Vallejo paints....?

[Lucky13]

Well, since the Mosquito, when I do start, is going to be a No 139 Squadron bird....

2 July 1942 Flensburg
6 Mosquitos were dispatched to carry out a low-level raid on a U-boat construction yard at Flensburg but were intercepted by German fighters which shot down the Mosquito of Wing Commander A. R. Oakeshott, commander of 139 Squadron, who, with his navigator Flying Officer V. F. E. Treherne, was killed. This was 139 Squadron's first Mosquito operation. The other Mosquitos escaped from the German fighters by increasing speed and leaving the Germans behind but a second Mosquito was damaged by Flak over Flensburg and crashed in Germany.

These were the first Bomber Command daylight casualties for 3 weeks. Returning Mosquito crews claimed to have bombed the shipyard accurately.

 

[Wurger]

 

[Airframes]

Good piece of info, Jan. In 'chatting' with Sterling 01 on the 'Photos Wanted' thread about his Mossie bomb sight, I had a look at the web site he mentioned, and there are some good detail colour shots of Mossies, inside and out, that might help you with your build. They're of B35's and FBVI, but the basics are more or less the same. The site is:- www.detailpics.net
Hope it proves useful, Cheers!
Terry.

 

[Lucky13]

I'm sure that It'll prove useful for me, together with my Mosquito Walkaround...thanks!

 

[Lucky13]

Formed at Villaverla, Italy, on the 3rd of July 1918 as a fighter- reconnaissance squadron equipped with Bristol Fighters. Disbanded in 1919, and reformed in 1936 as a bomber squadron. At the beginning of World War Two it was equipped with Blenheims and flew the first RAF Sortie to cross the German Frontier; and it won one of the first two decorations of the war. The first decoration of W.W.2.went 139 squadron and 110 Squadron gazetted simultaneously on 10th October 1939. A
D.F.C. went to Flying Officer A McPherson of 139 squadron in a Blenheim IV N6215 for crossing the German frontier to reconnoitre and photograph the German Fleet on 3rd September. The other went to Flight Lieutenant K. C. Doran of No. 110 squadron who led the first bombing raid of the war against German warships near Wilhelmshaven on 4th September.
After duty in France where it lost heavily the squadron returned to England and reformed and subsequently made many attacks on fringe targets in N.W. Europe including invasion ports and many anti-shipping sweeps.
During the early years of the war, a Jamaican newspaper (The Daily Gleaner), started a fund to buy bombers for Britain. The money Jamaica subscribed was the foundation of the "Bombers for Britain" Fund, to which many other Colonies and Dominions subsequently contributed . Jamaica herself contributed enough money to buy twelve Blenheims by 1941 and in recognition of this service it was decided, in the words of Lord Beaverbrook, the wartime Minister of Aircraft Production, "that Jamaica's name shall evermore be link to the squadron of the Royal Air Force". And so it was that No. 139 Squadron became No. 139 (Jamaica) Squadron,
During December 1941 to April 1942 the squadron was flying Hudsons and was used for general reconnaissance.
139 Squadron was the second squadron to be re-equipped with the Mosquitoes in 1942/43. The Mosquito was fast and highly-manoeuvrable aircraft which made many daring low level daylight and dusk precision attacks on targets in enemy occupied Europe, often in conjunction with 105 squadron, the first Mosquito unit.
In the summer of 1943 139 Squadron changed over to night raiding and joined the Pathfinder Force, its early work with the P.F.F. consisting mainly of preceding waves of heavy bombers to drop Window (thin strips of foil) which confuse the German early warning radar, and also making "spoof" raids on other targets to divert enemy night fighters from the primary target attacked by the "heavies". In 1944 the Mosquitoes of 139 was equipped with H2S during that year the squadron visited a long list of the most famous targets in Germany Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne, Mannheim, Hanover, Duisberg and many others. 4,000-lb "cookies" were dropped on these targets in addition to T.I.'s (target indicators) to guide the main force heavies.
During 20th/21st February to 27th/28th March inclusive, the squadron made a series of 36 consecutive night attacks on Berlin. On 2nd/3rd May, 1945, came the last of the squadron's wartime operations, an attack by 14 Mosquitoes (including Canadian built Mk. XXs) on Kiel.
During the war No. 139 Squadron flew more than 4,000 operational sorties and dropped approximately 1,500 tons of bombs.

First Operational Mission in W.W.2
3rd September 1939. Photo reconnaissance of Wilhelmshaven and airfields in N.W. Germany by one Blenheim.

First Bombing Attack in W.W.2
12th May, 1940. 9 Blenheims dive-bombed German troops advancing along the Massstricht-Tongres road. The formation was subsequently attacked by enemy fighters and only 2 aircraft returned. 2 missing aircraft believed to have been shot down in flames. 2 crews later rejoined the squadron after having forced-landed near enemy lines.

Last Operational Mission in W.W.2
2nd May 1945. 14 Mosquitoes bombed Kiel.

Bases
Re-formed 3.9.36 as No. 139 (B) Squadron
Wyton Sep 1936-Dec 1939
Betheniville, France Dec 1939-Feb 1940
Plivot, France Feb 1940- May 1940
West Raynham May 1940-Jun 1940
Horsham St. Faith Jun 1940- Jul 1941
Detachment in Malta, May/June 1941
Oulton Jul 1941- Oct 1941
Horsham St. Faith Oct 1941- Dec 1941
Oulton Dec 1941 - ??
Horsham St. Faith Jun 1942- Sept 1942
Marham Sept 1942- Jul 1943
Wyton Jul 1943- Feb 1944
Upwood Feb 1944- Feb 1946

 

[Lucky13]

Commanding Officer(s)(while flying Mosquitos):
W/C.W.P.Shand DFC (3rd July 1942)
Sqd.Ld. V.R.G.Harcourt (4th April 1943)
W/C. R.W.Reynolds DSO.DFC. (4th May 1943)
G/C. L.C.Slee DSO.DFC. (August 1943)
W/C. G.H.Womersley DSO.DFC. (February 1944)
W/C. J.B.Voyce (7th October 1944)
W/C. J.R.G. Ralston DFC.AFC.DFM. (1st March 1945 to March 1946)

Mosquito Variant(s) Flown:
B.IV (September 1942 to July 1944)
B.IX (September 1943 to September 1944)
B.XVI (November 1944 to October 1948.)
B.XX (November 1944 to September 1945)
B.25 (September 1944 to September 1945)

Aircraft Examples:
B.IV Series II: DK285, DK302, DK313, DK336
B.IX: LR476, LR505, ML908-10
B.XVI: ML925, ML934, MM115, MM126, MM200, PF465, PF463-7
B.XX: KB130-2, KB198-205
B.35: RV297, RV342, RV345, TA645

Notes:
8/06/42: 139 Sqd., which had been overseas, was reformed at Horsham St Faith. The Sqd. was originally to re-equip with Blenheim V's, but fortunately, these aircraft were never used operationally 139 Sqd. became only the second Mosquito Squadron in 2 Group, RAF.

Sept.42: 139 Sqd. starts to get it's own Mosquitoes. (139 Sqd. had been borrowing aircraft from 105 Sqd.up to this point in time). By November 1942, 139 Sqd. was fully equipped with all it's own Mosquitoes.

31/05/43: 139 Sqd.leaves 2 Group, to become part of the 8 Path Finder Force (8PFF). 139 Sqd. would become the nucleus for the Light Night Striking Force (LNSF), which would eventually be made up of Mosquito Bombers ( other Mosquito Squadrons in the LNSF would include 627, 692, 571, 608, 142, 128, 162 163 Sdrs.). 139 Sqd. would now carry out high level nuisance bombing raids, but would eventually act as a marking squadron for the LNSF.

03/10/43: G-H used for the first time by a 139 Sqd. Mosquito B IX ML 908 (XD-Y). The G-H failed on this occasion but was used successfully to bomb Dortmund. 10/10/43.

01/02/44: H2S used by 139 Sqd. for the 1st time on The Big City (Berlin).
139 Sqd. became the first squadron to operate Mosquito B XVI's and on 02/03/44 2 Mosquito B XVI's,ML 941 (XD-N) ML 942 (XD-F),became the first B XVI's to drop a 4,000lb cookie. The target was Munchen Gladbach.

June 43 to May 45: 139 Sqd. completed 4187 operational sorties during this period with the LNSF. (225 operational sorties were carried out, when the Squadron was in 2 Group).
The last Mosquito was struck of squadron charge at end of 1952, having been finally replaced by Canberra bombers.
(214 different Mosquitoes were flown by 139 Sqd. from September 1942 to November 1953. The above are just a few examples)

 

[Lucky13]

Examples of Types of Operations:

25/06/42: 1st operational sortie, carried out by S/L Houlston, a nuisance raid on Stade Airfield, after a 1000 bomber raid on Bremen.

06/12/42: 139 Sqd. takes part in Operation Oyster.

27/01/43: W/C H Edwards VC. leads 6 Mosquitoes, from both 105 139 Sqds.on a daring low level raid on the Burmeister Wain Diesel Engine Works, Copenhagen. (This sort of joint operation would be typical of the way these two squadrons would operate until the end of May 1943, when both squadrons left 2 Group.

03/03/43: 10 Mosquitoes from 139 Sqd., led by W/C Shand DFC, fly low level to attack the molybdenum mines at Knaben in Norway. This precision raid was highly successful.
During this period (up to 31/05/43), 139 Sqd. completed many low level attacks all over occupied Europe. Enemy communications, came in for a lot of attention. Many marshalling yards like those at Nantes, Tours,Trier others got the 105/139 Sqd. calling card- 4x 500lb bombs, with devastating effect!

12/06/43: 139 Sqd. (now part of the LNSF) made it's first diversionary raid on Berlin. This was to draw off enemy night fighters, while the main bomber force attacked Milan Turin. This was to set the scene for things to come, and would be a common tactic over the next two years. The Mosquito squadrons, like 139 Sqd., would operate regularly, even on nights when the main bomber force remained grounded.

01/02/43: 1st raid using H2S as a blind bombing aid, the target, The Big City- Berlin.139 Sqd. marked the target for the LNSF of Mosquitoes. The number of attacking Mosquitoes was only small, but the LNSF was expanding rapidly as more Mosquito squadrons became operational. The LNSF would become a major bombing force in it's own right, especially when the Mosquito bombers were able to carry 4000lb cookies!

 

[Wayne Little]

Great info Jan!

 

[Airframes]

With Wayne on that one. Great, Jan!

 

[Lucky13]

For curiosity....how do you best imitate the weathered black look on a Black Cat like the one in my siggy?

 

[Wurger]

It is very hard to give you a direct hint Jan.There is as many ways as modellers making a such cammo pattern and its weathering.

 

[Airframes]

Agree with Wojtek on that one, Jan. But, you can try adding patches, almost dry-brushing, with various shades of very dark grey and VERY dark blue(virtually black) Then, chordwise on the wings, vertically on the fuselage, add streaks of similar colours, properly dry-brushed. When it's all dry, take a 'neutral' one of the colours used, perhaps a slightly lighter one of the greys, and go over the whole lot VERY LIGHTLY, with a dry-brush, just to diffuse everything slightly. On the fuselge, try to make the top ever so slightly lighter (the effect of sunlight), and add some feint streaking, towards the tail, away from prominent panel-joints or raised features. If you are happy with using your airbrush, start the whole procedure by misting-on the patches mentioned, using a slightly lighter shade of the base colour. Also, choose some individual panels or areas or, if they are not moulded in, mask some small areas into rectangles, like a panel that may not be obviously joined, and paint that in a 'solid' version of the base colour, as if the paint was almost new on the 'real thing'. This is all assuming that the overall black isn't black! It's best to start with an almost-black-very- dark grey, if you know what I mean! Remember, you can lighten 'black', but you can't 'darken' black!
It's difficult to explain without demonstrating, so I'd practice on something else first. I've just done a similar exercise on my 1/48th Marauder, on the Olive Drab, and it looks reasonably O.K. If I had a digital camera, I'd post pics today, but I'm borrowing one, so should have pics hopefully this week.
Hope this makes sense and helps.
Terry.

 

[Lucky13]

Thanks fellas!

 

[Wayne Little]

Great suggestions Terry! certainly takes practice....

 

[Lucky13]

These will be great to use for your own mixed paints when empty....

 

[Airframes]

Or an emergency wee dram?

 

[Lucky13]

Trying to figure out which Vallejo paints that goes best with the three colour paint scheme on the F4U, and it gives me headaches.....

Trying to stick with the Air selection of Vallejo, since I'm not too comfortable mixing and blending...unless it's alcohol. (I did say that out loud didn't I? D*mn! )

So, Navy Blue, Intermediate Blue, Insignia White and Zinc Chromate Primer

 

[Lucky13]

Instead for clogging up and start a new thread....

Maybe try one of their sets one of these days....

 

[Wurger]

Trying to figure out which Vallejo paints that goes best with the three colour paint scheme on the F4U, and it gives me headaches.....

Trying to stick with the Air selection of Vallejo, since I'm not too comfortable mixing and blending...unless it's alcohol. (I did say that out loud didn't I? D*mn! )

So, Navy Blue, Intermediate Blue, Insignia White and Zinc Chromate Primer

Jan, the Navy Blue is a wrong name I'm afraid. The correct one is the Dark Sea Blue . You may use two colours either the non-spectacular ( matt ) one or semi-gloss/ gloss one. FS 35042 , 25042/15042 - Vallejo Model Air 71295 USN Sea Blue FS 35042 , VMA 71300 Glossy Sea Blue FS 15042.
The Intermediate Blue - FS 35164 - Vallejo Model Air 71299 Intermediate Blue FS 35164,
The non-spectacular White - FS 37875/ 37778 ~ Vallejo Model Air 71279 Insignia White FS 37875/ Vallejo Colour 70820..

Always you may buy the Vallejo 71157 US Navy/USMC paint set

Also you may have a look there... quite interesting list of equivalents of faded tones in percentages for these colours. The Vallejo numbers are in the last , right column.

Douglas SBD Dauntless Pacific Tri-Color Scheme Color Profile and Paint Guide

As far as the primer is concerned.. which one ... the Salmon one (someting between the FS 32276 and FS 32356) or the Yellow Zinc Chromate FS 33637/33481/33440?

 

[parsifal]

never used Vallejo paints. interested to know how they compare to Tamiya which is my default brand most of the time. Ive heard good reports about Vallejo, but unsure exactly why they would be better......