Hi everyone,

i was going to take a few pics, but my camera died after one.

The P-38 is waiting for propellers to come in.

The V-1 Rocket is waiting to get into the paint shop.

The Bubble top Jug is waiting to touch up a few places in the paint shop

The Razorback Jug is ,,,,,,Uhhhh just sitting there. LOL

B-17, looks like you have that ladder about right. I think I have been bitten by the scratch building bug, I am finding it very satisfying replacing parts or completely building bits that are not there.

Ken, not good news on the camera, but they look to be coming along nicely.

Bish

B-17, looks like you have that ladder about right. I think I have been bitten by the scratch building bug, I am finding it very satisfying replacing parts or completely building bits that are not there.

Ken, not good news on the camera, but they look to be coming along nicely.

I guess I worded that wrong. The batteries in the camera died. I put them in the charger before I went to bed, so, they should be good to now. 

Looks like you made some nice progress, Ken!

Okay we're in business here, the batteries are working fine

Here are two views of the Bubble Top Jug. I messed the Stripes up, So I fixed them and had to tape them off

Looks good Ken, though I have to admit I've never seen a Jug I didn't like!!!

Glad you got that sorted out Ken, nice work on the Jug.

I agree Gamera,I have yet to see a "Jug" i don't like

Thanks everyone

I didn't build one as a kid, I really missed out on that one. Oh well I'm making up for that now

I have yet to see a Jug I don't love!

Tamiya 1/48 P-51 MKIII (RAF)

Paints: Tamiya acrylics for base; stripes and interior Golden Fluid Acrylics

Weathering: Iwata Com.Art acrylics

Ok. I've been working on both the V-1 amd the P-47 tonight

Here is the Jug.jpg.html][/URL]

Eric: Fantastic work! I love the well weathered look of your Mustang! Those invasions stripes look really impressive - they look like a sloppy paint job without ruining the look of the model. I always spray my stripes on because I can't brush paint them without them looking horrible...

Ken: Nice progress on your Jug!

I did mask the stripes with tape - certainly don't trust my hand. But the texture of the Golden is very different than an airbrushed Tamiya (note the spinner is off-white, and doesn't look at all like the stripes) and when hand painted left just about what I wanted - something that was applied after the base with a different type of paint. Actually the plane looked pretty good without the stripes - but anything for history. I find I do a lot more hand painting than I used to. Probably because I use paints that work well with it - Vallejo Model Color and Golden Fluids mostly. That effect would not have looked good with Tamiya hand painted I think. I'm seriously thinking of hand painting a German tank because according to one of my ref books that was done in the field when you wanted a quick change of camo. Some of the best ship builders hand paint the superstructure - and some even the whole thing. I didn't have an airbrush when I was 12 and liked models anyway.

Eric

Green, your P-47 is coming along great! Very nice work on the stripes!

EB, I like your Mustang Mk.III. You captured the look just right there. You may want to remove that antenna mast though- those were not on Malcolm hood equipped birds as that blocked the travel of the sliding hood. Those Mustangs used a different antenna wire configuration.

Eric, great work on the Stang. Nice to see it in those markings. I have added one to the front page.

Ken, the 47 is coming along nicely, great work.

Thanks everyone.

The stripes are better now, they didn't look good at all. I'm glad no one seen them before.

Looking good! I like to build my Razorback Jugs with the canopy closed as well. They just look so elegant that way.

Eric: That's some sharp work on the P-51, nice work on the stripes!

Ken & Ajd3520: Those Jugs aren't too shabby either!

Eric, cool job with the Mustang III - and you say it was a rush job - wow!  The stripes look well scaled for that hand applied look.  I'm not that familiar with Tamiya's boxing, so will blame their instructions with regards to the antenna.  The RAF began switching over to VHF radio around mid 1940, and this did not require the mast to rudder wire.  The type just used an aerial whip, but was encased in a hollow mast - likely to protect from shrapnel.  Eventually the false mast was eliminated completely.

Still not sure why you include Norwegian sorties in your right-ups.  Online unit histories have 315 located in southern English coast, (Coolham Sussex to be exact) during the lead up to Normandy invasion. 

regards,

Jack

AJ, the later kits from Otaki- P-47, P-40, P-51, F6F, F4U, are pretty nice. Just add a few bits in the cockpit such as a new seat, gunsight, IP decals, they build up nice & pretty. Their exterior detail and fit are good.

Nice work there aj, look forward to seeing more.

Thanks everyone. after i messed  the stripes up I found a nice digital caliper. So now the stripes are all the same width.

This was on a nice build review of the kit from Tom Cleaver:

"In April, 1944, 129 RAF squadron joined 306 "City of Torun" and 315 "City of Deblin" squadrons of the Polish Air Force in 133 Wing. The following month they were joined by the seventh Mustang III squadron, 316 "City of Warsaw." Wing Commander Stanislaw Skalski, who would become the top ace of the Polish Air Force in the Second World War became O.C. 133 Wing. With the range of the Mustang III, 133 Wing's first assignments were to fly fighter escort for the Beaufighters and Mosquitos of Coastal Command on their strikes against Norway. This almost-forgotten war was one of the most dangerous for aircrew, with strike aircraft and their escorts making long over-water flights at low level to face a well-armed enemy when they arrived at the target, then returning the same way; no aircrew lost over the cold North Sea on these operations - other than those who could make it to the Scottish coast - was ever rescued before they succumbed to exposure after ditching.

By late May, 133 Wing was participating in dive-bombing operations against the Channel coast in preparation for the coming invasion. As of June 6, the wing had not had the chance to test their new mounts against German aerial opposition, though four pilots of 306 squadron had jointly shot down a He-111 they came across during a "Ranger" mission to Orleans on May 18."

Eric

To clarify the Polish 131 wing activity before D-Day. According to the Osprey "Polish P-51 and Thunderbolt Aces" (It's on Google books: I searched "133 RAF Wing") pp 11-14, the 131 wing which included 315 and 316 squadrons with an RAF unit, escorted US bombers in April to the Ruhr. They followed up with a very successful fighter sweep over a German air base near the Swiss frontier. In May they began a series of missions to Denmark and Norway during which they claimed considerable success against both German bombers and fighters. If you found a roster of the wing showing it based in SE England at the time, the wing fueled in Scotland before going to the North Sea. There is some controversy but the wing claimed the highest number of kills of any allied fighter unit on June 7 - at Normandy - where they had been flying on and off in the period. It certainly appears to me that Cleaver was right. I know there were nasty confrontations up there: I was thinking very seriously of doing a ME-110D (which was stretched a little) based in Norway in late 43 and was indirectly involved in the series of events that led to the destruction of Scharnhorst. The world map looks very different if you look at it from the North Pole down - you can see why England was really more a part of the Scandanavian world than Europe before being wrenched south by the Normans in 1066. Anyway, whatever missions flown, the Polish P-51 squadrons were up to their eyeballs in fighting over Normandy in June 1944.

Eric

Well I am starting the preliminary steps for my Marauder- research and planning. So far there is really not a whole lot of info out there on Marauder interiors. I have found some good stuff on Flak Bait's fuselage interior, but am having a hard time with wheel well interiors. Kinda hard to tell if they are gone be Neutral Gray 43 or Aluminum Lacquer. Looking at photos it appears that both were used. But definitely NOT interior green.

Eric, thanks for digging out that info and the provided sources.  

This www.polishsquadronsremembered.com  site has me totally frustrated.  It appears to have a lot of info, but no mention of losses nor aerial victories, not even a single sortie dated in the vicinity of the area in question.  

It's true though that the RAF's Coastal Command's anti-shipping campaign (which began back in 1940 and lasted to the very end) is the least written about.  Most books out there prefer to deal with the defense of Britain during 1940, or the bomber offensive over Germany.  

regards,
Jack

I write military history for (part of) my living. The kind of micro data on units of any kind can be extremely hard to come by and a lot of web sites are a kind of labor of love. Those interested in USAAF information are much luckier as almost all of their special studies concerning WWII (and other eras) are downloadable in PDF. Want 800 pages in USAAF victory claims? Try Study 82: Study 85 is about the same size and lists the make-up and location of every squadron (and hence group) in the war.  There are extensive studies 150-170 written by German officers (including General Kammhuber) concerning all phases of Luftwaffe operations.

www.afhra.af.mil/.../index.asp

Eric

B17 - everything looks great, but I think that ladder is fantastic! Very realistic, you did  a great job on it.