**** DONE 1/48 DAP Beaufighter 21 A8-159 E-SK "Ginger Meggs" Heavy Hitters GB

[ozhawk40]

Username: Ozhawk40
First name: Peter
Category: Intermediate
Scale: 1:48
Manufacturer: Tamiya
Model Type: DAP Beaufighter 21
Details: A8-159 E-SK "Ginger Meggs" a.k.a. "Nancy" 93 Squadron RAAF, Labuan Island
Aircraft Assignment: W/O Stanley J. Evill and F/Sgt David Fyshe
Accessories: Nil
Decals: Novascale N-48026 Beaufighter XXI 93 Sqn - "Green Ghosts"
​

Since getting back in the hobby, I have always wanted to do an Aussie Beaufighter - I am a little biased in terms of subject matter - but haven't tackled it yet, until now.

Sitting in the stash for a while has been this beaut, and I've had a hard time selecting the subject, as 93 Squadron has been catered for well in the after market decal department. As my entry in the Heavy Hitter Group Build, I've selected Ginger Meggs, named after a newspaper cartoon character. More info to follow.

Cheers.

Peter

 

[vikingBerserker]

Very cool Peter! Really looking forward to this.

 

[Crimea_River]

Nice Choice Peter.

 

[Airframes]

Great choice Peter, really looking forward to seeing this one! As you know, there were a number of detail differences with the DAP Beaus, particularly the interior. I've got internal shots of the Duxford restoration, courtesy of Jan, from the SAMI book if you need them. Meanwhile, here's a few of the Duxford bird taken in late August, which might be useful. Although it's got a 'British built' serial, it is mainly a DAP21, with bits from others. One detail not found on the Brit Beaus (until some very late models) is the extrnal canopy release handle. Note the other projections at the rear of the sidescreen frame are Clecos, used in construction, which will be removed.

 

[ozhawk40]

Cheers VB!

Thanks for posting the pics Terry, there are some great shots. I have the SAMI publications, as well as a few others to help, including the RAAF Descriptive Manual. There are many differences between the British version and the Aussie built one, so some good references and info is a must for this build.

Can't wait to get cracking!

Cheers

Peter

 

[B-17engineer]

Can't wait.!

 

[Heinz]

Ah awesome choice Peter I'm 'really' looking forward to this one.

Cheers

 

[Vic Balshaw]

Great selection Pete, lovely aircraft and what good pics from Terry for a good start

 

[Wayne Little]

Great choice Peter, gotta do me one of these too.....sometime?

 

[ozhawk40]

Thanks guys

The entry for this aircraft from the adf-serials site "http://www.adf-serials.com" for A8-159 reads like this:

22/02/45 1 AD. 14/03/45 93 Sqn. Code: SK-E; Nose: 'Nancy'; Rudder: ginger meggs, red headed boy on rocket (Aussie Decals A48019, photo Ventura p.14, photo Parnell p.66). Replacement for A8-83 SK-E crashed 27/02/45. Crew: Pilot FSGT A.W. McDonald and FSGT D.I. Bushell (Ventura p.14). 17/01/46 1 AD storage. 08/08/49 Struck Off.

I have found pictures of A8-159 as per references above, but not a picture of the tail art just yet, which would be interesting. The first pic is from "Whispering Death" by Neville Parnell page 66 and shows members of 93 Squadron taking some lessons on rockets and which end is which! In the crowd you will find David Fyshe, the navigator/ observer for A8-159 standing to the left of the left most rocket, and the pilot, Stan Evill head turned sitting directly in front of David Fyshe.

The pilot, W/O Stanley Evill celebrated his 65th Wedding Anniversary with his wife Nancy on Feb 5, 2009. I've also perused the Operational records to confirm their association with A8-159. It is sometimes very difficult to say , when there are more crews than aircraft.

In the second picture published in Ventura Classic Warbirds number 6 page 14 you see two 93 Squadron crew McDonald and Bushell Identified in the book as the crew, but were not actually the regular crew of A8-159, but it's a neat photo of a rather new looking A8-159. This is possibly a publicity photo with this fully equipped crew heading "somewhere" up North to fight the japs. Note the "Tommy Gun", headphones over ears and perfectly aligned props! Neat.

The different colours on the cowl ring ring are interesting. Was the inner circle painted black or green? I presume the outer circle is the exhaust bronze colour. I'll need to confirm this.

I've found a few more photos of the crew, but I've got to visit the local museum and have a dig through their collection to see what's around.

Cheers

Peter

 

[Airframes]

Nice pics Peter. I've found one of Evil with some other crew members, walking past A8-173, SK-Y, some other tail art and pics of 'Hilary' and 'Marge', but nothing yet on 'Nancy'. From what I've seen so far, on late British-built Beaus, and DAP21's, the darker front 'ring' on the exhaust collector ring appears to be a very dark, blackish bronze, or a black-grey metallic colour, with the main rear section more of a copper/bronze shade. I've got a few more sources to look through yet, so if i find a pic of the tail art, I will of course post it.

 

[Heinz]

Moorabbins Air Museum is very close to me with their Mk21 if thers any particular shots I'd be more than happy to get some for you. I've planning to head over for a while.

Cheers.

 

[ozhawk40]

A little bit of success, I've found picture of the tail art. It was actually buried in the USAAF section of the SAM publication! Here is a comparison with the decal from Aussie Decals, so good, but not exact.

Interestly SAM have correctly (I think!) id'd Evill and Fyshe as the crew in the caption for this photo.

Thanks Terry, here are two additional photos showing the leading edge of the cowl on two unidentified Beaus of 93 sqn, which looks to have an additional shield/ plate added and painted black. The paint seems to disappear quickly! Black painted stainless?

Heinz, thanks for the offer, it's appreciated. If I need something I'll yell for sure. Morrabbin's cowl ring is painted all over Foliage Green from what I can see from photos.

Cheers

Peter

 

[Wayne Little]

Great pics you've dug up there, keep 'em coming!

 

[Airframes]

Good stuff Peter. I've found another pic of a belly landed Beau, also showing the wear on the front section of the cowling ring, although other pics do show a different tone, making me think that on some, it might have been a darker metal. But, I think you're right, that in this case the forward cowl section is painted black, over an alloy posibly, as opposed to stainless steel. Pehaps this was a heat sink or shield?

 

[109ROAMING]

Sweet build mate 8)

 

[ozhawk40]

Okay guys,

I think I've had my question answered in relation to the extra ring on the exhaust collector on another forum (Aussie Modelers International). Some great guys on that forum too!

"An unexpected hazard arose regarding the Hercules collector rings, which had an alarming tendency to heat up and glow red when the throttles were retarded. Naturally, this usually occurred just when the pilot had located his quarry and was slowing down to avoid overshooting. Presented with two circles of light, the German gunners undoubtedly gave several Beaufighter crews at very least a nasty scare. Various remedies were tried, including hand-daubing the collector rings with red fire clay, and fitting aluminum cuffs."

From Jerry Scutts, "Bristol Beaufighter", Crowood Aviation Series

That said, I believe that the collector rings on the Hercules engines for DAP Mk21 Beaufighters, which were 'imported' as assembled units, were made from an alloy of nickel and copper. The alloy had an extremely high corrosion and temperature resistance. The alloy was far more expensive than stainless steel so the jury is still out on the use of this material. Mild steel would not have lasted long in the SWPA environment.

I also believe that some Hercules exhausts were fitted with an extra armoured ring which does stand proud of the collector ring and again is not subject to the same intense heat and certainly could be painted. This being the case, I reckon that the additional ring in the images has been painted (black or foliage green?) as a protective measure if not for secondary camouflage purposes.​

I also had a good visit at the Aviation Heritage Museum of WA, and obtained several great new photos and lots of info. As a start, here's another photo of a 93 Squadron Beaufighter being "serviced" (What's that prop man trying to do?). I think it clearly shows the collector ring protector being a semi gloss black colour.

Made a start on the plastic yesterday, so will have some progress photos soon.

Cheers

Peter

 

[Wayne Little]

great shot Peter, lookin; forward to some progress shots mate!

 

[ozhawk40]

Okay Wayne here you go mate - I won't keep you in suspense, unlike some ( Hi DBII ! ).

I've cut a few parts off the sprue and checked for fit and started clean up. I'm concentrating on the nacelles, undercarriage and engines at the moment. Let me just say that this is a very nice kit, and everything seems to fit just so. No real problems with wings, fuselage etc.

I started on the nacelles by cleaning up a little flash around the front of the exhaust and drilled out the air vents in the front of the hedgehog pipes.

Last pic is the profiles provided in the decal sheet.

Cheers

Peter

 

[Airframes]

Nice pic and good work so far Peter. I reckon the pic is a posed one, and the chap at the prop is pretending to tighten/loosen the bolts around the prop pitch housing, which was a casting in two halves.
Just remembered something about the kit, which you've probably spotted already. There are some dubious panel lines on the upper, main wing surfaces, which are not really noticeable anyway, but the main thing is the elevetor trim tab actuators. For some unknown reason, Tamiya have moulded them as large triangualr lumps, when they should be small rods, but, more importantly, they're on the wrong side! They should be on the bottom!!