Beyond The Sprues
Current and Finished Projects => Physical Models => Aero-space => Topic started by: Brian da Basher on December 12, 2015, 11:46:30 PM
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U.S. Air Corps' planes from the 1930s are known for that sleek, shiny, silvery bare metal finish.
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk001.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk001.jpg.html)
What has been forgotten over time is that the Air Corps didn't mandate this scheme just for the visual appeal.
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/Curtiss%20P-36%20formation%20postcard.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/Curtiss%20P-36%20formation%20postcard.jpg.html)
This was due to a shortage of aircraft paints. It all started in 1933 when the Grand Vizier of Rustoleostan was in Washington, D.C. ostensibly on a diplomatic mission. He was a great baseball fan and his real mission was to see the the World Series featuring his favorite team, the Washington Senators. Unfortunately, tickets to the Fall Classic were impossible to get so the Grand Vizier never got to see a game. Feeling snubbed, he announced an embargo on trade with the U.S.
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/grand%20vizier%20of%20rustoleostan%20BW.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/grand%20vizier%20of%20rustoleostan%20BW.jpg.html)
While a trade embargo by a tiny nation usually doesn't have much impact, in this case it was different. Rustoleostan was the only source of kaolanoline, the key binding agent in aircraft paint. In the U.S., the situation deteriorated.
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/cover%20the%20earth.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/cover%20the%20earth.jpg.html)
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/down%20to%20the%20last%20drop.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/down%20to%20the%20last%20drop.jpg.html)
The Air Corps was forced to adapt. While specialized inks from the package printing industry could be employed for small applications such as stenciling, warning placards & insignia, using it on large areas was a no-go as the inks wore badly under the extreme conditions of flight. This gave birth to the famous all-silver fleet.
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk002.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk002.jpg.html)
However, as the Curtiss XYPZ-34 Spatted Hawk showed, sometimes a little extra was needed to "seal the deal" (and the canopy). Fortunately, the U.S. National Paint Reserve was well stocked with enough zinc chromate to keep up with Air Corps' demand, at least for the time being.
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk003.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk003.jpg.html)
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk004.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk004.jpg.html)
The 1934 Curtiss XYPZ-34 Spatted Hawk prototype pursuit was a wonder of the age. Having advanced features such as a cantilever monoplane wing, stressed-skin construction and incredibly intimidating, streamlined spatted landing gear, this was the plane every Air Corps pilot dreamed of flying.
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk005.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk005.jpg.html)
The XYPZ-34 Spatted Hawk prototype not only passed initial flight testing with flying colors (mostly silver), but it also destroyed the record book for single-engine aircraft in the process, establishing new time-to-altitude and closed-course speed records.
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk007.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk007.jpg.html)
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk008.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk008.jpg.html)
The Air Corps was suitably impressed and ordered a service test squadron of 15 aircraft which were delivered before the end of 1934.
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk009.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk009.jpg.html)
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk0010.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk0010.jpg.html)
The BMF for bare metal finish became "Bare-A** Mother F***er" in colorful enlisted jargon as ground crews constantly struggled with the lack of paint in the battle against corrosion.
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk006.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk006.jpg.html)
Pilots were universal in their praise for the new Curtiss pursuit. It was wicked fast and very heavily armed for the era featuring six .50 caliber machine guns, four in the wings and two in the engine cowling synchronized to fire through the propeller arc.
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk0011.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk0011.jpg.html)
An additional 20 XYPZ-34 Spatted Hawks were ordered and delivered in late 1935, enough to equip the 47th Composite Group based at Darksbale Field tasked with the air defense of Keokuk, Iowa.
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk0012.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk0012.jpg.html)
That no enemy ever attacked Keokuk or any other part of Iowa is a great testament to the capabilities of the Curtiss XYPZ-34 Spatted Hawk and its incredibly intimidating spats.
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk014.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk014.jpg.html)
Fortunately, an answer to the kaolanoline shortage was found when Pittsburgh Paints developed Yinzersyntholine, a synthetic kaolanoline substitute. This would enable the Air Corps to once again paint entire airplanes, some even in that most eye-catching color, olive drab.
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/pittsburghspecialist.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/pittsburghspecialist.jpg.html)
However, the swift pace of aircraft development in the 1930s would mean a short operational life for this spatted wonder of the skies. The last Curtiss XYPZ-34 Spatted Hawk was retired in 1937 due to severe corrosion and scrapped. All that remains today is this child's toy (ages 6 and up only!) which was sold at Iowa Machine Shed notions counters in 1936.
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk0013.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk0013.jpg.html)
Brian da Basher
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This all began with a classic Monogram Curtiss P-36A model kit I picked up during recent attempts to corner the 1/72 P-36/Hawk 75 market. Doesn't that box art just hit you right where you live?
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/Monogram%206790%20P-36slnm.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/Monogram%206790%20P-36slnm.jpg.html)
It doesn't stop with the box top either. Enclosed was a very cool full-color fold-out of highlights from the Monogram model catalog. I bet more than a few of us have some of these kits on our wish list.
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/kit%20fold-out%2001.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/kit%20fold-out%2001.jpg.html)
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/kit%20fold-out%2002.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/kit%20fold-out%2002.jpg.html)
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/kit%20fold-out%2003.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/kit%20fold-out%2003.jpg.html)
The 1/72 Monogram P-36A may be as old as I am (and that's old!) but even in its fifth decade it's still the best P-36 I've seen in this scale. While it may not have much by way of interior detail or modern bells and whistles, it's got a nice engine, is well engineered and builds up easily. Here's a few shots mid-way through this build showing the added Stuka spats and how I dealt with the kit wheel wells and tail wheel.
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_haw_prog_01.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_haw_prog_01.jpg.html)
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk_prog_02.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk_prog_02.jpg.html)
I sanded back the bottom of those landing gear "knuckles" so they were flat and filled in the hole with flat sprue and card. Don't worry, it won't look too bad when it's all done.
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk_prog_under.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk_prog_under.jpg.html)
The tail wheel well required a piece of sprue with a nub in the middle to attach the gear to. Luckily, there's no shortage of oddball pieces of sprue around here!
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk_prog_tail_wheel.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk_prog_tail_wheel.jpg.html)
After this, I finished up the paint. I was almost tempted to leave it in unmarked, factory-fresh condition.
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk_progpaint_01.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk_progpaint_01.jpg.html)
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk_progpaint_02.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk_progpaint_02.jpg.html)
I'm not sure if I shared this with you, but I stumbled across a nice paint to do duty as zinc chromate, a railroad color from Polly Scale called Weyerhauser Green that I got a big bottle of on the cheap recently. Good thing, too. I used a fair bit on this baby.
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk_progpaint_03.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk_progpaint_03.jpg.html)
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk_progpaint_05.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk_progpaint_05.jpg.html)
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk_progpaint_04.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk_progpaint_04.jpg.html)
Metallic colors were Model Masters Aluminum (or "aluminium"), Steel and Jet Exhaust (used on the exhausts, where else?). I also used some no-name blue-steel colored paint that looks like it came from a paint-by-numbers set but did yeoman's work highlighting the cowling, wing & tail leading edges and landing gear struts.
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk_progpaint_under.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk_progpaint_under.jpg.html)
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk_progpaint_upper.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk_progpaint_upper.jpg.html)
After looking this over, while I liked the overall natural finish, I thought it needed a little color.
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk_progpaint_06.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk_progpaint_06.jpg.html)
Kit decals were used for the stars and meatballs, rudder stripes, and most of the stencils. The rest of the stencils came from spares.
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk015.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk015.jpg.html)
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk00_upper.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk00_upper.jpg.html)
The 47th Composite Group Leaning Death squadron insignia is from a P-40 shark mouth sheet and is actually the marking for the Chinese-American wing based in Kunming in 1943.
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk0016.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk0016.jpg.html)
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk00_under.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk00_under.jpg.html)
I had a lot of fun on this project which took me about a week from start to finish.
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk0017.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk0017.jpg.html)
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk0018.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk0018.jpg.html)
I hope you enjoyed my Curtiss XYPZ-34 Spatted Hawk and reading a little more hidden history.
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk019.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Curtiss%20BMF%20Spatted%20Hawk/bmf_hawk019.jpg.html)
Brian da Basher
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Beautifully done with a delightful backstory. Be looking forward to your next effort using a P-36 (a throw-away thought for Trophe, how about a P-40B/P-36 twin-fuselage aircraft, perhaps a development of a twin-fuselage P-36 that needed one engine replaced and the engine and cowling from a damaged P-40B were all that was available - something like the unique DC-2-1/2 where one wing of a DC-3 was replaced by a DC-2 wing to get out of a city before the Japanese captured it).
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Brian, I DO love your subjects. :) :-*
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:)
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very nice Brian! Spats on a Curtiss Hawk is a beautiful thing.
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I like that a lot, very nice work! :)
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Gorgeous. You've done a masterful job fairing over the gear wells and Stuka spats work remarkably well on the Hawk!
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Well gall dang ! So that is story behind the bare metal planes :icon_surprised:
Grand Vizier of Rustoleostan has a familiar sorta look.
Must admit I am weak on knowledge of paint industry history. Pleased to now know that Pittsburgh Paints came to the rescue with Yinzersyntholine. Bet they had a top notch staff of paint chemists.
P-36 always looked to me like it came from a fixed gear linage. One of those hmmm things. Mystery solved, it has XYPZ-34 roots.
Impressed at how you filled in this aviation niche using P-36A kit.
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Beautiful spats! But they look so natural, are you sure that airplane did not exist in the World outside your brains?
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Beautiful spats! But they look so natural, are you sure that airplane did not exist in the World outside your brains?
Well there were some real world Curtiss Model 75 variants:
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/FMA_CURTISS_HAWK_75-0.jpg)
(http://www.airwar.ru/image/idop/fww2/hawk75/hawk75-1.gif)
(http://worldofwarplanes.ru/dcont/fb/history/hawk75h_ch.jpg?MEDIA_PREFIX=/dcont/fb/)
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*chuckle* Be interesting to see those spats on a Hawk 81/"Tomahawk"/P-40B.
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Nice job with the story and the bare metal finish! I like metal finishes.