Topics

16

Aircraft Modeling / Junkers Ju 88 A-5, Lindberg, 1/64

« on: December 03, 2018, 10:46:06 AM »

Hello all

I built this kit in 2012 (finished in July).
It appeared between 1956 and 1964. Although it's not announced on the box, this kit represents the Junkers Ju 88 A-5 and is in 1/64 scale. I built it out of the box to find again the enjoyment that I had to built it when I was a teenager at a time when almost nothing was known upon German planes of WW2.
Vintage unuseable decals have been replaced by new ones to represent à plane of 3./KG 30.




















Jicéhem

17

Aircraft Modeling / Heinkel He 111 K, Lindberg, 164

« on: December 03, 2018, 10:02:17 AM »

Hello all

Here is a new vintage kit that I built some months ago and finally finished in April 2018.
The scale is 1/64. It's impossible to tell what real version it is and it's the reason why I called it He 111 K K=Krieg or war in English). It must be said that at the beginning of the hidden Luftwaffe, military versions of "civil" aircraft were called "K version".
The kit is not very accurate and although appearing after 1958 in the Lindberg's catalogs I think it's older because compared to kits of 1958 it appears not to be "modern".
Wingspan is to the announced 1/64 scale but the too long glazed nose makes the fuselage to be at 1/60 scale ; the fuselage itself without the glazed nose is actually to 1/64 scale !
Apart of being in white, markings are accurate for the 9,/KG 1 Hindenburg. Old unuseable decals have been changed against modern ones.

18

Aircraft Modeling / Vought F4U-5N Corsair, Lindberg, 1/48

« on: December 01, 2018, 06:29:29 PM »

Hello mates,

Here is a very old kit from Lindberg (Copyright date 1952 Inside the fuselage) that I first built between 1956 and 1960.

I present you the "motorized" version that I never got when I was a teenager and that I found without instructions ans decals...
Here is the result.

Markings are probably not very accurate but could have likely existed.

Artwork by Ray Gaedke :


With this kit, not only the plane must be built but also the electric motor :





Some pictures have been retouched to hide electric wires.









Jicéhem

19

Aircraft Modeling / Hawker Tempest V, Heller 1/72

« on: April 21, 2018, 11:12:09 PM »

Hello

Hawker Tempest V, EJ589, coded SD°J, was flown by Régis Deleuze, a French pilot fighting against buzz bombs when belonging to RAF 501 Squadron.
This pilot was never registered in the Free French Air Forces for the unique reason he was "too much young" when he tried to join FAFL (Forces aérienne françaises libres) on 23 June 1940 (He was born on 1 July 1922). So he joined the RAF Volunteer Reserves ans after his training, he was graduated Flight Lieutenant and joined the RAF 501 Sqn on 4 June 1943 where he flew Spitfire VBs in company of at least four other French pilots (from FAFL). When 501 Sqn was equipped with Tempest Vs its new rôle was to fight the V1 flying bombs. Between 7 August and 18 December 1944, Régis Deleuze won the distinction of shooting down eight "Malignant Robots" seven of which by night including two in the night of 14-15 October 1944 ! On 22 February 1945, Deleuze joined 274 Squadron based on continental Europe at B80 Volkel in Holland. The glorious career of Régis Deleuze sadly ended on 25 February 1945 when he was KIA, beeing shot down by Flak over Werkhoven, near Bunnik in the Netherlands. Although he was never an "FAFL" I think his place is among them... Since the end of the war he rests in Brussels.
His plane at RAF 501 Squadron :








Jicéhem

20

Aircraft Modeling / Hawker Typhoon Ib, Airfix, 1/72

« on: April 19, 2018, 11:43:14 PM »

Hello all, 

Here is the last Hawker Typhoon Ib by Airfix in 1/72 scale. The kit is highly detailed and very accurate with one very important shortcoming in the form of an inaccurate four-bladed airscrew. I replaced it by the propeller of the brengun kit...
I mounted no bombs and nor rockets because I wanted to represent the plane of F/O A. H. Fraser of RAF 439 (Canadian) Squadron who shot down two Fw 190 As on January 1st, 1945 and an Me 262 A-2 of 5./KG(J) 51 on February 14th, 1945 (This is the red Balkenkreuz on the fuselage right side).












Jicéhem 

21

Aircraft Modeling / Hawker Typhoon Ib, car door version, Brengun, 1/72

« on: April 19, 2018, 11:29:53 PM »

Hello all, 

Here is the Brengun kit of the Hawker Typhoon Ib ("car doors" version) in 1/72 scale. It's not an easy kit to build but it is very accurate. Brengun reproduced the Oerlikon 20 mm cannons, rarely used on the Typhoon, in place of the 20 mm Hipano Suiza... Recognition markings are typical of the Typhoon to avoid confusion with the Fw 190.
























Jicéhem 

22

Aircraft Modeling / Handley Page Halifax VII, Airfix, 1/72

« on: April 19, 2018, 11:15:37 PM »

Hello   

Here is the very old Handley Page Halifax III from Airfix. As I wanted to represent a French "Heavy"  of the Groupe of Bombardement ( GB) 2/23 "Guyenne" that is RAF 346 Squadron, I modified it into the only one Halifax VII (with rounded wing tips) used by this squadron. All other differences are internal. I was largely helped by the fact that this plane was photographed from both sides. At the time of photos, the codes were not completely painted, letters on the fins and some on the left fuselage side having not yet received their yellow outline. The markings are from a decal sheet from Almark.




















Jicéhem 

23

Miscellaneous Subjects / 24 December

« on: December 24, 2017, 08:44:22 AM »

Merry Christmas for all

Jicéhem

24

Aircraft Modeling / Supermarine Spitfire XIV, Frog, 1/72, 1969.

« on: October 04, 2017, 10:05:08 AM »

Hello

Here is to be seen the second Griffon-powered Spitfire by Frog, the Spitfire XIV, which was issued in 1969 and I built it during the same year. In the box we also found a Fieseler Fi 103 (V1) flying bomb. The kit is generally accurate but the engine cowling is a little too slim. It's confirmed by the fact that the diameter of the spinner is a little larger thant that of the front section of the cowling... The wing fillet lacks the gull-wing shape on its undersurface and runs too far along the fuselage. The rear-view mirror atop the windshield has disappeared... Decals are of high quality.  Humbrol paints, the reference of which I've forgotten.








Jicéhem 

25

Aircraft Modeling / Curtiss F11C-2 Goshawk

« on: May 01, 2017, 08:17:17 PM »

Hi 

This Lindberg kit has been edited in the years 1956-1960. The represented plane is Curtiss F11C-2, BuNo 9282, allocated to VF-1 on USS Saratoga in 1933. The livery is from "Yellow Wings" decal sheet Company. The operational markings are red tailplane for the aircraft-carrier USS Saratoga, lemon yellow (engine cowling, chevron on the wing and the band on fuselage) for the last three planes of the squadron ie 1-F-16, 17 and 18. At that time, the metallic parts are painted a gloss light gray and the fabric covered fuselage and wings are painted with varnish completed by some aluminum dope.
I added sreader bars into the rigs and control wires for horizontal tailplane and tailwheel. I added too streamling bumps on fuselage sides in connexion with the breeches of the machine-guns the barrels of which go through the cylinders... I added also spark plug cables on the front of the engine. Wheels, a little bit small, saw their diameter increased by cementing a strip of plastic 0,5 mm thick around the tires, then, by filling and filing, I restored the good shape of the tires. The wheel rims were accordingly enlarged. Naturally, the housing of these wheels was also enlarged.”










Close-up on the engine where we see the barrels muzzles between the cylinders and close up on control cables of the tailwheel and the horizontal tailplane :



Jicéhem 

26

Aircraft Modeling / Arado Ar 234 V7

« on: November 24, 2016, 12:00:46 PM »

Hi mates,

I begun at the very end of last April, and in 1/72 scale, the representation of Erich Sommer’s Arado Ar 234 V7 with which he realized the first operational photo-recce mission  with a jet plane. That was on August 2nd, 1944, by overflying the Normandy beaches. This event is descrided in details in the last extra issue (No. 25) of Aéro-Journal. The assembly  was lying in length for many reasons connected to certain delicate points of modification of the DML Dragon kit which represents the Ar 234 B-2r version.
It was thus necessary to eliminate) the landing gear and to slightly modify the profile of the turbojet nacelles. The longestwill be the trolley used for of take-off. It is necessary to replace the landing gear by skids. The Ar 234 A (i.e. V prototypes with skids) had the original « small » wing span due to the absence of the landing gear with a narrower fuselage which was later widenned by 20 cms to incorporate the main landing gear.  So, the fuselage of the kit was shrunk by 3 mm to be in accordance with that of the V7 prototype.
Previously, it was necessary to close all the wheel bays of the landing gear and it is there that we realize weaknesses of fitting of the bay covers of a model which, on the whole, was studied "all opened"...




The fuselage is now assembled and the aerial cameras Rb 50/30 are also mounted. The housing of the ventral skid is done; it is slightly lacking depth, but it will go unnoticed, the plane being put on its trolley :


Cameras have a slope of 12 ° compared with the vertical line:


It was necessary to take back the upper profile of the engine nacelles, better steamlined than on the planes of series Ar 234 B. I made it by addition putty. Forms resumed several times... It is long, very long, but the end justifies the perseverance... It will be necessary to me to add the various small air intakes.


To be continued.

Jicéhem

27

Aircraft Modeling / Messerschmitt Me 163 B-1a Komet

« on: November 03, 2016, 11:59:29 PM »

Hi mates,

In 1960 (!) Testor's Hawk issued a kit of the Messerschmitt Me 163 B Komet in 1/48 scale. Measuring the kit, it appears it's actually in 1/46,5 scale. It contains many inaccuracies, specially the planform of the wings but the general rendering is convincing.
The markings come from a Trimaster decal sheet but the kit is a real vintage kit. I built it to replace the one I purchased in the early 1960s and which is nowadays in a poor state.
The kit represents the Me 163 B-1a Komet, WNr 191659 " 15 yellow " of II. / JG 400, captured by the British at Husum, then transported towards England and delivered to 6 Maintenance Units RAF in Brize Norton then to College of Aeronautics to Cranfield. She is always visible, apparently in her original camouflage in the Royal Scottish Museum of Flight, at East Fortune.
Camo scheme is composed of RLM 81, 82 76 colors.





Jicéhem

28

Aircraft Modeling / Messerschmitt Bf 109 E-3/7 et T-2 with DB 601 A/N

« on: September 11, 2016, 07:53:26 PM »

Hello all,

For months, if not for years, I'm working on my project of Bf 109 with DB 601 A and N engines, to say Bf 109 E-3 and E-7 (Tamiya kits) and Bf 109 T-2 (Hasegawa kit).
Both kits have too short a fuselage that must be lengthened :


My models before painting.
Bf 109 E-3 :




Bf 109 E-7. It's to be noted that on the decal sheet the "Heart" of 7./JG 27 is red but it was actually black. The tail wheel is the same as that of the E-3 kit and must be larger as per Bf 109 F-2 :




Bf 109 T-2. This is the E-7 kit with extra resin parts to modify it into a Bf 109 T-2, but the leading edge slats are too short and unuseable... I had to use the ones of the Bf 109 E-7 lengthened with parts of the resin ones ! Other parts are longer wing tips and the compressor air intake scoop. It's to be noted that some late E-4 and E-7 had this air intake.


Awaiting painting and operational markings for a night-fighter of JG 101 :




I have ordered one example of Bf 109 E-4 by Airfix and I'm now awaiting fot it...

Jicéhem

29

Aircraft Modeling / Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-10, Erla production.

« on: September 11, 2016, 05:52:36 PM »

Hi all,

Here is my latest build but always awaiting its operational markings because I have not chosen its livery yet.
This is the 1/32 scale kit from Revell-Germany and I have to say straight out that the rendering of the Erla-type engine-cowlings is almost completely false!
I had to rebuild this very important part of the plane.
For those who understand French language, here is a link, but the pictures explain enough the difficulyties encountered to improve this kit :
http://fighters.forumactif.com/t76163-messerschmitt-bf-109-g-10-production-erla

If you need more information don't hesitate to ask for. I'll try to clearly translate the comments of every photo. 
The temporary result (I have to add some details such as FuG 25a antenna, aerial antenna, drains, etc.). Left wheel had had an "accident" but since the photo it has been repaired :















Jicéhem

30

Aircraft Modeling / Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-5, in 1/48 scale by Eduard.

« on: August 31, 2016, 03:37:21 PM »

Hello all, 

Here is the new Eduard's kit of the Bf 109 G in the high altitude version "G-5" with a pressurized cockpit.
Some days ago, in a reply to No. 1's post upon his "109 G-6" I wrote :
"The MG 131 bulges are too bulky espacially on the top. They must be reduced.
My kit is almost built (but not painted) in the G-5 version. The pressure and overpressure valves are lacking on the rear bulk head. As reproduced the cockpit is one for a G-1 or G-3 with the valves under the instrument panel on the left side."
I present you my work on the model but the kit is far from being completely finished and one of the reason is that I have to find decals for the markings...
I shortened the landing gear legs by about 1,5 mm.







I added the position lights which are surprisingly lacking on the kit although tinier parts than these lights are molded.



I added too the frame of the rear fixed part of the canopy that overlaps the fuselage to secure fixation of the total canopy. Belts made of "stuff" are applied onto the pilot seat (Thank you No. 1 !) :

I added too the tubing (drain) coming from the housing gear and going to the undersurface of the oil cooler fairing and passing just in front of the oil cooler. I marked also the location of the cap for oil tank emptying located in a small well on the lower part of oil tank cowlings.


Jicéhem