John1

Wow, that is some amazing paintwork! How did you recreate the heating effect, that’s especially well done.

Thanks very much Dragon, appreciate the compliments! Just a mini update, I'm at the stage where I'm just building random sub assemblies. I'm also getting a bit apprehensive because I'm getting close to the painting stage and this is one of two steps that I figure have a good chance of blowing this project. On the surface, the painting should be straightforward, this aircraft was originally painted in the standard "nightfighter" scheme of Medium Sea Grey and Dark Green. At some point before it was assigned to 333 Squadron, it was over-painted in a "modified" Special Duties Scheme

There are some great pictures on that link Jari. Albert, if you are up for the challenge, you could add this pilot to your project. I really love the sleeveless flight suit look!

I went through the same process on my F4U-1D build. I used to hate painting bombs and typically just shot them with whatever green I had kicking around. On this build, I finally ended up trying to replicate the way they really looked and turned building / painting the bomb into a mini-project by itself. Can't see the arming wire and stencils but they are there! Quite a bit of fun. Keep up the great work on your Phantom, I'll be following right along. John

What an awesome selection of aircraft. Going to be fun to paint them, almost as many nuances as late-war Luftwaffe subjects. Out of curiosity, how does one obtain that modified undernose IR housing that a few of these aircraft have? Any pictures of the real thing? I never noticed this feature before.

Nice... who makes the resin cockpit?

Only other outfit that operates at this level is Aviaeology. They have some really good stuff as well. I saw their Mosquito sheets and am now building a Tamiya Mossie.

i'd say it is a tie, with the late Corsair sheet being up there as well. Just a wonderful sheet, between the choice of subjects, the fantastic research that is presented and the quality of the decals themselves. I had zero interests in dark blue Corsairs but after seeing this sheet online, i had the Tamiya F4U-1D ordered within a day.

You can't leave us hanging like this, give us a crumb man!!!

Finally done with the bomb bay! Completed the port sidewall, which was primarily control cables running the length. I might add a few last bits if the mood strikes me but at this point, I'm moving on to the bomb bay doors and then the engine cowlings. I need to be careful, this is typically the stage of a long build where I get into trouble, once I see that I'm getting close to the finish and start rushing. Must..... resist...... . Anyway, a couple of last pics of my work in this area. That's it for now, thanks again for looking!

On a similar note, this website is worth perusing some morning over a cup of coffee or two. https://www.forcedlandingcollection.se/indexs.html A nice summary of aircraft that crashed or defected to Sweden during the war. Many shots of the crash sites then and today, also have some nice profiles of the aircraft.

The Tamiya rumors / wish list thread is 46 pages. This one is off to a good start. Keep the posts coming lads, we'll catch that thread in no time!

Wildcat, Hellcat, F-86 series.

The starboard bomb bay is completed. I added the remaining fuel lines and re-positioned the forward bomb bay hydraulic jacks further back from where I originally had them (really need to take my time and read the instructions). Lastly I toned down the scratches on the bomb carriers. I'd like to apologize for bombarding you folks (no pun intended) with so many monotonous pictures of this section of the bomb bay. I'm just really geeking out on this aspect of the build. Yeah, I know I'm a bit strange..... Enjoy the rest of your weekend fol

Nice choice of subject, I'll be following as well.