François DH
Airman
Hellcat Mk.I, 1839 Squadron FAA, HMS Indomitable, British Pacific Fleet, Task Force 57, 02/1945.
Hello,
Here is a montage that I did before the P-51B shown previously.
This plane was piloted by the Sub.Lt. R.F. Makenzie-RNZN who shot down a Ki-44 on 24/01/1945.
Code JV141 num. 116 / W.
On the 1839 FAA Squadron:
« The squadron officially formed at Eglington in November 1943 as a fighter squadron with 10 Hellcat Is, embarking as part of the 5th Naval Fighter Wing on HMS Begum for southern India in February 1944.
In April 1945 the squadron absorbed 1840 squadron, and subsequently the 5th Naval Fighter Wing disbanded into the 11th Carrier Air Group in June 1945.
June 1945 was spent shored based at Nowra, Australia and in early August the squadron embarked on HMS Indomitable but saw no action before VJ-Day.
Battle Honours, Palembang 1945, Okinawa 1945 »
Source : 1839 squadron FAA http://www.fleetairarmarchive.net/squadrons/1839.html
F6F-3 Kit Arrii 1/48 > Hellcat Mk.I (British designation of F6F-3)
Kit bought cheap, ... that asked me a ton of work!
I would have done better to make an Eduard or a Hasegawa!
- "F-6F Hellcat Cockpit set for Hasegawa Black Box 48027"> still a job.
- P & W Aires R-2800 Engine for Hasegawa
- Machine gun barrel .50 Quickboost. > rescued on a set for B-17
- engine flap with can of beer(!)
- Bays of train, exit of exhausts, etc ... redone in scratch. > not complete enough.
- Central canopy, wheels and extra drop tank retrieved from an Eduard kit.
- Added rivets on the set with Rivet maker Radu Brinzan.
- Montex mask 48029 for Hasegawa. (Also allows to make a F6F-5 Flotilla 11F Indochina, May 1954)
Normally the classic colors are Dark Sea Gray, Dark Slate Gray and Sky.
The original colors are Dupont paintings, painted during their finishing in the USA.
They do not exactly match the colors applied on FAA aircraft built in England.
After much research, and the sites are very well documented about it, following their advice I decided to use:
• For the Dark Sea Gray ANA 603 Sea Gray > Gunze H-305
• For dark slate gray AN 613 Olive Drab > Gunze H-304
• For the sky AN 610 Sky > Gunze H-74
See the Britmodeler website on this topic:
WW2 US Colours on British Aircraft
As you can see on the rare vintage photos, the planes are very heavily worn and that imply patina finishes:
1839 squadron FAA HMS Indomitable Pacific:
1839 squadron FAA HMS Indomitable Pacific:
Hellcat Fleet Air Arm Pilot in the Far East
A tribute to pilots and sailors of the Fleet Air Arm in the Pacific.
I am curious to have your opinion on my work. Thank you.
François
Hello,
Here is a montage that I did before the P-51B shown previously.
This plane was piloted by the Sub.Lt. R.F. Makenzie-RNZN who shot down a Ki-44 on 24/01/1945.
Code JV141 num. 116 / W.
On the 1839 FAA Squadron:
« The squadron officially formed at Eglington in November 1943 as a fighter squadron with 10 Hellcat Is, embarking as part of the 5th Naval Fighter Wing on HMS Begum for southern India in February 1944.
In April 1945 the squadron absorbed 1840 squadron, and subsequently the 5th Naval Fighter Wing disbanded into the 11th Carrier Air Group in June 1945.
June 1945 was spent shored based at Nowra, Australia and in early August the squadron embarked on HMS Indomitable but saw no action before VJ-Day.
Battle Honours, Palembang 1945, Okinawa 1945 »
Source : 1839 squadron FAA http://www.fleetairarmarchive.net/squadrons/1839.html
F6F-3 Kit Arrii 1/48 > Hellcat Mk.I (British designation of F6F-3)
Kit bought cheap, ... that asked me a ton of work!
I would have done better to make an Eduard or a Hasegawa!
- "F-6F Hellcat Cockpit set for Hasegawa Black Box 48027"> still a job.
- P & W Aires R-2800 Engine for Hasegawa
- Machine gun barrel .50 Quickboost. > rescued on a set for B-17
- engine flap with can of beer(!)
- Bays of train, exit of exhausts, etc ... redone in scratch. > not complete enough.
- Central canopy, wheels and extra drop tank retrieved from an Eduard kit.
- Added rivets on the set with Rivet maker Radu Brinzan.
- Montex mask 48029 for Hasegawa. (Also allows to make a F6F-5 Flotilla 11F Indochina, May 1954)
Normally the classic colors are Dark Sea Gray, Dark Slate Gray and Sky.
The original colors are Dupont paintings, painted during their finishing in the USA.
They do not exactly match the colors applied on FAA aircraft built in England.
After much research, and the sites are very well documented about it, following their advice I decided to use:
• For the Dark Sea Gray ANA 603 Sea Gray > Gunze H-305
• For dark slate gray AN 613 Olive Drab > Gunze H-304
• For the sky AN 610 Sky > Gunze H-74
See the Britmodeler website on this topic:
WW2 US Colours on British Aircraft
As you can see on the rare vintage photos, the planes are very heavily worn and that imply patina finishes:
1839 squadron FAA HMS Indomitable Pacific:
1839 squadron FAA HMS Indomitable Pacific:
Hellcat Fleet Air Arm Pilot in the Far East
A tribute to pilots and sailors of the Fleet Air Arm in the Pacific.
I am curious to have your opinion on my work. Thank you.
François
