Sorry for the abrupt ending, I am at work and I had to run.  The H-19 is looking good.  That is a really interesting bird.  One of these days, I got to add some helos to my collection, and that, and the H-34 (both in USMC markings of course) would have to be in it.

I have been dropping some hints around about somebody starting a Night Fighter GB.  Anybody interested?  I am way too new here to start a GB.  I was thinking Night Fighters and Night Attack A/C.  This way, it could cover A/C like the Corsair and Tigercat, et al, but also the B-26, and the PO-2 as Korean War goes.  WWII all the way up to Night Attack Harriers.  Just a thought.  Stik, not trying to highjack your GB.

Cheers,

Greg

Gregbbear

Sorry for the abrupt ending, I am at work and I had to run.  The H-19 is looking good.  That is a really interesting bird.  One of these days, I got to add some helos to my collection, and that, and the H-34 (both in USMC markings of course) would have to be in it.

I have been dropping some hints around about somebody starting a Night Fighter GB.  Anybody interested?  I am way too new here to start a GB.  I was thinking Night Fighters and Night Attack A/C.  This way, it could cover A/C like the Corsair and Tigercat, et al, but also the B-26, and the PO-2 as Korean War goes.  WWII all the way up to Night Attack Harriers.  Just a thought.  Stik, not trying to highjack your GB.

Cheers,

Greg

I like the idea Greg ;

However I have pretty much committed myself to the Korean War GB and three other GB's .

Like you , I really like the Night Fighter aircraft , along with the three 1/72 scale Corsair , Tigercat and Skynight , after seeing your awesome 1/48 5N , i decided to get these two 1/48 birds to put away for christmas...

Apart from a Tamiya/Italeri AV-8B Night Attack Harrier and I think a F/A-18D Hornet , all my other Night Fighters are based around the Korean War era .

On another note , Travis is making great progress on his H-19 , the seatbelts and console ducting are a real nice addition ; makes me realize I need to get a wriggle on and start getting more builds finished .

I have done some preliminary work on two H04S-3's [H-19]....

Maybe I can get the fuselage halves together this weekend , Travis's build has got me inspired .

I'm struggling a little bit with the two PB-1W's [B-17] ; They were going along okay untill I discovered the wings angled up to high and I decided to remove them to fix them , unfortunatly the fuselage halves came apart as well and the cockpit too . So I'm basiclly starting again with them , which is a little frustrating , I was aiming to have a lot more builds completed by now .

Oh well , I'm happy with the M19 and M4A3E8 Sherman builds , so it's not all bad going .

Love the Night Fighters and I can't wait to start mine , hopfully in the not to distant future .

                              John .

John, one of the most popular means of weathering today are pastel powders. You can buy the pastel chalks in art stores and grind down the end to get enough to use or buy ready made powders like MiG Productions. I'd advise on the ready made since they add something to it to get it to stick better. Just take a little powder and apply to the model with a paintbrush or cotton swab. Apply it heavy to the wheels and lower points and let it thin out as you work your way up the model. If you don't like what you have you can wipe it off and start over.

If you don't want to buy the powders and they are expensive you can do the same thing with your airbrush and some thinned down light tan paint. It is more work though and you can't wipe it off if you don't like it.

Check the armour side of the forum for guys that are alot better at this than me, I'm pretty new to the whole pastel thing and not the best at it.

Gamera, you are right about the MIG price.  I just glanced at that stuff recently, since weathering is one of my many weak points, and was taken aback by the cost.  I think I am going to have to practice with the cheap stuff first!  I would like to be able to take the plunge into armor someday.  I just don't want to drop $60 on a Hobbyboss Amtrac and then screw it up.  I guess I need to find a cheap practice tank!

John, I love your new additions!  Most of my Night Fighters are Korean War too.  If we could do a GB, then they would be crossovers.  I have a bunch of WWII planes that fit the bill too.  All weather attack planes such as the intruder would fit too.   Selfishly, most of my stash would fit the parameters then.  Besides the P-38, and Alley Cat, what else are you doing  too?  So far, this (Korean War) has been the most fun for me.  In large part to your awesome builds.

Cheers,

Greg

Gamera

John, one of the most popular means of weathering today are pastel powders. If you don't want to buy the powders and they are expensive you can do the same thing with your airbrush and some thinned down light tan paint. It is more work though and you can't wipe it off if you don't like it.

Check the armour side of the forum for guys that are alot better at this than me, I'm pretty new to the whole pastel thing and not the best at it.

Hi Guys:

Check the model railroad shop for pastel powders - not chalks, but already made up powders in their plastic containers ... each about $4.00 and each has enough to last more than a lifetime ... just dip a fan brush into the container and apply ... then whensatisfied,seal with DullCote or similar ... the DullCote tends to lighten them just a bit, but once sealed, they're permanent ... if you don't like your results, you can wipe them off with a damp Q-tip ... of course, that's before sealing :-) ...

Also, check when there, the Floquil weathering pens ... they come in a 3 pack (different colors), cost about $7.00 for the pack and each with different colors such as rust, earth, mud, rail brown, grime and so on ... these are the 'pens' that you open and press down several times to draw up the paint ... practice using first on scrap ... I just used the Rust on a tank, on the spare tracks and mufflers, and with a wee bit of drybrushing, they'll look as good as anything done with washes and such ...

pepper

DUH! Thanks Pepper a guy just told me about the railroad pastels the other day and I completely forgot about them! And as you say even if you go with the expensive MiG brand even as small as the bottles are they'll last forever.

Greg: I might be interested in a night fighter GB too if it's sometime next year. I signed up for way too much stuff and don't know when I'll get it all done. Still I've got a P-61 and several Imperial Japanese night fighters in my stash I could toss in.

Hey Guy's ;

Thanks for the advice on weathering my armor builds .

I did see those Mig pigment sets at the LHS , there about $36 for the set and some single containers went for $8 to $16 each .

Last night I added some thinned black enamel wash to the M19 and M4A3E8 , It looks okay and I was thinking about what you guy's suggested and airbrush some light tan to the lower componets and a lighter shade of olive drab higher up , so I'll try this today .

I did rub some of that Tamiya brown pigment from their weathering set B on a couple of truck tyre's and it looks okay so I add some more to the rest of the wheels .

Greg , you really have me curious about the night fighter aircraft , I realize this might be slightly off topic a little but I was wondering if you could post a list of the most popular night fighter aircraft .

                            John .

John, you could just buy one jar of the cheaper railroad pastels in tan just to give it a try. Or of course airbrushing it should work just as well.

If Greg doesn't mind me jumping in a few night fighters that come to mind:

RAF: Boulton Paul Defiant and some De Havilland Mosquito versions.

US: P-61 Black Widow and some P-38 and Hellcat versions.

Germany: He-219 Uhu (Owl)

Japan: Nakajima J1N1 Gekko (Moonlight)  Allied code: Irving

Lucky Model  have the 1/72 Italeri UH-19A with the Hot Dog floats listed as "in stock'' , I just ordered one along with the Italeri A-26C Invader with the clear nose .

I was happy how my first A-26B Invader build turned out and I'm pretty sure the 26C has Korean War markings included , so yet another couple of additions to the stash .

                      John .

Great info guys!  I am going to have to go to a shop that does trains and check it out.

Another invader?  Cool.  That is such a neat plane, and to be effective in 3 wars even.  One of the books I read recently had quite a bit about B-26 missions over Korea.  Those guys had some serious stones!  They even rigged some up with spotlights to aid in night hunting.

Gamera, those are some good selections.  I have a magazine article somewhere on a US Mosquito NF pilot.  Really interesting stuff.  The sky over Europe at night was a busy place.

Since necessity is the mother of invention...lots of different types were pressed into night fighter roles.  The Marines used PV-1 Neptunes, Corsairs, Hellcats, and almost Tigercats in WWII alone.  Korea had a lot of cool types with the Marines using Corsairs, Tigercats, Skynights, and even TBM Avengers.  The USAF's Invaders, F-82's, and Starfires.  I really like a lot of the Luftwaffe types too.  The He 219 looks good.  I like the Ju-88 night versions too.  And as random as this post is, B-57 Canberras in Vietnam.  While looking through my stash, I was amazed at how many night-types I have picked up.  Hopefully, we can put something together later in the year or early next year then.

Cheers,

Greg

Greg ,

Thank's for the list of Night Fighter aircraft , I copied down the different aircraft for reference . It's interesting about the PV-1 Neptunes , some hobby stores only seem to have the P2V-7 Neptunes . I have two of those in the stash along with a Falcon vacuform conversion tail turret and other bits , for a AP-2H version , that one is part of my "Gunships over Vietnam" collection . I was wondering if this same type of Neptune was used in the Korean conflict as well ?

Another Korean War reference book arrived during the week , 'Korea The Air War 2' by Warren Thompson .

Each page has full color photo's of lots of Korean War birds including some awesome photo's of the B-26C Invaders . There is one photo that caught my interest is this one ;

1st Lt Clarence Klenk 90th Bomb Squadron ...

There seems to be some type of belly radome between the front landing gear well and the bomb bay , I was wondering if anyone knew what this was ?

I also like how the cockpit canopy windows are posed open , I was thinking of maybe trying to cut mine to pose them open as well .

It's a great book with chapters on the F-51 , F-80 , F-84 , F-86 , B-29 , B-26 , Navy/Marine Airpower and some other types , excellent reference

                                               John .

Here's a sneak peek at the M-19 Tank Transporter

I'm quite happy with the build and later tonight I start adding all the bits and pieces onto the M4A3E8 Sherman .

                      John .

Oops, my bad!  I meant a PV-1 Ventura, not Neptune. 

The tank and transporter are looking good.  How many builds have you completed for this GB?  I lost track.

Cheers,

Greg

Gregbbear

Oops, my bad!  I meant a PV-1 Ventura, not Neptune. 

The tank and transporter are looking good.  How many builds have you completed for this GB?  I lost track.

Cheers,

Greg

If I include the M19 and Sherman , I've only completed 7 builds so far ; With 16 other builds under various stages of construction . The two H03S-1 Dragonfly's are waiting for decals as well as two F4U-4B Corsair's , I would like to get those finished in the next couple of day's and I'll post a group pic of the first 11 builds . After that , hopfully , a C-47 , F-80 and Short Sunderland III flying boat by the end of this coming week.

You also mentioned about the TBM avenger being used in Korea . The LHS have the Academy TBF Avenger for about $10 ; I don't really know the difference between the TBM and TBF versions , apart from a slightly different front cowl ring [additional air scoops I think] . I was thinking of picking one up next time I go on a "paint run" to the hobby store .

I'm sure the last time I visited Hannants web site I saw a 1/72 decal sheet for USMC Night Fighters which included markings for a PV-1 Ventura , might go back and have another look and see what kits are available as well .

                                   John .

Helo H-34

Gregbbear:

 I don't really know the difference between the TBM and TBF versions

The TBF was built by Grummans - the TBM was built by General Motors ...

Hi All:

Note the # of missions painted on the nose - is it possible that someone flew 350 in Korea ? ... whew !! ...

John - what steps did you take to get this image included in your post ? ... I'm still at a loss how to post a photo and see nothing that refers to ADD IMAGE or UPLOAD FILE or, or, or ...

Thanks,

John, is the PV-1 decals, the one's from Owl?  If so, that is a neat set.  Marine Nightfighters from WWII.  They have a conversion set for the PV-1 (Academy/Minicraft).  When I ordered my decals from them, they were out of the conversion set.  Now the US dollar is so weak, Owl's prices are almost double what they were (for me anyways).  Cool stuff though.  They have a decal set called Nightfighter Experts that has a US P-39Q, P-61, German Me-109, and Ju-88, British Hurricane and Mosquito.  They are www.owl-czech.eu.  Seems like their stuff is mostly WWII, although I think they might have some Mig-15 stuff.

Cheers,

Greg

Here's some finished pic's of the Revell 1/72 M19 Tank Transporter and Trumpeter M4A3E8 Sherman Tank .

The M4A3E8 has markings from the 64th Tank Battalion ,

3rd Infantry Division , near Sokchon-ni , March 1951 .

I'm very happy with both builds , my first armor project ...

Thank's for looking .

                                 John .

The tank and transporter look great.

Cheers,

Greg

John: They both look great. Are you still going to add a little mud to them?

Pepper: I'm using Photobucket and this may not work with every web photo hosting site.

1). Placing your mouse cursor on the photo on Photobucket you'll get a list of options under it.

2). Go down to IMG Code and left click to highlight the information in the box.

3). Then right click it and select COPY.

4). When posting on the FineScale forum right click and select PASTE.

It should paste the same information in the post you see in the IMG Code box on Photobucket. When you click the post button the computer will change it into the photo.

I hope I haven't confused you any more  

Thank's guy's .

Greg , I was looking around Hannants again and I saw the Owl conversion sets for the four USMC night Fighters . I'm not sure what F4U kit to buy for a F4U-2 bird , there are F4U -1 Corsair's available , are they suitable for a 2 version .

I can probably pick up the four kits locally and just buy the Owl decals and conversion sets from Hannants .

Also while searching around Hannants web site I came across a "Future Release" listing of a 1/72 Minicraft PBM-5/5A Marina ; The 5A version has a similar type of retractable landing gear as the PBY-5 catalina .

So I added the kit to the 'watching list' and Hannants usually send an email when these kits arrive in store .

Gamera , I wont add any more weathering to the M19 and M4A3E8 , I just go with the dusty-slightly dirty look and call them finished . Today I'll add the decals to the two F4U-4B Corsairs and post some finished pic's tomorrow .

                             John .

Looking forward to seeing your -4B's.  As for a -2, they were the -1 birdcage Corsairs.  In 1/48 Tamiya makes a nice one that comes with the stuff to make a -2.  I have the Owl decals for that one.  I have the kit almost done, ready to decal, I just got sidetracked.  The -2 decal is the bird on the cover of the book "Night Wings, USMC Nightfighters 1942-1953" by Squadron Signal.  It is real nice book, and I believe Owl used it as their reference.

I am kind of stuck right now.  Work, wife and kids have made it impossible for me to find some paint booth time.  The weather has been beautiful too.  Low humidity and moderate temperatures, am I still in Texas???  If I could get a decent finish from spray cans, I could paint at work.  Other than Tamiya Gloss colors  (for car bodies) I have no luck.  Maybe this weekend. 

Cheers,

Greg

Greg , I hope you can get some painting done soon ;

Well I ordered the Owl Night Fighter decals and conversion sets for the four aircraft and I saw that Squadron Signal USMC Night Fighter 1942-1953 book and ordered that as well . It should have some nice pic's of Korean war aicraft as well .

Tower Hobbies sent me a $10 discount voucher , so I decided to order the 1/72 Academy TBF Avenger and F6F-3 Hellcat along with the Minicraft PV-1 Ventura and the Tamiya F4U-1 Birdcage Corsair .

These four will go well with my P-38M Night Fighter and P-61 Blackwidow as well as the F4U-5N , F7F-3N and F2D-3 for the Korean War GB .

                       John .

John, you have quite the collection of nocturnal warbirds.  You are a man after my own heart.  All of those birds are very interesting.  I found this article on the Owl PV-1.  Pretty interesting.

Cheers,

Greg

Id be interested in a Night Fighter GB if I can catch up on my other GBs. I have a Tamiya Mosse with night fighter markings.

WWIIpsycho, and anybody else interested, I was thinking about December-January timeframe for a nightfighter GB.  I have never hosted a GB before, so I hope Stik and others who have can give me some pointers.

Thanks for the interest guys!  I appreciate it. 

Cheers,

Greg

Gregbbear

WWIIpsycho, and anybody else interested, I was thinking about December-January timeframe for a nightfighter GB.  I have never hosted a GB before, so I hope Stik and others who have can give me some pointers.

Thanks for the interest guys!  I appreciate it. 

Cheers,

Greg

Yeah , I'm in ; Although you probably knew that already !!!!!!!!

Anyway , you guy's might think I'm a little nuts , you know that little voice inside your head that say's " go on , you know you really want one - just buy it " ...... Well , I just bought the 1/72 Anigrand Craftswork C-124 Globemaster II resin kit . Everytime I visit Hannants web site I always go looking at the kit ; After 3 months of torturing myself , I just gave in

I also picked up Steve Ginters C-124 Globemaster book . With the book and kit combined Hannants gave me a discount on the shipping charges , $16 down from $39 .

Another addition to the Korean War GB , as the rest of the family looks at me with absolute bewilderment , I'm trying to explain that the C-124 is an important and integral component of the Korean War ; Kinda difficult to explain while everyone's rolling their eye's around

                                   John .

Hi everyone, I recently finished my Panther for this GB.  I thought I'd share my latest build with as it is also a Korean War bird, a Monogram P-82G Twin Mustang.

For me, personally. I'd like a start date of next year sometime, I dont get much bench time 2 out of 3 weeks so it would allow me to do some catching up.

And the kits just keep on coming!

Helo, very nice on the tank transporter and Sherman!

Aggie, a beautiful Twin Mustang!

Keep up the fire!