Clunkmeister
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Posts posted by Clunkmeister
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I’m going on record as saying that the HK A-20 is miles ahead of the HK B-25 in engineering and thoughtful assembly.
Building the engines on this kit has to be one of the most miserable jobs I’ve ever accomplished on a 1/32 model. Ever.
They are incredibly goofy, have twice the number of pushrods as a thallus required for an R2600 (or any pushrod engine) needs to operate reliably for thousands of hours, AND, when you go to assemble the cowl, you find out the engine is too big. I already knew this so I simply didn’t attach the rocker boxes, and they fit just fine. Cut off the pushrods on the rear set of each row, but use the center rings because they’re needed for correct spacing.
Plus, don’t shirk on the rear of the engine because the cowl flaps are open and the rear of the rear row is visible.
Then, as soon as you’re done and patting yourself on the back, you realize you gotta do it all over again.
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8 hours ago, DocRob said:
Looking great Ernie, who produces the shell rack and the shells? I have a ProfiModeler set for mine, but I think this is not included.
Cheers Rob
Rob, I had found it on EBay out of Australia, and I believe Carl had pointed me in the right direction.
there is so much more I could do here, but absolutely nothing whatsoever will be seen once it’s closed.
Even Martin, my mentor said, “dude, CLOSE IT!!!”-
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Been picking away at this thing today, doing some slight changes to the interior
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23 hours ago, CANicoll said:
Excellent! I knew nothing about this group, other than the nose art on some of the aircraft. Thanks for the education and reading suggestions.
Chris
The 345th preferred the strafers, and didn't have alot of success with the gunships. Their units were absolutely devastating on the enemy with low level gun attacks, and pretty much wrote the book on tactics on fighting the B-25 as a low level attack aircraft. With decent overhead P-38 support against Japanese fighters, they could concentrate, and many targets didn't need to be revisited until rebuilt.
They HAD mistakenly attributed the big gun to loose rivets, panels, etc, until they started having the same issues with the J strafers. Removal of, or limited use of the package guns helped the airframe fatigue situation greatly. The big gun's biggest issue was the slow rate of fire.
But the gunship was absolutely tailor made for Marine Corps badassery.
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But it doesn’t say what the Marines did to the three recognition lights under the right wingtip after they installed the radome on the wingtip. I’m curious if they relocated them or just never reinstalled them
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Now I want to open my bomb bay doors. Oops too late. I already burned mine, them stomped on the melted plastic, then burned it again.
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On 2/5/2024 at 3:52 PM, ScottsGT said:
Well Mary Catherine managed to get home from Colorado. When the plane landed she drove 110 miles straight to an ortho doc she knows from work. They rushed her in since she’s well known by all. After 6-7 hours with her foot down swelling is up. As I’m typing this out she just texted “No surgery!!!” That’s great news.
That foot is about twice its normal size.
That right there is mighty impressive.
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11 minutes ago, ScottsGT said:
Ernie, you know that brings up an interesting point. She borrowed ski boots from some friends that they stayed with. And she said they were a size too large. Might have saved her leg from a worse break.
Probably so, Scott. And with proper adjustment, the bindings would have released before her body rolled past the snapping point.
I always absolutely refused to rent boots and skis.
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Looking forward to getting back home and jumping back on this little beauty. Or I can be like Martin and start a new build
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On 2/4/2024 at 7:34 AM, ScottsGT said:
I tried to convince her to upgrade her flight home to first class just so she has a little more leg room. Nope. Hard headed, “I’ll be fine.”
We do have a 4 day cruise booked for March. This will change the dynamics a little. No pool, no hot tub and since we’ve been to Nassau two or three times already we’ll probably just stay on the boat while in port.
You said the magic words. "Port" As in the kind that comes in a jug. Just get a straw
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On Christmas Day, 1985 I did exactly the same thing. Was at the Zermatt resort for a week over Christmas and did me a freeze frame skip job down one of the one of straight sections. Face first. Freaking HURT. But Blessings, they were my OWN boots and bindings, which I had purchased at the PX so I had them dialed in pretty good, and both bindings released and the skis flipped off the moment my lips touched down.
The old face looked like 40 miles of bad road. It's better to crash at speed than the low speed wipe out. Usually it's better for one's lower legs.
I Hope she recovers quickly. I've seen some nasty green stick fractures from skiing accidents.
I'm actually surprised her ankle let go. With properly fitted boots, her ankle should have been fine, but her lower leg and possibly her knee might have been worse off. If renting, always go a bit light on the settings, and adjust the weight settings accordingly. I'd rather lose a ski and wipe out than wipe out and not lose my skiis.
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How absolutely RUDE of her!!!
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39 minutes ago, CANicoll said:
Wow, fascinating history, thanks for sharing, Ernie. Brings the model to life.
Like the vast majority of gunship and strafer shoot downs over the target, it all started with a blown approach due to weather. Hindsight is 20/20, but a steep turn at altitude dictated by lack of viz blows their surprise and the gunners are wide awake.
Strafing by bombers was always incredibly successful and devastating, IF they came in low, fast, and with every single gun blazing, dropped 250 lb bombs with delay fuses, they more often than not would never need to return. Ever.
But cruising around up high to stay out of the soup and then looking for a break in the cloud, always ended up with at least one kite getting shot to crap.
I highly recommend reading “Air Apaches”. It’s a true history of the 345th BG in the PTO. “Warpath across the Pacific “ is as good also.
They’ll curdle your blood when you read how, almost every time there were casualties on target, bad approaches started it happening.
The 612th and 613th had 3 years of AAF Ops doctrine to guide them, which they usually used
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Hey Carl, that text looks awesome and may answer all my questions, but favor time…
I know it might be a pain, but is there anyway you could scan or copy those pages flat so I could easily read them?
You can PM me or email me if you wish. Post them if you’re comfortable. And, do they have any pics of the light installations as well? This is gold mine quality info here.
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Thanks for that, Martin! Thank you again so
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14 minutes ago, PanzerWomble said:
Post B-word , some European companies find it hard to ship to the UK , especially when it comes to claiming back VAT tax . When in Europe it was easy , now they have to be registered as a company in the UK to claim it back
I know this from my professional life trying to import machinery spares post 2019 . I'm assuming the cost of doing that outweighs the value of the market, plus the arse of customs wondering about imflammable liquids etc . What we need is a decent model shop in Calais that we can day trip to , like all the beggers bringing back cheap cigarettes / wine in the 1990s.
Craziness. Bureaucracy working its magic.
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On 2/3/2024 at 3:17 PM, PanzerWomble said:
See other thread about how hard it is to find them in Blighty lol !
Odd since I think they are made in Cz ...???
That IS odd. You could darn near get a group order together and one guy do a day trip to the Company itself.
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What’s amazing is how crews with these gunships and strafers would turn into attacking Japanese aircraft and willingly mix it up. They were quite effective. In a head on attack, an attacker would be overwhelmingly outgunned.
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Here’s a couple pics of her and of the witness reports with crew disposition, courtesy of Pacific Wrecks.
It can be very hard to read.
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In Feb, 1945, Love Bug went in hard after being hit by concentrated ground fire from a single Japanese defensive placement while clearing the target on Ponape. They had no chance, as was stated by all who witnessed it. After crashing and exploding, a single 500lb bomb detonated onboard. The wreck was cordoned off by Japanese defenders, the crew removed and buried together in a marked grave that read “to the brave American fliers”. Any remaining bombs were defused at the scene and the parts left in place. The wreck is all but unrecognizable as a PBJ.
As a result, to honor this ship and her crew, I will change the load to four 500lb GP bombs.
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23 minutes ago, Vandy1 VX-4 said:
Hello Ernie
Who made the radar pod? Was that a Lone Star Radar Pod?
She is looking great
It’s actually a Profimodeler set. Or should I say, several sets. You can buy them direct or from Hannants.
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A test fit of the aileron along the bottom shows a decent fit. Although the Profi Rad one didn’t provide for the edge, i will add a small piece on the trailing edge of the redone to match the aileron
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1 hour ago, Martinnfb said:
Not much is going to be visible once the fuselage is closed.
missing wingtip means business, me likey.
Wingtips are always the first thing wiped out by a pilot. By a measure of about 1000 to 1. That’s why they are always removable and stocked by the dozens by any decent parts house. Tips or vertical surface are a distant second.
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Marine Mud Mover: PBJ-1H Gun Ship “Love Bug” VMB-613 in early 1945
in The Great Twins Group Build.
Posted
It’s a big, big boy.