Hello everyone and welcome!

It’s WAR in the Falklands!

After a short and pleasant wait with the Pre-thread we are off and running. Here is a recap of items for current and future members of the build. I am Brian Fendley (bf443), your Campaign Leader. Carlos Schneerson (csch) will be assistant Leader. The campaign will run from August 1st, 2007 to January 31st 2008.

The Falklands War occurred in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. The Falkland Islands consist of islands in the South Atlantic Ocean east of Argentina, whose ownership has been disputed.
The war started with the occupation of South Georgia by Argentina March 19,1982 followed by invasion of the Falklands, the initial invasion was considered by Argentina as reoccupation of territory, and by Britain as an invasion of British territory.
The dispute over the islands increased on 19 March when 50 Argentines landed on the British dependency of South Georgia and raised their flag, an act that is seen as the first offensive action in the war. On 2 April, Argentina ordered the invasion of the Falkland Islands, triggering the Falklands War.
Great Britain was taken by surprise by the Argentine attack on the South Atlantic islands, but launched a naval task force to engage the Argentine Navy and Air Force, and retake the islands by amphibious assault. After the most extensive naval/air and amphibious combat since World War II 258 British and 649 Argentine killed, the British were victorious on June 14th and the islands remained British.

Any aircraft used by Great Britain or Argentina for the conflict. No restrictions on kit manufacturers and scale between 1:144 and 1/24th. Lets just build and have fun!

Some of the many aircraft in use:
C-130, A4 Skyhawk, Super Etendard, Mirage III EA, Puccara, Puma, Aermacchi MB.339's, T-34C's, Alouette, Dagger A (Mirage), Canberra B.62, Agusta A, Iroquois UH-1H's, Bell 212's, Learjet 35A, Harrier RN & RAF, Vulcan, Wessex, Sea Kings, Wasp, Lynx, VC.10 transports, chartered Boeing 707's, Chinook, Phantom FGR.2's (Ascension-based Aircraft), Nimrod, Victor K.2 tankers, Gazelle,

If you have any questions, ideas, suggestions or need any help concerning the campaign please feel free to contact the leaders or any member. We want this build to be enjoyable and stress all ages and skill levels are welcome, and if you have not done so please sign up in the Campaigns enlist feature https://aeroscale.kitmaker.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=Campaigns&file=index&req=showcontent&id=207



Sincerely,
Brian Fendley (bf443)

Great to be underway, Brian.

I am sure this will be an interesting and well run campaign.

I will start out by asking for some help. I am building Hasegawas Seaharrier from HMS Hermes in overall sea grey with drop tanks and sidewinders as already clarified by help from you in the precampaign tread.

Next question is: The hasegawa instructions show to add the big refueling probe to the sea haarrier from HMS Hermes. However, in pictures from the war it seems like the seaharriers did not have the refueling probe? Anybody know whether the seaharriers from Hermes had the refueling probes added?

Hello Everyone,

Jesper, I will consult my reference material and get back to you Friday about the refueling probe but I think you are correct.

Hope you found the short video slide show okay. I’m no movie producer in case any of you find the music familiar but can't remember, it's the theme music from the ABC Movie of the Week from 1982.
Well I am eager to get started so I decided to build one of the kits I did an inbox review of, the ESCI A4 Skyhawk (Check the pre-campaign thread for it).


Here is the fuselage and remember when I said it seems like it will need weight in the nose. Well while looking at the directions again I finally found reference to it but it did not give an exact or even vague amount. I used a Contour gage (if you don’t have one they are inexpensive and terrific for getting shapes correct when scratch building) and made a bulkhead from plastic sheet. I glued it forward of the cockpit and nose well and the placed 8 BB’s in the nose and used gel superglue to hold them in place.
After setting the cockpit in the fuselage it appear that the seat was much to low and instrument panel to far forward. So I removed the seat with a hobby knife and placed two pieces of plastic stock under the assembly to a more correct height.


Next I decided to re-scribe some but not all the panel lines on the wings. I hope it works out.


Here are some photos after assembly of most parts except ordinance.


This last photo is something I did not pickup on in the box review. There is no back wall for the cockpit. It’s better now that I raised the seat (hole got smaller) but then I got to look at the canopy and the framing is substantial and when painted and displayed (in the closed position) it will be very difficult to see so I did not make a rear bulkhead.

I will add the Radio Compass to its back spine and start the primer and basecoat tomorrow, or is that today whew it’s late.

Sincerely,
Brian

Thanks, Brian. That will be great

The slide show is really cool. It puts a positive pressure on the rest of us running campaigns to do something similar. It is great! This will be a great campaign.

Hello Everyone,

Jesper, after checking I found that some of the aircraft (RAF & RN) assigned to Operation Corporate were equipped with in flight refeuling probes but were used only in conjunction with Vickers Tanker aircraft for the long flight from England to Acension Island.

The Harriers then transferred to the Hermes and the flight probes were removed as there was no need to do in flight refueling after that. Only one Sea Harrier reached the Falklands with a refueling probe attached. It was the one combat ready aircraft assigned as protection for the container ship Alantic Conveyor.

However it could not take off vertical with a full load of fuel and weapons so a Vickers Tanker was always on station near the ship to allow the single Sea Harrier to top off after vertical launch. Once the ship was on station (Falklands) the replacement Harriers (RAF & RN) launched and were dispersed to other combat units present. I'm sure the Sea Harrier with the probe had it removed that day.

Hope this helps you out.

Brian

Hi
The refueling probe would have served very little purpose on the harriers once in the Falklands area of operations as there was no tanker types available not even the buddy tanker system as used by the US navy.
However whilst the extra sea harriers and the initial gr3 harriers arrived on the Atlantic Conveyor as Brian says after about 12 days of ops the gr3s numbers were so reduced that replacements were badly needed . Therefore 2 gr3s made the 9 hour flight from Ascension landing on Hermes being refueled on route several times, another couple arrived a few days later so it would be ok to depict a gr3 with a probe but again these would then have been removed.
Those most have been very tense flights as the navigation systems on the gr3s werent up to much and after the last top up the pilots would have beeen on their own in finding the fleet with little hope of rescue if they ran out of juice first..
cheers
peter

Your A4 looks OK... for a US Navy aircraft.
You'd have to modify the nose and intakes for a Fuerza Aerea Argentina A4 B or a CANA A4 Q.
I hope this picture will help.
Regards
Mario

Hello Mario,

Welcome to Aeroscale! All information is appreciated here. Unfortunately your picture did not come through. Before logging in tonight I was working on the Skyhawk some more and I got rid of the chin fairing and added the radio compass.

If the picture does not come through again perhaps you could send it as an attachment to my personal email (just click on profile button under my name) and I should be able post it on this forum for everyone to see. Its real late right now so I will post some pictures on Tuesday after I get off work.

Sincerely,
Brian

Hi Peter and Brian

Thanks for the info. I will leave of the refueling probe then.

Hi
I made a start on my entry, a Fujimi A-4C over the weekend, not a lot done just painted the cockpit and stuck a few bits together to see what they looked like.
Will get some pics over the next few days and hopefully get some more done this week.
Not sure yet what clour scheme to use as there appears to be two choices;
A sand/brown version or
A green/ light grey version
but i have also read that only the green /grey version is correct and that the sand/brown only occurred when photos were developed incorrectly.

Nice to see your skyhawk coming along Brian, just wondering do you always put it a build together completely before painting.
cheers
Peter

Hello
The A4 picture is in my folder (Click on "Photos" above).
I've added some useful info about the FAA Mirages.
Regards
Mario

Main construction is complete on my Seaharrier.

It builds up fine. The only problem being that the two rear fuselage halves does not fit together perfectly as so filling and sanding is necessary.

The outer small wheels do not touch the ground. Firstly I thought that was a mistake, but from what I can see from my references that is actually fine and how it should be.

The cockpit is okay, but basic. That is not really a problem in this scale as the pilot is filling out the whole cockpit anyway.

Howdy fellas,

Just in case anyone is interested, I have just officially enlisted in this Campaign over on the Campaign page, and have also just gotten shipment confirmation of my 1/32nd scale Mirage kit from MegaHobby.
It shipped out yesterday and should arrive tomorrow or thereabouts.....

So, aside from really enjoying all of the other efforts out there with the plethora of choices made by the Campaign participants, I will be following with even greater interest all of you who decided to take on the venerable and multifaced Mirage.

Aside from that, this will be one of the first modern jet aircraft I've done in SOME time......so please be gentle with your critique..

Here's to a great campaign!

Tread.

Hello Everyone,

What great progress, in model building and new members. Everyone welcome bryan4010 who is brand new to the site, Bryan will be building a Tamiya Sea Harrier and Gordon (aka Treadhead) thank you for participating with a 32nd Mirage. I confident your build will be something to admire.

Somtec – Yes, I do most of my builds with the model fully assembled or darn close. In 1/48th scale I usually assemble and paint the cockpit before the rest of the model. In the case of the 72nd Skyhawk I choose to leave the external fuel tanks off to make it easier to paint, as the undersurface is very cramped with them in position.
Depending on what branch of service you choose Air Force or Navy there are several schemes to choose from. Let me know what version your interested in and I (or anyone else here that matter) can help you with the colors.

Marriodagger – Thank you for the pictures, I should have thought to look in your photo section in the first place. If you would like them posted directly to this forum please feel free to do so. Just curious are you planning to build a model for this build? It would be great if you were.

Jesper – Ah… your Sea Harrier and my Skyhawk. “The Predator and the Prey” I must drop the ordinance quickly and streak away!


Here is the progress I have made as of tonight on the Skyhawk. First photo shows the Radio Compass and marker light I scratched from sheet plastic.


Next is two frontal views after removing the nose chin and added ordinance.



Finally after doing a bunch of other things around my property and (dang near getting stung by a bunch of Wasps) here is the model primered.



Hopefully I can start the actual camouflage scheme Thursday evening.

Sincerely,
Brian

I will protect the fleet at all costs!

Actually this is what makes a campaign is fun. Doing several aircraft that sorts of fits together in one way or another.

On my Seaharrier I will try out some techniques of shading that is new to me. Mother's techniques of shading with oils and then using a light overspray afterwards on his A-10 build blog has inspired me to try the same on my Seaharrier.
Maybe I am becoming overconfident after my Yak-3 but on the other hand why not try something new.

Hi guys!

Good to see you have a Falklands thread going on. If you want any info on Falklands SHARs and GR3s please drop me a line for more info.

A lot of what I have collected over the past 18 years has gone into the new Modellers Datafile on the SHAR by SAM Publications and the new Xtradecal FRS1/GR3 decal sheets in 72nd and 48th available from Hannants.

On the IFR probes, for SHARs you're right in that they were only used by the 809NAS replacements SHARs that flew from Yeovilton via Banjul in The Gambia to Ascension Island, from where they travelled south on the Atlantic Conveyor. On that journey one SHAR - id unconfirmed but believed to be ZA190 - was kept on 'Alert 5' on the bow of the Conveyor for a VTO; armed with AIM-9Gs rather than the 9Ls available on Hermes and Invinc. The IFR probe was kept fitted to this SHAR so she could refuel from nearby Victors if needbe.

For the GR3s, the probes were again used for the transition from Wittering via St Mawgan to Ascension and then used by four GR3s, fitted with 330 gal tanks inboard, 100 gal tanks outboard for the direct flight from Ascension to Hermes, these trips lasting some 8 hours. The GR3s that completed this epic journey were: XW919/03, XZ133/10, XZ992/05 and XV778/16. These four Harrriers also carried the 'Blue Eric' ECM fit in their stbd gunpods.

Hope that helps for now.

Nick

Nick Greenall
Leader
Harrier Special Interest Group, IPMS(UK)
http:/harrier.hyperlinx.cz

Hello
Here I'm listing some websites with good info / pictures of argentine Malvinas War subjects:
http://www.choiquehobbies.com.ar
In particular http://www.choiquehobbies.com.ar/revista/notas/transf/transfe.htm
contains details for converting an A-4Q SKYHAWK of the CANA, but the same goes for an A-4B of the Fuerza Aerea.
In these sites you will find articles about kits and the real thing as well:
http://www.modelersite.com/
http://www.hyperscale.com/

Regards
Mario

"... Actually this is what makes a campaign is fun. Doing several aircraft that sorts of fits together in one way or another...."

I agree, and adding to that is the wonderful amount of information that is shared betwix participating Campaign members that elevates everyone's understanding of a particular subject and it's subsequent 'whetting' of the imagination of the lurkers who are along for the ride....

And, for those who may be interested, I just received my 1/32 scale Mirage '5' in the mail and I am most happy to report that the 'Mephisto' kit does INDEED come with both noses in the box.

Tread.

Hello Everyone,

I hope to have the last camo color on the skyhawk tomorrow (Pictures to follow then).

I thought it might be a good idea to list who's doing what so far.

1. Kriegshund-72 Italeri Sea Harrier.
2. Betheyn-48 Hobbycraft A4B Skyhawk, Tamiya Sea Harrier.
3. CSCH-72 Pucara.
4. Phantom2-48 Airfix Sea Harrier, Italeri Mirage IIIE.
5. Somtec-72 fujimi A4 Skyhawk (2), Heller Mirage IIIE, Special Hobby I-58
Pucara, High Planes Dagger, Super models Macchi 339A.
6. Alpha Tango-48 Airfix Super Etendard.
7. Jesper-72 Hasegawa Sea Harrier.
8. Bigskip-72 Revell Victor Tanker
9. Rbarcon- 48 Italeri Mirage IIE.
10. Treadhead-32 Mirage V (Dagger)
11. SGTJKJ-48 Sea Harrier.
12. Bryan4010- 48 Tamiya Sea Harrier.
13. bf443-(currently) 72 ESCI A4 Skyhawk.
14. Shar1-24 Airfix Sea Harrier

If I have missed anyone or have the lists wrong let me know.

Sincerely,
Brian

OK. It's late and I cannot get these photo thingies of my 24th scale FRS.1 to upload here as others seem to be able to, so here's a link to where I think they are on the site...

http://photos.kitmaker.net/showphoto.php/photo/213555/cat/500/ppuser/11195

Happy hunting!

Nick

Hi Brian:

For this one I´ll only build the IA 58 Pucará in 1/72. I have another two builds to do for the second half of the year Campaigns and not to much free time.

Regards.
Carlos

Hello all,

Thank you for the corrections to the list. I have made the adjustments to reflect them. If you have not formally "Enlisted" please take a moment to do so. Also our photo album is up and ready 'Thank you Jean-Luc for setting that up'.

Well, I was able to finish the basic camouflage earlier today. I used a pencil to help outline the pattern and sprayed it freehand, no masking this time to help. The colors are Model Master Field Drab, Field Green, and Humbrol Duck Egg Blue.









I will start detail painting Tuesday and maybe (Optimistic in me) finish it by next Sunday (LOL). I look forward to all of your model progress updates and history.

Sincerely,
Brian

Brian, looks good with your Skyhawk. Very good job on the camouflage. You must have a steady hand

I read in an email from Hannants that Airfix is realeasing a Falklands commorative set for 18 Pound Sterling although there were no further details about what was included. Anybody heard anything about this?

Hi
I saw an advert in an aircraft magazine just recently and on the box cover were a Skyhawk, Pucara, Mirage, Super Etendard, Sea Harrier and Gr3 Harrier.
Hopefully they wont be old Airfix kits rehashed as they are very old and basic such as the skyhawk mirage and gr3.
cheers
peter