First and Best for Reference and Scale

May 2019 • £4.75

Volume 41 • Issue 03

www.guidelinepublications.co.uk

Hawker Hunter
Scale Plans and Profiles

Little Sparrows Everywhere

Special Hobby’s Kits in 1/72

Scaling K2 - VC10 K2 Scratch Conversion in 1/144

Walkaround – Grumman F3F Wildcat
Taxing Tonka – Revell’s 1/48 GR.4 from the box
Victory 200 - Superdetailed Superbug in 1/72 Colour Conundrum
American Patrol –More US Miscellany RAF Experimental Day Fighter Schemes 1941 - 1943
Product news, reviews and updates PART 1

Avon Calling Super Fudd Yoxford Boys Part 3 P-40 à la Fayette

Hawker Hunter F.6 Grumman E-2C Hawkeye Mustang round up Short-Tail Warhawk
Airfix new tool in 1/48 Hasegawa’s kit in 1/72 P-51s in 1/48 Trumpeter’s kit in 1/32
Military & Civil Aviation – Military Weapons & Equipment – Naval Vessels
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00385AVI2 28456AVI 27948AVI 58303AVI 32467AVI 81139AVI 28705AVI 48609AVI

Real Colors of WWII- Cold War 1945-1991 Luftwaffe at War: The Curtiss-Wright Air Campaign 9: The Javelin Latin America at War Laker: The Glory
Aircraft Vietnam’s Final Air Focke Wulf 190-The AT-9: The Other Jeep Japan 1944-45 M Chorlton Due to a 14: A Carrier at Risk- Years of Sir Freddie
The most up-to-date Campaign-Operation Birth of the Butcher D Hagedorn A study LeMay’s B-29 protracted develop- Argentine Aircraft Laker G Dix
and comprehensive Linebacker 1&2 May Bird 1939-45 M Jessen of this advanced trainer Strategic Bombing ment, the Javelin did Carrier & Anti- Looks at Sir Freddie’s
guide on the aircraft – Dec 1972 P Baxter Along with the well- used by the US during Campaign not enter RAF service Submarine Operations early career including
colours on the main As the peace talks known Bf 109, the WWII to bridge the gap The first and only air until 1956 though against Royal Navy’s the Berlin airlift to
WWII adversaries. In- teetered on the edge Fw 190 became the between single-en- campaign that inde- eventually progressing Attack Submarines Laker Airways and
cludes 42 colour pro- of collapse Nixon backbone of the Luft- gined trainers and pendent air power has through nine opera- during the Falklands also his plans and his
files and 390 photos. played his trump card. waffe’s fighting force. combat aircraft. won a war. tional marks. War 1982 M Sciaroni turbulent personal life.
HB 290pp £49.99 SB 128pp £14.99 SB 72pp £12.99 SB 80pp £20.00 SB 96pp £14.99 SB 96pp £15.99 SB 80pp £16.95 HB 589pp £20.00

37401AVI2
Mit der Kamera an
der Front-Als 49952AVI 58273AVI 31729AVI 29153AVI 25070AVI 88003AVI2 14401AVI
Kriegsberichter The Luftwaffe Spotlight On 18: Holding the Line: Combat Aircraft 127: X Planes 10 Aircraft in Profile 02 Clipped Wings (Vol
beider I.(J)/LG2 und Battle of Britain Henschel Hs 129 The Naval Air RF-101 Voodoo Units Northrop Flying US Navy and Air 3) Commonwealth
dem JG77 Vol 3 Fighter Pilots’ Detailed illustrations Campaign In Korea in Combat J Laurier Wings Force Air Training Plan
German/English lan- Kitbag: An Ultimate of the German Luft- T McKelvey Cleaver One of the most inter- Half a century before Aimed at those read- Pre-Operational
guage. Colour images Guide to Uniforms, waffe’s WWII light- In what became esting of the `Century the ‘flying wing’ B-2 ers who have had little Training Aircraft
provide completely Arms and Equipment weight ground attack known as the ‘long Series’ partly because stealth bomber en- previous interest in its Losses 1943-VE Day
new and unexpected from 1940 aircraft which saw hard slog’, 93 continu- the type’s design and tered service, Northrop subject. Outlines the 1945 C Cummings
information about A in-depth study of front-line combat in ous days of operations intended mission was already develop- history of its chosen UK, Rhodesia, India, &
camouflage schemes, all the objects that a North Africa and on saw naval aviators changed radically dur- ing prototypes of a type providing a con- Minor Territories. The
Staffel colours and Luftwaffe fighter pilot the Eastern Front. fight to slow and cut ing a 40-year career, large ‘flying wing’ text for a modelling third in a four volume
emblems. Provides a was issued with Contains 40 specially- off communist forces although it gained a which would have project. Issue Two col- set which catalogues
complete picture of during the Battle commissioned colour and support troops on reputation as a diffi- been the most radical lects six US Navy and the accidents suffered
I.(J)/LG 2. of Britain. plan and profile views. the ground. cult aircraft to handle. bombers of their age. Air Force subjects. during training.
HB 240pp £69.99 £14.99 HB 49pp £19.00 HB 320pp £20.00 SB 96pp £14.99 SB 80pp £13.99 SB 70pp £11.99 SB 549pp £25.00

07557AVI 32576AVI 21263AVI 21249AVI 21256AVI 21232AVI 21143AVI 05761AVI

Heaven High-Ocean The Handley Page Vulcan Boys: From Valiant Boys: True Victor Boys: True Jaguar Boys: True The Royal Navy Images of War: The
Deep: Naval Fighter Victor: Tales from a the Cold War to the Tales from the Stories from Forty Tales from the Wasp: An Phantom F-4
Wing at War Crew Chief-40 Years Falklands: True Tales Operators of the Memorable Years of Operators of the Big Operational & M Bowman Devel-
T Hillier-Graves of Life with the of the Iconic Delta V UK's First Four-Jet the Last V Bomber cat in Peace and War Retirement History oped for the US Navy
HMS Indomitable with Victor R Brooks Bomber T Blackman Bomber T Blackman Victor I Hall Originally in- T Martin Tells the as a long-range all-
her 5th Fighter Wing Roger Brooks extends The first Vulcan book A Wright From testing Boys tells the story of tended as a trainer, story, in the words of weather fighter, the
would be in thick of his earlier historical recounted completely atom bombs, dropping all the great things the Jaguar eventually those who operated it, USAF realised the Navy
the fighting, achieve narratives offering an first hand by the oper- hydrogen bombs in that were achieved, became the backbone of the first helicopter had an aircraft far bet-
success and live per- action-packed and riv- ators themselves from the Pacific to attack- recounted first hand of the RAFs tactical in the world designed ter than any tactical
ilously and losing many eting memoir of his its design conception ing airfields in Egypt by the operators, air strike-attack and recce to be deployed on De- aircraft they had and
men along the way. forty year career. to the Falklands. during Suez. and ground crew. forces for a decade. stroyers and Frigates. ordered 543 F-4Cs.
HB 224pp £19.99 HB 224pp £19.99 224pp £12.99 198pp £12.99 198pp £12.99 192pp £12.99 HB 265pp £25.00 SB 144pp £16.99

33128AVI 48222AVI AEJH32 77535MOD 80996AVI 50473AVI 76807AVI WP118AVI

Inside Aviation Kagero Top Drawings Aero Journal Hors Scale Model BAe I46 Whisperjet: Aircraft Photobook D-Day RAF The Warpaint 118 NAA
Photography 7071 Macchi MC.202 Serie (32) Les Challenge Eindhoven Britain's Most 3-Ukraine Air Force RAF’s part in the B-45 Tornado
C Slattery A Guide Contains a brief intro Chasseurs MiG Showcase 2018 Successful Airliner SU-27 Flanker Great Invasion W Harrison Detailed
for Aviation Enthusi- plus a plethora of line FRENCH TEXT. Lav- T Canfora Showcases D Oliver Tells the full Lavishly illustrated This magazine con- history of this aircraft
asts with Any Camera, drawings in various ishly illustrated with all the gold medal story of the BAe 146 monograph covering tains a plethora of which includes devel-
In the Air, Airshows, scales as well as photos, 3D images winning entries plus produced between the Su-27 of the photos and graphics opment, camouflage
and on the Ground. colour profiles and scale drawings. selected other entries. 1983 and 2002. Ukraine Air Force. with insightful articles. and much more.
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E D I TO R I A L

T H I S M O N
T
here is an upside and a
downside to editing this
magazine each month.
The upside is that I learn a
great deal about aircraft types
in which I had previously only
had a passing interest – the
Hunter, covered this month in
some detail, being a case in
point. It’s one of those aircraft
I have always known of, and was vaguely
aware of whereabouts it stood in the timeline
8. 26.
of postwar aviation, but the differences
between an F.6 and an FGA.9 had never High Flyer Avon Calling
concerned me, while my only modelling Andy McCabe’s out of box build of Eduard’s Spitire Rick Greenwood builds the newly tooled Airix
experiences of the type were some years ago HF Mk VIII showcases their range of 1/48 Spitires Hawker Hunter from the box, taking a closer look
and predated the Revell kits. I do remember with something a little different. The extended at the kits foibles and inishing it as a 63 Sqn
submitting an article to Richard Franks on the wingtips and eye-catching colour scheme make aircraft using Xtradecals’ sheet #48189
Matchbox T.7, which had been extensively this a real Spit with a difference
‘superdetailed’ with scratchbuilt intakes,
wheel wells and cockpit. None of them bore
any relation to reality but on a product of that
vintage were simple improvements on the
empty spaces provided in the kit. That I didn’t
rescribe it is an omission that now makes me
blush, as the famous Matchbox ‘trenches’
were a far bigger compromise on the inished
model than would have been an empty wheel
well. I had a similar experience with an Airix
1/72 kit, which I converted to a GA.11
somehow, caring little for accuracy or detail
but wanting to model the type in what must
be its most handsome guise, with the white
undersides and grey uppers. Nowadays I
would strive for greater accuracy and
probably look at the aftermarket to spare me
the horrors of fabricating those wheel wells
again. 45. 58.
The downside of my position is the Aircraft in Proile Taxing Tonka
inspiration overload I receive each month,
‘Of all the ‘classic’ jets that we modellers take such An out of the box build of Revell’s Tornado GR.4 to
which leaves me powerless to focus on
delight in few can match the Hunter for style. mark the type’s retirement from RAF service.
anything for longer than it takes to crack open
The brutish ugliness of the Phantom, the stubby Karl Robinson concludes it is ‘the best in scale’
a box from the stash and start assembling the
weirdness of the Lightning – even the Buccaneer,
cockpit. This month I ind I now want to build
a thing of beauty in itself, cannot match the
Hunters and Hawkeyes, to the exclusion of all
uncluttered lines of what is arguably Sydney Camm’s
else. Camm’s design is certainly a beauty and
most successful design…’
with so many good kits readily available now
I doubt I could make a worse job than I did
back when the most up to date Hunter
available in 1/72 had been tooled in 1974…
As for the Hawkeye I have been so
impressed by the salt-weathering inish on
Ugur Kenel’s masterpiece that who knows
how many more half-built projects will be cast
aside to this end before something else in the
next issue arrests my attention?
By Gary Hatcher
Editor

Distributed to the UK and International news trade by

Intermedia 70. 78.
http://www.inter-media.co.uk/
via MarketForce (UK) Limited Little Sparrows Walkaround
110 Southwark Street, London SE1 0SU
http://www.marketforce.co.uk/ Yoav Efrati tackles the complex matter of the Do- Only 285 of the -3 version of the Wildcat were
27 in Israeli service with a quartet of 1/72 kits from produced. They were distinctive in that they lacked
Special Hobby, rounding off with a photo spread of folding wings and had four .50 calibre machine
STORE FINDER contemporary photographs showing the ‘Dror’ gun armament. These detailed photographs are of
Books-A-Million, Inc. presently operates over 200 stores in 18 (Sparrow) in service the F4F-3, Bu. No. 3872, on display at the National
states and the District of Columbia. To ind the store nearest Museum of Naval Aviation at Pensacola, Florida on
your location visit: February 21st, 2005
www.booksamillioninc.com/store_inder/index.html

4 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
 CO N T E N T S

T H ’ S F E A T U R E S
08. Showcase
High Flyer
Spitire with Tips
By Andy McCabe

26. Avon Calling

Airix’s new Hunter F.6
By Rick Greenwood

34. Leiston’s Mustangs

The 357th Fighter Group
34. 40. Part 3 – the also rans...
Leiston’s Mustangs Concluded Super Fudd By Neil Robinson
Neil Robinson concludes his build of 1/48 scale 40. Super Fudd
P-51 Mustangs to a common theme – with another Hasegawa’s E-2C, kit No.01561 superdetailed with
seven ‘ kits I had in the loft’, including older Wolfpack’s wingfold set, Eduard’s etched cockpit Hasegawa’s Hawkeye in 1/72
toolings from Monogram, ICM and Accurate and masking set, Quickboost 4-blade propellers By Ugur Kenel
Miniatures and Authentic Decals markings. This is a step by
step photobuild showcasing the author’s skills with 45. Aircraft in Proile
weathering techniques particular to a nautical Camm’s Survivor
environment. The ‘salt weathering’ method has The Hawker Hunter
seldom been more appropriate By Richard Mason
Scale Plans and Colour Proiles
By Jan Polc

58. Taxing Tonka

Trials of a truculent Tornado
By Karl Robinson

62. Colour Conundrum

RAF Day Fighter Schemes 1941 – 1943
Part 1
By Paul Lucas
With Artwork by Jan Polc
62. 66 66 Victory 200
Colour Conundrum Victory 200 Superdetailed Superbug
On 26 March 1941, HQ Fighter Command wrote a Hasegawa’s 1/72 Hornet dressed up to the nines. by Kitti Tatsumaki
letter to the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) at This is the 75th Anniversary 1943-2018 ‘Victory 200’
Farnborough entitled 'Top Camoulage of Fighters'. scheme worn by US Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet 70 Little Sparrows
This letter stated that:'It has been suggested by Fighter BuNo. 168493/AG200 of VFA-103 Jolly Rogers, Dornier Do 27 Dror in IAF colors
Pilots that our present camoulage is too dark a colour for USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), CVW-7 2018 by Yoav Efrati
heights above 20,000 feet, and is inferior to the German
camoulage at height… It is requested that this matter may
78 Walkaround
be treated as urgent, and that you could send an expert to
Duxford with the necessary paints so as to help A.F.D.U. carry Grumman F4F-3Wildcat
out the trials.' by Steve Muth

81 Quick Build
BPK’s Regional Jet
by Andy McCabe

86 Petrol Pump
Scaling K2 - VC10 K2 Conversion
by Huw Morgan

With:
8. Update – our monthly news round-up
section with new product previews and reviews
81 86.
84. Stash in the Attic – Trevor Pask works
Quick Build Petrol Pump through the loft insulation
BPK’s Regional Jet Huw Morgan takes Roden’s 1/144 VC10 and quite 90. IPMS UK Column with Chris Ayres
BPK’s 1/144 kit builds up quickly and easily into a literally cuts it down to size to depict the RAF’s K2 94. American Patrol – US modelling
neat replica of a widely distributed commercial Tanker. Some hands on modelling gets the job matters with Steve Palmer
type in a class that has been underrepresented in done though not without one or two issues along
injection moulded plastic the way
Cover Artwork: #72392 1/72 Dornier
Do 27 IDF, SAAF and Portuguese
Service by kind permission of
Special Hobby

MAY 2019 • VOLUME 41 • ISSUE 03 5

SHOWCASE
S H O W C A S E
Spitire with Tips
By Andy McCabe
Spitire HF Mk VIII
Kit No: 8237
Scale: 1/48
Type: Injection Moulded Plastic
Manufacturer: Eduard
www.eduard.com
O
ne of the less celebrated and
consequently less well kitted of the
Spitire’s variants, the Mk VIII, was an
adaptation of the Mk VII without the pressurised
cabin and was intended to become the main
production model of the Spitire. Differing little
from the Mk VII, some early production models
had extended wingtips but the majority were
itted with the standard version. According to
Supermarine's chief test pilot, Jeffrey Quill, ‘I
hated the extended wingtips... They were of no
practical value to the Mark VIII and simply
reduced the aileron response and the
rate of roll’. There were three subvariants, the LF
Mk VIII for low altitude, the F Mk VIII for medium
altitude and the high altitude HF Mk VIII,
powered by the Merlin 70 engine.
The pointed triangular wing tips were
designed especially for high altitude
versions of the Spitire, and had initially
appeared with the Mk. VI. The enlarged
wing area they provided
resulted in better climb
rate and slightly
improved
6 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
ceiling at the expense of manoeuvrability in
the more usual altitudes in which the
Spitire found itself engaged. The tips were
interchangeable and theoretically could be
swapped to suit the preferences of an individual
pilot or tactical requirement.
Eduard’s kit was a logical addition to their
range of Spitire types and comprises four sprues
of grey and one clear sprue of injection moulded
plastic, one photo etch set, one mask sheet, two
decal sheets and one instruction booklet. The
plastic parts have inely engraved panel lines
and surface detail and are
superbly moulded, while the
etched set is partly prepainted
with the instrument panel one of
the parts in colour.
The
instruction booklet is
to Eduard’s
usual high
standard
with colour
call
outs for Gunze paints throughout. The decal
sheets are superbly printed with excellent colour
density and clarity to them. The main sheet has
all of the colour markings for ive different
aircraft and the smaller sheet contains the stencil
decals.
Construction
The build begins by spraying all of the interior
components with Lifecolor UA 551 Royal Air
Force Grey Interior Green and then applying a
dark wash to the parts. Next it was a case of
painting the individual parts and then attaching
them to the side walls, then the pilot’s seat
bulkhead was itted to the starboard side wall
and the rudder actuators were assembled and
glued to this. There is a choice regarding the
instrument panel in this kit, either the
prepainted etched or
standard plastic
one

that requires
painting. The
etched one won
the day and was
duly assembled and
itted to the cockpit sidewall assembly, the port
sidewall was then itted to this assembly.
With the cockpit and seat completed, the two
halves were joined together and assembly of the
wings commenced irstly by itting the centre
spar and then by assembling the wheel wells, all
of which have include excellent detail. With this
done the upper wing halves were glued to the
lower section and then joined to the fuselage
without controversy. No iller at all had been
used up to now, as the it of the parts is spot on.
The exhausts were now assembled and itted
to the cowlings and the upper engine cover
assembled and itted. Eduard have a very nice
resin Merlin engine upgrade for this model
which I have in mind to do later on with another
one of these models. The tail planes were
assembled and itted and the elevators and
rudder itted to the tail.
Canopy parts were now masked
using the die cut masks supplied in
the kit then glued into position on
the fuselage. I used Maskol to it the
pilot’s canopy temporarily during the
painting stage. The whole model was
now given a coat of grey primer and
any gaps
were dealt with, which were very few as the it of
the parts is excellent.
The under surfaces were now sprayed with
Xtracrylix XA1008 RAF PRU Blue, and when dry
were masked off and Mr Hobby H335 Medium
Sea Grey was sprayed on as the upper surface
colour.
Five versions can be modelled, offering an
assortment of colour schemes:
• JF364, 32 Squadron, Foggia Italy, early 1944
• JF476, 92 Squadron, Triolo, Sicily, November
1943
• JF519, Squadron SAAF, Trigno, Italy, February
1943
• JF630, lown by F/O L.Cronin, 81 Squadron,
Palel, India, March 1944
• 308 Fighter Squadron, 31 Fighter Group,
Castel Volturno, Italy, 1944
The decals were now applied and as expected
they went on without a hitch and settled very
nicely. A coat of Klear sealed them into position
and then a dark wash was applied to bring out
all of those ine panel lines. A coat of matt
varnish inished it off.
I now sprayed the undercarriage with Vallejo
Dull Aluminium, which is from their new range
of Acrylic Metallic paints, assembled and itted
the undercarriage, sprayed the prop parts and
assembled them, and then itted the tiny etched
cockpit door latch parts, which
having both dodgy eyesight and
thick ingers is
MAY 2019 • VOLUME 41 • ISSUE 03
SHOWCASE
no mean task.
The aerials on the
underside of the wing and
on top of the fuselage were now
itted along with the cockpit door and
inally the prop and the model was inished.
Conclusion
It does not matter how many of these kits I
build, I enjoy making every single one. This
boxing has a rather striking paint scheme with
the PRU Blue and Medium Sea Grey for the high
altitude version and makes a nice change from
the standard camoulage schemes.
Straight from the box you get a very nice
Spitire but Eduard have produced an extensive
range of upgrades for the Spitire kit including
the Merlin engine, guns, exhausts and wheels.
The parts it together superbly and have lovely
detailing on them, which can be highlighted
with careful painting. The instructions are very
clear and concise and along with the addition of
the etched and masking sets along with the
superb decals you get a lot of parts for your
money.
7
NEWS BY SORGE
NEWS AND PREVIEWS FROM AROUND THE MARKETPLACE
SPECIAL HOBBY
Three new arrivals from Special Hobby this
month:
72399 Breguet Br 695AB.2 Under the Vichy
Government
This 1/72 kit of the World War II French ground
attack aircraft consists of three grey styrene
sprues, one sprue with clear parts, polyurethane
resin details and a full colour instruction booklet.
The decal sheet caters for three Vichy operated
machines, one of them as lown in 1941 and the
RODEN
333 1/144 Douglas C-133A Cargomaster
The C-133A Cargomaster, developed in the late
1950s, was at one time the largest aircraft in the
heavy lift category, and the only one that could
transport the whole range of US Army
equipment. The aircraft was intensively used at
the height of the Cold War for the transfer of
large volumes of military cargo from the United
States to Western Europe. The C-133A was also
used during the Vietnam War, and C-133s took
8 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
other two from the post armistice period. Photo
etched details and a resin machine gun are
included in the kit.
48198 EoN Eton TX.1/SG-38 Over Western
Europe
This kit depicts the ex German primary glider,
Schulgleiter, in the markings of post war users. In
the UK the glider was produced as the Eton TX.1
type. The decals sheet offers two British gliders,
and one Swedish, one Belgian and a French
machine. The kit contains one sprue with styrene
parts, a fret of photo etch detail, decals and full
part in the US space program in order to ship
equipment to Cape Canaveral. After the
discovery of extensive structural defects the C-
133 leet was taken out of military service and
transferred to storage facilities or to museums.
The last use of the type occurred in 1976 when
oil equipment was shipped to Alaska. Thirty ive
C-133A variants were built.
Roden’s 1/144 kit offers markings for C-133A -1 -
DL Cargomaster, s/n 54-0137, of 436 Military Air
Wing, US Air Force, 1970.
colour instructions.
72264 SB2U-3 Vindicator Marines Go To War
This 1/72 kit includes three marking options for
US Marines machines, starting with the pre war
Yellow Wing scheme through to the two grey
scheme used in wartime. Markings include the
aircraft that managed to attack the IJN
battleship Haruna during the Battle of Midway
and a machine that was destroyed at Pearl
Harbor.
www.specialhobby.eu
632 O-2A Skymaster US Navy Service
In 1980 six O-2s were transferred to the US Navy
as range controllers for strike aircraft training.
The aircraft were originally based in California
and later transferred to the NAS Fallon in
Nevada. All six machines were used up to the
end of the 1980s, after which they were
decommissioned. Altogether 532 aircraft of this
type were manufactured.
Markings cover 0-2A Skymaster White 593, s/n
67-21363, of VFA-123 Rough Raiders, Nevada,
1985.
NEWS BY SORGE

SPECIAL HOBBY the decal sheet caters for four marking

72162 Short Sunderland Mk V
Fighting Commies in Europe and the
Far East
Flagged up last month and currently
causing a degree of excitement in the
editorial department, Special Hobby’s
evocatively titled boxing of the
Sunderland Mk V is on sale now. The kit
consists of eleven styrene sprues, one
clear sprue, one small resin cast item
and a fret of photo etched parts. There
is a full colour instruction booklet and
schemes. Almost A4 sized it includes
complete stencilling for both the
exterior and interior, lawlessly printed
by Cartograf. Marking schemes now
offer three RAF and one machine
operated by the French Aéronavale. Two
of the British machines lew in the Far
East in the support of anticommunist
insurgent missions in Malaya and Korea,
one took part in the British airlift during
the Berlin blockade and the French
machine was based at Lanvéoc-Poulmic
Naval Base in 1951.

CMK
Unimog U406 DoKa Military Airport Tug and
Towbar
Aircraft modellers will be more familiar with
CMK’s resin upgrade and detail sets but there are
some remarkable kits in the range as well, the
latest of which is this Cold War era airield tractor
in 1/48.
The Unimog 406 is a vehicle of the Unimog
series by Mercedes-Benz. A total of 37,069 units
were manufactured by the Daimler-Benz AG in
the Unimog plant in Gaggenau from 1963 to
1989. The 406 was the irst medium duty
Unimog, having a larger wheelbase of 2,380mm
and more than twice the engine power of the
Unimog 401. Unlike the initial Unimog, the 406
does not have a car engine but a heavy duty
truck engine instead. Several subsequent
versions were based on the 406, and were
available in four models, with either a closed two
door or four door cab, as a Cabrio and as an OEM
part, a half Unimog lacking the rear part, as a
basis for third party vehicle manufacturers.
During its long production period, the 406
received several technical reinements. In 1964
the precombustion chamber diesel engine OM
312 was replaced with the direct injected OM
352. Disc brakes followed in 1973.
Cast neatly in resin this kit depicts the vehicle in
its guise as an airield tug with the
Bundesluftwaffe and will be an ideal companion
for military aircraft from the era. This tug was
also in use with other European air forces and
even civil airlines from 1960s until the end of the
century. Along with the nicely cast and detailed
resin parts, the kit also contains a decal sheet
and injection moulded clear parts produced
using metal moulds. The decals offer three
marking options.
MAN LE 10.220 Bundeswehr Military Aircraft
Tug and Towbar
Also in resin in 1/48 is a more up to date vehicle
built for the same purpose. This kit also includes
resin parts with injection moulded
transparencies and decals for three vehicles.
Both of these models will add scale and interest
either to a diorama or simply posed next to your
aircraft, and it’s always good to try a change of
discipline once in a while. Those of us who recoil
from the thought of modelling targets may well
ind these refreshing, and they are clearly
presented with the aircraft modeller in mind…
www.specialhobby.eu

VALLEJO
Diorama Accessories
Resin Accessories for Modelling Projects
Vallejo has acquired the rights for the range of
bases, buildings and accessories for dioramas
from Add On Parts, well known in the world of
modelling for their excellent original products,
which now will become a part of the Vallejo line
of Scenics and Accessories.
Vallejo has recuperated the masters and has
restarted production, using an innovative and
exclusive resin of extraordinary quality and
resistance. The products are very light and easy
to manipulate, and have a matt white inish,
which makes the painting and weathering
process a pleasure.
The range includes reproductions in 1/35 scale
of modern urban elements as well as from World
War II, designed to provide details and setting to
dioramas and vignettes, as well as new bases to
display vehicles and igures.
New to the Air War Colour series are three new
sets dealing comprehensively with US Aggressor
aircraft, allowing the modeller at last a one stop
shop for the astonishing variety of schemes that
these machines have carried over the years:
71.616 USAF colours post WWII to present
Aggressor Squadron Part One
71.617 USAF colours post WWII to present
Aggressor Squadron Part Two
71.618 USAF colours post WWII to present
Aggressor Squadron Part Three
www.acrylicosvallejo.com

10 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
U P D AT E S
A SELECTION OF DECAL SHEETS RECEIVED FOR REVIEW
TWo BoBs
#48265 F-15e Maximum effort eagles
From April to October 2018, the Panthers of the
494th Expeditionary Fight Squadron and
Expeditionary Maintenance Unit deployed to an
undisclosed location in the Middle East. As a
major offensive air component of Coalition Joint
euRo DeCAls
Some big sheets in from Euro Decals – with 1/32
Tornadoes, Mustangs and… Lancasters!
32119 North American Mustangs
The sheets provide national and individual
markings for every scheme, with no shared
items, so you can build all six options. The decals
are beautifully produced, with faultless
Bullseye
Two 1/48 high end packages from Bullseye raise
the bar for aftermarket decal production with a
mass of options covered and multi-page full
colour instruction sheets:
BMA48007 F-16CG F-16CM Falcon / Viper
'31st Fighter Wing - Return with Honor'
Avianio AB, Italy
Covers F-16CG/CM jets from the 31st FW, Aviano
AB, Italy. The markings are for the various
Wing/OG and OSS lagships from the beginning
12 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
Task Force OIR, the Panthers lew over 2100
sorties totalling more than 11000 hours, and
expended over 500 air-to-surface weapons in
strikes against Islamic State of Iraq and Syria
(ISIS). The Panthers lethal, highly successful
combat deployment helped advance the defeat
of ISIS and secure the goals of regional stability.
This decal sheet represents ifteen aircraft from
registration and minimal excess carrier ilm
around national markings and larger code
letters.
The instructions are supplied as a 4-page A5
colour booklet, with each scheme illustrated as a
clear 4-view diagram and colours given with FS,
Humbrol, Xtracolour, Xtracrylic and Lifecolor
matches.
of F-16 operations in 1994 through current
operations. Markings cover jets that participated
in all operations over Bosnia and the Balkans in
the 90s, Operation Iraqi Freedom, through 2012
and Operation Inherent Resolve. Full stencils are
provided for two complete aircraft and full
weapons conigurations are included in the
instructions. Sized for Tamiya kits.
BMA48008 F-15C eagle 'Desert storm eagles -
When eagles Fly, MiGs Die'
Covers F-15C Eagles from all four combat wings
By Jack Trent
this squadron with associated nose art. There are
enough stencils for two complete aircraft with
stencil options sized for both the Revellogram
kit as well as the new Great Wall Hobbies kit.
Instruction sheets are to a new 11" X 17" format
and include model paint matches as well as full
loadout information for these aircraft.
www.twobobs.net
32120 Panavia Tornado GR.4/4A Part 2
This stunning sheet offers three schemes for the
Revell kit, all with tail art. Stencils are available
separately on Euro Decals’ sheet 32117.
32123 Avro lancaster Bomber Codes
Includes two large sheets of dull red codes for
either of the two 1/32 toolings.
www.fantasyprintshop.co.uk
of Operation Desert Storm. Markings include the
MiG/Mirage killers from the 33rd FW, 1st FW,
53rd FW and 32nd TFS, including the kill jets
from the 525th and 32nd TFS from Incirlik AB,
Turkey. Finally there are good, accurate markings
for these important jets! Full stencils are
provided for three aircraft including a set of full
colour ones. Sized for Great Wall kits.
These sheets are available exclusively from Sprue
Brothers.
www.spruebrothers.com
 See you at
TANGMERE SHOW
U P D AT E S
Italeri
Junkers Ju 86 E1/E2
By Rober Humphreys
Kit No: 1391
Scale: 1/72
Type: Injection Moulded Plastic
Manufacturer: Italeri
The Hobby Company/MRC
I
irst built this kit many years ago when it was
offered as a diesel powered civil variant of the
aircraft. I was therefore delighted to be able to
review the latest incarnation of the mouldings,
this time as a radial engine E1 or E2 variant.
Nostalgia reigned supreme, and through rose
tinted glasses I admired the stunning box top
artwork which is a deinite eye catcher.
Inside the box, two sprues of light grey plastic
contain all the parts, which feature delicately
raised surface detail. Also included are crew
igures with separate limb parts which hints at
the age of the original mouldings. Some lash
was also apparent on a few of the smaller items,
but this minor niggle was easily dealt with. The
third sprue contains all the various
transparencies along with a display stand,
another blast from the past. The instructions
come in the form of a stapled booklet, which is
easier to use than the old fold out type. The ever
useful parts map is still included. The build is
described in pictorial form but it is possible to
digress from the suggested process without
running into any difficulties. No less than seven
aircraft are depicted on the full colour painting
guide and the decal sheet is a little stunner.
Construction starts with the fuselage. The
interior detail is conined to the bulkheads along
with a one piece loor for the cockpit and crew
compartment. A decal is supplied for the
instrument panel and the pilot’s harness.
14 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
Meanwhile the upper
fuselage turret and
extendable ventral
dustbin type turrets
are also devoid of any
detail apart from a
choice of armament
and related mounting.
Armament is also
supplied for the front
gunner, but otherwise
the compartment is
devoid of detail. Conveniently, the ventral turret
can be left off until the main assembly is
completed. The lower surface of the fuselage
loor incorporates a simplistic and inadequate
depiction of the vertically stowed bombs, which
will only be visible if both of the one piece bomb
bay doors are separated and positioned as being
open. I left them closed, and their it cannot
exactly be described as snug.
The under surface centre section is a separate
item, but on the review kit the cut-out for the
port main wing’s location tab had been covered
over. This was easily solved, but it does serve to
show the age of the mouldings. As regards the
main wings themselves, with careful dry itting
before applying cement, a good it can be
achieved. With these in place the total lack of
any detail within the wheel wells is blatantly
apparent. The tail surfaces were next, and these
needed a lick of iller towards the tail end to
smooth them in seamlessly. As regards the joint
lines along the fuselage and between the upper
and lower wing surfaces, these were easily and
quickly cleaned up.
Onto the engine nacelles next, which come as
upper and lower parts with a separate cowling
into which a representation of the radial engine
its. With regard to correctly positioning the
nacelles, there is a slight curve in each lower pod
which conforms to the outer edge of the wheel
well. This is only a guide as no attachment points
are to be found to help with their positioning.
Once I was happy that the lower parts were
correctly located, the upper nacelles were
positioned. Indeed the it was very good and no
iller was needed in this area.
I dreaded the next stage, namely attaching
the characteristic Junkers wing trailing edge
laps which come as a one piece item. However I
needn’t have worried as positioning them was
surprisingly easier than I had
feared. What was a pain though, was itting the
various mass balances as there are no location
holes for these. Hindsight dictates that I should
have drilled them beforehand!
The main undercarriage consists of a single
main leg, supported by the ungainly looking
doors. The latter are presented in the closed
position and have to be carefully folded if the
model is to be depicted on the ground.
Cutting out masks for the complicated
framework on the transparent parts was too
much to contemplate, so I invested in a set from
the Peewit range, which saved me a great deal of
time, and with that it was onto the painting
stage.
Seven aircraft are depicted in the painting
guide. The review model was depicted as TO +
BU, which was operated by a Luftwaffe training
school in 1942. The decals performed lawlessly.
As is common nowadays, no swastikas are
included on the decal sheet. The build was
completed by adding the smaller, more delicate
items, such as the aerials etc.
To sum up, this kit can be described as a
product of its time. Although great fun and
hassle free to build,
many will doubtless
wish to add extra
detail in the form of
scratch building or
by incorporating
items from the
aftermarket range
into their build.
Even straight out
of the box, the kit
captures the lines
of the Ju 86, no
doubt about it.
Happy
modelling.
U P D AT E S

A&A Model AMG AMG AMG

P1.HH Hammerhead Polikarpov R-5 Dewoitine Dewoitine
(Demo) UAV Reconnaissance D.500C1 D.5001L

Scale: 1/72 Scale: 1/48 Scale: 1/48 Scale: 1/48

Product No: 7209 Product No: 14410 Product No: 48401 Product No: 48415
Type: Injection Moulded Plastic Type: Injection Moulded Plastic Type: Injection Moulded Plastic Type: Injection Moulded Plastic
Hannants www.amg-models.net www.amg-models.net www.amg-models.net

AMG Amodel Anigrand Craftswork Anigrand Craftswork

Messerschmitt Bf-109G-6/N CH-1 Skyhook McDonnell Model 119 UCX BAE Tempest II
Interceptor with FuG 217 Prototype

Scale: 1/48 Scale: 1/72 Scale: 1/72 Scale: 1/72

Product No: 48703 Product No: 72373 Product No: 2130 Product No: 2138
Type: Injection Moulded Plastic Type: Injection Moulded Plastic Type: Resin Type: Resin
www.amg-models.net Hannants/Stevens International www.anigrand.com www.anigrand.com

AZ Models AZ Models AZ Models Avis

Hansa-Brandenburg Messerschmitt Bf-109G-3 High Zlin Z-242L Bristol Type 72 Racer
B.I Srs.76 Altitude Gustav Military Guru

Scale: 1/72 Scale: 1/72 Scale: 1/72 Scale: 1/72

Product No: 7606 Product No: 7607 Product No: 7608 Product No: 72030
Type: Injection Moulded Plastic Type: Injection Moulded Plastic Type: Injection Moulded Plastic Type: Injection Moulded Plastic
www.azmodel.cz www.azmodel.cz www.azmodel.cz Hannants

Great Wall Hobby IBG Models Italeri Italeri

Lockheed T-33A PZL.23B Karas Convair Savoia-Marchetti
Late Version Romanian Service B-58 Hustler SM.81 Pipistrello

Scale: 1/48 Scale: 1/72 Scale: 1/72 Scale: 1/72

Product No: 4821 Product No: 72510 Product No: 1142 Product No: 1388
Type: Injection Moulded Plastic Type: Injection Moulded Plastic Type: Injection Moulded Plastic Type: Injection Moulded Plastic
www.lionroar.net www.ibgmodels.com www.italeri.com www.italeri.com

16 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
 U P D AT E S

Kora Kora Mark I Models Mark I Models

Focke-Wulf Fw-190S-8 and Gotha Go-145A Luftwaffe Dassault Mirage IIIE/EE/RS/5BA Dassault Mirage IIIO/EP/RZ/5AD
Gotha Go-145A-1 (2 in 1) Winter Training on Skis In Europe Worldwide Service

Scale: 1/72 Scale: 1/72 Scale: 1/144 Scale: 1/144

Product No: 72099 Product No: 03227 Product No: 144101 Product No: 144102
Type: Inj. Moulded Plastic and Resin Type: Inj. Moulded Plastic and Resin Type: Injection Moulded Plastic Type: Injection Moulded Plastic
www.lfmodels.com www.lfmodels.com www.4pluspublications.com www.4pluspublications.com

Mark I Models Mark I Models Trumpeter Blackdog Models

Halberstadt Cl.II Dassault Mirage Aero L-39MS/L-59 Zlin Z-242L Etched Details
(late version) IIICJ/CZ Mach 2 Warrior Super Albatros (For AZ Models and Kovozavody
Prostejov Kits)
Scale: 1/144 Scale: 1/144 Scale: 1/48 Scale: 1/72
Product No: 14492 Product No: 14493 Product No: 05806 Product No: 7037
Type: Injection Moulded Plastic Type: Injection Moulded Plastic Type: Resin and etched brass Type: Etched
www.4pluspublications.com www.4pluspublications.com www.trumpeter-china.com www.azmodel.cz

Brigade Models CMK CMK CMK

McDonnell F4H-1 Phantom Prototype Bristol Beauighter Mk IF Dinghy Palouste Mk.101/102-Jet Mitsubishi J2M3 Raiden Jack
Conversion (For Academy McDonnell Box and Access Panel Air Starter Trolleys and Control Surface Set
F-4B Phantom AC12232) (For Revell Kits) Airborne Pod (For Hasegawa Kits)
Scale: 1/48 Scale: 1/48 Scale: 1/48 Scale: 1/48
Product No: 48003 Product No: 4367 Product No: 4368 Product No: 4369
Type: Injection Moulded Plastic Type: Resin Type: Resin Type: Resin
Hannants www.specialhobby.eu www.specialhobby.eu www.specialhobby.eu

CMK CMK Eduard Brassin Metallic Details

Avia B-534 Engine Avia B-534 Cockpit Set Westland Sea King HC.4/HAR.3 Ilyushin IL-76MD Details
(For Eduard Kits) (For Eduard Kits) Engine Set (For Zvezda Kits)
(For Airix kits)
Scale: 1/72 Scale: 1/72 Scale: 1/72 Scale: 1/144
Product No: 7418 Product No: 7419 Product No: 7420 Product No: 14421
Type: Resin Type: Resin Type: Resin Type: Etched Brass
www.specialhobby.eu www.specialhobby.eu www.specialhobby.eu www.metdetails.com

MAY 2019 • VOLUME 41 • ISSUE 03 17

U P D AT E S

Metallic Details Metallic Details Metallic Details Metallic Details

Airbus A400M Lockheed C-141B Starlifter Boeing 737 MAX Lockheed C-141B Starlifter Engines
(For Revell Kits) (For Roden Kits) (For Zvezda Kits) (For Roden Kits)

Scale: 1/144 Scale: 1/144 Scale: 1/144 Scale: 1/144

Product No: 14422 Product No: 14423 Product No: 14424 Product No: 14414
Type: Etched Brass Type: Etched Brass Type: Etched Brass Type: Etched Brass
www.metdetails.com www.metdetails.com www.metdetails.com www.metdetails.com

Metallic Details New Ware New Ware New Ware

Ilyushin IL-76MD Engines Martin B-57B/B-57G Nighthawk Antonov An-124 Ruslan Kabuki Fairey Firely Mk I Kabuki Masks
(For Zvezda Kits) Kabuki Masks Masks (For Trumpeter Kits)
(For Italeri Kits) (For Revell Kits)
Scale: 1/144 Scale: 1/72 Scale: 1/144 Scale: 1/144
Product No: 14415 Product No: 0552 Product No: 0555 Product No: 0558
Type: Etched Brass Type: Masking Sets Type: Masking Sets Type: Masking Sets
www.metdetails.com http://mek.kosmo.cz/newware/index.htm http://mek.kosmo.cz/newware/index.htm http://mek.kosmo.cz/newware/index.htm

New Ware Scale Aircraft Conversions Scale Aircraft Conversions Airscale

Cessna L-19/O-1 Bird Dog Kabuki Royal Aircraft Factory RE.8 Early Royal Aircraft Factory RE.8 Late B-24D/B-24J Liberator Instrument
Masks Landing Gear Landing Gear Panel with Instrument Decals
(For Roden Kits) (For Wingnut Wings Kits) (For Wingnut Wings Kits) (For HobbyBoss Kits)
Scale: 1/32 Scale: 1/32 Scale: 1/32 Scale: 1/32
Product No: 0559 Product No: 32142 Product No: 32143 Product No: 32B24
Type: Masking Sets Type: Metal Type: Metal Type: Decals and Etched Details
http://mek.kosmo.cz/newware/index.htm www.scaleaircraftconversions.com www.scaleaircraftconversions.com www.airscale.co.uk

Caracal Caracal Caracal Caracal

Boeing C-97/KC-97 Lockheed Republic F-105G USAF McDonnell RF-101C Voodoo
Stratofreighter) F-104C in Vietnam Wild Weasels RF-101C Part Two

Scale: 1/144 Scale: 1/48 Scale: 1/48 Scale: 1/48

Product No: 144013 Product No: 48102 Product No: 48103 Product No: 48147
Type: Decals Type: Decals Type: Decals Type: Decals
www.caracalmodels.com www.caracalmodels.com www.caracalmodels.com www.caracalmodels.com

18 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
 U P D AT E S

Caracal Caracal Techmod Techmod

McDonnell F-15E Lakenheath McDonnell F-15E Eagle Stencils and Hawker Hurricane Polish National Insignia
Strike Eagles National Insignia Stencils Mk I Mk II Mk IV 1920-1939

Scale: 1/48 Scale: 1/48 Scale: 1/48 Scale: 1/72

Product No: 48149 Product No: 48006 Product No: 48122 Product No: 72162
Type: Decals Type: Decals Type: Decals Type: Decals
www.caracalmodels.com www.caracalmodels.com www.techmod.pl www.techmod.pl

UK Importers Wingnut Wings: www.wingnutwings.com Rare-Plane Detective:

Pocketbond: www.pocketbond.co.uk www.rare-planedetective.com 702-564-2851
01455 841756 US Importers Sprue Brothers: www.spruebrothers.com
The Hobby Company: www.hobbyco.net 816-759-8484
Atlantis: www.atlantis-models.com
01908 605686
Squadron: www.squadron.com
Dragon USA: www.dragonmodelsusa.com
Hannants: www.hannants.co.uk 877-414-0434
01502 517444 626-968-0322
Linden Hill Imports: www.lindenhillimports.com Stevens International: www.stevenshobby.com
Creative Models: www.creativemodels.co.uk
914-734-9616 856-435-7645
01354 760022
Amerang: www.amerang.co.uk MRC: www.modelrectiier.com UMM-USA: www.umm-usa.com
01482 887917 732-225-2100 847-537-0867

MAY 2019 • VOLUME 41 • ISSUE 03 19

U P D AT E S
ICM
Since the irst 1/48 Dornier 215
appeared in 2014 ICM have built
upon its success and turned
themselves into the place to come
to for Luftwaffe twin engine
bombers. The Dornier series was
followed by Ju 88s and He 111s of
comparable quality that blew all
comers out of the water, and while
we all wait breathlessly for the new
Do 217 they continue to release
variants of the He 111.
Latest incarnation of ‘The Spade’ is
the last major production variant,
the H-20, which entered into
production in early 1944. In
contrast to the H-11 and H-16 the
H-20, equipped with two Jumo
211F-2s, had more powerful
armament and radio
communications. The defensive
armament consisted of one MG 131
in an A-Stand gun pod
for the forward
mounted machine gun
position. One rotatable
Drehlafette DL 131/1C
(or E) gun mount in
the B-stand was
standard and later MG
131 machine guns
were added.
Navigational
direction-inding
gear was also
installed. The Peil
20 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
G6 was added to locate targets and
the FuBI 2H blind landing
equipment was built in to help with
night operations. The radio was a
standard FuG 10, TZG 10 and FuG
16Z for navigating to the target.
The H-20 also was equipped with
barrage balloon cable-cutters.
The bomb load of the H-20 could
be mounted on external ETC 1000
racks, or four ESAC 250 racks. The
sub variant H-20/R4 could carry
twenty 50kg (110 lb) bombs as
external loads.
Another excellent addition to ICM’s
impressive catalogue, and another
step towards what we hope will be
the ultimate Do 217K in this scale.
The irst boxing, now announced,
will be the Do 217N, while the
latest incarnation of the Ju 88 will
be the Ju 88D-1
www.icm.com.ua
Air-Graphics
Air-Graphics continue to build up
an astonishing range of accessories
and upgrades, with a growing
range of 1/72 resin accessories
focussed on modern day aircraft
weaponry and equipment, many of
which are unique in the scale.
Basically if you are stuck for a pod, a
sand ilter, or a laser range inder of
some sort then Air-|graphics will
either have it or are probably
contemplating it.
New items to the catalogue have
included, among many others, a
Westland Wasp conversion set for
the old Airix Scout. Air-Graphics
know the marketplace and know
what we’re looking for, and a visit
to their website or Facebook page
will certainly yield a few surprises.
Better yet – catch them at a show
somewhere and see for yourself.
They are already booked into our
own London Plastic Modelling
Show in December but look out for
them before then.
As well as a host of new resin parts,
Air-Graphics have added to their
excellent On Target Decal range:
Air Forces of the World Part 2 - RAF
& Commonwealth Training Aircraft
(#AIR72-005.
This covers nine different aircraft as
listed below to help create a
colourful line up of trainers:
Hawk T2 ZK025 'P' of IV (R) Sqn RAF
2016
Hawk T2 ZK029 'FE' of 25 Sqn RAF
2018
Squirrel HT.1, ZJ261 '61' of DHFS
RAF 2015
Tucano T1, ZF368 'RN-S' of 72 Sqn
'RIAT' 2018
Hawk 127 LIFT, A27-16 of 79 Sqn
RAAF in 60th Anniversary Scheme
Hawk 127 LIFT, A27-21 of 76 Sqn
RAAF in 60th Anniversary Scheme
MB326H, A7-070 of 76 Sqn RAAF in
50th Anniversary Scheme
MB339CB, NZ6467 '67' of 14 Sqn
RNZAF 2000
Hawk CT-155, 155213 '213' of 419
Sqn CAF (NFTC) 2017
www.air-graphics.co.uk
BOOKREVIEWS
Scale Plans No. 54 in 1:24 Scale
Junkers Ju 87B Stuka
Author: Darusz Kamas
Publisher: Mushroom Model Publications
ISBN: 978 83659 581 12
Scale Plans No. 55 in 1:24 Scale
Hawker Hurricane Mk I & Mk II
Author: Darusz Kamas
Publisher: Mushroom Model Publications
ISBN: 978 83659 581 19
These are the latest two sets of an ever
growing collection made necessary by the
increasing number of kits being produced in
larger scales. Each consists of three fold-out
large format, 820 by 297mm, scale plans for
1/24 scale modellers.
www.mmpbooks.biz
Ernie Lee
F4F/FM-2 Wildcat Walkaround CD
For the Trumpeter, Tamiya, Hobby Boss,
Sword and Other Kits
Author: Steve Muth
Publisher: Peregrine Publishing
Format: CD Rom
This CD on the F4F and FM-2 Wildcat features
detail colour photographs aimed at the scale
modeller and aero enthusiast. Published in
word and JPEG format for near universal
access and simplicity, the author presents
clear detail photographs of the cockpit,
landing gear, wheel wells, exhausts, wing fold
and other details of interest. These CDs follow
on from the acclaimed twelve page booklets
and other previously published CDs by
Peregrine Publishing.
The photographs were taken of the F4F-3
22 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
A look at some of the latest publications
received for review Edited by Ernie Lee
Wildcat at the Museum of Naval Aviation in
Pensacola, Florida while those of the FM-2
Wildcat were taken at the now defunct
Chaplin Fighter Museum in Mesa Arizona. The
photographs were taken with the co-
operation of the museum staff at both
facilities, thus assuring adequate access to the
cockpit and other details and guaranteeing
these CDs will make an excellent reference for
the any of the Wildcat kits now on the market.
Priced at an affordable $12.00 each including
postage, these CDs may be ordered from
Steve Muth at Peregrine Publishing, 70 The
Promenade, Glen Head, NY 11545, USA, by
telephone on (516)759-1089, by FAX on
(516)759-1034 or email
sgmuth@optonline.net. Payment by check on
a US bank in dollars or PayPal. For foreign
orders add $12.00 postage for one CD and
$14.00 for two.
Warplane Color Gallery Two
South African Air Force Fighter Colours
Volume 1: East African Campaign 1940-
1942
Author: Piet van Schalkwyk and William
Marshall
Publisher: Model Centrum Progress
ISSN: 978 83606 723 03
Format: 80 pages, Paperback, A4 Format
Printed on black pages with white text, in
negative format but thankfully large enough
for my tired old eyes to be able read without
problems, the book covers the operations,
colour schemes and markings of the South
African Air Force Day Fighter Squadrons
engaged in the East African Campaign, which
opposed Italian air and ground forces that
constituted a grave threat to Kenya and the
Sudan. The squadrons also operated on the
border with French Somaliland and in
Abyssinia, and made a considerable
contribution towards the victory in that
campaign.
The ive SAAF Day Fighter squadrons covered
in Volume One, Squadrons 1, 2, 3, 4 and 41,
and a Fighter Flight, initially operated old and
antiquated biplanes in the form of Hawker
Furies, Gloster Gauntlets and Gloster
Gladiators, before receiving marginally better
Hurricane Mk Is, some still itted with fabric
wings, Curtiss Mohawk Mk IVs and Hurricane
Mk IIbs towards the end of the campaign.
Split in to nine chapters, this volume, which
will be followed by two further volumes
tracing the onwards history of these
squadrons as well as additional SAAF Fighter
Squadrons during the campaigns in North
Africa, Malta, Sicily, Italy and the Balkans, is
based upon primary sources and features
some 112 rare contemporary photos of the
aircraft operated by these squadrons and
their personnel, most of which have never
been published before. Additionally there are
thirteen pages of superb full colour
camoulage and markings proiles featuring
twenty three airframes accompanied by
reference photos upon which the illustrations
were based.
This book is unreservedly recommended for
anyone interested in aviation in general or
World War II in particular, providing an
unsurpassed source of information and
inspiration for those wanting to model
aircraft of the SAAF or in these Theatres of
Operations.
www.casematepublishing.co.uk
Neil Robinson
The Marmo Method
Modelbuilding Guide No. 8
Building the Revell 1/32 Scale Bell AH-
1G Cobra
In a Vietnam Vignette
Author: Richard Marmo
Format: E-book PDF
This E-book combines Revell's AH-1G kit with
aftermarket components, a scratch built
revetment, 12,000 words and forty seven
photos showcasing a modelling project that
not only demonstrates the author’s own
modelling skills but very clearly shows how
you can do it too. Essentially a model
magazine article on a larger scale, this is a
perfect handbook for anyone wanting to
improve their skills not only with this
particular kit but with others similar. Like all
good modelling articles the techniques
demonstrated are transferable to other kits
and types.
We all have plenty to learn, but this particular
how to really does hit the spot.

Price is an economical $3.99 from
www.scalepublications.freeyellow.com
The Blue Max Airman Volume 12
Author: Lance J Bronnenkant
Publisher: Aeronaut
ISBN: 978 83659 581 12
Format: Paperback, 130 pages
Volume twelve of Lance J Bronnenkart’s epic
series chronicling each and every recipient of
the Pour le Mérite looks at the careers of
Julius Buckler, Hans Klein and Eduard Ritter
von Schleich. Julius Buckler spent a large part
of his wartime career with Jasta 17 where he
rose through the ranks to become CO. He is
probably best known through his memoirs
that were irst published in 1939. Hans Klein
completed training and arrived at the front at
around the time that the irst Jagdstaffeln
were being formed. Initially with Jasta 4, he
transferred to the command of Jasta 10 in
September 1917. Eduard Ritter von Schleich
had a long and varied career lying both two
seaters and single seat ighters. To modellers
he is probably best known for piloting the
Roland C.II that was always the subject of the
classic Airix kit.
The text is well written and it’s obvious that a
lot of very careful research has gone into
providing the reader with a historically
accurate account of the aces and their aircraft.
As with previous volumes there is a generous
biography of each pilot followed by notes on
all known aircraft lown by them during World
War I. The book contains an extensive
selection of photographs, around 145 in total,
and a selection of colour proiles depicting
the aircraft that the subjects lew.
These books really are excellent pieces of
work, that are building in to the kind of
reference that you are likely to consult on a
regular basis. Highly recommended.
www.aeronautbooks.com
Dave Hooper
The Focke-Wulf Ta 154 Moskito
A Technical Guide
Airframe Detail No. 6
Author: Richard Franks
Publisher: Valiant Wings
ISBN: 978 09957 773 78
Format: Paperback, 64 pages, A4
MAY 2019 • VOLUME 41 • ISSUE 03
BOOKREVIEWS
The latest excellent reference work from
Valiant covers the Ta 154, a subject of some
confusion to modellers with only a passing
interest in the Luftwaffe. Did it ly
operationally as the Luftwaffe’s answer to the
Mosquito? Or was it just another project that
laboured on into extended development and
wasted time and resources? This book has all
the answers…
This title includes historical photographs and
technical diagrams, period detail images
during production and service use, data from
light manuals and spare parts catalogues,
colour proiles by Richard J. Caruana, and
concise camoulage and marking notes. For
modellers there are lists of all Ta 154 kits,
accessories and decals as well as a kit build of
the 1/32 Ta 154 from HpH Models by Steve
Evans.
www.valiant-wings.co.uk
23
U P D AT E S
Eduard
#11125 Unternehmen Bodenplatte
Eduard’s latest limited edition is a dual-combo
depicting ‘Unternehmen Bodenplatte’, the
desperate attempt by the Luftwaffe to cripple
Allied air forces in the Low Countries during the
Second World War. The goal of Bodenplatte was
to gain air superiority during the stagnant stage
of the Battle of the Bulge so that the German
Army and Waffen-SS forces could resume their
advance. The operation was planned for 16
Bunny Fighter Club
Bfc membership entitles you to a host of
beneits and bargains at the Eduard shop online
– and if you are wearing your Bfc members T-
shirt you can, of course, go and claim additional
discounts on Eduard’s products at various shows
at which they are trading! Bfc members also
have exclusive access to Bfc special editions –
like the 1/32 Jug ‘Dottie Mae’, released with a 3D-
printed pin-up girl igure included.
So be sure to grab the new Bfc boxing and keep
24 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
December 1944, but was delayed repeatedly due
to bad weather until New Year’s Day
This particular set offers 1/48 kits of the Fw 190D-
9 and the Bf 109G-14, with two versions of the
latter being covered. One, the Bf 109G-14/AS, has
never been released before. The G-14/AS
featured the DB 605ASM high-altitude engine,
built with a larger capacity supercharger, giving a
higher rated altitude and a top speed of 560km/h
(348mph) at sea level, and 680km/h (422 mph) at
7.5km (24,600ft). The kit includes optional
an eye on the website for more special editions.
These are always worth getting your hands on,
but some are available only to loyalty club
members so if you want to be sure of getting
them, and indeed all Eduard kits, at a knock-
down price you need to join the BFC. This will
get you a 15% permanent club discount at
Eduard’s Store, unique valuable club kits and
accessories, even better prices at the Eduard
event stand and a BFC t-shirt with a unique
design and special barcode, used for event
fuselage parts on a new sprue with other
associated parts to allow both variants and the
instructions call out the differences clearly and
concisely through the construction stages.
Markings cover four Fw 190Ds and two each of
the G-14 variants. The usual masks and etch are
included.
All in all an excellent package allowing a nice
themed display to be built from the box
depicting the Luftwaffe’s famous ‘last Hurrah!’
www.eduard.com
discounts. This exclusive t-shirt will only be
available to members of BFC. You’ll also get free
entry at E-day so check out the website for full
details.
www.eduard.com/bfc/
H AW K E R H U N T E R
Airix’s New Hunter F.6
By Rick Greenwood
Kit No: 09185
Scale: 1/48
Type: Injection Moulded Plastic
Manufacturer: Airix
www.airix.com
T
he Hawker Hunter has to rate as one of the
many classic British jet designs, and as such
ignites interest in modellers and aviation
enthusiasts alike. It also has to be the most
attractive design of the time and still looks the
part placed alongside its replacements. Its
development however was a little problematic
at the start with the initial design, the P.1040,
failing to interest the RAF, but the design would
later become the Hawker Seahawk.
As early as 1946 Sydney Camm had designs
for a swept wing ighter that would employ the
new breed of jet engine from Rolls-Royce, the
Avon. The union of the two, with some other
design changes, went on to become the Hunter
as we know it today. Entering service with the
RAF in F.1 guise in 1954 it remained in service
until the early 1990s and numerous overseas
operators had Hunters on their books until the
last military aircraft light took place as late as
2014 while in the hands of the
Lebanese Air Force.
Examples are still
in private
26 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
hands as of 2019 lying
contract work and on the air
show circuits around the world.
The Hunter in Scale
The type is no stranger in plastic either and
has featured in a number of brands 1/48 scale
catalogues dating back as far as the 1950s with
the old Merit kit. Of interest to most modellers
wanting to build a Hunter was the Academy kit
released in 1997, and yes, it has been with us
twenty two years! The kit was not without its
faults but featured recessed panel lines and a
reasonable level of detail.
A new technology tooled kit of the type was
announced by Airix based on laser scanned
research of an original airframe at the Imperial
War Museum site at Duxford in the UK that
promised to deliver a state of the art kit to the
modelling masses.
What’s in the Box?
As always there is a stunning digital box top
image to get the modelling juices lowing and
entice the modeller into the build in a way only
Airix can manage. The three grey/blue sprues
are contained in a large plastic bag with the
smaller single clear runners packaged further in
their own protective bag inside. Closer
inspection of the plastic reveals some
delightfully restrained engraved panel line detail
that looks better than I have witnessed in their
latest releases to date. A quick look over the
parts reveal the ejection pins are in the most
part on the blind side of the parts and as a result
shouldn’t be
too obvious when
the kit is completed. The
total parts count looks to be
quite modest too so the build
shouldn’t be over complicated.
The standard type of instruction booklet,
Cartograf decal sheet, full colour painting and
decal placement guides for the three marking
options included make up the remainder of the
box contents.
Getting Started
After a lazy read through the instruction
booklet the build plan was in place and some of
the stages were highlighted to be tackled in a
different order than speciied by Airix. The rear
end of the model is supplied with or without the
para brake doors, so it was elected to join the
parts without to the fuselage sections irst. Test
itting showed that the it was as near perfect as
could be wished for with the joint being hard to
distinguish from the surrounding panel lines.
There was a slight disparity on the underside but
this could be effortlessly dealt with later in the
build.
Whilst working in this area, the jet pipe was
built up as per the instruction booklet. Differing
colours of Alclad Metallic Lacquers were used to
create a burnt metal look to the
inside of the exhaust area
before it was secured in
place to one side of
the fuselage using
Tamiya Extra
Thin
 H AW K E R H U N T E R

Wings drop tank

and rocket pods

Fuselage sprue note the separate tail ends

Cockpit tub etc. Note the single part gear Starboard rear end
with and without parachute doors
doors for an in-light model added to the fuselage
and the it is perfect!

Literature
provided in the kit

Jet pipe added and glued in place
Construction commenced with the jet pipe
and exhaust, preferring to join them to the
fuselage as separate items at the start of the
build Cockpit detail is
adequate for the scale

Fuselage mated and

glued together. Some
help from tape and
clamps was needed but
again the it is perfect

Cockpit and
side walls
painted,
weathered
and glued
in place Airix provide a decent depth to the intakes all
the way to the irst stage compressor blades

Intakes in place and detail found in the under Upper wing section
wing area for the roof of the main gear bays was a drop in it and
you guessed it -
perfect!

cement. There was a slight seam line running
along the inside of the interior of the parts but
as its quite dark inside it really isn’t visible
enough to warrant a illing and sanding job.
Hunter intakes can be a little problematic, as
anyone who has built the Academy kit will
testify, so jumping ahead to stage ifteen of the
assembly guide these were tackled next. The
parts were numbered in red sharpie pen before
removing them from the sprues to facilitate
clean up of the mould parting lines and sprue
removal scars. This helped to clarify which side
of the airframe the parts were designed for and
avoided confusion later.
Once sprayed silver and constructed each
completed intake section slots into place
through the opening in the fuselage side. The
front end is secured in place with two pegs
ensuring perfect alignment. The intake trucking
culminates at the rear end with a depiction of
the irst stage compressor blades. It was found
to be easier to glue in one of the intakes only

MAY 2019 • VOLUME 41 • ISSUE 03 27

H AW K E R H U N T E R
before the
fuselage was
glued together as it made seating the other
easier with regards to the placement of the
compressor blade plug at the rear later.
Cockpit
Cockpit detail is adequate if a little softly
moulded. The instrument panel has a good level
of raised detail that can be painted or if
preferred the supplied decal depicting the dials
and gauges could be used. Rear bulkhead detail
is provided by means of raised rivet detail and
ejection seat launch rails. These were added to
the single part cockpit tub along with the
control stick, instrument panel and gun sight.
With the glue dry the pre-assembled
cockpit and seat was given a
generous coat of Alclad
Aluminium in preparation for
the satin black top coat. Once
dry the Alclad had a layer of
inexpensive supermarket
hair spray added as it was
Bottom view of the wing showing
the details for the gear bay again
before building up the walls
28 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
intended
to chip and
scuff the black paint
later as part of the
weathering process.
Once the Gunze Tyre Black was
touch dry an old cut down
paintbrush was dipped in warm water
and the cockpit was set about in places
deemed to be subjected to wear, such as
the loor and rudder pedals and rear
bulkhead. Once the metallic layer of paint
started to show through care was taken to not
overdue the inal result as it would have looked
very bright against the all black paintwork.
The instruments buttons and switches were
dry brushed in a dark shade of grey before
detailed painting was carried out with white,
yellow and red paint to add visual interest to the
otherwise black cockpit. The ejection seat was
made up from four separate parts and two styles
of seat cushions are provided by Airix. These
make life a little easier if using aftermarket seat
belt sets as the modeller simply selects the seat
cushion without the moulded belts rather than
having to sand them down and remove them.
The seat frame was painted black again while
olive drab was used for the seat cushions. The
moulded in harness detail was then picked out
in brown before the ejection seat handle was
painted the requisite yellow with black stripes.
The now completed cockpit tub was
cemented into its inal position at the front of
the port side fuselage
section. Test itting of
Lower wing
section test
itting showing
the view into
the landing
gear bay
the two fuselage sections
showed no interference from
the cockpit tub and the it
overall was very good.
A touch of detail is included for the
nose gear bay but in fairness very little
can be seen when the model is
completed, so it was just painted
aluminium. The lashed over holes were
drilled out as prescribed in the instructions for
the external spent cartridge collection bulges,
or Sabrinas as they were colloquially known,
before also adding the vents to each
fuselage side parts C2 and C3 not forgetting
C8 for the airbrake retraction/activation
ram either.
With all the internals taken
care off the fuselage parts were
easily joined together using Tamiya
Extra Thin. Some clamps were used
to keep everything as it should be
while the glue dried but no it issues
were found at all and clean-up was
limited to a quick sand down with
a Fine (green core) Flory Models
Dual Sander.
Nose weight was added to the
inside of the nose cone before this
was added to the model. The it
again was found to be good and a
quick swipe of the sanding sponge
ensured everything was lush. The
starboard side intake was then added to
complete the fuselage assembly.
Wing and Things
Airix supply the upper wing section as a
single part insert, and concerns around the it of
the item were considered as it also incorporates
the centre section of the fuselage and any poor
it or misalignment would be blatantly obvious
on the completed model. The concerns proved
unfounded as the part was a perfect it, much to
my relief, with nothing more than two small balls
of Blu-Tack used to aid alignment at the forward
end. Once sat lush, Tamiya Extra Thin was run
along the joints to secure the part in place. The
it was so good that no further remedial or
correction work was needed and the joint line
didn’t look out of place in comparison with the
other fuselage panel lines.
Wheel well detail is very good with
the roof detail moulded on the
inside of the top of the wing,
featuring raised rivet detail etc. The

No detail whatsoever is provided in the lap
recess or the inside of the laps even though
they can be posed open
A small gap was evident here and quickly
illed, sanded smooth and primed
The kit painting guide was enlarged to 1/48
and used as templates
walls for the bays are provided as separate parts
that are glued in place before being sandwiched
between the upper and lower wing sections.
Don’t overlook the blind holes for the pylons if
you want them itted, before gluing the wings
together.
The it of the lower wing sections to the
fuselage was very good and just needed to be
held with light inger pressure while the Quick
Drying Tamiya Extra Thin went off. An in-light
pose is possible courtesy of Airix supplying
closed single part doors that simply slot in place
in the inside of the bay opening.
Landing laps and ailerons are provided as
separate parts and this is where Airix have
made a massive mistake in my opinion.
The inside of the lap recess is devoid of any
detail and is just plan plastic as are the insides of
the laps themselves. Looking at Hunter laps
there is a wealth of structural detail present, that
has been omitted from the model. It’s a real
shame as the laps are provided separately but
can only really be itted closed due to the lack of
detail. Their it in the closed position is thankfully
very good, as are the ailerons. These were glued
in place in a delected pose to add a little
interest to the wing of the completed model.
To complete the wings the navigation lamps
The wing mounted pitiot tube was severed at
an angle for safe keeping and reattached at
the end of the build
AK Interactive Grey Micro Filler and Primer was
applied as the base coat for painting the
model
The paper template placed on the model and
the outline drawn in with a pencil
on each wing tip are supplied as clear parts.
There is quite a large cut out for each but their it
is exceptional and just needed a quick swipe
with a Flory Sander to blend them into the
contour of the wing tip. The pitiot tube is
moulded into the port wing tip and was cut at a
slight angle to aide its replacement at the end of
the build as without its removal it would surely
come a cropper at some point.
The rudder is a separate item too and is a
simple push in it along with the tail planes. Their
it is reasonable and no corrective work was
needed. In fact the only remedial work was to ill
a small gap in the rear underside that needed a
slight smudge of iller to remedy.
In preparation and by way of checking the
standard of the build so far a quick application of
AK Interactive Grey Filler Primer was applied by
airbrush.
The kit has raised panel detail over the
starboard intake on the upper surface and under
both intakes on the lower surface. Just what
these are meant to represent is a little confusing.
Looking at the Duxford Airframe Airix scanned
as reference material there does seem to be a
slightly raised panel in these areas but not
armour plating as they have been depicted on
the model so they just had to go. They were
MAY 2019 • VOLUME 41 • ISSUE 03
H AW K E R H U N T E R
Large sections of clear plastic associated with
the position lights on each wingtip were
another good it and just needed a quick
swipe with a sanding stick to blend to the
shape of the wing
The armour plating described in the text was
removed and the area reprimed
Products and results of the application of Dark
Sea Grey
simply sanded lush with the surrounding plastic
using a coarse Flory Sander and then the plastic
was polished with corresponding medium and
ine sanders to restore the smooth surface of the
plastic. Local application of grey primer then
completed the task easily and the results look far
better than if they had been left.
With nothing else looking out of place it was
time to consider the paint scheme.
Making a Mark
Airix provide the modeller with three
schemes to decorate their Hunters these being
two RAF machines and a single Dutch airframe.
All three carry the upper surface camoulage
scheme of Dark Sea Grey with a disruptive
pattern of Dark Green over either Silver or Light
Aircraft Grey. A comprehensive decal sheet
provides the markings for each along with
abundant amounts of stencil data that will surely
take an eternity to apply. Being printed by
Cartograf of Italy ensures an aftermarket quality
product straight from the box, but to me the
markings lack originality. The yellow and black
chequered tailed aircraft from 63 Squadron are
supplied in the Academy kit and the second
option is only a little more imaginative with an
airframe from 4 Flight Training School RAF Valley
29
H AW K E R H U N T E R
sporting the number 73 in a white circle on the
nose and tail. The Dutch option at least offers
some variation in markings with a jet operated
by 324 Squadron. Deciding to stick with an RAF
aircraft Xtradecal sheet 48189 was pressed into
service sticking with 63 Squadron with the crest
and bar located on each side of the nose.
Standard RAF camoulage was the order of the
day with Dark Sea Grey and Dark Green upper
surface over Light Aircraft Grey undersides, so
with the decision made it was time to start
painting.
Colouring In
Enlarging the kit supplied painting diagrams
to 1/48 scale on the home scanner/photocopier
was the irst task, to make templates for the
camoulage pattern. They were then cut out and
drawn round with a pencil while placed on the
model to leave a clear demarcation line to make
replicating the pattern easier. Starting with
Xtracolor X004 for the Dark Sea Grey it was
thinned roughly seventy percent thinner to
thirty percent paint with cellulose thinners. To
speed up these notoriously slow drying paints a
few drops of Rustin’s decorators paint driers
were added to the airbrush colour cup before
application.
Following the pencil lines free hand the
camoulaged areas were built up over a few
sessions working on a separate area each sitting.
Once the grey areas were completed the model
was left in a warm room overnight before
commencing the green.
A slightly thinner mix of the Xtracolor X001
Green was used and this time at a lower air
pressure set on the compressor. The ine
demarcation lines of the green were free handed
by airbrush again. Once the lines had been
completed the areas were then back illed to
complete the green sections.
Repeating the same working methods as
before the model was worked on over a couple
of workbench sessions a few hours at a time
until the upper surfaces were inally completed.
The fresh paint work was then left for a number
of days to harden fully before being polished
back with 8,000 grade Micromesh to ensure a
consistent and blemish free surface to the paint
work. A inal coat of Johnsons Klear gloss loor
polish was then applied to protect the
paintwork and as a more desirable surface
for decal application.
The boundary between the top
and bottom
The end
results
awaiting
application
of the Dark
Green
sections
30 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
colours was then masked off using strips of
Tamiya Masking tape. X105 was used for the
Light Aircraft Grey undersides and applied a little
thicker than the last layers of the camoulage to
aide coverage of the darker over sprayed areas
of the upper camoulage scheme. Once allowed
to dry overnight it was on with the weathering.
Dish the Dirt
After allowing the main paint scheme enough
time to fully dry weathering the model
commenced. Each of the three camoulage
colures were worked individually at irst with
slightly lighter and darker shades of the original
paint mixes. These were applied as randomly as
possible in cloud like patterns to represent the
fading of the paint’s surface. It can also help
simply to use another brand of the same colours
as they will all be slightly different.
Once the required result has been reached,
stop, as it’s all too easy to overdo the inish as
you go blind to the effects after a short time of
working. Taking a break or a step back can help
at this stage too as it give your vision time to
adjust and you can see the overall effect more
clearly on your return. Take into account the
effects of any varnish coats as these can make
your hard work seem to disappear after
application.
When the desired level of weathering had
been reached each of the main colours had a
very dilute mix of ninety percent thinners to ten
percent paint misted over to blend the effects
and remove any really harsh tones. This was then
allowed to dry before the clear top coat was
applied.
Next Flory Models Dark Dirt wash was diluted
with a little with plain tap water, and airbrushed
along the panel lines and used to apply stains
around the airframe such as streaking on the
ailerons and rudder hinges. This also acts as a
panel line wash to accent
the panel line
detail but
stops short
of applying
a wash in
the
traditional
manner as the
Airix panel lines
are already quite
visible by default. With the wash being a
water/clay product it’s essential that another
thin gloss coat is applied or the effects will
simply wash off with the water present in the
application of the decals.
Decals
With the model’s surface polished up to a
glass like inish the decal application process
commenced. The kit national markings and
stencil data were used in this build to
supplement the Xtradecal unit markings to
report back on their use. Being Cartograf they
worked as well as any aftermarket product and
after application of Daco Red setting solution
they bedded down into the recessed panel
detail very well and almost capture the desired
painted on look. Carrier ilm seemed minimal
and is not visible on the models glossy surface
when inished. Only the most visible stencil data
around the airframe was applied to save a
cluttered look on the inished model.
Turning to the Xtradecal markings they too
worked lawlessly as expected from the brand.
They did offer a little more resistance to the
setting solution but nonetheless gave in after
couple of applications and coaxing with a clean
paint brush.
The main gear door were altered to allow
them to be itted lush and mounted on small
lumps of Blu-Tack and the under wing serial
numbers were then applied on top. Once dry a
brand new scalpel blade was run around the
door edges to cut them out.
Once all the decals had be allowed sufficient
drying time any water or tide marks were
removed with a damp cotton bud and another
light gloss coat added to seal them in.
Final Approach
The usual plethora of detail parts still needed
to be added to the model so really this could be
deemed the half way stage. The undercarriage
was built up and painted as the fuselage was
drying so was ready to
be added at this
stage. All the
gear legs
were
 H AW K E R H U N T E R

Undersides painted
in Light Aircraft Grey

Almost done with the

nose and tail areas still
left to be painted green

Upper surfaces
weathered

Lower surface
weathered

Decal application in progress note the stencil

data placement guide in the background
MAY 2019 • VOLUME 41 • ISSUE 03 31
H AW K E R H U N T E R
painted in Alclad Aluminium and given a dark
dirt wash to bring out what little detail there is
present. The main gear legs needed their
mounting pins whittled down to allow them to
it in their location points within the gear bay.
Left as was the it proved to be very tight and
the thought of breaking them by forcing them
home was too great a risk.
The wheels for the main gear feature separate
tyre and hub arrangements making painting
easy. They also feature a lat spot and are keyed
to it correctly on the model so no tricky
alignment issues were discovered.
The nose gear is a little disappointing as the
main tyre and hub is devoid of any detail with
the latter being a solid disc. Painted Gunze Tyre
Black with the hub Alclad Aluminium the Dark
Dirt Wash brought out the raised lines of the
hub, but it is not a replica of the real thing as it’s
missing the spokes or lightning holes found on
the original. Detail is missed again with only one
connecting rod being present in the kit for the
rear nose bay door when there should be two!
With the model now sat on the undercarriage
the two drop tanks provided in the kit could be
added, and again these proved to be a little
disappointing. The excellent it of the parts so far
is not carried over to the drop tank as their
mating surfaces seem a little strange and can
only be described as having a slightly bevelled
edge to them making a very
prominent joint line
running down each
side, when
mated
together.
Breaking
the iller
out
32 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
this was swiftly dealt with and the tanks sanded
down and the lost detail rescribed. Painted and
weathered at the same time as the fuselage
painting they were secured to the under wing
pylons at this point and glued to the model.
All that was left now was to reattach the wing
mounted pitiot tube, whip aerials and canopy
sections. Two canopies are included with the kit,
a single part represents the closed position and
a separate two part open one is provided. The
ejection seat was found to sit too high in the
cockpit and test itting showed it interfered with
the it of the closed canopy section so needed
reducing in height a little.
The masking of the open canopy was a simple
affair thanks to the nicely rendered frame details
by Airix. Tamiya masking tape was applied to
each section and burnished down to reveal the
raised framework beneath. Using a new 10A
Swan Morton scalpel blade the outlines of each
frame had the knife blade run around the inside
edge revealing a perfectly masked centre
section. Don’t forget to leave the rear frame work
clear on the sliding canopy section! These were
painted too at the same time as the fuselage so
that camoulage demarcation lines matched.
The ejection seat was secured in place and the
canopy sections added with a small drop of
Gator Grip clear model glue. Four whip aerials
were fabricated from old toothbrush bristles,
painted yellow and added to the spine and wing
tips in the predrilled holes made before the
model was painted. Being lexible helps, as if
inadvertently knocked they simply bend and
return to their original shape without breaking.
The entire model was
then given a inal check for
imperfections before an
application of MRP Satin
Varnish was applied
overall, taking
extreme care to avoid the clear canopy sections,
to conclude the build.
Conclusions
I feel that this is a great opportunity missed to
present the modelling world with a new state of
the art plastic injection moulded Hunter. The
omission of the lap recess detail and front nose
wheel detail is strange and unfortunate as it
leaves the kit wanting in my opinion, with
modellers having to source aftermarket parts or
scratch build details to correct if they so choose.
Not having measured the kit against scale plans
and entrusting Airix’s reference material we will
assume that the kit is accurate in outline and
dimensions as it captures the look of the real
aircraft admirably.
On a more positive note the it is up there
with the best and the panel detail is as good as it
gets from Airix. The build is straightforward with
a sensible approach to the trunking wing and
intake areas without compromising the it of the
major fuselage parts in what would be a really
visible area.
There are plenty of alternative markings for
Hunters so the unimaginative decal options
aren’t a problem.
In summing up this kit is quite expensive for
what’s in the box, but the ultimate question I’m
sure will be, is it better than the older Academy
kit?
In short, just! But taking into account the
cheaper purchasing price, and the addition of
say a Neomega resin cockpit and some wheels,
there would be little to choose between the two.
Considering the Academy kit’s shortcomings
centred on the too shallow cockpit, inaccurate
sized wheels, jet pipe error and
rudder/tail plane position, built
from the box Airix just claim the title of Best
in Scale.
7/10, Airix you can do better than this!
Take a look at the Meteor or
Blenheim for example in the
same price range.
Until next time…
YOX F O R D B OYS PA R T 3

Leiston’s Mustangs
Part 3 – the also rans...
Neil Robinson concludes his build of 1/48 scale P-51 Mustangs to a common
theme – the 357th Fighter Group, USAAF, based at Leiston in Suffolk in 1944
8th AF Following on from the initial eight Mustangs I built from generally currently available kits, I also The 357th
Fighter Group made another seven ‘from kits I had in the loft’, which may not be generally available but are none- Fighter Group
the-less worth making... if you have them or can get hold of them for a ‘reasonable’ price! I have
included a brief review of the kit which might be of interest, before describing the individual models’
markings and the camouflage schemes I finished them in.

‘Ol Flak Joe’, flown by Lt Bill

Fricker in the late autumn of
1944, surrounded by air and
ground crew (from various
Revell/Monogram kits). The 1977
Monogram P-51D boxing (5101)
featured ‘gimmicks’ like open
ammunition access panels on the
port wing and an
exposed engine (All model photos
underside by Bill Newton)
moulded in relief,
which made
putting it in a
diorama setting
very tempting...

Monogram P-51D
(1970s – with fin fillet)
Released in 1977, this Monogram boxing (5101)
is moulded in silver plastic and although it was
state-of-the-art in the 1970s the kit betrays its
age by featuring raised surface panel lines, and
‘gimmicks’ like a separate lower engine cover, an
impression of the engine underside moulded in
relief in with the fuselage halves, and open
ammunition access panels on the port wing
(only), with a one-piece insert depicting the
three .50 calibre machine guns and their
ammunition belts.
The kit consists of forty six parts, plus a clear
canopy with separate windscreen. The cockpit
interior is acceptable, with raised detail on the
sidewalls, a seat, armour back plate, central fuel
tank and twin radio boxes, which does the job
after some careful painting followed by a subtle
wash. A well-sculpted seated pilot figure is also
included.
Unfortunately the fit of the lower engine
cover and the separate machine gun access
panels isn’t as good as it could be and if glued
‘closed’ some filling and subsequent sanding
down will be required with the resultant loss of
the surrounding raised detail. These areas aside,
the rest of the model fits together well without
problems. One minor error is that the tailplanes
are designed to fit with both the elevator trim
tab actuators on the underside, when in fact the
starboard tailplane should have it on the upper
surface. It’s only a minor blip and relatively easily
sorted by carefully cutting and sanding the trim
tab actuator off the starboard underside and
adding a sliver of plastic card to the upper side.
While you’re at it, you can also sand off the
raised ‘Monogram Copyright’ wording under the
port tailplane!
The main undercarriage bay is a little on the
shallow side, (and of course suffers from the
generic rear spar ‘problem’), but the
undercarriage doors are nicely detailed, as are
the undercarriage legs. The mainwheel tyres
feature the ‘diamond’ tread pattern and have
separate outer hubs. A pair of 108 gallon ‘paper
‘drop tanks are provided as the only external
stores, although optional ‘shrouded’ and
‘unshrouded’ exhaust manifolds are included.
The transparencies are particularly clear, the
hood having a separate canopy frame, which is
designed to slide ‘open’ or ‘closed’ to suit. The
cuffed Hamilton Standard propeller blades can
be modified to fit after the two-part propeller
spinner is assembled, which eases painting.
Overall, the dimensions and shape look
good, and the model appears to scale out
correctly when compared to published
specifications.
I fell back on the Eagle Strike Productions
decal sheets for the markings for this model as I
fancied giving it a coloured rudder, in this case a
red one of the 363rd FG, in particular 44-14532,
B6•O ‘Ol Flak Joe’ flown by Lt Bill Fricker in the
late autumn of 1944, the markings for which
came from sheet IP4804 ‘357th FG in Profile Part
III’.
The aircraft appears to have been painted in
the RAF Dark Green over RAF Medium Sea Grey
scheme, during which the QIM bands were
apparently overpainted and not re-applied... at
least they’re not visible on the few photos of ‘Ol
Flak Joe’ that I’ve seen anyway. D-Day stripes
were probably retained under the fuselage only
– or may have been totally removed by this
stage, but I applied them ‘just in case!’
Apart from the ‘Ol Flak Joe’ nose markings,
carried on both sides, the red/yellow/red spinner
and nose checks were in evidence and the codes
(B6•O) were in white, with the yellow serial
across the fin and rudder.

34 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K

Monogram P-51B (circa 1960s)
(Note: In the mid-1990s, Monogram cleaned-up and
partially re-tooled the moulds replacing the raised
panel lines with engraved ones, added a few other
items, and re-released the kit in their ProModeler
range – see Parts 1 and 2).
First into the quarter scale arena was
Monogram with their late-1960s vintage P-51B,
resplendent in Colonel James Howard’s 354th FG
‘Ding Hao!’ colours.
I wasn’t going to build this kit initially, but
while I was looking at it I found myself test-fitting
it together so decided, what the heck, and built it
anyway... straight from the box, almost. However, I
couldn’t resist chopping off the kit’s somewhat
simplistic integrally-moulded bomb racks and
replacing them with spares from an ICM kit, and I
also marked and drilled out the three
identification lights under the starboard wing,
which aren’t featured on the kit. I also decided to
cut out the integrally-moulded radio box behind
the pilot’s seat, and replace it with another spare
from an ICM kit. I also cut off the integrally-
moulded fuselage underside radiator exit flap
and replaced it with one from plastic card, but I
Accurate Miniatures P-51B/C
Although I covered the Accurate Miniatures kit
in the previous Parts 1 and 2, I have included it
again here as I managed to pick up a re-boxed
example marketed under the Academy label,
featuring the markings for P-51B-5, 43-6556,
G4•B ‘Chicago Gun Moll’ of the 362nd FS, 357th
FG, Leiston, Suffolk, May 1944, flown by Captain
Robert D Brown from a previous Accurate
Miniatures boxing release plus an old (1993)
Repli-Scale Decal sheet ‘48-5054 ‘The Yoxford
Boys Part 1’.
Finished in the initial delivery Olive Drab
over Neutral Gray scheme, it carried white Quick
Identification Markings (QIM) bands on both
surfaces of the wings and tailplane, with white
YOX F O R D B OYS
left the raised panel lines in
situ (and didn’t re-scribe
them).
I finished this model
as P-51B-5, 42-106654,
G4•G ‘Jersey Bounce’ of the
362nd FS, 357th FG, Leiston,
Suffolk, June 1944, flown by
2nd Lt James Roughgarden, from
the Eagle Strike decals sheet IP4803
‘357th FG Part II’.
Possibly delivered in the overall
Natural Metal scheme or maybe it
had its Olive Drab/Neutral Gray
camouflage stripped back to bare metal by the It had the unit’s
ground crew, with just the anti-glare panel red/yellow/red spinner and
running ‘straight’ (ie parallel to the engine panel nose checks and carried the codes ‘G4•G’ in black,
line) remaining in Olive Drab. The fuselage spine, and the ‘last six’ of the serial number (106654)
wing and tailplane upper surfaces were across the fin and rudder. It still had a framed
subsequently painted in either Olive Drab (which hood during this period, and I fitted it with a pair
is what I chose) or possibly RAF Dark Green, at of 250lb GP bombs to represent the ground
some point in May or early June 1944, following attack operations against road, rail and airfield
which it also had full D-Day stripes applied targets carried out by the 357th, from the 6th to
above/below wings and around the fuselage, 15th June. This aircraft was fitted with ‘shrouded’
which it sported for several weeks afterwards. exhaust manifolds.
codes (G4•B) and the
‘last five’ of the serial
across the fin and
rudder in yellow.
Red/Yellow/Red
spinner and nose
checks had been
applied by May 1944,
although the aircraft was
still fitted with the framed
canopy hood. It would also
have probably carried 75
gallon metal drop tanks France
during this period, which in May 1944,
is what I fitted. but Capt. Brown avoided capture
The aircraft was shot down over southern and escaped via Switzerland.
MAY 2019 • VOLUME 41 • ISSUE 03 35
YOX F O R D B OYS PA R T 3
ICM P-51B
(with dorsal fin fillet –
swapped with the ICM P-51D below)
Originally released in the late 1990s, this kit is
essentially a copy of the Tamiya P-51B, with a
few items from the Accurate Miniatures P-51B/C
for good measure, albeit moulded in thinner and
softer plastic. The parts feature quite a bit of
flash (at least mine did) but as the plastic is soft
it is easily removed. In copying the Tamiya
moulds, ICM have included the erroneous
curved cockpit floor. The kit also features the
recessed inboard section to the separate flaps à
la Tamiya.
The rest of the cockpit interior is a mix of
Tamiya and Accurate Miniatures P-51A, with the
sidewalls copied from the AM P-51A kit, but it
does feature the armour plate and First Aid kit
pack at the rear of the pilot’s seat. Ideally the
cockpit interior needs some correction –
replacing it with a resin aftermarket cockpit set
specifically designed for a P-51B such as those
produced by Aires, Legend or Verlinden is the
ideal solution – but once the fuselage halves are
together, only a Mustang aficionado would
really notice anything amiss.
ICM P-51D
(without fin fillet – swapped with B above)
First released in 2003, like ICM’s P-51B/C, this kit is
basically a copy of the Tamiya P-51D mouldings,
in fact most of the two manufacturers’ kits’ parts
are interchangeable. As such, most of the
comments that apply to the Tamiya kit are
applicable here, other than the fit. There is a lot
of flash present, ejector pin marks in some
awkward areas and several mould and seam
imperfections. You cannot ‘throw it together’ like
the Tamiya mouldings. The ICM offering requires
some careful trimming, alignment, gluing and
clamping.
There is one minor difference I found
between the ICM and Tamiya kits, in that fully
‘round’ and ‘weighted’ mainwheels are included,
although there is a prominent raised seam line
36 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
Unlike the Tamiya original
however, there are no
locating pins/holes,
which can make
assembly, especially
when joining and lining up the
fuselage halves, harder work
than it should be. Like all 1/48 scale P-51
models, with the exception of the new
Airfix and Meng Ds, the mainwheel
well is incorrectly boxed-in,
although the soft
plastic will make its
removal and a
replacement spar from
plastic card, an easy job. The fit
of the wing to the fuselage is good and
needs no filler. Also like the Tamiya kit, the
Hamilton Standard propeller blades don't
look quite right and again may be best replaced
with aftermarket spares.
As I was building two ICM kits, (a P-51B and
a P-51D), as in the tail-swapping exercise with
the Tamiya kits (see Part 2), I cut off and
swapped the rear fuselages of the ICM kits, so
that my P-51B would represent a modified P-51C
airframe retrofitted with a fin fillet, and my P-
51D – see later – could be finished as an early
D-5, without the fin fillet. It was a simple job to
razor saw the rear fuselages carefully off both
kits along the transportation joint, and fit the
respective rear ends of the other kit. As with the
Tamiya kits, both fuselage halves matched up
perfectly, but again note that the leading edge
of the fillet actually overran the rear fuselage
transportation joint, so be aware.
I finished this model as P-51C-5, 43-25039,
C5•K ‘L’il Kitten’ of the 364th FS, 357th FG,
Leiston, Suffolk, late autumn 1944, flown by Lt
Louis Fecher, although Lt Thomas L Harris may
also have flown the aircraft too.
around the central
circumference of each tyre
and a slightly mis-matched
tread pattern.
Only 75 gallon ‘metal’
drop tanks and 500lb US GP
bombs are included, (no 108
gallon ‘paper’ tanks as in the
Tamiya boxing), but otherwise
everything is more or less
matched, part for part,
including optional ‘shrouded’
or ‘unshrouded’ exhaust
manifolds, and separate flaps with the shallow
recessed section on their inboard ends where
they fit under the wing root/fuselage fillet.
The big advantage of the ICM kits was price,
(approximately half the price of the Tamiya
From the only available photo of the
aircraft, (that I have seen at least), it appears to
be finished in RAF Dark Green over RAF
Medium Sea Grey, which is how I painted my
model. Invasion stripes were still in place under
the lower fuselage, albeit well below the level
of the fuselage star & bar marking and quite
worn and discoloured, with faint remnants of
them on the leading edges of the mainplanes.
White QIM bands were re-applied under the
wings but don’t appear to have been reinstated
around the tailplanes, and may not have been
carried on the wing upper surfaces either?
The codes (C5•K) were white and the
rudder was painted yellow, following the
adoption of coloured rudders in late 1944, to
identify the squadrons within the Group –
362nd white (but not applied), 363rd red and
364th yellow – which resulted in the numerals
of the serial across the rudder, being
overpainted in black.
The spinner had red/yellow/red bands
applied with red and yellow checks on the nose.
The name ‘Li’l Kitten’ was written under the
exhausts on the port side in red capitals with a
white drop shadow, which I hand-painted on to
some clear decal film before applying. The
aircraft data stencil had been masked out and
appeared on a natural metal rectangle, with
what appears to be a black panel with the
pilot’s and ground crew’s names in yellow
under the windscreen. These and the rest of the
markings, the white codes ‘C5•K’ and the ‘last
six’ of the serial, ‘324039’, were taken from spare
decal sheets, the three numerals on the fin in
yellow and the three on the rudder in black.
The aircraft was fitted with a Malcolm hood,
which had not been painted and was in bare
metal. I fitted my model with 75 gallon drop
tanks although 108 gallon ‘paper’ drop tanks
were also being used in this period too.
originals), but then the ICM
Company seemed to go out of business for a
short period, and following its very welcome re-
birth, the Mustangs seem to have been dropped

from their current catalogue, although examples
can still be found on eBay and at model shows.
I finished this model as P-51D-5, 44-13316,
G4•C, ‘Mildred’ (later re-named ‘Nooky Booky II’)
of the 362nd FS, 357th FG, Leiston, Suffolk, June
1944, flown by Capt Leonard ‘Kit’ Carson as it
appeared around the D-Day period with full,
freshly applied, invasion stripes above/below
Revell P-51D
(1970s – with fin fillet)
Often quoted as being based upon the 1977
Monogram kit (5101), in fact, this particular kit
(my example was listed as H-31 0031/0389)
originally released in 1978 by Revell Germany,
features quite a few major differences and is
almost certainly from different, or at least
heavily modified, moulds.
Moulded in a pale blue/grey plastic, the
panel line detail is raised, but the most
noticeable differences to the Monogram kit are
in the cockpit area, where the interior parts are
significantly more simplified, but still include a
‘flat’ floor with integrally-moulded rudder pedals
and the central fuel tank, a control column, a
seat, armour back plate and the radio boxes. The
width of the nose in front of the cockpit is much
broader than the Monogram kit’s but there are
no ‘gimmicky’ lower engine cover/engine
underside detail, or open ammunition access
panels.
The main undercarriage bay detail is also
more simplified, (and inevitably suffers from the
generic rear spar ‘problem’), as are the oleo legs
and doors, but all are still acceptable. Again the
underwing bomb/drop tank racks are integrally-
moulded in with the wing underside half, but in
this instance only 75 gallon ‘metal’ drop tanks
are provided. Similarly, only ‘shrouded’ exhausts
wings and around fuselage which even extended
on to the rear part of the canopy hood frame. The
overall Natural Metal scheme had been modified
with an Olive Drab fuselage spine, wing and
tailplane upper surfaces. No QIM bands appear
to have been applied, (at least not around the
tailplanes), possibly because 44-13316 only
arrived in the UK and then onwards to the 357th
are included, which
are over-
simplified
and could do
with replacing –
perhaps with
examples from one
of the other
Mustang kits
that offer a
choice of
‘shrouded’ or ‘unshrouded’ exhausts?
Although not the most detailed kit of the P-
51D out there, if you can find one for the right
price, it’s still worth building, as there aren't any
major construction issues with this kit as far as fit
is concerned and the taiplanes feature correctly
placed trim tab actuators.
I finished this model as P-51D-15, 44-13783,
C5•M ‘Rovin’ Rhoda/4 Bolts’, 364th FG, flown by
1st Lt Irvin Snedecker circa November/December
1944. Again the scheme was RAF Dark Green
upper surfaces, which extended low down on
the fuselage sides, but the under surfaces may
have remained in the original natural metal
finish, (it’s difficult to tell from the reference
photos), which is how I finished my model.
White QIM bands were carried on the wing
under surfaces (but not on the top surfaces) and
on both surfaces of tailplane. The rudder was
MAY 2019 • VOLUME 41 • ISSUE 03
YOX F O R D B OYS PA R T 3
at Leiston a matter of days before D-Day and
there might not have been time to apply them?
The aircraft had black codes (G4•C) and the
serial was carried across the fin and rudder in
yellow with the Group’s red/yellow/red spinner
and nose checks – all of which were made up
from items in the spare box. 108 gallon drop
tanks were fitted.
painted
yellow (the 364th
Squadron’s colour), which meant the serials
across the fin remained in yellow but those on
the rudder were repainted in black.
The name ‘Rovin’ Rhoda’ was carried in white
on the nose on the port side, with ‘4 Bolts’ in
yellow on the starboard side... one of four P-51s
in the 364th FG at this time to feature the name
on the starboard side.
The aircraft data stencil on the forward
fuselage under the windscreen had been
masked out and appeared on a natural metal
rectangle. The codes C5•M were applied in white
and the aircraft had the Group’s red/yellow/red
spinner and nose checks. 108 gallon drop tanks
were carried.
Decals came from Eagle Strike sheet IP4805
‘357th FG in Profile Part IV’.
37
YOX F O R D B OYS PA R T 3

Tamiya P-51D to 12 August, landed at

(with Ultracast resin replacement rear fuselage Soviet airfields in
without fin fillet) Ukraine, and took in
Tamiya P-51D (with Ultracast resin replacement Poland, Romania,
rear fuselage without fin fillet) Yugoslavia, Italy and
I have included this model in with Part 3 simply France on the way
because I had the opportunity to try out and fit back.
the Ultracast UC48024 ‘P-51D Mustang Resin Early The aircraft
Tail (Filletless) Conversion’ on a Tamiya P-51D, was finished in the
which is supplied ready to use and includes a RAF Dark Green over
separate rudder with excellent fabric detail and Medium Sea Grey scheme,
replacement tailwheel doors. All that is required is with D-Day stripes under the
a simple saw cut along the kit’s fuselage halves’ wings and underside of the
fuselage transportation joint to remove the fuselage. No QIM bands
original tail section, and then, when the kit’s appear to have been
fuselage halves are joined, slot on the Ultracast carried (possibly
conversion. painted out when
I finished the model as P-51D-5, 44-13573, the Dark Green/Medium Sea Grey was applied?). were applied and 108
B6•B (unnamed at this time but later named The codes, (B6•B – note the underscore gallon drop tanks were carried for the mission.
‘Isabel III’) of the 363rd FS, flown by Flt Lt Jack under the individual aircraft letter ‘B’ indicating Decals came from the spares box and were
Cleland RAF, a New Zealander on an exchange there were two ‘B’s in the squadron... although selected based upon references in Ventura
posting, who flew on one of a series of seven 8th 44-13573’s i/d letter was later changed to ‘V’), Publications’ ‘D-Day to Victory’ and ‘Jack's
Air Force shuttle bombing operations undertaken were white, and the yellow serial was carried Adventures – the story of Flight Lieutenant Jack
between June and September 1944. This across the fin and rudder as normal. Cleland, the only New Zealand fighter pilot to fly
particular operation, Operation ‘Frantic V’, from 6 Red/yellow/red spinner bands and nose checks with the Eighth Air Force’ by Tim Neilsen, 1999.

Footnote:
For reasons that I am sure made sense at the time I
took the decision, I decided to add pilots to all but one
of these models to give them a sense of scale. Most of
the pilots came from the various kits, mainly Revell and
Monogram, although there were a couple of resin
aftermarket figures too. Details of the flying helmets,
earphones, oxygen mask, leather or fabric flying
jackets, uniform trousers or flying coveralls and boots
or shoes – depending upon the moulding of the
figure(s) and a bit of head/arm/leg swapping – were
taken from photos in the reference books I used (see
below).
I’m no figure painter, (an art in its own right), but
from a distance, they look alright – to me anyway. The
only model not to have a seated pilot was the 1977
Monogram boxing finished as ‘Ol Flak Joe’, which I
had modelled with open machine gun access panels
on the port wing and an unfitted separate lower engine
cover, which I reasoned wouldn’t be so portrayed if the
pilot was sitting in the machine. Unfortunately the
Monogram kit doesn’t have separate flaps, which were
invariably deployed when P-51s were parked, but I’ll
not mention that fact if you don’t.
With reference to 44-13573, B6•B of the 363rd
FS, flown by Flt Lt Jack Cleland on an exchange
posting to the 367th FG, although he would have been
issued with a USAAF style flying helmet, he would
have probably retained his RAF issue flying jacket and
flying boots and kept his RAF uniform, so with a bit of
RAF/USAAF pilot figure swapping, Jack Cleland was
created... including his moustache.
On a general theme, looking at photos of the real
aeroplanes, it would appear that the Packard Merlin
was a relatively clean engine and didn’t produce much
exhaust staining – either that or the 8th AF’s ground
crew were meticulous in the cleaning of their charges.
However, the underside exit vents for the aftercooler
and the radiator appear to have thrown out quite a lot
of ‘hot air’, which created areas of ‘discolourment’
along the underside of the rear fuselage, which being a
difficult area to clean when the aircraft was parked up,
tended to be a noticeable feature of many of these well
used aeroplanes.
I used Tamiya acrylic paints throughout, and it
may also be of interest to note that 2 parts XF-3 Flat
Yellow and one part XF-5 Flat Green makes a
reasonable match for US Interior Green and Tamiya
XF-4 Yellow Green is a good match for Zinc Chromate
Yellow.
Neil Robinson

Main References used: For more information on FoLA please visit: www.friendsofleistonairfield.co.uk
To War with the Yoxford Boys: The Complete Story of the 357th Fighter Group Donations are always welcome, contact Peter Saunders at:
by Merle C Olmsted, Eagle Editions Ltd, 2004
The Friends of Leiston Airfield
357th Fighter Group by James Roeder, Squadron/Signal Publications, 2000
Cakes and Ale Park, Abbey Lane, Theberton, Suffolk IP16 4TE
Fighters of the 8th Air Force by Gérard Paloque, Histoire & Collections, 2013 Email: foleistonairfield@gmail.com
Mustang Aces of the 357th Fighter Group by Chris Bucholtz, Osprey Aircraft of
the Aces - 96, 2010
From D-Day to Victory! by Malcolm Laird, Ventura Publications, 2007
P-51 Mustang in Color by Larry Davis, Squadron/Signal Publications, 1982
Camouflage & Markings No 16: North American P-51 & F-6 Mustang
by Roger A Freeman, Ducimus Books Ltd, 1971
With special thanks to Peter Saunders of The Friends of Leiston Airfield, for the
help, encouragement and knowledge of all things ‘357th Fighter Group’ given USAAF Leiston Memorial
during the making of the models and preparation of these articles.

38 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
H AW K E YE

Hasegawa’s
Hawkeye in
1/72
By Ugur Kenel

Kit No: 01561
Scale: 1/72
Type: Injection Moulded Plastic
Manufacturer: Hasegawa
Amerang/Stevens International
T
he E-2C Hawkeye is the US Navy's all
weather, carrier based tactical
airborne early warning command and
control aircraft. This was the second aircraft
to enter service designed specially to
perform this mission, following on from the
E-1 Tracer, which was a variant of the S-2
Tracker. The C version of the E-2 entered
service in 1973 and was a marked
improvement on earlier versions with new
engines and propellers, some new avionics
added into the fuselage belly section, new
mission computers, radar displays and a
co-operative engagement capability.
Operating from altitudes above 25,000ft,
the Hawkeye warns the naval task force of
approaching air threats and provides threat
identiication and positional
data to ighter aircraft.
Secondary roles include strike command
and control, surveillance, guidance of
search and rescue missions and as a relay
to extend the range of communications.
As well as the US Navy the E-2C is in
service with the navies of Egypt, France,
Israel, Japan, Singapore and Taiwan.
The present kit is the 1/72 scale
Hasegawa E-2C released with box number
E31/01561.
I used the following sets from the
aftermarket:
• Wolfpack E-2C Hawkeye folding wing set
• Eduard cockpit photo etch set
• Eduard canopy mask
• Quickboost four blade propeller
• Authentic decals for E-2C Hawkeye

40 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
 H AW K E YE

The nose
landing gear
bay parts
placed under
the cockpit. As
seen in the
picture this
will also needs
some
improvements

The nose landing gear bay must be built More

together with the cockpit as it is a part of the improvements to
As with every model kit, the E-2C Hawkeye general fuselage assembly. There were some the nose landing
starts with building up the cockpit. The parts mould marks on the parts that needed gear bay. I used
count in this area is very limited and detail is addressing. I always cover this kind of minor some assorted
very weak. There are no seatbelts and such blemish with small scraps of plastic instead of sizes of white
moulded detail is there is on the panel and the illing and sanding process, which can be plastic rod and
consoles is very shallow and needs some tricky in small areas and sometimes effect some stretched
improvements more damage sprue for
hydraulic lines

The nose
gear bay
airbrushed
white
and sealed
with a clear
coat prior
to the
impending
If you want to depict the E-2C with wings weathering
folded back, you will need plenty of weight to steps
I only added some basic additional detail to counter balance it as the resin wings are large
the cockpit because most of it will not be and heavy
visible through the small and dark coloured
cockpit windows

Main cockpit parts airbrushed with the

interior grey colour and sealed with a clear Cockpit painting inished with a brush. After
The nose landing gear bay is inished. After a
coat for further weathering and photo etch this the coloured photo etch detail parts from
base coat of white additional details were
additions Eduard inished off the cockpit detailing
painted in by brush, such as the hydraulic
lines and various equipment boxes. After this
a wash was applied. Once this was dry I added
some stencilling to add further interest

A dry it of the interior assembly is essential

before gluing the fuselage. This is last chance
to ind out any it problems
Eduard’s set really makes a difference. I only
added some small plastic rods to make
throttle handles on the console

MAY 2019 • VOLUME 41 • ISSUE 03 41

H AW K E YE

As I was planning to use the resin wing fold

the kit wings must be prepared for the resin
parts. The plastic parts were cut along a
straight line irst, after which they were
shaped with a knife to the proper
coniguration To achieve the correct shape I irst marked the
line to be cut with a pen and carefully cut it The inner parts of the wings are ready for the
out. The starboard wing stub has been addition of the resin after a long and precise
completed cutting phase.

The resin wings are from Wolfpack. They are

heavier than the plastic wings and somewhat
brittle like most resin. All parts need cleaning Inner wing parts from the resin set are glued
and trimming from their casting blocks to kit’s wing with CA glue

I made the same additions to the main wheel

bays as with the nose gear bay. Also some
details have been added to the inner wing
resin part to imitate hydraulic lines
Fuselage halves have been glued. This new
generation Hasegawa kit its almost seamlessly
and only needed minor sanding to clean it up

The cockpit windows of the E-2C are normally

a darker tone. To this end I mixed X-22 clear
with a drop of X-19 and X-23 and airbrushed
the transparency. The airbrush must be held
closer to the part than normal to achieve a
thick and consistent coat of the paint mix
The canopy is often another problematic area
The canopy is attached. Just basic sanding
but in this case there is no gap and the it is as
done and ready. I have painted the joint line
good as anywhere else on this model
aluminium to demonstrate that there is no gap

The joint for the base of the radar umbrella is I used cyanoacrylate glue to ill the joints of There are no navigation light details on the
the most problematic area of this kit. There are the radar base. This also gives more strength resin wing. I carved out the relevant sections
big gaps, and illing and sanding in this area is to a very small joining point and dries quicker and added the clear parts, sanding and
quite difficult. than iller polishing to blend them in with the resin

42 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
 H AW K E YE

The handles were created from ine metal wire

There are four grab handles on each side of

radar base. These are somewhat crude and I
decided to replace them with wire
First I removed the plastic handles, then I
opened out holes for the scratch built
replacements

I added the irst weathering effect with a piece

of sponge immersed into a slightly darker
tone of paint. This was just gently touched
upon the surface until I had achieved the
desired effect

The aircraft has now been painted in its

Replacing the plastic handles adds a very nice proper colour and sealed with a clear coat
touch to the E-2C in this small scale

All panel lines have now been highlighted

with a pencil and weathering washes

Another view of the weathering effect

achieved with the sponge on the side of the The inner sides of the folded wings were
engine painted a darker tone of the original colour
because of the shadow effect. Colour
differences between the upper and lower
sides of the wings are clearly apparent here Some oil paint touches were added on the
fuselage, seen in this picture as white dots

Decals are applied. I used Authentic Decal’s

sheet with full stencils instead of the kit item
provided
I also weathered the decals with a lighter All weathering steps are now sealed with a
colour of the acrylic paints using a brush semi gloss coat

Over spraying the salt with the fuselage colour

The last weathering step on this model was leaves a realistic effect entirely in keeping with Footprints are added over the walkways after
salt weathering a naval aircraft a semi gloss coat

MAY 2019 • VOLUME 41 • ISSUE 03 43

H AW K E YE

Flaps are provided separately with the kit.

They can be built extended and were painted
apart from the main airframe The same weathering steps must be done to
the lap housings on the resin wings

Some white dots and weathering added over

the laps’ surfaces. As a last step I added Landing
random chipping with a brush gear doors
are ready for
assembly

The inner wing resin parts were weathered

heavily. Typical yellow and blue markings on
the hydraulic lines were painted with a brush

All components of the landing gear and

wheels are ready for assembly. It’s one of the
more boring parts of this build because of the
very small size of the parts

Antennas were painted separately with their

relevant colours

The E-2C has ive big air intakes, the insides of

which are devoid of details. I elected to close
these with FOD covers, but there are none
provided with the kit. All these covers had to
be scratch built from scrap plastic with wire Antennas were painted separately with their Cable antennas must be added to the kit. I
handles relevant colours used thin ishing line for this

44 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
 ISSUE 38
O
f all the ‘classic’ jets that we modellers
take such delight in few can match the
Hunter for style. The brutish ugliness of
the Phantom, the stubby weirdness of the
Lightning, even the Buccaneer, a thing of beauty
in itself, cannot match the uncluttered lines of
what is arguably Sydney Camm’s most successful
design. Developed by Hawker Aircraft for the
RAF during the late 1940s and early 1950s, it was
designed to take advantage of the newly
developed Rolls-Royce Avon turbojet engine
and the swept wing, and was the irst jet
powered aircraft produced by Hawker to be
procured by the RAF.
With a clear need arising for modern jet
designs to match the Soviet threat in the
expanding Cold War, Camm had proposed the
Hawker P.1040 for the RAF, but the demonstrator
failed to interest them. Seeking better
performance and fulilment of the Air Ministry
Speciication E.38/46, Camm designed the
Hawker P.1052, which was essentially a Sea Hawk
outitted with a thirty ive degree swept wing.
Despite good performance this failed to gain
acceptance. As a private venture, Hawker
proceeded to convert the second P.1052
prototype into the Hawker P.1081 with swept
tailplanes, a revised fuselage and a single jet
exhaust at the rear. On 19th June 1950 the
P.1081 conducted its maiden light, although
further development was stalled by difficulties
Hunter F6A of the Tactical Weapons Unit (TWU), RAF Brawdy,
seen here approaching Abingdon in 1979 (Mike Freer)
with the engine's reheat, and in 1951 the sole
P.1081 prototype was lost in a crash.
In 1946 Camm prepared a new design for a
swept winged ighter that would be powered by
the upcoming Rolls-Royce Avon turbojet in
response to Speciication F.43/46, which sought
a daytime jet powered interceptor aircraft. The
Avon's major advantage over the earlier Nene
engine was adoption of the axial compressor,
which allowed for a much smaller engine
diameter and provided greater thrust. Initially
itted with a single air intake in the nose and a T
tail, the project rapidly evolved into the more
familiar Hunter shape. The intakes were moved
to the wing roots to make room for weapons
and radar in the nose, and a more conventional
tail arrangement was devised as a result of
stability concerns.
On 20th July 1951 the P.1067 made its maiden
light from RAF Boscombe Down, powered by a
single Avon 103 engine. The second prototype,
which was itted with production standard
avionics, armament and an Avon 107 turbojet,
irst lew on 5th May 1952. As an insurance
against development problems on the part of
the Avon engine, Hawker modiied the design to
accommodate another axial turbojet, the
Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire 101, itted with
which the third prototype lew on 30th
November 1952.
A Swedish J34 seen in 1955. The J34 was armed with four 30mm
(1.18in) cannon and two Sidewinders and was equivalent to the F.4
The Hawker Hunter
By Richard Mason
The prototype Hunter, WB188, modiied
to Mark 3 standard, displayed in its
world speed record colours in 1976
On 16th March 1953 the irst production
standard Hunter F.1 made its initial light itted
with a single Avon 113 turbojet and on 7th
September the modiied irst prototype, WB188,
broke the world air speed record for jet powered
aircraft, attaining a speed of 727.63mph
(1,171.01km/h). From the outset it was clear that
the type had exceptional performance, being
the irst RAF aircraft capable of effectively
matching the English Electric Canberra bomber.
The aircraft also set numerous aviation records,
and was also noted both for its quick turnaround
time and for its easy handling in light.
The single seat ighter versions of the Hunter
were armed with four 30mm (1.18in) ADEN
cannon, with 150 rounds of ammunition per
gun. The cannon and ammunition boxes were
contained in a single pack that could be
removed from the aircraft for rapid re-arming
and maintenance. In the two seat version either
a single 30mm ADEN cannon was carried, or in
some export versions two, with a removable
ammunition tank. The Hunter featured a nose
mounted ranging radar, providing range input
to the gyro gun sight for air-to-air gunnery only.
Other equipment included pylon mounted
under wing external fuel tanks, a forward facing
gun camera, and large streamlined pods for
collecting expended shell cases beneath the gun
pack. These were nicknamed Sabrinas, after an
actress of the time whose igure apparently
AIRCRAFT in Profile
ex rAf Hunter T8C, Xf357, masquerading as a Dutch trainer, seen
here at the 100th Anniversary of Dutch military aviation event at
Volkel Airbase, netherlands in 2013
excited some emotion. Most export Hunters
were equipped to be compatible with additional
types of missiles, such as the AiM-9 Sidewinder
and the AGM-65 Maverick air-to-surface missile.
The Hunter's aerodynamic qualities were
increasingly compromised by modiications in
later production models, such as the addition of
the Sabrina bulges, under wing fuel tanks to
increase range, leading edge extensions to
resolve pitch control difficulties and a large
ventral air brake.
The rAf sought more thrust than was
available from the Avon 100 series so rolls-
royce developed the Avon 200 series engine.
This was an almost wholly new design, equipped
with a new compressor to put an end to surge
problems, an annular combustion chamber and
an improved fuel control system. The resulting
Avon 203 was the engine for the Hunter f.6.
The Hunter f.1 entered service with the royal
Air force in July 1954 replacing the Gloster
Meteor, the Canadair Sabre and the de Havilland
Venom then in service. initially, low internal fuel
capacity restricted the Hunter's performance,
giving it only a maximum light endurance of
about an hour, so to address the problem of
range a production Hunter f.1 was itted with a
modiied wing featuring bag type fuel tanks in
the leading edge and ‘wet’ hard points. The
resulting Hunter f.4 irst lew on 20th october
1954 and entered service in March 1955.
The up-engined f.6 included a revised fuel
tank layout, the centre fuselage tanks being
replaced by new ones in the rear fuselage, a
modiied dogtooth wing leading edge notch to
alleviate the pitch-up problem and four wet hard
points, inally giving the aircraft a good ferry
range
Hunters saw active service in a number of
areas as Britain contracted its empire. During the
Suez Crisis of 1956 Hunters of 1 and 34
Squadrons based at rAf Akrotiri in Cyprus lew
escort for Canberra bombers on offensive
Hunter fGA.9, XK137, of 45
Squadron rAf in July 1976
missions into egypt, although for most of the
conlict the Hunters engaged in local air defence
due to their lack of range.
During the Brunei revolt in 1962 the royal Air
force deployed Hunters and Gloster Javelins
over Brunei to provide support for British ground
forces with Hunters launching both dummy and
real straing runs on ground targets. The aircraft
also saw deployment to Borneo and Malaya.
The Hunter f.6 was retired from its day ighter
role in the rAf by 1963, being replaced by the
lightning. Many f.6s were then given a new
lease of life in the close air support role,
converting into the Hunter fGA.9, which saw
frontline use from 1960 to 1971. The Hunter was
also used by two rAf display units, the Black
Arrows of 111 Squadron and later the Blue
Diamonds of 92 Squadron, who lew sixteen
aircraft.
in Aden in May 1964, Hunter fGA.9s and
fr.10s of 8 and 43 Squadrons were used
extensively during the radfan campaign against
insurgents attempting to overthrow the
federation of South Arabia. Predominantly using
three inch high explosive rockets and 30mm
ADen cannon, the Hunter proved an able
ground attack platform. Both squadrons
continued operations with their Hunters until
the UK withdrew from Aden in november 1967.
Hunters were lown by 63, 234 and 79
Squadrons acting in training roles for foreign
and Commonwealth students. These remained
in service until after the Hawk T.1 entered service
in the mid 1970s. Two seat trainer versions, the
T.7 and T.8, remained in use for training and
secondary roles by the rAf and royal navy until
the early 1990s when the Blackburn Buccaneer
retired from service.
The Hunter saw combat service in a range of
conlicts with several operators, including the
Suez Crisis, the Aden emergency, the Sino-indian
War, the indo-Pakistani War of 1965, the indo-
Pakistani War of 1971, the rhodesian Bush War,
the Second Congo War, the Six Day War, the War
of Attrition and the Yom Kippur War. overall
1,972 Hunters were manufactured by Hawker
Aircraft and its successor Hawker Siddeley, as
well as being produced under licence overseas.
Overseas Users
Hunters were exported all over the world,
with a bewildering array of designations given to
the various users, all of which were based on the
Mk 4 or the Mk 6:
Belgium and the Netherlands
The Belgian Air force received 112 Hunter f.4s
between 1956 and 1957 to replace the Gloster
Meteor f.8. The aircraft were built under licence
in both Belgium and the netherlands in a joint
programme. SABCA and Avions fairey built sixty
four aircraft in Belgium and a further forty eight
were built in the netherlands by fokker. The
Hunters did not serve for long, being replaced in
1958 by the Avro Canada Cf-100 Canuck.
The Belgian and Dutch governments
subsequently ordered the improved Hunter f.6,
with the Belgian Air force receiving 112 fokker
built aircraft between 1957 and 1958. These
served until 1963 and a large number of the
surviving machines were sold to Hawker Aircraft
and rebuilt for re-export to india and iraq, with
others to Chile, Kuwait and lebanon.
Chile
During the 1960s and 1970s Chile acquired
Hunters from Britain for service in the Chilean Air
force. During the 1973 Chilean coup d'état,
some of the Hunters were used by military
officers as part of the successful effort to
overthrow the socialist president of Chile,
Salvador Allende. in 1982, after the falklands
War, a number of Hunters were air freighted to
Chile as part of the arrangements for providing
support for UK operations in the South Atlantic.
frADU Hunter GA11
Xe707 at Yeovilton in 1988

Another FRADU GA.11, WV267, at Yeovilton,
10th July 1985 (Rob Schleiffert)
Royal Danish Air Force
Looking for a replacement for the Gloster
Meteor in service at the time, the Hunter was a
natural choice and a contract was signed for
thirty F. Mk 51s. The RDAF took delivery of the
irst aircraft in January 1956, and subsequently
two T.Mk 53 two seat trainers in 1958. The last
light of the Hunter in RDAF service took place in
April 1974.
Indian Air Force
In 1954 India arranged to purchase Hunters as
a part of a wider arms deal with Britain, ordering
140 Hunter single seat ighters. By the outbreak
of the Sino-Indian War in 1962, the Hunter was
the nation's primary and most capable
interceptor demonstrating its superiority over
China's Russian sourced MiGs and deterring
Chinese Ilyushin Il-4 bombers from attacking
targets within India. The type had largely been
replaced by MiG-21s in the interceptor role by
1970.
The Hunter was to play a major role during
the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 and again in
1971and was ultimately replaced by the Jaguar
in Indian service, with the last of the IAF's
Hunters phased out of service in 1996.
Lebanese Air Force
The Lebanese Air Force operated Hawker
Hunters from 1958 to 2014, although they fell
out of usage and went into storage during the
1980s. In November 2008, ifty years after its
original introduction, the Lebanese Air Force
returned four of its eight Hunters to service with
Miss Demeanour, a privately owned Hawker Hunter F.58 photographed at RAF Elvington on 18th August 2007 (Brian Burnell)
2 Squadron, based at Rayak, one two seater and
three single seaters. The Hunters were retired
from service during 2014.
Middle East
Between 1964 and 1975 both Britain and
France delivered signiicant quantities of arms,
including Hunters, to Iraq. Hunters of the Iraqi
Air Force saw action after the Six Day War while
during the War of Attrition Iraqi Hunters usually
operated from bases in Egypt and Syria. Some
missions were also lown by the Royal Jordanian
Air Force, but most of the Jordanian Hunters
were destroyed on the ground on the irst day of
the Six Day War. Replacement Hunters for
Jordanian service were acquired from both
Britain and Saudi Arabia in the war's aftermath
and these were used with considerable success
in ground attacks against Syrian Army tanks
during the Black September Crisis in 1970.
Republic of Singapore Air Force
Singapore irst ordered the aircraft in 1968.
Deliveries began in 1971 and were completed by
1973with forty six refurbished Hunters
equipping two squadrons. In the late 1970s the
Singaporean Hunter leet was upgraded and
modiied with an additional hard point under
the forward fuselage and another two inboard
pylons wired only for AIM-9 Sidewinders,
bringing to a total of seven hard points for
external stores and weapons delivery. As a result
of these upgrades they were redesignated as
FGA.74S. The type was inally retired and phased
out of service in 1992.
AIRCRAFT IN PRoFILE
Swedish Air Force
In the early 1950s the Swedish Air Force
signed a contract for 120 Hawker Hunter Mk 50s
to replace the Saab Tunnan. The model was
designated J 34 and was armed with four 30mm
(1.18in) cannon and two Sidewinders. J 34s were
gradually replaced by the supersonic J 35
Draken and the last was retired from service in
1969.
Swiss Air Force
In January 1958 Switzerland ordered 100
Hunters to replace their existing leet of de
Havilland Vampire ighters. These were operated
as interceptors, with a secondary ground attack
role, and from 1963 onwards the outboard wing
pylons were modiied to carry two AIM-9
Sidewinder air-to-air missiles. Switzerland made
several attempts to replace its Hunter leet, with
both the Mirage III and the A-7 Corsair
considered (now there is a What If?), but
ultimately a further twenty two refurbished
F.58As and eight T.68 trainers were purchased in.
Replaced in the interceptor role by the
Northrop F-5E Tiger II the Hunter transitioned to
become the country's primary ground attack
platform, replacing the Venom. The change to a
primary air-to-ground role resulted in the Hunter
80 upgrade, adding chaff/lare dispensers, BL755
cluster bombs and the ability to carry AGM-65
Maverick missiles. The aircraft remained in
service until the discovery of wing cracking led
to the quick retirement of all Hunter F.58As and
the type was completely withdrawn from Swiss
service in 1994.
Hunters also lew with the air forces of Abu
AIRCRAFT IN PRoFIle

Hunter F Mk 6, XG159/P, No.56 Squadron RAF, Wattisham, Suffolk, 1959

Standard RAF camoulage scheme of Dark Green and Dark Sea Grey upper surfaces and Silver lower surfaces. Type D roundels in all six
positions. Serial numbers painted in Black, individual code 'P' in White painted on the in, repeated on the nosewheel door with a thin
Red outline. Squadron insignia on the fuselage sides. Red and White chequers painted on the wing tips

Hunter F Mk 6, 401, No.1 Squadron, Royal Iraqi Air Force, Tahmouz AB, 1958
Finish is gloss Dark Green, Dark Sea Grey and Silver. National insignia carried above and below the
wings, and on the rear fuselage, early type of in. The abbreviation 'RIAF' and serial numbers in Black

Hunter F Mk 6, XG185/Z, No.92 Squadron RAF, 'Blue Diamonds' Aerobatic Team, Leconield, East Yorkshire, 1962
Royal Blue inish, with wing tips, lightning marking on the fuselage and drop tanks in White. Squadron crest on the nose.
Code letter 'Z' painted in Black on the in, repeated, on the nosewheel door in White. Type D roundels with White outline in
six positions.Fin lash outlined White on the in

Hunter F Mk 6, XF515/R, No.43 Squadron RAF, Leuchars, Fife, 1958

Gloss camoulage of Dark Green/Dark Sea Grey, lower surfaces in Silver. Type D roundels in six positions, serials painted
in Black. White code letter on the in and on a Red nosewheel door. Black and White chequered markings lanked the
fuselage roundels and were also painted on the wing tips. The squadron emblem on the fuselage port side only

Hunter F Mk 6, 702/C, No.1 Squadron, Royal Jordanian Air Force (Al Quwwat Aljawwiya Almalakiya Alurduniya), Mafraq AB, 1959
Standard RAF Dark Green/Dark Sea Grey camoulage on upper surfaces, with Silver lower surfaces. Serial numbers and individual aircraft
code painted in White. Roundels in six positions,national lag on the in. Squadron insignia on both sides of the nose
 AIRCRAFT iN PRoFiLE

Hunter F Mk 6, L174, Lebanese Air Force (Force Aérienne Libanaise/Al Quwwat Aljawwiya Allubnamiya), 1958
Camoulage is gloss Dark Green, Dark Sea Grey and Silver. National insignia in six positions, serial numbers painted in
White, in Roman and Arabic characters. The Lebanese lag unusually placed in a raked position on the in

Hunter F Mk 6, XE628/X, No.1 Squadron RAF, Stradishall, Suffolk, 1960

Aircraft camoulaged in Dark Green, Dark Sea Grey and Silver, with serial numbers on the rear fuselage and
below the wings, painted in Black. Roundels in six positions. Aircraft code 'X' painted in Red, outlined White, on
the in and repeated, without outline, on the nosewheel door

Hunter F Mk 6, N-213, No.325 Squadron Royal Netherlands Air Force, late 1950
Aircraft camoulaged in Dark Green, Dark Sea Grey and Silver. Codes N-213 in White. National markings in six position.
Squadron emblem on the in

Hunter FGA Mk 9, 98, Air Force of Zimbabwe, January 1981

Standard RAF camoulage of Dark Green/Dark Sea Grey, over Silver. No fuselage
and wing national insignia. This was painted on in only. Codes painted in Black

Hunter FGA Mk 9, 1821, Rhodesian Air Force, early 1970

Aircraft camoulaged in Dark Green/Dark Earth. No wing national insignia. Rhodesian
roundel on the nose. Codes painted in Black, repeated on nosewheel door
AIRCRAFT IN PROFILE
AIRCRAFT IN PROFILE
AIRCRAFT IN PROFILE
 AIRCRAFT iN PRoFile

Hunter F Mk 6, XG159/P, No.56 Squadron

RAF, Wattisham, Suffolk, 1959
This aircraft represents the standard RAF
camoulage scheme of Dark Green and Dark
Sea Grey upper surfaces and Silver lower
surfaces. Type D roundels in all six positions.
Note Red and White chequers painted on
the wing tips

Hunter F Mk 6, XG185/Z,
No.92 Squadron RAF, 'Blue
Diamonds' Aerobatic
Team, Leconield, East
Yorkshire, 1962
Hunter F Mk 6, 401, No.1 Squadron, Royal Iraqi Air Force,
Tahmouz AB, 1958

Hunter F Mk 6, L174, Lebanese Air Force (Force Aérienne

Libanaise/Al Quwwat Aljawwiya Allubnamiya), 1958

Hunter F Mk 6, 702/C, No.1 Squadron, Royal Jordanian Air Force

(Al Quwwat Aljawwiya Almalakiya Alurduniya), Mafraq AB, 1959
AIRCRAFT in Profile
Hawker Hunter f6, XG186, J, of 92 Squadron on a sortie
out of rAf linton-on-ouse in July 1962 (Darren Hillman)
Dhabi, Kenya, Kuwait, lebanon, oman, Peru,
Qatar, rhodesia, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and
Zimbabwe.
in the aftermath of the type’s widespread
global military usage a number of civil
organisations operate or have operated Hunters
for use as aerial targets and for threat simulation
under contract with the military. The aircraft is
still a common sight with a great many still lying
under one guise or another.
Small wonder then that the aircraft has always
attracted the attention of modellers, and with so
many variations on colours and markings it is
held in remarkable esteem by both aviation
enthusiasts and scale model builders alike.
uK Variants
hawker P.1067
Three prototypes built with the irst later
modiied as a Hunter Mk 3 for the successful
World Speed record attempts
hawker P.1083
Supersonic design based on the P.1067 with a
ifty degree wing sweep and afterburning Avon
engine. Construction abandoned and the
fuselage and tail were used as basis for the
P.1099
hawker P.1101
Two seat trainer prototype, irst lown in July
1955, two built
hunter F.1
first production version with Avon 113 engine
with 139 built
hunter F.2
Sapphire 101 engine. forty ive built by
Armstrong Whitworth at Coventry
hunter Mk 3
first prototype itted with afterburning Avon
rA.7r
hunter F.4
Additional fuel tanks in the wings, provision for
under wing fuel tanks, Avon 115 (later Avon 121)
engine, and blisters under the nose for spent
ammunition. 349 built
hunter F.5
f.4 with Sapphire 101 engine, 105 built by
Armstrong Whitworth at Coventry.
hunter F.6
rolls-royce Avon 203 turbojet engine, revised
wing with a leading edge dogtooth and four
hard points. 384 built
hunter F.6a
Modiied f.6 with brake parachute and 230
gallon inboard drop tanks, for use at rAf Brawdy
where diversion airields were distant
hunter t.7
Two seat trainer. engine and systems as for the
f.4 but itted with dogtooth wing leading
hunter t.7a
T.7 modiied with the integrated flight
instrumentation System (ifiS). Used by the rAf
as a Blackburn Buccaneer conversion training
aircraft
hunter t.8
Two seat trainer for the royal navy. fitted with
an arrestor hook for use on rn airields but
otherwise similar to the T.7. Ten built new plus
General
characteristics
(hunter F.6)
crew: one
length: 45ft 11in (14m)
Wingspan: 33ft 8in (10.26m)
Maximum take-off weight:
24,600lb (11,158kg)
Powerplant: one rolls-royce
Avon 207 turbojet, 10,145lbf
(45.13kn)
Maximum speed: Mach 0.94,
620kn (715mph, 1,150km/h) at
sea level
combat range: 385nmi (445mi,
715km)
Ferry range: 1,650nmi (1,900mi,
3,060km) with external fuel
service ceiling: 50,000ft
(15,240m)
eighteen conversions from f.4s
hunter t.8B
T.8 with TACAn radio navigation system and ifiS
itted, cannon and ranging radar removed. Used
by the royal navy as a Blackburn Buccaneer
conversion training aircraft. four conversions
hunter t.8c
T.8 with TACAn itted. eleven conversions
hunter t.8M
T.8 itted with the Sea Harrier's Blue fox radar,
used by the royal navy to train Sea Harrier pilots
hunter FGa.9
Strengthened wing, 230 gallon inboard drop
tanks, tail chute, increased oxygen capacity and
bob weight in pitch control circuit to increase
stick force in ground attack manoeuvres. 128
conversions from f.6 airframes
hunter Fr.10
Single seat reconnaissance version with three
f95 cameras, revised instrument panel layout,
brake parachute and 230 gallon inboard drop
tanks. thirty three rebuilt from f.6 airframes
hunter Ga.11
Single seat weapons training version for the
royal navy with an arrester hook and some later
had a Harley light. The guns were removed. forty
converted from f.4 airframes
hunter Pr.11
Single seat reconnaissance version for the royal
navy
hunter Mk 12
Two seat test aircraft for the royal Aircraft
establishment. one built, converted from an f.6
airframe
Hawker Hunter T8C, WT722/878, St
Mawgan, August 2014 (Andrew Thomas)
 AIRCRAFT IN PROFIle

Hunter T. Mk 7, XL 563, Institute of Aviation Medicine RAF, RAE Farnborough, July 1976
Aircraft painted in White with Red in and fuselage markings. National markings in usual
positions. Serials painted in Black. RAF Institute of Aviation Medicine inscription on fuselage
sides, painted in Black

Hunter T. Mk 7B, XV 318, No. 15 Squadron, Laarbruch, Germany 1983

Hunter in Standard RAF camoulage of Dark Green/Dark Sea Grey, over Silver. National markings
in usual positions. Serial painted in Black. Codes XV painted in White

Hunter T. Mk 7, XL 571, 237 OCU, Honington, 1986

Hunter in typical RAF trainer scheme of White, Red and Medium Grey. National markings in usual
positions. Serial painted in Black. Note the 237 OCU badge painted on the nose
Hunter T. Mk 7, XL 573, WC, 237 OCU, Honington, July 1987
Hunter in the last style of camoulage and markings before declared obsolescent. Dark
Green and Sea Grey wrap around. Codes and serial painted in Black, outlined in White

Hunter T. Mk 7, WV 369, T, No. 28 Squadron, Kai Tak AB, Hong Kong, mid 1970
Aircraft in Standard RAF camoulage of Dark Green/Dark Sea Grey, over Silver. National markings
in usual positions. Serial and code letter T painted in White
AIRCRAFT IN PROFILE
Modelling the Hunter
M
odelling the Hunter in any
of the major scales couldn’t
be easier. Revell’s Russian
Dolls cover the type in all but 1/48,
starting smallest with their
marvellous 1/44 release of the
FGA.9. Mark I Models have seized
upon this tooling and reboxed it as
a F.6 and an FR.10 with changed
decals, and with new parts as both
a T.7 and a T.8. Fox One have kitted
single seaters and Whirlykits
covered the two seaters, both in
resin.
In 1/72 vintage kits from Airix,
Frog and Matchbox predominated
until they were trumped by a range
of hi-tech kits from PJ Productions
in 1998, which offered resin, metal
and etched parts in a real
multimedia package. Further resin
kits by Pro-Resin offered two seat
variants, these kits dating from
2010. The older kits are still readily
available, and needless to say the
Frog kit has been reboxed by a
number of Eastern European
brands. Revell’s splendid injection
moulded kit changed the game in
2005, and nothing else in injection
moulded plastic has ever come
close. Xtrakit released T.7 in 1/72,
complete with resin and etched
details, and this was a marked
improvement on the old Matchbox
tooling, hitherto the only option for
a two seater without a resin
conversion.
Lindberg’s 1959 kit in 1/48 was
reboxed by Nichimo but was
supplanted by Academy’s excellent
kit in the scale, also boxed by Italeri,
and this has now been joined by
the new tooling from Airix dealt
with elsewhere in this issue by Rick
Greenwood. They have also
announced an F.4 for release in
2019. Aeroclub’s 1/48 kits also
offered choice but these are long
since out of production, as is the
Merit offering of 1950s vintage.
There were a couple of kits in the
mid 1960s by Marusan, reboxed by
UPC, but these were in 1/150.
While Echelon did release a
couple of vacforms, the only
currently available kit in 1/32 is
again from Revell, and represents a
very good buy in terms of both
price and quality. This has appeared
as both an F.6 and an FG.9.
The earlier marks and prototypes
have not been well covered, with
only PJ Productions covering the F.4
and F.5 in 1/72.
Accessories are plentiful. Both
Brengun and Retrowings offer
plenty for the Revell/Mark I kits,
while in 1/72 the Revell kit is prime
beneiciary for most currently
available items. Noteworthy in this
scale are T.8M and F.4 resin
conversions from Freightdog. This
latter also released a P.1109A
conversion, again for the Revell kit.
Air-Graphics have recently released
some items for the Hunter,
including a T.8M conversion, while
the usual Czech manufacturers
offer upgrades for the Revell kit
with excellent products available
from CMK, Eduard, Pavla and
others. Further items of note for
those wanting an early Hunter are
Blackbird Model’s resin set covering
the F.1-F.4, and two sets from
Wolfpack offering conversions for
WB188 and for the Hunter F.1-F.5,
again in resin.
In 1/48 Neomega’s resin cockpit
is as impressive as any of their
products. PJ Productions have a
series of conversions in the scale
also in resin, presumably designed
for the Academy/Italeri kit, and
offering the GA.11, FR.10 and F.58.
Heritage Aviation also released two
seat conversions in resin. One can
only wonder what further products
the new Airix tooling will inspire.
Certainly Eduard have a whole
range of new etched and masking
sets out for the new kit. No doubt
more will follow.
In 1/32 Flightpath’s detail sets
cover the Revell kit, and given the
size and weight of the model, once
the nose has been duly counter
balanced, you might want to
consider SAC’s metal undercarriage.
Fisher Model’s 1/32 T.7 conversion
is well worth considering as well
and is also aimed at the Revell kit,
needless to say.
Decals should present no
problem. Xtradecal’s remarkable
1/144 sheet, X44003, is an amazing
sheet offering literally dozens of
aircraft in worldwide service.
Xtradecal come to the fore in 1/72
as well, with a number of dedicated
sheets covering both RAF and
overseas. Both Blackbird and
Fantasy Printshop have covered
RAF Hunters very nicely, while Daco
is the best source if you want to
model Belgian aircraft. For Royal
Navy machines Modelart include
some attractive GA.11s in their
range while Modeldecal of course
includes many Hunters amongst its
classic sheets.
Moving up to 1/48 we can
expect to see a further deluge in
support of the new Airix tooling,
although Xtradecal again have
already covered this with seven
recent re-issues of existing sheets
in the scale covering both British
and overseas operators.
Finally in 1/32 Aeromaster’s
sheets from the late 1990s may still
be found, while Fantasy Printshop
have some more recent product
available. Daco again cover Belgian
machines while Xtradecal released
one sheet for the FGA.9.
So Revell for kits, unless it’s 1/48,
Blackbird/Freightdog/Wolfpack for
early conversions in 1/72, and
Xtradecal for markings in all scales,
especially if you are modelling the
RAF. This of course is just the tip of
the iceberg and focuses on recent
or available products. There’s plenty
more out there if you look…
TO R N A D O

Trials of a Truculent Tornado

By Karl Robinson

Revell kit will provide the answer to a good
Kit No: 04924
quality, easily buildable Tornado in this scale.
Scale: 1/48 When opening things up one of the irst
Type: Injection Moulded Plastic things to strike you is that there is an awful lot of
plastic involved in the kit, all in all just over 280
Manufacturer: Revell GmbH
parts to bring together over the entire project.
www.revell.de Usually when you look over a kit the main parts
are pretty obvious but in this case there is very
across all parts with some having fainter detail
than others and some almost completely
vanishing. Despite this it is fairly easy to rectify
any of these affected areas by running over
them with your preferred scribing tool prior to
beginning any construction. Small parts are
inely moulded but take care to keep an eye out
for mould seam lines around many of them that

B
efore I begin, forgive me a little editorial
privilege. For many years my great uncle
worked manufacturing parts for the Tornado
and very much had a love for the aircraft. Sadly he
passed away in December 2016 before I could
inish up this build, so Uncle Bill, this one’s for you...
It is hard to believe that the Tornado is as old
as it is now, being forty three years since its irst
light. Now retired by the RAF, it is still a potent
force working hard at the forefront of operations
around the world with the Luftwaffe and
Aeronautica Militare. In that time there have
been a few 1/48 scale kits from Esci, Airix, Italeri
and HobbyBoss, but all have been lacking in
some form or another, be it detail or quality,
leading to much hard work. Hopes are that this
little that actually looks anything like resembling
the fuselage of a Tornado. This seems to be
because Revell have designed the kit to
maximise the versatility of the moulds so that
they can make the IDS/ECR/GR.1/GR.4 ground
attack variants, which differ very little, but also
can provide adapted parts to make up the
longer and sleeker ADV F.3 ighter airframe in
other kits. Whilst this is admirable it does mean
that there are many more parts involved so that
the various airframe differences can be
accommodated overall.
The mouldings are very typical of recent
Revell releases with inely recessed surface
details, panel lines and such, but they do
occasionally suffer with disparity
will need cleaning up. A lovely looking decal
sheet featuring the colourful 41 Squadron
anniversary aircraft on the box, plus a standard
617 Squadron aircraft is included. This also
features a comprehensive set of stencilling for
one whole aircraft, but does have variations on
several items that can be different colours on
different aircraft along with all the necessary
references.
It is no real surprise that construction kicks off
within the cockpit and Revell have done a good
job here of providing a sound replica. The tub,
rear bulkhead and instrument panels are
separate parts and
have ample
amounts of

Fuselage sections begin to

attach once all of the internal Here you see the
components are in place curved join under the
fuselage front section
that does not follow any panel
lines, but does cross many
detailed areas

When
painted
and decalled the
cockpit looks more
than acceptable straight
out of the box Clever design has gone
into the swing mechanism
allowing the pylons to
Next comes itting the fuselage
stay synched when
rear sides, where the join
swinging backward and
does not follow any
forwards
recognised panel
line

58 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
 TO R N A D O

Here you can see the

split of the intake
This T bar section on top of fronts. Getting
the wing mechanism provides everything to line up nicely was not possible
pressure to prevent any wing droop,
which has plagued many previous kits More illing required along the top edges of the
intakes as the join again is not along a panel
line. Also watch for pressure on top as mine kept
pushing down inside during sanding and
required reworking several times

This
inal top fuselage
plate, made up of four separate
parts I might add, inally closes up the innards
and tops off the intakes, although not cleanly

detail. Once painted up and combined with the
panel decals placed over the raised details
provided it will be more than sufficient for any
but the most pernickety of modellers. The
ejection seats are also reasonably well detailed
for kit offerings, although the moulded in
seatbelts are a little crude, but are easily
removable if you feel the need to jazz them up
yourself. They will do the job adequately,
especially if under a closed canopy, but for the
cost of a pair of beautiful Aires resin
replacements the inal beneits far outweigh that
outlay many times over and will be an essential
addition to any further builds I partake in.
Internal details also consist of full length
intake ducting, complete with irst stage
compression fan blades, which forms an internal
framework for the wing mechanism and entire
rear fuselage to it
around. A clever
combination of parts
makes up the moving
wing mechanism,
which is done
in the
standard method used on many previous kit
designs, a set of curved interlocking teeth, but it
also links to a long bar running down the centre
of each wing connecting to a pivot for each
pylon connection. This allows for the pylons to
move and stay perfectly aligned during the wing
swing. A test it of all these parts does indeed
show that they work really well. I have read in
some places that the wings do not appear to
sweep forward enough, but when putting mine
in place and measuring things out they do sit
exactly where they should, at a twenty ive
degree sweep.
By this point of the build I had come to the
conclusion that the complex breakdown of the
fuselage, along with many of the opened
sections, leads to compromising the build
process massively and makes it more difficult
and protracted than it should be. What makes
this most annoying is that the it of the
outer fuselage parts are not quite
clean enough and very rarely
follow panel
lines, meaning that every single join along the
way needs to be illed, sanded and all of the
surrounding detail rescribed in order to clean
things up. This also applies to many of the
sections that can be either open or closed.
Fitting in the open positions is ine and dandy,
but test itting in the closed positions reveals a
slightly loose and wobbly it leaving
unnecessary gaps that will need careful
attention to rectify. Luckily I had chosen to
display everything open on the build to
showcase the possible detail
involved, even though
the inished pose
would not be
technically

MAY 2019 • VOLUME 41 • ISSUE 03 59

TO R N A D O

accurate or
follow the SOPs of
the real thing.
One of the toughest
areas to deal with was the
intake fronts. Each of these is
split down the centre along its
length and the top surface is
attached to the top plate of the
fuselage. All of these joins need careful
elimination and I found that the top
sections kept popping inwards and breaking
the seams each time I tried to ix them, taking
several regluing attempts to end
up with a satisfactory lat inish.
In addition, despite my best
efforts to avoid it, I ended up with
several minor steps in places around
the main join to the fuselage, again
another time consuming ill, sand agree
and repeat task to that Tamiya
clean up. XF-54 is a
match. That
Luckily the other
might be in a dark
end of the engines is far
room with some heavy
more forgiving apart from
squinting involved, as I
the fact I had a warped
spacing was to ind out later.
and distorted edging
ring that needed to be and it. As I had chosen the primary
slowly worked around Once I was sure that many of the parts markings in the kit, the anniversary
gluing bit by bit to get it itted correctly in the opened positions I jet, I needed to mix up a colour for the
forced back into its proper decided to leave those off during the tail. Looking at photographs of the real
shape. Multiple parts make up painting and decalling stages of the kit. This thing it was very metallic looking in some,
the jet pipes, which are very well included the dropped laps, airbrakes, wing but almost white in others, so I mixed
detailed out of the box and are probably the spoilers, pylons and stores, reverse thrust around forty percent Vallejo Metal Color White
best replication I have seen on any Tornado kit in buckets, and any antenna that could easily be Aluminium with sixty percent Tamiya lat white
any scale. Once again the loose and gappy it broken off. to achieve something I was happy with.
struck when it came to the reverse thrust As is to be expected, Revell use their own Decalling would be a lengthy task due to the
buckets sitting in the closed position, and being numbering system for colour callouts, which is offering up complete and detailed airframe
awkwardly shaped I was glad to have decided on perfectly acceptable, although simple research stencilling making for many small decals to
having them open. I did ind that the actuator will throw up alternatives for other paint ranges. apply. Primarily though, I dived in with getting
parts for the opened buckets seemed to leave As it stands in acrylics only Xtracrylix do RAF the main markings on including the attractive
the buckets pressed too tightly onto the jet Camoulage Grey but tail adornments irst. Using the combination of
pipes, so using some small strips of plastic I many paint Micro Set and Sol decaling solutions the
extended them by three millimetres for a better matching charts Revell decals performed almost

A hollow nose allows

for plenty of weight to
It might be on the underside be added inside. No
but there is still no excuse for indication is given, but I
the it here. Steps, gaps and used thirty ive grams
Wing gloves are
seams need to be eliminated to be safe
provided as separate
halves that sandwich the inner section, also
providing stability for the swinging wing

The outer ring of the jet pipes

was heavily warped and
required carefully gluing
around in very small sections
until it had pulled back into its
correct shape
Wing laps are again broken down into
Multiple well detailed parts multiple parts. Shown here are the
make up the jet pipes and exhausts starboard side completed at top, and
admirably replicating the real thing port side unconstructed

60 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K

I found that extending the reverse thrust
bucket actuators by three millimetres
gave a more realistic sit to the buckets
there is still a lot of construction ahead once done.
Many of these smaller parts would be easily
lawlessly. My only area of concern was that the
long red seventy ifth anniversary decals across
the tail would not conform around the RWR
sections to meet, and iddling around too much
with them meant that the ends began to break
up. It was a minor inconvenience, mostly my
own doing, that needed the red touching up
and illing in once the decals had dried.
My irst inkling that Tamiya XF-54 was not a
direct match and too dark for RAF Camoulage
Grey was that the walkway decals on the top of
the airframe completely disappeared when
applied. Spraying the nose cone in RAF Dark
Grey conirmed things as there was too little
contrast between the colours. A little
experimentation afterwards showed that the
Tamiya XF-54 needs to be lightened by around
twenty percent for a closer match and not used
directly, but it was all too late for me now.
TO R N A D O
We may be ready for painting but
knocked and broken if attached now
Despite all of the frustrations and
complications during the build I have to say that
the inished article looks really superb and I now
love it. The prospect of building further
examples is still a little daunting, but going into
the experience a second time I will know what to
expect and what I am letting myself in for. It is
certainly not one for anyone without some
advanced modelling skills, hence Revell’s level
ive box rating, but if you can put in the time,
effort and keep up the enthusiasm then you will
be rewarded with a seriously nice result.
Top marks to Revell for the research and
attention to detail hitting the nail on the head in
quality factors, but unfortunately it’s a bit of a
miss for the overly complex breakdown and the
difficult buildability factor. Still, the kit certainly
captures every aspect of the Tornado in every
way and is by far the best replica in any scale.
MAY 2019 • VOLUME 41 • ISSUE 03 61
CO LO U R C O N U N D R U M
RAF Day Fighter Schemes 1941 – 1943
Part 1
By Paul Lucas
A
fter the Luftwaffe's day bomber offensive had been broken at the
end of September 1940, the outstanding problem that Fighter
Command had to deal with by day was the continuing use of ighter
bombers, mostly Bf 109s, which would head for London at heights of over
20,000 feet and very high speed. To counter these incursions, Fighter
Command was forced to adopt relays of standing patrols at heights
between 15 - 30,000 feet and whilst these tactics were ultimately
successful in deterring this kind of attack, it was found that the RAF
Fighters were at a tactical disadvantage in these medium to high level
encounters on account of their camoulage scheme, which consisted of the
Temperate Land Scheme of Dark Earth and Dark Green on the upper
surfaces and Sky or one of its substitutes on the under surface.
On 26 March 1941, HQ Fighter Command wrote a letter to the Royal
Aircraft Establishment (RAE) at Farnborough entitled 'Top Camoulage of
Fighters'. This letter stated that:
'It has been suggested by Fighter Pilots that our present camoulage is too dark
a colour for heights above 20,000 feet, and is inferior to the German
camoulage at height. This seems quite possible as our present colour scheme
was designed for heights below 10,000 feet.
2. A.F.D.U. at Duxford, have been asked to carry out tests with a lighter
coloured camoulage, and before they can do this they require a camoulage
expert to prepare two or three alternative schemes.
3. It is requested that this matter may be treated as urgent, and that you could
send an expert to Duxford with the necessary paints so as to help A.F.D.U. carry
out the trials.'
Two representatives of the RAE visited the Air Fighting Development
Unit (AFDU) at Duxford on 3 April to consult on the changes thought
necessary, with agreement being reached and the application of paint to
two Mk 1 Spitires, X4815 and X4816 was started the same day.
Trial Scheme 'A' was applied to X4815, which consisted of a mottled
inish applied in such a way that two thirds of the upper surfaces were
coloured Sky Grey and one third was coloured a new colour called 'Olive
Grey'. It is thought that this colour was made at the RAE by mixing equal
amounts of the dark grey primer and Grey Green, which resulted in a
colour that was described as being half way between Dark Sea Grey and
Light Slate Grey in hue. At the time of writing, no colour sample of Olive
Grey has come to light. In the absence of photographic evidence, it is not
known exactly how this mottle inish was applied but it is currently
assumed that it was applied evenly over the whole of the upper surfaces.
The under surfaces were inished in Sky Blue. Trial Scheme 'B' was applied
to X4816, but this only concerned the under surfaces, which were inished
in another new experimental colour that never appears to have received a
name, but was described as being half way between Sky Blue and Sky.
The initial test lights of these colours, which took place on 5 April,
revealed that the Sky Grey of trial Scheme 'A' was too light, contrasting too
strongly with the Olive Grey and that the Sky Blue under surfaces were
preferred to the light greenish blue under surfaces of trial Scheme 'B'. As a
result, X4815 was repainted in Trial Scheme 'C', which is thought to have
been the conventional disruptive camoulage pattern applied to the 'A'
Scheme using Medium Sea Grey and Olive Grey on the upper surfaces. Sky
62 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
Speculative proile of AFDU Trial Scheme 'A' on Spitire Mk I
X4815 in April 1941. The upper surfaces are Medium Sea Grey
with a mottle of Olive Grey covering approximately one third of
the surface area. The under surfaces and spinner are Sky Blue
Blue was retained on the under surfaces. X4816 was repainted in trial
Scheme 'D', which consisted of Medium Sea Grey and Dark Sea Grey on the
upper surfaces whilst the under surfaces were inished in Sky Grey.
Further tests were then carried out with the aircraft being observed at
altitudes between 20 and 30,000 feet from both above and below at
various distances of up to 5,000 feet whilst being compared with an aircraft
in the standard inish. Both of the new schemes were found to be much
more effective than the standard scheme but, by the beginning of May
1941, Scheme 'C', which consisted of Medium Sea Grey and Olive Grey on
the upper surfaces and Sky Blue on the under surfaces, had been selected
for full scale Service Trials.
Service Trials
On 4 May 1941 representatives of AFDU and RAE visited 56 Squadron
equipped with Hurricanes at North Weald in connection with the Service
Trials and supplied them with 25 gallons of Medium Sea Grey and Olive
Grey along with 30 gallons of Sky Blue for the purpose. On 7 May 1941 HQ
Fighter Command signalled all its operational Groups, the Air Ministry, all
other operational Commands, the Admiralty and the War Office to advise
them of the trials being carried out by 56 Squadron at North Weald. Under
the present proposals, the under surfaces were to be what the signal
describes as 'smoke grey' (rather than Olive Grey) along with Medium Sea
Grey on the upper surfaces with with Sky Blue on the under surfaces. As far
as the markings were concerned, the Yellow outer ring in the fuselage
roundel was to be reduced in size and merged into the surrounding
camoulage whilst the Sky Blue band around the rear fuselage was to be
deleted. The colours and sizes of the squadron code letters were also to be
varied and whilst other alterations might be expected, no changes were to
be made to the national markings. It was requested that all concerned be
informed.
Far from involving the whole squadron, it would appear that initially
only one Hurricane, Z2697, was re-camoulaged as the squadron ORB entry
for 11 May states that 'this aircraft is involved in camoulage tests'. The
results of these tests appear to have been considered unsatisfactory as
when a further two Hurricanes, Z2586 US-P and Z2767 US-W, were lown to
Duxford on the morning of 26 May 1941, they were described as being
inished very differently. An eyewitness who saw both these aircraft at
Duxford on 26 May described them as having a 'very dark shade of grey'
where they were usually green, a second 'slightly less dark grey' where they
were usually brown, with a further shade of 'dark grey' on the under
surfaces whilst retaining the usual Medium Sea Grey codes. The Hurricanes
took part in trials on 26, 27 and 28 May before returning to North Weald.
Exactly what these three dark grey colours actually were is currently
unknown. It is perhaps most likely that the darkest upper surface colour
was Extra Dark Sea Grey as this was the darkest standard shade of grey
available whilst in the light of later events, it is possible that the second
shade of grey on the upper surfaces had been mixed from seven parts
Medium Sea Grey and one part Night. The other possibility is that one of
the hues was Dark Sea Grey. At the end of June, the same eyewitness saw
nine Hurricanes at Duxford in the grey scheme with their 'US' code letters
applied in Sky though at least one of them had Dark Green in place of the

Speculative proile of AFDU Trial Scheme 'C' on Spitire Mk I
X4815 in April 1941 The upper surfaces are Medium Sea Grey and
Olive Grey to the 'A' Scheme with Sky Blue under surfaces and spinner
darkest grey on the upper surfaces.
Quite why these dark colours appeared is currently unknown for certain,
but an entry in HQ Fighter Command's ORB dated 30 June 1941 headed
'Camoulage of Fighter Aircraft' might throw some light on the matter. It
stated that:
'It appears that some confusion has been caused during recent trials by No. 56
Squadron by the fact that too much attention has been paid to the
photographic results of the camoulage. It should be borne in mind that the
object of these trials is to discover a camoulage that makes our Fighters less
conspicuous to enemy aircraft and his lack. The effectiveness of the
camoulage should therefore be mainly considered from this aspect.'
This might be an indication of a change in the operational requirement
for the new camoulage scheme from one that was optimised for use at
altitudes of between 20-30,000 feet to something that was much more of a
compromise scheme suitable at any altitude from ground level up. By the
summer of 1941, Fighter Command had gone over to the offensive and
was engaged in a number of different operational tasks, which ranged
from escorting Day Bombers during Circus operations at medium to high
altitudes over land to escorting or actually carrying out their own Anti-
Shipping strikes at very low level over the sea.
On 15 June Fighter Command's Senior Air Staff Officer (SASO) wrote an
internal Fighter Command memo referring to the signal of 7 May
requesting an early and complete report on the progress of the
experiments by 56 Squadron on day camoulage variations. The reply,
dated 28 June stated that no conclusive evidence had yet been produced
but the matter was being dealt with. Unfortunately, at the time of writing,
the inal report on the Day Fighter camoulage trials conducted by 56
Squadron has failed to come to light, but shortly after this memo was
written on 3 August, in response to a query by HQ 41 Group Maintenance
Command, the Air Ministry informed them that 'a complete change in the
upper and lower camoulage scheme' would shortly be taking place in
Fighter Command of which they would duly be informed.
Grey Introduced
The change in the camoulage scheme applied to the Day Fighters of
Fighter Command was promulgated by part of a Postagram dated 8
August 1941, which was sent by the Air Ministry to Fighter, Bomber, Flying
Training, Technical Training, Maintenance, Army Co-Operation and Anti-
Aircraft Commands, the Admiralty, War Office and a number of other
interested parties. Paragraph 5 was headed 'Day Fighters in Fighter
Command' and stated:
'(i) The following amendments to colouring and additional markings are to be
introduced as from the 15th August, 1941. The re-colouring programme will
extend over a period so that both old and new schemes will be extant.
(a) Upper Surfaces – Dark Green and Grey camoulage.
(b) Under surfaces – Sea Grey medium.
(c) Squadron and aircraft identiication letters in standard size – Sky Type 'S'.
(d) Additional Recognition Markings – Spitires and Hurricanes will carry as
additional markings a yellow strip on the leading edge from approximately
midway along the wing to the wing tip 4 inches in width on the Spitire and 6
½ inches in width on the Spitire and 6 ½ inches tapering to 2 ½ inches at the
wing tip on the Hurricane.
(ii) The following markings remain as standard:-
(a) Spinner – Sky Type 'S'.
(b) A vertical band 18 inches wide Sky type 'S' around the fuselage immediately
CO LO U R C O N U N D R U M
forward of the tail unit.
(c) Standard national markings.
(d) Registration number.'
These instructions were passed on word for word in a Postagram from
HQ Fighter Command to Headquarters 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 60, 81 and 82
Groups and repeated to Anti-Aircraft Command the following day. The
exact wording of these documents is important because of how the upper
surface colours are described within them. The upper surface colours are
described as 'Dark Green and Grey' with no indication as to which shade of
grey was to be used.
That HQ Fighter Command knew exactly what shade of grey was
required is demonstrated by Signal A292, which was sent to the Air
Ministry, HQ Bomber, Coastal, Flying Training and Maintenance
Commands, GHQ Home Forces and the Admiralty on 12 August. This signal
stated:
'Operational experience in this command has proved the necessity for a
complete change in colour scheme for day ighters and the following
camoulage scheme has been approved by Air Ministry (D.O.R.):-
(i) Upper surfaces (A) Present dark green is to remain untouched (B) Dark
Earth is to be replaced by a colour obtained by mixing seven parts Sea
Grey Medium and one part Cellon Night.
(ii) Under surfaces are to be inished with Sea grey medium.
(iii) Spinner to be Sky Type 'S'.
(iv) Squadron and aircraft identiication letters are to be painted to standard
size in Sky type 'S'.
(v) An 18 inch wide vertical band of Sky type 'S' is retained around the
fuselage immediately forward of the tail unit.
(vi) Leading edges are to have a Yellow strip applied on both wings from the
wing tip to half way along the wing.
(vii) Standard national markings are retained.
(viii)Registration number remains untouched.
2. The change is commencing on 15 Aug 1941 with Nos. 10 11 and 12
Groups. The remaining Groups will change over in the following order of
priority as supplies of dope become available. 13 – 14 – 9 – 82 and 81
Groups.
3. You are requested to inform all concerned. A.A. Command being informed
direct by this HQ.'
It is interesting to note that this signal was not sent to the operational
Groups, and therefore the seven parts Medium Sea Grey and one part
Night mix may not have been disseminated to the squadrons.
With regard to a name for the new colour, on 11 August, the Ministry of
Aircraft Production (MAP) wrote to the RAE informing them that:
'A decision has now been taken to replace the dark earth on day ighters of
Fighter Command by a grey colour obtained by mixing seven parts of sea grey
medium and one part of night.
Will you please therefore prepare standards of this colour for use by the A.I.D.
and send them along to me as soon as possible. The irst dozen prepared
should be forwarded immediately please. Will you also please give this colour a
new name.'
This document has a pencil note written on it which states:
'The reply
Ocean Grey
36 handed to Mr Hardy 21.8.41'
MAY 2019 • VOLUME 41 • ISSUE 03 63
CO LO U R C O N U N D R U M
Hurricane Mk IIB, BE 485, AE-W of 402 Squadron circa February 1942. Though 402 Squadron's ORB makes no mention of what colour was used to
repaint the aircraft in August 1941, in light of the Squadron's new Fighter Bomber role and the apparent low contrast between the two upper surface
colours in the photographs on which these illustrations have been based, the upper surface colours are shown as Extra Dark Sea Grey and Dark
Green.The under surfaces are Medium Sea Grey whilst the tail band, codes and spinner are shown as Sky
From this it can be deduced that the new colour made by a mix of seven
parts Medium Sea Grey and one part Night was named 'Ocean Grey' by the
RAE on or about 21 August and 36 standards (three times the number
requested as a matter of urgency and probably the reason why this igure
was underlined) of the colour were handed to the MAP on that date.
Unfortunately, at the time of writing, no document has come to light
that identiies the origin of and rationale for this colour and no colour
standard for the seven parts Medium Sea Grey and one part Night mix
such as those prepared by the RAE for the AID has been found. Nor is
there any indication of its theoretical specular relectivity. There is
therefore no real evidence as to what this colour looked like.
Medium Sea Grey is a blue-grey whilst Night is a very dark blue-
grey. Thus it might be supposed that when mixed together in these
proportions, the resulting colour might be expected to be a blue-
grey, which lies somewhere between Medium Sea Grey and
Dark Sea Grey in hue.
21
August saw a Postagram sent
from the Air Ministry to HQ Maintenance
Command and repeated to HQ 40, 41 and 43 Groups
entitled 'New Camoulage of Day Fighter Aeroplanes.' This
Postagram went into much greater technical detail of the new inish:
'Speciication.
(i) Upper surfaces – fuselage and upper surfaces of the wings and tail
unit;-
(a) The present green camoulage to be left untouched (i.e. ref. No. 185
over fuselage (fabric); ref. No.194 cellon green over the wings).
(b) Over the brown on the upper surfaces on the wings, fuselage and
tail unit, a mixture of 7 parts of sea grey 157 to 1 part cellon night
205 to be sprayed.
(ii) Under surfaces – The whole of the under surfaces of the
wings, fuselage and tail unit to be sprayed with sea grey 157
(Roundels to be retained as at present).
(iii) Spinner – To be sprayed duck-egg blue as before.
(iv) Leading edges – A yellow strip to be applied to
leading edges of both wings, cellon yellow178 or 179.
For Spitire aircraft - to extend from the wing tip to half way
along the wing, measured from the wing tip with a width of 4 inches (i.e. 2
inches width on either side of the centre line of the wing edge).
For Hurricane aircraft – The yellow strip to extend from wing tip to the landing
light. At the landing light the width of the strip measured round the curve to be
64 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
6 ½ inches and at the wing tip 2 ½ inches.
(v) Markings – squadron and aircraft identiication letters to be executed in
duck-egg blue 338, to be of present standard size. The 18 inches, duck-egg blue
338, identiication band around the fuselage immediately in front of the tail
unit to be retained. Roundels and tail markings to remain as formerly.
(vi) Stores Reference – In each case the stores reference is 33B.
2. It is requested that immediate instructions may be issued to all A.S.U.'s in
regard to aeroplanes and No. 40 Group depots with regard to spare parts,
which will ensure that the change over to the new camoulage will take
place as early as possible.'
When checked against other sources, it can be veriied that all
the 33B reference numbers cited in this Postagram are correct for
the colours concerned and that the reference to 'duck-egg blue
338' was actually to Sky.
In a reply
to this Postagram, HQ 41
Group wrote to the Air Ministry on 28 August
1941 informing them that the necessary instructions had
been given to units
Topside view of Hurricane Mk IIB, BE 485, within the Group to
AE-W of 402 Squadron circa February make the change
1942. Aircraft probably camoulaged in over in Day Fighter
Extra Dark Sea Grey and Dark Green scheme. camoulage as soon
Spinner and fuselage band painted in Sky as supplies of dope
were available
giving priority to Hurricane II and Spitire II and V aircraft. It is not
currently known exactly when the necessary materials might have
become available, or the extent to which the instructions to apply
the seven parts Medium Sea Grey and one part Night colour to
aircraft held by the ASUs of Maintenance Command was
actually complied with.
With regard to repainting aircraft that were in
squadron service and the priority accorded to the
various Groups, 402 Squadron's ORB records that on
19 August 1941 the Squadron moved from Ayr,
which might be considered a backwater, to
Southend in 11 Group, which was on the front line.
On 21 August the ORB states 'No readiness. Aircraft
grounded for re-camoulage.' The entry for the following day,
22 August states 'No Readiness. Aircraft still grounded. Re -camoulage
completed during the day.' Clearly, the aircraft were being brought up to
the current operational standard. No mention is made of from where the
paint was obtained or what colour it was.

A Grey Area
As can be seen from the documents quoted above, both the Air Ministry
and HQ Fighter Command were fully aware of the seven parts Medium Sea
Grey and one part Night mix, but neither appear to have communicated
this information to the operational Groups or Squadrons. This raises the
question as to whether any Fighter Command aircraft that was serving in
the front line during August 1941 was repainted in the mix of seven parts
Medium Sea Grey and one part Night, and if not, what was used instead?
Black and white photographs of Fighter Command aircraft taken from
August 1941 onwards appear to show a variety of tonal contrasts between
the two upper surface colours. In the past these variations in contrast have
been ascribed either to the result of variations in how the new colour was
mixed or to variables in the photographic reproduction process. The
chronology and content of the documents quoted above however appear
to suggest that the front line squadrons of Fighter Command were
unaware of the seven and one mix for the grey during the period 8 – 15
August and thus the possibility of the different tonal contrast between
aircraft on account of incorrect mixing can probably be ruled out.
Whilst tonal differences due to various factors in the
photographic reproduction process might account for some of the
visible tonal differences these are quite complex and largely
unknowable today. By applying Occam's Razor (the most simple
explanation is the one that is most likely to be
correct) in
conjunction
with instructions that did not
specify which shade of grey was to be used and
made no mention of mixing anything, perhaps the most likely
explanation for the apparent variations in tone visible in
photographs is that different aircraft were repainted in different
standard shades of grey, the hue of which was dictated by what was
readily available and could easily be obtained during the week or so
that the job was supposed to be done.
At the time, there were three shades of grey available in the
relevant aircraft inish speciication materials theoretically available
from stores. These were Extra Dark Sea Grey with a theoretical
specular relectivity of 10%, Dark Sea Grey with a theoretical specular
relectivity of 13% and Medium Sea Grey with a theoretical Specular
relectivity of 26%. Dark Green had a theoretical specular
relectivity of 7% whilst the production version of Ocean Grey
had a theoretical specular relectivity of 16%. Thus the
following three combinations could have existed.
1) Dark Green and Extra Dark Sea Grey. (Low contrast)
2 Dark Green and Dark Sea Grey (Medium contrast)
3) Dark Green and Medium Sea Grey (High contrast)
There is of course also the possibility that some
aircraft were reinished exactly as ordered by the ASUs
in Maintenance Command before issue with a colour mixed from
seven parts Medium Sea Grey and one part Night, which would have
presumably resulted in something between a medium to high contrast
with the Dark Green. In addition to this, whatever shade of grey was being
used for the purpose, could have been applied by either brush or spray
and there is some evidence to suggest that if wartime paints were over
thinned and then sprayed, they had a tendency to dry to a lighter hue than
CO LO U R C O N U N D R U M
the design colour of the standard. All of this might have contributed to the
range of colours apparently visible both to observers at the time and the
remaining photographic record.
The new green and grey colour scheme does not appear to have been
particularly secret as 'The Aeroplane Spotter' was able to publish details of
it in Issue No.39 dated 25 September 1941. Part of a short article entitled
'Camoulage in the RAF' covered the recent change in Fighter Command
camoulage thus:
'FIGHTER COMMAND.- Upper surfaces dark green and grey (seven parts grey
and one part black). Under surfaces light grey. Yellow stripes six inches deep
along the front of the leading edge of each wing beginning half-way along the
span to the tip.
RECOGNITION MARKINGS.- Spinner and band round tail duck-egg blue.
Squadron markings on each side of the fuselage are in duck-egg green
(evidently a different duck).'
Though the comment about two ducks being involved is intended
to be humorous, it does appear to show that when repainted, some
Fighter Command aircraft retained their earlier Sky Blue spinners
and tail bands for a time at least, whilst the squadron and individual
aircraft code letters were re-applied using Sky as speciied in the Air
Ministry's instructions.
The
Underside view of Hurricane Mk IIB, BE Temperate
485, AE-W of 402 Squadron circa Sea Scheme
February 1942. The under surfaces are What
Medium Sea Grey whilst the tail band and happened next
spinner are shown as Sky. Individual aircraft
is unclear but
letter W repeated in Black under the nose
according to
Volume II of
Aircraft of the Fighting Powers, which was published in December
1941, page 21:
'In September 1941, it was announced by the Air Ministry that the
official land temperate shadow-shading scheme on operational
aeroplanes of the R.A.F. was to be amended. The revised scheme is
as follows:-
Day ighters of Fighter Command: Dark slate grey and extra
dark sea grey shadow shading on upper surfaces and
under-sides all light grey. Roundels as before. Six inch
yellow stripe along leading-edge of each wing
commencing half way along the span and ending at
the tips. Squadron letters in duck-egg green in
convenient position on fuselage sides. Duck-egg blue
spinner and rear fuselage band as previously.'
It must be made quite clear at this point that this author has never
found any official primary source documentation that clearly and
unambiguously conirms the adoption of the Temperate Sea Scheme on
the upper surfaces of Fighter Command aircraft from September 1941.
There is however a body of evidence that might suggest this is at least
possible.
MAY 2019 • VOLUME 41 • ISSUE 03 65
HORNET

Superdetailed Superbug
By Kitti Tatsumaki

F/A-18 Hornet. The F/A-18F tandem-seat variants
are larger and more advanced derivatives of the
F/A-18C and D Hornet. The Super Hornet has an
internal 20 mm M61 rotary cannon and can carry
air-to-air missiles and air-to-surface weapons.
Additional fuel can be carried in up to ive
external fuel tanks and the aircraft can be
conigured as an airborne tanker by adding an
external air refuelling system. It is the latest two
seat evolution of the Hornet family.
Kit No: 00548 For this build I used Hasegawa’s kit #00548
Scale: 1/72 F/A-18F Super Hornet, which comprises ninety
eight light grey styrene parts (one not used),
Type: Injection Moulded Plastic three clear parts and four poly caps (two not
Manufacturer: Hasegawa used). All ten grey sprues are squeezed into a
single plastic bag. Clear parts are sealed into a
separate plastic bag. Decals and Instructions are
into the centre fuselage as ballast to provide
some weight so that the aircraft will not
‘wheelie’.
For cockpit and ejection seat detailing I used
colored etched parts from DreamModel. They
are easy to use and economic. For this project I
began with the ordnance irst. I primed all the
weapons with Mr Finishing Surface 1500 Grey
after removing all the seam lines by using a
ceramic scraper. Some rivets were covered in the
process so I deepened them again with a sharp
needle.
I Installed some buckles onto the landing
gears, using tie-down etched parts from Inini-
model - IMP-72001R1
1/72 Tie Down Point &

T
his is the 75th Anniversary 1943-2018 Device Set A. With
‘Victory 200’ scheme worn by US Navy F/A- loating in the box. only two parts, the
18F Super Hornet BuNo. 168493/AG200 of It was my irst time building Hasegawa’s Super buckle can be posed to
VFA-103 Jolly Rogers, USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN Hornet and what amazed me was the pivot lock
72), CVW-7 2018. for the tail planes. The tail planes can be installed
The F/A-18F Super and removed as you like - that's something
Hornet is a revolutionary. Some ishing sinkers
twin- were added
engine,
carrier-
capable,
multirole ighter
aircraft based on
the McDonnell
Douglas

66 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
 HORNET

For the paintwork, I pre-shaded the adjustments to make the whole thing look more
aircraft with MODO M-002 Pure Black, followed subtle.
with Tamiya XF-63 German Grey, Gunze 73 Decaling commenced after the basic
it hooks from all directions. For those
Intermediate Blue, Gunze 43 Wood Brown and paintwork was done. I used decals from
areas where the panel lines and rivets
highlighted certain panels and hatches with Hasegawa, Galaxy Decals and Cartograf. The
disappeared after sanding I rescribed and
Gunze 308.This done I pre-shaded the panel VFA-103 75th Anniversary markings are from
riveted again then double checked by using
lines with MODO M-002 again. After that I Galaxy Model. The decals have good adhesive
Tamiya’s black panel line accentuator. With this
sprayed different shades of grey onto the but are a little thicker compared to
method you will see any issues at a glance and
aircraft, mixed with a little blue and brown, and Trumpeter/Hobbyboss decals, slightly better
it's very easy to ind which panel lines or rivets
some white on some hatches/panels for color than Hasegawa decals, but the print quality was
you've missed. Wash it away with Zippo when
variation. Gunze 308, 315, 337 and white were most satisfactory.
you are done.
employed.
For the wings, I used the laps-down resin The model was a little dark, so I adjusted the
After I had inished painting the main color I tone of the aircraft by using Tamiya X-02 White
wing set from Wolfpack Design of Korea. The
needed to paint the lame patterns on the Enamel diluted with Zippo luid - because if you
details are great - those panel lines and rivets are
tailins. After cutting the lame patterns from make mistake you can always clean it with
superb and the part doesn't looks like resin after
masking tape I masked the tailin and painted it Zippo, which is very convenient. Landing gear
you have primed it. My only complaint with this
with MODO M-002 Pure doors, hard-points and wheels were painted
set was the it problem although it's very minor -
Black. I did a few with GSI Creos and AV Vallejo panel wash and
just ix them with plastic plates, putty and
minor colour pin wash. The pylons received Black Tamiya
couple of rounds of sanding.
panel line accentuator after which I attached all
The biggest it problem on this kit is in the
the ordnance onto the pylons with 3-second
nose area. By using Tamiya cement, 3-second
glue.
glue, bar clamps and Perfect Plastic Putty I
managed to ill the gaps and ix almost The wheels were airbrushed with Gunze 01
everything including panel lines and rivets. It's White and then I hand paint the rubber parts
fun. It's really fun. I primed the resin wings, with AV Vallejo 70.980 Negro Black,
tailplanes, tailins and parts of the fuselage to inishing them off by applying the white
check for errors. ‘Goodyear’ decals.
Time to Wash and Weather. I
used Tamiya #87131 for panel
washing, weathered with oils
to simulate streaking, oil
leaks and colour
variation. I used Burnt
Umber and Prussian
Blue to weather
the metals

MAY 2019 • VOLUME 41 • ISSUE 03 67

HORNET

on the exhaust. This done I attached all the

ordnance, fuel tanks and landing gears with 3-
second glue. All that were left now were the
arrestor hook, navigation lights, antenna (PE),
and a few parts in the cockpit.
With the end in sight I added some Remove
Before Flight tags from Eduard to the aircraft. I
used Lycra rigging from Inini-Model as the
thread. Their Lycra rigging is really cool. Visit their
website if you want to know more! www.inini-
model.com
Finally I added the photo-etched parts to the
canopy, attached the transparencies in place and
called the job done!

68 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
EAST ANGLIAN AIR AMBULANCE

GET ON BOARD!
East Anglian Air Ambulance
Mission 24/7 Help Us Save More Lives
Make a single or regular
donation and help EAAA
to become a 24/7 service
across East Anglia.
A single £18 donation
could pay for two utility
belts or a £36.50 donation
could pay for a t-shirt,
badge and utility belt for a
crew member.
By signing up for a regular gift and donating £7 a month, you could help us to
become a 24/7 service and treat up to 600 more patients each year.
You can make a single or regular donation online by visiting
www.eaaa.org.uk/donate or over the phone by calling 03450 669 999. If you would
like to send us a cheque, please make this payable to East Anglian Air Ambulance
and send to EAAA, Hangar E, Gambling Close, Norwich Airport, NR6 6EG.
If you are thinking about making a major gift in support of Mission 24/7, please
contact Conor McGeown, Development Lead by emailing
conor.mcgeowen@eaaa.org.uk or phoning 07943 531 855. As we move towards a
24/7 operation our major supporters will be instrumental in making round the clock
critical care coverage a reality in East Anglia.
It’s not just donations we rely on as there are many ways to support our charity and
help us to become a 24/7 service, from taking part in our events to playing our
lottery, volunteering your time or purchasing something on our shop. Visit
www.eaaa.org.uk/get-involved to ind out more.

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Playing our lottery is one of the easiest ways to support East Anglian Air Ambulance.
You could win one of eighteen weekly cash prizes for just £1 per play. Visit
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Fundraising
Why not take on a fundraising mission? As a charity that receives no direct
government funding we need your help in whichever way you can. We want to
make it fun and easy for you so we are here to help whether you are running an
event, taking on a challenge or planning a team activity. Our free fundraising pack
has lots of hints and tips to get you started! Request a pack by visiting
www.eaaa.org.uk/fundraisingpack

Shop
We have a range of items you can buy on our online shop, and every purchase goes
towards helping us to save lives. Visit www.eaaa.org.uk/shop to see more.
Mission Log Notebook £5. An A5 sized notebook with both blank and lined paper.
The cover artwork is beautifully painted by Sandra Stops of Hunstanton Cliffs (2018).
Silver Plated Lapel Badge £11. A limited edition silver plated lapel badge bearing
our EAAA rotor logo in colored enamel.
Keep a patient warm £29. This virtual gift will buy a Blizzard Heat Blanket used to
help keep a patient warm if their body goes into shock after an accident. For every
virtual gift you buy, you will receive a greetings card to send to your loved one
which includes more information on the gift you have bought.

69 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
D O R N I E R 27
Dornier Do 27 Dror
in IAF Colours
By Yoav Efrati
Kit No: 72392
Scale: 1/72
Type: Injection Moulded Plastic
Manufacturer: Special Hobby
www.specialhobby.eu
T
he moratorium imposed on post World War
II Germany forbidding the manufacture of
aircraft ended in May of 1955. The irst
aircraft to be manufactured by post World War II
West Germany was the Do 27 which made its
irst light on 17th October 1956. Four years later,
the West German government agreed to bolster
Israel's defensive capability by supplying the
Israeli Air Force with the Nord Noratlas, Fouga
Magister, Sikorsky S-58 and Dorner Do 27. Israel's
need for the Dornier Do 27, named Dror
(Sparrow) by the IAF, was realized during the
Special Hobby’s decal sheet includes full
stencilling and markings for four IAF, one
Portuguese and one SAAF machine
Cockpit cabin is painted overall FS36440 Light
Gull Grey, and seat cushions brush painted
Humbrol 179 French Artillery Green. Seat belts
are Humbrol 183 Light Gull Grey with Humbrol
11 Silver buckles
70 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
1956 Suez War, where Piper Cub and Super Cub
aircraft were hampered in range and load
carrying capability in their STOL transport,
medical evacuation, search and rescue and air
ambulance roles. The Dornier Do 27 was able to
fulil the mission of the Piper Super Cub with the
same STOL rough ield performance yet with a
six passenger load carrying capability.
The irst ten Dornier Do 27A1s were obtained
by Israel at the end of June 1964 and were
disassembled in France for transport to Israel on
board Nord and Stratocrusier transport planes.
Presiding on the disassembly and reassembly of
the Drors were Ramat David, maintenance
commander Norik Harel, and maintenance
officer Nathan Segal. After assembly, each was
test lown by IAF test pilot Danny Shapira. In
October of 1964 all ten were ready for squadron
service and were transferred to Sde Dov air base,
situated just north of Tel Aviv, to be operated by
100 Flying Camel Squadron. Successful
operations of the Do 27 during the June 1967 Six
Day War led to the purchase of twenty ive
The six options provided include the four IAF
Drors modelled here
Lower fuselage antenna arrangement. Metal
wire cockpit and cabin ingress steps and metal
tubing exhaust stacks are shown
additional machines and the eventual transfer of
the Piper Super Cub to the IAF light school,
which opened after the 1973 Yom Kippur War.
The Drors were given random identiication
numbers ranging from 01 to 62, with a 0 preix
added after 1973. The type was removed from
100 Squadron service just prior to the June 1982
Lebanon War. That year aircraft number 009 was
painted in IAF light school colours and was
evaluated as a replacement for the school's Piper
Super Cub primary pilot screening aircraft, and
found unsuitable. Fourteen Do 27A1/A3
airframes were sold abroad, leaving airframes
015, 019, 027, 032, 036, 039 and 040 in Israel.
The Special Hobby release of the Dornier Do
27, contains sixty three grey parts on three
sprues, a seven part clear sprue and a photo
etched external antenna. The Cartograph
printed decal sheet includes markings in the
Israeli Air Force boxing version, kit number
SH72392, for four Israeli Air Force aircraft, one
Portuguese and one South African. Kit part
options include three types of main landing
The instrument panels painted and decaled
using the kit provided item
Dror 009 and 033 upper wing antenna
arrangement
 D O R N I E R 27

gear, two sets of props, engines, cowlings, interior conigurations. In order to depict four to sort out the applicable options for each tail
rudders, tail wheels, instrument panel and camoulage schemes seen on IAF Drors I irst had number, as shown in the table provided:

Part Option Table Dror 15 Dror 40 - West German Dror 009 - Trainer Dror 033
Tail gear B38 B38 B38 B37
49 + 45, 50 + 46 with hub 49 + 45, 50 + 46 51 + 47, 52 + 48 with hub
Main Gear & Wheels 49+ 44, 50+ 43
caps parts 36 with hub caps parts 36 caps parts 36
D60 x 2, B19 x 2, 57, 63. Olive D60 x 2, B19 x 2, 57, 63. Olive D60 x 2, B19 x 2, 57, 63. Olive D60 x 2, B19 x 2, 57, 63. Olive
Seats green seat cushions Humbrol green seat cushions Humbrol green seat cushions Humbrol green seat cushions Humbrol
159, Humbrol 28 seat belts. 159, Humbrol 28 seat belts. 159, Humbrol 28 seat belts. 159, Humbrol 28 seat belts.
Instrument panel D53 D53 D54 D53
Rudder Pedals D55 D55 D55 D55
Joy Stick B32 B32 B32 x2 B32
Short Exhaust A8 & A9 A8 & A9 A8 & A9 A8 & A9
A11, spinner Revell 330 red A11 spinner Revell 25 Day A11 Revell 330 red over 04 A11 Revell 330 red over 04
over 04 white, blade forward Glow Orange over 04 white, white, blade forward side white, blade forward side
Propeller
side aluminum 56 with yellow blades aluminum 56 with 25 gloss gray 146 with gloss gray 146 with
tips tips. international orange tips international orange tips
Rudder & Fin tip B28 + B30 B28 + B30 B28 + B30 B28 + B30
Engine and cowling B17, B21, B22, B23 B17, B21, B22, B23 B17, B21, B22, B23 B17, B21, B22, B23
Auxiliary intake atop cowling
no no yes yes
+ Seal lower intake
Blade antenna atop wing no yes yes yes
Wire antenna from vertical in
no no yes yes
to wing
U shape antenna below
no yes yes yes
fuselage
Blade antenna below the
yes yes yes yes
fuselage
Whip antenna atop wing yes - 1 no yes - 1 no
Round antenna atop fuselage
no no yes yes
aft the window
Cockpit & cabin 36440 Light Cockpit & cabin 36440 Light Cockpit & cabin 36440 Light Cockpit & cabin 36440 Light
Interior color
Gull Gray. Gull Gray. Gull Gray. Gull Gray.
Undersurface: Light Grey
Telegrau 4 (RAL7047) Revell
Silver Grey (RAL7001) Revell Undersurface:
371
374. Testors Model Master 1722
Upper surface:
Upper surface: Yellow Olive Overall Gloss White Revell 04 (FS35662) Duck Egg Blue.
Mr. Paint MRP-281 RAL5008
(RAL 6014) Revell 42; with Revell 330 Red high Upper Surface: Xtracolor X105
Blue,
External camoulage colors Basalt Gray (RAL7012) Revell visibility panels and Revell (FS13531) Sand,
Mr. Paint MRP-282 RAL8008
SM378; Day Glow Orange trim 302 Satin Black anti glare Xtracolor X148 (FS14227)
Brown, For touch up painting
color (RAL2005) Revell 25, panel. Green,
of the upper surface colors
applied over Revell SM301 Humbrol 118 (FS30219) Tan,
Revell 82 (RAL8008) and
white base coat.
Xtracolor X264 (RAL5008)
were used.

Kit assembly is divided into twelve steps, with
the irst six being either option A or B. I opted for
assembly option B for the Dror cockpit and
cabin. Cockpit crew and passenger seat belts
were added using one millimetre wide strips of
Tamiya Tape affixed in place using extra thin
cyanoacrylate glue. Fuselage interior parts
assembled in steps 1 through 4 were airbrushed
FS36440 Light Gull Grey, and seat cushions
brush painted Humbrol 179 French Artillery
Green. Seat belts were Humbrol 183 Light Gull
Grey with Humbrol 11 Silver buckles. A wash of
Tamiya X19 Smoke was used to provide greater
detail deinition.
The fuselage halves were joined together in
step 6, with Tamiya Green top welding cement
applied to the upper fuselage and vertical in
joint. To avoid marring the lower fuselage
external detail, the lower fuselage halves were
pressed together and mild liquid cement was
applied to the joint line. The fuselage
subassemblies were set aside for several days to
allow the joint lines to harden. Returning to step
6, appropriate engine faces and cowlings were
assembled, less the forward curved facing part
21.
Step 7, upper and lower wing assembly, was
done using Revell Contacta Cement applied
sparingly along the wing halves’ mating surfaces.
The forward ends of the port and starboard wing

Construction advanced and the main airframe Flock of Sparrows at an

awaiting transparencies. The interior will be Dror 33 ready for the paint shop advanced stage of construction
quite visible on the inished model

MAY 2019 • VOLUME 41 • ISSUE 03 71

D O R N I E R 27
tip fairing position lights were drilled out to
accept relective lenses during inal assembly.
Likewise, the port wing tip landing light cavity
was illed with half round plastic rod from the
kit's parts tree, cut 2.5mm wide, and drilled to
accept a silver relective lens and clear wind
shield made from two part clear epoxy after
painting. The wing assembly was itted atop the
fuselage with a small amount of cyanoacrylate
cement and after it set in place, liquid weld
cement was applied to the wing-fuselage cavity
from inside the cockpit joint line.
Next to be added were the horizontal
stabilizers, vertical in tip and rudder, followed
by lower fuselage antenna, cabin step and
landing gear. Metal rod was used to make the
cabin access step and a lat brass rod was used
for the lower fuselage bow antenna. The upper
fuselage antenna array was selected using
photos, making use of the kit's brass blade
antenna atop the wing. To Dror number 015, two
fuselage antenna supports were scratch built
using round rod drilled to accept a brush
whisker antenna at inal assembly.
The engine cylinders were painted Humbrol
56 Aluminium, prior to adding the forward
cowling. The kit's plastic exhaust stubs were
replaced with steel syringe tubing extending out
slightly aft of their fairing recesses. On airframes
009 and 033, the forward cowling lower intake
opening was sealed with cyanoacrylate iller and
an upper cowling intake added using sheet
plastic strip. In the Israeli boxing of the kit, this
intake is provided in the photo etch fret.
The kit's upper fuselage, wing and cabin
windows are a perfect it, just note that the side
windows are curved to the contour of the
fuselage, so if you see a gap when attaching one
of the side windows, it belongs to the opposite
side of the fuselage - ask me how I know. On the
72 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
forward clear cockpit doors, the sprue
attachment point is front and centre of each
window. Once the windshields are detached
from the sprue the remaining stub needs to be
sanded and polished in order to restore the clear
windshield's clarity. Fortunately this area is
partially covered by the window's frame line. To
avoid glue smears and crazing of the clear parts,
I applied Revell Contacta cement to the wing
and fuselage mating surfaces and not to the
clear parts themselves. Once the clear parts were
in place, a small amount of liquid cement was
applied at the edges of these joints and capillary
action drew the cement around the clear part
frames for a complete bond.
Painting
External clear part masking was accomplished
using one millimetre wide strips of Tamiya Tape
with the centres illed with liquid mask. The clear
areas of the cockpit and cabin window frames
were sprayed Testors Model Master FS36440
Light Gull Gray. Revell 302 Satin Black was
sprayed atop the nose sections, lower fuselage
and rear side of the prop blades of the relevant
airframes.
Next to be applied was Revell 04 white to the
spinners of all four aircraft, the entire airframe of
Dror 009, and Day-Glo areas of Dror 40, which
were later sprayed Revell 25, RAL2005 Day-Glo
Orange.
Camoulage painting was applied with a
Passche H1 airbrush using the paints listed in the
accompanying table. The kit's Cartograph
printed decal sheet provided all the markings
needed for the four options.
The red lash markings on Dror No. 40 was
sprayed on using Revell 220 Red. All decals were
applied sandwiched in layers of Future/Klear,
which both set them in place and provided a
clear acrylic protective coat needed for the
application of oil paint weathering. Panel lines
were enhanced using a mixture of white and
brown to simulate sand accumulating on the
panel lines and upper fuselage surfaces. With
weathering complete, the models were sprayed
with a mixture of Tamiya X21 Flat Base, Future
Klear and pharmaceutical alcohol.
Finishing
The port wing tip taxi light was furnished
from a relective lens attached and covered with
two part clear ive minute epoxy cement. Wing
tip position lights were also furnished from
relective lenses cemented in place with clear
epoxy, red to port and green to starboard. Under
the port wing tip the kit's angled pitot was used
for dimensional reference and replaced with a
durable brass rod bent to shape. 0.15mm thick
nylon ishing line was used for the vertical in tip
to upper wing wire antenna on Drors 009 and
033.
Albion Alloys 0.2mm Nickel Silver Rod was
used for the upper wing mounted whip
antennas installed on Drors 009 and 15. 0.1mm
rod was used for the side of fuselage antennas
on Dror 15. The wire antennas were painted
Tamiya X19 Smoke, which was also sprayed aft of
the exhausts to simulate staining. The forward
cockpit door clear access hatch decals were
applied to the clear windows and layered in
Future/Klear, which was also applied to the rest
of the clear parts to enhance clarity. Red or silver
handles were last to be painted, applied using
the edge of a sharp wooden toothpick. Last to
be added were the prepainted prop blades
attached in place with cyanoacrylate cement.
 D O R N I E R 27

MAY 2019 • VOLUME 41 • ISSUE 03 73

D O R N I E R 27

The Do 27 Dror in Israeli Service By Yoav Efrati Photos via the Author

September 1964 photo taken at Ramat David air base after assembly of the irst ten Do 27A1/A3 Drors purchased by the IAF two years earlier. The
person in the light suite is 100 Squadron commander Eli Eyal who is standing next to the maintenance team that assembled the irst ten Dornier Do
27A's during July and August of 1964, prior to lying them to their home base at Sde Dov, Tel Aviv

Dror No. 40 shown still wearing the high visibility trim colours of the
Dror 05 with a bogus number 2, as featured on the Special Hobby box art West German air force.

Do 27A4/A5, Dror No. 33 in a post

1973 war desert colour scheme IAF Do 27 Dror instrument panel

Do 27 A4/A5 No. 27 currently on display at the Israel Air Force Museum

74 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
 D O R N I E R 27

Do 27 Dror Lycoming engine

Do 27 crew strapping in

The Dror could carry between four and

six passengers. The type's excellent
STOL capabilities allowed it to play a
large number of roles, among them
liaison, light observation, artillery
spotting and maritime patrol

Do 27s were routinely used in operations against Palestinians

iniltrating into Israeli territory from Jordan in the late 1960s,
spotting and tracking iniltrators while also coordinating the
actions of IDF troops on the ground

The IAF begun operating the Do 27 in October 1964 when the irst ten
examples entered service with 100 Flying Camel Squadron at Sde Dov

The type was inally retired in 1981 and most aircraft were sold
abroad. At least ifteen were sold to a US operator, while one
resides at the IAF Museum in Hatzerim

A Dror in IAF service offering a view of the upper cowling feature seen
on some machines

MAY 2019 • VOLUME 41 • ISSUE 03 75

R I AT H U N T E R S

RIAT REFERENCE Classic Camm goes Top Gun

A New Livery for a Thoroughbred
By Mike Verier
All Photos by the Author

Most of the aircraft are inished

Kit No: 72410
in the last style of RAF aircraft with
Scale: 1/72 tactical red/blue roundels and
Type: Injection Moulded military serials. At RIAT 18 however
Plastic we were treated to a striking new
scheme. Whilst echoing Dazzle
Manufacturer: AMG Painting ideas trialled at several
Hannants/Stevens International points in aviation history it of
course emulates the current

S
adly privately owned Hunters
have been swept from the
skies by nervous regulators in
recent years. The Scampton based
company Hawker Hunter Aviation
however operates aircraft under
the military register as contractors
providing a range of DACT
(Dissimilar Air Combat Training)
Test and Aggressor services to
various air arms. To the delight of
everyone at Fairford the company
sent two aircraft to RIAT.
Their leet includes a pair of two
seaters for trials work with the bulk
of the work being undertaken by
ten ex Swiss Mk 58s. These aircraft,
maintained as their website puts it
‘with Swiss precision’ are low time
airframes with more than half their
fatigue life remaining and easily
capable of undertaking the
demanding requirements of their
profession.
practice of a potential adversary
situated somewhat to the east of
Scampton.
ZZ191’s new scheme consists of,
Chaff dispenser
by my reckoning, four shades of
added to the gun
grey plus black. To confuse any
pack Sabrinas of
observer further there is a false
Swiss Hunters
canopy on the underside too.
If you intend building these or
indeed original Swiss Mk 58s you
should note several differences
from RAF machines. Notably there
are six wing pylons, the extra pair
being inboard near the fuselage.
There are also prominent chaff/lare
dispensers built into the cannon
pack Sabrinas and RWR dimples at
the nose and tail.
As ever grateful thanks to
Richard Arquatti and the press HHA’s Mk 58s are equipped with Radar Warning
office at RIAT. This year’s show Receivers and chaff and lare dispensers, and are capable
promises to be another great of carrying the latest ACMI and Electronic Warfare pods
weekend… have you booked yet?

HHA works with defence contractors on aerial trials support and it also provides aircraft for threat simulation, thereby aiding and
assisting military training. As a consequence it operates its aircraft on the UK military register rather than in the civil permit to ly
category. Air navigation orders state that civilian registered aircraft of military design origin cannot be used for commercial
activities. Their use is effectively limited to ilm work and air shows, and their light envelope is heavily restricted. Operating on the
military register exempts HHA from such restrictions and also means that the company’s activities are regulated and audited by the
Military Aviation Authority (MAA), thereby enabling seamless integration with Ministry of Defence (MoD) assets and providing
assurance that the HHA’s Safety Management Systems, procedures and training are aligned with those found within the RAF

76 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
 R I AT H U N T E R S

Threat emulation and EW equipment simulate the radar emissions of enemy aircraft and by carrying this type of
equipment the Hunters can simulate being a totally different aircraft type. HHA performing this role helps the
military train to respond to any real threats whilst saving their own aircraft from expensive lying hours and fatigue

Note the false

canopy on Here you can see the additional inboard pylons and the
the underside ACMI pod mounted on the outboard Sidewinder rail

MAY 2019 • VOLUME 41 • ISSUE 03 77

WA L K A R O U N D
WALKAROUND
Grumman F4F-3Wildcat
T
he F4F-3 was irst
delivered to the Navy in
November of 1940. Only
285 of the -3 version of the
Wildcat were produced. They
were distinctive in that they
lacked folding wings and had
four .50 caliber machine gun
armament. They made their
mark as frontline ighters early
in World War II with action at
Wake Island and the Battle of
the Coral Sea. They were
replaced a short time later with
versions having folding wings
and six .50 caliber machine
guns. Most of the remaining
F4F-3s were reassigned to
training duties. Their
successors would participate in
78 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
Grumman F4F-3 at the Cradle of
Aviation on Long Island, New York
the battles at Midway and in
the Solomon Islands. By the
end of the war Grumman built
Wildcats produced ifty six aces
and had destroyed 905 enemy
aircraft.
This Aircraft
These detailed photographs
are of the F4F-3, Bu.No 3872,
on display at the National
Museum of Naval Aviation at
Pensacola, Florida on 21st
February 2005.
Bu.No 3875 was recovered
from Lake Michigan on 22nd
December 1990. It was one of
300 warbirds that crashed in
National Museum of Naval Aviation
F4F-3 cockpit looking port side forward.
Note the varying shades of green zinc
chromate and or interior green
By Steve Muth
the lake during World War II.
Since then seven more F4Fs
have been recovered. This
aircraft traces it lineage to
service with VF-72 on the USS
Wasp (CV-7) as part of the
Neutrality Patrol. Later it was
assigned to the Carrier
Qualiication Training Unit at
NAS Glenview, Illinois. On 27th
August 1943 it crashed into
Lake Michigan on take-off from
the training carrier USS
Wolverine (IX-64) when engine
torque caused it to pitch over
the side. The pilot, Lt. Albert
Newhall, survived the crash
Cockpit looking forward
and eventually rose to the rank
and down at the loor
of Captain.
Cockpit looking forward.
The instrument panel is
mostly complete
 WA L K A R O U N D

Cockpit starboard side.

The wiring bundles appear
to have all white wires
with yellow tie wraps

Cockpit
starboard
side

Cockpit
starboard
forward with
grey control
column,
black grip
and dirty
grey boot

The rudder pedals, control column and seat are all different colours

Poor design of the armament installation on early F4Fs caused the otherwise reliable machine guns to jam frequently, a problem
common to wing-mounted weapons of many US ighters early in the war. An F4F-3 lown by Lieutenant Edward O'Hare shot
down, within a few minutes, ive Mitsubishi twin-engine bombers attacking Lexington off Bougainville on 20 February 1942. But
contrasting with A shortage of two-stage superchargers led to the development of the F4F-3A, which was basically the F4F-3 but
with a 1,200 hp (890 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-1830-90 radial engine with a more primitive single-stage two-speed supercharger.
The F4F-3A operated alongside the F4F-3, but its poorer performance made it unpopular with US Navy ighter pilots

MAY 2019 • VOLUME 41 • ISSUE 03 79

WA L K A R O U N D

This is the rear

wall of the
starboard
main landing
gear well

Front wall of the

starboard main
landing gear well

Front view of
the starboard
main landing
gear
assembly

An upper rear view of The interior of the port

the starboard main main landing gear well is a
landing gear assembly busy place

Port wing
landing light

80 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
V C - 10 K 2
Scaling K2 - VC10 K2 Conversion
By Huw Morgan
Kit No: 327
Scale: 1/144
Type: Injection Moulded Plastic
Manufacturer: Roden
www.roden.eu
T
he impetus for this build actually goes back
over a year, to when SIG 144 colleague
Terry Patrick suggested at Scale
ModelWorld 2017 that it would be interesting to
undertake a group build of one of every aircraft
lown by RAF 144 Squadron in its various
incarnations. While that project set off with its
own life, the idea of a display at SMW Telford in
2018 which maximised the reference to 144
grew as an additional aim, thus the SIG set out to
collect and build models with 144 in their
designations, serials, codes, nicknames and so
on, literally 144 in 144, hence my plan to build
VC10 K2 tanker, c/n 806, coded ZA144.
The Vickers VC10 was undoubtedly a superb
aircraft, seriously undervalued at the time in its
civil airliner role, but one which proved its worth
in a second life as a versatile transport for the
RAF, and particularly as an outstanding air-to-air
refueller, deployed into hot combat zones
throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
The RAF had recognised the potential of the
VC10 as a strategic airlifter in the mid 1960s and
when ex civil airframes became available it
embarked on a series of campaigns to convert
them to troop/cargo carriers and tankers. The
initial programmes used the standard short
fuselage models, resulting in C1 transports and
CMk1K and K2 tankers, later conversions of the
82 w w w. s C a l e a i r C r a f t m o d e l l i n g . Co. u k
longer Super VC10 leading to the K3 and K4
tanker versions.
VC10 construction number 806 started life in
January 1963 registered as G-ARVC with the
then BOAC, being delivered to the airline in
December 1964. By January 1966 she was leased
to Nigeria Airways for eighteen months before
being returned to BOAC/British Airways, and
then sold to Gulf Air in July 1974. Ending her
service with Gulf in late 1977,
she was sold
back to the RAF and scheduled for
conversion to a Type 1112 K2 tanker, being
delivered to 101 Squadron as ZA144 E in
February 1984. After signiicant service in the
Gulf during Operation Granby, and in Kosovo
during Operation Allied Force ZA144 was
withdrawn from service in August 2000 and
scrapped at St Athan in May 2001.
Kits
Roden's kit of the VC10 has been around for a
few years now, initially released as the civil
airliner, and more recently as the K3 and K4
tanker versions of the long fuselage Super
VC10 (1170) model. The kit is a marked
improvement on anything else in the
marketplace, but shows evidence of mould
misalignment, with some parts ending up
distinctly oval, and some with mould lines that
are very difficult to eradicate. The kit is offered as
K3 and K4 versions and seem
to vary only in the
marking schemes,
the K3 which I built
for this magazine last
year missing the characteristic cargo door itted
to the original civil airframes. The decals in the
K4 box that I was using provide markings for a
single airframe, ZD241, in the late all over grey
inish, including the fuselage stripes, wing walk
markings and squadron badges.
Airix produced a kit of the VC10 K2 tanker in
1983, reissued in 2003, based on its airliner
version dating back to 1964. The moulding is
Finished irst
time around
typical of the era, being clunky and short on
detail, although the overall shape isn't bad,
except for the wing leading edges which lack the
extended root chord of the later wings retro
itted to the K2 during conversion. I'd initially
thought of grafting the better Roden wings on
to the short Airix fuselage, but the differences in
shape of the wing root fairing meant that this
would need lots of work and iller, so the
alternative of shortening
the Roden fuselage
became more attractive.
Having consulted several
references, and drawing heavily
on the Airix model, I concluded
that a scaled reduction in
length of 27mm was needed,
19mm ahead of the wing
and 8mm behind, and in
order to retain the
upward sweep of
the rear
fuselage,
the
latter cut
would need to be far enough
forward that it would overlap
the wing
trailing edge fairing.
Cutting Plastic
Roden's fuselage is produced with the
full complement of windows required for the
airliner, so for the K2 I used the Airix version to
mark out which windows would need illing and
where to make the transverse cuts. The
redundant window positions were illed with
chopped up kit clear window pieces and illed
with superglue on the outside, several iterations
of sanding and illing being necessary to get a
 V C - 10 K 2

Surface detail in the Roden kit is To make the short standard fuselage from the Roden
quite good, although there's no K3/K4 kit requires 27mm to be cut out. Here the Roden
differentiation in the panel lines fuselage (bottom) is compared with that of the Airix K2

The whole kit

shows evidence
of signiicant
mould mismatch,
here exempliied The cut fuselage halves
in the offset of were re-united on a piece of
the main wheels glass to ensure alignment

A mitre box and a ine saw are

ideal for shortening the fuselage

Shortening the fuselage behind the wing needed

a complex cut around the trailing edge fairing

good inish. I like superglue for this sort of
application since it tends to be more
stable over the
long term
than other illers.
Having laid down some thick vinyl tape to
deine the cut positions, I used a mitre box and a
very ine Japanese woodworking pull saw to
make the cuts themselves, with a jewellers saw
used to make the curving cut around the trailing
edge fairing. I glued the cut parts of the
starboard fuselage halves together using a piece
of glass to ensure a straight joint, which I
reinforced with plastic strip, the
rear segment needing a bit more
attention to get the alignment
right, with some small pieces of strip
used to improve the basic shape,
before illing gaps with more strip
and superglue.
With the starboard
half
complete, I
added strip
reinforcement for the long
joints and scrap sprue vertical
stiffeners to add torsional strength
before ixing the centre section of
the port half in place to act as a datum, taking
particular care to align the wing fairings. The
forward and tail sections could now be added,
aligning the extreme nose and tail, and thus not
relying on the accuracy of the transverse
fuselage cuts to give the correct positioning and
length. Just as well as it happens, since there was
a cumulative error of around 1mm in the cutting,
which needed plastic strip packing and iller to
correct. Several rounds of illing, priming and
sanding later and the fuselage looked pretty
reasonable.
Typical of modern practice,
Roden provide the
windscreen section
complete with a
chunk of cabin
roof, an
excellent
idea
although I
personally would have preferred it if the
section had extended further back away from

MAY 2019 • VoluMe 41 • Issue 03 83

V C - 10 K 2
The new joints were reinforced with plastic
strip and the window sections chopped and
glued in roughly to form a basis for the
superglue iller
To get the axial
alignment of the wing
position right the centre
section was ixed irst
Eventually it comes together as
a inished fuselage
F-DCAL's
sheets are
actually
for C1 rather than K2 airframes, but
can be altered to suit
The wings need a second chord wise strake
added as seen on the K2
The windscreen section its pretty well with
some care in trimming the aperture. Roden's
vinyl masks are very useful
84 w w w. s C a l e a i r C r a f t m o d e l l i n g . Co. u k
More reinforcement was added to the long Some errors in measuring meant that the rear
fuselage joint and some struts added to give joint needed to be packed out with plastic
some torsional strength strip and illed with superglue
The engines are a reasonable
representation, although the it
isn't great and detail a bit sparse
the clear glazing, to make blending in less risky.
As it happens, with some judicious sanding the
it of the clear part is very good, and Roden's
vinyl masks are accurate and easy to use, albeit
those for the eyebrow windows are tiny and a
challenge to align.
The wings and tail are relatively
straightforward, although they beneit from
some sanding of the trailing edges to thin them
down. Understandably the wings are missing
the outboard strakes seen on K2s so these were
made up by cutting an initial proile on an
oversized piece of plastic card, gluing them
to the wing and shaping to the right proile
with scissors and sanding sticks. The engines are
just about adequate, the upper and lower shells
not itting together particularly well and the
front and rear sections needing signiicant work
to blend them in, lots of moulded detail being
lost in the process. The it of the wings, in and
engines is adequate but not spectacular, and all
the joints needed some dressing with iller,
water soluble DeLuxe
Fuselage decals sanded Perfect
off for the second
attempt at inishing
Plastic
ensuring that the
wing and horizontal
stabiliser detail was
preserved.
With the entire
airframe primed and polished I did
some preshading using temporary
tape masks along some of the fuselage
joints to give a sharp edge and built up
the inal colour of Mr Hobby H334
Barley Grey in several thin coats. I
didn't bother with a gloss coat before
decalling since previous experience
suggests that the Mr Hobby inish is
smooth enough. On relection I might
have been better enhancing the gloss, since the
decals did show small patches of silvering.
Roden's decals are something of a challenge
The repaired fuselage paintwork looks as
to use. First off, the positioning instructions are
good as the original

unhelpful, being printed as a four view on an
A5 sheet, so many of the smaller decals are
invisible. Many of those that can be seen are
wrongly referenced to the decals on the
sheet itself and the colours of the roundels,
in lashes and walkway markings are
distinctly suspect.
The decals themselves are very difficult to
apply, as they leap off the backing paper
with just a quick dip, but unfortunately are
very brittle and unforgiving of even
moderate handling. Every one of the eight
sections of cheat line ended up
fragmenting into three or four
pieces. I was so discouraged
by this that I
abandoned any
idea of
applying
the wing walk
lines, which aren't
very prominent on the
airframe anyway. The decals
are also very glossy when applied, with
rather obtrusive swathes of ragged edged
backing ilm. I used grey codes from Xtradecal
and Ventura generic sheets to make up the
ZA144 registration and the aircraft code E, and
used roundels and in lashes from Xtradecal.
Finals
Despite the moulding offset on the wheels,
with some juggling they can be
cleaned up reasonably,
and the
compromised
shape of the gear
legs isn't too noticeable
when painted. I assembled the trucks off the
model and itted all three together using slow
setting superglue so that with the model set the
right way up, they would self level. There are a
number of pitot heads and antennae to it and I
replaced the oval refuelling probe with one
made of aluminium tube and wire.
To complete
the inish I over sprayed the
decals with a ine coat of Mr Hobby H30 gloss to
unify the surface, and when it was dry, followed
it with Mr Hobby GX113 matt, and disaster
struck! The decals inally gave up the ghost and
appeared to react to the matt varnish, bubbling
up into a pebbly surface and making the
backing ilm even more pronounced, especially
on the cheat line and the door framing. Arghh!
It's worth noting that I've used the H30/GX113
combination several times before without any
trouble.
I disguised the disaster as best I could with a
light overspray of Barley Grey, but the real
remedy would be in stripping the paint back,
repainting and using some different decals.
Other than another set of Roden markings, the
only option I could see immediately would be
the ancient ones out of the Airix K2 kit, or
masking and painting
the
line
and
using black
titles toned down with
grey.
As I wrote this I contacted Ray
Charles at 26 Decals, whose products
I'd used previously on a Britannia, VC 10
K3, and Comet and whilst he couldn't
help directly, Ray kindly pointed me
towards F-DCAL in France, who have ive sets
of the grey inish markings in their catalogue. I
bought FD-144-046-S and -047-S. Every credit,
Ray.
MAY 2019 • VoluMe 41 • Issue 03
V C - 10 K 2
Repair Job
Repairing the decal disaster
actually turned out to be
relatively straightforward. The
fuselage decals were sanded back
using damp 400 grit wet and dry
and smoothed with 600 and
1,000 grit foam backed Abralon
abrasive. To try and extract any
dust from the sanding process I blew
some air from an aerosol air duster
through the open fuselage windows whilst
simultaneously sucking it out with a vacuum
cleaner. After masking the wing roots, engines
and windscreen, I sprayed A-mig one shot grey
primer, A-mig 2024, over the sanded bits and
inished with thin coats of Barley
Grey, and a inal coat of Mr
Hobby GX100 gloss.
The F-DCAL sheet looks to be very well
printed, but is actually for a CMk1K Tanker
airframe of 101 Squadron with the large cargo
door represented by a decal, the grey cheat line
therefore needing a bit of trimming to remove
the door outline and most of the cabin windows,
since the layout was different on the K2.
Nevertheless the decals were a
big improvement, and
have lots of other
stencils and
placard
markings completely missing
from the kit decals. With the new
cannibalised decals in place, the whole
airframe was brought back to a faintly
shiny inish using a mix of GX100 and
GX113 and the weathering restored
with a second round of pastel chalks.
Conclusions
Overall, something of a curate's
egg of a project. I enjoyed the
challenge of the cut and shut
on the fuselage, but was
frustrated by the indifferent
moulding in the Roden kit,
and the disappointing
decals. Initial issues
notwithstanding I was
actually quite pleased to
be able to retrieve
things, courtesy of
the F-DCAL markings,
which can be
unreservedly
recommended.
85
P - 40
Trumpeter’s Short-Tail Warhawk
By Joachim Geier
Kit No: 03227
Scale: 1/32
Type: Injection Moulded Plastic
Manufacturer: Trumpeter
Pocketbond/Stevens International
T
rumpeter have been announcing a series of
P-40s now for so many years that I had
almost forgotten the promise and
concentrated instead on Hasegawa‘s releases of
the type, which do not offer a P-40F. Finally,
Trumpeter released their irst boxing in the
shape of that missing F type with short tail to
compete with the Japanese. Hitherto this
missing link could only be produced with the
help of the aftermarket.
At irst I was uncertain whether to buy one as
the short tailed F didn't suit my plans for this
subtype, rather hoping for a long tailed version
to be adorned with Sergeant
Pumphrey‘s lovely tail art. But then,
well trained relexes overcame me
after I had the box in hands and I
took it home from the club meeting,
held at our local modelling shop, as
an exception to the rule.
86 w w w. s c a l e a i r c r a f t m o d e l l i n g . co. u k
Type History
The P-40 is one among many famous World
War II ighters but represents an especially iconic
aircraft for US aviation. In its early long nosed
version the P-40, or in this case the Hawk 81,
became immortal with the famous Flying Tigers
in China. These early types also served the RAF
well in the desert war, being known as the
Tomahawk and sporting in 112 Squadron use an
equally ierce looking shark mouth, which itself
was inspired from ZG 76 Bf 110s of the 1940
period. Later on with the introduction of the P-
40E/Kittyhawk Ia (Hawk 87) the entire airframe
received a modiication, leading to the deletion
of the fuselage mounted guns, which moved to
the wings, revised cockpit canopy and most of
all a new modiied cowling due to the change
from the Allison V-1710-33 to the V-1710-39. This
engine had a considerably shorter gearbox than
its predecessor resulting in a shorter and
seemingly bulkier nose.
With these early models of rather inferior
ighters the Allies managed to stem the Axis
onslaught in Australia with Darwin being
defended by 49 Fighter Group and New Guinea
by the RAAF as well as the RAF with their
Tomahawks and Kittyhawks in the African
desert.
One thing that most Allison powered aircraft
lacked unless they were equipped with a turbo
supercharger was high altitude performance.
Apart from engine development engineers
sought to solve this problem with a complete
change in engine and as far as I can determine
the P-40 can claim the
distinction of
being
the irst series produced US Fighter utilising a
Rolls-Royce Packard built Merlin XX engine.
Though performance at altitude improved, it
was not to the same extent as later experienced
with the marriage of the Merlin to the P-51.
Compared to the P-40E, of which nearly 4,000
were built, the number of P-40Fs, some 1,300,
was rather modest. It was mainly used by the
USAAF and the RAF, here being designated
Kittyhawk II/IIa.
To overcome the P-40‘s nasty habit of ground
looping on take-off and landing, from block
number 41-14300 onwards the P-40F received a
fuselage lengthened by 111cm, which resulted
in the new designation suffix -5CU.
The Kit
Why Trumpeter decided to present us with
one of the scarcer short tailed versions remains a
Chinese secret or, perhaps future releases will
show, a clever and well calculated salesman
decision. Nonetheless the kit comes with
Trumpeter’s well known sturdy (good) and hard
to open (bad) box containing six sprues of crisp
grey and three sprues of clear plastic as well as
their infamous rubber tyres and two sets of
photo etch. The construction drawings are
provided as a twelve page brochure outlining
construction in ifteen stages. The decal sheet
contains decals for four different aircraft, all US
versions. One of these depicts an olive
drab/neutral grey aircraft serving in the Paciic,
the others are for MTO based aircraft with
different camoulage schemes. Panel lines and
rivets are delicate and inely executed, so I
assume their mad riveter was on vacation
during development of this kit. All
sprues are

bagged separately and delicate parts like
canopies are wrapped with extra foam foil for
protection, which is highly appreciated. The
clear parts really are very clear but the canopy
side panels are slightly bulged, not a feature of
the original aircraft. Photo etch is of a rather
thick metal.
Construction
As is my usual habit I irst separated the main
parts from the sprue sitting one evening in front
of the modelconstructiontimestealing TV and
taped them together for a irst impression. This
dry run suggested the it would very good and
visible ejector pin marks were non-existent.
Overall shape seemed good as well.
This irst impression was damped when I
checked the cockpit parts as Trumpeter have
only partially learned from their earlier P-40B
release. As with the earlier kit they have ignored
the fact that on all P-40s the loor of the cockpit
was the upper wing surface, and consequently
was curved and kinked because of the proile
and dihedral. What Trumpeter includes is a lat
cockpit loor and as again with their earlier
release a cockpit tub too shallow, being halfway
in depth between the Hasegawa kit and their
own P-40B. Furthermore the cockpit loor
seemed to be rather short so I decided to modify
these parts by adding about 6mm of Plasticard
to the cockpit sides and back plate for depth as
well as cutting the loor from its underside with
a razor saw along the centreline and bending it
to replicate the wing‘s dihedral. I neglected to
add wing proile by bending the loor to shape
and only attached it in a slightly back drooping
manner.
Some minor details of internal structure were
added and I further deleted most of the handles
moulded to the cockpit walls to replace them
later with DIY items. A further design feature I
couldn't accept was the attachment of the
rudder pedals assembly to the loor, which
would result in possibly visible joints. I therefore
deleted these and glued the rudder pedals to
the backside of the instrument panel, which
worked perfectly. The former was also modiied
as it is of a rather basic nature and the dials are
quite deep without any moulded detail. Depth
in this case means inaccessibility for the brush
and so I sanded the instruments lat, illed the
remaining indents and added new instrument
bezels from lattened copper wire. Knobs
switches and levers were further added until I
was satisied.
One prominent omission was the gun loading
handles at the bottom of the instrument panel
and so I had to produce them from scratch. This
is easily done. You simply take some stretched
sprue of thicker diameter and hold it quickly
over a candle lame. If this is done in a luid and
not to slow motion the front of the sprue
becomes soft, curling back on itself. Quickly
press this against a cold surface and you have
got the nicest lat knob on a rod you could wish
for, and in my opinion much superior to any
photo etch part. These knobs were then sanded
to their desired shape in this case with one end
pointed. Different cables and connection rods
inished the detailing.
The cockpit was then painted using Xtracolor
Interior Green after which a classic wash of burnt
umber oil paints was applied and the whole
thing was given a dry brushing using lightened
interior green (use yellow here not white),
followed by painting of the details. If you paint
these after the dry brushing their colours remain
brighter adding to a lot of desired contrast to
the cockpit.
Not following the kit instructions I then
attached the sidewalls to the fuselage halves
followed by the instrument panel and rear
cockpit bulkhead. No doubt sooner or later there
will be an aftermarket item for this whole area.
MAY 2019 • VoluMe 41 • Issue 03
P - 40
Before joining the fuselage halves the
propeller gave me some concern as Trumpeter
wants to have it ixed at this early stage. I again
disregarded the kit instructions and glued the
casing (Part J34) to one of the fuselage halves
carefully aligning it with the centreline and then
glued the fuselage halves together not
forgetting the tail wheel fork that must be
installed at this early stage as well. Though
prone to be damaged during construction I
managed not to break it off. If you follow this
course remember that part J35, the end cap of
the propeller shaft, is not used as it will, if glued
in place, prevent you from installing the
propeller assembly. Also I altered the propeller
blades as these seemed to be too pointed for my
taste.
Two further areas of noticeable concern are
the bulged upper cowling and the chin intake
area. While the former can be remedied by a few
careful strokes with a sanding strip between the
two upper panel lines the latter needs some
more attention. For my taste the intake lip was of
the wrong shape being too blunt and thick,
giving the whole area a completely wrong
impression. Furthermore the intake seemed to
be much too narrow for an F model as this
version had the largest intake opening of all the
P-40s. I took a jigsaw and carefully cut along the
outer lines of the sidewalls, leaving the upper
and lower frames of the intakes and so widening
the intake to a more convincing looking
representation. Then new sidewalls were added
and blended in. It was only after I had attached
the radiator intakes with the photo etch mesh
that I realized there were some streamlined
cheeks on both sides of the inner intakes. So the
back plate was carefully detached and these
added from cut plastic rod. Afterwards the
protruding pipe for the carburettor intake was
glued in place. I modiied the kit part by deleting
the square lower support of part E9, which
accords with my 1940s reference pictures, but
87
P - 40
found also a picture of this area of a recently
restored P-40F, 41-14112, that conirms the
shape of Trumpeter's kit part.
Trumpeter gives separate rudder and
elevators as well as split laps and while I used
the former to add some life to the model while
ixing them in drooped and angled positions I
waived the laps and installed them in the up
position, which would be according to normal
pilot procedure. I also opted to close the upper
wing ammunition box panels as no detail is
provided here. This done the rest of the build is
straightforward with a very good it, so that
nearly no iller was used. I used Tamiya tape to
hold the wings in the desired dihedral as their
midsection is slightly soft and so they tend to
settle in a rather drooped attitude if not
supported.
Thoughts about the Pain(t) Job
As already mentioned Trumpeter gives decal
options for four USAAF aircraft though without
any accompanying text. These are:
• White 209 of 68 Fighter Squadron, 347 Fighter
Group in Olive Drab/Neutral Grey camoulage
• White 20 of 64 Fighter Squadron, 57 Fighter
Group sporting a Dark Green/Dark Earth over
Medium Sea Grey camoulage
• White X55 of 86 Fighter Squadron, 79 Fighter
Group in a Dark Earth/Mid Stone over
Medium Sea Grey camoulage
• White 78 of 66 Fighter Squadron, 57 Fighter
Group in a Mid Stone/Medium Sea Grey
camoulage, sporting yellow outlined national
markings
Before choosing one of these options I would
recommend checking your references for correct
colours and camoulage patterns, as those
provided seemed to me partially
dubious in several aspects.
Colour references are given for
Mr. Hobby, Acrysion, Valejo,
Model Master, Tamiya and
Humbrol. Having Kits Worlds
88 w w w. s c a l e a i r c r a f t m o d e l l i n g . co. u k
lovely decals for the Pumphrey tail art in the
stash waiting for a long tailed F, I pondered long
and hard about an alternative kite and at irst
settled for one of 57 Fighter Group in the Sand
over Neutral Grey scheme. A further alternative I
considered was a P-40 F of 3 Squadron RAAF but
then I stumbled across some pictures of ex 33
Fighter Group P-40Fs handed over to the French
Armee de l´Air in Casablanca in January 1943.
After the November 1942 landings at Oran the
US was keen to provide the former adversary,
the Vichy French units stationed in Algeria and
Morocco, with equipment to draw them inally
to the allied side, and so the Escadrille Lafayette
GC II/5, a long term symbol of Franco-American
friendship, was equipped with former 33 Fighter
Group P-40F aircraft. Although these were
mainly long tailed airframes close examination
of the lined up aircraft showed that at least two
of them were of the older short tailed version.
Berna Decals of France offer a very nice decal
sheet (32-34) for two Armee de l'Air P-40F, blue 6
and white. Reference for these aircraft in general
is quite scarce and so some guesswork was
necessary. Either the aircraft were repainted or at
least their numbers in the squadron were altered
as I found some pictures conirming Berna’s
options, though others are contradictory. White
8 with serial 41-14319 should have a long tail,
but I found a picture of a darker shaded 8 aircraft
with the short fuselage. Maybe Xavier
Berna has got more information upon
which his sheet is based?
I started with the camoulage
scheme. 33 Fighter Group set sail for
North Africa aboard the carrier USS
Chenango in November 1942 and
became operational in December
1942. Pictures of its aircraft being
hoisted aboard the carrier
showed them to be already in the factory
applied desert scheme. So I opted for the
American equivalents of Dark Earth/Mid Stone
over Azure Blue camoulage in a British pattern,
contrary to Berna. There are some colour
pictures and a comparison of the roundels with
the squadron number suggested that at least at
the point of handover the 6 should have been
white rather than light blue and, unfortunately,
without the stork symbol. But another picture
seems to again conirm the Berna Decals
conclusion. Finally before going mad I decided
to have white 6 at the time of the handover,
hoping that nobody will ever show up with
walkaround colour pictures of this particular
aircraft.
For the painting process I wanted to depict a
rather worn aircraft already having lown some
hours in the harsh environments of the North
African winter and so the usual base coat of grey
car primer was followed by Humbrol MET 191
Silver over which I applied Humbrol Maskol with
a synthetic sponge for those areas of heavy
wear. Then another coat of WEM Chromate
Yellow followed for these areas, again being
partially covered with Maskol. The aim of this
was to create areas of different paint chipping
either down to the chromate yellow primer or
when more heavily affected down to the bare
metal. At this stage I wasn’t sure if it would work
as intended.
Finally in preparation for the application of
the camoulage the panel lines were preshaded
with black.
As a side note I always avoid priming the
canopies as this results in a thick layer of paint
over the frames and if the masks are removed
you will see the layer of primer at the edges. I
either mask the whole cockpit area or attach the
canopy after the primer was applied. Fixing the
windshield and sealing the joints at this stage
helps greatly to achieve a more realistic look. Of
course at the expense of time spent.
As I don’t use too many decals, especially for
the national markings etc., I had cut templates
with a plotter and attached these over

precoloured areas,
e.g. yellow for the
serial numbers.
Model Master enamels were used for the
camoulage scheme, being applied in several
thin layers until the desired effect was achieved,
starting with the Azure Blue undersides. To have
sharp demarcation lines between colours, as
Curtiss used rubber mat templates in the
painting process resulting in sharp demarcation,
I laid Blu-Tack rolls along the camoulage
scheme and sealed the older colours with a
liberal application of Maskol to avoid overspray.
After this a deinitely darker shade of burnt
umber (although some sources suggest olive
drab) was sprayed free hand over these areas
where the markings of the former owner had
been in place. This was not necessary with a blue
colour for the underside of the
wing as the French roundel here
was equal or larger in size to
the star and disc of the
USAAF.
Colours for the French
national markings on
these aircraft seemed to
be from non French
stocks as the
ones
applied
seem to
be
much darker in tone. I usually remove my
painting masks as soon as the painting session is
over and while the paint is still soft. Although
this means that correcting faulty painted areas is
more troublesome, the paint will smooth a little
bit at the edges.
After all had dried I removed the Maskol and
rubbed it from the model. To my amazement it
had worked well although I might have used a
bit less, having been a bit too enthusiastic about
chipping colours. After the application of the
green stripe below the cockpit I gave the whole
model a light treatment with ine painters leece
to remove any paint residue and then applied
Klear in the area for the Indians head decal. This
was applied and I found that Berna Decals are
very thin and tend to break if not carefully
handled. The decals were irst treated with
Humbrol’s Decal Cote No. 2, then after drying
with a layer of precious Klear.
Final Weathering and Finishing Touches
Then it was time for water colours, these
being applied in a dark brown mix along the
panel lines and rubbed away in short strokes,
repeating the process in some areas for the
panel lines and rivets to be more pronounced.
As the camoulage colours used were matt,
pigments of the watercolours settle into the
matt surface and are rubbed into it with a
moistened tissue, partially changing the shade
of colours. This gives me the desired effect of
grime and wear and alters the total appearance
of the whole model. To seal the water colours a
highly thinned mixture of gloss and semi gloss
varnish was sprayed over the whole model,
giving it a smooth and even surface. Small bits
and pieces, like the ring and pin gun sight
included as photo etch part, were now added, as
well as the antennae, although curiously no
antennae mast seems to be provided in the kit.
For the seatbelts I only used the ittings and also
took the tyres from a Hasegawa kit
as I don't like
MAY 2019 • VoluMe 41 • Issue 03
P - 40
rubber tyres for their tendency to soften up
plastic after a few years. After inal touch-ups,
like exhaust streaks and minor corrections, the
model was inished in what was for me the
amazing time of just over four weeks.
Verdict
Build is straightforward and general it is
excellent as are the panel lines and rivet detail.
This aside Trumpeter did again include several
avoidable mistakes in this kit that will prevent it
from being built out of the box into a good
representation of the real thing. With some
modeller's grease, or alternatively the help of the
aftermarket industry, and time spent it can be
built into an acceptable model but I wonder
how their planned M- and N- versions will stand
against already existing kits that aren´t much
more expensive than this one?
References
Curtiss Instructional Film in Colour DVD, Ways of
the Warhawk
Aviatik World War II Aircraft No. 1, Seweryn M.
Fleischer, Curtiss P-40F Warhawk
MBI Vlastimil Ehrman, Curtiss P-40
Motorbooks International, Jeff Ethell, P-40
Warhawk in World War II Colour
Detail & Scale, Bert Kinzey, P-40 Warhawk Volume II
Kagero SMI Library No. 10, Tomasz Szlagor, Curtiss
P-40 Warhawk (Tomahawk/Kittyhawk)
Squadron Signal No. 26, Ernest R. Mc Dowell,
Curtiss P-40 in Action
Squadron Signal, Walkaround No. 8, Lou Drendel,
P-40 Warhawk
Osprey Aviation Elite Units No. 39, Carl
Molesworth, 57 Fighter Group
Osprey Aircraft of the Aces No. 43, Carl Molesworth,
P-40 Warhawk Aces of the MTO
Osprey Aircraft of the Aces No. 55, Carl Molesworth,
P-40 Warhawk Aces of the Paciic
www.p40hawksnest.co.nf
89
IPMS UK

IPMS (UK) Column

Presented by Chris Ayre

Due to an increased requirement for frontline fast jet pilots for the leet of Typhoons and
new Lightning IIs, IV (AC) Squadron split into two units late last year. Seen at Hawarden
airield near Chester is the irst Hawk T2 to carry 25(F) Squadron markings. This unit is
taking on the irst phase of Advanced Fast Jet Training at RAF Valley (Chris Ayre)

I Spy…
The Beluga XL coverage in the last issue has
prompted me to mention that despite the fact
that I’ve spent much of my life photographing
aeroplanes, I’m not actually an aircraft spotter. In
fact, I don’t think I’ve ever thought of myself as a
spotter of any kind, although I have also taken
pictures of a few trains over the years. That’ll
impress the editor… I suppose that what I’m
saying in that opening sentence isn’t simply that
I don’t collect serial numbers, but that I think the
hobby has changed somewhat in recent times
and in spite of the present all pervasive social
media connectedness, I have little inclination to
dash off to see something of interest when I
know that hundreds of others will be doing
exactly the same. Those same social media
channels will very soon be illed with plenty of
almost identical images, sometimes within
minutes of irst contact! The hobby of spotting
now seems, to some folks, to be all about who
can post their pics online irst. This is not to
disparage those that enjoy the camaraderie of
the chase and the competitive cut and thrust.
Good luck to you all. It’s just not for me. I will
happily admit to attending various special
events from time to time but on the whole I
prefer to do my own thing.
As an example, at around the time that I’m
typing this, a well publicised (on social media,
naturally) deployment of B-52 bombers to the
UK is taking place. This has generated much
excitement and anticipation, and that’s quite
understandable. Many enthusiasts have made
the pilgrimage to stand at the end of the runway
at RAF Fairford, presumably to be amongst the
irst to get pictures. My own response has been
to wonder if I’m likely to be in the vicinity of the
base over the next few weeks. I’m lucky enough
to travel around the country quite a bit so
popping along is a possibility, and yes of course,
I do realise that not everyone has the same
freedom and lexibility that I do. My age
obviously also comes into play here, and
perhaps the fact that I’ve photographed Buffs on
many occasions in the past further blunts my
enthusiasm.
Looking at things from a modeller’s
perspective, I may be about to trip myself up
slightly here… I’m always banging on about the
importance of experiencing aircraft (or your
chosen subjects) at irst hand as a major source
of inspiration, and taking your own photographs
certainly allows you to get the images you may
want. So what am I actually saying here?
Perhaps it’s all about going your own way.
With the saturation coverage of the B-52
deployment it’s quite possible that you may ind
all the detail and inspiration that you need in the
various online websites and forums. Nothing
wrong with that at all and very useful I’m sure,
but for me, doing my own thing has provided
inspiration aplenty over the last few months. The
pictures on this page have all been taken by me
quite recently, and as far as I was aware in most
cases there wasn’t a spotter to be… errrr…
spotted! I’m pleased with my haul and I’m happy
that nobody else will have captured exactly the
same images. Maybe it’s me but that somehow
adds a little bit more inspiration.
Showtime
May already? Silly question really as I’m
writing this somewhat earlier in the year,
although as per usual this is quite a busy month
and it starts with the IPMS (UK) Annual General
Meeting on Saturday 4th. The AGM is of course
an important event in the society year and I’d
encourage members to attend. A number of
resolutions to be debated are on the agenda and
seven Executive Committee posts are due for
election. There isn’t a model show attached but
the 2019 venue will be of interest to many. The
Boscombe Down Aviation Collection is situated
on the historic airield of Old Sarum, near
Salisbury, SP4 6DZ and holds some very
interesting airframes and artefacts. The IPMS
(UK) Honorary Secretary is in charge of

The RAF’s newest operational aircraft. Despite the fact that the irst
T-6C Texan T1s were delivered to RAF Valley over a year ago on 17
February 2018, the ten strong leet has only just commenced lying
from the base. I just happened to be on Anglesey over the
following few days to catch them out and about (Chris Ayre)

I chanced upon this Juno HT1

carrying out underslung load
training at RAF Shawbury in late
2018 (Chris Ayre)

90 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
 IPMS UK

The ten Texans are taking over the role of Basic Fast Jet Training from
the Linton on Ouse based Tucano T1s, of which 130 were originally
acquired (Chris Ayre)

As the lead in to the Hawk T2, the digital glass cockpit equipped T-
6C is a world away from the analogue instrumentation of the
Tucano. I’m not sure it’s as pretty though (Chris Ayre)

proceedings and can be contacted via
secretary@ipmsuk.org. On the same day over in
West Sussex, Tangmere Sector Modellers, the
local IPMS Branch, hold their second annual
Scale Model Show. This takes place at the
Tangmere Military Aviation Museum, PO20 2ES
and promises clubs and traders from across the
country, hot food and refreshments, plenty of
parking, good access for everyone, open
cockpits, simulators, Airix Make and Take and
activities for all ages. There’s more but you can
investigate further by contacting Carl Hiscock on
07890 117356 or
tangmeresectormodellers@gmail.com.
The following Saturday 11th May sees the
Lancing Model Show take place at the local
Parish Hall, BN15 8JA, organised by Southdowns
Model Group. Doors open at 10.00am and
admission is free. More information is available
from the show website
www.lancingmodelshow.org,uk. Both days of the
weekend are occupied by Euro Miniature Expo,
the successor to Euro Millitaire, held at Leas Cliff
Hall in Folkestone, CT20 2DZ. This two day event
continues a long relationship with the venue but
to be honest, other than that I know little about
the event. Richard Wharton appears to be the
man who does and he can be contacted on 0113
271 9595 or eurominiatureexpo@gmail.com. The
third event of this busy weekend is the IPMS
Gloucester Show on Sunday 12th. This is a show
that I can vouch for as I have actually attended in
previous years. It features a good selection of
club displays and trade stands and takes place
midway between Cheltenham and Gloucester at
Churchdown Community Centre, GL3 2JH. Doors
open at 10.00am and Jeff Brown can tell you
anything else you’d like to know. You can email
him at gundylunch@sky.com or telephone 01285
659254, after 7.30pm please.
If you are in Italy over the weekend of 18-19th
May, and I may well be, why not try to head for
Siena? At the Magazzini del Sale in the Piazza del
Campo you will ind the XI Monstra
Internazionale. Entry is free and the show carries
the strap line la storia a piccoli sorsi,literally
history in small sips. Other than that, I can’t tell
you much and unfortunately I haven’t been able
to access the event website but you can always
contact organiser Gianluca Francioli by email on
gms@modellistisensi.it if you need additional
info.
The East Midlands Model Show, on Sunday
19th May, is a very long established event and
used to be one of my favourites. My friends tell
me it’s still a cracker and the only reason I
haven’t been for a while is that I have always
managed to be away over this particular
weekend in recent years. If I’m around this year, I
will be there. Held at the Leisure Centre in
Hinckley, LE10 1BZ this is described as the top
one day show of the year. If you’ve never been,
there’s only one way to check out the truth of
this claim. In the meantime, contact Jon Arnold
of East Midlands Model Club on 07931 338498
or jon@jonarnold.net. The show website is
www.eastmidsmodelclub.co.uk.
24-26th May are the dates of Latin Militaire,
the annual event held at the Military School in
Santiago, Chile. Once again I don’t have a lot of
detail but the show website can be found at
www.latinmilitaire@gmail.com. The address for
those of you intending to go along is Escuela
Militar, Avenida Presidente Riesco N°460,1 Las
Condes, Santiago, 7560977. Enjoy! The inal
model show that I’m aware of in May is the IPMS
Torbay and South Devon Model 2019 on Sunday
25th. Open to the public from 9.30am at Torquay
Town Hall, TQ1 3DR, the event has the usual club
displays, trade stands and competitions. Email
torbayandsouthdevon.ipms@gmail.com for
further information and the club also has a
website at www.ipmstorbay.com. That about
rounds things up for this month.
Until next time, enjoy your modelling.
Chris
ipmsuk.org
Membership enquiries: Cliff Bassett, West Barn,
Duken Lane, Wootton, Bridgnorth, Shropshire,
WV15 6EA
Email: memberAdmin@ipmsuk.co.uk or visit
ipmsuk.org/membership/ to join online.

Whilst all the fuss was going on over at RAF Marham, with retirement of the RAF Tornado being celebrated in style, ex 41(R) Squadron GR4 ZA607
quietly arrived on 19th February to take up position as gate guard at DECA Sealand on Deeside. The Defence Electronics and Components Agency
provided maintenance, repair, overhaul and upgrade services for avionic and electronic equipment from the Tornado leet and has been chosen as the
global repair hub for similar components of the F-35 Lightning II (Chris Ayre)

MAY 2019 • VOLUME 41 • ISSUE 03 91

S TA S H I N T H E AT T I C
Waco CG -4A Hadrian
Kit No: 118
Scale: 1/72
Type: Injection Moulded Plastic
Manufacturer: Italeri
The Hobby Company/MRC
Aftermarket: Experts Choice 72-22 US
Blue Bordered National Insignia
The Subject
T
o the modern eye, the thought of using
gliders in warfare seems an incredible idea.
However for a brief period in the 1940s, the
available technology of the time created a
situation where such an approach was
developed and deployed successfully. Flight had
become a science and aircraft had evolved in
little more than thirty years into large robust
workaday machines. The increasing practicality
of aircraft, and mechanised vehicles generally,
directly led to the battleield becoming more
luid, but a problem still existed for rapid troop
movement. Practical helicopters were still a
decade or more away, and so the problem of
delivering troops quickly by air needed an
alternative solution. This emerged in the form of
the assault glider.
The basic idea was for a large troop carrying
glider to be towed to within several miles of the
battleield and then for it to be silently piloted in
92 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
By Trevor Pask
to an exact crash landing very near or behind
the enemy’s front line. The troops would be less
vulnerable than they would be if parachuted in
and as with a helicopter the concept was that
they could simply jump out and be ready for
action. The concept worked, but technology
rapidly evolved and with the advent of the
helicopter, the military glider was soon obsolete,
but not completely forgotten.
Italeri and Gliders
Italeri have always had a fondness for slightly
off beat military subject. This tradition seems to
have started in the mid 1970s when they
produced a series of kits covering a number of
gliders from World War II. One of these was the
Waco CG -4A Hadrian. The American Hadrian
was a very widely used glider in World War II, but
is not quite as well known as the British Horsa.
The Italeri kit has accordingly not been reissued
as often as the Horsa, but it last appeared on a
limited edition basis in 2006 and can still be
obtained. The kit I used for this project dated
from somewhat earlier. It was bought in 1996 at
the Biggin Hill air show in a very second box
even at the time. The kit was started at the time,
but other projects came along and sadly the
project was lost, stored away in a box in the attic,
for 22 years. Even I was embarrassed when I
rediscovered it! Finding a long lost kit can be as
good as buying a new one, and as the original
construction work was neat enough, I simply
continued from where I had left off.
Building
The kit is a typical Italeri product from the
1970s, state of the art for the time but looking a
little dated by modern standards. The basic
airframe is very simple, but the relative ease of
construction is complicated a little by the poor
it of the two fuselage halves. These required a
lot of sanding and illing to achieve a neat result.
The interior of the aircraft is well provided for,
but unless a diorama of a crashed aircraft is
being planned, none of the interior of the main
cabin cannot be really seen and so I simply
added the bench seats and did a simple painting
job.
The cockpit is a different proposition. A fairly
good representation is provided by Italeri, but a
lot is visible through the extensive glazing, and
so I added some seat belts from lead foil and
used some fuse wire to represent the internal
tubular structure of the real aircraft. My research
also indicated that at least some aircraft did not
have a bulkhead and hatch between the cockpit
and main cabin. I considered leaving this off, but
the bulkhead adds rigidity to the model and
allows the fuselage halves to be assembled
accurately.
Other areas that demanded some attention
included the cockpit glazing, which had to be
carefully blended into the fuselage with iller,
and the multitude of small external parts
representing the control horns, which needed to
be added carefully to the wind and tail planes. A
modern kit would demand less work, but the
project nevertheless progresses quickly to the
painting stage.
Painting and Decals
My old kit provided decal options for three
aircraft, two USAAF and one post war RAF
machine. The RAF machine was in overall silver
and represents a machine that was
demonstrated at Farnborough in 1950. The two
USAAF machines are more representative of the
type however in the classic Olive Drab and Light
Grey World War II scheme. The decals in my kit
were badly worn so I replaced the national
insignia with examples form a modern sheet
produced by Experts Choice. The serial number
on the tail was made up from the spares box.
Painting the airframe was done with Humbrol
enamels 64 Matt Light Grey for the under
surfaces and 155 Matt Olive Drab for the rest of
the aircraft. A mixture of airbrush and hand
painting was utilised to recreate the battered
appearance some gliders appear to have in
contemporary photographs. Although the

aircraft were regarded as being
completely expendable,
they were heavily used in
training and often
underwent hasty inexpert
repairs and repainting.
The Experts Choice decals
were a huge improvement on
the ones supplied with the kit.
Against my better judgement I
tried one of the kit decals on an
upper wing and regretted the
experience. Some decals age
well, but as a
general
rule they are better replaced. With the
decals on, I sealed them in with a coat of
Johnsons Klear and then applied a wash
of Games Workshop Brown Ink over the
entire model. This colour collected in the
control surface recesses and added a
further layer to the model’s scuffed
appearance. A few patches of slightly
darkened Olive Drab were then added to the
airframe to represent ield repairs and inally
a coat of Humbrol 49 Matt Varnish was
applied to seal everything in and create a
uniform inish.
MAY 2019 • VOLUME 41 • ISSUE 03
S TA S H I N T H E AT T I C
Conclusions
A project that was more involved than I irst
imagined, but then the best projects always are,
and I am glad this kit was rescued from the loft
after too long a wait. While more modern kits of
the Hadrian and Horsa are long overdue,
especially in 1/48 and 1/35, on the
evidence of the Hadrian, the old
Italeri kits still build up well
and are worth seeking out.
The inished model looks
out of place in my
collection, but then
maybe one
day a Chinook will seem just as dated.
Notes
In terms of other glider kits, Italeri also produced
kits of the Airspeed AS.51 Horsa, the Gotha Go
242/244, and the Messerschmitt Me-323 Gigant.
Frog made the Hotspur, a kit that is crude by
modern standards, but which crops up in various
Eastern European boxes. The Italeri Horsa has just
been reissued by Airix and is selling well.
93
A M E R I C A N PAT R O L

THE CONVAIR FISH By Steve Palmer

W
hen the Lockheed U2 became
operational, its service ceiling was
approximately 70,000 feet. Its ability to
ly at this altitude in the mid-1950s was thought
to render it immune to radar tracking and to
interception by hostile aircraft. However, about a
year after the U2 became operational, the CIA
and Air Force determined that Soviet radar had
tracked a U2 light on radar nearly the whole
time it was in Soviet airspace. The writing was on
the wall. If the U2 was to continue missions over
the Soviet Union, some way to reduce the Radar
Cross Section (RCS) and thereby ‘hide’ the aircraft
from radar was imperative. This effort was
codenamed ‘Project Rainbow.’
Project Rainbow experimented with three
methods of reducing the U2 RCS. These methods
were nicknamed ‘Wallpaper,’ ‘Trapeze,’ and ‘Wires.’
All three methods were operationally tested, but
neither Lockheed (who did not originate the
‘ixes’) or the pilots liked the modiied aircraft.
Clarence Kelly called these modiied U2s ‘Dirty
Birds’ and the name stuck. While modiied
aircraft lew missions and were thought to be
invisible to radar, one test aircraft crashed, and
the program was dropped because the
modiications adversely affected the service
ceiling and speed. (The U2 was hard enough to
ly as it was). Project Rainbow was dropped, and
Lockheed and Convair were given Requests for
Proposals for a U2 replacement.
Convair’s proposal evolved from their Super
Hustler design. While no design for a
reconnaissance version of the Super Hustler was
completely invisible, Convair hit upon the
moniker FISH for their program. FISH stood for
First Invisible Super Hustler.
Convair presented the irst FISH proposal to
the Air Force in May 1958. It was a Super Hustler
variant with new equipment in the nose that
included an ultra-high-resolution camera, two
types of advanced radar, and a television
camera. A data recorder was installed behind the
cockpit. Estimated range was about 8,000
nautical miles for the aircraft, which consisted of

A photo of ‘Wires’ applied to a U2. Note the iberglass standoffs

mounted to the fuselage and the ferrite bead on the wires (CIA)

‘Wallpaper’ applied to a U2. The inished wallpaper

resembled a checkerboard with graphite squares (CIA)

This is a diagram of wires

applied to the U2 that was
known as ‘Trapeze’ (CIA)

The original Convair Super Hustler was small and fast, which made it
a good candidate for a U2 replacement—at least on paper
(Lockheed-Martin)

Here is a
fanciful
drawing of
the ‘Special
Purpose
Super
Hustler’ that
was used
for the
proposal
cover page
This is a cutaway of what Convair termed the ‘reconnaissance version of (Lockheed-
the Super Hustler.’ Note all of the exotic equipment stuffed into the nose Martin)
(Lockheed-Martin)

94 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
 A M E R I C A N PAT R O L

a manned stage and a booster.
Projected operating speed and
altitude for the manned stage was
Mach 4 and 80,000 feet,
respectively.
Four months later, Convair
presented a new Special Purpose
Super Hustler. The aircraft did not
use a booster and was a dedicated
reconnaissance platform featuring
an updated navigation system and
larger ramjet engines. A large
vertical camera could be installed
in the space occupied by the
second crew member. The aircraft
was stretched 36 inches, which
allowed increased fuel capacity in
the fuselage. Flying at high speeds
and high altitudes avoided radar
detection and the aircraft’s small
size and lat bottom addressed RCS
challenges.
Either a photoreconnaissance
suite or a signals intelligence
package could be housed in the
nose. The photoreconnaissance
package offered one option with a
panoramic camera that covered a
30 x 1,500-mile area and another
option for three cameras for target
location other reconnaissance. The
signals intelligence package used
interchangeable units and lush-
mounted antennas to detect and
locate radar and radio stations and
analyze signals produced by those
stations.
The initial Special Purpose Super
Hustler grossed out at 31,200
pounds, with 18,750 pounds of
fuel. The aircraft could cruise at
Mach 4, with a maximum altitude
of 90,000 feet and a range of 4,500
nautical miles.
In November, Convair presented
a feasibility study that proposed
two conigurations. One
coniguration had a wing area
similar to the previous FISH, except
the wing’s leading edges were
slightly curved outward to lower
the radar cross section of the
aircraft further. Wing length was
28.1 feet; wingspan was 19.8 feet.
The second, and recommended,
coniguration had much larger
curved wings with wing length of
38.0 feet and wingspan of 34.2 feet.
A reined version of this version
was named Coniguration 220. The
design was 48.8 feet long and 8.7
feet tall. It had a gross weight of
35,000 pounds and an empty
weight of 15,300 pounds.
This FISH had a nose tip that
hinged downward and tucked
below the fuselage to deal with the
space limitations of the B-58 carrier.
(The nose could be swung up after
the landing gear of the B-58 was
retracted). The aircraft was
powered by two ramjet engines
with 41.5-inch diameter variable-
geometry exit nozzles. A turbojet
engine was nestled between and
just in front of the ramjets. A split
intake on the lower side fed both
ramjets and the turbojet.
The study proposed two landing
vision arrangements. The irst
borrowed the original Super
Hustler droop-nose design, which
used a hinge behind the canopy to
tilt the forward section of the
aircraft downward to allow the
pilot to see over the nose during
landings. The single crew member
sat left of the aircraft centerline to
make room for a fuel tank on the
right. Insulated metal covers
protected the lush-mounted
canopy glass from the high surface
temperatures generated by Mach 4
light.
The second landing vision
arrangement used a protruding
canopy structure that let the pilot
see over the nose in his centerline
cockpit. The canopy glass consisted
of three layers: the outer layer was
a silica glass; the middle layer was a
radiation shield; and the inner layer
was a conventional laminate. This
arrangement was further reined in
March 1959 as Coniguration 226.
The initial versions of the FISH
were to be launched from the B-58
carrier at Mach 2.2. The FISH would
then climb and accelerate to Mach
4 in three minutes. In about 60
seconds, the aircraft would reach
90,000 feet and cruise at Mach 4 for
about 49 minutes, turn 180 degrees
in about 9 minutes, and then return
to its home base in about 42
minutes.
During descent, the aircraft
slowed from Mach 4 to Mach 0.4 in
about 22 minutes. After lying a

Here is a comparison of
proposed wing modiications
for the revised Special
Purpose Hustler design. The
larger wing is reminiscent of
a Douglas Skyray ighter
(Lockheed-Martin)

This is a proposal for a FISH with a lush-mounted cockpit canopy, known

as Coniguration 220. Note the extremely compact fuselage and shark-
like tail ins (Lockheed-Martin)
A detailed three-view of Coniguration 220. This version had a cockpit
offset to the port side of the aircraft and a lush canopy. If you look
closely, you can see a ‘phantomed’ view of the B-58 ‘mother ship
(Lockheed-Martin)

This illustration depicts the two designs that would allow the pilot to see
Here is a detailed cutaway of the FISH aircraft that used a three-element over the nose during landings. The droop-nose is similar to what was
windshield to provide the pilot with a view ahead of the aircraft during proposed for the original Super Hustler bomber design. The other version
landings. This was version was called Coniguration 226 (Lockheed-Martin) used an extremely streamlined windshield (Lockheed-Martin)

MAY 2019 • VOLUME 41 • ISSUE 03 95

A M E R I C A N PAT R O L
little over 4,100 nautical miles, there would be
enough fuel left for the turbojet to ly an
additional 216 nautical miles. High-energy fuel
containing a boron compound added another
1,000 nautical miles to the range. Two elevons,
two vertical ins, two rudders, and the nose tip
that could be delected for trim control
comprised the light controls.
Wing leading edges and engine inlets (the
hottest external parts of the aircraft) were
predicted to reach 915 degrees F. The wing
leading edges were formed of triangular inserts
made of Corning Pyroceram, a ceramic material
impregnated with graphite to reduce radar
relections. The ceramic inserts were secured
with alternating triangles of René 41, a high-
temperature nickel alloy. (The outer shell of the
Mercury space capsule was made of the same
alloy). A nickel-chromium alloy called Inconel
was used for the engine inlet. Jet engine turbine
blades and the skin of the X-15 used the same
material.
On 22 December 1958, Convair was given the
green light to continue the development of FISH
and to plan for a production program. Twenty
aircraft were to be built, with the irst light
planned for 27 months after go-ahead. Five
aircraft would be used for light testing, and the
inal aircraft would be delivered in under ive
years. Estimated program cost was $205 million
in 1958 dollars. This igure did not include the
dedicated B-58 aircraft required for the program.
Convair spent the irst ive months of 1959
reining the FISH design. The changes were
detailed in a FISH program status review
presented the following June. The revised
This drawing shows where exotic alloys and ceramic materials would be
used on the hottest parts of the FISH. PH15-7MO and PH17-4 are
stainless steel materials. CorningWare cookware is a spinoff of
Pyroceram (Lockheed-Martin)
Here is an early version of the Convair FISH
parked next to a B-58 Hustler (Jozef Gatial)
96 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K
aircraft settled with the larger wing and the
protruding canopy. However, instead of locating
the canopy on the centerline, Convair offset it to
port (as the lush-mounted canopy option had
been) to conform to the clearances mandated by
the B-58 carrier.
Two turbojets located behind the cockpit on
either side of the fuselage replaced the single
turbojet engine between the ramjets These
engines were hinge-mounted to allow them to
pop out of the fuselage for use during landings.
The vertical stabilizers were moved to the
fuselage, and wheels replaced the rear landing
skids. Aircraft gross weight increased by about
3,300 pounds for a total of 38,325 pounds.
Range was reduced from 4,150 to 3,900 nautical
miles. The overall dimensions for this inal design
were largely unchanged.
Convair tested metal forming, machining,
welding, brazing, heat-treating, and chemical
etching techniques on the more exotic airframe
materials, including the high-temperature alloys
and ceramics for the wing leading edge. The
company also developed manufacturing
processes for a wing box, wing leading edge,
and self-sealing fuel box.
Convair conducted extensive wind tunnel
testing on models of the aircraft, which revealed
that the drag of the FISH/B-58 composite was
higher than expected. The existing B-58 engines
were not powerful enough to get the FISH to the
necessary speed to start its ramjet engines.
Compounding these challenges were balance
and stability issues with the B-58/FISH
composite and the FISH itself: the centre of
gravity of the FISH/B-58 composite at low
This diagram summarises the indings of extensive wind tunnel testing
done in 1959 and is a ‘pitch’ for the new B-58B, which was never built
(Lockheed-Martin)
speeds was too far forward, and FISH also had
balance and stability issues. Finally, more fuel
capacity was needed to provide the required
range.
Lengthening the FISH by about 1.5 feet and
the B-58 carrier by ive feet would solve the
balance, drag, and fuel problems, upgrading the
B-58 engines to J79-9s would provide the
increased speed required to start the FISH
ramjets. The lengthened B-58 with uprated
engines was designated the B-58B. Two other B-
58s were to be allocated as development
prototypes for the B-58B program being
proposed to the US Air Force as a follow-on
program to the B-58. Production B-58Bs would
then become the primary carrier as FISH went
operational. Now the success of FISH depended
on selling the Air Force on the B-58B.
When Convair failed to achieve this end the
carrier aircraft for the FISH was dead on the
design table. While the FISH design was still
favored over Lockheed’s design for its smaller
size and lower RCS, there were concerns about
using a parasite aircraft and questions about the
reliability of the ramjet engines. Additionally, the
clearances between the B-58 and the FISH were
minimal and there was no means for the FISH
pilot to eject while the aircraft were mated.
Both companies were asked to submit new
designs to replace the U2. For Lockheed, the
challenge was to lower the radar cross section of
their last proposal. For Convair, the challenge
was to create an entirely new design—a self-
launched aircraft that met the mission
requirements. The redirection led to the
Lockheed A-12 and to the Convair Kingish.
An artist’s impression
of the production
FISH making a
landing in the US
Southwestern Desert
(Lockheed-Martin)
 CO M I N G N E X T M O N T H

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MAY 2019 · VOLUME 41 · ISSUE: 03
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MAY 2019 • VOLUME 41 • ISSUE 03 97

NEW DECALS Two Bobs
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full colour instrument decals (HobbyBoss) £18.95 Iraq and Syria (ISIS). £21.99

Avalon Ventura
AVD7013 1:72 Back in stock! German lozenge - 5 colour, topside pattern (1 sheet) £7.40 VA32503 1:32 RNZAF North-American Harvard Mk.II NZ934 WW2 yellow trainer scheme £15.99
AVD7014 1:72 Back in stock! German lozenge - 5 colour, underside pattern (1 sheets) £7.40 VA48101 1:48 Back in stock! RNZAF Grumman Avengers, WW2 and post-war target tug,
three options NZ2522 TBF-1C, 30 Squadron “winged kiwi"; TBF-1C Avenger
Babibi Models with “Donald Duck" nose art; NZ2503, post war target tug, yellow and black
DDT-01020S 1:72 Back in stock! Airbus A400M Transporter 'Grizzly' suitable for RAF, striped paint scheme. £8.99
Turkish AF, French AF, Luftwaffe and Malaysian AF all A-400M Grizly/Atlas £21.99 VA48102 1:48 RAAF Bristol Beaufighter Mk.21s, Three options A8-23 of No.31 Squadron.
DDT-01022 1:32 Lockheed-Martin F-16C/F-16D & Block 30-40-50-50M-50+ Main Stencils £ 9.50 Tiger nose decals. A8-116 of No.93 Squadron, 1945. “Pistol packin Gremlin".
A8-72 “Ot-as-ell" of No.30 Squadron. £11.99
Boa Decals
BOA144114 1:144 Boeing 737 MAX 8 SmartWings (Zvezda) £5.99 Xtradecal
BOA144115 1:144 Bombardier CRJ-700 Adria Airways £5.99 X32002 1:24, 1:32 Reprinted! Luftwaffe/German Swastikas. Various styles including
solid and outline. Sizes 300mm, 430mm, 540mm, 650mm, Also includes 1:24
Caracal Models Swastikas 300mm and 540mm £4.99
CD144013 1:144 Boeing C-97/KC-97 Stratofreighter. Multiple marking options for
USAF C-97 / KC-97 Stratofreighter transport & tanker aircraft. £13.99 X32022 1:32 Reprinted! RAF Serial Letters, Numbers and Royal Navy 8" and 4" White £4.99
CD48102 1:48 Lockheed F-104C in Vietnam £13.99
CD48140 1:48 Lockheed-Martin F-35A Joint Strike Fighter Australia, Israel, Italy, Japan, X48019 1:48 Reprinted! Luftwaffe/German Swastikas. Various styles including solid,
Korea, Netherlands, Turkey and USA. £13.99 outline and stencil in white, black and grey. Also includes pre-war style on
CD48143 1:48 Republic F-105G "Wild Weasels" from the Vietnam War £ 13.99 white disc with red band. Sizes 300mm, 430mm, 540mm and 650mm. £4.99
CD48147 1:48 USAF McDonnell RF-101C Voodoo RF-101C Part 2 £13.99 X48102 1:48 Reprinted! Yanks with Roundels. U.S. Aircraft in the FAA Pt 1 (5) Grumman
CD48149 1:48 McDonnell F-15E Lakenheath Strike Eagles Consist of 10 aircraft from the F4F-4A Martlet/Wildcat Mk.II AJ148 07-A 888 NAS HMS Formidable 1942;
492nd and 494th Fighter Squadrons £13.99 Grumman Gannet (Hellcat) Mk.I FN373/J 1839 NAS Eglington 1943; Grumman
CDB48005 1:48 Lockheed-Martin F-35A/B Stencils £6.99 Tarpon (Avenger) Mk.I JZ165/2P 852 NAS Squantum, Mass, USA 1943; Vought
CDB48006 1:48 McDonnell F-15E Eagle Stencils & National Insignia £6.99 F4U-1 Corsair Mk.I JT145/5A 1835 NAS Quonset Point R.I.,USA; JT228/6A 1833
NAS Machrihanish 1943. £7.99
Dutch Decal X72041 1:72 Re-printed. RAF Post War D Type roundels, 84" , 66" , 54" , 48" , 36" , 30" , 27",
DD48071 1:48 Hawker Hunter F Mk.4/Mk.6/T.7 KLu/RNethAF £15.30 24" , 18" and rudder stripes plus Low Viz pink and pale blue National Insignia/
DD72094 1:72 Grumman TBM 'Strike' Warner and 'Easy' Avenger, de Havillland Meteor Roundels 45" , 36" , 12" and white outline discs £4.99
Mk.7. North-American AT-16 Harvard Royal Netherlands Navy £15.30 X72045 1:72 Reprinted! RAF National Insignia/Roundels.
Type A Red/white/blue, Type A1 Red/white/blue/yellow, Fin Flashes
Fightertown Type A sizes 25" , 30" , 32.5" , 35" , 40" , 42" , 45" , 50" , 60" , 65" , 84" , 100" .
FT48077V2 1:48 Re-printed and updated! Best of the Best TOPGUN. Grumman F-14A/F- Type A1 sizes 30" , 35" , 42" , 45.5" , 49" , 56" , 64" , 70" , 84" , £4.99
14B Tomcat; Grumman A-6E Intruder; McDonnell-Douglas F/A-18A/ Boeing X72129 1:72 Reprinted! RAF Post War Serial Letters and Numbers, White. 16" , 18" , 20" ,
F/A-18E/ F/A-18F EA-18G Hornet Adversary TOPGUN, Strike, NSAWC, NAWDC, 24", 30", 36" and 48" . 3 sheet set. For the same content in black see X72065. £5.99
HAVOC, Top Gun Movie Tomcats, IRIAF Splinter Tomcat, VFC-12. 48077 Best X72181 1:72 Reprinted! BAe Harrier GR.1 (10) XV753/53 OCU Wittering 1970; XV75 OCU
Of The Best Adversary TopGuns. A mostly reprint of FT48077, we've added 4 at Biggin Hill Air Show 1969; XW745/27 233 OCU Wittering 1974; V762/44233
new NAWDC TOPGUN jets including the new TOPGUN 2 movie hero jet. £24.99 OCU Wittering 1975 winter camo; V787/A 1(F) Sqn Gutersloh 1970s;XV793/ 3(F)
Sqn Gutersloh 1970s; XV786/E IV(AC) Sqn Gutersloh 1975; XV802/XX 20(R) Sqn
HAD Models Wildenrath 1971; XV787/02 1(F) Sqn ""Hot to Trot" with shark mouth Belize 1975;
HUN48198 1:48 Mil Mi-24V with new NATO painting £8.99 P1127 X281/E flown on carrier trials on HMS Eagle 1970. £7.99
HUN72197 1:72 Grumman F-14A Tomcat Jolly Rogers part 2 low visibility £7.30 X72199 1:72 Re-printed! RAF WWII. White code letters 18" , 24" , 30"
(RAF codes/RAF code letters/RAF serial numbers) £5.99
Mark I Decals X72213 1:72 Reprinted! RAF WWII. Sky code Numbers 18" , 24" , 30", to go with Sky
DMK14478 1:144 Argentinian AF insignia, 2 sets £2.40 code letters on X72189. RAF Yellow Prototype P. 4 sizes of the letter P in a
Yellow Ring, 26" and 30" in four styles, 36" in three styles and 54" in two styles.
Microscale There was no official font used so they could vary between manufacturers. £3.99
AC480065 1:48 Vought F4U-1/FG-1 Corsair Assorted Markings Sheet #2 with instrument X72216 1:72 Reprinted! RAF 2014 Update. Display Eurofighter EF-2000A Typhoon.
panels (Academy and Revell) £8.50 ZK342 6 Sqn with desert camouflage on fin and spine; ZK343/BX 29 Sqn black
AC480066 1:48 Vought F4U-1/F4U-1D Corsair Assorted Markings Sheet #3 with fin with Squadron logo, ZK348/FN 1Sqn; ZK308 TP-V 29 Sqn D-Day stripes;
instrument panels (Academy and Revell) £8.50 ZF140 and ZF244 Poppy Tucanos 72 Sqn Flt.Lt Dave Kirby RAF Linton-on-Ouse;
AC480067 1:48 Vought F4U-4 Corsair Assorted Markings Sheet #4 with instrument Tornado GR4 ZA412 617 Sqn 70th Anniversary 2013; 2014 Red Arrows 50th
panels (Academy and Revell) £8.50 Anniversary fin markings; ZJ995/P Puma 230 Sqn overall black; Lockheed-
AC480068 1:48 McDonnell F-4B, F-4D & F-4J Phantom, USS Coral Sea; VF-111 USS Martin F-35B ZM137 Fort Worth; RC-135W ZZ664/5/6 Rivet Joint (Airseeker)
Constellation; VF-92; VF-142 £8.50 51 Sqn RAF Waddington. £7.99
AC720065 1:72 Vought F4U-1 Assorted Markings Sheet #2 £8.50 X72238 1:72 Reprinted! BAC 167 Strikemaster (19)
AC720066 1:72 Vought F4U Assorted Markings Sheet #3 £8.50 Mk.80 G-AWOS at Farnborough Air Show 1968;
AC720067 1:72 Vought F4U Corsair Assorted Markings Sheet #4 £8.50 Mk.80A 1120 Royal Saudi AF, King Faisal Air College, Saudi Arabia 1970;
AC720068 1:72 McDonnell F-4B, F-4D & F-4J Phantom, USS Coral Sea; VF-111 USS Mk.80B 902/1026 Royal Saudi AF, King Faisal Air College, Saudi Arabia 1968;
Constellation; VF-92; VF-142 £8.50 Mk.82 418/8 Sultan of Oman AF G-BAWF/277 at Paris Air Show 1973;
Mk.82 408/8 Sultan of Oman AF Dhofar 1975;
Rising Decals Mk.82 404 Sultan of Oman AF Masirah, Oman 1994;
RD48022 1:48 Mitsubishi G4M1 type 1 Betty Rikko (Japanese Navy Bomber G4M1) Mk.82 404 Sultan of Oman AF Masirah, Oman 2001;
Includes decals for 5 aircraft £10.40 Mk.83 04/Z2 Botswan Defence Force 1990;
RD48023 1:48 Mitsubishi Ki-46 III Dinah Includes 5 camouflage schemes £9.50 Mk.83 K167/110 Al-Quwwat, Kuwait 1980;
Mk.83 K167/120 Al-Quwwat, Kuwait G-AYVK/461 at Paris Air Show 5/6/1971;
Techmod Mk.83 NZ6364/64 14 Sn R New Zealand A Ohakea Air Base 1980;
TM48069 1:48 Re-released! Grumman TBM-1C Avenger (4) 93 VT-15 USS Essex; 23 Mk.83 502 FTS South Yeman AF
VC-21 USS Macus Island; 83 Shamrock VC-76 USS Petrof Bay; B1 VC-10 Lt.Cdr Mk.84 301/B FTS Singapore AF, Tengah, Singapore 1972;
Huxtable USS Gambler Bay. All three colour camouflage schemes 1944 £5.40 Mk.84 301/B FTS Singapore AF, Tengah, Singapore 1980;
TM48122 1:48 Hawker Hurricane stencils £5.40 Mk.84 303/D FTS Singapore AF, Tengah, Singapore 2001;
TM72027 1:72 Re-printed! Kawasaki Ki-61-I Hien 'Tony' (3) `Blue 24' 244 Sentai April Mk.87 601 Kenya AF 1980;
and May 1945, `Red 24' 244 Sentai December 1944 £4.50 Mk.89 244/T44 Esc.de Combate 2313 "Halcones", Fuerza Aerea Ecudoriana 1980;
TM72162 1:72 Polish National Insignia 1920-1939 £5.40 Mk.90 260/T60 Esc.de Combate 2313 "Halcones", Fuerza Aerea Ecudoriana 1990;
Mk.90 167 Sudanese AF 1980; £7.99

NEW KITS AMG Aircraft kits (injection) AMG48723 1:48 Messerschmitt Bf-109D-1 £49.50
AMG72402 1:72 Bell P-63C Kingcobra £29.70 AMG48902 1:48 Hawker Hart Mk.I £51.99
A & A Models Aircraft kits (injection) AMG72406 1:72 Messerschmitt Bf-109D-1 £24.30
AAM7209 1:72 P1.HH Hammerhead (Demo) UAV £25.99 AMG72408 1:72 Bell RP-63A-12 'Operation Pinball' £29.70 Attack Kits Aircraft kits (injection)
PPC-004 1:48 Focke-Wulf Fw-56 Stosser 'Foreign
A Model Aircraft kits (injection) Arsenal Model Group Aircraft kits (injection) users' (Hungary, Bulgaria, Austria, Spain)
AMU72372 1:72 Cobalt Co50 Valkyrie £25.70 AMG48701 1:48 Messerschmitt Bf-109G-6/N (interceptor), with etched parts by Eduard £19.99
AMU72373 1:72 CH-1 Skyhook £20.99 with FuG 350 £39.60 PPC-005 1:48 Focke-Wulf Fw-56 Stosser 'Luftwaffe'
AMG48703 1:48 Messerschmitt Bf-109G-6/N (interceptor), with etched parts by Eduard £19.99
Airfix Aircraft kits (injection) with FuG 217) £39.60
AX01020A 1:72 Focke-Wulf Fw-190A-8 £6.99 AMG48704 1:48 Messerschmitt Bf-109G-12 (trainer), late £50.40 Avis Aircraft kits (injection)
AX02041A 1:72 Hawker Typhoon Mk.Ib £9.99 AMG48709 1:48 Messerschmitt Bf-109G-6 captured, USA £39.60 BX72030 1:72 Bristol Type 72 Racer £17.99
AX02107 1:72 Hunting Percival Jet Provost T.4 £9.99 AMG48717 1:48 Messerschmitt Bf-109D-1 £49.50 BX72031 1:72 Short S.1 Cockle G-EBKA first metal
AX08017A 1:72 Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress £30.99 AMG48721 1:48 Messerschmitt Bf-109C-1 Legion Condor £49.50 British flying boat. £19.80
AZ Model Aircraft kits (injection) GWHS4810 1:48 Sukhoi Su-35S "Flanker E" PLAAF RV3884 1:72 Eurofighter Typhoon 'Ghost Tiger' £17.99
AZM7552 1:72 Back in stock! Mikoyan MiG-17F Includes bonus Resin seated pilot £59.99
Warsaw Pact £17.40 Roden Aircraft kits (injection)
AZM7570 1:72 Back in stock! Curtiss Hawk H-75C-1 Heller Aircraft kits (injection) ROD629 1:32 Cessna L-19/O-1 Bird Dog Floatplane
Czechoslovak Pilots new mould £13.99 HE80214 1:72 Curtiss H-75A3 Hawk Musee unknown unit, USAF, mid 1960s £59.99
AZM7575 1:72 Back in stock! Curtiss Hawk H-75C-1 Special Edition £12.99
'French aircraft Over Africa' £13.99 HE80382 1:72 Lockheed C-121A Constellation 'Berlin' £27.99 RS Models Aircraft kits (injection)
AZM7580 1:72 Back in stock! Martin-Baker MB.6 RSMI92232 1:72 Bell XFL-1 Airabonita £14.99
'Sky Ferret' £16.99 IBG Models Aircraft kits (injection) RSMI92236 1:72 Miles Magister with PE parts £14.99
AZM7581 1:72 Back in stock! Martin-Baker MB.6 IBG72510 1:72 PZL.23B Karas Romanian Service £10.40 RSMI9287 1:72 Blohm-und-Voss Ae-607 German project £14.99
'Night Ferret' £16.99
AZM7583 1:72 Back in stock! Focke-Wulf Fw-190A-0 £9.30 Italeri Aircraft kits (injection) Special Hobby Aircraft kits (injection)
AZM7585 1:72 Re-released! Supermarine Seafang IT1142 1:72 Convair B-58 Hustler (re-release) £29.99 SH48198 1:48 EoN Eton TX.1/ SG-38 Over Western
F Mk.32 £12.60 IT1388 1:72 Savoia-Marchetti SM.81 Pipistrello £29.99 Europe (gliders) £13.50
AZM7589 1:72 Back in stock! Stinson OY-2 Sentinel £13.99 SH72264 1:72 Re-released! Vought SB2U-3 Vindicator
AZM7596 1:72 Back in stock! Messerschmitt Bf-109G-6 Kinetic Aircraft kits (injection) "Marines Go To War". £17.99
"Alfred on-board" £13.99 K48033 1:48 McDonnell-Douglas F/A-18D Hornet SH72399 1:72 Breguet Br.695AB.2 £17.99
AZM7597 1:72 Back in stock! Douglas X-3 Stiletto ATARS £49.99
"US Experimental Plane" £16.80 Stransky Kits Aircraft kits (injection)
AZM7598 1:72 Back in stock! Douglas F-3 "Stiletto in Kovozavody Prostejov Aircraft kits (injection) STR1403 1:144 Gates Learjet 35A decals for Wards
Service" £16.80 KPM72101 1:72 Back in stock! de Havilland DH-88 Comet Express Company VH-WFJ Australia; Air Net
AZM7599 1:72 Back in stock! Supermarine Attacker in RAF French & Portuguese £14.20 Systems N27TT Remembering 9/11 USA;
FB.2 £17.40 KPM72104 1:72 Back in stock! de Havilland DH-88 Comet ADAC Ambulance - General German
AZM7605 1:72 Schneider/Grunau Baby IIb "Prototype & Racers" £14.20 Austoclub D-CDWN Germany £13.99
(re-issue with new decals) £8.80 KPM72113 1:72 Back in stock! Aero L-159B Alca £16.99 STR1404 1:144 Gates Learjet 35A decals for C-21A
AZM7606 1:72 Hansa-Brandenburg B.I Srs.76 KPM72114 1:72 Back in stock! Aero L-159T Alca "Trainer" £16.99 serial number 84-0099 Air Mobility Command,
(re-issue with new decals) £11.60 KPM72118 1:72 Back in stock! Aero L-159A Alca £16.99 USAFE, USA; D-CEXP Air Ambulance OAMTC
AZM7607 1:72 Messerschmitt Bf-109G-3 "High-altitude KPM72129 1:72 Let Z-37A-2 Cmelak "Two-seater" Austrian Auromobile motorcycle car club
Gustav" £13.99 (Czech service) £16.99 Austria; D-CGFB, GFD GmBH a company for
AZM7608 1:72 Zlin Z-242L "Military Guru" £11.60 KPM72130 1:72 Let Z-37A-2 Cmelak "Two-seater" dragging aerial targets Germany £13.99
(Slovakia and UK) £16.99
BIGMODEL Aircraft kits (injection) KPM7249 1:72 Re-released! Avia S-199 "With oil cooler" £12.40 Sword Aircraft kits (injection)
BIG1440018 1:144 Yakovlev Yak-40 Slovak Republic £18.99 KPM7297 1:72 Back in stock! Mikoyan MiG-21MA SW72048 1:72 Re-released! Curtiss SO3C Seamew
BIG1440049 1:144 Antonov An-24W Lot (late) £18.99 Fishbed "CzAF, East German AF, Romanian AF" £14.60 float version £13.99
BIG1440051 1:144 Antonov An-24RV Czech Air Force £18.99 SW72098 1:72 Re-released! BAe Harrier T
BIG1440055 1:144 Antonov An-24W Polish Airforce £18.99 Lukgraph Aircraft kits (resin) Mk.2/Mk.2A/Mk.4/Mk.4N £14.99
BIG1440056 1:144 Antonov An-26 Lot Cargo £18.99 LUK3211 1:32 Back in stock! Lublin R-XIIIG float plane. SW72121 1:72 Republic P-47N Thunderbolt 2 in 1 series £17.99
BIG1440057 1:144 Antonov An-26 Polish Airforce £18.99 £152.99 SW72122 1:72 McDonnell F3H-2 Demon U.S.Navy £16.99
BIG1440059 1:144 Antonov An-26 Interflug £18.99 LUK3214 1:32 Back in stock! Nakajima Ko-4 £125.99 SW72123 1:72 McDonnell F3H-2N/M Demon U.S.Navy £16.99
BIG1440060 1:144 Antonov An-24 Dandy £18.99 LUK7204 1:72 Back in stock! Albatros C.III £71.99
BIG1440061 1:144 Jakovlev Jak-40 Malev £18.99 Tamiya Aircraft kits (injection)
Mark I Models Aircraft kits (injection) TA61119 1:48 Back in stock! Supermarine Spitfire Mk.1 £34.99
Czech Master Resin Aircraft kits (resin) MKM144101 1:144 Dassault Mirage IIIE/EE/RS/5BA
CMR72-015 1:72 Roland LVG D.II (No decals included) £22.99 (French, Spanish, Swiss & Belgian AF), £17.99 Trumpeter Aircraft kits (injection)
CMR72-141 1:72 Westland Welkin NF.II £43.20 MKM144102 1:144 Dassault Mirage IIIO/EP/RZ/5AD TU05806 1:48 Aero L-39MS/L-59 Super Albatros £39.99
CMR72-154 1:72 Supermarine Spitfire Mk.XII £28.40 (RAAF, PAF, SAAF, UAEAF) £17.99
MKM14457 1:144 Back in stock! Gloster Gladiator Mk.II Unicraft Aircraft kits (resin)
Dragon Aircraft kits (injection) & Bristol Beaufighter Mk.IC/Mk.VIF ' UNI72140 1:72 Lippisch R.A.D. (Rescue AeroDyne) £39.99
DN5103 1:72 Curtiss SB2C-4 Helldiver £35.99 North Africa' (double kit) £24.99 UNI72141 1:72 Henschel Hs.75 German pusher fighter £44.99
MKM14492 1:144 Dassault Mirage IIIC UNI72142 1:72 Henschel HS P.87 German
Eduard Aircraft kits (injection) (French & Swiss AF) £17.99 pusher bomber £39.99
EDK70129 1:72 Supermarine Spitfire HF Mk.VIII MKM14493 1:144 Dassault Mirage IIICJ/CZ
ProfiPACK £15.99 (Israeli, Argentinian & South African AF) £17.99 NEW ACCESSORIES
EDK82147 1:48 Focke-Wulf Fw-190A-8 ProfiPACK £32.30 Aerobonus (by Aires) Diorama accessories (resin)
EDK84153 1:48 Messerschmitt Bf-109E-4 Modelsvit Aircraft kits (injection) QAB320108 1:32 United Tractor G40C Tow Tractor (LPG) £34.99
Weekend edition £19.99 MSVIT480071:48 Yakovlev Yak-9T anti-tank Soviet WWII QAB320127 1:32 Modern Russian Air Force Fighter Pilot £8.60
fighter £27.70 QAB320128 1:32 Modern Czech Air Force Fighter Pilot £8.60
FLY Aircraft kits (injection) MSVIT720221:72 Re-released! Tupolev Tu-22KD "Shilo"
YLF48033 1:48 Macchi M.5 Italian flying boat £14.99 (Blinder B) medium bomber. Also contains a AIM - Transport Wings Aircraft conversions (mixed-media)
Kh-22M (AS-4 Kitchen) missile and it's TWC72026 1:72 907E Wing Refuelling Pods for
Great Wall Hobby Aircraft kits (injection) transport carriage £57.99 A310MRTT £10.80
GWHL4812 1:48 Back in stock!!! Douglas TBD-1a MSVIT720521:72 Re-released! Dassault Mirage 4000 £34.40 TWC72034 1:72 Douglas DC-7 & DC-7B conversion set
'Devastator' Floatplane £39.99 (Heller Douglas DC-6) £40.50
GWHL4821 1:48 Lockheed T-33A Late Version £34.99 Revell Aircraft kits (injection) TWC72034E 1:72 Douglas DC-7B R3350 exhaust section.
GWHS4802 1:48 Northrop P-61B 'Black Widow' Last Shoot RV00453 1:144 Airbus A380-800 Light & Sound. Features Pan American World Airways and South
Down 1945 with Metal Counterweight and Navigation and Positioning lights and realistic African Airways aircraft ONLY
new Additional PE WWII USAAF £49.99 engine start up sound £119.99 (Heller Douglas DC-6) £14.40

A &A MODELS A MODEL AMG AVIS EDUARD RS MODELS SPECIAL HOBBY

AAM7209 1:72 P1.HH Ham- AMU72373 1:72 CH-1 AMG48902 1:48 BX72031 1:72 EDK84153 1:48 Messer- RSMI92232 1:72 Bell XFL-1 SH48198 1:48 EoN Eton
merhead (Demo) UAV Skyhook' Hawker Hart Mk.I Short S.1 Cockle schmitt Bf-109E-4. Airabonita TX.1/ SG-38
£25.99 £20.99 £51.99 £19.80 £19.99 £14.99 £13.50

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