Recent Posts

91

Aero-space / P-51 Mustang III/NF, 644 Squadron, RAF

« Last post by The Rat on April 30, 2024, 11:42:19 AM »

644 Squadron was officially formed on the 23rd of February, 1944, in preparation for Operation Overlord, but the number had already been used, unofficially, in 1941. In order to determine the feasability of using the well-proven Mustang in the night-fighter role, some Mustang III aircraft, fitted with the Malcolm Hood, were painted in an all black camouflage.



Trials, and combat, showed that, while much more manoeuverable and faster than the Boulton Paul Defiant, the imminent arrival of Defiants equipped with airborne interception radar would probably be the equal of the Mustang in terms of effectiveness, and they were released back to day fighter squadrons. It is not known how many kills were recorded during their 2 week operation, but one must assume that it was not impressive enough to change future plans. The code letters FE were used by the aircraft involved, and retained when 644 was officially formed a few years later.





Kit is the Academy P-51C, released with the markings for the Tuskegee Airmen. Those decals were used on other 'what if?' projects, and a good thing too; they were CRAP! I wouldn't want to sully the legacy of those brave men by making replicas of their aircraft with such shoddy markings. Paint is Tamiya X-1 gloss black, with Tamiya XF-86 flat clear, decals from various scrap pieces in the bin.

92

Swords to Plowshares GB / Re: 1/35 Waldschlepper RS 1500

« Last post by Jeffry Fontaine on April 30, 2024, 11:22:47 AM »

@Frank.  That "winch" at the rear is much more than just a winch.  It would also be used to power accessories by a belt drive.  Things like a saw mill for example.  A couple of my uncles back in northern Minnesota had tractors with similar rigs attached and I remember seeing them in operation with a large belt attached to the tractor and the machine that it was to provide power to through the belt drive.  Back in the day before OSHA and other agencies there were a lot of farm accidents caused by those belt drives and people getting snatched up in the belt or the belt breaking and flaying anyone in the vicinity. 

Excellent work as usual and it does look good even in the fresh out of the car wash appearance. 

93

Swords to Plowshares GB / Re: BTR Arctic Explorer

« Last post by Frank3k on April 30, 2024, 09:33:09 AM »

That came out great, and the snow looks realistic (from a Los Angeles perspective). This vehicle might also work on Mars with some mods.

94

Swords to Plowshares GB / Re: Two Possible Ideas That I am Thinking About Doing

« Last post by PFJN on April 30, 2024, 09:21:22 AM »

Hi,
Sorry for the slow progress, I don't always get alot of free time to do everything that I'd like each week 

Here are a couple images of where I currently am at though.  I think I've decided to not extend the deckhouse forward, but I did build it up aft, (as shown by the reddish brown area.  I also took the time to shave off some stuff from the hull and superstructure.  I think that the pieces on the hull may have just been meant to be vertical rub rails or something like that near where the side davits are, while the pieces in the superstructure may have been external vents.  In general I figured for a commerical/passanger ship a cleaner hull and superstructure might look nicer.  Additionally I am also thinking of maybe deleting the aft mast since the ship won't really need alot of radars and such (though it may need some SATCOMs and TV/Comms antennas added).

Anyway, I've painted the lower hull black for now, but eventually intend to hull a red hull bottom with a broad black boot topping.

Hopefully I'll get a chance to do a little more work soon.

Pat

95

Swords to Plowshares GB / Re: BTR Arctic Explorer

« Last post by Kerick on April 30, 2024, 08:36:59 AM »

This really came out well.
What did you use for the snow?

Same as what Kerick said.

Thanks for the kind words.

For snow I use salt. Ordinary table salt is a bit coarse for 1/35 so I grind down using a mortar and pestle as best as possible.
Salt I find, being a crystal shape will sometimes give that glint real snow does, given my very limited exposure to Snow in Australia, which is not much

Salt sounds like great idea. I’ve heard of using baking soda. Anything as long as ants won’t eat it.

96

Land / Re: Fire Brigades/Departments - Fire-Fighting Equipment

« Last post by Kerick on April 30, 2024, 08:32:02 AM »

a few from my files.

The second pic is from Lost in Space, you can’t fool me!
Cool stuff!

97

Swords to Plowshares GB / Re: 1/35 Waldschlepper RS 1500

« Last post by Frank3k on April 30, 2024, 08:26:53 AM »

I'm done with this build. I'm going to leave it pristine, with only minor weathering.

Top view:



Side:



With our French mechanic friend, for scale:



On a field, somewhere:



Closeup of the rear winch. I had to guess some here, but I think it's a workable design. The only whiffy part is the date (obscured by the spare tire) - 2404:



Ouside:





Puzzled:



"Ich muss dieses Fahrzeug nach Bielefeld liefern, aber die Stadt ist nicht da!" (I have to deliver this vehicle to Bielefeld, but the city is not there!)

I'm a bit  shocked that other than some construction guesses and the date code, this is a pretty close approximation of the real thing.

98

Land / Re: Fire Brigades/Departments - Fire-Fighting Equipment

« Last post by raafif on April 30, 2024, 07:04:26 AM »

a few from my files.

99

Swords to Plowshares GB / Re: BTR Arctic Explorer

« Last post by apophenia on April 30, 2024, 02:57:22 AM »

Ooo ... that is nice! With that bubble dome on top (and maybe without the Finnish url), that could easily pass for an off-world transporter 

100

Land / Re: Canadian Leopard C2 MEXAS

« Last post by apophenia on April 30, 2024, 02:50:55 AM »

Part 5, my other canadian Armour:

Model from ca 2019:

Great to see your Canadian Leo 2s again. I especially love your Leopard 2 A6M CAN build complete with 'Roll Out' placards 

... conversion based on the ESCI Piranhas, 30 years ago. The Husky is the Trumpeter kit ...

I had no idea that you had modelled the AVGPs! And the 'prototypes' to boot ... too cool 

... "what if", Canada was once interested in this ...

Another blast-from-the-past! Perhaps that 'Marten' was a "what if" but also very much a 'should-have-been'