I've real interest in waterborne aircraft, especially the history and aircraft flown in Canada during the early 1900s. There's some really interesting stuff like this flying boat, actually not a boat as the hull is more like a canoe.

http://www.bushplane.com/bushplanes/bushplanes-vedette/

The Bushplane Museum is on my travel list in the next couple of years.

F4F Phantom II - Nothing says "Time to get up" like the sound of 2x2 J79 Turbofans going over your home at 75m and 750km/h... (Lived "in the shadow of the Rhino" from 1974 to 2006)

Let's see
1) P-51 Mustang. It's beauty in motion. And who can resist a Merlin?

2) F4 Phantom. One of the greatest thrills ever was the sight of a Blue Angel F4 25' off the water doing 500 Knots.

3) F-14 Tomcat. I loved the F14's of VX-4 at Point Magu NAS. Of course Black Bunny was the king.

4) B-25 Mitchell. It just distinctive.

5) P-47 Thunderbolt, nuff said...

maybe its time for a flying boat campaign then ?!

all the best

This topic comes up every now and then and I always like it. I wish I had the gumption to go back and see what I wrote last time.

One thing, there is somewhat of a difference between my favorites to see and read about and model, verses what I would want to fly in combat should I get time-warped back into the bad old days.

My faves? Based on what immediately comes to mind:

1. Curtiss P-40: "Damned by words but flown into glory." "The best second-best fighter..." My second Revell model was the 1/32 'Aleutian Tiger' P-40. The book I read that infected me with the flying bug was about the Flying Tigers. When I daydream about flying a warbird, 90% of the time it is a P-40. Guess the ol' ultimate Hawk is always in my heart.

2. F-104 Starfighter: aesthetic appeal; despite its record, an incredible aircraft. Potential untapped or unrealized. Had it been flown as envisioned in the combat arena by pilots trained to use it, we may well know a different history of it.

3. De Havilland Mosquito: based on its aesthetic appeal and knowing what we know of it as an airplane and war machine, what's not to like?

4. Mitsubishi Zero: a technically amazing engineering feat in a beautiful airframe with awesome performance. The first truly strategic fighter.

5. Douglas DC-3. I flew them in real life. Its technical and operational impact need not be mentioned.

Now, if I was catapulted back in time to fly those (widely operational) wingy-thingies and yet retaining what I now know:

1. DC-3: best airliner of the era.

2. Fw 190: Best thing the Germans put up.

3. P-51, Merlin-powered: even Eric Brown implied it would come down to the pilot vs a Spitfire XIV.

4. F-86: viceless and always competitive.

5. F-15: what I went into USAF dreaming to fly.

I would not be able to resist that. I have a Martin Mars kit that is right on the top of the pile.
In fact I'm going to go ahead and propose it.

Bump time . . . . . . . . if you have a few minutes go back to page 1 and have a browse through. I just poured a nice hot coffee and did just that. Definitely worth the journey.



If you have already posted, feel free to go back and review and revise.

If you haven't, please do!

Personal favourites, no right or wrong, just what and why. Top 5 props and top 5 jets, and photos please.



Cheers, D

Fairchild-Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II--the Hawg. Looks bada$$ cause it is bada$$. Every consideration in the design of this plane was focused on one thing: Kill lots of tanks and get the pilot back to the O'Club for happy hour!

Okay...

First of all, this reminds me of High Fidelity and the Top 5 lists. So with that said...

1. The Wright Flyer because of all the concepts that sprang from the brains of Orville and Wilbur Wright and their mechanic;
2. The Sopwith Camel just because...
3. The Spitfire... the plane that saved a nation
4. C-5 cargo plane because it is sooooo big
5. F-14... to me still the baddest looking aircraft when viewed head on full armed with the wings folded back. It just blows me away...

I could name so many more but those are the top 5.

oh, youve expanded the scope
I chose all props back on page one.
jets now- lets see.
727 and 707 - I flew on both of these particular aircraft back in the day

from military types, Ive always had a thing for the F-111.

Then in the late 70s, the B-1 came out, and I still think it among the most beautiful machines ever built.

My current favorite is an aircraft I have enjoyed riding on a number of recent flights, the Embraer E-195 airliner

which is employed by my favorite airline

Not an easy ask to limit yourself to just 5 but here goes

1/- Fw190A-8 it just screams I'm going to mess you up with a capital F

2/- DH Mosquito FBVI (I sat in the cockpit of one in John Smith's collection at Mapua, not easy getting my 6ft plus frame in the door and in the seat!)

3/- Nakajima Ki-44 just a brute of an aircraft

4/- Vought Corsair F4U-1D/Goodyear FG-1D

5/- EF2000A and B I just love this jet it looks just so lethal and maneuverable

Also rans Wyvern S-4, Sepecat Jaguar Hawker Sea Fury just a gorgeous brutish airframe

Sorry, but there's no way to limit myself to five, so, in no particular order, here's ten - and that list required a bit of pruning...

In no particular order -
1. F-4 Phantom: Just a big lump of attitude, and fond memories of seeing these at Leuchars in my boyhood.

2. Supermarine Spitfire: Used to love the BoB stuff as a kid, but in later years you come to appreciate the timeless elegance and refinement of the later marks.

3. Hawker Hurricane: Spits for show, Hurris for a pro. Classic function over form which still looks the part.

4. Hawker Hunter: Favourite of many post-war jets - when aircraft still looked as if they had been designed by a human being. Just a flying poem, and especially impressive when sneaking up on you doing LLXX through the Highland Glens.

5. C-130 Hercules: Big, noisy, ungainly and bloody beautiful. So many colour schemes to choose from as well.
Would love to do a 48th scale one, but space, space...

6. Fouga Magister: Bit of a wildcard here, but the V-tail marked it out as interesting, then you appreciate how dainty, graceful and, well, French, it is. Again, some cracking schemes, especially display team styles

7. F4-U Corsair: Gull wings, huge great radial on the front, beautiful deep blue colour, my favourite US WWII naval subject by some distance.

8. Messerschmidt 262: Totally swept-back everything, looks like something from a sci-fi comic even today. Right on the cusp of the Nazis going just a wee bit crazy with their designs, as well.

9. Douglas Dakota: A good, honest workhorse with almost unlimited choice of colour schemes due to its longevity.

10. Hunting/BAC Jet Provost/Strikemaster: Fond memories of these flitting around near York (From Linton), and the armed version again offers great scope for interesting "minority" AF schemes.

I've left out the Skyraider, Lancaster, Mustang, Thunderbolt, Typhoon (proper, WWII version), Mossie, and so many more. So many planes, so many variants, so little time...

Very nice list Gerry, some classic favourites and some unusual ones, but that's what this is all about. Your favourites, your choices, no right or wrong, just whatever takes your fancy.

Spinners x 5 and blowtorches x 5, you've nailed it!

Thanks for joining in, and feel free to load in some of your favourite images as well if you get the chance.

While I'm at it, time to revise my list. With the Me 262 going into the jet division, I have room in the prop class for one more.
My Top 5 jets, in no particular order:
Mirage, Phantom, F-111, Me 262, SR-71
My top 4 props remains as per the original post:
P-47 Razorback, P-61, Bf110 and CAC Boomerang.

Number 5 for me is a newcomer and I don't even have any in the stash, but following recent reading reference material and browsing the web I find myself a bit smitten with the Beaufighter. Big fat radials, bombs, rockets, torpedoes, radars and black paint, what's not to like?




Cheers, D

well, here we go:

1- Su-27 Flanker
2- Me 262
3- Focke-Wulf Fw 190
4- Mig-25
5- F-4 Phantom
6- F-14 Tomcat
7- Tu-160
8- Mig-21
9- Republic P-47 Thunderbolt
10- Su-25

From seeing them in Museums, airshows, books, modeling shows and some on my bench all of them over the years got me to buy more books, more plastic, more versions...

Greetings from the Great Southern Land fellow Aeroscalers!

Firstly, I hope that everybody takes care to stay safe and well in these difficult times. Please look after yourselves and those closest to you.

Quite a lot of us find ourselves isolated and the Kitmaker network will provide a point of contact and social engagement. With that in mind I wanted to revive this thread which is purely for folks to drop in and post comments and/or images of their favourite aircraft. I have just gone right back to the start and browsed through the entire thread, a worthwhile exercise if you have a few minutes to spare.

No right or wrong, no arguments, just what and why.

It has been a couple of years since the last post, so feel free to re-post if you have already done so. Times change, tastes change, but on the other hand some things are eternal.

I know it is almost impossible, but try to limit yourself to 5 props and 5 jets. Images are always great!

For me (in no particular order):
5 Props - P-47 (Razorback), P-61, CAC Boomerang, Beaufighter, Bf110
5 Jets - Me262, F-111, Mirage, F-4 Phantom, SR-71

Just one image to get the ball rolling.



Cheers, D

Hello, Everyone!

I thank the Lord for my having made the choice to live in VERY RURAL Upstate New York. That said, I've been spending a lot of time on my computer, and I've come upon this thread for the first time. VERY INTERESTING subject, and I very much welcome seeing all of the great, diversified tastes among the members of AEROSCALE, in particular. My own tastes? Oh golly, I don't even know where to begin, but here goes:

I'm primarily an aircraft builder, 1/48 WWII US and Allied variety. I DO however have quite a number of Axis aircraft in my collection, as well. I like some of the US post-war, Korean War, Vietnam and newer birds, as well. Then there are the WWI-types, and the CIVILIAN private and airliner types of the 1920s and 1930s, which are sadly lacking in 1/48 scale. I know that I'm being pretty vague about all of this, so what I'm going to need to do is to compile a list in each of the categories that I've mentioned above...

I don't mean to be boring, but I would say that my ABSOLUTE FAVORITES would far exceed keeping it down to merely 5 aircraft.

Just to give you an idea, I would have to start with,

Part I-

a) The Republic P-47, ALL types. My favorite kits of the P-47, naturally would be the 1/48 TAMIYA P-47D "Razorback", the P-47D "Bubble Top", and the P-47M, which is also a "Bubble Top". I would PURELY LOVE to see TAMIYA produce a 1/48 P-47C with the "Flat Keel' and the "earlier style" Engine Cowl & Cowl Flaps, a P-47B, with the shorter forward Fuselage, and of course, a P-47N... Why do I like the P-47 so much? Besides my other opinions, which I KNOW most of you will probably disagree with, I don't think the P-47 was "ugly" at all! She was THE "Glamour-Girl" of her era, with a LOT of "Class". Like the "REAL" Mae West, and not at all like her various "bad lady" movie characters. To properly express myself, I would need to start another forum dedicated to P-47s, alone. I will try to be brief and just say, get yourself a copy of Warren M. Brodie's book,

"Republic's P-47 THUNDERBOLT from Seversky to Victory"

This book is no doubt THE most comprehensive book ever written about this world-beater WWII Fighter Airplane. It's worth every penny for the dedicated P-47-fan...

Quite a few people who have contributed to this thread have already extolled the virtues of the P-47. I see no need to repeat what they have already said. The book is not one of those tomes filled with an overabundance of dry technical data, even though the data is certainly there. Much of the text in this book is on an anecdotal-level, and Mr. Brodie has excelled in delivering the REAL story of the THUNDERBOLT...

"The Cadillac of all Fighters", which she proved, time and time again...

Next, obviously:

b) The North American P-51 Mustang/Apache, ALL types. The very latest permutations of the Mustang in 1/48 scale by EDUARD are "at the top of the hill" of Mustangs produced in plastic by nearly EVERY MAJOR model kit company. I have probably over THIRTY 1/48 P-51s and sub-types such as the A-36A in my collection, built and un-built. These have, like my P-47s, accumulated over the years. I must mention at this point that I have been building models of all types since 1958- I was five years old when my Mom bought me my very first model, which is another story all in itself!

Thankfully, EDUARD will be producing the "Razorback" P-51B/C-models for the 2020 model-year- HURRAH!!!

What can I say about the Mustang that hasn't already been said? In my opinion, the P-47 has the tiniest edge over the P-51- That edge is about as thin as a piece of onion skin. I could also write a book on THAT subject, as each of these thoroughbreds has their virtues and their failings. I will agree that the P-51 is probably THE PRETTIEST Fighter Aircraft EVER BUILT... I'll leave it at that...

c) The Lockheed P-38 Lightning- A TRULY PIONEERING, OUTSTANDING, and UNCONVENTIONAL FIGHTER PLANE of the World War Two-era. In the hands of the right Pilot, a Lightning could, and did, out-turn Bf.109s and A6M Zeroes at certain altitudes. Not for nothing did Luftwaffe Pilots and HEER personnel give the Lightning the German moniker, "Der Gabelschwanz Teuffel"- "The Fork-Tailed Devil"... As has been said by other contributors in this thread, " 'Nuff Said"... The latest 1/48 TAMIYA P-38F/G kit gets my vote as THE best P-38 kit IN ANY SCALE. Hopefully, TAMIYA will follow suit with a 1/48 P-38J/L...

d) The Chance Vought F4U Corsair- In just a few words, WHAT AN AIRPLANE!!! You fellows can figure out my HIGH esteem for THIS AIRPLANE, just by what I have said about the aircraft above. A BRUTE, but with a certain loveliness about her...

To be continued, tomorrow...

Was surprised to see this one pop back up after so many years D

I am the master of revival!

Honestly, a quiet moment at work today and I made a coffee and went for a stroll through my "Topics Started" profile area.

Cheers, D

Hello Again, All!



Part II

d) To continue with the Chance Vought F4U- I won't go into History, as most of you are familiar with this outstanding Fighter. Aesthetically speaking, I rank the F4U just below the the Grumman F8F Bearcat-series. As I'm a strict "Quarter-Scaler", TAMIYA once again gets the nod with their 1/48 F4U-1 through F4U-1D kits. I wish however, that they'd go ahead and produce the later types, namely the late WWII F4U-4 through the (post war) AU-7 & the F2Gs. I haven't any experience with the HOBBY BOSS Corsairs, so I'll withhold any commentary regarding these kits.

I do have two ACCURATE MINIATURES F2Gs (SPECIAL HOBBY re-boxings) in my collection and they are fine kits, but comparatively speaking, TAMIYA's execution of 1/48 Corsairs edge them out, as the ACCURATE MINIATURES kits' (SPECIAL HOBBY) moldings are just a bit "softer" in the execution of their main parts. You get a resin Engine, in which ALL parts, including the Cylinders are separate pieces. This is perfectly fine if you're an experienced modeler but if you're inexperienced, or if you just plain don't like resin, this part of the kits assembly process could become a challenge for you. You get two "closed" vacuum-formed Bubble Canopies, which is thoughtful, in case of "mishaps" which could be encountered in their separation from their "cards". These are "blown" on a single "card" and once again, experience is a necessity, because both Canopies are joined at the bottom/front of the Windscreens- I'm not overly enamored of THIS concept. Suffice to say, I'm SURE that TAMIYA's engineering staff could/would do a better job with their kit(s) of later types of Corsairs, IF they ever decided to produce them. I have ONE HASEGAWA F4U-5 Corsair in my un-built inventory, and upon inspection of the parts and instructions, it looks to be a very nice kit. I have a resin AIRES Cockpit and EDUARD PE for it, also.

e) "The Queen of the Skies", the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress... NOTHING quite sounds like a B-17 flying by in a low altitude, high-speed pass! SHE is the "Grand Dame" of ALL WWII Heavy Bombers, with the AVRO Lancaster running the absolute of close seconds. I'm not going to discount the B-17's younger, heavier, much larger sibling, the B-29 Superfortress, but that's an entirely different Airplane, a different concept and a different kind of war, altogether. The B-29 was pretty, but in my eyes, the B-17 was prettier.

I have three MONOGRAM/REVELL B-17Gs in my collection, one built and two still sealed in their original boxings. I also have a REVELL B-17F, unbuilt. The MONOGRAM B-17s are better than the original REVELL B-17F kits. The much more contemporary HK MODELS B-17G (Early Production) is on my "to buy" list for obvious reasons. It is about three times as expensive as the MONOGRAM B-17G, buuut... Well, you know the rest... HK happily, has made it known in their "propaganda" that there will be a "Late Production" B-17G and EARLIER B-17F kits coming. Dare we hope for all-new B-17E and possibly B-17C or D kits..? Time WILL tell...

I can't even BEGIN to talk about the B-17. The HISTORY behind this Airplane is almost unimaginable, so I'm not even going to try... She is definitely one of my TOP favorites...

f) The Grumman F8F Bearcat-series. World war II had just been concluded and the Japanese surrender had been signed, as F8F-1s were underway in the middle of the Pacific. How would they have fared fighting against the "best of the best" of the Japanese WWII Naval and Army Fighters..? I'll leave the arguments to the rest of you fellow modelers; THAT'S something I'm just NOT going to get into, as it would all be a matter of conjecture...

The Bearcat was a REAL HOT ROD- She ALSO was good-looking; a kind of a pugnacious little Honey Bee, with a HELLUVA STING! She was a DELIGHT to fly; ask anyone who has ever flown the F8F. She was THE fastest-climbing Propeller-driven Fighter Plane of the late WWII and Postwar era; highly maneuverable, rugged and blessed with THE SMALLEST Airframe to EVER accommodate the mighty Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Engine... By the time of the Korean War, the US Navy and Marine Corps AND the US Air Force had already transitioned to jet-powered aircraft; only a handful of other Nations had ever flown the Bearcat in combat. As an aerobatic display Airplane and a Racer, the Bearcat was and still is, an outstanding Airplane... There are the HOBBY BOSS, HOBBY CRAFT/ACADEMY and the ancient TESTORS/HAWK kits to choose from in 1/48; my favorite F8Fs come from HOBBY BOSS, with the F8F-1, F8F-1B, and the F8F-2 being produced. I have three -1s, a -1B, and a -2. I may buy a second -2 and build her as a Racer, just to say that I have one of those...

g) The Focke-Wulf Fw.190A/F Radial-Engined Fighter- WOW!!! THIS Airplane is my ALL-TIME FAVORITE German WWII Fighter! Fast, maneuverable, and DEADLY in the hands of right Pilot, of which there were MANY! She was, and still is, a BEAUTIFUL Airplane. Somehow, I just don't care for Bf.109s as much as the 190s, although I do have to admit that I like the earlier Bf.109E-series over the Fs and the Gs, aesthetically speaking... And all of those camo-schemes! No, I do not have more than five or six Fw.190A/Fs in my collection; I said earlier that I concentrate mainly on US and Allied, that is, British WWII Aircraft in the "Allied" category, with a few French and Soviet Aircraft here and there...

h) The Bf.109E-series- What comes to mind? The Polish Campaign, the Battle of France, the early stages of "Barbarossa" and ULTIMATELY, The Battle of Britain. What more can be said about the Battle of Britain? AS we are mainly concerned with the models themselves, I won't say much more about Bf.109s, because you have ALL built a lot more of them than I ever have. I've built the HASEGAWA, TAMIYA and the latest of the EDUARD Bf.109Es. The latest of the EDUARD "Emils" get my nod, and the TAMIYA Es only require the proverbial TAMIYA-style "shake of the box" to put them together. Really though, all of the Bf.109s I've mentioned above are very fine kits!

i) The Bell P-39s & Curtiss P-40s- I kind of lump them into one basket. Not to say that I don't like them; I do. They "held the line" so to speak, during the dark, early days of the American involvement in World War II. I have several P-40s; two HASEGAWA P-40Es, one HASEGAWA P-40N, two AIRFIX P-40Bs, and one ancient REVELL P-40E which I built back in 1993. Honorable mention goes to two MONOGRAM P-40Bs, of which I built my first in 1964, and the last of which I completed in 1969. I have four of these still in their boxes, untouched. I will more than likely buy an additional HASEGAWA P-40E, and complete her as a British North African version, someday...

As to P-39/P-400s, in my opinion, EDUARD is the way to fly (no pun intended) and I have about a half-dozen of them in my inventory, none of which I've built, yet- But I will, I will... I like the P-39- Some say she was a dog; NOT SO!!! There were Pilots who lost their lives in the Airacobra when they did EXACTLY the WRONG THINGS in order to regain control of the P-39 when the Airplane went into supposedly "un-manageble" flight. The right thing to do was just to let the Airplane get back into thicker air- She would REGAIN CONTROL gradually, all by herself! Pacific Ace William Shomo could attest to that- He did it consistently while flying the P-39...

I like the configuration of the P-39; she was THE smallest Fighter Airplane to ever feature the "tricycle" Landing Gear, with an "Aft-of-Cockpit" Engine. She was devastatingly maneuverable at low altitudes, again, provided there was the right man behind the Stick and the Rudder Pedals- Read "SAMURAI" by Japanese Ace Saburo Sakai. In this book, he recounts a harrowing drawn-out battle flying his Zero against "a tremendous man behind the controls" (Sakai's quote) of a P-39. Later in the book, he experiences the same kind of battle against a US NAVY or US Marine Pilot, flying a Grumman F4F Wildcat... This proves that flying skill does matter... I like the P-39 and the P-40, both...

EDUARD will be coming out with an all-new 1/48 P-40B/C in the near future- WOW! Just, WOW!!!

j) Speaking of Japanese Zeroes... What's not to like? Many Japanese Naval Aviators preferred the earlier A6M-2 and -3 models over the faster and more powerful A6M-5s through -8s. I like 'em all, speaking personally. Very clean; an "aeronautical masterpiece", one could call her. She could turn and maneuver "on a dime" as they say... But there was only so much that could be done with the basic design of the Zero; that's another story, yet...

k) The Supermarine Spitfire- What a lovely, graceful design!!! I could go on and on about Spitfires, from the very FIRST Mark of the Spitfire, to the very last.

(Please don't misconstrue my placements of all of these different Aircraft on my "list"; they just happen to fall that way as I try to actually "compile" a list. I LOVE anything with Wings, so please don't think I give one single Airplane "short shrift" in comparison to another...)

If I had to name a couple of "faults" of the Spitfire, it would have to be the short range, and the lack of a decent "Carburettor" (as our British Friends call them), in the Earlier Marks. Otherwise, she was an OUTSTANDING, highly maneuverable Airplane. The "Hurri" or Hurricane was more so, whereas the Spitfire held the advantage in speed. I certainly won't "butt heads" with you Britishers about Spitfires- YOU could probably teach me more about Spitfires than anyone alive! In any case, the Spitfire, especially the Earlier Marks, are a delight to behold!

The 1/48 TAMIYA Spitfire Mk.I is easily the best of the lot of the earlier Spits, with the EDUARD later Marks VIII and IX kits being the BEST of the mid-to-late war Spitfires. Much has been written about these kits, so I won't even attempt to extemporize. EDUARD has produced an impressive array of PE and mixed-media aftermarket parts and upgrades for nearly ALL of the better Spitfire kits out there, and being a "fusspot" myself, I buy them. These things don't come cheap; I just wait until I have a few extra dollars on hand before I buy them. That's the system I use for ANY of my models. It draws the time out for me to accomplish the completion of many of my models, but at least I won't "break the Bank"...

So yes, the Spitfires are also way "up there" on my list of "favorites"...

l) The Grumman F4F Wildcats and F6F Hellcats- Two distinctly different Airplanes, but also so very closely related, nonetheless. Their DNA is SO apparent, although the Hellcat boasted an additional 1,000 Horsepower and nearly a 100 mile-per-hour speed advantage. BOTH Fighters were highly maneuverable, as once again, Saburo Sakai attested to in his book, "Samurai"- Well worth adding this book to your collection...

The "Iron Works"... Grumman... Both the Wildcat/Martlet and the Hellcat were RUGGED. Many a US Naval or US Marine Corps Aviator, as well as the British, Australians and New Zealanders came home to their Carriers or Bases in Wildcats, Martlets and Hellcats with their Airplanes shot to ribbons and with Cylinders shot out. Survivability...

Right now, we have the TAMIYA and the HOBBY BOSS Wildcat/Martlet F4F-3 and -4 kits and F6F-3 and -5 from HOBBY BOSS. The EDUARD F6F-3 and -5 kits are in a word, SUPERB. So far, I have multiples of all the aforementioned. Sometime in 2020 and 2021, we'll be seeing all-new F4F Wildcat/Martlet kits coming from EDUARD. HURRAH!!! I hate to say, "I can't wait", because it is such an over-used phrase in the modeling world; let me just leave it with my "HURRAH!!!"

m) The Hawker Hurricane- Though overshadowed somewhat by the Spitfire, the "Hurri", nevertheless emerges as quite a combatant of the Battle of France and subsequently as one of the great HEROINES of the Battle of Britain. Many people who haven't bothered to read up on the Battle of Britain do NOT appreciate the role of the Hurricanes during one of the MOST IMPORTANT BATTLES Great Britain has ever fought. It was the HURRICANE that was designated to go after the NAZI BOMBERS while the Spitfires were supposed to tangle with the Fighters. Those of us "in the know" of course REALIZE that this couldn't quite happen as planned. In any case, the Hurricane was a sweet machine to fly- She was "an Angel at the controls"- There was a slight problem, as with the early Spitfires- The Carburettors "cutting-out" in "negative Gs". This was remedied as time went on. There was another fault as well- As with ALL liquid-cooled Piston-Engined Fighters, "one Bullet in their Cooling Systems or Radiator(s), and if you were in enemy territory, YOU WEREN'T COMING HOME"... PERIOD... That couldn't be remedied, unless a pile of Armor were added to protect the entire Cooling System, which we know couldn't be done without seriously degrading the overall performance of the Airplane in question. So, Pilots who were flying liquid-cooled Aircraft during World War II had a big problem to keep in mind... It's ANOTHER BIG REASON why I prefer the P-47 over most all liquid-cooled WWII Fighters- That BIG-ASS RADIAL R-2800 in front of the "Office"...

n) The Hawker Typhoons and Tempests- OH, MY!!! What can I say of the virtues of these two Ladies with sounding repetitive? Again, I love 'em as much as all the others I've mentioned! Big, almost(!) as brutish as the P-47, they performed Yeoman service in World War Two. The Tempest was quite a leap forward over the Typhoon, but "Tiffie" was just as important, if not more so, than her younger but swifter Sisters. These Airplanes were real low-level brawlers as far as Ground-Attackers were concerned, but they could also more than hold their own against the Focke-Wulfs and Messerschmitts. I've yet to buy any of the latest 1/48 EDUARD Tempests, but THEY are on my "to buy" list. I have two of the first, ORIGINAL EDUARD TEMPESTS, plus I have the Tempest Mk.II Conversion set earmarked for one of them. I have no less than four HASEGAWA Typhoons, two of which are the original "Car Door"-types, one "Bubble Top" with the three-blade Propeller, and one "Bubble Top" with the four-blade Prop...

o) I've always been an admirer of the Douglas A-26 Invader, especially when equipped with the "Gun Nose", and the various B-25 Mitchells, similarly equipped- So "Fighter-Like"!!! The Northrup P-61 Black Widow- So wicked-looking. Years ago, I started on a MONOGRAM P-61 and I laid it aside, after struggling with various fit problems. Then, along came the GREAT WALL kits. Never got around to buying these- Too many P-47s and P-51s in my inventory. SOME DAY, though... I've read some of the reviews of the HOBBY BOSS P-61s, but I'm not sure whether I want to commit to buying these over the GREAT WALL kits... Still undecided. I have a half-dozen A-26s, five of which are the MONOGRAM B & C kits of yore. I got myself an ICM A-26B for Christmas. It's a nice kit, but I think they could have done better. Some of the details are pretty soft, especially the Landing Gear, Wheels and Tires- AFTER-MARKET. Same goes for the Cockpit, Rear Gunner Area and Bomb Bay. I may just skip the Bomb Bay, and button her up. I built one of my MONOGRAM A-26Bs as a standard WWII version, and I converted one of my MONOGRAM A-26Cs into a Vietnam War into an A-26K with an OZ(?) Conversion set about 15 years ago. Mean-looking, like some giant-sized, malevolent insect...

p) My MOZZIES!!! WHAT is ANY WWII Aircraft collection without having De Havilland MOSQUITOES? The TAMIYA kits are a must, for MOZZIES! I have at LEAST six of those, one of which is a USAAF Photo-Recon bird, and another of which is an RAF PRU bird, in appropriately enough, overall PRU BLUE. I've also built one in an early Bomber version painted in RAF DARK GREEN/DARK EARTH over SKY Type S, a standard DARK GREEN over GRAY with GRAY Undersides, the same with MATTE BLACK Undersides, and a Coastal Command bird, and somewhere there are a couple of un-built kits on one of my storage shelves...

r) Bristol Beaufighters- Same deal with my "Beaus". These wonderful Airplanes have been largely unsung Heroines- I have seven or eight of these in my collection. All are the TAMIYA kits which, even after all this time since their original release are STILL entirely relevant kits, today. So far I've built an all-MATTE BLACK Night Fighter, and a DARK GREEN and GRAY USAAF bird based in Italy. Next up, I think I'll do one in DARK EARTH/MIDDLESTONE over AZURE. Wonderfully different Airplanes, those "Beaus"...

That about does it for my favorites of favorites- I have literally HUNDREDS more in my vast collection, which would entail quite a long and involved list.

I could open my own Hobby Shop with what I have on hand- Aircraft, 1/35 Military stuff, comprised of Tanks, Artillery, Wheeled and Half-Tracked Vehicles, FIGURES, ranging from 1/144 for my REVELL FLETCHER-Class DD on up to 120mm, Cars and a few Hot Rods, here and there. Brass and "High End" Hybrid and plastic HO "Steam Era" Locomotives and Passenger Trains will all find themselves into my raoidly-shrinking display-space. Cars I've started on an expanded 1/24 Ford Model A Collection, which is way beyond the purview of this thread. It's slow-going, because I've had a lot of health problems over the last few years, so a lot of days, I just don't feel like it...

Hope I didn't bore you guys too much. If anything, I've at least described my interests and the "what and why"...

VR, Dennis- STAY HEALTHY!!!

My favourites? Oh well, I have a few in different catagories ....

Going with the military props first of them all I would name of course the P-61 Black Widow (guess why ....), then it would be the P-38 Lightning, the Griffon (!) Spitfire, the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A (especially in the A-8 version), the Kawasaki Ki-45, the Bristol Beaufighter, the Mitsubishi Zero, the P-40 Warhawk and the Heinkel He 111. A few more come to my mind but that's it for the moment.

I'm not so much into military jets but I really really love the Saab J35 Draken. The Dassault Mirage III would come close to that as would the good old "Nato-Diesel" F-4 F Phantom II.

When it comes to airliner I mostly like the shape of the Lockheed Super Constellation. Have seen the Super Connie a few times flying over Switzerland and southern Germany. Other airliners I like are the Boeing 747, which brought me safely to Australia and back many many years ago and the huge Airbus A 340, which brought my also safely to South Africa and back 10 years ago. Both flights were with Lufthansa.

And if you ask me about my favourite earth crawlers, well nothing easier to answer than that. When it comes to tanks it can only be the Leopard 2. Nothing else. Why? I have been a gunner and loader on the 2A4 in my first year of service and have a soft spot for that kitty ever since. Same easy answer for trucks, it's the MAN 5 to gl. Why? Drove it for 3 years in my army time.

Okay, last category civil cars. It's of course my faithfull Ford Focus II, which brings me safely to every corner of Europe since 2007 ....

Oh, and with the exception of the airliners and the Ford Focus I have built them all more than once.

Hope you're all well and stay safe!
Torsten

Are you in my head?!!!🤔 ... Just a couple of days ago, I was thinking about this thread, but for the life of me, I couldn’t recall the title. Thank’s!

—mike

Hi Damian.My favorite aircrafts are all these from the WWIΙ:1) the BF 109 as it is beautiful,2)the Spitfire which is legendary ,3)the F4 U Corsair as it is a beast,4)the Zero which has amazing damages,5)the P-47 which is huge,6)the Mustang which is top and 7)the P-39 which is unique.Furthermore,I really like all planes with propeller.Take care!

Can't get photos up right now. My favorites are fairly simple and in are in no particular order other than how I remember them.
1. P-40. First model I ever built and it stuck in my mind that planes with an inline engine should look like that.
2. P-47 Thunderbolt. What more to say?
3. F4U Corsair. Maybe from watching Black Sheep Squadron.
4. Ki-84. Another radial and the best airplane Japan had.
5. Tie between the A-20 and B-25. Gun nose versions for the low level work.

Jet aircraft:
1. F-16. Used to watch them all the time as they flew over. Sleek and deadly.
2. A-4. Another early model that stuck with me.
3. A-6. I think it has nice lines.
4. A-7. Another all around CAS jet. I would like to see a YA-7F kit that was reasonably priced.
5. F-35, A-10, F-4. Can't decide between them.

Well, in that case I'll update my top 5!

Props
1. Hawker Typhoon
2. Hawker Tempest
3. Spitfire
4. P47D-bubbletop
5. Swordfish

Jets
1. F15
2. F22
3. F18
4. Boeing 747
5. Vulcan

You’re going to see a lot of repeats, but for good reason...
I’ll add the reasons why shortly.

Props:
1. P-38 Lightning
2. Hawker Tempest Mk. V
3. Focke Wulf 190 / TA-152i
4. Grumman F6F Hellcat
5. ???

Jets:
1. F-86 Sabre
2. F-15 Eagle
3. F-14 Tomcat
4. Su-27/35 Flanker
5. F-4 Phantom II