Mustang P-51D “cookie”

 Completed another Mustang P-51D, built out of the box. Added Airfix pilot. I used AK real colour aluminum and steel  mix, panel lined, hand painted invasion stripes, then decals. I nice simple Revell kit. 

Syrian MiG 17

 Another Syrian aircraft off the desk. The MIG 17 is marked with pre 1962 Roundels, painted with AK interactive Real Colour aluminum and gun metal. 

Cheers

Matt

Katanga Airforce Fouga Magister KAT 92

 

 Katanga Airforce Fouga Magister KAT 92

Completed the Heller 1/72 kit, painted with AK real colours and added aftermarket MAV decals for the Katangan markings. Quite happy with the results 

KATANGAN  92 Fouga Magister 

Without a doubt, the most infamous of the Katangan Fouga Magisters, KAT 92 seen the most service and caused the most controversy. Kat 92 operated from September 14 to 19, 1961, against UN forces. Damaged by ground fire on the 18th but grounded while peace talks commenced and then came into effect on the 20th. 

On the 3rd December 1961 it was damaged during an air attack, Indian UN Canberra bombers permanently grounded it at Kolwezi. Damaged, it was evacuated by rail on December 5, 1961, to Kisenge where it awaited replacement parts.

Thanks to this single training aircraft, based in Kolwezi, the Katangese "hunt" caused panic among the United Nations. The KAT 92 carried out rapid overflights of UN positions, dropping a few 50kg improvised bombs here and there. These interventions boosted the morale of the Katangese Gendarmerie and mercenary troops and sowed consternation among the ranks of the ONUC troops. The Fouga were an excellent means of psychological warfare against the ONUC soldiers and forced them to deploy air support. This Fouga also played a vital role in the attack on UN Kamina Airbase on the 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th of September destroying one DC4 on the ground and killing two UN pilots. Then the strafing and bombing of the Irish at Jadotville between the 13th and 17th. During at ground attack on the Kamina Airbase on the 18th it received damage. 

José Magain “the lone Prowler”

The pilot of the Fouga 92 was the Belgian José Magain who had flown with the Belgian Air Force. Joseph Delin the commander of Kolwezi airbase accompanied him as co-pilot on several missions including the staffing of Jadotville But when the journalists and photographers showed up in Kolwezi, José Magain disappeared… because no one could know that he had piloted the Fouga Magister. In reality he should no longer have been in Katanga and should have returned to Belgium on August 28, 1961, just like the other members of Avikat expelled by the UN (Operation “Rumpunch 27th August - October 1961”).
 

Armament for KAT 92, originally armed with 7.50 mm guns and ammunition, it was re-chambered for 7.62 caliber as ammunition was readily available. for bombing ground attack missions required manufacture of 50 kg bombs from mortar rounds and a primitive dropping and aiming system organized with the means at hand. The Fouga KAT 92 flew about 50 missions, claiming a UN DC-6, a DC-4, a DC-3, a dozen trucks, strafing the positions Jadotville, and a UN radio installations was destroyed at Kamina. The end of each of these missions was punctuated by a message to the control tower manned by the UN: "See you soon, gentlemen; I will be happy to come and see you again!" 

Mig 15 UTI Midget -Wip Wednesday

 A quick hobby boss Mig15 UTI midget build over the weekend in between battlefield tours. A very basic kit and simple rapid build kit. I completed the build on Sunday. I am planning a stationary build that I can use for a special forces raid. Hoping for paint job on Thursday or Friday as I need to complete another Mig 21 in the same camo!

Cheers

Matt

MiG 17 PF WIP

  MiG 17 PF WIP

As the summer sales are on at the moment I have gone a little crazy and pickup a number of kits for my collection from early war ww2 through to current. With that I continue my MIG obsession at the moment, another MIG15 and two MiG 17s purchased as commenced. Simple Plastyk builds, one will join my Egyptians and Iraqis.

SU -15 TM PM models

 Flagon SU-15TM

Last year in england I picked up the PM model SU15TM at Newark air museum. This is another MAYDAY build.

What can I say, one of the most dreadful kits I have ever built, the fuselage was bent, the fuselage needed so much filler I should of just scratch built one, one wing was offset and the canopy looks like a Mig 15 canopy and was so thick and was such a poor fit it is almost not worth placing on the kit. I built it anyway and three weeks ago before holidays I painted it. I added the decals on it, but still not my favourite at all. I elected to add 2 of the  K-8 missiles, I added KP models  S-5 rockers for ground attack role. My suggestion steer clear of this kit.

Cheers

Matt

ME 163 Komet

 ME 163 Komet 

Another kit completed from my MAYDAY build, it has been finished for three weeks or so, but I mislaid the canopy, which I found yesterday…… a simple build, the paint job is part airbrush part hand painted as I had masking tape tear so a sand back then brush job to complete, added decals from the kit, pilot is a supplied one. Not much use for wargaming but I knew I had to have one. When I worked at the Australian war memorial as a guide I often would take my guided group past the one in the memorial reminding people that this little jet was really a glider that was often a one way ticket. 

Cheers

Matt

370th Fighter Group P38 part 2

 370th Fighter Group P38 part 2

Finally got some time to complete this model, the P-38J from the 401st reconnaissance squadron of the  370th fighter group USAAF.  I have always wanted to build one of these for my European theatre ground air support as this unit was the close support for Pattons 3rd Armys breakout through Pays de Loire in August 1944. The droop snoot nosed aircraft was used coordination for targeting and low level rockets and bombing by the rest of the group, targeting the German support elememts and retreating convoys to the north and east into the Falaise pocket. 

As Wargamers we like to think that air support was easily available, with ground to air contact regularly. Pattons 3rd army was the first time that units at the front had direct radio liaison between the ground and the target liaison aircraft during the breakout. US aircraft were available every 8 mins to be targeted on the Germans units directed by these aircraft in constant contact with the lead elements of Pattons Armoured units. The P38s were flying out of Cardonville in Normandy so were over targets in the Mayenne region in around 5 mins as they chased the German 7th army east towards Paris then the border. The unit was also the first to drop Napalm incendiary bombs in Normandy on the 17th of July on a German fuel depot at Coutances west of St Lo. 

My kit is the superb Dragon model, only complaint no pilot….. so a Revell one was used, markings are for the 401st squadron of the 370th Fighter Group, fuselage code 7F. 

Cheers

Matt

 A-10 Thunderbolt Hog 

An Academy A-10 Thunderbolt kit I have had laying around for more than ten years built but not painted pile of shame. This month I have been airbrushing madly to complete a lot of built kits, this chap made it to the front of the line last week. 

Reasonably happy with the results, marked up for Europe. I have another kit unbuilt, I will build that for Iraq in the future. 

Cheers

Matt

Bloch 152 l’Armee de l’Air de Vichy “Potent Pedro”

 Vichy Bloch 152

As a palette cleanser this week I completed a Bloch 152 for the Vichy airforce, I already have two Bloch 152 in the collection so I thought I needed to do something different, and here it is. 

Cheers

Matt

Luftwaffe F4 phantom

 Luftwaffe F 4 phantom 

This aircraft has been almost complete pile for 10 years at least, the interior and base coat was painted, but no detailing done, panel lines, weathering  decals or pilot.

 Last month I unpacked boxes of kits from storage to complete some for the 30 day kit build. In these boxes were a number of aircraft in various stages of completion, mostly built but no paint, or pilots. So my goal this month is to finish off as many as I can before moving onto armour! 

Now I also have 3d files for pilots, so I have started printing loads of ww2, helicopter and jet pilots and looking for or purchasing decals to complete a number of builds that had stalled along with matching canopies (which is ok for some but difficult for others….). So expect a lot of aircraft over the coming month as I paint pilots, airbrush built kits and add decals. 

Really happy with my results although I think I would like to build it again and be more careful within my fit and finish. Overall really good to have it completed. 

Cheers

Matt

Soviet tank crew

 A few pieces from Mars plastic figures, escaping tank crew. Simple blue overalls and black tanker caps 

Cheers

Matt 

Warpac NBC checkpoint

  A bit slow this week, after a month of assembly of plastic kits. This weekend I pulled out some Soviet NBC chaps from the moderns project draw.  The figure with rifles are from a old Esci box of Warsaw pact figures, the figure with the note board is from Airfix I think 

Cheers

Matt

Aircraft completed for the 30 day challenge

 Some more pieces for the 30 day kit challenge 

Airfix Electric Lightening 

Heller Mureaux 117

SMER MiG 19 

Airfix F5 freedom fighter 

Now to get some paint on them

Cheers 

Matt

Syrian Airforce - Yom Kippur MiG 17

 Syrian Airforce Yom Kippur

MiG 17PF

Another addition for my air cover for my Yom Kippur war collection first up a MiG 17PF from Plastyk models. A simple build from very old KP models kit, not the greatest kit, it had very bad fit on the body and wing mounting and the tail is incorrect along with the canopy. Still painting the pilot though which I used a 3d print, hard to find a pre 60 pilot so I ended up using a tank commander. 

Quite happy with the results, I think I will purchase a Eduard kit and do another model of a MiG 17 as I really enjoyed the build. I used AK real colours enamel and weathered it heavily with a brown ink wash. Decals were supplied in the kit, the tail Chequers were hand painted along with the nose. 

Cheers

Matt

Red nose down… P51 Mustang

 An old 1/72 Frog P51 mustang has been sacrificed to have a crashed aircraft. Quite happy with it 

Cheers

Matt

Ford Marmon Harrington Armoured artillery tractor

Ford Marmon Harrington car 

Armoured Ford Marmon Herrington Artillery tow, technically attached to the cyclist frontier regiments but photos have them towing Chasseur Ardennais anti tank guns. The vehicle is from Wespe models. I have a second to build to have a towed version of the gun.