Curtiss Sparrowhawk by jct - FINISHED - Williams Brothers - 1/32 - PLASTIC

[popeye the sailor]

second that  

[jct]

Hello everyone...this is the last installment of the Sparrowhawk build, she is complete...

The wing support rigging was completed with 0.015 stainless steel wire...the radio antenna is line from my rigging box, the attachment points are small hooks made from the stainless wire CA'ed into predrilled holes...I was able to use most of the kit decals though they all broke at one point or another, the stripe borders were a total lose though, so those are really thin pieces of masking tape, they were painted  with a pointer brush after the green had dried, that was a pita...my thanks to all who've participated in this log your support is much appreciated...on to the photos

 

 

 

[popeye the sailor]

came out great.....a sweet looking model!  the backdrop is a nice touch too........kinda looks like corrugated siding     I would have commented on the decals,  but I didn't want to sound like a broken record.   but it came out look'in superb......congratz on a fine build!   

[Sea Hoss]

Very cool, love early aircraft!

[CDW]

Another great looking model for your display cabinet. Beautiful, colorful, paint and markings.

[Roger Pellett]

A great job building a fascinating model.  Now you need to build a 1:32 scale USS Akron to suspend it from!!

 

BTW I never cease to be amazed at what these pilots were expected to do.  If launching and recovering these small planes in the slipstream of the huge Zepplin were not enough imagine using one of these primitive radio sets (I assume still Morse code at that time) while flying the plane and navigating so you could find your way back to the mother ship. 

 

Roger

Edited April 10, 2019 by Roger Pellett

[jct]

My thanks to you all...and yes Roger they did still us Morris...accounts say that the cockpit was so restricted that they had the key strapped to their knee

[jct]

3 hours ago, popeye the sailor said:

kinda looks like corrugated siding

THX D...that's one of the Admirals place mats  I was ready for the decal issues this time around

[lmagna]

Great build of a very worthy yet little known subject J. Their importance in history goes far beyond their size or numbers. It should take a very prominent place in your cabinet.

 

13 hours ago, Roger Pellett said:

If launching and recovering these small planes in the slipstream of the huge Zepplin were not enough

Actually the pilots claimed that "landing" on the airships was much easier than landing on a carrier as both aircraft were operating in the same medium. Navigation was another issue. In order to do their job properly the Sparrowhawks had to fly outward at a tangent from each side of the airship, go over the combined horizons of both the mothership and the airplane so the they were far enough out that both aircraft were not covering the same area of the sea as the airship. When done they had to set a blind intercept course back to where they expected the airship to be! This was sometimes over a period of several hours where the airship could be several hundred miles from where it had been. A surface vessel would only have traveled a hundred miles or less in the same time span. The tactics they developed for this type of scouting not only allowed hundreds of miles of ocean to be scouted at the same time but were so effective that they were adopted by carrier and cruiser based aircraft throughout the war for beyond the horizon flights. It became very important in almost all of the carrier battles from Coral Sea on.

Edited April 11, 2019 by lmagna

[jct]

THX Lou

[Roger Pellett]

Very Interesting Lou!  Most of the WW 2 accounts that I have read seem to focus on the big picture and don’t discuss the techniques that were actually used to win the war.  Thanks for your post.

 

Roger

[lmagna]

9 hours ago, Roger Pellett said:

Thanks for your post.

I tend to enjoy odd naval subjects and the era rigid airship was/is one of them.

 

Another thing I forgot was that I believe the Sparrowhawks were the first naval fixed wing pilots to make regular night "landings" on their parent ship. Something Navy pilots dread even today on conventional carriers. 

[Canute]

Roger, take a look at "Shattered Sword", an account written by 2 Americans, Parschall and Tully, about the Battle of Midway and published in 2005. It is much later research, gaining access to more and better after action reports. It goes into detail on both sides, although looking deeper into the Japanese doings. Delves into big differences in the training and combat doctrines of both sides.

[thibaultron]

Great looking model! Well done!

[popeye the sailor]

what's next on the menu?

[mtaylor]

Beautiful work, JC.   Needs to be hung but a balloon is out of the question. 

[jct]

9 hours ago, thibaultron said:

Great looking model! Well done!

THX Ron

5 minutes ago, mtaylor said:

Beautiful work, JC.   Needs to be hung but a balloon is out of the question. 

THX Mark...I agree...toyed with the idea of rigging a trapeze but just wanted to keep it simple

8 hours ago, popeye the sailor said:

what's next on the menu?

Not at all sure Denis, I know I'm staying away from my stash for awhile, I do need to get an inventory though...this little bird was buried under multiple layers, I've no idea what I have...a hiatus may be in my immediate future as we are opening the RV in a couple weeks, but we'll have to see

 

I do want to say thanks again to all that have followed and supported along the way much appreciated my friends

[popeye the sailor]

well....just be careful tak'in that inventory.......you may see something else that'll catch your eye   

[thibaultron]

For my ship, wood, and metal kits, I created an Excel spreadsheet. Now I have to do the same for my plastic kits. The "Box" column is no longer valid. I originally had them in packing boxes, and plastic tubs.

 

[lmagna]

Nice organization sheet Ron

 

I did the same for my Sports Racing/ Can Am cars, except I have a lot more of them!

[popeye the sailor]

I need to update mine...as a matter of fact.   all I use is Microsoft word.

[thibaultron]

I only showed the beginning of the list, there are 170+ entries! Some of them are plans, or partial kits.

[lmagna]

44 minutes ago, thibaultron said:

170+ entries

I hate to admit it but think I may have the same or more. I may only have 75-80 cars but I also have many duplicates bringing that number up to something over 100, so I could make a different car or year by just changing the color and decals. Then I would need to add aircraft, a few armored vehicles, a bunch of steel ships and a few more wooden ships, both in plastic and wood. Then I could add my Sci-Fi kits, and X-Plane models. I also have a few figures in 1/8th or 1/12 scale or something like that. I have a full box filled with ship plans. Warships, sailing ships and working ships.

I have no idea when it happened or for that matter how! I just went into my storage one day and realized it resembled a well stocked hobby shop!