World at War 1939-1940 Group Build

Great work everyone, some nice builds and history going on here.  Started my Ju52 a few days ago, after filling injector pin holes for the inside dividers, came across a problem.  The dividers have corrugated steel texture, and that will really hard to sand the putty out from the injector pin holes.   First was going to detail the inside, scene the model has a removable roof.  But now I think I'm just going to airbrush the inside RLM 02 Gray, and do some detail painting in the cockpit.  Very disappointed with those injector pin holes.

I taped on two pieces of balsa wood to the bottom of the floor, to keep it straight during assembly. 

Nice to se this started Dan. Could this have been one of the gliders towing the team to the for at Eben I wounder.

Nice start, looking forward to more.

Good looking start, Dan.  Looking forward to watching your progress.

I know what you mean about injector pin marks.  They sure appear in some unwelcome places.  A while back I built a Devastator that had some inconvenient corrugations around the wings.  I found a set of small jeweler files at Michaels that worked pretty well.  There were six files in different shapes.  Maybe something like that would work for the corrugations in your build.

Thanks Bish.

Thanks Checkmateking:  I have a pack of those files laying around, picked out one that fits in bewteen the slots.  That seemed to do the trick, on the close up picture you can see how the filler putty has some what taken the shape of the corrugated steel.

You have done a really good job on those filled points. I reckon once you get the paint on it will be hard to see where they are.

Yup, things are looking good there, Dan.  Should do the trick!

I would like to make a 2nd entry for this build. I have a Lindberg Hawker Fury I want to make up as practice on bi-planes. I plan on dressing it up as one of the Danish Nimrod (I am not going to try to add the extra 4 scale feet to the sweep to the wings) that never even made it off the ground when the Germans invaded in April '40. These will be the markings that are included in the Lindberg kit, so I have my doubts about them being accurate.

Sounds great, ajd.  I will update the front page to reflect you latest edition.

Does this have a scale?  Or is it one of those indefinite "box scales?"

It is the 1/48 Linberg Hawker Fury (masquerading as a Nimrod) that has been released by Inpact/Pyro/Life-Like in years past.

OK.  I think I'll add all this to the front page.  It's always good to have something different and unusual in the GB.  I've heard of the Fury in the interwar years in the UK, but I didn't know about Nimrods!

Was "Nimrod" the Danish name for the Fury, or is it a different a/c altogether.

(I suppose I can look this up with google, but carrying on the conversation here is always a nice sociable thing to do.)

Thanks, aj!

The Nimrod Mk. I was kind of a navalized Fury in a way (strengthened undercarrige, headrest, tail hook, ect) while the Mk. II Nimrod had 4 feet added to her span, and it was swept back as well. The Danish purchased 2 Mk. IIs and used those to produce 10 or so of their own under liscense. Aside from a handful of liscense built Fokker D.XXIs, these were the best fighter aircraft the Danish had at their disposal when the Germans invaded in Spring '40, which is really quite sad.

(Warning! I have copied and pasted this directly from the companion thread I have posted on the aircraft boards. It is 4AM and there is no way I am going to type out anything else!)

So I am not afraid to admit out here in the open, to everybody, that I am afraid of bi-planes. The thought that one misaligned strut can throw everything off kilter and effectively ruin your build is quite daunting. And let's not even start about the rigging. But, there are quite a few 2 winged subjects that I am very interested in, like Gloster Gladiators or the Grumman USN fighter series for instance. So I decided I needed something simple, something cheap. I needed a cadaver of a kit that I wouldn't mind screwing up. The Lindberg Hawker Fury is just that.

I choose this kit as my first bi-plane cause I only paid $4 for the thing. So if all goes to poo, I say screw it and end up chunking the sucker, I'm out a Jr. Whopper and fries. I can live with that. Plus the kit comes with decals for a Danish Fury (I know I know, they actually flew Nimrod Mk.IIs) and I was looking for something from the 1940 time frame anyways. And when else am I ever going to have the chance to do something up in Danish markings? Or when would I even want to?

Anyways, the fit seems rather nice. Surface detail in very acceptable. But interior detail is, how should I say? Lacking? At least I have a blank canvas to work with. With out consulting any referance material, I built up some structure, and while it may or may not be correct, it turned out alright. Before and after.






For the interior, I figured as lacquered aluminum look with semi gloss black framing seemed right. My favorite way of getting a lacquered aluminum look (I say favorite because it's easy) is just spray a coat of Testors rattle can gloss silver, let it dry thoroughly, and then spray with a light coat of Dullcoat. Then I simply masked the framing, and sprayed another light dullcoat to help seal the masking edges. Then I brushed the black on, let it dry, cross my fingers and remove the masking. Seems this time I came out on top. This time...

Some tricky masking there, aj.  It looks good!  Off to a flying start.

And thanks for the background on the real thing!  Danish subjects are pretty rare.

Nice scratchwork there ajd! That certainly looks the part.

I'm scrolling thru the Life archives again... and finding some good stuff... this one is perfect reference for anyone here doing a build with the Campaign in the West, 1940...

Interesting contrast in this photo, stik.  The mechanized vehicles passing by the horse.  

checkmateking02

Interesting contrast in this photo, stik.  The mechanized vehicles passing by the horse.  

Indeed it is... The times they were a changin'... And even though the French and British armies were far more mechanized than the Germans, this was the end result

Some nice detailing there aj. And don't worry, your not the only one who copies and pastes when posting a build in two places.

Great photo's there Stik, its nice to see these colour pics.

Bish, seeing the past in color really puts a whole new aspect on it. Although it is not quite as vivid as today's digital photos can be, it really does bring the past alive to see it like those shots above.

I agree. And its nice to see some genuine colours ones as well, I always have concerns about B&W that have been coloured. I do like that last one, its does how dirty and dusty a vehicle can be, It does look like its been sat there a while, I can only guess these photo's were taken later in 1940. Where these published in Life magazine at the time.

These photos all come from a  fellow named Hugo Jaeger, who was one of Hitler's personal photographers. He buried the film until well after the war checking on it periodically, then retrieved it at a later time and sold them to Life. Many were published in several photo essays, but I have spent a few hours paging thru all of them on the site and can honestly say I have not seen many before. They range from  the mundane to pure pageantry, prewar to post war. Some look to be in action or immediately afterwards, and others well after the action is over.

I mean, look at this one...

Was it Stephen Ambrose who mentioned a student that thought WWII was fought in black and white?

Photos like these sure bring an impact and immediacy to historical events that we might have lost over the years.  I've seen pictures of abandoned vehicles before, but these images seem to be more striking.  There's a stark loneliness about them.

Now that's a nice one Stik. I wonder what it is they are demolishing, its re-enforced so could be a French fortification.

How's things going on in here guys, been a bit quiet for a while.

Great pictures stik. Take notice at the abandoned tank's tracks showing from what I see no rust.

 

Thanks Bish, Chickmateking02.

 

Great color photographes Stikpusher.

 

Nice start to your Linberg Hawker ajd3530.

 

Got back to work on my Junkers Ju52, the real trouble maker is the side window sheet.  Been removing the future from it with 91% isopropyl alcohol, it's doing the job but slow.  Did a dry test fit and it goes togther great.

 

That's coming together very nicely, Dan. The fit of the parts looks pretty good, too. It should turn out fabulously. I look forward to seeing much more of your progress.

Thanks checkmateking02.  Did run into a small problem with the roof that comes off to easy, so I'll have to make something that will hold it in place when I pick it up.  Other than that is goes together great.  I am going to paint the interior, have not come across many color photo's of the inside.  But RLM 02 Gray is the dominant color.  Might pick up a 1/72 version of the Ju 52 in the future.