Air Modeller Magazine - February-March 2013

8/9/2019 Air Modeller Magazine - February-March 2013

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46ISSUE

February / March 2013

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SHOWCASING THE VERY BEST IN SCALE AIRCRAFT MODELLING

AT THE MOONBuilding Revell’s Big Nightfighter


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1

2 Lynx AH7

Albert Tureczek builds Airfix’s latest 1:48 Lynx straight from the box.

10 Ditched

Aitor Azkue Gracia concludes his stunning 1:32 Heinkel in the second part of this

realistic crash landed He111 diorama.

20 ME109E7 Trop.

Hasegawa’s 1:48 scale Messerschmitt modelled by Luca Piccini.

26 Lockheed Lightning P38

Michael Papadakis builds the 1:48 Hasegawa P38 kit.

34 Heinkel He219 A-7

The Editor builds Revell’s new 1:32 scale Heinkel He219 kit.

42 US Navy Aircraft: Their Liveries and Markings - Part One

Hugh W. Cowin dips into the archives to look at the history of

U.S. Navy aircraft markings.

48 Air BornNew releases.

58 Vickers Wellington Mk1C

Jean-louis Maupoint converts two 1:48 Trumpeter kits to produce a late Mk1C.

CONTENTS

AIR Modeller welcomes contributions from interested parties, but cannot accept any responsibility

for unsolicited material.

The contents of this publication including all articles, drawings and photographs originated by AFV

Modeller ltd become the publishers copyright under copyright law. Reproduction in any form

requires the written consent of the publisher. Whilst every care is taken to avoid mistakes AFV

Modeller ltd. cannot be liable in any way for errors or ommissions.

AFV Modeller is published Bimonthly by

AFV Modeller ltd

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East Moor

Stannington

Northumberland

NE61 6ES

Tel: 01670 823648

Fax: 01670 820274

email: [email protected]

Editor and Designer: David Parker

Deputy Editor: Donald Campbell

Sales Director: Keith Smith

ISSN 1747-177X

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2

LYNXAH7

AIRFIX 1 :48


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3

Airfix is a legend within the hobby;

in fact they were one of the

companies that created the hobby.

Its beginnings can be traced back

to 1939 but since 1949 Airfix have

produced Plastic kits and became

Britain’s leading model

manufacturer. In the fifties Airfix

produced the famous Spitfire andsold millions of kits worldwide and

in the sixties Airfix took on an

aviation artist named Roy Cross to

illustrate the front of their boxes. He

made a lot of the classic boxtops

and modellers my age will

recognise most of them still. Airfix

has a tremendous importance in

my modelling development and I

still remember the magic boxes

and even the small plastic bags on

sale everywhere, a Christmas tree

without an Airfix box under it was a

dull one!

But time moved on and other

players began to make their impact

on the market and slowly Airfix was

loosing ground. The technical

progress in manufacturing kits and

especially the hi-tech kits arriving

raised the stakes and sharpened

the competition even more.

At this time Airfix went throughsome turbulent times with changing

owners. Hornby is now in charge

and there is a new line and a new

philosophy. Lately Airfix has

introduced a series of new kits,

which really raised some eyebrows.

One of these kits is the just as

legendary LYNX helicopter in

quarter-scale. They have

introduced a Navy and an Army

version in British service and we

wanted to see how good they really

are.

ALBERT TURECZEK

BUILDS THE LATEST

LYNX STRAIGHT

FROM THE BOX


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4

NEW GENERATION AIRFX The box is filled to the brink with grey

Sprues containing an awful lot of parts for

a quarter-scale model. There are several

versions and configurations covered by

the maker and so we intended to build

one ‘out of the box’ using the relevant

parts and decals supplied for it. No

aftermarket products were used in

completion of this model. The choice you

have to make stands between three

helicopters, all in British service.

This is a new approach to kit design and it

improves the detail and appearance of a

model quite dramatically. No more

two-fuselage halves which have to be joined with a floor containing the seats

and bulkheads between it. The whole

cabin section including the cockpit, seats,

benches, sidewalls, rear wall, ceiling and

bulkheads adds up to a nice square box.

Now the airframe is basically built around

this sturdy shape.

My choice fell on a machine from the

Army Air Corps, stationed in Afghanistan

in 2006. I liked the door-mounted guns,

the chaff and flare dispensers and the

heat signature reduction exhausts, which

are really nicely done. I thought this all

looked cool and gave the LYNX a serious

appearance.

Construction starts straightforward with

the cabin section, which is built as a

separate unit and integrated into the

airframe, very much like the latest

helicopter kits from Academy.

“THIS IS A NEWAPPROACH TO KIT

DESIGN AND ITIMPROVES THE DETAILAND APPEARANCE O

A MODEL QUITEDRAMATICALLY”

“THE FT O THISKIT IS

EXCELLENT-ONLY A TINYAMOUNT OFLLER WASNEEDED”


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5

FT AND FNISH

The parts are very smartly broken up with a right

and left centre section, the tail, the nose the

bottom and the engine compartment, which is

different in layout according to the version you

choose. The nose is built up with a top and

bottom part and two side panels with a partial

nose top. This sounds a little complicated but it

is not really and keeps all of the contours correct.

The biggest benefit of this way of assembling is

that you will have a hard time spotting any joints

because they’re not where they’re usually found.

This works exceptionally well and I was

pleasantly surprised by the tight fit. With the

assembly coming so far the next thing on the

to-do list was the placement of the cockpit, side

doors and slide doors. Again here the fit is

perfect. There is a different lay-out of the cockpit

roof according to chosen version, which of

course has to be taken into account.

The same goes for the weapons configuration,

as there are different hard points to be created

and holes to be drilled depending on the chosen

version. The landing skids can be pinned into the

holes provided for them in the bottom plate. The

fit is so good that you can do without glue if you

wish, this is very helpful in the earlier

construction stages. Airfix provides an in-flight or

a transport configuration of the main rotor. I

chose the folded version and it comes complete

with all four blade supports.

Last but not least: The decaling! There is a

comprehensive (Cartograf) sheet provided with

the kit. This sheet covers 3 versions in all ,complete with generic stencil data and even the

blade edges. The instruction sheet is very

detailed and provides a colour print of the

chosen machines as well. The quality of the

decals is that good that you can use them

directly on a matt surface,

provided you use a

good setting solution,

as I did here.

With the internals painted, thisalong with the glazing is maskedand the base camo airbrushedfollowing the kit instructions

Weathering is applied by airbrush and colour washes enhancing the fine rivet detailand sharp panel lines which can be seen to excellent effect on the single piece belly panel. Decals are of the highest quality and very comprehensive.

“THE QUALITY OTHE DECALS IS THATGOOD YOU CAN USETHEM DIRECT ON A

MATT SURACE

PROVIDED YOU USEA GOOD SETTINGSOLUTION”


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CONCLUSION

Airfix is definitely back in town! The LYNX is a

popular topic and the new kit is of stunning

quality and will surely find its followers. There is

room to indulge in some extra detail for the

experts, but you can build a stunning model

right out of the box. Mine already won a bronze

medal at the recently held IPMS Swedish

nationals and was beaten only by two

helicopter models, which are well known to AIR

Modeller readers as they were also mine!

There already exists a Navy version of the

same kit and Airfix had a very strong

appearance at this years Scale Model World,

as a sponsor. The company arranged theparticipation of a real Lynx from the Royal Navy

to be flown in and set on display for the

weekend, with the flight crew on hand.

Can find any weak spots? Sure I can: The

Instruction sheet is not impressive and we’ve

seen far better; in fact here we’re back to the

sixties style Airfix!


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8


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The Lynx helicopter was developed in thelate sixties by Westland with the

participation of Aerospatiale. The prototype

flew for the first time in 1971. The initial

customers were the Royal Navy with orders

of 75 HAS 2 and the Army with a 100 AH 1

ordered. The design was an instant

success and was exported to 14 countries.

The Lynx is almost exclusively used in the

naval role and operated by such important

customers as the German, the Dutch,

Norwegian, French and Danish Navy. The

later has used their Airframes over the

guaranteed 7000 hours and were the first

to be put through an extensive overhaul,

which included the exchange of the wholeairframe and a major avionic and engine

update program including the addition of

the new Blade design with the broad tips,

the BERP (British Experimental Rotor

Program) this is a development between

Westland Aircraft Helicopter Division and

the Royal Aircraft Establishment. This latest

addition greatly improved the Helicopters

lifting and manoeuvrability performance

and enhanced the speed significantly. The

Lynx set a speed world record for

helicopters in 1986 with a specially

prepared machine reaching over 400 km/h,

which still stands to this day.

The Lynx has seen action in all major conflicts since it was introduced into

service in 1977. It fought in the Falklands

war, both Gulf wars and the newest version

the AH 9 is still in service in Afghanistan.

The Danish Navy has been using their

helicopters in the anti-pirate role in the Gulf

of Aden recently and the crews have

marked their aircraft with the appropriate

kill markings. The next generation is already

lifting off in shape of the Super Lynx.

Although there is a civil Version of the Lynx,

the helicopter is considered to be too costly

to be operated by private establishments.

THE WESTLAND LYNX

9


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THE SECOND AND NAL PART OF THIS

STUNNING •CRASH LANDED HEINKELDIORAMA - DESCRIBING THE PROCESSES

BEHIND THE BASE, GURES AND WATER.10


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D ITCHEDAITOR AZKUE GRACIA S DRAMATIC 1 :32 HEINKEL HE.111 DI ORAMA


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THE OPEL

The Opel comes from Bronco and is a

fairly straight forward kit. Assembled

leaving the body separate, it was

airbrushed in the classic three-tone finish

using Vallejo Air.

In order to apply the mud effects I

concocted a mixture of ‘Acrylic Resin’ and

‘Dry Mud’ from MIG, along with ‘DustEffects’ and ‘Damp Earth’ from AK

interactive. After mixing together, I dipped

the tip of a brush in the mixture, and

positioned this in front of the air stream of

the airbrush blowing air through the brush

and onto the model which gives realistic

‘splattering’ of mud in various tones.


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13

THE BASE

On a base of 1cm wood with raised walls of about 3mm thick, I

reinforced inside the base with cross strips and proceed to cover

the entire base plate with another layer. The first step is to add the

main volumes, creating the river bank and bed and the road using

polystyrene and Das clay.

For the river bed a white glue coating is covered with a generous

layer of small pebbles (used by railway modellers). The boulders

have been made of putty "A + B Colour" two components in

different sizes (you have to cover your hands because otherwise

you’ll leave fingerprints on them.) Then I carefully placed these in

both the bed of the river and on the shore in a logical manner

using photo reference.

The painting is very important in this stage. I painted the entire

river and rocks in a khaki-green with acrylics. I enhanced the detail

with a little more green between rocks, but not too much. In

reference photos, I saw that the river beds have a predominant

single colour.

To ‘mess’ things up a little I proceeded to the shore with the same

mixture applied to the Opel. I added puddles with the mixture of

"still water" + "dark Herat" + "Light brown" to simulate where the

mud has been removed by the water. Additional leaves and foliage

from "Plus Model" were added and some mushrooms were also

modelled for this area. "Mantis" are the producers of the hares.


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Water is a prominent feature of the diorama

and although its creation is simple there is the

problem of getting the colour and order of the

steps correct. The resin used is ‘Solid Water’

from Deluxe and the whole process took

around two months due to the drying time.

The best method I found is as follows:

Pour 3-4 mm depth of resin as it is, without adding any colour, and after mixing it

according to proportions recommended by the manufacturer. Let this dry 8-9

hours minimum, or even better - until the next day. Do not touch the resin.

Pour a second layer of 3-4 mm, but add a mixture of acrylic turquoise (refer to

photos to get the desired tones) add this colour drop by drop because once the

resin becomes saturated with colour you lose the transparency desired, so only

add a few drops before again allowing the resin to dry without touching.

THE WATER


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Pour the third and final layer of 3-4 mm and colour again, then

allow to dry for about 6 hours. Once the resin is hardened

enough to touch without sticking to a utensil, you can start

shaping it with your fingers, but remember to wear gloves.

Since the resin returns to its original shape, much like rubber,

you must work continuously for an hour or so to see that the

shape is maintained. Pay attention to different elements that

would change the flow of the water. Once dry, I brushed Vallejo’s

‘Water Effects’ to simulate water flowing between rocks at

different speeds.

15


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There are few figures of

Luftwaffe crew on the market,so I had to ask a friend of

mine for some advice. The

figures are conversions using

resin figure parts from the MIG

and Alpine ranges, I modelled

the uniforms, life vest, helmet,

gloves and boots with two part

epoxy putty.

The soldier running to the

bank is also another heavy

transformation. The last figure

is from Alpine with only the

head being changed.

16

THE GURES


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19

I DEDICATE THE DIORAMA TO MY WIFE

ANA WITHOUT WHOSE HELP WITH THE

RESIN WATER AND COLOURS WOULD JUST

NOT HAVE BEEN THE SAME.


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20

M E . 1 0 9 E 7 T R o p . M o d e l l e d b y L u c a P i c c i n i

H a s e g a w a ’ s


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The subject of this feature is a Me 109E7

Tropical, a fighter that was used in the

initial part of the campaign in 1941 by

German pilots, including the ace Hans

Joachim Marseille.

I have always been very interested in the

war over the desert therefore when a

good friend of mine gave me the 1/48

Hasegawa kit of the “Emil” I fell

immediately in love with the tropical

version of it and just had to build one.

The kit represents the lines of the elegant

fighter well and it is easy to assemble. I

decided to present the aircraft during

maintenance, showing the engine and the

machine guns. This forced me to remove

the engine cowling and all the other

related panels.

To reproduce the Daimler Benz engine, I

used the AIRES resin set, although finely

moulded, still needs a lot of additional

details in order to be more realistic. In

particular the Me 109 E7 Trop was using

the DB601N which had specific details

that I have scratchbuilt using plastic card

and copper wire.

Another key point is that if you decide to

show the engine you need to rebuild the

two MGs and all the related details. With

good reference at hand it is possible to

obtain a nice result without too much

work. For the two barrels I used metal

ones by Master Model with impressive

levels of detail and finesse.

Hundreds of books have been written about the

history and the role of the Me 109 in World War II:

this fantastic plane flew in all the combat theatres

of the Luftwaffe and it played a key role also in the

so called “War over the desert”.

In the months that followed the deployment of the

Afrika Korps in North Africa, the Luftwaffe was

rapidly called into action in order to provide aerial

support to the troops of Field Marshall Rommel.

1 : 48 S C ALE


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22

The wings and fuselage of the kit all go

together very well. I decided to give a little

personal touch to the model by riveting the

panel lines.

The tool I used was the ‘Rosie the Riveter’,

this task can be tedious and timely but it

increases the realism and detail, making it

worthwhile.

The next step was assembling and

detailing the landing gear, and then adding

the brake cable using lead wire.

The Daimler Benz engine is from Aires with some scratchbuilt detail to

represent the DB601N powerplant.

Painting and weathering were completed fully before fitting into the kit.


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The Engine and MGs took up quite a lot of my time so I did not work on too much

super-detailing of the cockpit for which I

used an old photoetched Verlinden set I

acquired few years ago. I am aware that

this set cannot compete with the latest

Eduard and Aires productions, but it has an

interesting feature: it gives the opportunity

to reproduce the radio compartment on the

fuselage, a pleasureable part of the build

with a nice result.


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Using fine salt sprinkled onto a damp surface gives a

random and realistic mask allowing the bare metal to

show through the paint finish

24

Before painting I primed the whole

model using my airbrush to spray

Alclad grey primer. This is a great

product that not only highlights little

defects, but that after being gently

sanded with 4000/6000 Micromesh

cloth is a fantastic surface for painting.

Since I wanted to reproduce some

paint damage over the wings I used

the ‘salt technique’, often used by AFV

modellers.

First of all I sprayed the whole model

with Alclad aluminium, next I sprayed

some water over the wing roots and

the leading edges, lastly followed with

some fine salt and left to dry. I used

water as it’s enough to stick the salt to

the surface without damaging the

delicate Alclad silver finish.

Once the salt had dried I began the

pre-shading of the lower surface panel

lines with Gunze Navy Blue (more

subtle than the black) while some other

panels have been painted in white.

Then I sprayed RLM 78 Light Blue

(Misterkit MKLW 20), highly

diluted. The final effect gives

different realistic shades of

light blue.

The upper part follows a slightly

different method, with panel lines

again highlighted in Navy blue and the

surface in RLM 79 sandgelb (Gunze

H66). This time I painted the centre of

the panels with the same Sandgelb

with a few drops of white. In the end

we have different realistic shades of

colour and added depth to the

surfaces. Once I completed this I

removed the salt, with an old brush,and the silver is revealed.

The effect is good although a little

excessive in some places ...the 109 is

not a tank at the end of the day. In fact

having checked with some original

pictures I realised that Luftwaffe

fighters, although in the desert, were

always well maintained. Nevermind, it

is enough to just spray a thin layer of

sandgelb with the airbrush to obtain

the right effect. For the nose I have

used yellow RLM04 (Gunze H413)


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I have chosen to reproduce one of few

“desert yellow” Emils, in particular the

“black chevron” flown by Oberleutnant

Ludwig Franzisket, Gruppen-Adjutant of

I./JG27 Ain El Gazala Libya October 1941. I

say one of the few because the Luftwaffe

fighter units kept this camouflage pattern

for a few months after arrival (from

November 1941 the Me 109F started to

arrive in Libya). A profile of this particular

plane is in the Osprey book “Bf 109 aces of

North Africa and the Mediterranean”.

Interestingly Franzisket survived the war

and he ended his career with 43 victories,

25 of which were in North Africa.

I found few pictures of Emils in these

colours and as already said, they all look

well kept and in good condition.

That’s the reason why once I applied the

decals, I decided not to labour too much

with the weathering.

I weathered the lower surface using the

MIG Neutral Wash, while for the upper

surface I used an sepia oil paint diluted with

white spirit, concentrating on the panel

lines. At the end of this process I tried to

give more contrast by using the filter

technique, again widely used by AFV

modellers. A small quantity of white

titanium oil paint is brushed in the centre of

panels and then gently blended with a

bigger brush and white spirit. The base

colour takes on a faded effect, really eye

catching and gives life to the desert yellow.

A final layer of desert yellow diluted at 90%

helps to keep everything toned down,

followed by matt clear (Vallejo).

Canopy, undercarriage, antenna and fuel

tank put in place complete this fascinating

and handsome model.

25

It’s documented that the fuel tank was almost exclusively

used for the transfer flights from Sicily to Libya. Once arrived

in Africa, they were seldom used in order not to undermine

the fighter’s performance. I preferred to use it simply because

it seems to me more attractive...hope you will forgive me this

little concession!


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M O D E L L E D & D E S C R I B E D B Y M I C H A E L P A P A D A K I S

L O C K H E E D L I G H T N I N G

1 / 4 8 T H S C A L E H A S E G A W A ’ S


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The P-38J, the ultimate Lightning,

combined power, manoeuvrability

and reliability, attributes which

established it as one of the best

aircraft in WW2. This model

represents the colourful P-38J-15

serialed 43-2876, flown by Capt.

Thomas Maloney, 27th F.S, 1st F.G.

based at Foggia, Italy, in August

1944.

Hasegawa’s P-38J is, in my opinion,

still the best Lightning there is in

1:48 scale. Despite Eduard’s

release based on the Academy kit,

Hasegawa has done a better job in

capturing the overall appearance of

this impressive machine.

On the downside its interiors need

substantial work to bring them to an

acceptable standard, something

that Eduard has well taken care of

with its superb “Brassins” and

pre-painted photo etched parts. On

the positive side there is an excellent

cockpit from Aires to go with the

Hasegawa kit, a superb Allison

V-1710 by the same company and a

wealth of reference material that

covers the subject in great detail.

The ones I used extensively, and

therefore highly recommend are:

“Buffie’s Best Restorations Illustrated

Vol.2 CD-ROM” and the P-38L-1

erection & maintenance instructions.

THE LOCKHEED LIGHTNING, KELLY JOHNSON’S

BRAINCHILD WAS AN AIRCRAFT DESIGNED TO

GO WHERE NO OTHER HAD GONE BEFORE: HIGH

ALTITUDES AT HIGH SPEEDS.


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Construction

Having decided to reveal as much interior

detail as possible and utilize the available

aftermarket sets, it was inevitable that a

large part of the kit had to be removed. The

cockpit and gun bay areas were all

discarded in order to accommodate the

Aires cockpit and the scratchbuilt gun

installation. The wheel bay was also

omitted and the port engine nacelle was

sawn off at the point where the firewall and

the new powerplant would be installed.

The Aires cockpit was the first to find its

way into the severed model. As is the norm

with most resin sets it had to be thinned

down in order to fit in properly. Other than

that Aires have done their homework so all

that is required is the installation and

painting of the parts provided. Along with

the cockpit the side panel and the gun bay

area were also prepared.

In order to fit an array of equipment and

plumbing, Lockheed’s designers had to

come up with such an architecture that

would combine the wing spars and the

base for the turbo supercharger together

with the main landing gear well. In other

words this meant that I had to create this

arrangement so that all the subsequent

parts would fit properly onto the model. I

used a combination of restoration photos,

kit dimensions and common sense.

I eventually came up with a design which I

cut onto a piece of plasticard and installed

it in the place of the wheel bay sidewalls. I

then started to add the pieces of plasticard

and pewter as seen in the accompanying

photos.

The turbo superchargers were ‘robbed’

from the Verlinden B-17 update detail set

and were reworked to fit into the Lightning’s

tighter spaces. Since there were two of

them it was imperative that they were both

the same. In the meantime I completed the

kit construction by filling the various gaps

with Milliput epoxy putty working on the

model’s surface. A coat of Mr. Surfacer

1000 was then sprayed in order to reveal

any flaws which I would then rectify. A final

coat of Mr. Surfacer paved the way for the

next stage…

01 The Aires cockpit dry-fitted to ensure that

surrounding pieces would fit in properly. 02 The

booms were also reworked, mainly at the radiator

housings. Note the various stages of improvement.

(left to right) Thin plasticard and pewter were used

to correct the location of the radiator rear side.

03 With the cockpit in place, I started work in the

gun bay area by attaching the floor. I also craf ted

and installed the side panel frames.

07 Elements of both turbo superchargers under

construction and comparison with the original

Hasegawa parts. 08 The starboard turbo

supercharger in place after considerable effort.

The plastic of the housing interior had to be

thinned down to a great extent and the manifold

itself had to be forced into place. Another difficulty

was to get the shape of the exhaust exactly the

same as the one on the opposite engine. 09 I used

a combination of the MDC riveting tool and Archer

fine transfers for larger rivets, screws and

fasteners.

04In order to ensure the structural integrity of the

port wing the main and rear spars were

constructed with thick pieces of plasticard. They

also provided a solid reference point for the

construction of the supercharger floor and the

wheel bay. 05 A riveted spar face is now in place

and one by one the pieces are finding their way onto the model. 06 The engine mounts were

painstakingly built from scratch. A word of advice,

reinforce them with a piece of metal at the back

for they are too fragile. The lower part of the

firewall was crafted and drilled at predetermined

locations to receive the plumbing later on. Idecided to bolt the engine in place just like the real

thing so I used Scale Hardware’s 0.5 UNM hex

bolts and nuts.

0 1 0 2 0 3

0 4 0 5

0 7 0 8 0 9

0 6


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11

Painting

The painting of this model was by no

means conventional. As I opted for a high

level of realism I decided to go the hard

way and ‘dress’ my P-38 with aluminium

foil! Whilst skimming through the

bibliography I came across an illustration

showing that some areas of the aircraft

were left unpainted while others were filled,

sanded and subsequently painted with

aluminium paint. This was done to improve

airflow at aerodynamically critical areassuch the portion between the wing’s

leading edge and centre section.

I started with the unpainted areas that were

to be represented with aluminium foil.

I used Microscale’s Micro Foil Adhesive

which I thinned down 1:1 with water. I then

masked the panel I wanted to attach the

piece onto and sprayed the above solution

with an airbrush. I gave this a couple of

minutes to dry and then attached a piece of

foil on the surface with the matt side facing

up. With a cotton bud I rubbed against the

foil to ensure that it would fit evenly onto

the model’s surface. Then using a toothpick

I pressed in the panel lines to define them.Finally with a sharp blade I cut out the

excess foil around the panel. Bear in mind

that by masking the panel prior to applying

the glue any excess material comes off

very easily.

Once the panel was finished I used my

‘Rosie the riveter’ tool directly onto the foil

to represent the aircraft’s rivets. This

process was repeated until all the required

wing areas had been covered.

For those unpainted areas that were too

curvy to apply aluminium foil, Alclad’s

polished aluminium came to the rescue.

The picture was completed with Alclad’s

white aluminium paint for the remaining‘painted’ surfaces of the aircraft. All the

above were blended together with a wash

between the panel lines with dark oil

colours. 29

10 On the trailing edges of the wings the foil was

folded to the underside to ensure that it wouldn’t

be damaged during handling. The model’s panels

were revealed by rubbing with a cotton bud and

pressing delicately with a toothpick along the

lines of each panel.

11 & 12 Slowly but steadily the panels improve

the model’s realism and the modeller’s mood.

Perhaps at the expense of his patience…

13 THE PORT BOOM

BEFORE BEING

PAINTED. THE OTHER

WING WAS LEFT AS

IT IS SINCE THERE

WA S MUCH WORK

STILL TO BE DONE ON

THE ENGINE AREA

THAT WOULD

INEVITABLELY LEAVE

FINGERPRINTS OR

DAMAGE ON ITSLEADING AND

TRAILING EDGES.

10

13

14 15

12

14 & 15 The rest of the

panels including the wing

trailing edges and booms

were sprayed with Alclad

white aluminium. I

avoided masking the foil

for fear of removing all

the previous effort whilstunmasking.


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30

The wheel bay interior was coated

with Testor’s zinc chromate yellow

and the anti glare surfaces with

Xtracolor’s olive drab. Finally the

booms, spinners and wingtips

were airbrushed with a custom

red colour to represent 1st Fighter

Group’s bright markings.

The decals came from a rather

unusual source, a book on the

P-38J/L (Modelmania No.8 by AJ

Press). With a little research I

corrected a couple of historic

inaccuracies relating to Maloney’s

aircraft depicted in the book and

ended up with this combination of

serial number and paint scheme.

Superdetailing

With the painting out of the way there were lots of empty spaces,

especially in the landing gear, that had to be filled with details. The

diagrams found in the maintenance manual were the best guide in

determining the location of the various systems. There is no easy

way to describe this process, just a constant cross-reference

between the restoration photos and the diagrams.

The materials used were mainly copper, lead and solder wires of

various thicknesses ranging from 0.3mm to approximately 1mm.

Other fittings such as pulleys and bolts were made of pewter with

the use of a punch and die set. T-unions and clamps were made of

very thin strips of self adhesive aluminium tape.

1 6 1 7

16 A coat of “factory

fresh” zinc chromate

primer yellow was

applied in the wheel

bay interior. This was

to be much dirtier at

a later stage of the

models construction.

17 The tail section with the

elevator installed at a

lowered position and given a wash with oil colours. Note

that Alclad white aluminium

is not affected by white spirit

contrary to polished

aluminium which gets

washed away…

18 I began to install the plumbing at their

appropriate positions. I used 0.3mm

copper wire throughout and in a couple of

instances 0.5mm solder wire. 19 Similarly

the wheel bay was detailed using the

same wires. The bay area was dark ened

with a wash of raw umber and burnt

umber oil colours. Also note how the foil

has folded at the corner. This wasrectified with thin cyanoacrylate glue. 20

A scratchbuilt oil tank was placed on the

firewall along with various other details.

The pulleys on the left were pewter disks

of various diameters. They were made

using a punch and die set. The engine

mounts were also installed and painted.

1 8

1 9 2 0


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31

The next big step was to mount the engine. There were so many

things that could go wrong at this stage so I started to plan ahead.

After considerable thought, study of the photographs and a couple

of failed attempts I decided to install the engine as it was mounted

on the real aircraft. I started with the mounts that were attached on

to the firewall and in the meantime I worked on the oil tank which I

also installed into place.

Then I attached the remaining mounts at their appropriate

locations on the engine and literally bolted together the engine

assembly with the mounts on the firewall using Scale Hardware’s

0.5 UNM hex bolts and nuts. Needless to say that I made many

comparisons with the starboard engine, to ensure that I got the

symmetries right.

Somewhere along the line I scratchbuilt the

engine mounts using a plan found in the

Bunrin-Do book, some restoration photos

and an Aires’ resin engine. The mounts

were made of plasticard and reinforced

with pieces of metal at the back. The

engine itself was painted neutral grey withblack cylinder blocks and subsequently

detailed with various tubes and f ittings

using the Allison manual as a reference.

21 The engine as seen from the cockpit. Note the

close proximity of the engine installation to the oil

tank. 22 The oil sump on the underside was also

left unpainted. Note the bolts that hold the mounts

together and the leaks on the engine. The

plumbing on the leading edge of the wing is

marked with colourful ribbons denoting the system

they belong to.

23 The plumbing was literally manoeuvred around

the mounts to reach their attachment points.

Unfortunately there is no easy way to do this as it

is essential to get the engine symmetries right

before any further detailing. The oil coolers were

made of ‘green stuff’ a very popular material with

those sculpting figures.

24 More pipes find their way to their appropriate

locations. The thick pipes coming from the wheel

bay connect to elements of the engine’s cooling

system such as the radiators on the booms, the

pump on the lower side of the engine and the

engine cylinder blocks. 25 These thick air ducts

were also sculpted with ‘green stuff’ and detailed

with various fittings.

2 1 2 4

2 2 2 52 3


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32

Further details were added on to the engine continuing from the

ones installed in the wheel bay, fuselage and the leading edge of

the wing. Finally the canopy’s framework, propellers, landing gear

struts, panel doors and other pieces were progressively worked and

installed at their appropriate locations.

30 AN OVERALL

VIEW PRIOR TO THE

LANDING GEAR

INSTALLATION,

PROPELLERS AND

OTHER DETAILS.

26 28 29

26 & 27 The wheel bay doors were madefrom scratch using pewter and the kit

parts as a template. A punch and die set,

a riveter and a template were also utilized.

28 A couple of coats of olive drab for the

anti-glare panels and a wash with oil

colours instantly revealed the riveting

work. The gun bay architecture has almost

been completed. ‘Buffie’s best’ CD-ROM

was an excellent source of information for this area also. 29 Taking a closer look at

the centre section area the work on the

canopy framework stands out. Pieces of

self adhesive aluminium tape were

attached and riveted in situe

with the MDC riveting tool.

31 & 32 The gun bay area with Aires Brownings, Karaya

barrels and ammunition boxes in place. These boxes were cast

with metal to counter the model’s tendency to sit on its tail.

33 Radiator detail and oxygen bottle servicing access panel.

31 32

33 34

34 The olive drab antiglare surface panel was faded with a lighter shade

and treated with oil colours. It was later coated with a matt varnish. Also

note the “rubber seals” on the windshield made of painted black thin strips

of Tamiya tape.

27


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33

Conclusion

As we leave the scene our opened up Lightning stands still

under the hot Italian sun. Mechanics will soon have her ready

for her next sortie. Alas, it is going to be one of her last ones

as on the 19th of August 1944 during the invasion of southernFrance she will be damaged and will have to perform an

emergency ditch somewhere in the Mediterranean.


36/68

34

AT THE MOONRevell’s 1:32 Heinkel He 219 A-7

Modelled by David Parker


37/68

35

When we initially looked at the impressive new Revell kit in our Air Born

review we were suitably inspired and so it didn’t take us long to break out

the sprue cutters and get started on what has long been a favourite

subject for me.

As we had already established the huge kit offers some nicely detailed

mouldings although a little flashy in places and comes with the option of

fitting the rare Naxos radar system with alternate dipoles and canopy

moulding alongside the more familiar versions. The cockpit features some

good detail with the rear seat radio/radar racks nicely moulded and as the

snap of the sprue cutters started, anticipation was high for an enjoyable

and dramatic build. Armed with the new Valiant Wings Publications on the

UHU work commenced.


38/68

36

Follo wing the k it instructions and it was straight into the

cock pit and almost immediately there were problems with

the cre w seats. I k ne w the moulded on seat belts would

ha ve to go but closer stud y of the photos of the real seats

sho wed that other details were wrong. I made a

completel y ne w seat back for the Pilot’s seat into which I

embossed the flush rivet pattern using MDC’s rivet tool.

Tin y photoetched rings were used for the seatback

fastenings. The shoulder guards were e x tended and gi ven

the correct shape and the headrest ad justers replaced with

brass rod.

The Obser ver’s seat was less well documented but I was

unhapp y with the shape of the seatframe, buck et seat and

the foot pegs. Again I treated the seatback with ri vet

patterns and I made ne w seat cushions for both seats from

Magic Sculp.

Cle ver interlocking panels are a feature of the cock pit tub

design but there were some gaps to be filled in the rear

cock pit floor before mo ving on. The throttle le vers and

associated controls were a little blobb y so I replaced these

with m y o wn details. I also replaced the o x ygen hoses with

ne w solder e x amples for a better effect.

The clear moulded side panel

is to allow the fuses to beshown under their clear covers

and must therefore be masked.

Supercharger and heater intak es are moulded

separatel y but their fit into the wings is quite poor

lea ving big gaps to be made good. The heater

intak e on the tail is also a bad fit.

At the front of the nacelle the joint line is poorly

designed as it intersects se veral filler ports. There

is an actual panel break in the co wlings just the

other side of these ports which would ha ve been a

better place for the join. The circular filler port has

been re versed.

The nacelle and wheel ba y assemble well with a

good fit with the wing but all is not right with the

nacelle.

Moving into the build of the airframe and mostly the parts are

fitting together well but I was unhappy with the appearance of the

access panels on the kit which were moulded with the same

weight of engraved line as the regular panel lines. To improve this

I took the time to go over all these access panel lines on the

wings and fuselage. During this process various errors became

apparent. The circular filler ports are reversed on the nacelles, the

wing root ammunition panels have no hinges, the gun panels are

missing both hinges, latches and a circular access panel. Another

circular access panel is missing under the engine cowlings all of

which are missing their latch detail. Frustratingly Revell show all

these missing details on the line drawings for their colour

schemes in their instructions - including the filler ports facing in

the correct direction! There has been discussion amongst online

modellers about the accuracy of the overall shape and alignment

of the nacelles. Comparing the finished model with photos of the

real aircraft from the same angle and there does seem to be a

difference particularly in the position of the tail of the nacelle which

seems to droop far more than in the photographs. How much this

bothers you is obviously something for you to decide and with a

looming deadline not something that I was going to worry about.

One positive is the excellent fit of the spine panel and the ventral

gun pod with no nasty jumps in levels just some very slight gaps.

The shape of the bump under the tail part 46 is not correct and

beware Revell’s comedy belly pod gun barrels. In reality the tips of

the barrels do not extend outside the pod as Revell have

depicted. If your variant has the 30mm Schräge Musik guns you

will need to open up the faired over ejector slot in the fuselage

floor which is not mentioned in the instructions. Be sure to pack

out the fuselage and fronts of the nacelles with as much ballast as

you can, something I was rather casual about and later regretted

when the model refused to sit on its wheels. Which brings me to

the wheels where things do not improve. Revell have modelled the


39/68

The Cockpit was painted in Gunze RLM 66 and the unpainted floor finished in Alclad White Aluminium with an overspray of Lifecolor

White Oxide to give a tarnished look.

I used the superb HGW laser cut fabric seatbelts to finish the

seats. They look incredibly real and can be subtly weathered with

dilute oil colours.

The radio and radar rack was mostly hand painted and I used

MDC’s excellent instrument dial decals mostly to replace the

rather poor kit ones which on close inspection were often just a

jumble of dots.

improve. Revell have modelled the undercarriage in the unloaded position,

something which is very obvious when to study the design of the main wheel

bogie which could not stay it position when the wheels are on the ground. I had to

cut down the oleo and correct the scissors on the main wheels and the nose

wheel too. I also added the missing brake cable detail to the main gear struts.

The main wheels lack a properly defined outer edge to the rims and the brake

cables are too thin and central wheel hub detail is very two dimensional. Whilst I

was reworking the nose wheel I cut the yoke and fitted a brass tube to allow the

nose wheel to be turned.

With the fuselage assembled and the windscreen glazing in place, something

which fits well, I found that I really was not happy about the look of the nose. This

is a complex shape so its not simply a matter of measuring a few key

dimensions to reach a conclusion. However comparing the plan view of the nose

with the Hienkel drawings in the Valiant Wings book the drawings show a more

pointed nose than Revell have modelled. It looks like the nose should start to

taper further back along the fuselage - from around the position of the control

column. As it is the nose looks too ‘fat’ to me sadly. On the lower rear fuselage

roughly where the markings sit there is noticeable edge in the transition of the

To impro ve the definition of the access panels the

panel lines were scribed to a greater depth. This

differentiated them from the regular shallo w panel

lines.

The internal windscreen has a lip on the lo wer

edge that must be remo ved and is too tall for the

frame. I also replaced the undersized gun sight

with the far more detailed MDC resin e x ample

mounted onto the k it support.

MDC’s instrument dial decals were mostly used in

place of the k it decals.

The unmodified undercarriage on the left and the

corrected version on the right

37


40/68

The upper surfaces were given a coat of Gunze RLM 75 gre y in

preparation for the mottled camouflage.

On the real aircraft RLM 76 was spra yed o ver the 75 to obtain t

he

camouflage pattern so this is what I did. Using a random squigg

le pattern

I gradually built up the densit y of the Gunze RLM 76 co verage.

I would

work back o ver the pattern to build up the densit y and fill in an y

gaps.

Here the painting has been completed and the

decals ha ve been applied. I chose a scheme from

the AIMS dedicated decal sheet 32D006 depic

ting an

A-2 aircra ft. I used selected stencil decals from

the

k it as the He 219 is not o ften seen with man y s

tencils

so I focussed on the fuel filler mark ings. A fter a

coat

o f satin varnish I outlined all the panel lines wit

h

diluted Tamiya Smok e and this is ho w the mod

el

look ed a fter this.

38

pattern across the curved surface which

should of course be smooth. The Problems

with the shape of the propeller blades was

easily improved if not completely corrected

by filling the offending recesses with putty

and sanding smooth

Painting

Gunze Mr Hobby Aqueous hobby color was

used to paint the exterior as it always

performs flawlessly for me and I really like

the satin finish it dries to. The base colour of

RLM 75 was applied to the upper surfaces

followed by the squiggle pattern of RLM 76.

This is a little daunting at first as it looks

very high contrast initially and you have to

hold your nerve. Avoid straight lines and

keep the pattern as random as possible

and build up the pattern by working over

the patterns several times. With the upper

surfaces finished I then filled in the

undersides with RLM 76 and defined the

camouflage break along the fuselage and

engine nacelles. One area I was not looking

forward to

was the flame

damper exhaust

covers. These will not fit

over the exhausts unless you

lengthen the holes in the dampers and the

concentric ring grille on the front is very

heavy looking. I did my best to thin down

the rings with a scalpel blade but I really

think a decent aftermarket correction is the

answer here. I painted the dampers in a

dull brown before using some torn sponge


41/68

The rest of the aircraft was spra yed with pure RLM 76 with the

e x ception of the underside of the starboard wing which was ma

sk ed

and spra yed in Gunze gloss black .

The undercarriage legs showing the added

brake cable detail.

An oil wash was applied to pick out the panel line detail

with a dark er tone used to outline the access panels

39 The Flame dampers were stippled in different pale rustshades to give a heat damaged finish.

E x haust stains were airbrushed using different shades of br

o wn to build up the

effect which was also carried o ver to the vertical fins and ta

il.


42/68

40

to stipple random

pale brown shades over

the top. Small rust speckles

were brush painted with rusty oil paintshades and sometimes smudged with my

finger to soften the effect. Black pigment was

used to add soot stains around the outlet of the

dampers. Smaller details were added at this

stage and the undercarriage installed. I remain

unhappy with the stance of my model

which is probably my fault for messing about

with the undercarriage.

My verdict then on the Revell 219 is not what Ihad hoped it would be as I really hoped that it

would live up to my expectations. A long list of

errors and oversights however have blighted

this model. I must commend Revell for

producing a model like this at around £50 but a


43/68

41

keen price does not offset some fairly

basic errors which could so easily been

avoided, and please, please Revell! -

Overhaul your instruction sheets which

continue to get my award for the worst inthe hobby.

My thanks to Damon Whiteman for his technical

assistance and general 219 know how on this

project.


44/68

By the nature of the subject’s

time span of more than a century,

any attempt to cover this topic in

depth would fill more than a

modestly-sized book. Rather than

this, the writer has chosen to

outline the major phases of the

subject by the use of

rare and, hopefully, interesting

archival images. The images

chosen cover the spectrum of

circumstances, ranging from the

changing official colour schemes,

to simple lapses brought about

by the lack of the right paint in

the right place, as frequently

happened during the highly

mobile campaigns of the Pacific

in WW2.

The Early Years and War,

1911–1923

Between 1911 and 1917, the combined

number of aircraft purchased by the US

Navy for itself and the Marines barely

reached the fifty mark. During this period,

the appearance of aircraft were solely

dictated by the colour of the material and

finish used, usually light beige for canvass

and darker tones for wooden hulls.

This state of affairs lasted until March

1916, when the first steps were taken to

bring about order by including forms of

identification. The first steps were to use

an anchor emblem, denoting the aircraft’s

parent service – initially applicable to both

the Navy and Marines. Before the end of

1916, most Navy and Marine aircraft were

being painted slate grey overall.

The use of national marking, comprising a

white star with red centre and whose five

points touched the circumference of a dark

blue circle, along with red, white and blue

rudder stripes followed in May 1917.

shortly after America had entered World

War 1.

This event was to have profound

repercussions not just on numbers of

aircraft coming into service, but for the

means of satisfactorily differentiating

between types. A further complication was

that American aircraft would soon be

needed to help combat German and

Austrian forces in Europe. These being

European-based, it was decided would

have to carry marking similar to those of

the Allies they would be flying alongside.

Thus, the star insignia was replaced by

roundels comprising an outer red ring, thena blue ring with a white centre. This

change applied only to US aircraft in

Europe, US-based machines retaining their

star insignia.

Also introduced in May 1917 was the

means of numerically identifying individual

aircraft. Initially known as the Building No.,

this became popularly known in later years

as the BuAer No. Initially prefixed with the

letter A, this was carried on the fuselage

aft of the wings. Although not carried in

large figures since 1924, the BuAer No.

remains part of the mandatory

Navy/Marine aircraft markings to this day.

Navy and Marines aircraft that started to

arrive in Europe from the spring of 1918

tended to conform to their European

neighbour’s liveries, including the adoption

US Navy Aircraft,t h e i r L i v e r i e s a n d M ark i n g s

BY HUGH W. COWIN

This line-up of Marine Fighting One (VMF-1) Grumman F3F-2s at Quantico in 1938 recaptures something of a long lost era.

Note the national blue, white and red rudder stripes retained by the USMC into 1940. Introduced, along with the National

star insignia in May 1917, these rudder marking had also been used on Navy aircraft until the early 1930s. (US Navy)

Part one

42


45/68

Above Totally bereft of

markings, this Navy Burgess-

Dunne AH-7 is seen

operating off Pensacola in

early March 1916. (US Navy)

Right Only the aircraft number

and anchor emblem in this

February 1917 image identify the

Sturtevant AH-24 as belonging to

the Navy. (US Navy)

Above Seen after delivery to

France, this Dayton-Wright built

Airco DH-4 of the Marines

carries US-style roundels above

and below the wings. Note the

white centre, unlike that of its

British and French

contemporaries. (US Navy)

Right Another aspect on the

USMC’s French-based Dayton-

Wright DH-4 showing the large

US Marine emblem worn on its

fuselage. Four Marine squadrons

operated on the Western Front

during the last few months of

hostilities. (US Navy)

Left Shown wearing the US

star insignia, this

Aeromarine 39B trainer was

the last of 150 of these

trainers ordered by the

Navy in 1917. US-based

aircraft continued to wear

these markings throughout

the war. (US Navy)

43


46/68

Above Right This Curtiss F-5L, A-4314,

belonged to Marine’s Scouting Squadron One,

or VS-1M, who operated four during 1922. The

light grey for upper surfaces and slate grey for

lower scheme adopted for Navy and Marine

flying boats in 1918 appears to have been

slightly underdone in this case, with the slate

grey extended to cover the upper fuselage

decking. (US Navy)

Above This Lewis & Vought VE-7SF provides an example of how the Builders No., later BuAer No., was first displayed. Original designed as a two-seat

trainer for the Army, the single-seat VE-7S and VE-7SF, with floatation gear, were to provide the backbone of the Navy’s fighter strength during the first half of

the 1920s. These were the first fighters to serve aboard USS Langley, the Navy’s first carrier, commissioned in 1922. Belonging to a Vought A-7E, Bu Aer

157530, the colour image depicts its latter-day positioning relegated both in size and prominence but always on the rear fuselage. (US Navy)

The Colourful Years, 1924

–1940

One of the fallouts from the First

Washington Naval Agreement affecting the

appearance of Navy and Marine aircraft

was issued in June 1924. This was to

delete the large fuselage BuAer No.,

replacing it with a Mission Designator that

was much more than its name implied.

Comprising of three groups of alpha-

numerics, exemplified by ‘1-F-16’. This

signified that the machine belonged to the

Navy’s First Fighter Squadron, VF-1, and

was the 16th aircraft of that unit, or

because a squadron comprised 18 aircraft

made up of six three-aircraft sections, it

must belong to the Flight Commander of

Section 6. To separate Marine from Navy

units, the mission letter was encased in a

circle on USMC aircraft. This new system

remained in use until well into 1942,

providing all and sundry with an extremely

simple means of assessing the Order of

Battle relating to US Navy and Marine

aviation assets. Two other changes need mention. The first

called for the addition of ‘US NAVY’ to the

fuselages of relevant aircraft –the Marines

having to wait until June 1931 for such an

44

Above Built by Martin as the MO-1, to a Navy’s Bureau of Aeronautics design, only six of the original

order for 36 were completed. Evaluated by VO-6 during 1924, the MO-1 proved overweight,

underpowered and incompatible with shipboard catapult operations. The mission designator ‘1 / 42’ is

not that of VO-6 and remains a mystery. For an explanation of the ‘/’ see Vought O2U-1 below. (Cowin

Collection)

Above Seen in 1929, this Martin T4M-1 of VT-9 wears a small ‘s’ immediately behind the ‘T’ in ‘9-Ts-

10’ indicating that the squadron was part of the Scouting fleet. (US Navy)

of squadron or even individual emblem. In

the case of the Marine DH-4Bs posted to

France, these exchanged their overall grey

for khaki upper and light grey under

surfaces, adorned with a large USMC

emblem on their fuselages, aft of the

wings. All US aircraft repatriated home

reverted to the May 1917 star national

marking by the end of 1919.

As far as overall aircraft finishes were

concerned, light grey was to predominate

for landplanes during the immediate post- war years, while sea-going machines had

light grey upper surfaces and slate grey

lower hulls and floats. The one exception to

this, was the adoption of all-yellow finishes

to the fleet of trainers based at Pensacola.


47/68

Above Dating from 1925, this Naval Aircraft

Factory PN-7 image points up a discrepancy often found in the late 1920s between Mission

Design nomenclature and Mission Designation

carried by the aircraft. Cleary stated as a Patrol

type design, the mission designator ‘S’ stands

for the more ambiguous Scouting, a role carried

out by aircraft of all sizes and shapes. The ‘P’

for Patrol was not used on aircraft until 1929.

The squadron emblem for Scouting One, VS-1,

plus pilot’s rank flag is forward of the mission

designator. (US Navy)

Right This Vought O2U-1 of VO-3 operated from

the catapult of cruiser USS Raleigh in 1927.

Note the squadron Bat emblem on the forward

fuselage and overall darker colour tone of the

central float. The dash in the ‘3 / 3’ denotesObservation and was initially chosen to prevent

confusion with the number 0, or the Marine-

associated encirclement. However, ‘O’eventually

triumphed, replacing the ‘/’ in 1935. (US Navy)

Above Built by Martin as the MO-1, to a Navy’s

Bureau of Aeronautics design, only six of the

original order for 36 were completed. Evaluated

by VO-6 during 1924, the MO-1 proved

overweight, underpowered and incompatible

with shipboard catapult operations. The mission

designator ‘1 / 42’ is not that of VO-6 and

remains a mystery. For an explanation of the ‘/’

see Vought O2U-1 below. (Cowin Collection)

embellishment. The second change came

about as an aid to spotting downed aircraft

and called for all upper wing and tail

surfaces to be painted yellow on allmachine of both services. By the early

1930s this changed to Chrome Yellow to

further improve visibility.

Safety and visibility considerations

continued to impact on aircraft

appearance, when in April 1929, it was

decreed that all Navy and Marine aircraft

propellers tips were to be painted with red,

yellow and blue bands to increase their

visibility when rotating. A far more momentous change in aircraft

appearance came about in June 1931, as

a result of efforts to improve ready in-flight

identification of who was who by fellow

airmen. This order required the use of

colours to discriminate aircraft within a

45


48/68

46

Above As engine power increased,

fighters such as this Curtiss F6C-3

were able to carry a bomb slung

between the undercarriage. This

led to some former fighter

squadrons being redesignated as

bomber units during 1928. In this

case, the aircraft seen belonging

to Bombing One, VB-1, on 28

September 1928, had carried the

marks of Fighting Five until

undergoing unit redesignation in

August of that year. (US Navy)

Above Designated Lockheed

XR2O-1by the Navy, this virtually

‘off-the-shelf’ L 10A Electra was

delivered on 19 February 1936, for

use by the Secretary of State for the

Navy. It remained in service until

1941. The overall fuselage was

finished in dark blue, while much of

the airframe remained natural

metal. (US Navy)

Left Pristine in its newly applied

overall finish of light grey, this

Boeing F4B-4 belonged to VF-6,

who operated their F4B–4s from

USS Saratoga between 1932 and

1936. The top half cowl colour is

yellow, as would have been the

fuselage band once applied. The

retirement of the F4B-4 from front-

line service marked the passing of a

decade in which Boeing and Curtiss

biplane fighters reigned

uncontested in both Navy and

Marine units. (Gordon Williams, via

Boeing)

Above Almost in the finish it left the factory, this Curtiss R4C-1 Condor

operated with the Navy in 1934, before passing to the Marines’ Utility

Seven. Fitted with skis, the aircraft, at one point, operated with the US

Antarctic Service. (US Navy)

Easily confused with its direct descendant, Douglas’s SBD Dauntless, this Northrop BT-1 was one of 54 production examples delivered to the Navy

starting in April 1938. The first of these went to VB-5 aboard USS Yorktown, while this aircraft of VB-6 flew from USS Enterprise. Northrop’s XBT-2, a

cleaned-up development of the BT-1, became the Dauntless prototype following Douglas’s acquisition of Northrop. (Cowin Collection)


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47

given squadron. The colours were red for

squadron commanders and white, blue,

black, green and yellow for the 2nd, 3rd,

4th, 5th and 6th sections, respectively.

These colours were to be displayed on

engine cowlings, chevrons on upper wing

centre sections, aft fuselage bands and

squadron commander’s tail units. In the

case of squadron Commanders and

section leaders, the relevant colour was

applied to the full engine cowling, while the

2nd and 3rd machine of each section

would carry the upper half cowl colour, or

lower half, respectively. This order was to

be modified in March 1937, following

instances of returning carrier pilots landing

on the wrong vessel. Henceforth, the use

of full tail colours would be restricted to

carrier aircraft and specific land-base

patrol squadrons. In this scheme, yellow

applied to USS Lexington, white to USS

Saratoga, green to USS Ranger, red to

USS Yorktown and black to USS Wasp.

Changes also affected the overall finish of

aircraft during this period At the start of the

1930, most aircraft employed a mixture of

skinning, with engine cowlings and forward

fuselages being of metal, while aft

fuselages and wings were still fabric

covered. At this time, practice was to paint

metal parts light grey and finish fabric in

silver. However, by the mid-1930s and the

advent of the nearly all-metal aircraft, the

overall choice of finish had switched to

silver.

What few transport aircraft that were

needed normally were bought ‘off-the-

shelf’ and remained in the manufacturers’

standard finish, except for upper wing and

service markings. Those aircraft used to

transport Very Important People had

fuselages clad in midnight blue, ranging

from full to partial coverage depending on

seniority of rank.

Above Beautiful in its original livery, this Curtiss F9C-2 was one of seven

designed to be carried internally and deployed from the Navy’s last two

airships for their protection. The sole prototype, XF9C-1, first flew in early 1931

and was retained by the Heavier-than-Air Unit, as it was known. No F9C-2s were aboard the airship ZRS-4 Akron when it was lost off New Jersey on 4 April

1933, so all went to ZRS-5 Macon, lost off the Californian coast 12 February

1935. (National Aerospace Museum)

Above Last of the Navy’s Scouting biplanes, this Curtiss SBC-3 prepares to

depart USS Enterprise in 1939. Operated initially by VS-5 aboard USS Yorktown

in July 1937, the Navy were to order 258 SBCs in all, prior to production end in

May 1941. Out of this total, 186 were still on the Navy’s strength at the time of the Pearl Harbor attack. Already declared obsolescent by the Navy at this

time, only one Marine unit, VMO-151 continued to operate the type in front-line

service into 1942. (Cowin Collection)

A close-up of a Douglas TBD-1 Devastator of VT-6 aboard USS Enterprise

in 1941. First flown on 15 April 1935, the XTBD-1 was the first Navy aircraft

to have upward folding wings. Initial deliveries of the 159 production

Devastators went to VT-3 in October 1937. The TBD-1 remained in front-

line service into mid-1942, when one squadron, VT-8, was totally wiped

out and another savaged by Japanese carrierborne fighters in the Battle of

Midway (Cowin Collection)


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AIR BORNnew releases

Wingnut Wings 1:32 Hannover C1.II

And the fun continues with a flurry of new releases from Wingnut

Wings and the two-seater Hannover C1.II which proves to be an

impressively large aircraft in this scale with a cavernous fuselage

to get to grips with there is plenty to excite the modeller and the

colourful lozenge schemes make for an attractive subject. Lets

have a closer look, and as usual we have Wingnut Wings superb

colour instruction booklet complete with archive reference and

colour profiles to guide us. The cockpit tub is as with all the WNW

kits beautifully detailed complete with radio equipment and

cameras for the observer and realistically textured padded pilot’s

seat. The Argus engine makes a refreshing change from the

familiar Daimler Mercedes unit and there are two options offered

with moulded push rods or without if you would prefer to make

your own and improve the finished look which is an excellent idea.

Separate engine cowls mean that your engine can be displayed

should you wish. A small photoetched fret provides seat belts,

radiator shutter and sleeves for the machine guns and their is even

a plastic rod supplied to assist you in rolling the sleeve. Wings and

tailplane are straightforward although for certain versions with

additional bracing on the tail you will need to drill out holes. There

is the same sprue of accessories that was included in the Rumpler

kits with assorted cameras, steps, trestles and wheel chocks to

help dress your model. Five different schemes are provided and

the superb decal sheets are an example of how all decal sheets

should be! The lozenge pattern for the wings is provided in

sections along with useful repair patches for any mistakes but if

you choose scheme ‘D’ you will have to generate your own pattern

for the fuselage. Another stunning WNW release with everything

bar rigging line in the box so what are you waiting for?

Wingnut Wings 1:32 Sopwith Triplane

48

Another much-anticipated release from Wingnut Wings is the

Sopwith Triplane and as usual expectations are met and

exceeded! From the superb quilted effect of the stretched fabric

around the cockpit to the rib tape definition on the surprisingly

slender wings and super-fine cooling fins on the cylinders this kit

is beautifully moulded. The cockpit tub assembly includes the

main struts for what should be a very solid assembly and there

are all the usual WNW cockpit refinements along with colour

photos to assist you in modelling yours. If you want to add the

control cables and internal bracing there is a diagram to show

where these should go. There is a choice of three styles of engine

cowlings and two different cockpit coamings for single or twin MG

mounts as well as two patterns of tailplane design. The Clerget

engine is extremely detailed and only requires the modeller to add

the wiring connections to the spark plugs. The WNW colour coded

rigging diagram is on hand to help you complete the build and

there are five different schemes provided. These include a French

example and captured German one and the Cartograph decals

are as always simply superb and include all the instrument dials,

propeller logos and tire lettering. Some day all kits will be like this!


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Wingnut Wings 1:32 Fokker D.VII (Fok)

Wingnut Wings 1:32 Fokker D.VII (Alb) Wingnut Wings 1:32 Fokker D.VII (OAW)

Surely one of Wingnut wings most anticipated releases and they

have celebrated this by releasing three different versions

simultaneously representing the three different manufactures of

the D.VII. There are also four additional separate decal sets to

maximise your fun! The three kits contain essentially the same

sprues throughout with certain parts excluded for each variant and

of course the decal sheets are different for each Only the sprues

for the engine cowlings differentiate the three releases. The kit

maintains the established high production standards that Wingnut

Wings fans are familiar with and as we now know the assurance

of a precision engineered fit too. The cowling sprues for example

feature the most delicate open louvres, something most other

manufactures would have moulded as a solid and looking at themit is hard to comprehend just how they have managed such a

superb result. The cockpit is as usual superbly detailed with

photoetched seat harnesses and decals for all the instrument

dials. The comprehensive full colour instruction booklet provides

colour guidance and photos of the cockpit of the Memorial Flight

Association reproduction aircraft for that added realism. As with

all the WNW kits you have a cockpit and engine mount ‘tub’ which

then plugs into the fuselage for an extremely realistic finished

effect. The Daimler engine will be familiar from other kits and only

really lacks the wiring harness. On the underside of the fuselage

the kit’s designers have used the same clever recessed slot for

the centreline stitching as on their Fokker E.III. Wingnut Wings

signature stressed fabric effect is also captured on the front of the

fuselage. Weapons are provided with photoetched sleeves or as

solid versions. Rigging is pleasingly minimal making this the ideal

choice for the WW1 novice and there is as usual a guide provided

to assist you. Each of the three kits provides a choice of five

different schemes with no less than five or six large decal sheets

included in each set. These include the lozenge patterns for both

wings and fuselage including the faded interior sections for inside

the cockpit where the fabric is seen from the reverse. The Fokker built version also provides the dragged paint effect as a decal

which will make this much easier for those who find creating this

themselves a bit daunting. As usual Wingnut Wings have done

their best to select a good mix of colourful schemes to inspire you

and the quality of the Cartograph decals is simply stunning. An

absolute festive feast of Fokkers which we cannot fail to award full

marks to!49


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new releases

A Revell re-pop of Special Hobby's P-39D will be on the shelves

soon (you won't miss it as the box is way oversized!) Originally

considered a typical short-run kit for more experienced modellers,

the kit certainly shows no signs of being difficult to assemble with

narrow sprue points and regular parts design - a pretty simple but

well detailed kit. Surface detail is fine and moulding sharp, landing

gear and wheel wells are decent and the cockpit is good although

we're not offered the photoetch that came with the original release

which many of you will want to look at in this scale, especially as

there's no consideration made for seatbelts. Another missing

feature of the Special Hobby boxing are the few resin parts,

namely the exhausts which are now supplied as regular styrene.

The large canopy is well moulded with the access doors also

moulded clear which makes sense. There's no fancy removable

engine cowls or engine detail for that matter but all of the control

surfaces are provided as separate parts which is good news in

this large scale. A couple of US PTO markings of 36th Fighter

Squadron are provided one being 'Air A Cutie' with enormous nude

nose art. Sadly these nudes are rather poorly printed on the decal

sheet. The Russians used the P-39 with great effect and some

nice markings are already available as aftermarket sheets.

Personally I like the looks of the quirky mid engined P-39 and this

kit is certainly one of those that temps you to get started straight

away, although the original release has the edge with the resin

and photoetch included the Special Hobby kit may prove harder to

get your hands on now.

This magic potion allows a better base colour to your photoetch and

brass turned parts. Submerse your cleaned metal parts in the solution

mixed with the same amount of water and a chemical reaction takes

place leaving a black finish to the surface. The solution can be storedand re-used several times and needs no more specific handling than

your usual paints and thinners. The finish is particularly effective on

gun barrels and has a benifit over paint in that no crisp detail is

lost.www.uschivdr.com has more information and tutorials on this and

other finishing products in the range.

To accompany the D.VII from Wingnuts are four fantastic decal sets,

each offering five different colourful schemes. The decals are

presented in a sturdy folded A3 size instruction sheet which follows

Wingnut's standard of detailed research on the particular aircraft and

pilot, period photographs and colour profiles with paint code reference-

basically everything to allow even a novice to produce an accurate andbeautiful model. The background lozenge patterns aren't included with

these sets and the kit provided decals will need to be used should your

chosen scheme require it. All of the decals capture the subtlety of the

period hand-applied markings and are printed by the masters of

water-slides Cartograf. 30006 is 'Part 1' for the Fokker D.VII(Fok), 30007

'Part 2' contains another five schemes for the D.VII(Alb), 30008 'Part 3'

is for the D.VII (OAW) version and finally 30009 which provides another

five tempting options for the D.VII (OAW). Wingnut Wings have an

excellent website packed with information www.wingnutwings.com

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Wingnut Wings Decal sheets

Revell 1:32 P-39D Airacobra

Uschi Van Der Rosten Blackening Agent


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Model Design Construction

Just the ticket to accompany the new kits

from Wingnut Wings is this ingenious 3D

'mask' from RB. Quickly assembled from

photoetched parts and a pair of small

bolts this sandwich of spaced plates

allows a propeller to be clamped to it

(once undercoated in a light wood colour)

and darker colours to be airbrushed

through the gaps between the plates, a

simple way to achieve a very realisticlaminated wood finish. The set comes

with very detailed instructions and you'll

have to take our word that it works as we

have seen a demonstration, we'll certainly

be using this clever little tool when the

need arises.

www.radubstore.com has step-by-step

photos and ordering details.

A new batch of accessory sets from our friends at MDC and we

begin with CV32066 which is a 1:32 Browning .50 Cal Machine

gun and to work with this is CV32068 which is .50 Cal ammunition

which has been cast in a

Air Modeller Magazine - February-March 2013

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Transcript of Air Modeller Magazine - February-March 2013