Brian J

Many thanks to the gentlemen who took the time to respond to my questions. First off, I have a copy of Tommy Thomason's 'Scooter!', a must reference for any Skyhawk fan. Over the years I have collected as many A-4 references as possible dating back to the old AirCam Aviation Series No. 27 in 1971. KoKu Fan use to include many colour photos of Skyhawks during the Viet Nam War as well. I'll have to make a trip to my local Staples and check out those felt tipped pens. Great idea! Wow! What an impressive series of close-up photos that 'a4s4eva' included. They should

I have two questions concerning my 1/32 Trumpeter A-4 Skyhawk build-up. 1. I'm using the aftermarket one piece AMS resin intake set. How do members paint the interior of the curved inside lip? Obviously it it very difficult to mask off. I am considering using red decal strip. Is there a better way? 2. Many if not most parked A-4s have the horizontal stabilators angled downward at the leading edge. When they are angled downwards there is a hole or opening in the vertical tail. Should this opening be blanked off in its interior, with plastic card or just left open at

I'm having a difficult time finding an answer to a question concerning the markings of the A-4E that Lt Col John Caldas of VMA-311 flew on the last sortie of the Viet Nam War on 27 January 1973. I have an old Micro Scale 1/32 scale sheet with his name on an A-4 WL 1, BuNo 150105. Does anyone know if this was the A-4 he flew on that last mission? I have two b&w photos of this aircraft from an old KoKu Fan magazine that verify the 1/32 scale sheet. I would like to do a build-up of the aircraft he flew on that mission.

Thanks for asking but no, nothing definitive. I've kind of put the whole thing on a back burner (along with about 15 or 16 others) waiting for a definite response. I really should get back to it as it is a very nice kit.

I keep referring back to my references hoping a definitive answer to my latest question will pop up. No luck yet on the three pane 'bay window' as found on a late photo of Kentucky Belle. I did find a comment that I'd like to share with those who may be interested. It can be found on page 54 of the B-24 Liberator in Detail by Bert Kinzey where he discusses staggered waist gun positions. "It should be noted that the gun windows were not staggered as they were on later B-17Gs. On Liberators, it was the guns and their mounts that were staggered rather than the windows themselves. The left w

I think I have all my ducks in a row to finally start that Hasegawa B-24J, and I'm thinkiing of using clear sheet styrene to create those 'bay waist windows. So hopefully I only have one more question. If a B-24 had the three pane 'bay window' in the waist area would the guns be staggered? I mean if the starboard gun was in the front 'pane' would the port gun be in the rear 'panel'?

Hoping to have all my ducks in a row in preparing for my AVG build-up I noticed during my research that photos indicate that there was no standard in antenna wire arrangements. Over the years I have read that inflight radio communication was a constant problem during the first couple of years during WWII. Navy and Marine Corps F4U Corsairs come to mind and so various radio systems were experimented with. In the artwork produced by Thomas A. Tullis in the excellent EagleFiles #4 Tigers Over China: The Aircraft of the A.V.G. all of the drawings/artwork indicate that antenna wires

Many thanks for the gentlemen who took the time to add to the above postings. I'd like to share my concluding observations on the subject. This subject was covered in some detail on Britmodeller back in the summer of 2014. A member, '72modeler' from San Antonio, Texas quoting a paragraph (page 16, bottom paragraph) from the Osprey Aircraft of the Aces #41, American Volunteer Group Colours and Markings by Terrill Clements, "Colour photos of newly-assembled Curtiss aircraft in the pre-Pearl Harbor time period indicate that yellow zinc chromate primer was used for protecting undercarriage do

Many thanks for taking the time to comment on my questions. I am still undecided as to how to interpret the gun ports. I found a couple of photos on pages 53 and 73 of The Skull & Cross Bones Squadron: VF-17 in World War II by Lee Cook that show taping of the gun ports. There is distinctive signs of the use of straight edged tape and in the case of the photo on page 53, multiple layers of tape, which makes sense in a combat zone. That in flight photo I keep referring to suggests to me a clean, circular shape, maybe a bit lighter in shade then the prop hub but not white li

Thanks for your informed comments, Andrew D. A couple of comments and another question if I may. On page 55 of F4U Corsair at War by Richard Abrams there is an often published photo of Kepford's second Corsair. It is taken from the starboard side and you can make out an antenna wire from the top of the rudder to the outer tip of the horizontal stabilizer. Another often reproduced photo inflight photo of this second Corsair can be found on pages 50 and 51. If we agree (and I do) that the upper port star and bar originally had the red surround that was painted over in blue would

My apologies for being dull of intellect, but I am still unclear as to the correct colour of the canvas boot that was inserted in early wheel wells of P-40's. It makes sense that the metal part of the wheel well would be primed and painted, but would the actual canvas boot be painted as well? Would it be necessary? Would the canvas boot be inserted before or after the wing under surfaces were painted? Would the canvas become stiff and difficult to work with once it had been painted? Would this boot be removed very often during operations? I guess my conclusion is that this can

After reading several references and studying relevant photos I am still uncertain about the colour of the prop hub of the often photographed Corsair flown by Ike Kepford. There is a large b&w air to air view on pages 50-51 of F4U Corsair at War by Richard Abrams. This same photo can be found on the title pages of The Skull & Crossbones Squadron: VF-17 in World War II by Lee Cook. According to written sources this squadron painted propeller hubs various colours to denote various flights (some say four, others five aircraft per flight). Tommy Blackburn's flight colour was red, Hend

On the topic of P-40 wheel well colour, the earlier comments included in dogsbody post indicates that early P-40's up to the E model had a canvas boot. The fact that it was not metal would suggest there was no need for a primer and interior paint to protect metal surfaces. My question is, would these earlier P-40's e.g. AVG P-40B/C's have wheel wells the same colour as the wing undersurfaces?

Thanks for taking the time to respond. I ordered that set from Roll Models a while back and while I haven't used them yet they seem to fill my need. While on the topic of gunsights, does anyone know if AVG P-40s used American or British versions?

I'm working on three 1/72 Airfix P-40's in AVG markings and would like to dress them up with some detail. Does anyone produce photo etch ring and bead sights in that scale? I've got some1/48 scale ones but they would look wrong. Been checking around since my above post and found that Eduard does a set in 1/72 (EDU72403). Has anybody used them and would they still be available?

I agree with Paul that unless you really look hard it is hard to notice that fuselage issue. I've built three Fujimi kits, two A-4E's (one with the avionics hump, one without) and the two seater and it wasn't until I compared them to a 1/48 Hasegawa kit that I noticed the fuselage issue. I also agree with Rex that the Esci fuselage looks right. Notice the poorly rendered intakes on Paul's two-seater. It wasn't until I made a comparison of them to the Esci kit that I noticed the difference. For me, the nose on the Fujimi single seaters just don't look right as well. I'd like to do a coupl

After searching the Internet I found that Warriors produced a 1/32 Korean War Pilot #54036 and Ground Crew #54037 but I have been unable to find any place that sells them. Are they still available? Does anybody else produce standing figures that could be used with a 1/32 F-84 Thunderjet or F-80 Shooting Star?

Many thanks, 'Superheat.' Those two photos are a big help. I have the three Ginter books on the Sabre Dog along with numerous other books on the Sabre series but was unable to find close-ups of this area. I wish the Ginter books would include more detail photos that would be helpful to modelers and less reference to areas in the cockpit. Do we really need seven images of the instrument fuselage side panels?

I may have done a poor job asking my question. The light/lens I am referring to is outside of the canopy on the top of the fuselage, just behind the rear hinge of the canopy. It is quite difficult to see from ground view photos.

I'm working on a 1/48 Revell Sabre Dog (Kit 5844) and have a question that maybe Sabre lovers can help answer. Just behind the canopy is what the instruction sheet calls a "top collision light" (part 72). Some photos from the internet show this light as red (lens), others as clear and one photo shows the airframe missing a part/section just above it. Can anyone provide an explanation or detailed photos of just how this light and surrounding looks? Is a bulb of some kind visible? What colour is the interior of that area?

Well done, Tom. A picture is worth a thousand words!

Thanks for your comments, Tony. My computer skills are limited so I am unable to reproduce a photo. Perhaps a verbal description will suffice. The Hasegawa kit is molded such that this vent appears to be an exhaust vent i.e. air flowing out of the aircraft, while photos suggest this is an intake (cooling?) vent i.e. taking air into the aircraft. The kit vent is opening the opposite way that it should be. A good photo showing this can be found at the top of page 79 in the Squadron/Signal 'Walk Around F-86 Sabre, Number 21.

I am interested in doing a build-up of a F-86E-10 in Korean War markings using the highly regarded 1/48 Hasegawa kit. I have already cut off the wings of a Monogram Sabre Dog and modified the angle of the wing (several years ago there was much internet chatter about this) to reproduce the early slatted wing Sabre. I also realize the exhaust vents at the base of the rear wings have to be reversed. My question has to do with the upper fuselage vent at the base of the vertical fin. The kit interpretation can be seen on later (F-86F) versions of the Sabre. Photos showing the upper fuselage

Thanks for your comments, John. The first photo you included is the same one as in the 'Dogfights' DVD, except the latter is in colour. He is wearing a red scarf and a dark (black or dark blue) jacket. The aircraft name appears lighter then the pilot's name because of the glare on the metal finish. I read somewhere that Parr flew more than one Sabre. Wonder where the Hasegawa researchers obtained their information?

I have long wanted to do a model of Capt Ralph Parr's Sabre '24778' using the kit decal sheet found in the Hasegawa Sabre kit #00483. The kit decals have his name in red on the canopy rail and the name ' Vent De La Morte' in black. I always try to use photo reference for verification but I am finding contradictory information. A somewhat blurry colour photo can be found on the back cover of the Squadron/Signal Publication 'MiG Alley' by Larry Davis. The aircraft name is in black but it is hard to make out the name and colour on the canopy rail. In season one, volume one of 'Dogfights' sh