CharlesMetz

Rob, I don't know whether this will meet your need, but it may help: http://www.largescaleplanes.com/Reference/P-40.html Charles Metz

Tim, Actually the Irish company mentioned earlier produces/produced *two* decal shhets for the 1/32 Lysander: 'Exotic Lysanders'; 1/32 scale; manufactured by Max Decals [ireland] — product no. 3201; MEDIUM/MEDIA: decal; MARKINGS: Lysander I "Black Y513" of No. 1 Army Co-operation Sqdrn., Egyptian Air Force, 1940; Lysander II "Black 66" of 1 Fighter Sqdrn., Irish Air Corps, 1942; Lysander IIIA "White 361" of 361 Grupo de Reconhecimento e Informacao, Portugese Air Forece, 1943 and: 'Exotic Lysanders'; 1/32 scale; manufactured by Max Decals [ireland] — product no. 3202; MEDIUM/MEDIA: decal; MARKINGS: Lysander II "Black 3106", Turkish Air Force, 1939; Lysander TT.III "K W6-K" of N. 755 NAS, Fleet Air Arm, 1941-42; Lysander TT.III "V9817" of 3 Gunnery & Tow Target Flt., 8th Air Force, USAAF, March 1944 Also, Engines and Things makes a resin engine for the Lysander I and Lysander III: 'Bristol Mercury 9 cyl. 840 Hp'; 1/32 scale; manufactured by Engines & Things [Canada] — product no. 32031; MEDIUM/MEDIA: resin and as mentioned earlier, Cutting Edge produces painting masks: 'Lysander canopy/ wheel hub masks'; 1/32 scale; manufactured by Cutting Edge [uSA] — product no. BM32042 I seem to recall that Final Connections made a resin Lysander II conversion set as well, but that company went out of business when its owner, Kent Kinall, passed away several years ago.

Thierry, If I recall correctly (a questionable assumption), all of the conversion parts usually seen in vacform were done instead in resin.

Mick, You've reminded me that the owner of the hobbyshop where I saw the resin version did mention someone named Otto in connection with it. I wish my memory were as good as yours!

Thierry's mention of the "special edition" 1/32 Beaufighter brings to mind a vivid memory that may surprise some of you. When that special edition of Revell's Beaufighter kit was first released by Modelcraft Canada, a hobby shop near my home offered two different versions: one with vacformed conversion parts and another with the same parts molded, instead, in resin. I saw and handled the resin version but decided to purchase the vacformed example due to its substantially lower price -- a decision that now strikes me as the greatest blunder of my large-scale-modeling career, though I had no way of knowing then how very rare the resin version would be. Has anyone else here seen or heard of this resin version of the "special edition" Beaufighter kit? Just curious, Charles Metz

That's a -I.

MPM/Azure/Special Hobby was selling their Type 17 kit at the IPMS/USA Nationals a coupel of weeks ago..

Chris, My memory could be playing tricks on me here and I'm not near my library, but didn't the Mk.VI have a long narrow air intake on the starboard side of its cowling as part of the cabin-pressurization system, similar to that on a PR.XIX? I don't see any sign of one on the Trumpeter kit's new sprue. Charles Metz

Chris, Actually there is at least one difference in accuracy between Trumpeter's Corsair kits aside from the variants that they represent -- and perhaps a second as well. For reasons beyond human understanding, the cowl flaps are essentially accurate on the -4 kit but strangely "gap-toothed" on the -1D. Also, if I recall correctly, both kits's cockpits have solid floors, which is correct for the -4 but not for the -1D.

Martin, The Matchbox/Revell 1/32 Lysander is simple but basically accurate. Two comprehenive magazine articles on detailing this kit that I recommend if you can find them are 'Westland Lysander (Part 1),' by Philpott [scale Models, 10 (119) 1979, page 438] and 'Westland Lysander (Part 2),' by Philpott and Barnes [scale Models, 10 (120) 1979, page 592]. Unfortunately, Final Connections has been out of business since its owner, Kent Kinal, passed away a year or two ago. As far as I know, the only 1/32 Lysander aftermarket items that may still be in production are: * Lysander I, Lysander III detail set: 'Bristol Mercury 9 cyl. 840 Hp'; 1/32 scale; manufactured by Engines & Things [Canada] — product no. 32031; MEDIUM/MEDIA: resin * Lysander I, Lysander II, Lysander IIIA markings: 'Exotic Lysanders'; 1/32 scale; manufactured by Max Decals [country of origin unknown] — product no. 3201; MEDIUM/MEDIA: decal; MARKINGS: Lysander I "Black Y513" of No. 1 Army Co-operation Sqdrn., Egyptian Air Force, 1940; Lysander II "Black 66" of 1 Fighter Sqdrn., Irish Air Corps, 1942; Lysander IIIA "White 361" of 361 Grupo de Reconhecimento e Informacao, Portugese Air Forece, 1943 * Lysander II, Lysander TT.III markings: 'Exotic Lysanders'; 1/32 scale; manufactured by Max Decals [country of origin unknown] — product no. 3202; MEDIUM/MEDIA: decal; MARKINGS: Lysander II "Black 3106", Turkish Air Force, 1939; Lysander TT.III "K W6-K" of N. 755 NAS, Fleet Air Arm, 1941-42; Lysander TT.III "V9817" of 3 Gunnery & Tow Target Flt., 8th Air Force, USAAF, March 1944 and: * Lysander painting masks: 'Lysander canopy/ wheel hub masks'; 1/32 scale; manufactured by Cutting Edge [uSA] — product no. BM32042 I purchased the Max Decals sheets from FlightDecs, who list them at http://www.flightdecs.ca/1_32scale.htm Charles Metz

GS, In addition to the Cutting Edge conversion set, Craftworks makes a resin P-36/Hawk 75 kit and Azur (or one of the other MPM consortium companies) has announced a forthcoming injection-molded kit. Charles Metz

Koala, If you'd like some input from Jerry Crandall, it might be best to recall the name of his company correctly: It's "Eagle Editions," not "Eagle Strike," and his line of resin aftermarket products is called "EagleParts." Until Jerry DOES chime in, I'll try to answer your question about '190 A-8 drop tanks. If I recall correctly, Jerry told me that the new Hasegawa kit's tank is, in fact, incorrect (as Tom Cleaver asserted), because it should have the flattened bottom that was needed to provide sufficient ground clearance on '190s, which were required to land nose-high to avoid risking propeller damage. Charles Metz

D, A list of some '109 F cockpit detail references is appended below. Charles Metz ------------------------------------------ Cohausz: 'Cockpits deutscher Flugzeug: Historische Instrumentierungen von 1911-1970' (Aviatic Verlag [Germany], 2000; in German; 302 pages) -- page 242 Cohausz: 'Deutsche Flugzeugcockpits und Instrumentenbretter Zweiter Weltkrieg: Junkers - Messerschmitt' (Cockpit Profile series, No. 7; UNITEC-Medianvertreib [Germany], 2003; in German and English; 51 pages) -- page 36 Feist: 'Luftwaffe in World War II: Part Two' (Aero Pictorials series, No. 5; Aero [uSA], 1979; 99 pages) -- page 80 Forsyth: 'Mistel: German Composite Aircraft and Operations 1942-1945' (Classic series, No. 7; Classic Publications [uK], 2001; 288 pages) -- page 77 Hitchcock: 'BF 109F' (Monogram Close-Up series, No. 9; Monogram Aviation Publications [uSA], 1990; 32 pages) -- page 9 Hoch: 'Die Messerschmitt Me 109 in der Schweizer Flugwaffe: ein Stück Zeitgeschichte' (privately published [switzerland], 1999; in German; 256 pages) -- page 148 Ledwoch: 'Bf 109F' (Wydawnictwo Militaria series, No. 54; Militaria [Poland], 1997; in Polish; 54 pages) -- page 44 and back cover Merrick: 'German Aircraft Interiors 1935-1945: Vol. 1' (German Aircraft Interiors series, No. 1; Monogram Aviation Publications [uSA], 1996; 256 pages) -- pages 94-97 and 104 Michulec: 'Messerschmitt Me 109, pt. 3' (Aircraft Monograph series, No. 18; AJ Press [Poland], 2002; in English; 121 pages) -- page 114 Nohara: 'Luftwaffen Warplane [sic] 1928-45' (Illustrated Warplane History series, No. 7; Green Arrow [Japan], 2001; in Japanese; 316 pages) -- page 30 [various authors]: 'Mystery Aces and Aircraft of the Luftwaffe' (Air Classics series [unnumbered]; Challenge Publications [uSA], 1981; 98 pages) -- page 93 ------: 'Messerschmitt Bf 109' (Maru Mechanic series, No. 39 [reprinted in No. 50]; Maru [Japan], 1983; in Japanese; 80 pages) -- pages 23 and 24 ------: 'Messerschmitt Bf 109 Fighters' (Koku-Fan Special series [unnumbered]; Bunrin-Do [Japan], 1977; in Japanese and English; 166 pages) -- page 127 ------: 'Messerschmitt Bf 109F "Friedrich"' (Model Art Special Issue series, No. 408; Model Art [Japan], 1993; in Japanese; 168 pages) -- page 88 ------: 'The Day-Fighters of Luftwaffe in WW II' (Koku-Fan Special series [unnumbered]; Bunrin-Do [Japan], 1984; in Japanese; 176 pages) -- page 65

I agree with Francis that the old Revell '109's fuselage is too short -- and shall add that the Hasegawa '109 E kit's fuselage also is much too short between its cockpit and fin, essentially duplicating Revell's error. Until Hasegawa released their newly-tooled '109 G/K series, Matchbox's E was the only injection-molded '109 with a fuselage of anywhere near correct length. Charles Metz

Wumm, Marine Air Products has been out of business since the person who owned and operated it passed away some years ago. Charles Metz

Thierry, To answer your question: Yes, I did build my '110 G with its engine covers closed. Although nearly anything is possible in our hobby, I suspect that correcting the kit's nacelles while leaving one or both of those covers open would be quite a bit more difficult, if only because the nacelle's inner as well as outer surfaces would need to look good -- and then there's the problem of obtaining and fitting a correctly-sized engine, which is too small in the Revell kit, if I recall correctly (admittedly, a dangerous assumption). Charles Metz

Alan, I'm surprised that no one has mentioned this kit's undersized engine nacelles and spinners, which are its most egregious errors, in my opinion. Real '110 Fs and Gs used excatly the same prop spinners as '109 Fs, Gs and Ks -- in fact, they had the same Messerschmitt AG part number. If you can't see the Revell '110 kit's problem at a glance, get out a spinner from one of Hasegawa's 1/32-scale '109 G/K kits, which is correct in diameter and more-or-less correct in shape (though the the Eagle Parts replacement spinner is better) and compare it to the '110 kit's spinner. You'll find that the differences in diameter and shape are dramatic. Jerry Rutman sells '110 G spinners that are essentially correct in shape, but still too small in diameter because they're designed to fit the kit nacelles. A more difficult fix -- but the only way to make the kit right in this regard -- is to increase the diameter of the kit's nacelles until they fit a Hasegawa '109 G spinner or its Eagle Parts (or MDC) equivalent. I accomplished this by sawing cuts approximately 1.5" (40mm) rearward from the nacelle's front end, inserting appropriately shaped wedges, and then sanding the expanded nacelle round. Charles Metz

Alan, Hasegawa's 1/32 Spitfire Vb kit has never changed; only the Mk.I/II release contains revised parts. Charles Metz

Just guessing here, but I suspect that at least part of the problem is that these photos were taken with a "fisheye" (i.e., overly wide-angle) lens. Notice, for example, that the model's wingspan seems short in the first photo but long in the sixth. Charles Metz

Several years ago FineScale Modeler published an excellent article by Frank Mitchell on correcting Revell's 1/28-scale Fokker D.VII. Charles Metz

Alan, The original Scrathcbuilders Me 410 (product no. 93004) was released in 1993, whereas the virtually all-new kit (product no. 99001) was released in 1999. The boxes of each Scratchbulders subject were numbered beginning at 101, and I believe -- but am not certain -- that the revised Me 410s were numbered beginning at 201, because my revised kit, which was one of the first shipped by Scratchbulders, is #206. Therefore, I'm essentially certain that #136 would be from the original release. If you're thinking of buying a 1/32 '410, it's important to understand that the two releases of this kit are VERY different: the second is essentially accurate whereas the original contained many basic errors, some of which are essentially uncorrectable -- e.g.: * The original kit's wing chord was 1/4" to 3/8" too small at the root, according to the best plans I've seen (Bill Koster's for the 1/48 Revell/Monogram kit). This causes the trailing edges of the wing to meet the fuselage ahead of the side-mounted machine-gun pods, rather than beneath them, as is evident in photos (e.g., in the Squadron/Signal 'In Action' on the 410). The machine-gun pods are located a bit too far aft, as well, but that isn't the main cause of the difficulty here. * The engine nacelles of the original release were about 3/4" too far apart -- i.e., each nacelle was about 3/8" too far from the aircraft's centerline in plan view. * The original release's rear fuselage was roughly 1/4" too narrow. This isn't terribly obvious, because the '410 was a slim aircraft, but it makes the tailwheel well too narrow to accomodate the tailwheel -- even if you substantially reduce the width of the tailwheel (which is much too wide, anyway) and rework the tailwheel "fork," which is both too wide and incorrect in shape. * The original kit's cockpit bulkheads weren't aligned properly with the canopy framing. This is a particularly serious problem if you want to open the canopy hatches, because then the discrepancies between the positions of the pilot's head armor and the rear of the pilot's canopy opening, on one hand, and between the positions of the rear of the cockpit "decking" and the front of the observer's canopy opening, on the other, become dramatically apparent. As far as I know, all of the above problems as well as many others (e.g., wildly-incorrect propellers and prop spinners, wrong chord and cross-section of the slats on the leading edge of the wings, the trailing edge of each wing should have a small "gull" at the root, wrong seats and side consoles, wrong ventral gunpack shape, etc., etc.) were corrected in the revised kit. The bottom line, in my opinion, is that the revised kit is highly desirable but the original version should be avoided at all costs. Charles Metz

Ian, My article at: http://www.ipmsstockholm.org/magazine/1999...ch_scribing.htm addresses several of your questions. I hope that it will be helpful. Charles Metz

Mike West of Lone Star Models is about to release a resin cockpit for Trumpeter's P-40B for US$28, including shipping within the USA. A description of this set that I read recently (posted by Boyd Waechter, IIRC) indicates that it's nicely molded and has an appropriately-curved floor at the correct depth. Lone Star doesn't have a website at the moment, but Mike can be contacted by e-mail at lsmodels@pdq.net Charles Metz

Wingman, Ta 152s differed from '190 D-9s in many ways other than gun cowling, fin chord, fuselage length and (on the '152 H) wing length: for example, the '152's cockpit was set farther back relative to its wing and its wheelwells were farther apart -- both by approximately a foot. Therefore, building an accurate Ta 152 from a D-9 kit is a *major* task ... and Hasegawa can't produce a Ta-152H kit simply by adding sprues to their newly-tooled Dora. Charles Metz

Chris, Your posting made me laugh ... after I figured it out, that is. You're right: I got a little carried away. Charles Metz