Haven't forgotten, just off to a very slow start.



Need a dose of time and good weather to star painting the interior.

Jesper,

Good progress on the old Matchbox 'Beau', the thimble nose TF X did not have any wing guns, it had extra fuel tanks in that part of the wing.
I've added some pix here of the Beaufighter, I hope these pix are useful too you as I need to look threw some of my books and scale drawings for more info on this bird.


Note: The Flare Shute starboard side of the observers entry hatch.


Note: Torpedo Hangers on this bird.

Note: Universal Bomb racks either side of the pilots entry hatch.
Also these two pix show no wing guns.

The following three pix are of the Australian Mk XXI.


A8-1 The first DAP Built version {fitted with the rocket blast plates}


Note: Torpedo Cradle mountings fitted on this particular Mk XXI

Wow - great start Rob and Jesper!

Not sure when I'll actually start on my entry, but at least I cracked the box and fondled the plastic.
It's Trumpeter's 1:72 Tupolev Tu22M-3 "Backfire" bomber. This aircraft certainly made an impression on me from "Red Storm Rising, so I had to have one. (Good thing it never came to the events of the book!).

Where in the world will I put it when complete? (Fujimi 1:72 MiG-21 for comparison)

Here's the MiG-21 compared just to the AS-4 "Kitchen" anti-ship cruise missile. Yikes!


Looking forward to a great campaign -
Tom

Hi All,

Thomas, Thanks, interesting bird you have chosen, I look forward to seeing some progress on it, {was this the aircraft type built as their version of the F 111 ?}


I've removed the masking from laying down the paint scheme {all Model Master enamels} and not happy with a few things on this build, so it's back to the desk and the mili put, which I used to make the shrouds for the cabin heater inlets {disconnected on all RAAF Pacific region Beaufighter's} and fuel tank drain outlets.
I may strip the camo off this bird and start again, or just leave it as it is.


Note: The PE seat and harness, a few extra's to add to the canopy before it is put back onto the fuselage.

Note: The small fuel drain housings, seen in this pic along with the flare schute and the emergency trailing antenia.


Diheadral tailplane fited to this marque. Also this margue did not have the hedgehog style exhaust as fitted to the Mk VI. Even though I have built this as an early Mk VI, it is mainly a modified Mk IV. PE seat and harness for the observer.

WOW! Rob that is some fast building do you drink much coffee? It is looking good and you will be finished by the time that I stop typing this paragraph . I am afraid to pull down my kit since the last accident involving taking it out. This is the largest item in my stash (Hasegawa 1/72 P-3)

Bob

You guys are off to a great start. Stop it now, you're embarrasing me in my own Campaign !!

Guido, great looking office there mate, you're right at home with the wingy-thingy's for sure !!

Rob, you'll be done before I get 3 parts glued together in the cockpit, ease up. That Beau is looking great !! And thanks for helping out with the reference pics, it adds a great deal to the thread to see those real aircraft in action.

Graham, really nice work on the powerplant and cockpit so far.

Tom, that's one great looking bird, looking forward to seeing it built up.

Mark, man it would be breezy flying around with the bomb bay doors open, but I've always liked that kit and I love the gun packs on the side as well. More firepower !!

And finally @ Damian, extract the digit and get building mate !!

Cheers, D

Mark,
I think the doors were closed on the Mitchel torpedo carrier, I found a couple of pages showing a US Marine Tri Scheme and a US Marine Single cam scheme, that may be of interest too you.




Damian,

No problem glad to share in a few pix, as for the Beau, kit seats and observers seat frame are replaced with metal, I took a break from my book writting and got stuck into getting it close.
Here is a pic seldom seen of a pair of angry Beaufighter's.


My next build for this campaign is the Mk XVIII {Tse Tse} Mosquito which looks like this.



Though I don't see myself going into the diorama type for this flying can opener.


I don't think I'll go this far with the build, {though it would make an interesting subject}.

Thanks for the great pictures, Rob. They look good. I am still looking for pictures of the Beau with the nose radar dome.

Thanks again

Those -1J's are a lot more colorfull than my -1D that 's for sure. Blue over white is the only scheme, only decal choices are Star and Bar with red or blue outline.



Somewhere I read that the -1D's bombay was too short for the aerial torpedos, so they had to go with the rack sticking out of the bomb bay. Not that I can find that reference right now, nor any online pictures. I don't think that the B-25's bombay was as deep (into the fuselage) as other WWII bombers, so it may not have been as breezy as the back of a 17 or 24 when the bombbay opened.

What I have seen is that I'm going to have to scratch build the doors. EVERY picture of the open bombay shows the perferated inner skin, while the kit only has solid doors.

Hey, Mark I did not see which kit you have there. Nice choice of a/c I have always loved the B-25 in all of its variants.

Bob

Your welcome and I remember the Italeri kit from a few years back when I helped a friend build one, the kit decals are a little bit under done in options, I believe Zolts do an AM sheet {mainly of the USAAC birds}, I think the tri colour scheme would look good on the B25.

The kit that I had finally found on evilbay and the old fart


Along ways from here


I have not decided on how to make this C into an A/B yet, I just do not wish to putty up and sand until the cows come home so I have to open the box and see just how much needs to be done to the nose, bombay, and aft fuselage area to change it.

OH! the pictures are for D. to laugh at since he needs some humor today

Bob

Excellent work Rip, it takes modeling to another level when it has a personal attachment.

Speaking of laughs, I played around with the GIMP program today for the first time and came up with a very simple childlike image for a ribbon.



Any comments welcome, and anybody with greater ribbonizing skills than me please put something else forward.

Cheers, D

D. I like the ribbon, how long did it take to master the GIMP program to accomplish a ribbon and how different is it to PAINT? I have played with both and did not spend enough time to master it enough to satisfy my attempt at producing the ribbon. Guess I will try it again after you come over and teach me how .

Bob

Thanks Rip, but I'm far from mastering GIMP, and I haven't used PAINT much so I can't really compare the two.

As they say, "when all else fails, read the instructions"

Well I took a look at the instructions for GIMP, and it goes for about 40000 pages, so I sort of just winged it. The basics seem very straightforward, but there is no end to what you can do with the special effects. That's for another time for me.

What I really want to do next with GIMP is create an animated GIF with Campaign banners for my signature area, with all of the Campaigns I am enlisted in. That should be fun.

Cheers, D

Damian,

Nice banner you designed, if your interested in playing with others for the campaign, lift one of the gun camera pix i posted and see how it turns out.

Damian-
I had to kill some time so I sat down to make ribbon, too.

Whaddaya think?



Guido

That's what I was aiming at with my effort Guido, yours is much better. What program do you use to create these?

Cheers, D

I am glad you like it.
I use Adobe Photoshop.
Guido

@Bob, Isn't it scarry how some gremlin steals that handsome young man out of the mirror and replaces it with a crusty old fart..

Still haven't found my source for the open bombbay and torpedo, but Kinsey (Detail & Scale) suggests that ground crews modified the door to allow it to close around the torpedo rack. He suggests cutting the rack in half and just glueing it to the outside of the doors. Might save me U$20 in brass.

@ D.: what is a manual / instruction book for other than a paper weight, the text for my accounting class weighs an astounding 20 lbs.

@ Guido : nice job on the ribbon, you sound like me too much time not to get into trouble.

@ Mark: Who was a handsome young man I am beautiful now more time to perfect the art of eating and playing with plastic and glue fumes give me more details on the bombay that you are talking about.

I think we will need a coin toss for the ribbon, they both are nice.

Bob

Hmmm this whole thing is looking a little tenuous. If this is to be believed,
http://www.modelingmadness.com/scotts/allies/us/pbjpreview.htm
It was never actually used in combat. I have found a nice drawing on a Russian site with the doors closed and the torpedo mounted. Or maybe it was used after 1944. Since part of the goal here was to show actual anti shipping A/C, not just hypotheticals, I wonder if this one really fits. Mind you the torp looks really kewl

Maybe I should revisit the TBF/M's in the stash

Mark, remember the 25's played hell with IJN shipping by skip bombing so the B-25 is a good choice. Or does this campaign specifically state torpedos?

I just reread the rules the b-25 skip bombing is legit.

Bob

As far as i'm aware - its anti-shipping not torpedo bombing campaign, so a non-torpedo dropping B25 should be ok as long as its from a squadron that acted in the anti-shipping role. If I hadn't already built it, I would have done my B25H for this as I love the B25's with the 75mm cannon!
As it is I'm thinking of doing the Mossie Mk XVIII with the molins gun based on the Tamiya 1/72 FB Mk VI kit. I've sourced the conversion parts and the decals, just need some etch and mask and I can get going. Might still do a B6N as well anyway just to make sure!

thanks
Mike

Mark, here is a pic of a B-25 skipping a bomb into an IJN ship.
http://ww2db.com/image.php?image_id=4009

Bob