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Jadotville Fouga Magister 1/48


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On 10/18/2017 at 5:34 PM, Major Walt said:

This just keeps getting better and better!!

 

The rear canopy edges show up a bit rough in those pics - though you can't really see with the naked eye - so I'm going to tidy them up by applying thin strips of decal to represent the black rubber seal that line all the canopy edges on the real thing.  I started that last night - will be a long tedious process as you have to cut tiny sections of decal to make the rounded corners and curves in some areas.

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On 10/19/2017 at 6:37 AM, pauly boy said:

 Great build.

 I'm curious as to how you make out with the MAV Decals. I have a set for a Katangan C47 that i have used yet. keep up the great work.

  Paul

 

I got the C47 ones too thinking I could use some of them for this build, but they are too big.  MAV only do the Fouga decals in 1/72, but I've been emailing with owner of MAV Zane, and he has agreed to scale them up to 1/48 for me.

 

Edited by Thommo
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  • 4 weeks later...

In the home stretch with the aircraft now.

 

Have signed up to Imagur so let's see if these pics work?

 

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Yup, it works - adios Photobucket!

Edited by Thommo
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Thanks Walt, high praise indeed.  Compared to Wardogs super-detailed effort, I'm way behind, but given some of the paint & fit dramas I've had with this, I'm quite pleased with how it is turning out.  Gotta knock some of that fluff off the around the '92' that the camera shows - that is from the piece of t-shirt I use to handle it and will brush right off.

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Calling the aircraft done now after adding canopies, radar loops, antenna and fasteners for nose cover.  Had some serious struggles, esp. due to failed Alclad Primer, but quite pleased with the final result.  Next to build diorama and scratch up a few benches etc. to hold the bits....but will have a little rest first!

 

 

 

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Edited by Thommo
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  • 4 weeks later...
3 hours ago, K5054NZ said:

That looks spectacular! The model in particular is superb but I quite like the base, too.

 

Thanks mate. I've got more to add to the base, some work benches and bits of the model (engine, covers etc) not affixed, plus I think I might add a mechanic.

 

Will be in your beautiful part of the world in Feb & again in April chasing those fantastic NZ brown trout on fly.  Still keeping my eyes out for jobs in NZ so I can move there!

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  • 2 weeks later...

The base dio is progressing.  Just a few more items to build, paint & add & it'll be done....though I am thinking of sanding off the varnish on the wooden edges of the base & staining it a darker colour. What are the chances of getting through that without busting something :pray:

 

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5 hours ago, Slartibartfast said:

Maybe a layer of Tamiya smoke and/or transparent green instead of sanding and breaking the edges?

 

Good idea - will experiment with that first.

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  • 3 years later...
On 1/15/2017 at 5:36 AM, Thommo said:

Inspired by the movie 'Siege of Jadotville' and the incredible detailing work Wardog is doing on his 1/48 kit, I'm going to have a crack at doing some more detailing on this already very detailed kit.....though it will not be Wardog standard as re-making a scratch piece 2-3 times is my patience limit, not 5 times!  And I wish I had that nice set of drills he has.  Mine are rather limited & basic.

 

Now the jet in the movie was marked No. 93, but this is apparently incorrect as it was No. 92 which strafed and bombed the Irish troops.  I found the following interesting piece on the Interweb (which as we all know is the fount of all knowledge :rolleyes:) about the Katangese Airforce (KAT) Magisters:

"Ah yes, the Katanga Magisters, quite an intriguing chapter it was.

 

Of an order of 9, only 3 Fouga Magisters arrived to serve in combat with the Avikat, the remaining 6 being blocked in Pointe-Noir (Congo-Brazzaville) before being returned to the harbour of Antwerp where they were impounded by customs.  The fate of these remaining 6 is quite mysterious - they were purchased by abbé Fulbert Youlou, and subsequently sold to Tunisia - but according to other sources, they never left Belgium, and were subsequently used as a spares source for the Belgian Air Force's own Magisters.

 

The three Fouga Magisters that did arrive in Katanga, arrived there on February 6th 1961, being flown into Luano Airport, Elisabethville by Boeing YC-97 Stratofreighter N9538C (formerly 45-59587 c/n 15712 of the USAF) owned by Seven Seas Airlines Inc, a cargo charter airline based out of Findel airport in Luxembourg.

Of the three Fouga Magisters, only KAT-92 became famous (or infamous), mostly due to the short careers of its siblings:

- KAT-91 barely flew four months, until its loss in a flying accident on June 23rd 1961.

- KAT-93's career was curtailed two months later, when it was seized by UNOC-troops at Luano airport on August 28th 1961 during "Operation Rhum Punch", which was set up to destroy the Avikat.  She was carted aside and deposited in the airport's scrapyard.

 

KAT-92's most well-known time was between September 13th and September 19th 1961, when she was used in a series of nuissance raids and attacks on UN troops.  During that time, she scored three aircraft destroyed on the ground: UN-operated C-47 UN-209 on September 13th at Elisabethville Airport; former "Air Katanga" (seized by the UN) DC-4 OO-ADN on September 14th, also at Elisabethville Airport; and UN-leased C-54 (DC-4) G-APIN of Starways at Kamina Airport on September 16th.  She was also involved in the Battle of Jadotville (September 13th - 17th), where she provided air support to the Katangese troops, resulting in the surrender of the Irish A-Company.  Despite destroying a UN radio station and over 50 UN trucks, the Irish A-Company suffered only 5 injured during the Siege of Jadotville, this despite being outnumbered ten-to-one (and killing over 300 Katangese troops)

KAT-92s career was finally ended on December 5th 1961, when she was hit by bombs at Kolwezi airport by Indian Air Force Canberras of the UN aerial contingent; she was subsequently transported by train to Kisenge, where repairs were ultimately abandoned due to the non-availability of spare parts.

 

While the Belgian mercenary Major Joseph Delin is always portrayed as KAT-92s pilot, this was not the case - Delin was in fact the base commander of Kolwezi Airport, but posed as the aircraft's pilot to mask the fact that it was flown by José Magain, a former Belgian Air Force pilot and mercenary who had officially been evicted from Katanga on August 28th 1961, but had illegally overstayed to take part in the combats.  Occasionally, Delin would join Magain as an observer on some combat flights, but usually Magain flew his missions alone.

 

The Magister was the Katangan Air Force's most famous aircraft, it was certainly not the sole type flown - nor was it the force's only jet: the Avikat operated a mixed force of armed T-6 Texans; five newly purchased Dornier Do-28s; a handful of De Havilland DH-104 Doves converted to light bombers; a single De Havilland DH-114 Heron; a number of DC-3/C-47 Dakotas; and five Piper Carribeans.  The Avikat also received two De Havilland DH.115 Vampire T.55s from the Rhodesian Air Force, however these were destroyed by Saab J.29s of the Swedish contingent of the UN aerial forces before becoming operational.

 

One error I often encounter, is the identity-switch between KAT-92 and KAT-93 - some sources state it was KAT-92 which was impounded by the UNOC at Elisabethville and KAT-93 which did the raids, while in fact it was the other way round."

 

http://i.imgur.com/5MyO96w.jpg

 

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Quote

rosez.v@hotmail.com

 

March 16, 2021 - Victor E. Rosez

Please note that it was the KAT 93 which was very famous as the only survivor of three.  In many old post there was a confusion by mentioning that all the attacks starting on September 14, 1961 were done by the KAT 92.

That is a disinformation it was the KAT 93.  Furthermore is also often pretended that it was the pilot Jan Van Risseghem who did all the September 1961 attacks. That's mistake too.  Jan van Risseghem was in Belgium, expulsed by the UN and came only back at September 15 or 16. The real pilot was José Magain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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