Battle of Britain GB 2008 - 21 June to 31 Oct 08

Thats some nice work there Greg! Now Frank will not feel so lonely out there until I finish my Hurricane. Any plans on finishing the Classic Airframes Hurricane? I am going to strip and repaint mine after I finish my Hasegawa MkI. The RAF needs all the help we can get. Way to many bombers! At least the escort is a litle on the light side.

                                                                            Soulcrusher

OOOOOOOOOOOOO......... AAAHHHHHHHHHHH!.......OOOOOOOOOOOOOO......AAAHHHH!

Neato!

Thanks Gentlemen !

A quick update, before I will be swamped with work load ....

Now, it is more like a Spitfire flown by Henryk Szczesny with 74th RAF Squadron

Few more details including antenas, piot tube, mirror and gun smoke possibly tomorrow

I think these Polish fighters can handle German bombers pretty well .. and Messeschmitts too

Greg, great job on the Spitfire, it looks like it will be another stunning build for this GB.

Mike, I've not seen the Squadron Signal profile, but always good to know someone else is thinking the same as me!

I've been busy applying the panel wash, and spraying on some Tamiya Smoke to add some texture to the panel edges etc.

Thanks for all the kind comments guys.

Karl

Looking so sweet Greg, Thats the stage i love. When the imagination starts to take over. Youll, need a few more spits to keep the bombers at bay LOL.

...Guy

 Ah GZT! I have been waiting to see that! It is very much worth the wait!  Absolutely a perfect compliment to Franks 1/72 version! The decals and paint job look freak me out good! Love the Polish fin flash. Just like on the movie box!  Repeat please.... Repeat please.......

Looking forward to seeing the Condor! Thats a big plane even in 1/72

The next week should be telling. Oh well we almost had Soul Crusher on the ropes!

Maybe we could call Thunderbolt 379," Thunder Mike! " Look forward to your membership in the flying pencil club!

Best part I am offically on vacation!!!!!!!!!!!! I won't miss nuthin!

Just to keep the balance in place I would like to show you gentlemen, a progress on my Spitfire from 74th RAF Squadron.

I plan to finish it tomorrow, hopefully I will be able to do so. I have been very busy lately and I could not spend any time in my studio . Hopefully by the end of August I will be able to dedicate more time for modelling

Here it is : current status on my Spitfire.... ready for some weathering ....

That is a great pair of 111 you guys have going on. Both are comming out great. Hopefully soon I will have the fw-200 to form up with ya on a raid on England. Still working on subassemblies but it will be taking shape very soon.

Steve

Hi all,

My Dornier is underway, I'm continuing with panel scribing, doing the big upper wing half tonight. After checking my reference material I decided Matchbox probably did their research reasonably well and to follow their pattern. My best reference is not the Z version, it's the E, and there are lots of detail differences, so it's safest by far to go with the kit detail. It's also a learning experience for me, as this is my fourth scribing project and I seem to be getting better at it.

There are not that many panel lines, I'm hoping to have this phase done with well in advance of the accessories arriving.

Cheers,

TB379

Guy- A most splendiferous achivement in the plastic arts, came out excellent!

Karl- Looking good.  Squadron's "He 111 in Action" has a color profile of your aircraft with the fuselage Balkankreuz partially filled in with black, leaving only the some rough white edges visible.  Don't know how accurate it is but thought I'd throw it out.

Hi Darson,

$25 is a good price for a Tami Spit -- I ordered their Bf 109E-3 for $22 from Clarion Militaria in Beijing (they also have enormous savings on Trumpeter, I only ever buy Trumpeter from them.) They have an eBay store, just search on "Clarion Militaria" or "Reichsrommel."

Mike's the name, BTW -- there are a few by that handle hereabouts!

I've got the AB disassembled, looks like half the problem was a bent trigger plunger pivot, the rest is gunk in the trigger/air valve channel...

TB379/Mike

Thunderbolt379 wrote:

Hi Darson, Thanks for the link, I've bookmarked them. They sure have a big range! I'm about to stop procrastinating and dismantle my airbrush again... Cheers, Tb379

No problems at all, Daniel who is the guy that runs the place is extremely helpful and they are used very heavily by all the IPMS guys here in Melbourne.

It's pretty good when you consider that you can land a 1/48 Tamiya Spitfire for about $25 that would normally cost you around $40 in the LHS

By the way, do you mind if I ask what your name is?

Cheers

Hi Darson,

Thanks for the link, I've bookmarked them. They sure have a big range!

I'm about to stop procrastinating and dismantle my airbrush again...

Cheers,

Tb379

darson wrote:

Aaron I think one of the main drivers behind US heavies going natural metal was the weight of the paint and its impact on range and bomb load, at least that's what I heard. Cheers

 Ha you are close Darren that was part of the justification. But it was the giant vapor trails that gave them away and made camo useless. Of course the Germans flew lower but don't tell Karl........

Hi Guy and Karl,

Sweet builds, fellers! Very different results, but both suberbly realistic. The cockpit detail in Guy's is stunning, and the panel lines are accented perfectly. Decals look like they went on no bother at all (I'm still reeling a bit after tussling with custum decals off the inkjet for a scratchbuild -- fourteen tries to get four insignia that worked... It's not supposed to be that hard, and kit decals that cooperate will be a welcome change!)

Great work, and I'm really regretting missing that Hasa on eBay!

Cheers,

TB379

Thx for the kind words lads and lasses

Aaron, i semi sorted the roughness of the paint out with about 30 gallons of Future LOL. Then a flat coat to boot. Voila!

SC, I bet your right about the Yellow noses. But if they all had yellow noses, one wouldnt stick out i spose? I know in Russia, a lot of the big tally killers, used to go up in inconspicuous planes because, they reckoned, any newby pilot would have a go for them just to try to prove themselves. Often to thier demises. Those Russians were brave if nothing else.

...Guy

sfcmac wrote:

I forgot to ask Guy? How did you get the paint job straight? I see no sign of any trouble? Anyone seen Mark? Just wondering if he survived his B-day last Friday? Just concerned as a Stuka presents a more inviting target than these big bombers.

Oh...I'm still here my friend...in fact...my Stuka pilots are in training going over their operational duties as we speak...Looks like metal will be falling from the sky soon...(about to put its primer on tomorrow.)

Mark

 Karl I knew you would not be far behind!  That is one sweet paint job. I understand if you want to keep it neat cuz the temporary night camo always looks like it was applied in a hurry to me and kinda random for  the early Luftwaffe. It may well have been left alone as you have it for the same reasons the US Bombers went natural metal.  Hard to hide a big formation even at night. Very Spiffy! Can't wait to see it done! May induce a surrender from SC and re write history!

 Bondoman I could have sworn you said something about straining yer back playing baseball with the kids. I must be going nuts. Sign that more sleep is needed as my attention to detail is fading. ACK!  

Guy, that is one great looking Heinkel.

Thanks for the heads up on the antenna mast. 

Is that a small counter weight at the base of the rudder?

You are a serious modeling machine as mine still isn't finished 2 years after I started it!

Having said that, I have made some more progress, so that this ought to be complete by Sunday.

If these guys had been in Bomber Command they would have been on their third tour!

I'm still not happy with the black on the fuselage sides, and I'm not sure AIMS are correct on the way the Balkan Kreuz are depicted, as most photos of machines with the temporary night camo have it applied to the fuselage crosses. 

Karl

sfcmac wrote:

Any update on your back woes Bondo?

Ah, you confuse me wit' m'evil twin, the scurvy Rat Nam! Thankin' ye fer the kindesses.

Katherine has both Grandfathers still, one a decorated WW2 pilot and the other a retired aeronautical engineer, so it's in her blood. Plus she just likes to make stuff.

It's a welcome chance to chew that fat while we work, most of the time if spoke to directly I get a more shall we say, attitudinal response.

 I forgot to ask Guy? How did you get the paint job straight? I see no sign of any trouble? Anyone seen Mark? Just wondering if he survived his B-day last Friday? Just concerned as a Stuka presents a more inviting target than these big bombers.

 Any update on your back woes Bondo? Having your 17 year old daughter filling in kinda made me worried, I'm with Darren there can't see how you managed to pull it off. I can't get my 17 year old to even mow the yard.

That Heinkel is awesome there Guy. I half expect a little guy to climb in the cockpit and fire up the engines! The canopy masking is perfect. The time spend in the cockpit was well worth it also because it is al visible. As for shooting down scruffy looking Hurricanes because they stand out. what do you think was going through an RAF pilots mind when a Me 109 with the complete nose painted  yellow flashed by? I can only guess it was something like this. I WANT THAT ONE!!!! Ha Ha Ha! Anyway nice job on that Heinkel 111 and watch your six for scruffy looking Hurricanes!

                                                                                  Soulcrusher

Nicely done Guy .

Regards,  Rick

Great job, Guy!

Those lines are unmistakable and a beauty.

Good news, TB. We need a few more Bombers.

 Dont know what happened to Karl's but mines done. Hasagawa He-111P. And what a beaut it was too. I loved every little bit of this build. You know when youve enjoyed a build when it ends very suddenly. This morning i thought I had at least a couple more sdays on it. If i had another in my stash id start it right away. Id like to say there were lots of tricky bits but there werent. It was a great model. Even the glass work went together without incident, and theres 3 pieces to join together.

I broke the aerial off bringing it downstairs so theres no aerial wire. Karl check you refs for the 'Nub' that the aerial joins too on the fin. I made mine from a piece of resin offcut i had lying around. Anyhoo's heres some pics of this very fine aeroplane.

...Guy

Hi all,

With the generous assistance of Luftwaffle, my contribution to this GB is official! Thanks, mate, those decals are much appreciated!

I began work this evening, rescribing the raised panel lines of the old Matchbox Do 17 Z-2. the lines are very fine and sand away easily. The parts benefit from a surface prep anyway. There's a fair bit of flash and I'm suspicious of the location of the panel lines, so will check my references and rescribe a suite of lines agreeing with whatever I can see in photos, or artwork liable to have been executed more thoroughly than the model.

I'll get my order in probably tomorrow at Squadron for clear vac parts, weighted tires, balkenkreuzeren und swastikeren. This will be my first Luftwaffe subject in quite a few years!

Cheers,

TB379