D.B. Andrus

Busted!! So much for that theory. Hmmm, not so fast....

A new photo of one of the colorful Fw 190D's has surfaced: I believe it to be Red 4, one of four 190D's used by the staffel, which was purported to be the only Fw 190D-11 (WNr. not confirmed) in use by the staffel, determined from less than perfect period photos. However, this newly discovered shot* brings that surmise into question. The aircraft pictured is definitely not a D-9 because of the enlarged air intake, as used on the D-11 and D-13. Therefore, it's either a D-11 or D-13, yes? Note that there are no outboard wing Mk 108 cannons installed. As the D-11 had 108's in the outer wing gun position and the D-13 didn't, my surmise that this aircraft is, in fact, Red 4 a Fw 190D-13. I have contacted Jerry Crandall re. this new shot. It will be interesting to see what he thinks! * https://luftwaffe-research-group.org/threads/fw190d-jv44.20712/#post-79803 * photo posted by Martin Trnkus Cheers, Damian

Nice model...too small, though. 1/3 scale, at least-----Go Big or Go Home.

Pete PM sent. Damian

Here's to all still around -

Great review, Kev. Maybe this will lead to a series containing the B-17's and B-25's. Those would add the cherries on top for those unable to fit the whole kits in their collections. It also may lead to folks purchasing the whole enchilada after trying the taco al carbon of a Nose Art kit. Good marketing move.

I'm not quite sure what the purpose of the tease is. Am I correct in assuming you know the "answer" as to what HK is bringing forth? If so, why not state it? If you are not allowed to or choose to not reveal what you know, then how about butting out? If you have a noble purpose, please let us all in on it. I'm sure all would have a healthy laugh together. Thanks for your attention.

I'm on the bubble, have most of the work done, but may just make a couple of sets for the original donor and call it a day on the Macchi's. Issues have arisen that have been brewing under the surface. We'll see. Thanks for your interest, though! Damian

Hi Michael I'm using modified Hasegawa 0A-4 white metal legs as masters, with different mounting lugs for Tru., for both the Hasegawa and the Trumpeter kits. A lot of steps and technical issues are involved, but I hope to have the sets ready by the end of the month. . The Tru. nose gear is problematic in two ways: it's a bit too long and the nose-wheel is molded in the fork. An aftermarket nose wheel will have to be acquired by the modeler. As soon as I receive the brake disks we'll be cooking with gas. The Tru. main legs are too long, throwing off the "sit" of the airplane the, so the H. legs will be substituted. To sum up, the Has. nose leg is too short and the Tru. nose leg is too long, ergo we're splitting the difference to come up with a more correct "sit' for the model. Thanks for your interest. Damian

They'll be very heavy duty, John. Coming sooner rather than later. Thanks for your interest! Damian

Thanks, Kevin! Cheers, Damian

Drop on in!

Finally, some new products coming down the pike. Here we go..... NEW! MLGS 1012 Supermarine "Spitfire" Mk. IIa (for Revell Kit No. 03986) Price: $16.95 per set. Detailing of the towing loops enhances to the stainless steel oleo reveal. As with all of our sets the struts and axles are constructed with stainless steel capillary tubing, music wire and high quality Smooth-On polyurethane resin. NEW! MLGS 1013 Lockheed P-38 "Lightning" (for Trumpeter kit) Price: $25.95 per set This is a complex set of gear to engineer....the main gear legs each have 2 pieces of SS tubing and 4 pieces of various diameters of music wire all encapsulated in a strong resin shell. The nose gear is strong enough to take any amount to weight needed to keep this baby from being a tail sitter! Some external modifications have been made from the kit parts: The diameter of the main and nose oleos were determined to be a bit underfed, so they've been beefed up. The nose gear was missing its towing loop and the torque links were basically blobs - out they went and new parts were fabricated and added to give a better presentation. That took a while, but I'm hoping you'll think it was worth it. NEW! MLGS 1014 Republic P-47 "Thunderbolt" (for Hasegawa kit) Price: $17.95 per set. This set is as tough as they get - large diameter SS and music wire innards will take a licking and keep on.....well, you know the rest! NEW! MLGS 1015 Republic P-47 "Thunderbolt" (for Trumpeter kit) Price: $17.95 per set. Engineered in the same manner as the set above, but tailored for all Trumpeter P-47 kits. ORDERING PROCESS: To place an order please contact me at this email address: DBAndrus(at)protonmail(dot)com Please include the following information: The item number and the quantity of each item you would like to order. The country to which the items will be sent. The email address you use for Paypal. An invoice form Paypal will then be sent to you via email. Upon receipt of payment your order will be shipped to you via USPS First Class Mail. USPS Priority Mail is available at additional cost - prior approval from customer is required to avoid "sticker shock". (If postage is deemed excessive by out of U.S. customers and you wish to cancel the order, please notify us at your earliest convenience.) Shipping to U.S. Addresses: 1 to 5 sets $5.00 6 or more sets Free Shipping to non-U.S. address: See No. 2 above Please Note: Synthetic Ordnance Works is a one-man operation dealing with labor intensive products. Please have patience when an item is out of stock. It will be refilled as quickly as possible (considering the only fabricator is "un vieux pet" and past his sell-by date.) COMING SOON! MLGS 1016 A-4 "Skyhawk" (for Hasegawa kit) MLGS 1017 A-4 "Skyhawk" (for Trumpeter kit) MLGS 1018 Ju 88A-1/4 (for Revell kit) MLGS 1019 B-24 "Liberator" (for HobbyBoss kit) COMING LATER! MLGS 1020 Me 262 "Schwalbe" (for Revell kit) MLGS 1021 P-40 "Warhawk" (for Hasegawa kit) MLGS 1022 F-86F "Sabre" (for Kinetic/Italieri kits) Thanks for stopping by and taking a gander at our products. Damian Andrus HERE IS A LIST OF THE REST OF OUR PRODUCTS: MLGS 1001 Messerschmitt Bf 109G/K Set (for Hasegawa Bf 109 G/K kits) Price: $17.95 per set This set is for the Hasegawa 109 in the G-4 through G-14 and K-4 range. It also features added towing loops and pre-shortened axles. This axle process makes the gear suitable for kit wheels and aftermarket, ie. MDC and Barracuda products. The music wire makes shortening the axle problematic for the user, so we've done that in advance. MLGS 1002 Messerschmitt Bf 109F-2/4 Set (for Hasegawa Bf 109F-2/4 kits) Price: $17.95 per set This set also features the towing loops as well as the kit's hydraulic line overlapping the oleo. Be aware these lines are delicate and need care when handling. You can also remove the resin lines and use your own setup. We wanted to give the buyer a choice on which route to take. The pre-shortened axle modification applies to this set, as well. MLGS 1003 Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6/G-10 Set (for Revell Bf 109G-6/G-10 Kits) Price: $18.95 per set This set addresses the inherent weaknesses in the kit's design. Our parts will eliminate the overly-complex assembly stage while adding strength with stainless steel tubing and intricate bends in the music wire. This makes for a very rigid landing gear assembly. This is the complex wire bend embedded the mounting lug: MLGS 1004 Focke-Wulf Fw 190A-8/F-8 (for Revell Fw 190A-8/F-8 kits) Price: $17.95 per set As with the Revell 109, set we address the thin axle in the original design by adding music wire to give a rigid gluing surface for the wheel assembly. MLGS 1005 Focke-Wulf Fw 190A/D (for Hasegawa Fw 190A/D kits) Price: $17.95 per set This set is for the Hasegawa Fw 190A-5, A-8 and D-9 kits. MLGS 1006Tank Ta 152H-0/H-1 (for Zoukei-Mura Ta 152H-0/H-1 kits) Price: $18.95 per set Designed specifically for the Zoukei-Mura Ta 152 kit. MLGS 1007 Grumman TBF-1C/TBM-3 "Avenger" (for Trumpeter kit) Price: $18.95 per set MLGS 1008 Douglas SBD -1/2/3/5 "Dauntless" (for Trumpeter kit) Price: $18.95 MLGS 1009 North American Aviation P-51D "Mustang" (for Revell kit) Price: $17.95 per set MLGS 1010 Nakajima Ki-84 "Hayate" (for Hasegawa kit) Price: $17.95 MLGS 1011 Kyushu J7W1 "Shinden" (for Zoukei-Mura kit) Price: $22.95 per set Above is the complex interior stainless steel tubing and music wire structure needed to add necessary support for the very thin nose gear leg. Main Landing Gear Strut Replacement Sets Each set consists of 2 pieces of stainless steel tubing, music wire of various diameters, styrene plastic or stainless steel centering ring(s) all encased in a polyurethane resin shell. The advantages of this combination are strength, easy clean-up and the stainless steel reveal of the oleo piston. This process eliminates the need for simulating the finish of the oleo using paint, etc., which can be tricky and frustrating. Just add the kit parts to the leg, mask the oleo and paint. Et Voila! An authentic looking landing gear strut at hand.