FINISHED - TBM3 Avenger by CDW - Trumpeter - 1:32 scale

[Canute]

27 minutes ago, Egilman said:

The only thing I could suggest would be if you want a more combat used look, oil stains, tire marks through oil stains footprints, etc, etc... and maybe a bit of assorted patches of whitening/lightening to represent a faded deck...

 

Like Egilman says, a dirty wash of some kind would give it a more used look. And some tire scuffs. Even our parking areas has scuffs and fluid spills (oils, fuel, whatever) The deck is too clean.

 

That being said, I do like the overall look.

[Old Collingwood]

Very nice work mate  really is a great setting for the  plane.

 

OC.

[Javlin]

16 hours ago, Canute said:

Like Egilman says, a dirty wash of some kind would give it a more used look. And some tire scuffs. Even our parking areas has scuffs and fluid spills (oils, fuel, whatever) The deck is too clean.

 

That being said, I do like the overall look.

I think I leave it as is looks fine just like it sits.The process of staining the the deck any is going to lead back to the plane to give the whole picture harmony. Kevin

[Osmosis]

Congratulations on your models progress and on your obvious skills as a parent. It is so nice when in spite of our best efforts our kids still turn out great.

[Egilman]

1 hour ago, Javlin said:

I think I leave it as is looks fine just like it sits.The process of staining the the deck any is going to lead back to the plane to give the whole picture harmony. Kevin

It looks absolutely beautiful.... Nothing done at this point is going to change that....

[Edwardkenway]

Fabulous finish to a great project Craig, you keep on raising the bar. Cant wait for your next build.

Cheers

[Tigerdvr]

Really outstanding. It's unfortunate that a larger deck piece is not available but that's just minor. 

Thanks for sharing a very informative log.

 

Cheers--

[popeye the sailor]

Wow!  she looks great sitting on deck     should it be facing with the deck lines though and not diagonally?   envisioning the deck lines escape me.......I may be thinking of something else.   but other than some of the suggestions given,  I wouldn't change a thing.........congratz on a model well done!  

 

unrelated:   have you seen the movie Midway?  great carrier shots in it.

[CapnMac82]

20 hours ago, popeye the sailor said:

should it be facing with the deck lines though and not diagonally? 

That's a fascinating question.
From photos of parked a/c, they were generally kept parking parallel to the long axis of the deck.  And the tie down rails run perpendicular to that.

 

Angled parking really does not come around until angled flight decks necessitate keeping the Flight Ops area clear (and adopting tricycle landing gear meant being able to park TOW, Tail Over Water).

Also, a tow tractor is only going to be able to use a single bar to the tail wheel, or a V bar to the main mounts, so squaring the a/c up makes sense from that.

 

But, is that good modeling?  

 

Aye, there's the rub, Horatio.

 

Really, any static USN a/c not on tarmac ought to be trussed in tie down chains and with chocked wheels.  (The Plane Captain, in his brown shirt, has to be able to show his trophies to the Aviator before flight.)

[Egilman]

54 minutes ago, CapnMac82 said:

Angled parking really does not come around until angled flight decks necessitate keeping the Flight Ops area clear

I beg to differ.... In the foreground, Grumman F4F-3 Wildcats of VF-3 “Felix the Cat” are parked on the flight deck of the USS Saratoga. In the background, Douglas SBD-3 Dauntless and Douglas TBD-1 Devastator aircraft are pictured. (U.S. Navy Photograph.)

Sometime mid to late '42 I take it based upon the aircraft on board and their insignias.... Circle star with red center dot on the dauntless's and Circle star without the center dot on the wildcats....

Looks like angled parking, lashed down to me....

Edited April 4, 2020 by Egilman

[Canute]

Launching a massive airstrike off a straight deck carrier looked like a zoo. How many a/c were there on 1 ship. 90 or so?  They'd jam them in anyway they could  to make them all fit for launch.  They had to launch in a sequence, usually fighters first to provide air cover, scout dive bombers next and finally, the torpedo bombers. The rendezvous to build the whole strike package must have been incredible, getting separate carriers' aircraft joined up.

 

I remember our Linebacker launches from Korat in 1972, Over 100 aircraft from just one base. We had 4 bases launching. We had flow plans with all sorts of timing. Aircraft were parked all over the base; anywhere we had space to load and launch. We all launched to a fleet of aerial tankers and hung on them until the code word for executing the strike or weather cancelling was broadcast.

[Roger Pellett]

I have been rereading a book about the air war in Korea.  In that case, attack aircraft - Corsairs and AD’s were propeller driven and the fighters were jets-F9F Panthers.  The launch sequence was attack aircraft first, and the shorter legged jet fighters much later with the rendezvous taking place closer to the target.  In this case the short legged MIGs did not pose a threat until the strike group neared the target and only then if the target was near “MIG Alley.”  The book’s author also claims that the difficulties maintaining the heavy attack schedule accelerated the adoption of the angled deck.

 

Roger

[CapnMac82]

20 hours ago, Egilman said:

I beg to differ.

Fair enough.  However, those birds are all engines turning, wings open, too.  The ones in the back, still stowed are pretty neat rows.

 

That's back in the day, when you needed all the deck you could get to fly off, so, you wanted it "compress" the fore & aft length of whatever you were launching in those days before catapult launching became common.

 

But, I'm drawing off of remembered photographs and the like.  At SWO school they mostly told us carriers were dangerous and ought be avoided at all costs.  And that brownshoes were very silly.

[CapnMac82]

17 hours ago, Canute said:

How many a/c were there on 1 ship. 90 or so? 

From memory, Sara & Lex were 70 or so; the Essex ships 75 or 80, and that was chock full, flight & hangar decks to capacity.

 

And, as the old adage goes, there's no such thing as a "perfectly good airplane."  So, you can't get them all flown off. 

[Egilman]

20 hours ago, Canute said:

How many a/c were there on 1 ship. 90 or so? 

Depends upon the class of ship and the era...  As designed the Lex & Sara carried 90+ but that was back in the biplane days, in the 30's they carried over 100, but only 90 or so were flyable, they had the capability to store aircraft in the beams and girders near the roof of the Hanger Deck. The Yorktown class as designed carried 85-90 but operationally limited to 80 or so.  The Essex class could also carry 90+ as designed but later in the war as the aircraft became progressively larger and larger, they reached about 80-85 operational aircraft also....  as capnmac says flightdeck size was the limiter as to how may aircraft could be launched on a single flight op. WWII saw the addition of catapults which allowed more aircraft to be carried and launched in one flight op... But in general, 80-85 aircraft for a WWII aircraft carrier.... 75-85 for a Korean war carrier group. The angled flight deck did two things, it allowed both flight and recovery operations at the same time, and, with enlarged hanger decks, increased aircraft complement..... back up to the 80-85 they enjoyed during WWII...

 

Long about 1944, a design decision was made, the most efficient aircraft complement for an aircraft carrier for efficient air combat operations, it was settled at 75-85 aircraft, after than it was the aircraft carrier that adjusted in size to fit the aircraft complement it was going to carry.... The Midway class was designed on that basis, as was the supercarriers....

 

Everything on an aircraft carrier today is designed to serve the aircraft aboard.... everything else is secondary......

Edited April 5, 2020 by Egilman

[Egilman]

3 hours ago, CapnMac82 said:

Fair enough.  However, those birds are all engines turning, wings open, too.  The ones in the back, still stowed are pretty neat rows.

Actually you look closely every single aircraft on that deck is turning prop... the other thing you notice, there are no flight personnel in the scene, aircraft captains and assistants are warming up the engines for the days operations... The TBD's usually did not unfold their wings until they reached pre-launch position as the second or third aircraft in the procession, they were the largest birds on the deck. They are angle parked on the deck edges to facilitate aircraft handling making it easier to advance to launch position....

 

That is a deck that was pre-spotted in the early morning for launch operations... They have been sitting there for over 6 hours, they needed to be run up before launch.  I have official US Navy image examples, (like the one above) of this from all aircraft carrier classes used during WWII, even the smaller escort carriers used this procedure....

 

Yes flight ops on a carrier deck is one of the most dangerous occupations anyone could work in.... In the wrong spot at the wrong time, they would be promoting your replacement.....

Edited April 5, 2020 by Egilman

[modeller_masa]

On 2/11/2020 at 2:02 PM, CDW said:

1:32 Wingnut Wings Lancaster

 

Finally arrived!

 

https://www.luckymodel.com/scale.aspx?item_no=BRDBF010

pre-order $600

 

https://www.themodellingnews.com/2021/09/preview-border-model-bombshell.html

Limited quantity, will not produce again.

Edited September 30, 2021 by modeller_masa

[CDW]

20 hours ago, modeller_masa said:

 

Finally arrived!

 

https://www.luckymodel.com/scale.aspx?item_no=BRDBF010

pre-order $600

 

https://www.themodellingnews.com/2021/09/preview-border-model-bombshell.html

Limited quantity, will not produce again.

Very very tempting. Just might do it.

 

[ccoyle]

21 hours ago, modeller_masa said:

pre-order $600

 

Yikes. This is one reason why I stick to card models. 😬

[CDW]

2 hours ago, ccoyle said:

 

Yikes. This is one reason why I stick to card models. 😬

Plus $118 postage from Asia. 

The main reason I would consider doing it is due to the collector value of such a kit. In a very short time after the initial (maybe only) batch of these are sold out, they may triple or even more in value. Wingnut Wings wanted to retail the models for less than $400. Someone must have been WAY off in their projections.

[ccoyle]

Don't get me wrong -- if I had the skills and the $$$, I'd be all over it ... but I have neither. 😆

[popeye the sailor]

wingnut has always been out of my price range........may be a quality kit,  but I can't afford them.  for that price,  I'd expect not to feel that aftermarket enhancements would be needed.

[Egilman]

7 hours ago, CDW said:

Plus $118 postage from Asia. 

The main reason I would consider doing it is due to the collector value of such a kit. In a very short time after the initial (maybe only) batch of these are sold out, they may triple or even more in value. Wingnut Wings wanted to retail the models for less than $400. Someone must have been WAY off in their projections.

Me too if I was still collecting, it has the potential to be another $1K+ kit..... as some get built and they get rarer and rarer... (like the Renwal turbojet)

[Egilman]

6 hours ago, popeye the sailor said:

wingnut has always been out of my price range........may be a quality kit,  but I can't afford them.  for that price,  I'd expect not to feel that aftermarket enhancements would be needed.

Neither can I at this point.... 

 

Aftermarket? you kidding?

https://www.scalemates.com/kits/wingnut-wings-32044-avro-lancaster-bmkiii-dambusters--1167941

 

Doesn't matter if it's actually needed, the aftermarket philosophy, "if you build it, They will buy it" the truest truism in the business....

[CDW]

While it’s not 100% certain, past experience tells me ZI could double my investment in less than a year. It’s worth a chance IMO. 
Wish I knew why only one production run is anticipated. Must have to do with the molds. They were created as a limited run set to reduce the considerable development cost/outlay.

[lmagna]

12 hours ago, ccoyle said:

if I had the skills and the $$$, I'd be all over it

Don't need building skills to become a "collector" Chris. In fact building it is the last thing you want to do normally. You do need the money, and the ability to wait for what could be a while though.

[CDW]

Just now, lmagna said:

You do need the money, and the ability to wait for what could be a while though.

 

I didn't notice any clear indication of when they will ship the pre-order. So there's another wait.

[popeye the sailor]

the molds are........the molds.  they present a chance that there could be a second run.   this could impact the rarity........there are kits out there that only had one run.  the prices for these kits are astounding!   I would imagine that after the heat they endure,  the molds would need to be planed after so many runs,  to insure flatness {to limit flash}.