Jump to content

Col Ford

LSP_Members
  • Posts

    10
  • Joined

  • Last visited

About Col Ford

  • Birthday 08/21/1957

Contact Methods

  • Website URL
    http://

Profile Information

  • Gender
    Male
  • Location
    Canberra, Australia
  • Interests
    Aviation history, especially the Allison Mustang in RAF service.<br />Flying 'Red Stars'<br />Motorsport

Recent Profile Visitors

434 profile views
  1. If you are talking about the RAF Mustang Mk.IA (the 4 x 20mm Hispano cannon armed version) the aircraft were all stripped and repainted after arrival and reassembly in the UK. As delivered from NAA they were in a Temperate Land Scheme equivalent camouflage scheme with early style RAF national markings with broad white and yellow segments on roundels/fin flashes. Photographs of the aircraft in their original NAA delivery scheme show very little in the way of airframe stencilling. They were repainted in a standardised camouflage pattern in the Day Fighter Scheme with the later pattern national markings with reduced white and yellow segments on roundels and fin flashes. There was very little evident in the way of stencilling on the repainted aircraft other than fuel, oil, ground electrical power. They certainly did not carry the multitude of data blocks and other stencilling apparent on later USAAF P-51s. For some links that might help you: http://www.cybermodeler.com/special/mustang.shtml http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/inde ... hl=Mustang Regards,
  2. Steve, Depends on what era you are planning on modelling the subject aircraft. Originally as delivered the RAF Mustang Mk.IA were fitted with ST-1A/N3-A gun sights. These were modified in service by the RAF as the result of trials and operational experience - changes to mounting brackets holding to the instrument panel shroud, changes to the reflector glass, changes to the mounting bracket that holds the reflector glass, etc. As some point - still trying to pin down the exact details - they switched to standard RAF type reflector gun sights of the timeframe, so primarily the RAF Reflector Gun Sight Mk.II with the later square reflector glass. A custom made mounting bracket manufactured to allow the fitment. Very similar to sight/mount arrangement for later Mustang Mk.III fighters. For some photos of the gun sights alone, see here: http://www.spitfirespares.com/spitfirespares.com/pages/gunsites.html For other information you might find useful regarding RAF Allison Mustangs see the following: http://www.cybermodeler.com/special/mustang.shtml http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=44133&hl=Mustang HTH, Regards,
  3. Dave/Ironman, Beautiful end result from all your hard work. You have captured the look of the original and added a lot of detail missed by the manufacturer of the base kit. Hopefully an inspiration to others to have a crack at building the early Allison Mustangs. Glad to be able to help you out with information along the way. All the best,
  4. Dave, Volume two of 2TAF by Shores & Thomas includes a slightly less cropped version of that photograph along with the caption confirming AL986 as the serial and that photos was taken 28 October 1944. You have a 20 for - 80 against chance of there being a camera port in the rear quarter window on the starboard side, a lesser number of Mk.Is being modified to carry two cameras behind the cockpit, but what they would do is turn the single camera to point out the 'opposite' side to usual. I'd personally stick to just the side shown in the photo having the camera port. Regards,
  5. Dave, Your Mustang looks to be coming along very nicely, I look forward to the next instalment. You've indicated that you have identified your subject aircraft, do you know the tail serial for it as that might also indicate a couple of small details of difference within the Mk.I production run, for example location of gun camera window. If you are going to convert one of the currently available Hobbycraft 1/32nd scale variants into an RAF Mk.I, the Mk.IA kit is the best option. The devil will be in the detail, but the Mk.IA kit includes the nose with the proper narrow air intake, whereas the P-51A and A-36 both include the nose with the broad air intake. The wings on the Mk.IA would require a lot less work to convert as well. Information was provided to Hobbycraft on the RAF Mustang Mk.I and it was originally on their plans to produce this version. But, nothing seen or heard since. Regards,
  6. Dave, Brilliant work there, it is really coming along beautifully with all your hard work. Keep the updates coming and looking forward to seeing future update. Regards,
  7. You might want to look at this thread over at BritModeller and the accompanying thread over at Hyperscale. Colour assessment based on a surviving part of an RAF Tomahawk held in a UK museum. http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32645 The Hyperscale thread started 20 June 2009 in parallel and contained further information. If you do the search on 'Tomahawk" one of the first threads is the one with the title "Photos of Curtiss Tomahawk Mk.1 original camo painted colors (RAF & AVG)" Hope this helps. And yes there are some who still call into doubt the colours of original paint preserved on original components.. What more proof do you need? Regards,
  8. Dave, Seriously, some impressive detailing work going on there. I can't wait to see the next instalment of your build on this one or the eventual finished item. Keep it coming!!
  9. Dave, Some really great work on that early Allison Mustang, I've been watching this build with interest. However, only a very limited number of RAF Allison Mustangs were fitted with the RAF Spade/Ring type grip on top of the control column. As supplied to the RAF by NAA, the Mustang Mk.I came with the standard pistol grip. The photo published in the Squadron Mustang book and O"Leary's "Production Line to Front Line" book are both of a one off done by NAA. A very limited few were modified in service at Squadron level to have a RAF style spade/ring grip fitted. This was usually at the request or insistence of a Squadron Commander or senior Flight Commander who had long experience with the RAF style grip and so had their personal aircraft so modified. So you would really need to know if your actual subject aircraft was so modified. I know of at least two aircraft so modified from one Squadron in late 1942, but by 1943 the modification tended to disappear as the US style pistol grip became more widely accepted. From the information available, the spade/ring grip used was likely the one from the RAF Harvard Mk.II. Have you figured out yet how you are going to tackle the earlier style and shape clamshell radiator opening compared to the later P-51A/A-36 fixed type as Hobbycraft have moulded it? Oh and a note for reference, RAF Mustangs were fitted with the RAF style Sutton Harness in RAF service, not the US style harness. Regards,
  10. Brian, I would second Charles's two suggested references on the Lysander. I have both and combined they cover pretty well most of what you would require to build a great scale Lysander. Both books are a bit light on with original period photos of Lysander's from a number of Squadrons that operated them, but in terms of scale plans and walkaround/detail photographs they are very good reference material. The MMP one sold very well, I think better than they expected, so it is now a bit hard to find. If MMP don't have it left in stock themselves, you will be looking hard to find a copy. Only other source I can think of who might have a copy or two left is Platypus Publications here in Australia who is their Australian distributor. Ley who runs the business did have a couple of copies left in stock earlier this year. Ley sometimes posts over on Hyperscale so you may want to try him over there. If you are looking for walkaround photos Cybdermodeler have some external ones of the Duxford Lysander and there is another site (which I can't remember which at the moment) had a great series of the CWH Lysander from when it was having some restoration work done a few years back, so it had some great internal detail photos. I think it may have been one of the Warbird sites. Regards,
×
×
  • Create New...