In early 1944 the US Navy assembled an untrained and ill-prepared fighter squadron and shipped it for immediate action in the final stage of Operation Cartwheel. This is the story of the first Fighting Squadron 34.
The First Fighting Squadron VF-34
Whether we are pre-shading panel lines, post shading, black basing, dot filtering, mottling or marbling, the goal is to find a way to weather or distress the paint finish and otherwise to bring some interest to the surface of the model. When I first got back into the hobby (circa 2007) the finishing technique that […]
Paint « Marbling » Now On YouTube
[This guest post, as well as small scale model, is by Mickeen Hogan who researches World War II U.S. Navy aviation.]
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Perhaps the most famous Grumman Wildcat of all time is the F4F-3 Bureau Number (BuNo) 4031—with the “-3” model being the last of the non-folding winged Wildcat made. As luck would have it, this particular Wildcat became historically significant as it was flown into many battles and became the highest scoring of the F4F-3 Wildcats.
F4F-3 Wildcat (BuNo. 4031) was originally assigned to Marine Fighter Squadron VMF-211 which subsequently sent its Wildcat fighters, embarked on the USS Enterprise (CV-6), to Wake Island during November 1941. However, due to engine trouble, BuNo 4031 remained aboard the USS Enterprise (CV-6) until its return to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii—as fate had it, this ferry mission to Wake Island saved Enterprise from the infamous 7 December 1941 attack by the Japanese Imperial…
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I have been following Jeff’s blog since 2019 if my memory is correct. Jeff’s latest project was the He 111H-20. It’s worth visiting to see what he has done converting Hasegawa’s He 111.
Hasegawa Heinkel He 111 Build in 1/72 Scale Part I
Hasegawa Heinkel He 111 Build in 1/72 Scale Part II
Hasegawa Heinkel He 111 Build in 1/72 Scale Part III
Hasegawa Heinkel He 111H-20 of Dietrich Kornblum in 1/72 Scale
As a tribute to Jeff’s work I have used one of his photos as a wallpaper on my Samsum tablet.
I am still waiting for the call of spring to jump start finishing my He 111 project. Having this wallpaper should serve as a daily reminder spring is just a few weeks away.
Until then you can enjoy what Jeff is doing.
Having hit the pause button on My Forgotten Hobby III, I have been active in reading what other bloggers have been postings.
Inch High Guy and Plane Dave have been quite active and this has rekindled my interest a little.
However I am in the midst of winter and I feel more like a bear right now. This is about my favorite plane although they called it a beast.
These instructional videos are most interesting to watch as spring is still a long way off…
Filming is underway for the Warner Brother’s film “Dive Bomber” aboard the USS Enterprise (CV-6) at San Diego, the following photographs are from that film. Enterprise has her flight deck stained Mahogany with yellow markings, she would have her deck stained Dark Blue in July 1941.
An SB2U-1 of VB-3 “Black Panthers” displays the colorful “Yellow Wings” scheme in use prior to December 1940. The white tail indicates an aircraft assigned to USS Saratoga (CV-3).
A close-up of the nose of a Black Panther SB2U-1, the solid red nose indicating the aircraft of the squadron commander. It would also carry a red fuselage stripe indicating a section leader and wing stripes in the section color.
A view of the undersides showing placement of the wing insignia. Note the yellow upper wing color wraps around the leading edge of the wing to ensure smooth airflow. The elongated pods under each wing…
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At the end of my previous post, I’d completed the assembly of the cockpit and rear compartment of this aircraft. Some more bits and pieces needed to be modified and detailed before I could begin assembly. First, wheels. The Lysander had a spatted fixed undercarriage, with landing lights recessed into the front of the spats. […]
Eduard 1/48 Westland Lysander (Special Duties In France): Part 2
This is Eduard’s reboxing of an old Gavia kit, which has gone through a number of iterations. This « Limited Edition » contains the original Gavia parts, along with additional parts to build a number of different aircraft, together with Eduard’s resin and photoetch detailing, and a welcome set of paint masks for the extensive canopy. (I’d […]
Eduard 1/48 Westland Lysander (Special Duties In France): Part 1
My Forgotten Hobby III 