!!! 

[Dunny]

1 hour ago, dnl42 said:

Excellent!!! 

Thanks very much!

[Grey Beema]

Loverly..

[robgizlu]

Superb job 

Rob

[Dunny]

1 hour ago, Grey Beema said:

Loverly..

 

48 minutes ago, robgizlu said:

Superb job 

Rob

Thanks for the kind words gents!

[ForestFan]

Very nicely done

[Zigomar]

Nice Turkey there! Cheers.

[bigbadbadge]

Now this is gorgeous Roger, so glad you got this one over the line.   It's simply stunning.  Great paintwork, weathering and scratch built observer cockpit details too.

Thank you for completing this. 

 

Chris

 

[Dunny]

42 minutes ago, bigbadbadge said:

Now this is gorgeous Roger, so glad you got this one over the line.   It's simply stunning.  Great paintwork, weathering and scratch built observer cockpit details too.

Thank you for completing this. 

 

Chris

 

Thank you for all the support along the way Chris! Much appreciated,

 

Cheers,

 

Roger 

[Dunny]

2 hours ago, ForestFan said:

Very nicely done

 

2 hours ago, Zigomar said:

Nice Turkey there! Cheers.

Thanks for the kind words gents!

[Sky Keg]

Outstanding Roger.  The complex window framing of the Avenger was done to perfection by you.  The entire subject looks great!!!!! 

 

Mike

[Dunny]

22 minutes ago, Sky Keg said:

Outstanding Roger.  The complex window framing of the Avenger was done to perfection by you.  The entire subject looks great!!!!! 

 

Mike

Thanks Mike - glad you like it!

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

[Timo]

Hi Roger

A great model which is of particular significance to me.

My late Dad was a pilot on 849 Squadron in 1945.  Your aircraft 373 doesn’t appear in his logbook, but he flew several sorties in sister ship 372.

My Dad joined 849 on 30 April 1945 from HMS Striker which was part of a ‘replenishment group’ to take replacement aircraft / crews from Papua New Guinea to the Carrier Fleet. At that point he would have been a very inexperienced ‘replacement’ combat pilot.

He flew a total of 14 operational sorties with 849 off HMS Victorious.

In May 1945 these would have been on Operation Iceberg – flying strikes against airfields used by Japanese Kamikaze aircraft on the Sakishima Islands near Formosa (now Taiwan).

In July / Aug 1945 the Carrier Fleet moved north to carry out raids on Japan itself.  849 Squadron Avengers were used as bombers against ports and airfields in Japan.

By this point the British Carrier fleet was running desperately short of supplies and withdrew on 12 August 1945 to return to Sydney.

My Dad’s last flight in an Avenger was on 23 Aug to ferry his aircraft off Victorious to Maryborough in Queensland, arriving in Sydney by Dakota a day later on 24 Aug 1945.

While in Sydney he met my Mum who was there as a Sister in the Queen Alexandra’s Royal Naval Nursing Service (QARNNS) where she had been at the Navy Hospital nursing the casualties from the Carrier Fleet.

HMS Victorious took part in the Victory Parade in Sydney on 31 August and left Australia in September 1945, arriving back in Britain on 27 October 1945.

My Mum became part of Operation Magic Carpet - the Pacific Repatriation of POWs – and sailed home on aircraft carrier HMS Formidable which had been converted to a hospital ship.  It took a slow ride home via Cape Town to enable the POWs to be nursed back to health arriving at Portsmouth on 5 February 1946 - where a former 849 pilot happened to be waiting!

I hope this little bit of personal history adds some background/context to your wonderful model.

Cheers

Tim

[Stephen]

Excellent build.

[AliGauld]

That's just wonderful.

 

Cheers,

Alistair

[85sqn]

Congratulations, youve made a lovely job of it👍

[russ c]

Excellent Avenger there Dunny, really nice work

[Dunny]

9 hours ago, Timo said:

Hi Roger

A great model which is of particular significance to me.

My late Dad was a pilot on 849 Squadron in 1945.  Your aircraft 373 doesn’t appear in his logbook, but he flew several sorties in sister ship 372.

My Dad joined 849 on 30 April 1945 from HMS Striker which was part of a ‘replenishment group’ to take replacement aircraft / crews from Papua New Guinea to the Carrier Fleet. At that point he would have been a very inexperienced ‘replacement’ combat pilot.

He flew a total of 14 operational sorties with 849 off HMS Victorious.

In May 1945 these would have been on Operation Iceberg – flying strikes against airfields used by Japanese Kamikaze aircraft on the Sakishima Islands near Formosa (now Taiwan).

In July / Aug 1945 the Carrier Fleet moved north to carry out raids on Japan itself.  849 Squadron Avengers were used as bombers against ports and airfields in Japan.

By this point the British Carrier fleet was running desperately short of supplies and withdrew on 12 August 1945 to return to Sydney.

My Dad’s last flight in an Avenger was on 23 Aug to ferry his aircraft off Victorious to Maryborough in Queensland, arriving in Sydney by Dakota a day later on 24 Aug 1945.

While in Sydney he met my Mum who was there as a Sister in the Queen Alexandra’s Royal Naval Nursing Service (QARNNS) where she had been at the Navy Hospital nursing the casualties from the Carrier Fleet.

HMS Victorious took part in the Victory Parade in Sydney on 31 August and left Australia in September 1945, arriving back in Britain on 27 October 1945.

My Mum became part of Operation Magic Carpet - the Pacific Repatriation of POWs – and sailed home on aircraft carrier HMS Formidable which had been converted to a hospital ship.  It took a slow ride home via Cape Town to enable the POWs to be nursed back to health arriving at Portsmouth on 5 February 1946 - where a former 849 pilot happened to be waiting!

I hope this little bit of personal history adds some background/context to your wonderful model.

Cheers

Tim

Tim, 

 

That's a great personal history - thanks so much for sharing! It's stories like yours and @Col Walter E Kurtz's recent build that really bring home that generation's sacrifice. 

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

9 hours ago, Stephen said:

Excellent build.

 

8 hours ago, AliGauld said:

That's just wonderful.

 

Cheers,

Alistair

 

8 hours ago, 85sqn said:

Congratulations, youve made a lovely job of it👍

 

7 hours ago, russ c said:

Excellent Avenger there Dunny, really nice work

Thanks for the kind words - much appreciated!

[Col Walter E Kurtz]

Exquisite execution Dunny. Weathering is superb. Lovely model. Thanks for sharing this! 

Regards, Andy

[noelh]

It's just a model aeroplane. A toy in some people's eyes. But is it really? Even if it's built by someone like me who has no connection to the time. It represents a moment in time that people like us had to experience. 

 

But we remember them if ever so slightly as a token of their moment in time. Even if it's a model. 

 

[Dunny]

51 minutes ago, Col Walter E Kurtz said:

Exquisite execution Dunny. Weathering is superb. Lovely model. Thanks for sharing this! 

Regards, Andy

Thanks for the kind words Andy - much appreciated!

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

[BerndM]

A suberb build and painted Avenger...Tarpon.

Masking theses multi framed clear parts must be really time consuming.

[Dunny]

3 minutes ago, BerndM said:

A suberb build and painted Avenger...Tarpon.

Masking theses multi framed clear parts must be really time consuming.

Thanks for the kind words Bernd! I did use an Eduard mask set for this build, which makes life much easier!

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

[BerndM]

1 minute ago, Dunny said:

Thanks for the kind words Bernd! I did use an Eduard mask set for this build, which makes life much easier!

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

Yes, they do !

I will make sure that Eduard masking sets are on my shopping list when it comes to build mine.