Greg Springer

Waldron made a set in flat black. I think Sprue Bros. are now selling the Waldron line but don't know about the bezels set. Cheers! Greg

Hello, The Aires detail for the Hasgawa Mk V fits the PCM Mk IX. I have not yet tried to put it into the new Mk. XIV. I used a combination of Aires and the lower sides of the kit cockpit and I am satisfied. On page 62 of Aero Detail # 30 "Griffon Spitfire" is a good set of photos of the Mk XIV cockpit. On the left sidewall the fuse panel is different than the one in the PCM cockpit. It must be scratch-built. Also the voltage regulators have been removed from the seat armour plate and mounted just forward of the seat support frame near the bottom of the cockpit on the left side. The PCM resin for the left panel matches the one in the Spitfire LF IX in the Czech publication "Spitfire LF Mk.IX in Detail" WWF Special Museum Line No. 26. Baracudacals now has upgrade parts for the Tamiya Spitfire Mks VIII and IX including correct sized seat, the control column and landing gear control mechanism. I hope you find this information useful. Cheers! Greg

Hello Ron, Try searching for images of "SCR-695" and "SCR-522". IIRC these were used in later model P-38s as well. There are retro radio enthusiasts who collect components and restore these systems to functionality. Cheers! Greg

Hello James, Aires makes a set for the Hasegawa A-8. On the instruction sheet the stock number is 2039. This is odd because it also says 1/48. The parts are clearly 1/32. I can't give any building tips as I haven't installed it yet. Molding is quite nice with the bay as a single casting. Cheers! Greg

Hello Thierry, Yes, all markings are in three scales. There are only codes, serials and squadron symbols. National marking must come from the kits or other sources. Salud! Greg

They're Nurricanes! 'Einkels! Nurricanes! 'Einkels! Mancunia, eh? I've a Mancunian mate. I stood best man for him at his wedding 30 years ago. Cheers! Greg

I picked up this book on Tuesday at King’s Hobby for $32.99. It contains profiles for 19 BoB subjects as well as three sheets of decals in 1/32, 1/48, and 1/72. First come the Spitfires: LOoG, 602 sqdn QJoP, 96 sqdn QVoI, 19 sqdn Nurricanes: DToH, 257 sqdn NNoD, 310 (Polish) sqdn GZoB, 32 sqdn RFoG, 303 (Czech) sqdn WXoW, 302 (Polish) sqdn VYoR, 85 sqdn 109’s: E-1 ‘Red 14’ 5./JG 52 E-3 ‘Black 11’ 5./JG 3 E-3 ‘Black 1’ 5./JG 51 (I’m not sure if yellow background on the ‘Sniffling Raven’ staffel symbol is correct.) E-4 ‘Yellow 5’ 9./JG 3 E-4 ‘Black 6’ 2./ JG 51 E-4 ‘White 9’ 1./JG 2 E-4 ‘Black Chevron’ III./JG 53 110’s: C-2 ‘L1+XB’ V.(Z)/LG 1 D-O/B ‘S9+AH’ ErG 210 (Martin Lutz) C-5 ‘5F+MM’ 4(F)/14 I’m happy because I can mix and match codes to build George Unwin’s QVoH! Greg

Hi Guys, By coincidence my DVa arrived this week. The purple and green upper colors for Stropp prompted me to get out the old Famous Aircraft of the NASM #4 "Albatros DVa". On page 54 the overpainted fabric on the left wing underside has the lozenge pattern showing through and when the fabric was removed it was in a 5-color pattern similar to that of the Canberra plane. That would be the reason they chose a five color patern to represent the original appearance. Now if WNW will release their sheets of lozenge we can have a choice on how to depict it. Other pics of Stropp show the presence of the letters RF on the fuselage meaning Republique Francaise and signifying it was government property after its capture. It went on a tour with other captured a/c and made a stop in Waco Texas where it was on display at the old Cotton Pallace. It ended up at the De Young Museum in San Francisco and that's where some of the overpainting is thought to have taken place in the '30's. It finally got the NASM in 1952 after a stop in the Chicago area. Cheers! Greg

Hello Everyone, I am wrestling with the semi-misbegotten Revell of Germany/Hasegawa Spit Mk I/II. An Aires Mk V cockpit, suitably back-dated, is working out well. I modified the short, rounded spinner from the original Mk V kit by packing the front half of it with two-part epoxy and turning it on my lathe. In Osprey's "Spitfire Mk I/II Aces 1939-41" a large number of profiles show a gap of around one inch/25 mm between the spinner and the cowling. Was this the result of the upgrade of the de Haviland two-speed props to constant-speed or was it a feature on certain production batches? I have only seen a single photo showing this feature. Finally, can anyone point me to a dimensional drawing of the TR9 D radio control box found high on the port side of the cockpit just aft of the instrument panel? (There are a number of photos of one salvaged from a crashed Hurricane at the SpitfireSpares site.) Cheers! Greg

Well, the caption says A5M2b. However, the box art looks like an A5M4 to me. Shorter cowling and more varied markings choices for the A5M4. Hooray! Greg

Hello Gents, Kagemusha posted that G-Factor makes a set of gear for the PCM Mk IX's. I can't find it listed on the Sprue Bros. catalog. Can anyone confirm? Thanks! Greg

OOPS! I just got the EDUARD kit. The comments stand for it. I really shouldn't post before my morning caffiene dose! Sorry! Greg

Hi Gents, I just took mine out of the box. All of the prop blades are angled the same. Viewed from the cockpit they would rotate clockwise. One item I have noticed; the demarcation for Priller's yellow nose is incorrect on the markings directions and the box art. Eduard would have you bring the yellow cowling color back over the air intake scoop and covering the cowl guns access panel to the windscreen. The b&w photo on page 4 of Scale Aircraft Modelling's Combat Colours # 1 appears to show the yellow ending at the forward edge of the intake scoop. The painted area aft of this panel line is covered with a dense spray of what looks like RLM 71. An easy fix. Cheers! Greg

The Eagle Editions newsletter for November states that they plan to release four new decal sheets in January. The first three are for FW 190 D's. The fourth, stock number 127, is for two Me 262's; "White << +" Adolf Galland JV 44. and "Black << +" Major Rudi Sinner of JG 7. There are two photos of "White << + in " Volume 2 of the Doras publication. I hope you find this to be good news. Cheers! Greg

Howdy Gents, Eduard set 32 585 is the printed set for the Model 21 interior. There are also 32 162 for the exterior and 32 161 for the engine. The engine set has a flaw. Parts 26 and 23 represent handles on the engine cylinders. The Sakae 12 motor of the Type 21 Zero did not have these handles. They are present on the Sakae 21 motors of the Type 22, 32 and 52. Cheers! Greg