One-Oh-Four

Dutch Decal DD 32014 F-104G Starfighter Available directly from Dutch Decal here: http://www.dutchdecal.nl/where-to-get for €15 A little history: The Royal Netherlands Air Force received its first F-104 on the 12th of December 1962. That day the D-8013 and D-8022 were handed over to 306 Squadron at Twenthe Air Base. In total the Klu received 138 F-104's; 18 TF-104G’s, 18 RF-104G’s and 102 F-104G’s. Later 10 F-104G’s were converted to RF-104G but received no internal photo reconnaissance systems but only the Orpheuspod (from The Oude Delft Optical Systems in conjunction with Fokker), which also replaced the internal reccesystem of the original RF-104G’s. 25 F-104’s had been delivered under the Militairy Assistance Program (MAP) and were built by Fiat in Turin, Italy. These F-104’s could be easily recognized by their serial number beginning with D-66.. Five operational squadrons flew with the 104 namely 306 squadron; from December 1962 till February 1983 in the tactical reconnaissance role, 311 squadron, from March 1965 till August 1982, and 312 squadron, from October 1965 till June 1984, in the fighter bomber role from Volkel Air Base. 322 and 323 Squadron used their Starfighters in the air defense role from August 1963 till 1980. There were also some conversion units in the KLu flying mainly with TF-104G. The first conversion unit was the “Dutch Masters” stationed at Twente Air Base but this unit was decommissioned on January 1st 1969. The TF-104G’s were then assigned to the “TCA”(Training en Conversie Afdeling) at Leeuwarden and “CAV” (Conversie Afdeling Volkel) at of course Volkel. On March 15th 1978, after the last Starfighter conversion had taken place at Leeuwarden, the TCA was the first unit which retired the 104. On 16th May 1979 645 Squadron was founded. This squadron received some Starfighters and would be flying with them until 322 and 323 were operational on the F-16. The remaining F-104’s were transferred to Volkel. Turkey was interested to buy 25 surplus F-104’s from the KLu and they were delivered on 25th August 1980(12), 15th December 1980(11) and the final 2 in 1982. Meanwhile the US decided that the remaining 16 under the MAP delivered F-104's had to be transferred to Greece (10) and Turkey (6). The Greek Starfighters were deliverd on 7th May 1982(4) and 23th June 1982. Meanwhile Volkel was in the middle of it's F-16 conversion, the first Squadron to receive F-16 was 311 which transferred al their F-104’s to 312 squadron which had at that time 40 F-104's. In February 1984 the final RF-104G flight was made so the KLu had a great surplus of 104’s. Turkey was interested in buying an extra 23 Starfighters. But only 22 were handed over because the D-8103 crashed before having been handed over to the TuAF. On 30th November 1983 a remarkable delivery flight took place, that day 13 (T)F-104G were flown to Turkey but only 11 made the delivery flight. The D-8052 crashed an hour after take off and the D-5807 crashed while on approach to Izmir (Turkey). On June 1st 1984, the last 104 squadron converted to the F-16 and a final but never official squadron was founded, the UFO flight (Uitfaserings onderdeel). Pilots who were not converted yet on the F-16 could stay current on jets. But on 21th November 1984 it was al over. That day the D-5803,D-5810,D-5804,D-8258 and D-8256 made a final flight along al the KLu Airbases. In 22 years the Klu flew 345.500 hours with the F-104 with the loss of 40 aircraft. The sight and sound of this great aircraft is still missed... (Text http://www.afterburner.nl/f104.htm) Although this decalset isn't exactly new; the prospect of having the 1/32 Italeri F-104G makes it quite relevant to have a look at the set. With this sheet you can build almost any (T)F-104G as flown in the Royal Netherlands Air Force, except for two units. The badge of the first OCU for the F-104G, "The Dutch Masters" operating from Twente Airbase is missing. (copyright http://www.klu-inkleur.nl/) Also missing is the early (round white base) and late (triangular orange base) emblem of the TCA -Traings- en Conversie Afdeling; Training and Conversion Unit Leeuwarden. The subject of that emblem was "Meneer de Uil" (Mr. Owl), the anchor"man" of the children's series "Fable News" which brought everyday human problems to children in a playful way through the animal inhabitants of "The Big Animal Forest". But let's not digress... The D-5815 with which my father had a heavy barrier engagement in 1970 as a result of which the aircraft had to be repaired at the Avio-Diepen facility. Note the early TCA badge... Back to the decal sheet; on the beautiful colour instructions there are 13 examples of (T)F-104G schemes. The variety of markings is outstanding. - A natural metal Luftwaffe F-104G built by Fokker was "hijacked", the German crosses were masked off and Dutch rosettes added for the press because at the time there weren't enough "real Dutch" 104's available... - A few (T)F-104G's in the early scheme of light grey. - A 311 Sqn 104 in camouflage with a replacement tail cone from rival 312 Sqn. Of course a 311 badge was duly added to the front fuselage! - A 312 Sqn "Agressor" with white top wings and airbrakes. - A 322 Sqn 104 with Dayglo orange tiptanks and dummy Sidewinders. - A 306 Recce Sqn 104 with AC tail-code; presumably for a Tactical Air Meet. - The F-104G Solo Display from Captain Hans van der Werff with a happy sharkmouth. - And lastly a couple of F-104's from the UFO; the Uitfaserings Onderdeel (Phasing Out Unit), the unit with which the pilots who hadn't yet converted or wouldn't convert to the F-16A could stay current on a jet. The decalsheet also contains the stencilling pertinent for Dutch F-104G's The decals themselves are printed on two sheets; one for the rosettes, the stencilling and the squadron-badges and one for the black codes. The decals are sharply printed, in register and true of colour. The decalfilm is nicely thin. I'm looking forward to use these decals when the 1/32 Italeri F-104G hits the shelves. Very Highly Recommended Erik Bosch.

Nice!

Well, this is totally out of my league, I PM'd Ben, the Web/Server Admin and asked if he can look into it. Sorry guys...

Ow, wow! Those are GREAT prizes!!!

Oh, strange....

Hi Jim, Try the 1/48 EZ Snaps Pegasus kits. They look very good, are cheap and are also super simple to build. My boys have built a couple. For a Large Scale Model you arrive at old Revell kits with the same sort of fit quite quickly. And a 1/48 aircraft is in the little hands of a 9-year old also quite big!!! http://www.pegasushobbies.net/catalog/index.php?cPath=7_19 For instance...

I've uploaded them to the site itself?

Kagero B-25J Mitchell in Combat over Europe (Mediterranean Theatre of Operations) SMI Library 06 #19006 By Marek Katarzynski As the title says, this book focuses on the use of the B-25J Mitchell in the Mediterranean Theatre of Operations. What is highlighted are exclusively USAAF B-25J's. The book is made up of 80 pagesof photos and artwork clarified by English/Polish text. It starts out with a short introduction on the use of the B-25 by the USAAF's 12th Air Force. The book is predominantly a photo book, featuring the B-25J's from the 310th, 319th, 321st and 340th Bomb Groups operating over Italy and the Balkans from airfields at Corsica. The photos and captions mention the Bomb Group and Bomb Squadron identifiers on the planes, as well as describing the colour schemes or rather how the Olive Drab over Natural Metal scheme came into being. The photos are put together by BG. After all BG's have made their appearance, we arrive at the "Color Gallery", featuring 9 pages of colour photos (of mainly noses with nose-art), again sorted by BG. The final part is made up of 7 pages of colourful top- and sideviews, including the 3 decal options. The icing on the cake is the decal sheet, featuring 3 different B-25J's in the 3 different scales of 1/72, 1/48 and 1/32. One of those schemes would really be a candidate for my own 1/32 HK B-25J glass nose bomber if I hadn't already decided to build it into a Dutch example flying against the Japanese in 1945. But I still have a Revell/Monogram 1/48 B-25J in the stash, heheheheh! Aside from the above mentioned top and sideviews there are also photos in the book of all 3 subjects of which one is in the colour section. The decal sheet is printed by Cartograf, need I say more? That'll mean sharply printed and opaque decals! To clarify: I only post the 1/32 part of the decal sheet. Rest assured there is also a 1/48 and 1/72 part! Kagero have even supplied an extra tail number for "M.M.R." in 1/48 although I have failed to see what is wrong on the original sheet... Conclusion: Although I'm quite familiar with the B-25, I wasn't with the photos in this book. I really like the subject and am very happy with the decals that are supplied with this book. These give you the possibility to finish that B-25J in a very original and attractive scheme! Very highly recommended! Our thanks go to Kagero for supplying LSM with the review sample. Erik Bosch

I think everyone's had his say and I think that everyone has done that in a gracious and civil manner! Thank you all. To be sure that this topic stays as exemplary I'll preventively will lock it. If someone thinks that I've taken away his opportunity to express himself, feel free to send me a PM.

Hey George, no offense taken. I'm glad you spoke your mind. In the end we between all of us had a civil discussion about it. I think that's modelling too, pondering what we build, how we build it and why we build it. So please (Caution, Dutchism:) don't make your heart into a murder-pit, and keep saying your mind! Cheers, mate! Erik.

*Disclaimer: this IS my personal opinion and is in no way connected to LSM or my moderator tasks for LSM!* Well, George, I disagree with you although I respect your opinion. I don't know what you personally have seen or experienced. That's also not that important. I understand what you say about your son, and that he doesn't want or needs to modelling the things he experienced in Uruzgan. I wonder if he looks different to soldiering and / or the government use of violence and indeed the government care for their men than before he went? Chances are that he looks different to those things. And that's why I don't share your distaste for a diorama like this. If I look at most of the dioramas on model shows I see too much scenes of humour: a guy sleeping under his Pz.Kpfw. II on a flatbed railcar with his thumb in his mouth while his buddys are laughing about it; German soldiers that have conquered an American truck during the Ardennes Offensive and are sharing the Christmas presents while wearing Santa hats... Mind you, no dead or wounded around the truck, only smiling Germans. Looking at armed forces through such glasses: adventure! camaraderie! defending freedom! made me wanting to become a career soldier all through my youth. The reality was and is somewhat different... I enjoyed those dioramas when I saw them. However, seeing some footage of a Sherman being shot up by a Panther and a Panther being shot at and seeing wounded trying to escape those vehicles made me think if we as modellers don't portray war as being positive rather than the horror it is... I don't want to encourage people to make dio's showing wounded with spilled guts or bodyparts on the groundwork spilled by mines or artillery but I would respect to see the horrors of war featured in subdued tones: No tank commander standing in his cupola pointing to the enemy and screaming but a tank in ambush with his commander somewhat out of the cupola shivering in the cold. Or seeing soldiers with the 1000-yard stare. What I find a strong diorama is the one about the "Bloedbeek" (Blood Creek) featuring a Churchill during the fighting around Overloon. It was the Loobeek (Loo Creek), that literally ran red from the heavy losses instilled on the British while crossing it. You don't see gory details, but you see a disabled Churchill with proof that not everyone got out and an infantryman that got killed in the creek. The creek today: These are pictures of the diorama. I don't find them offensive but for your sake I just post them as links so you can chooose yourelf to view them or not. http://img836.imageshack.us/img836/5929/nkgd.jpg http://imageshack.us/a/img20/3228/5pp4.jpg http://imageshack.us/a/img443/9771/bu8r.jpg http://imageshack.us/a/img694/7626/rn56.jpg http://imageshack.us/a/img534/7154/eah1.jpg http://imageshack.us/a/img834/1098/zh8v.jpg http://imageshack.us/a/img547/526/h00d.jpg To summarize: we don't honour those -soldier or civilian- who became victim of war by showing war as any less than a horror. On the other hand we must not make a horror-movie-scene out of it. If blood, injury or death is shown in a diorama it CAN be ethical and doesn't automatically point to the modeller being tasteless. I see the 1916 diorama in that way; it graphically shows the fury and the fear of fighting in and against the first tanks... without making it a cheap horror show. And that is also one of the reasons I rather finish my models solo; concentrating on the wonderful mechanics of those dreadful machines... Cheers, Erik.

Not mine, though. I 'd like to hear what's not accurate in a kit, or engineered in an awkward manner. On many sites though, those messages are accompanied with rude remarks about the manufacturer or the unbuildability of the kit in question. That doesn't make for relaxed reading, while I really wish to learn from other people's know-how about the accuracy of a given kit so I can make an informed decision to buy or not to buy or to devise a way to correct it. But yeah, there'll always be people who don't want to discuss the accuracy of a kit. Fortunately they haven't more rights than those who do, so I hope that the beloved rivet-counters will keep us supplied with information about their favourite birds!

Hi guys, Does anyone of you know which of the supplied markings in the metal wing Hurricane should be fitted with the DeHavilland propeller and pointy spinner?

Then I'll stand outside, on the church square. I'll holler when I see the men in robes approach...!

Hi Rodney, First and foremost: As for the Eduard set: I really don't know.... I have a couple of Tamiya Spits in my collection and always had the opinion they don't need the Eduard treatment. Although the instruments on the IP will look better / less like fitted with bulletproof glass than the original parts. I opted for the resin detail parts by Barracuda Studios. They just take those parts which could be better detailed /refined and use them to enhance the already gorgeous kit cockpit. I expect Eduard to have some nice additions for the exterior, though... Only don't use P/E brake-lines if they are included. Use the P/E ones to make brake-lines from copper wire or lead wire. As you say that you rather don't want to fork out more money on your first big-scale re-entry in the hobby; you could build the kit straight from the box, with no add-ons and it will look fantastic. The Eduard set will be icing on the cake. See how that works out and remeber that you can always use the original parts if the P/E fights you! As for the Montex masks being meant for the PCM kit; I don't think you'll have trouble with the masks and spraying the markings on the Tamiya instead! I wish you tons of fun with the kit! If you feel like it; you can start your own topic and show us your progress as a WIP - Work In Progress. That way we can also "coach" you if you run into something.... Rest assured, we're always respectful and constructive! Regards, Erik.

Everybody makes a different sub-assembly? Just like Airbus and that bunch that makes Eurofighters.....

Wow! Great pics, great show and -indeed- a damn sight better weather than oveâh heâh... Sorry to hear that WsW had a lesser experience on the sunday...

Fw 190's over Europe Part II (Painting Schemes and Decals) Maciej Góralczyk, Janusz 'Swiatlon Kagero Books (Topcolors series #38 / 15038) Available from http://www.shop.kagero.pl/en/fw-190s-over-europe-part-ii.html for €14,10 I really like the format of these books. Or is it decalsheets with deluxe instructions? Nevertheless, the profiles are always a treat to look at and the decals are extremely well done. There are 8 options featured From Fw 190A-2 to Fw 190A-9. I'd think that everyone should be able to find something to their liking in this package! Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-2; W.Nr. 0125228, 'Chevron L', flown by Ofw. Erwin Leibold of Stab I./JG 26, St. Omer-Arques, France, July 1942, An early machine with interesting "Stab"-markings. Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-2; W.Nr. 0125299, 'Blue 2', flown by Lt. Leopold Wenger of 10.(Jabo)/JG 2, Caen-Carpiquet, France, mid-August 1942, A fighter bomber outfitted with the centreline bomb rack. Also note the 10.(Jabo)/JG 2 emblem of a red fox with a blue ship in it's mouth. Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-4/U7; W.Nr. 0147092, flown by Hptm. Wilhelm-Ferdinand Galland, Kommandeur of II./JG 26, Vitry-en-Artois, France, spring 1943, This aircraft was flown by one of Adolf Galland's younger brothers. Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-7; W.Nr. 430170, 'Yellow 5', flown by Lt. Hans Ehlers, Kapitän of 3./JG 1, Dortmund-Brakel, Germany, late December 1943, A "standard" JG 1 scheme with the red recognition band of the Geschwader. Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-8/R6; probable W.Nr. 171172, 'Black 8' of 3./JGr 10, Redlin near Parchim, Germany, January 1945, My favourite! An A-8 with a wicked snake down the fuselage and Rüstsatz 6, a pair of W.Gr. 21 rockets, employed against the bomber streams sent over "the Reich" by the USAAF. What is a bit puzzling is that the profile of "Black 8" shows the 8 as dark grey while on the decal sheet it is pitch-black... Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-8/R2; 'Red 10', flown by Ofw. Karl Rusack of 5./JG 300, Löbnitz, Germany, January 1945, An A-8 with a dark scheme where green was used to overspray the top and sides to better conceal the aircraft on the ground for prowling Allied fighter bombers. The R2 means that the outboard 20mm MG151's were replaced with 30mm MK108 cannon. Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-8; W.Nr. 737435, 'White 20' of 9./JG 5, Herdla, Norway, 8th March 1945, An A-8 fitted with a "bubble" canopy and in winter camo. The emblem of III. Gruppe isn't featured on the artwork but is included on the decal sheet as a bonus. Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-9/R11; W.Nr. 206000, 'White 2' of III./KG(J) 27, Wels, Austria, spring 1945. The last option is a nice Fw 190A-9. Keep in mind that this version was 30mm longer than the A-8 (almost a whopping 1mm in 1/32! ) It did however have a 14-blade ventilator instead of the usual 12-blade. The type should have been fitted with a wooden broad-chord "paddle-blade" propeller, made by Heine or Schwartz. In practice almost all Fw 190A-9's were fitted with the standard metal VDM props. As Murphy dictates; this one did have the broad-chord propeller fitted, though. The R11 means that the aircraft was "optimized" for night and adverse weather with modifications as heated windshield panels, landing light and a PKS 12 autopilot. Every profile has a short description of the plane and it's most noticeable features. The decals are in 3 scales and printed by Cartograf which means that you don't have to worry if the decals are in register! Because of the rich printing of the decals they may be somewhat thicker than decals from other printers, although that will not extend to the decalfilm. It's the consequence of making beautiful opaque decals with fine details! Conclusion A very nice selection of Fw 190A's that I haven't seen before. The Hasegawa Fw 190A-8 that still languishes on my worktable will get some very nice snakes on it's fuselage! Very highly recommended Our sincere thanks to Kagero Publishing for the review sample. To purchase directly, click http://www.shop.kagero.pl/en/fw-190s-over-europe-part-ii.html Erik Bosch

SOPWITH SNIPE ‘E6655’ Acquisition of a Sopwith Snipe had been a long-term aim of the RAF Museum. First components specifically acquired towards the planned rebuild; Original all-metal Snipe-type tail surfaces (fin, rudder, elevator (newbuild by Skysport) and horizontal surfaces) restored in the 1920s silver and yellow - doped scheme of the No. 1 Squadron aircraft (E6655/B) originally flown from RAF Hinaidi in Iraq in 1926 by (later) MRAF Sir Dermot Boyle, first Chairman of Trustees of the RAF Museum, by Skysport Engineering, Hatch, Beds. These originated from Shuttleworth Collection Sopwith Dove G-EBKY, built from unused Pup parts and first registered March 1925 (now flying as Sopwith Pup 9917/N5180), to which they were fitted, in modified form, in May 1927 following a post - April 1927 crash rebuild by the Fairey Aviation Co Ltd using parts including spare fuselage supplied by Messrs H.G. Hawker Eng. Co Ltd. An overhaul in 1930 included the fitting of seven new ribs to this tailplane, and a new trailing edge and one rib fitted to the elevator. The tailplane was removed from the Pup/Dove in a restoration in 1969/1970 and reverse engineered to their original Snipe standard. These parts were initially delivered to RAFM Hendon for display in the Grahame White Factory on 14 May 2010. The original E6655 was one of 150 Snipes ordered from Coventry Ordnance Works on 20 March 1918, of which E6537 to E6656 were delivered between 4 January 1919 and September 1919. An important original component was the Bentley BR.2 rotary engine of the type fitted to the Snipe; built by the Humber Motor Company, formerly displayed at Manchester Air and Space Museum, the Shuttleworth Collection, and RAFM Cosford. It is fitted with an original Snipe propeller. Other original Snipe components held and accessioned by the RAF Museum and used in this restoration include a pair of port and starboard upper ailerons. Also held was a pair of wartime - produced original lower ailerons. There were also incomplete port upper and starboard lower mainplanes acquired from a private donor in Bedford, also used in the restoration. Other original Snipe components held at RAFM Stafford and mostly able to be incorporated in the reconstruction included unused wooden bearers for the main fuel tank and other fuselage vertical struts, plustwo cabane struts, spar/wing rib fragments, six interplane struts and a control column topgrip, a switchbox, magneto and Thomson Bennett magneto switch, and several cockpit lamps. The reconstruction of this composite Snipe was undertaken by the Vintage Aviator Ltd (TVAL), Wellington, New Zealand as part of an exchange deal. As detailed above, it was possible for TVAL to incorporate many original RAFM Snipe items into this static airframe incorporating new - build components (mainly for the fuselage) where necessary. Original Snipes are rare. The fuselage of William Barker VC’s E8102 is preserved in the War Museum, Ottawa, and the Aviation and Space Museum, Ottawa has the complete Snipe E6938/B. Former Cole Palen airframe E8100/E8105, later passed to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC; was the last original Snipe to fly, c. 1966. Text (shortened) by Andrew Simpson, from http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/documents/X006-0349-Sopwith-Snipe-Composite.pdf

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A walk-around (insofar the museum allows one to walk around the aircraft) of the replica of the Royal Aircraft Factory FE2b, built by John McKenzie. Look at www.theaerodrome.com for the thread where Mr. McKenzie shows the bare parts. The aircraft is finished as a night bomber in which role the FE2b was used later in WW1. Sorry for the funky lighting of the photos. The lights in the hall coupled with an all-black aircraft made it seriously difficult for my trusty Nikon...

Wow!!!!!