Spitfire Mk IIa - Pampero II
65 Sqn. 1941
The kit is Tamiya in 1/48 scale, the most easy and enjoyable Spitfire to build.
Assembly as always, perfect fit, no filler used. Paints are Model Master enamels, decals are "Condor Decals" brand.



P 47D Thunderbolt "Bubble Top"

P 47D 25 RE - 509th FS/405th FG
This is the Academy P47 D in 1/72 scale. The kit is a very good one, nice surface detail, engraved panel lines and very good fit. It comes with all the accesories to represent a strafing fighter bomber P 47D. Construction was easy. Paints are Model Master Metalizers in diferent shades. Decals are from the kit. Highly recomended kit.

WW2 colour video about the P 47
Amazing, real pilots, real kills.Based on the strafing Allied campaign in France 1944.

Hawker Typhoon Mk Ib

175 Sqn - 1944
This is the Academy Hawker typhoon Mk Ib in 1/72 scale.
The kit is an easy build, no problems at all, good fit, engraved panel lines and crispy fine detail.
No filler was used, just smooth sanding over the glued unions. Paints are Model Master enemels and the decals are from the kit. The decals are a problem as with all the old Academy kits, they produce silvering. To avoid that I applied Future coats until I obtained a glass looking surface. Humbrol Mate cote was used and the weathering was made with chalk pastels. Highly recomended kit.

This war time RAF film shows the Typhoon in action

 

 

 

Hawker Typhoon documentary





First Light:
Scenes from the BBC film First Light.
It´sbased on the book by Geoffrey Wellum "First Light".... who in 1940 was at age 18 the youngest RAF battle of Britain Spitfire pilot. He would survivef the Battleof Britain and recieve the DFC and later he fought over the isle of Malta.

 

 

The German:
The German is a short film written and directed by Nick Ryan, Starring Toby Kebbell and Christian Brassington. It premiered at the 2008 Cork Film Festival and has subsequently been screened at Palm Springs Film Festival, LA Shorts Festival and San Paulo Film Festival in Brazil.
Two airmen, two gentelmen !

 

Airfix Spitfire Mk Vb (old mould)

The idea of this post is to show all the finishing steps after the general assembly.

This time is another Spitfire Mk Vb in 1/48 scale.

It´s Airfix brand. Airfix’ Spitfire is an oldie but goodie. My sample had little or no flash but numerous sinkholes. Mould is quite old, the fuselage has a combination of engraved and raised panel lines. The assembling is quite complicated but with care, a lot of dry fitting and patience I reached a nice model practically without using  putty, just a little on the wings to fuselage joint and smooth sanding over the unions. The worst part is the union of the wings with the fuselage and the gap of the union with the rear part of the fuselage. To resolve this, I first glued the top of the wings to the fuselage and then the bottom. The dihedral of both wings must be 6º.

Anyway  it´s a good model and I think that it´s one of the most accurate Spitfires in shape.
I have applied a coat of primer and now it´s ready for painting. I´ll use Model Master enamels.
More pics on the way.

I decided to use the kit´s decals. I´ll represent an aircraft of 602 Sqn, City of Glasgow, 1942.

I found these pictures on the web. Notice that it hasn´t the code number.

These are the kit´s decals, they are very old, but I think they will work well.

I started with the painting process. I´m Using Model Master enamels. First for the underside fuselage I applied RAF Medium Sea Grey (2058). For masking I´m using Tamiya Masking Tape.
RAF Ocen Grey (2057) is the first color applied to the uperside camo. The other uperside color will be RAF Dark Green (2060).
I´ll wait until tomorrow to continue with the painting. I wait one day between each coat.

This masking will give a hard edge camo, just as the Spitfire camo really was.

I masked the canopy with a mixture of Parafilm and Tamiya masking tape. I cut it to expose it open.

Second camo color applied.

Ready to apply acouple of Future coats before decaling.
 

I applied five thin  coats of Future with a soft square brush and the decals worked very well. No silvering and they reacted ok to Microsol. After decaling I applied two more coats of Future to protect the decals. Note that the wing is like a mirror reflecting the decals of the fuselage. Next step will be weathering with a mixture of oil paints and tupertine.

 



 I used the pilot that comes with the kit, I painted it with Vallejo acrylic piants. It gives a sense of dimensions. I finished the decaling of the wings and cowling. Now I´m ready to beging with the weathering.

The finished model: this Airfix kit is spartan in cockpit detalis and panel lines, but it represents very well the general shape of the Spitfire. It is fun to build, it remembers me the old days of modelling when all your modelling skills were needed to obtain a decent final product. Highly recomended ! Everyone that loves the Spitfite must have an old Airfix Spit in the shelf.

 



Winston Churchill: Finest Hour

Inspirational words of the greatest leader of the free world in WW2.
 
The This was their finest hour speech was delivered by Winston Churchill to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom on 18 June 1940. It was given just over a month after he took over as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom at the head of an all-party Coalition government.
It was the third of three speeches which he gave during (roughly) the period of the Battle of Britain.

1. the "Blood, toil, tears & sweat " speech of 13 May, given 3 days after the start of the German offensive in the West; his first speech to Parliament as Prime Minister, reporting the formation of an all-party coalition government implacably resolved to fight on to ultimate victory
2. the "We shall fight on the beaches" speech of 4 June, reporting the success of the Germans in overrunning Holland, Belgium and France north of the Somme, and the evacuation of the BEF from Dunkirk, and preparing the British to fight on alone, if necessary.
3. This speech, made to the House of Commons after France had sought an armistice on the evening of 16 June

Blood, toil, tears and sweat

We shall fight on the beaches

Finest hour speech

The Fighting "Red Tails"

The Tuskegee Airmen is the popular name of a group of Afro American pilots who fought in WW2. Formally, they formed the 332nd Fighter Group and the 447th bombardment Group of the United States Army Corps (USAAF after 20 June 1941).
The Tuskegee Airmen were the first African-American military aviators in the United States armed forces. During World War II, African Americans in many U.S. states were still subject to the Jim Crow laws The American military was racially segregated, as was much of the federal government. The Tuskegee Airmen were subjected to racial discrimination, both within and outside the army. Despite these adversities, they trained and flew with distinction. All black military pilots who trained in the United States trained at Tuskegee, including five Haitians.
Although the 477th Bombardment Group "worked up" on North American B-25 Mitchell bombers, they never served in combat; the Tuskegee 332nd Fighter Group was the only operational unit, first sent overseas as part of Operation Torch, then seeing action in Sicily and Italy, before being deployed as bomber escorts in Europe, where they were very successful.
When the pilots of the 332nd Fighter Group painted the tails of their P-47s and later, P-51s, red, the nickname "Red Tails" was coined. Bomber crews applied a more effusive "Red-Tail Angels" sobriquet.

PROFILE: Mustang P 51C - 10NT - Lt. Lee Archer - 302nd FS/332nd FG

 

Red Tails Movie Trailer 2011 George Lucas 

Amazing sequences of the film.

P 51D 10NA Mustang (on the workbench)
"Old Crow" Capt. Clarence Anderson - 357 th FG Late 1944

This fantastic kit is the P 51D Tamiya in 1/72 scale. What to say about the kit: It´s a pleasure to build, it´s perfect. No troubles at all. Fit is excellent and the gral shape looks like a P 51D.
The decals are from the kit anf the paints are enamels, Humbrol: Olive drab and Model Master: Neutral grey. The spinner was painted with Humbrol: Insignia red and Yellow. For the invasion stripes I used Humbrol: Matt Black and Matt White.
First I painted the stripes, then the undersides and finally the upper fuselage. As usual a gral. coat of Future and then the decals.
For masking the canopy I´ll use Tamiya masking tape.

PROFILE:



More pics when finished...

ROBERT TAYLOR PAINTINGS:
Wonderful paintings of this great artist. This time about the Mighty Eight.

Return to Duxford

Bringing the Peacemaker Home

De Havilland Mosquito FB Mk VI
Tamiya in 1/72 scale
Here are some pics of the building and painting process.
This kit represents an aircraft from 45 Sqn. Kumbhirgram, India 1945. I smoothed the surfaces with Mr. Surfacer 1200. The scheme is Air Command South East asia. Paints are Model Master Enamels: RAF Dark Green, RAF Dark Earth, RAF Medium Sea Grey. Before decaling I applied several coats of Future. Declas are Eagle Strike.