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Tamiya's Skyraider is done up as "Midnight
Cowboy," the mount of Richard S. Drury while he was serving with the 1 SOS at Nakhon Phanom AB in the fall
of 1969. Drury wrote an excellent account of his experiences flying these Navy cast off's in one of the most demanding
of roles, that of Search and Rescue. "My Secret War" chronicles Drury's fortunes flying this huge piston fighter
in the twilight of its career and was my inspiration for choosing his aircraft to model.
Starting with the Navy version of
Tamiya's Skyraider, I added a KMC Yankee seat (courtesy of your web master) and the various Air Force associated antennae
to bring the airframe up to Air Force specs. The specialized ordnance was cobbled together courtesy of the various weapons
stockpiles of my fellow club members. One of the nice features on the Tamiya kit is that the pylons are keyed to one
position only. It allows you the luxury of fitting the weapons to their appropriate stations knowing
that they would eventually end up where they belong on the aircraft. Adding the completed pylons as a final step
makes the handling process to fruition a less daunting proposition. A final touch were cannon
barrels from hypodermic needles (Thanks Jamie!). Paint came from a variety of sources and Cutting Edge made a timely
release with their decals for "Midnight Cowboy."
Hasegawa's P-38G Lightning is done up as "Miss Virginia," the
borrowed mount of Rex Barber when he shot down Admiral Yamamoto over Bougainville on April 18, 1943. Having read of
his exploits and having the opportunity to meet him in person, his aircraft was a natural choice when Hasegawa brought
out their P-38 Lightnings in the early 90's. "Miss Virginia" offered a challenge for the original sported an un-intentional
camouflage variation courtesy of the employees at Lockheed. Early Lightning's had to be shipped to the South West Pacific
as deck cargo and as a result needed to be protected from the corrosive salt air. To that end, strips
of webbing soaked in Creosote were applied over all panel lines and access panels to seal the entire airframe.
The paint under these strips ended up absorbing the preservative and as a result was significantly less susceptible to
fading under the intense tropic sun. Close examination of period photographs shows strips of pristine camouflage
amidst large areas of faded paint on SWP Lightnings. To replicate this effect required the model be painted twice.
First the whole aircraft was painted with fresh Olive Drab and Neutral Grey. The use of hard edge masks was essential
to guarantee uniformity between the fresh and the faded.
Once the fresh colours were dry, all panels were masked with thin strips
of Tamiya Tape, a time consuming yet ultimately rewarding exercise. A visit to the archives at the Air Force museum
allowed me to copy the "Shipping and Erection Procedure" portion of the P-38 maintainence manual. It states that
3 1/2" was the standard width used although 14" was used at the junction of the fins to the rudders & elevators.
Once masked, the airframe is repainted with faded colours using the same hard edge masks. Finally, all the masking was
removed and my efforts were rewarded with the desired effect. As this model was built almost 10 years ago, it predates most
of the current glut of resin and PE. To that end, most of the detail was added by yours truly although an early
set of True Detail wheels made it into the mix. Decals came courtesy of Mustang International Publishers, an outfit
that marketed interesting sheets in the early 90's. My sheet had in addition to the markings for Miss Virginia,
decals for Yamamoto's Betty and an Ace Collector Card featuring Roy Grinnell's painting of the moment of ambush. It
provides a good colour reference of the un-intentional camouflage.
Tamiya's P-51D Mustang gets a bit
of a makeover. Converted into a late war P-51K , my Mustang sports the late war markings of the famed
Flying Tigers. My original aspirations for this model was "Slender, Tender and Tall" of the 352nd FG, with its
distinctive blue nose. However, the Aeromaster sheet that I thought was my salvation turned out to offer less than
complete markings so I was forced to cast about for alternative finishes. The Sky Models sheet for the Mustang
provided a plethora of choices and the winged Shark patch of the 75th FS caught my eye in particular .
Some of our modelling projects take considerable time to fruition and this model
was no exception. First started as an "out of the box" effort upon its initial release, work had progressed to major
subassemblies before the decal's failings were discovered. After languishing in the "to do" pile for many years, I resumed
construction after settling upon the eventual scheme you see here. To bring the "D" up to "K" standards, the kit
needed a set of Aero Products propeller blades, a "Dallas" canopy as well as the distinctive DF loop found
on all aircraft serving in the CBI theatre. Fortune smiled upon me for having built Hasegawa's P-51 many years earlier,
all the required conversion parts could be found in my spares box. While the DF loop was a no brainer, the other
two modifications offered more of a challenge. The stubs of Hasegawa's propeller blades needed to be re-built
with styrene rod to fit the keying of the Tamiya spinner. The replacement canopy was tweaked to fit on the narrow Tamiya
fuselage. Not to ignore the domestic aftermarket industry, I added exhausts and flaps courtesy of Ultracast.
Natural metal finishes are always a scary proposition due to their un-forgiving
nature. Originally the model was to receive a finish courtesy of Testors Metalizer but with the passage of
time it instead became the test bed for a different finish courtesy of Gunze's Mr. Color. Their silver, while perhaps
sporting a less metallic sheen, is nonetheless very resilient when it comes to handling. Since I was using
paint, the surface did not need as smooth a surface as Metalizer would require. The highest grit used
was 1500, a considerable step down from 12000 grit that Metalizer would demand. Tinting with various shades of
blues and browns helped to obtain a suitable tonal effect. After masking, the tail colours were sprayed with
Tamiya Semi Gloss Black toned down with light grey. The end result of this prolonged modelling experience was
a pleasing replica of a lesser known Flying Tiger.
Anyone who has had the sheer joy of
building Hasegawa's Ki-84 Hayate will attest to the manufacturer's penchant to domestic favourtism. Their attention
to Japanese subjects always seem to be a step above those of their former adversaries and this kit was no exception.
So complete was the detail in this kit that it would be a waste of money to seek out aftermarket details. Built from
the box it provides few challenges in assembly, thus allowing more time to be lavished on the paint finish.
A Ki-84 of the 47 Sentai was chosen as my subject and its inspiration was
found in Vol # 9 of Scale Aviation, one of those slick Japanese modelling publications. One of their modellers
chose # 34 and painted it in a shade of JA Brown that seemed oddly familiar. Since interpreting Japanese colours offer
many challenges to western modellers, I figured I could put some faith in a domestic interpretation. After laying down
Polly Scale White, the Hinomarus were masked off and painted with Tamiya Red. Once dry the white home defense bands
can be masked. Japanese colours of the day were renowned for their lack of adhesion and the Hayate was no exception.
To capture this distinctive decay, I first painted areas of the model with Metalizer Non Buffing Aluminum. Next,
small amounts of rubber cement are dabbed in the areas of distress. After painting the main colours, the rubber cement
can be removed to expose the silver beneath. Sharpening the edges and further chipping can be created by using a
toothpick that has been sanded to a chiseled edge. For the distinctive shade of Japanese Army Brown found in the
magazine, I found a good match in Aeromaster RLM 81 Brown Violet. The use of aftermarket decals was limited to
the distinctive tail markings. The end result of this enjoyable building experience was the many colour compliments received
for this Japanese fighter with a decidedly Germanic hue.
While endeavoring to have variety in the modelling subjects I chose, examples of
Hasegawa's 109 family seem to make a regular appearance on my work bench. They have become the polystyrene equivalent
of comfort food that I turn to when other projects become mired in the effects of AMS. Their Bf-109s have been
maligned by those "in the know" for a litany of transgressions but I personally think that they look the part. Thanks
to the aftermarket industry, you have a myriad of choices in PE, resin and decals to alter your Messerschmitt as
you see fit.
For this Bf-109 G-6, I limited myself
to a few of the detail sets put out by Cooper Details. Along with their excellent cockpit set, I utilized their 109
update set that gives you new rudders, larger tires and best of all, a corrected spinner. The latter item replaces the
bulbous affair that Hasegawa offers in their 109 F & G kits. The decals came from Aeromaster's "Luftwaffe
Top Guns" sheet and depict a machine flown by Gunther Rall. On November 28th 1943, Rall became
the second Luftwaffe ace to reach the 250 victory plateau while flying this aircraft. Pictures of Rall's machine
are few and far between, but an excellent profile of this aircraft appears on pg 93 of Sundin & Bergstrom's
"More Luftwaffe Fighter Aircraft in Profile" published by Schiffer.
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