Hans

Bryan, I have read in a book on vacforming that preheating clear plastic in an kitchen oven on a low temperature causes the mositure to evaporate. I have had the same problem with Vivak, a kind of PETG, but haven't tried this solution yet. I'll have a look tomorrow for the book in question to see if it has further details on this. You are doing an amazing job on this difficult conversion. Regards, Hans

Thank you guys. I am also working on a Ryan ST-M, the military version of the ST-A. I have access for photos and measurements to a 1:1 example currently being restored to flyworthy condition at an air force base nearby. It was used in the Dutch East Indies by the ML-KNIl, the Air arm of the Royal Dutch East Indian Army. I have to admit that I was surprised to see Pauls' announcement that he was planning one as well as it is a rather offbeat subject, quite popular over here but perhaps not so in the States. More flying things with stars, triangles and globes on their fuselages and wings are in the planning phase Hans

Well, there is hope . I am working on a resin kit of the P-6E at the moment as one of a number of other projects. It is a bit of fall-out of my research into the Dutch East-Indian army Hawks. I like the aicraft as well and as there is no kit available I thought I'll take the plunge. No release date yet, if all goes according to plan and I'll manage to reach the quality level I strive for, it will be first half of next year. Hans

Kog, From your link: the instructions show the correct, shorter cowling, the sprue parts the incorrect parts. Ergo: Special Hobby made a mistake and put the wrong parts in the box. Hans

That is a nice piece of work Doug. Very clean build and smooth paintjob. Hans

Radu, Thank you for your explanation. Regards, Hans

Menelaos, I found it. I actually found two prints of this photo, a small one and a two-page spread in another book. The code isn't visible, but the oilstains on the droptank are the same as on other photos so this is white 11. If you need the pics I can scan them for you. Krause used this plane when he shot down a Mosquito in 1944. The underside of the cowling was yellow and it had a yellow & red stripe along the black portion of the forward fuselage: http://falkeeins.blogspot.com/2010/05/fritz-krause-njgr10-mosquito-victory.html http://luftwaffeinprofile.se/Krause.html

Hi Menelaos, I have it somewhere in my book stash. Don't know in which book however at the moment. I'll put my grey cells to work and report back on it. Hans

Hi Menelaos, Interesting conversion. I did a R11 in a different scheme in 1:32 in one of the group builds some time ago (not quite finished as yet). There is a photo of Krauses' plane showing that the underside of the starboard wing is black and that the aircraft had 20 mm guns in the wings. It also was equipped with a landing light in the other wing and exhaust shields. Best regards Hans (an expert-dilettant-hobbyist)

Azur does a lot of esoteric subjects. I was actally hoping they would tackle the Koolhoven FK 58 fighter or the Potez 631. Maybe next year.

Hi Radu, Thanks for the info. Thierry isn't the owner of Azur the same person as the editor of the French Air Magazine? Hans

Hi Radu, Can you comment on the scale fidelity of the Modelism International kit in 1:24? Hans

Hi Loic, The pics of the aircraft when still in Germany under French supervision are very grainy, no national markings are visible (painted over I think), nor a splinter camo scheme. The other French Dornier did originally have the splinter scheme, so most likely the V16 had it as well. From the reproduced photos the upper surfaces look dark (green), the undersurfaces light (grey or blue), the demarcation line between the two is the same as on other Dornier 335s. Of course you can paint it in French colours if you like (green over all) . The radio callsign is not known, the werknr. was 240312 and most likely it had the number 12/16 on the tail (Griehl). The cockpit I mentioned photo is of the front cockpit. I can make scans if you need anything specific. In the meantime keep up the great work! Hans

Hi Loic, I found the book on the Do 335, written (in German) by German Manfred Griehl. A quick scan through the book on the nightfighter version gives this result. According to mr. Griehl 3 prototypes of the night-fighter versions were built: V10, prototype for the A-6 Behelfsnachtjager, equipped with FuG 218 radar and captured at Oranienburg in april 1945 by the Soviets. This aircraft may or may not have had the rear cockpit similar to the trainer version. I remember having seen a profile of what I believe was this prototype in a Russian publication on the Pfeil in this set-up. It had radar antennae on the wings and two-tone splinter camo. Uwe Feist in the old Aero series (published in 1966) book on the 335 also shows this aircraft as a trainer version. V15 prototype of the B-6 version.Not finished before the end of the war and captured by the Americans. There may be photos around of this plane. V16, another A-6 prtotype, captured by the French and turned into flyable condition after two years of hard work. The book has photos of this aicraft, but none in German markings, alas. The photo of the radar operators' cockpit is the same as the one Matt published here. The oxygen bottle is a French addition by the way. The book also has a rudimentary French cross-section drawing of the pilot's and the operators' pit, showing a dotted sideview of their seats. V.NJG 2 tested a D0 335A-1 in february 1945. I have also found the two-part article, in Flugzeug Classic magazine from Germany. Again, no photos of the nightfighter prototype in German markings. It has a shot of the cockpit though with some French equipment in it. Hope this is of some use. Regrads, Hans

Hi Loic, I have an article on the French Do 335s from a German magazine and some blurry pics of the captured night fighter prtotype (sans radar) still in German markings in a German book on the Pfeil hidden somewhere deep in my pile of books and magazines. I'll see what I can dig up for you. Hans

From memory the nightfighter prototype the French captured did carry FuG 218 Neptun radar for a short period (around january 1945). No photos exist of this radar set-up, however. Hans

Roy, Monogram Close-up no. 14, Japanese cockpit interiors part 1 by Robert C. Mikesh has a number of B&W & colour photos of the front cockpit of the Ki-45. Are you building the Combat models or the Tigger (ex ID) vacform? Hans

Hi Dutik I reading through your tread. Interesting and unusual subject. I think you are the first to tackle this plane in plastic (card). Get well soon. Best wishes Hans

Hi Roy, Your best source of info on the front and rear pit and other details will be the Maru mechanic book. It has extensive photography and drawings in colour of the front and rear cockpit and to a lesser extent drawings and photos of armament, landing gear and engines. It also has scale drawings of the aircraft, but no cross-sections. The Famous aircraft of the world title has more coverage of the operational use of the "Nick". Arawasi magazine did a feature on the various types of armament of the Ki-45 some time ago. The owner the Arawasi, George Elefantheriou also sells the Maru and FAOW titles trough his website http://www.arawasi.jp/ The 1:48 Hasegawa kit kan be used as a 3D reference, and yes, can we have the building tread here on LSP? Best regrads, Hans

I think so, yes. That is the adress on the kit's box anyway. Good luck!

I read somewhere that indeed the manufacturers have put the wrong cowling pieces in some Hawk M/N/O/ boxes, but that they are aware of this and will replace these with the correct cowling pieces when requested. I am working on one and it is a not a shake and bake kit. Espcially the firewalls need careful trimming as they are too wide and the fuselage halves won't fit properly if you use the firewalls straight out of the box. Hans

Derek, If memory serves me right the earlier versions of the Moskito used the same engine and prop as the Fw 190D-9 while the pre-production version -the one with the upswept wingtips- used Ta-152 engine and prop components. Hans

Hi Dutik, If I remember correctly, the aiming lnes were introduced sometime late in 1941. I believe this info comes from Vikor and he must have said this somewhere in this tread. Best regards, Hans

Thanks for the feedback guys! As for the spinner, I keep it yellow. It struck my mind it might be blue, but the yellow looks rather nice. At the moment I am looking into the aiming marks on the nose. I have seen both 3 and 4 stripes on Il-2's. What number of stripes is correct for the single-seater? Best regards, Hans

Thank you Nigel and Mark. There are two photos of this particular aircraft showing these patches, so this is as far as it will get. It will get a bit more worn and grimy look as I move along, though. Hans