(^6) Paciic Avenger
James Ashton builds the 1:32 Trumpeter TBF-1C
(^48) A Fine Felixstowe
Andrew Root builds the 1:32 Wingnut Wings kit
(^10) Combat Edge - Naval Dive
Bomber
Rene Van Der Hart builds the 1:48 Accurate
Miniatures SB2U-1 Vindicator
(^54) Out of Africa
James Bamford builds the 1:48 Eduard Bf109F-
Weekend Edition
(^18) Skull and Crossbones Spook
Ashley Dunn builds the 1:48 Academy F-4J with
Eduard Accessories
(^58) Anniversary Hawk’s
Kitti Tatsumaki adds some 25th Anniversary Silver
Jubilee markings the HobbyBoss Hawk Mk.108 of
‘Panther’ Squadron and a Hawk Mk.208 of ‘Eagle’
Squadron in Malaysian Service
T
rumpeter has produced some outstanding kits of some very desirable subjects in 1:32 and this particular kit has to be one of my
for some years now and I can remember vividly irst seeing the kit arriving on the shelves. Who would have thought we would favourites. It has been on the market
see a large-scale model of the Avenger? The irst time I built this model it was in Fleet Air Arm markings as a ‘Tarpon’ and the decals and masks for the FAA variants are still available.
However, I decided to go with the more familiar US Navy three tone Paciic Theatre colour scheme this time around. As always, I sourced some Montex masks for the National
markings and for the inside and outside of the large ‘glasshouse’ canopy. Not that the decals are not of a very high quality out of the box. However, painting markings on gives
a more realistic inish and means you can weather the paintwork at the same time giving a more consistent inish. The moulding of the
kit parts is excellent, and it still surprised me how well this model goes
together despite the amount and complexity of some of the sections. It is always a ‘hold your breath’ moment when putting the fuselage halves together with any kit but the sheer
number of modules that are inside this kit just make you palpitate. Have no fear, with a little nudging and gentle squeezing in the right places the two parts just snap reassuringly
together. Even the tricky ball turret presents no obstacle. Just a note on the ball turret, it will be necessary to leave the masking on as it has to
Pacific AvengerJames Ashton builds the 1:
Trumpeter TBF-1C
ManufacturerScaleK i t Ty p eKit Number: 02233: 1: 32: Plastic injection moulded: Trumpeter
Master Set - 0.5 Browning Barrels 32-001Montex Masks - MXK32017Eduard - Seatbelts ED
Trumpeter TBF-1C Avenger
The interior built and pai nte d...... APPLYING VARIOUS OIL WASHES BRINGS THE WEATHERING TOGETHER AND GIVES A VERY NATURAL PATINA AND SHEEN TO THE MODEL^
.....and installed in the fuselage
(^6) PACIFIC AVENGER WWW.MODELAIRCRAFTMAG.COM MODEL AIRCRAFT SEPTEMBER 2019 PACIFIC AVENGER 7
columns, fuel tanks, internal steps and copper pipe work. The inside of the hull is also painted with wood ethe irst stage of painting can begin, this caused fect. With the hull section joined,
me my irst dilemma, what colour to use for the blue. Photos from the period are notoriously inaccurate in certain colour ranges, speaking to a few experts, a exact colour match was
impossible. Only two photographs are known to exist of this speciic Felixstowe, from those, I decided to go for a mid-range blue, but this was a (slightly) educated stab in the dark.
TS-44 (Brilliant Blue), and I was a little nervous when I applied it, but really glad I stuck with my decision, as I think it looks stunning. Next The colour I eventually choose was Tamiya
was the wooden underside of the hull, this was painted using the same methods as the interior, just with four gloss coats to replicate the varnish. At this stage, I must mention
Pheon Decals, a company based in France,
D
uring the spring of 1918, some brightly coloured leviathans could be seen of the East Anglian coast, this was a sea monster of sorts, but
The F.2a lying boat was born from a Curtiss design in America by John Porte. Porte was a British designer working at Curtiss, when perhaps not in the mythical sense.
he returned to England and joined the Royal Naval Air Service, he took some of the H series Curtiss boats and modiied them for use in the European theatre. The name Felixstowe was
born due to the work of Porte being carried out at the RNAS Seaplane Experimental Station at Felixstowe in Sufolk. With several seaplane stations in East Anglia, they were perfectly
positioned for missions over the North Sea, with the main rolls including reconnaissance, anti-submarine and anti-shipping patrols, the F.2a’s were well suited to this with an
endurance of ten-hours light time. The pattern of these missions were known as the ‘spider web’. This particular aircraft is N4300, one of thirty F.2a’s built on the Isle of Wight at S.E
Saunders ltd. It was delivered to Felixstowe on the 16th June 1918, this would have been in a
standard military paint scheme, the distinctive blue/white geometric paint scheme was applied at a squadron level, from images of the Air Station, you can see at least three aircraft
with this design, possibly indicating that they belonged to the same light, in August 1918 the RNAS lights were reconstituted into Royal Air Force units, with N4300 being allocated
to No.230 Squadron. This speciic Felixstowe did have a unique feature, a experimental semaphore signalling system, it is not known how successful this system
performed in practice.room! This is one of the largest kits Wingnut Wings produce, Let’s look irst at the elephant in the
the wingspan is a colossal 91cm, this really is something to think about if you’re thinking of building this kit! The kit consists of 381 injection
moulded parts with a further 47 photo-etched parts, the manual is brilliant, with photographs of the actual aircraft throughout, and detailed CAD style drawings and
diagrams. The build starts, rather predictably, with the interior. This is a sea of wood, looking
more like a 1920’s yacht. Normally here, I would describe the wood painting procedure, but most people who build this kit would have built at least one of Wingnut Wings other oferings,
so I assume most would be familiar with this. The interior builds in the form of a wooden loor and bulkheads, with seats, control
A Fine Felixstowe
Wingnut Wings kitAndrew Rootbuilds the 1:^
ManufacturerScaleK i t Ty p eKit NumberFelixstowe F.2a Early: 1: 32: Plastic injection moulded with etch: 32050: Wingnut Wings
48 FELIXSTOWE F.2A EARLY WWW.MODELAIRCRAFTMAG.COM MODEL AIRCRAFT SEPTEMBER 2019 A FINE FELIXSTOWE 49
T
he Vought SB2U Vindicator was an American carrier-based dive bomber developed for the Navy in the 1930s, and the irst monoplane
of World War II, Vindicators still remained in service at the time of the Battle of Midway, but by 1943, all had been withdrawn to training in this role. Obsolete at the outbreak
units. In 1934, the United States Navy issued a requirement for a new Scout Bomber for carrier use and received proposals from six manufacturers. The speciication was issued in
two-parts, one for a monoplane, and one for a biplane. Vought submitted designs in both categories, which would become the XSB2U-1and XSB3U-1 respectively. The biplane was
considered alongside the monoplane design as a hedge against the US Navy’s reluctance to pursue the modern coniguration.The XSB2U-1 was of conventional low-wing
monoplane coniguration with a retractable conventional tailwheel landing gear, the pilot and tail gunner being seated in tandem under a long greenhouse-style canopy. The fuselage
was of steel tube construction, covered with aluminum panels from the nose to the rear cockpit with a fabric-covered rear fuselage, while the folding cantilever wing was of all-
metal construction. A Pratt & Whitney R-1535 Twin-Wasp Junior radial engine drove a two-
blade constant-speed propeller, which was intended to act as a dive brake during a dive-bombing attack. A single 1,000lb bomb could be carried on a swinging trapeze to allow it to
clear the propeller in a steep dive, while further bombs could be carried under the wings to give a maximum bombload of 1,500lb.The SB2U was evaluated against the Brewster
XSBA-1, Curtiss XSBC-3, Great Lakes XB2G-1, Grumman XSBF-1 and Northrop XBT-1. All but the Great Lakes and Grumman submissions were ordered into production. Designated
XSB2U-1, one prototype was ordered on 15 October 1934 and was delivered on 15 April 1936. Accepted for operational evaluation on 2 July 1936, the prototype XSB2U-1, BuNo
9725, crashed on 20 August 1936. Its successful completion of trials led to further orders. There were 260 examples of all Vindicator variants produced, and just a single example
is preserved at the National Naval Aviation Museum at NAS Pensacola, Florida.Saratoga, Ranger, and Wasp from December Vindicators served on the carriers Lexington,
1937-September 1942. Air Group Nine, destined for Essex, trained in Vindicators aboard the
escort carrier Charger, but they transitioned to the Douglas SBD Dauntless before Essex joined the War. During the attack on Pearl Harbor, seven Vindicators from the U.S. squadron VMSB-
231 were destroyed at Ewa Field.two USMC squadrons that ielded the Marine-speciic SB2U-3 between March 1941 and VMSB-131 and VMSB-241 were the only
September 1943. VMSB-241’s Vindicators saw combat at the Battle of Midway in June 1942.
Airmen with experience in more modern aircraft spoke disparagingly of SB2Us as ‘vibrators’ or ‘wind indicators’ in their later combat assignments. Captain Richard E.
Fleming piloted a SB2U-3 Vindicator in an attack on the Japanese cruiser Mikuma on 5 June 1942, for which he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.
incorporated speciic French equipment. Briely Based on the SB2U-2, the V-156-F
The Vought SB2U^
Vindicator
VINDICATORS SERVED ON THE CARRIERS LEXINGTON, SARATOGA, RANGER, AND WASP FROM DECEMBER 1937-SEPTEMBER 1942
COMBAT ZONEF I G H T I N G C O L O U R S
(^10) COMBAT ZONE – SB2U VINDICATOR COMBFIGHTINAT ZONEG LOCOSUR WWW.MODELAIRCRAFTMAG.COM MODEL AIRCRAFT SEPTEMBER 2019 COMBFIGHTINAT ZONECOG URLOS (^11) COMBAT ZONE – SB2U VINDICATOR
with no problem. They lined up perfectly and very little movement was needed with again, no iller. The wing halves were then sandwiched The fuselage halves were itted together
to each other, again with magniicent it and the two were joined together with pegs and rubber bands! There was no gap between the fuselage and wings even though this is where most kits
have one. The it of the kit is that good. The only problem with the wings is that the pitot tube on the end of the wing is already moulded to one of the halves. My issue with this was that even
with the upmost care in trying not to accidently break it oI decided to invest in a pack of the Eduard Bf 109F and G resin pitot tubes and I was not f, it inevitably ended up happening.
disappointed in the quality. Not only were they thinner but once attached, they were far more resilient to being broken of again compared to the original plastic moulded piece.
sealed of the cockpit from any stray paint, I sprayed over the canopy area with Hataka RLM66 so that once the canopy is on show, Once I had masked up the canopy and
it will have the interior colour on the inside instead of black or the desert sand-yellow colour. After the canopy had been painted over, I used a Humbrol rattle can of Matt Black
- Because this can cover a large surface easily and quickly with a nice smooth result, this is my preferred method of base coating. Quick, simple and efective. For this kit, I decided I
would paint it up in the lovely desert colours of the Bf 109F4/Z/trop as lown by Ufz. F. Schweiger of 6./JG 3 based in San Pietro, Italy in February of 1942. Once I had let the black base
coat fully dry, after about twenty-four hours, I started with the Light Blue RLM65 underside. Thinning the paint six-parts Hataka Orange Line Lacquer thinners to two-parts Red Line acrylic
paint, I started to ill all the panels with paint, slowly building it up on every pass, avoiding painting any panel lines or rows of rivets. After three or four passes, building up the layers
of paint on the panels to a nice bulk colour in each, I came back over the whole aircraft. Two or three light passes all over the underside and sides of the fuselage to even out and unify
the colour and the blue was done. The same process was then repeated withthe top colour of Hataka Sand-Yellow RLM79 after the slightly wiggly line between the two was masked of with blu-tac. Once the paint had fully dried, I gave it three
light coats of Alclad II Aqua Gloss which gave it a lovely shinny surface to do my next stage of building on. The decals, despite being quite thick, came of the backing paper smoothly
and had no problem in settling down on the model itself. With a coat of Micro Set before and Micro Sol after, for each decal, the decals settled almost perfectly into any rivets or panel
lines they were led upon. There were a few that didn’t quite go down, but I didn’t notice untilIhave a particular fascination for German aircraft and their design, especially through the 1939 to 1945 period, even stretching to the Luft ’46 and other secret
aircraft of World War II, alongside the Fw 190, the Bf109 was one of the most formidable aircraft of the War, especially in the earlier projects. In my view, one of the best
stages of the War with the earlier ‘Emil’s’. As the war progressed, the Luftwafe identiied the need of upgrading their ‘Emil’s’ to be able to counter the British and Russian designs.
The late Bf 109E3, E4 and E7 designs were needing an upgrade, which created the Bf 109F ‘Friedrich’. The most noticeable diference was the new engine using the Daimler-Benz BD 601
E. The Bf 109F-4 irst reached frontline units in April of 1941 and was armed with x1 20mm MG151/20 through the nose hub and x2 7.92 MG17 machine guns mounted on top of theengine cowling. The tropical version built here was irst produced and entered service in the early half of 1942. The irst steps of my build were to paint up
the interior using the Hataka RLM66. With a few light passes of paint, the cockpit and seat were ready for the interior etch. This kit is a ‘Weekend Edition’ kit which means it only comes with the
kit plastic parts, however, I decided to upgrade it to almost the standard of a ProiPACK kit and add the interior etch to it along with the canopy mask and later, resin pitot tube. After all the
iddly pieces had been added and the lovely, easy to bend, photo-etch seatbelts had been added, I gave it a mixed wash of Flory Models Washes consisting of Black and Sand to get that
grubby feel with a hint of being in the desert environment. Light chipping was added with some random silver paint to imitate scratches of war and the fuselage was ready to be closed up.Out of Africa
James BamfordEduard Bf109F-4 Weekend Edition builds the 1:ManufacturerScaleK i t Ty p eKit Number: 1:4 8: Plastic injection moulded: 8 414 6: Eduard
Eduard Zoom setEduard Bf109F and G Pitot TubesEduard Mask SetHataka Paint Set ‘Africa Campaign’ – FE844 EX535 – 648332– HTK-AS
Flory Models WashesBf 109F-4 Weekend EditionTHE LATE BF 109E3, E4 AND E7 DESIGNS WERE NEEDING AN UPGRADE, WHICH CREATED THE BF 109F ‘FRIEDRICH’54 BF 109F-4 WEEKEND EDITION WWW.MODELAIRCRAFTMAG.COM MODEL AIRCRAFT SEPTEMBER 2019 OUT OF AFRICA 55of the lower wing section. I was a little apprehensive of this as I usually have a habit of knocking or breaking
them othe remainder of the build. I did some test itting of f during
the gear legs to see if I could add them at the end and this looked possible – more
of that later! Finally, the upper wings can be mated with the lower wing section sandwiching the wheel wells in place. My attention then
turned to the intakes and exhaust areas. The intakes are made up from two halves, painted white and a compressor blade face painted aluminium. The rear exhausts are of tubular
construction with the afterburner ring itted to one end and the ‘cans’ to the other. I airbrush painted these in Tamiya XF-84 Burnt Iron before adding a little dry brushing of steel to the ring
edges for a little interest and detail. I painted the afterburner cans Alclad Exhaust and set aside for itting at the end of the build. The exhaust tubes, together with the intakes were then added onto
the lower wing/fuselage section. There are semi-circular shaped lugs pre-moulded in the lower fuselage section in which the rear exhausts it into – and this aids
in their alignment.onto a spar tab which is glued into a slot on the lower fuselage section too, again, making the alignment of these easy. The front section With the intakes, the rear of these are added
of the aircraft, containing the cockpit was then added to the lower wing/fuselage section. Unfortunately, this is only designed as a butt join. So, to strengthen the area,
I added some plastic-card tab plates, glued over the top of the joint. This also helped to avoid any
can be added. Academy slight steps between the two parts. Once joined the main fuselage section
down the spine. It literally slots over there are no seams to deal with one-piece afair which means have designed this as a
Apanel is actually quite nice and it seemed a cademy produce a really nice series of Phantoms, and this is the 1:48 F-4J. The build started with the cockpit. The raised detail on the side consoles and instrument the top of the cockpit, intakes, exhaust
shame to have to ile it down, but since I was using the Eduard etch set, I had to. The main cockpit colour on the etched set didn’t match the call out of the instructions (FS36231) – as
I was using Gunze Aqueous. I therefore tried to match the colour on the etch to a Gunze pot I had, and funnily enough was almost identical to RLM76. I sprayed the cockpit tub
and all other associated areas with this and set aside to dry. Once dry I added the etch panels using PVA tacky glue, and the it was excellent. I added some Micro Crystal Clear to the dial
faces to represent the glass, added some light chipping/wear to the cockpithen gave the whole thing a wash with some thinned oil paints. The front undercarriage t loor and
well now has to be added to the underside of the cockpit tub. This is made up o– two sides, two ends and a supporting mid-section strengthening rib which f ive pieces
also has the gear door arm on. The detail is really nice in here with ribs, strutsand rivets which when painted up and given a wash looks really nice. Once joined to the cockpit this can then be added to a section of the forward fuselage underside. This was
glued in place and set aside while I moved onto the rear wheel wells. over-engineered with no less than ive-Initially these look complicated and
pieces making the outer wall structure. The instructions would have you add the gear legs prior to adding the completed unit to the insideAshley Dunn builds the 1:48 Academy F-4J with Eduard Accessories
ManufacturerScaleK i t Ty p eKit Number: 1:4 8: Plastic injection moulded: 12305: Academy
Eduard Interior Etch SetEduard Super Fabric Seat BeltsEduard Brassin Wheel SetEduard Canopy MaskF-4J PhantomTHE DECALS WERE DESIGNED BY CROSSDELTA AND PRINTED BY CARTOGRAF, AND THE QUALITY OF THESE WAS SUPERBSkull and Crossbones
SpookI used an Eduard set in the cockpitAdding the cockpit and engines to the fuselage(^18) F-4J PHANTOM WWW.MODELAIRCRAFTMAG.COM MODEL AIRCRAFT SEPTEMBER 2019 F-4J PHANTOM 19
with very little iller needed, and I used Clear CA from Mad Works and Perfect Plastic Putty to ill any small gaps. I repeat this step for few The fuselages both itted together well
times to make sure everything was smooth and perfect before I set about painting. The clear canopy is clear enough - you don’t need to use any Johnson’s ‘Future’ on it, and the it
is great too, both just snap together. Next, I primed both models with Mr Finishing Surfacer 1500 Grey, and then I prepared the surface with a 3M Microine sanding sponge in order
to remove any unwanted particles. I then added the pylons. For the ordnance, I used all everything HobbyBoss provided, these being AIM-9L/Ps, M117s, LR-155s and fuel tanks. For Hawk Mk.108 I just used the AAM missiles, fuel tanks, M117s bomb and LR-155s, while for Hawk Mk.208 I added six AIM-9L/Ps. These were all prepared and set to one side Both aircraft were
H
awk Mk.108 and Mk.208 are export version of ubiquitous Bae Systems Hawk anMalaysian Air Force. The Hawk d lown by the Royal
weapons trainer with additional avionics, an optional forward-looking infrared sensor, with a redesigned wing and HOTAS, and is Mk.108 is a two-seat advanced
also itted with BAe Sky Guardian RWR and wing tip AAM rails. The Hawk Mk.208 is a radar equipped single-seat, single engine light multirole ighter with a small visual signature
and high manoeuvrability and equipped with a
mid-air refueling probe. For these celebratory builds, I used the I use HobbyBoss #81736 for Hawk Mk.108 and HobbyBoss #81737 for the Hawk
Mk.208, they’re basically straight-from-the-box, but using Fishbone Inc.’s 3-in-1 decals for depicting the Hawk’s 25th Anniversary in the Panjiwira scheme. After spraying Mr. Hobby
#305 on the cockpit, I used White, Red and Yellow acrylic paint to on the instrument panels, and later I dry-brushed them with silver to make them more subtle. I also added some weight in
the noses to avoid a couple of ‘tail-sitters’
Anniversary
Hawk’sKitti Tatsumaki adds some 25th Anniversary Silver
Jubilee markings the HobbyBoss Hawk Mk.108 of ‘Panther’ Squadron and a Hawk Mk.208 of ‘Eagle’ Squadron in Malaysian Service
ManufacturerK i t Ty p eKit NumberHawk Mk.200/208/209Scale: 1:4 8: Plastic injection moulded: 817 37: HobbyBoss Hawk Mk 100/102Kit NumberScaleK i t Ty p eManufacturer: 1:4 8: Plastic injection moulded: 817 35: HobbyBoss
58 HAWK MK.108 & HAWK MK.208 WWW.MODELAIRCRAFTMAG.COM MODEL AIRCRAFT SEPTEMBER 2019 ANNIVERSARY HAWK’S 59
(^35) Model Aircraft Manual -
Talk to me Goose!
Mario Serelle guides you through building,
painting and weathering the 1:48 Signiier
Grumman JRF-5 Goose
(^4) CONTENTS WWW.MODELAIRCRAFTMAG.COM