"She's Apples" - RAAF Douglas Boston III A28-9 - done...phew!

[Wings unlevel]

This is such a great GB topic with so many subjects to choose from, and so many fascinating builds to watch! For a long time I was going to build the Airfix Blackburn Buccaneer S.2C, there were a couple of other options in my small (but growing!) stash that were great candidates, in particular my prized Hasegawa F-111C (which was a gift from my brother), then there was more than few hours browsing online (ooh, Hasegawa B-47, argh Italeri B-58, hmm Airfix Wellington...).

 

But today, I have landed on this - the Special Hobby A-20/DB-7 Havoc/Boston "Early Gunships".

 

 

I am currently in Melbourne with the family on holiday (bit weird to be travelling during the peak of the Omircon COVID wave, but that's a topic of discussion for another day!). Only 10 minutes from where we are staying there is a little hobby shop called "Gundams Plus" - turns out the "Plus" is a quite extensive collection of aircraft model kits, and amongst its many treasures was this.

 

My aviation interests are pretty broad but I've always had a particular soft spot for WW2 twin-engine attack and light bomber aircraft, the Havoc/Boston among them.

 

So here's my project for this GB, a rather detailed looking little beast, complete with included resin engine cowls and machine gun barrels for the nose.

 

For my experience and skill level this looks like a good challenge - look at that tiny control yoke!

 

 

And look at those spindly main undercarriage support struts (?)...

 

 

Will build it up as RAAF Boston III A28-9 'She's Apples" using the kit decals.

 

 

Hat tip to BMer @Sydhuey who has posted a number of times on the colour schemes and history of operations of RAAF Bostons, proving an excellent source of reference information.

 

I won't make a proper start on this until March I don't think. I need to finish my Hornet plus I've picked up a few Matchboxes to build too. But I did want to set out my stall in this GB as I'm keen to be involved!

 

And hopefully, she'll be apples!

 

Cheers,

 

Gerard

 

 

 

 

 

[Sydhuey]

Good choice Gerard, She's Apples is my favorite DB-7B, she flew approx 77 missions , up until approx mission 69-70 (Late Aug 43) it was in the std Dark Green/Dark Earth over Sky, on 30 Aug 43 on a mission over Gasmata it had the hydraulics shot out and bellylanded back at base , it was then out of action for approx a mth, coming back to the Sqn in mid Oct 43, during repairs the undersurface was repainted RAAF Sky Blue, so depending on the mission markings decal in the kit will depend if its Sky or Sky Blue , total mission markings were in 4 rows , top row 24, second row 23, third row 22 and forth row 7 or 8,  so up to 3 full rows Sky undersurface, if a forth mission total row then Sky Blue .

Also the scheme in the kit of the L/H fwd fuselage is wrong , the Dark Earth covers a bigger area , look at photo's of "She's Apples" on line it shows the L/H nose clearly . 

All RAAF DB-7B's went to Sky Blue under side colour , the trick is working out when , they were not all painted Sky Blue at once but only got repainted when they were damaged or belly landed , when they got to NG in late 42 they were all Sky , by the end of 43 the remaining ones were RAAF Sky Blue.

Edited January 26, 2022 by Sydhuey
extra info.

[Col.]

Nice subject choice Gerard and well done for finding a model shop as they seem to be an increasingly rare commodity.

[Wings unlevel]

11 hours ago, Sydhuey said:

Good choice Gerard, She's Apples is my favorite DB-7B, she flew approx 77 missions , up until approx mission 69-70 (Late Aug 43) it was in the std Dark Green/Dark Earth over Sky, on 30 Aug 43 on a mission over Gasmata it had the hydraulics shot out and bellylanded back at base , it was then out of action for approx a mth, coming back to the Sqn in mid Oct 43, during repairs the undersurface was repainted RAAF Sky Blue, so depending on the mission markings decal in the kit will depend if its Sky or Sky Blue , total mission markings were in 4 rows , top row 24, second row 23, third row 22 and forth row 7 or 8,  so up to 3 full rows Sky undersurface, if a forth mission total row then Sky Blue .

Also the scheme in the kit of the L/H fwd fuselage is wrong , the Dark Earth covers a bigger area , look at photo's of "She's Apples" on line it shows the L/H nose clearly . 

All RAAF DB-7B's went to Sky Blue under side colour , the trick is working out when , they were not all painted Sky Blue at once but only got repainted when they were damaged or belly landed , when they got to NG in late 42 they were all Sky , by the end of 43 the remaining ones were RAAF Sky Blue.

Thanks Syd, that's all incredibly useful information, and much more than I could find digging around online to date.

 

The kit decals have four rows of mission markings, so looks like sky blue for the underside, which is what the kit instructions detail as well.

 

 

But do you know if the green should be RAF dark green or foliage green as per the colour callout? Either way fair to say the markings represent She's Applies as it appeared in late 1943 operating from Goodenough Island? (I saw your post elsewhere that the squadron codes should be light grey rather than blue as in the kit?)

 

Do you know what fate befell She's Apples? It's not noted on the ADF serials website.

 

Such a shame the RAAF Museum is closed for restoration at the moment, while in Melbourne I would have popped down to have a close look at A28-8.

 

[Wings unlevel]

10 hours ago, Col. said:

Nice subject choice Gerard and well done for finding a model shop as they seem to be an increasingly rare commodity.

Thanks Col, I'm excited to get started, eventually! It was a lovely simple pleasure to find a small model shop which was a treasure trove of kits (so many subjects that would have been suited to this GB) and to have a chat to the very knowledgable owner.

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Hello @Wings unlevel Im also doing a Douglas A-20 over in the Matchbox build. A friend sent me this link today knowing it might help me. I thought Id post it in case it has anything you could use. 
 

http://www.warbirdinformationexchange.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=52066

 

Dennis

[Sydhuey]

Ok mission log confirms late 43 (4 rows of mission markings) so RAAF Sky Blue, upper colours are std Dark Green /Dark Earth , RAAF Boston's didn't get the std RAAF scheme applied stayed in DG/DE their whole lives till post Jun/Jul 44 then the remaining DB-7B's went into an all over Foliage Green scheme . Sky Blue Sqn codes is ok.

 

I hate posting pics here but if you look online you will see photo's of the nose of "She's Apples" about this time frame showing the correct amount of DE on the L/H nose , there is a photo with a fitter standing on the MG blister and a clear view of the scheme and the mission markings.

 

"She's Apples" was scrapped in Port Moresby in early 1945 with all the other spare DB-7B's A-20A's and A-20C's. A-20G's handed back to USAAF.  

[Wings unlevel]

6 hours ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

Hello @Wings unlevel Im also doing a Douglas A-20 over in the Matchbox build. A friend sent me this link today knowing it might help me. I thought Id post it in case it has anything you could use. 
 

http://www.warbirdinformationexchange.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=52066

 

Dennis

Thanks Dennis, that's a treasure trove of fantastic images. Glad to see the MB A-20G being built too - I have fond memories of building that as a kid/teenager.

[Wings unlevel]

3 hours ago, Sydhuey said:

Ok mission log confirms late 43 (4 rows of mission markings) so RAAF Sky Blue, upper colours are std Dark Green /Dark Earth , RAAF Boston's didn't get the std RAAF scheme applied stayed in DG/DE their whole lives till post Jun/Jul 44 then the remaining DB-7B's went into an all over Foliage Green scheme . Sky Blue Sqn codes is ok.

 

I hate posting pics here but if you look online you will see photo's of the nose of "She's Apples" about this time frame showing the correct amount of DE on the L/H nose , there is a photo with a fitter standing on the MG blister and a clear view of the scheme and the mission markings.

 

"She's Apples" was scrapped in Port Moresby in early 1945 with all the other spare DB-7B's A-20A's and A-20C's. A-20G's handed back to USAAF.  

Cheers Syd, again really invaluable info, I appreciate you taking the time to post and share it.

 

So the kit colour callout for the brown is for light earth brown, rather than dark earth, so obviously an error there. But does that mean the RAAF Museum's A28-8 is incorrectly painted? It's definitely not painted in dark earth brown. When they restored it at Amberley did they just grab some leftover SEA tan from the F-111??

[Sydhuey]

Yes the RAAF museum Boston is in the wrong colours, there were a few comment's on colour after the painting but it was too late  , there are a few colour pics of RAF Boston III's available, the RAAF Boston's are exactly the same as them after all the RAAF Boston's came from the tail end of the AL series Boston's from Douglas and Boeing. The RAAF Museum machine was colour matched to paint chips then converted to a mil spec paint and painted gloss, this gives it a differant shade to the original US shades, the US colours are slightly lighter than the UK  colours , The A-20G at Amberley is painted in Matt paint and is alot more accurate as its not owned by the RAAF it was painted in more authentic colours , RAAF heritage has this stupid rule of painting all preserved aircraft Gloss for longevity , Ok for a/c stored outside but for inside display I see no point in painting them in what are wrong colours and shades.

 

Look at ADF serial website newsletter Volume 11 Issue 2 Autum 2021, I did an article on RAAF DB-7B's in RAAF service including artwork , Vol 11 Issue 3 has A-20A and A-20C in RAAF service  and I am currently finishing A-20G in RAAF service .

Edited January 27, 2022 by Sydhuey

[Wings unlevel]

20 hours ago, Sydhuey said:

Look at ADF serial website newsletter Volume 11 Issue 2 Autum 2021, I did an article on RAAF DB-7B's in RAAF service including artwork , Vol 11 Issue 3 has A-20A and A-20C in RAAF service  and I am currently finishing A-20G in RAAF service

This is a fantastic resource, thanks for pointing me to it and congrats to you on what would have been a lot of work pulling it all together. Juanita’s artwork is superb as always and particularly useful. I’ll try to track down the 22SQN history book, and have already downloaded and started reading the excellent Wings of Destiny biography of Charles Learmonth.
 

Really pleasing to see so much of the RAAF Boston history recorded, and I do like the symmetry that I’ll be working on this build almost exactly 80 years after A28-9 arrived in and was reassembled in Australia. Really pleased I’ve landed on She’s Apples as a subject for this GB and (with acknowledgment) will share a few bits of its history as I go.

 

 

[Wings unlevel]

An update of sorts… the postie delivered today.

 

Needed masks. Couldn’t see any available in Aus so ordered from Hannants. But they had a minimum order amount for a delivery to Australia, so what to do?

 

Will see how I go with the PE. My eyesight even with my new glasses struggles with teeny tiny bits!

 

Hoping to start in a week or so once my Hornet is done. 🤞

 

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Good little batch of A/M goodies. 

17 minutes ago, Wings unlevel said:

Will see how I go with the PE. My eyesight even with my new glasses struggles with teeny tiny bits!

I hate etch, I use it but hate it myself. 

[Bertie McBoatface]

I always liked this aircraft too. There's something about that great big fin. I think they might have needed lots of yaw control for when they were too low to bank. Just watch this wartime newsreel to see what I mean.

 

 

[Wings unlevel]

20 hours ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

I hate etch, I use it but hate it myself

Might just use it for the instrument panel. This meant to be a fun hobby after all!

[Wings unlevel]

19 hours ago, Bertie Psmith said:

I always liked this aircraft too. There's something about that great big fin. I think they might have needed lots of yaw control for when they were too low to bank. Just watch this wartime newsreel to see what I mean.

 

 

A ‘most magnificent’ piece of propaganda! Amazing footage, thanks for linking it. The low altitude footage of the Bostons is remarkable.

 

In the bio of the She’s Apples pilot I’ve just read there are numerous accounts of ground crews having to remove foliage from the Bostons after they returned from missions.
 

Incredibly brave and skilful flyers all.

Edited February 18, 2022 by Wings unlevel

[Wings unlevel]

Well, I made a start. Started on the interior, both the pilot's cockpit and the rear gunner station, in preparation for priming and beginning to paint.

 

 

And then my compressor died! A replacement is on order but it probably won't be until next weekend now that I can pick up a head of steam on this.

 

And a head of steam I will need - my early impressions of the engineering and fit of the kit suggest this one is going to make me work for a decent result. But I'll give it a decent crack!

 

Gerard

[Maginot]

Good choice of aircraft type and markings. I'll follow your build, if I may?

 

Quote

...this one is going to make me work for a decent result. But I'll give it a decent crack!

 

You'll be right. Some older Special Hobby kits (like this one) do appear to have their challenges, but that's part of the fun of modelling non-mainstream types, don't you think? After inspecting the sprues and reading a few reviews, I've no doubt got my work cut out to wrestle into shape Special Hobby's Boomerang and Wirraway in 1/48, but their recent Whirlwind in 1/32 looks very high quality. 

 

Good to have a knowledgeable fellow like Syd keeping an eye on proceedings. I have enjoyed reading his comments and some informed debates about RAAF camouflage colours and patterns here on BM and elsewhere. Seems there's debate on what exactly foliage green looks like. One of the beauties of modelling is coming across this priceless information that might otherwise be lost in time.

[Col.]

Sorry to hear you're being hampered by the loss of your compressor Gerard but perhaps that'll give you more time to test fit and fettle the various parts at least.

[Wings unlevel]

On 28/02/2022 at 00:48, Maginot said:

You'll be right. Some older Special Hobby kits (like this one) do appear to have their challenges, but that's part of the fun of modelling non-mainstream types, don't you think?

It will either make me a better modeller, or a more frustrated one. 😄
 

On balance I know this will build frustrate me a bit but the fact the Boston/Havoc is available in this scale when it otherwise might be is a reason to be grateful!

 

Yes Syd’s knowledge is incredible and has really helped me understand the history of RAAF Boston service and how mine should look. 
 

Looking forward to cracking on!

 

 

[Wings unlevel]

On 01/03/2022 at 01:08, Col. said:

Sorry to hear you're being hampered by the loss of your compressor Gerard but perhaps that'll give you more time to test fit and fettle the various parts at least.

It did give me a chance to catch up on some neglected life admin at least! New compressor arrived today so no excuses now!

[Wings unlevel]

Not a very exciting update other than I’m excited to be able to make it. My new compressor was delivered during the week so I’m back up and running. A bit of priming and then on to painting the interior today. Went with SMS’s British interior green, which seems a good match to the interior of the RAAF Museum’s restored example.

 

 

Also some initial work on the engines and undercarriage.

 

Moment of truth tomorrow adding the PE instrument panel. Will see if I’m brave enough to try the PE seat harnesses though…

 

Gerard

[Bertie McBoatface]

2 hours ago, Wings unlevel said:

Will see if I’m brave enough to try the PE seat harnesses though…

 

1/72 PE is my idea of pinging hell!

 

('Pinging' could be the new modeller's swearword? "Oh ping it, this kit's pinging rubbish!")

 

[Graham Boak]

There are a few things that PE is ideal for, of which the anti-torque links on undercarriage legs are one.  I have used them for replacement undercarriage doors but they can be a bit too thin, so going too far in the opposite way.  I'm a bit surprised not to see more effort given to brake lines and mountings too.  Seat belts would be another use but the new 3D printed ones appear a superior approach.  But tiny levers to be mounted on tiny folded boxes to be placed deep inside a dark cockpit - life's too short to waste like that.

[Wings unlevel]

Belts, the instrument panel and a few other details and that will about do me for PE for this one. And am pleased to report pinging was kept to a minimum!