R Palimaka
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Posts posted by R Palimaka
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Some photos from the show, which was held on March 27. I didn't expect to win anything but it was fun to enter and talk LSPs with others. I'll get some proper RFI photos once I get a spot set up.
And the pilot which I was quite happy with. It's the AIMS FAA pilot converted to an RCAF pilot from the 1950s.
More finished photos soon.
Richard
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So a show, Heritagecon in Hamilton, Ontario at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum, finally convinced me to finish this project after five years. It was a race to the finish as it was a last minute decision to enter.
The major stumbling block was drilling the hole in the canopy for the antenna wire, which caused me all kinds of problems. I was hesitant to do it after all the work to get it clear, but in the end it was fine. The next step was to create the roller mechanism inside the canopy, one of the two types on the Mustang. The wire itself is beading wire, which can be bought at Michael's. It's very flexible but not stretchy if that makes sense. It consists of extremely fine wire braided and covered with clear plastic, and looks very authentic. The insulators were made from beads of white glue. In the end it wasn't all that bad, but the fear of ruining the canopy made me hesitate...for months.
The two types of roller mechanisms/pulleys, for those that might find it interesting.
9253 had the second type (figure 6):
How it all turned out:
And the final addition was the spike antenna under the starboard wing:
RIchard
- themongoose, Paulpk, Uncarina and 5 others
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I've made a living with words, and I have none that I can use that would be adequate. Magnificent and meticulous build Peter, thank you for sharing the whole effort.
The build thread and photos could be a primer on the P-51B/C, both building a replica and a study of the real thing. I certainly hope the story of the build will make it's way into book form.
Wow...
Richard
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16 minutes ago, BloorwestSiR said:
That was your build Richard? I heard a couple folks taking about it and how impressed they were.
And you bought the Mig-29 I was eyeing. Thanks for saving my wallet.
Thanks Carl, yes that was my Mustang finally done. That’s nice to hear. It didn’t place, but I wasn’t expecting it to. It was just fun to enter something, and it forced me to finish it.
Haha! You’re welcome. I don’t normally build jets but the MiG-29 seriously appeals to me. I missed out on a Hobby 2000 109E so was determined to spend money on something…
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And I'll sneak this in...I finally finished it the night before the show...five years late...
- MikeMaben, Trak-Tor and BloorwestSiR
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It was a good day, an enormous turnout, seems to be a pent up demand for shows out there. The weather was weird, very cold with intermittent blue skies and sun followed by white-out snow conditions...and windy!
Sorry I missed Carl and Don, but did manage to run into a few friends from other IPMS clubs I belonged to back in the day in Toronto and St. Catharines. Came away with a Trumpeter 1/32 MiG 29A for $110 Cdn, but behaved otherwise. There were some great deals on the vendor tables, from new stuff at the retail stores to old goodies from private collections.
The aircraft model table was easily the most active, with a number of LSPs. I was surprised that the armour table wasn't more full, usually it's packed to the edges. Still though, a tremendous turnout.
Some of the LSPs I managed to snap quickly with my phone, sorry for the quality.
- Trak-Tor, BloorwestSiR and Fanes
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34 minutes ago, LSP_Ron said:
Please take pics and post here guys!!!
Thanks
Ron
The show should be pretty well covered with three (so far) of us there. I have a feeling there will be a huge turnout.
Richard
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I'll be there. Should be interesting to see if any other LSPers will attend. Should be a big gathering, lots of pent up demand...and lots of vendors.
The venue, the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum, also has some aircraft restorations that have made progress as they head into celebrations for their 50th anniversary.
Richard
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22 hours ago, Jboldt007 said:
thanks for comments. the interesting thing (and a source of caution i've found) is it seems many 442 mustangs were different. Edmonton Special was a P-51K with the later props while ones like 'T' and 'H' were P-51Ds with cuffed Hamilton Standard props. At least i think they are cuffed. Red Roos has louvres thankfully for the carb vents. some are even said to have the radar warning system installed (?). But the best thing - i read that most did not have the aerial wire going from the tail through the canopy - i like the sound of that- pun intended!
you know ... having said that....canopies... they had several different types of canopies it seems ... the 'Dallas'... can't recall the other. The Tamiya kit gives you several options ...? I don't know what the difference is (honestly, i should order a book...)...
Always a good thing if you can find a photo of the one you want to do to confirm things. Yes, H, T and C had the Hamilton Standard cuffed prop. The pattern of the camouflage shows that they were painted in the UK, with British paints. "Edmonton Special/B" had Aeroproduct prop as you pointed out.
The rear-warning system was not installed on RAF Mustangs, although apparently some had the antennas on the tail installed. I couldn't find any on the 442 aircraft. And no, no antenna wire on RAF (or USAAF) Mustangs in the ETO.
As for the canopy, here is a close-up of one of 442s Mustangs.
photo from Mallandaine collection
Richard
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The colour of the code letters on the Vintage Wings Mustang is "Sky", the same as the band on the rear fuselage. It was more a greenish-greyish colour. VWC spent a lot of effort getting the scheme right. There are decal sheets with RAF Sky code letters in 1/32 available, but masks would look amazing. I might have some available in my stash, I'd have to look.
If you're doing the restored version, the prop is not the same as the Aeroproducts prop in the Tamiya P-51K . The VWC Mustang has the later Hamilton Standard prop without the cuffs, and has broader tips...it was more common post-war. Visually they're very similar, but there are after market versions available if you wanted.
Richard
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On 2/28/2022 at 5:04 PM, Jboldt007 said:
my first attempt at posting a photo. This is part of "franken-cockpit". You can see the gyro sight which I now realize is incorrect - should be an N9 early sight. The cat fur is not prototypical either...
That's great! You've got the photo posting figured out, and an excellent job on the cockpit so far!
The cat fur is out of scale anyway.
Richard
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There was a good discussion recently about the seats here on LSP. Both the Warren-McArthur and Schick-Johnson were used throughout the D/K production run, with the Warren-McArthur bucket appearing with the early Ds. For example, the RCAF post-war Mustangs were D-25s and D-30s, with a few D-20s, and both styles of seats are found in photos.
The thread started with P-51B/Cs but expanded from there:
Richard
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I wouldn't stress over the gunsight. That's a logical assumption to make that late in the war. If you look closely at some photos of Y2-T though, you can see the size of the sight glass which would indicate the N-9. As for the harness, if you're at a point in construction where you can still get the correct one, do it if that would make you happier knowing it's right. But that's what it all comes down to, as long as you're happy with what you've done then that's all that matters. It's that classic dilemma for modellers...95% of the people who see the model won't know if it's accurate, but you will.
As for your choices of aircraft to build, both Y2-T (KH668) and Y2-H (KH647) were Mustang IVs (or P-51Ds) so the cuffed Hamilton Standard prop is fine. On April 16, 1945 the pilots flying those two aircraft (Y2-H F/O Len Wilson, Y2-T F/O "Rocky' Robillard) scored a shared victory over a FW-190 on April 16, 1945. Another camouflaged Mustang successful that day was Y2-J (KH659) flown by an American, F/O Vince Shenk, who was credited with a probable over a FW-190. These three aircraft scored the last kills of the war for 442 Squadron. Sorry...that's the end of the lecture.
Hope you get the photo hosting sorted, it's quite easy once you get the hang of it.
Richard
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Welcome to the group! It's a friendly and helpful bunch, and always the first site I check. Always good to add another Canadian to the bunch. Looking forward to watching your build once you get organized!
I'm probably misreading your post, but the RAF didn't use the early P-51D with the filletless tail in service, although I think they got a couple for testing.
If I remember, three differences were:
-RAF Sutton seat harness was fitted in place of the USAAF version,
-the RAF did not accept the AN/APS-13 tail warning radar so that was removed from the cockpit, although in rare cases the antenna can still be seen on the vertical tail.
-louvred covers to the carb intake on some not all Mark IVs (the louvres were also fitted to many Mk.IIIs).
The RAF had intended to install the Gyro Gunsight but most photos I've seen of Mustang IV cockpits had the N-9 fitted. (Oddly enough I have photos of the Gyro sight installed in Mk. IIIs) So the cockpit and radio fit would have been the same, minus the rear warning radar panel.
442 Squadron flew a mix of P-51Ds and Ks, so depending on the particular aircraft you might need different props. But it sounds like you'll be doing one of the camouflaged versions of which there are plenty of photos.
This is the N-9 gunsight:
And here it is installed in a Mustang IV (P-51K) of 303 Squadron Polish AIr Force:
I'll see if I can find a closer photo or drawing of the installation.
Richard
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Absolute perfection! The finish and restrained weathering is flawless. Completely convincing.
Richard
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I love it! Beautiful build of an interesting aircraft.
Thank you for sharing the photos.
Richard
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I’ve seen it done accidentally. One modeller in a club I belonged to 25 years ago did a beautiful 1/48 FW-190D all in monochrome blues. It was based on a drawing intended just to illustrate the pattern.
He thought the colours on the drawing were the actual camo colours. He took a fair bit of teasing but it was kinda beautiful.
Richard
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It won't be long for the remaining few, and I doubt we’ll see many gatherings of those remaining out of concern for their health and ability to travel. I'm fortunate to still have my father in relatively good health at almost 96 years old, and he would be among the youngest as Jennings has set out. He served with 316 and 303 Squadrons of the Polish Air Force in the UK as an engine mechanic on Mustangs. Until it disbanded a few years ago he was a member of the Polish Air Force Association Wing in Detroit, which was just across the border. He is the last surviving member of what was a very large group there. It amuses him that only members' wives are still alive. He is the lone survivor of 303 Squadron, and of most of his wartime generation.
He knows I am extremely interested and have done decades of research and reading about the war, and the part the Poles (and of course Canada) played. Even with that, I know he will never tell me everything...the conditions they endured during their deportation from Poland to Siberia and the loss of family at the hands of the Red Army and NKVD. I have an aunt buried somewhere in Siberia, and a grandfather who died of typhus buried in Tehran. Dad became the head of the family at 16.
He is more happy to talk about life after their release from the Soviet Union...joining the Air Force in Iran, training in Palestine and Egypt, and then to serve in England. The stories about the fight against the V-1, the escort missions later on, and the post-war confusion about their fate. These later stories are the ones I heard at the organized reunions and also the small gatherings at our house. I was lucky to be a kid that was interested, and I soaked it all in. His memory now is failing, and time and places are merging and blending. Although I have his records and the true history, I don't correct him, I just let him talk. One thing I have been working on is getting captions to the hundreds of photos from pre-war and wartime, and their life in exile in the UK before they moved here to Canada. Once Dad has passed, no one will know who they are.
The Polish Ambassador to Canada is also a historian and has been particularly kind and attentive, and keeps in touch. At this end of life Dad has also managed to gain a bit of notoriety in the local press over the years, partly because of his invitation to the premiere of the 303 Squadron movie in Warsaw in 2018, and various Remembrance Day newspaper stories. The stories were noticed by the new owners of a Mustang who live near his home. They've invited him to a couple of events, and to inspect her by himself. He can visit and remember a younger version of himself, and touch a Mustang once again.
I wish I had paid more attention when I was younger, and more organized about recording the stories of all these people. I can only imagine what they experienced and endured, and still went on to lead very productive lives and contributed so much. The last reunion of Polish veterans was a gathering in 2018 in Warsaw. They were treated like heroes, all their flights and expenses paid by the government. I doubt just four years later that it could be done again. Even here in Kingston, a very military town, the numbers of veterans of the Second World War has declined, and it's very noticeable at Remembrance Day. The ages of the veterans marching has shifted: Peacekeeping missions, Cold War warriors and now Gulf War and Afghanistan.
I am lucky to have Dad still, but almost all of his friends are gone. I think the days of reunions are likely going to be few and far between. Those of us of a certain age feel fortunate to have attended events where you could stand in a ballroom and talk to the likes of Skalski, Gabreski, Falkowski, Zurakowski, ( sorry, that' a lot of "skis" ),Rall, Johnson, Bannock and others less well known. We will not see the likes of them again. So the last men standing like Bud Anderson are precious connections to times that shaped where we are now...only to see it possibly repeated in Europe again. But I won't go there.
Sorry for the long rant...I feel strongly that we are losing so much daily, and I hope they will be remembered and feel like they've been acknowledged and thanked properly...and their friends who didn't make it back are remembered.
Richard
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This looks like a very interesting and promising film about the attack on the Gestapo Headquarters in Copenhagen. A tragic story.
Operation Carthage, March 21,1945
Richard
1/24 Airfix RCAF Mustang IV…finally done
in Works in Progress
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Thank you so much Kev! Finally! A bit late for the group build from 2016! Although I’ve started another 1/24 Airfix Mustang, I’m going to put it aside for a bit to do something out of the box and much easier.
Thanks Tom, it’s been a labour of love. I’m a bit obsessed with RCAF Mustangs.
Thanks! It felt good to get pushed to finish her. The figure kit itself is brilliant and easy to paint, and the eyes are molded so even a rookie like me could do a decent job.
Thank you! For a fifty-year old kit it still looks great with a bit ( i.e.huge ) amount of work.