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American Dart The Luftwaffe’s

night
owl
F-106 in Detail He 219

CH LESSOANLMS SON 2-A2

FRENNUT WINGS S
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SH A CKLEITOON N
AVROISH INSTITUT
A BRIT SAMPUBLICATIONS.COM
-30MK VRABLE FLANKER Vol 15 Iss 01 January 2016 £4.50
SU MANOEU
SUPER
Combat Zone
COMBAT EDGE Dr Strangelove Printed in the UK
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4 Contents www.sampublications.com

Quite a Year
I
suppose that title is something of an understatement, as it really
has been quite a year for Model Aircraft! Suffice to say though it
has been a very, very successful one, and has given the new
editorial team a platform on which to build for the year to come.
Our aim in 2016 is to take Model Aircraft to even greater heights and
we have some simply superb features planned, some special issues and
a few exclusive and quite frankly brilliant competitions on offer, that I
know will be of great interest to the modeller, enthusiast and the keen
aviation photographer! So, as the old cliché goes, ‘watch this space’!
For this issue, once again we have crammed as much into the
pages as we possibly can, with features on the P-40 Warhawk, the icon-
ic Avro Shackleton and the Salmson 2A2. Following on from our ‘Cold
War Skies’ special, we take another glance in that direction with Antho-
ny Tucker-Jones eclectic ‘Dr Strangelove’ article backed up with a build
of the F-106 Delta Dart from James Dickerson. Also on offer is a view of
‘Wingtip-Winders’ from Bruce Rowe, as he describes an unadopted
upgrade for the AV-8B, and Tim Senior reports from RAF Coningsby on the deploy-
ment of the Indian Air Forces deployment of their Su-30’s to the UK. And putting that
aircraft in plastic, Chris McDowell builds the 1:48 Academy SU-30MK. Our cover fea-
ture this month is the Luftwaffe’s ‘Night Owl’ as Christoff Theunissen guides you
through painting and finishing the 1:48 Tamiya He 219 A-7 ‘Uhu’, and Andy Renshaw
weighs in with another excellent build, this time it’s a US Marine Corps A-4M
So, can I thank you for your company in 2015, and I look forward to
bringing you some of the best features and modelling articles the hobby
can offer throughout 2016. So from all at Model Aircraft, can I wish you a
peaceful, prosperous and plastic filled New Year!
Happy Modelling
Andy Evans
Group Editor

In this Issue
Casemate Competition
34 Under the Maple Leaf - Canadian Volunteers
in Bomber Command

French Lessons
46 Neil Pinchbeck looks at the Salmson 2-A2

Wingtip Winders
58 Bruce Rowe, a former McDonnell Douglas
Structural Flight Loads Engineer who worked on the
AV-8B, describes one the upgrades looked at for the
Harrier.

A Merlin Powered Warhawk!

60 Angel Exposito builds the 1:72 Special Hobby
Curtiss P-40F-1

Shop & Web Guide

72
And Finally
74

6 Marines Mike 10 The Avro Shackleton - 18 Combat Edge - 26 A Super Maneuverable

Andy Renshaw builds the A-4M
A British Institution ‘The Six’ Flanker
Len Whalley land Paul Lucas look at the history of the Lockheed’s F-106 Delta Dart Chris McDowell builds the 1:48 Academy SU-30MK
last of the long-range British piston-engined aircraft with background details,
colour profiles by JP Viera and a full model build from
James Dickerson
04-05-Contents-MA-0116_MAM-08 04/12/2015 14:14 Page 5
30 An Indian Summer
Tim Senior reports from RAF Coningsby on Exercise
‘Indradanush 2015’
Model Aircraft | January 2016
50 Luftwaffe
‘Night Owl’
Christoff Theunissen guides you through painting
and finishing the 1:48 Tamiya He 219 A-7 ‘Uhu’
5
CONTENTS – VOLUME 15 ISSUE 01
35 MODEL AIRCRAFT EXTRA – IAI
Kfir in Foreign Service
With background details, a walk around from Santiago Rivas and a full
model build from Vini Pompeo
54 Combat-Zone - 66 MIG Masterclass -
‘Dr Strangelove’ ‘Grounded in the
Anthony Tucker-Jones recounts the strange tale Desert’
of America’s top-secret Arctic Air Defences Mark Chisholm shows you how to pro-
duce a realistic weathered finish on an
abandoned Bf 109
06-09-Skyhawk-AM-0116_MAM-08 04/12/2015 14:13 Page 6
6 DIAMONDBACKS A-4M
Marines Mud-
Moving Scooter
Andy Renshaw builds a ‘fully-loaded’ 1:48 Diamondbacks A-4M
O
f all the 1:48 A-4 kits, the Hasegawa
offering is by far the best, and
stands head and shoulders above
the others in terms of fit, detail, and
accuracy, and Hasegawa has provided
most major marks of the Skyhawk in
numerous boxing’s, spanning its service
life. Their A-4M has appeared a number of
times in different guises, including as the
IDF A-4N. Out of the box, it builds into a
great model; however, there are several
tweaks that can push this kit into being a
fantastic representation of the aircraft.
As with most kits construction began with the
cockpit, and here I replaced the ejection seat with a resin
one, and also I happened to have some leftover bits from
an old Cutting Edge detail set to dress up the rear portion
of the ‘office’. Moving on to the fuselage and wings, one
mistake Hasegawa made with all of their Skyhawk kits
was moulding a ‘step’ between the leading edge slats
well and the wing. This area should be a smooth
transition, and while the step works well for showing the
slats fully closed, at rest the A-4 forward slats relax and
slide down. So the step was filled with plastic strip and
smoothed over with putty. Additional detail was added to
www.sampublications.com
A-4M Skyhawk
the landing gear with some wire and other bits, and
speaking of landing gear, Hasegawa also forgot to modify
the instructions for the A-4M to reflect the addition of
nose-gear steering. The parts are included on the sprues,
but are shown unused. The A-4M, TA-4J, and some others
all had nosegear steering, and the added equipment and
hydraulic lines are quite prominent. I used the Hasegawa
TA-4J instructions for the nose gear, and added hydraulic
lines using thin wire. The ARBS nose is optional
depending on airframe and era being modelled, however,
The A-4 has been ready to put ‘warheads on
foreheads’ for over half a century, and is a
testament to the simplicity of its design
manufacturer: Hasegawa
Scale: 1:48
Kit Type: Plastic injection moulded
Kit Number: 07233
Furball Aero Design Decals #48-010 ‘Low Vis Devil
Dog Scooters’
Eduard Brassin #648226 LAU-10/A Zuni launchers
Eduard Brassin #648137 Mk 82 w/Airbrakes (Late)
Aerobonus #480056 US Navy Triple Ejector Racks
Ammo of MIG 1509 Blue for Dark Grey Filter
Ammo of MIG 7201 US Navy Colours - 1980's to
Present
Ammo of MIG 1613 Blue Grey Panel Line Wash
Ammo of MIG 1615 Stone Grey Panel Line Wash
Ammo of MIG 1617 Blue Black Panel Line Wash
06-09-Skyhawk-AM-0116_MAM-08 04/12/2015 14:13 Page 7

Model Aircraft | January 2016 7

MARINES MUD-MOVING SCOOTER

The model before painting. The areas needing filler
are apparent, including the leading edge slat wells

Strip plastic and filler smooth’s over the slat error

Painting the three-grey

camouflage using
A.MIG 7201 US Navy
Colours - 1980's to
Present

Hydraulic lines were added onto the landing gear, and the A-4M was equipped with
nose gear steering, so this needs to be added

the ARBS is only represented with a clear nose cap, and

none of the internal components. I replicated the camera
lens with a small piece of clear rod, painted clear blue on
the end, and then added some small bits of silver painted
plastic. This was all secured to the inside of the nose cap
using a drop of clear acrylic and then the cap saved for
later installation.
Painting was done using Ammo of MIG acrylic paints
and I used several Vallejo shades for the smaller details.
The markings came from the outstanding ‘Low Vis Devil
Dogs’ sheet by Furball Aero Design. Using several images
as references, some thinned Blue-Grey and Dark Grey was
applied to particular panels that had touch-up work
done. Then more thinned Light Grey and Light Ghost Grey
was applied as an overall filter to blend and weather the
surface. The exhaust area was painted separately using a
metallic metalizer, and then polished using Uschi Van Der
With excellent Furball Aero Design decals on, Rosten metal polishing powder. The result is a highly
weathering began with some thinned paint to polished exhaust that is characteristic of many Skyhawk’s.
vary the tone and create some fading effects Two shades of Ammo of MIG panel line wash were used
to accent the details and the joints between the control
surfaces. One interesting weathering effect is the oily
06-09-Skyhawk-AM-0116_MAM-08 04/12/2015 14:14 Page 8

8 DIAMONDBACKS A-4M www.sampublications.com

Marines A-4M’s
For the US Marines, Close Air Support, or CAS
has always been a premium requirement for
their aircraft. The A-4M was a dedicated Marine
version of the ‘Scooter’ with improved avionics
and more powerful J52-P-408a engine, the most
powerful fitted to a US Skyhawk. This version
was also fitted with an enlarged cockpit and
bubble style canopy for improved comfort and
visibility and later, a Hughes AN/ASB-19 Angle
Rate Bombing System (ARBS) with TV and a laser
spot tracker was added in the nose giving, the
aircraft and improved capability whilst using
unguided weapons. A ribbon type drag chute
was added directly above the exhaust to help
with the short airfields the Marines might find in
forward deployed areas. The final twenty-four A-
4Ms were delivered with more enhancements
including the ability to carry laser guided
Maverick AGMs and Sidewinder AAMs.

Panel line washes accentuated the recessed detail Uschi Van Der Rosten Polishing Powder over paint turns plastic into metal!

Fully loaded with Zuni

pods and Snakeye’s

Streaked grime from the moving control surface was done

using oil paint
06-09-Skyhawk-AM-0116_MAM-08 04/12/2015 14:14 Page 9
streaking on the vertical stabilizer from the all-moving
horizontal stabilizer. The area was first masked off, and
then a small brush was used to ‘whisk on’ a few streaks of
brown and black oil paint. Don’t overdo the streaking, as
it can quickly turn into a large smudge! The underside of
the fuselage was also treated to a decent helping of
Ammo of MIG ‘Streaking Grime’ and ‘Fuel Weathering
Effects.’ At this point an overall spray of clear flat was
applied, and then final details such as gun barrels,
navigation lights, and ordnance were prepared.
Underwing I chose Zuni rocket pods and Mk 82
‘Snakeye’ bombs, and turned to the excellent offerings
from the Eduard ‘Brassin’ line. Each item was assembled
Model Aircraft | January 2016 9
MARINES MUD-MOVING SCOOTER
I cannot recommend the
Furball Aero Design decals
highly enough
and painted separately, treating each as a model in itself. Our gratitude to Hobbico USA for providing the build
The Mk 82s had the later type warhead with the fire sample.
resistant coating, so some texture needed to be added. www.hobbico.com
For this I used Rustolium textured paint, masking off the Thanks also to Furball Aero Designs for the fantastic
fins, and applying with a few light passes from a spray decals
can. After painting them Olive Green, the texture looked www.furballaero-design.com
perfect. A large 400-gallon drop tank was commonly
used on the centerline, however, a 300-gallon tank from
a classic Monogram or Revell kit, in this case an A-6E,
fitted the bill perfectly. These tanks are closer in size in
shape to the 400-gallon, than the 300-gallon tank they
are supposed to represent. Both the tank and the Zuni
pods were then attached to the model using small brass
rods cut to length and inserted into corresponding
drilled holes. Finally it was time to install the
canopy. The A-4 has been ready to put
‘warheads on foreheads’ for over half a
century, and is a testament to the
simplicity of its design. MA
Here you can see
the effects of the
subtle weathering
10-17-Shackleton-AM-0116_MAM-08 04/12/2015 14:12 Page 10
10 THE AVRO SHACKLETON IN DETAIL
No.8 Squadron RAF flew the Shackleton AEW 2 from 1973 to 1991
AVIATION ACADEMY
A British Institution
The Avro Shackleton in Detail
L
en Whalley and Paul Lucas look at
the history and camouflage of the
last of the long-range British piston-
engined aircraft, in this ideal companion
for the forthcoming Airfix kit
RAF Shackleton MR 3 WR970, in flight over cloud. WR970, the
prototype Mk.3, was first flown on 2 September 1955. It was
subsequently lost in a crash in the Peak District near Foolow,
Derbyshire (UK) during operational tests on 7 December 195
The Avro Shackleton was a late developer, and the last
of the British piston-engined long-range aircraft. The idea
of using a bomber as a reconnaissance aircraft came out of
a perceived pre-war need for Coastal Command to have an
improved system available so the Avro Anson could be
retired to other duties, and this came in the shape of the
Lockheed Hudson. The ability of the B.24 Liberator to patrol
to mid-Atlantic in 1944 gave the incentive but when these
were returned to USA under the lend-lease agreement, the
ageing Short Sunderland was the principal component of
British long-range Maritime Recce aircraft. First in line was
the 683 Lancaster heavy bomber, modified with long
range tanks in the bomb bay and based on several years of
successful operation, others would follow.
The Avro 694 Lincoln, a
Lancaster modification with a
wide window in the nose
www.sampublications.com
and the wings stretched to 120ft. and the fuselage
slightly enlarged initially was referred to as the Lancaster
Mk IV. The roles of the Lincoln, intended for the Pacific
theatre, extended from bomber to patrol duties along
Cold-War borders and naturally the Maritime
Reconnaissance (MR) role was added to these.
The Avro design staff was fully occupied at this time
with an Avro passenger aircraft, the Tudor using
essentially the same Lincoln wing. However, after another
delay, the need was expressed for a purpose-designed
General Reconnaissance (G.R) aircraft. This would be yet
another extension to the lineage of the famous
Manchester-Lancaster. The earliest design drawings
(1946) refer to the Lincoln Mk 3 as 'Maritime
10-17-Shackleton-AM-0116_MAM-08 04/12/2015 14:12 Page 11
A Shackleton AEW 2, and note the contra-rotating propellers
Reconnaissance Aircraft' later to be named as the Avro
696 ‘Shackleton’ GR to Specification R.5/46 with a scanner
cover or 'radome' directly under the vertically bowed
nose-window. It was fitted with manned mid-upper and
rear turrets as standard, and Rolls-Royce Griffon 57,
engines driving contra-rotating propellers.
The Shackleton fuselage, described by the RAF as
'roomy', was wider and deeper than any functionally
similar previous Avro airframe. The main undercarriage
had 61" single main-wheels in each inboard nacelle with
a single tail wheel. The Mk I had two turrets each on a
swiveling base ring with twin .303 guns. In the nose was
a pair of fixed side-mounted 20mm cannon fired from the
pilot's control yoke. These proved to be unserviceable and
were deleted after the prototype and trial stages. At the
same time the type name was revised from General Recce
to Maritime Reconnaissance - thus GR.1 became MR.1.
The 696 Mark 2 - introduced late 1952, had a three and a
half feet longer, streamlined nose and, to replace the
goatee scanner, a streamlined 'dustbin' was housed
under the rear centre section which could be semi or full
retracted. The main-wheels were retained, but a
South African Air Force Shackleton
1717/0 on patrol, October 1982
Model Aircraft | January 2016
retractable twenty-seven inch diameter twin-tail wheel
was added. A transparent 'observation' extended tail-
cone replaced the rear turret. Also the mid-upper turrets
of the Mk 1 were removed and plated-over flush to the
section profile, and production examples also had this
arrangement. The two nose-mounted 20mm cannon
were now operated from a Front Observer/Gunner's
station. The Mk 1 and Mk.2 had so many features in
common that a simple upgrade from Mk 1 to Mk 2
standard was implemented, known as Mk 1A.
The Mark 3 first flew on 2 September 1955 and wing
introduced tip tanks, and to accept these additions the tip
chord and section depth were increased. The main
undercarriage doors were widened and re-shaped to
accept twin fifty-inch diameter main wheels and the
fuselage nose section deepened to accept a retractable
twin thirty-inch nose-wheel unit, with a central leg to
each pair of wheels. The cockpit canopy of the Mk 3,
unlike the Mks.1 and 2 was un-strutted, and formed as a
clear-view bubble type around three flat, forward clear-
vision panes, and a fixed central roof console was
introduced. Major changes were required in equipment
for submarine plotting, radio and navigational electronics
and along with this, a substantial increase in Sonics and
ELINT capability. The Griffon engines were slightly
improved in an effort to cope with the increased all-up
weight and the exhausts were now contained in a
manifold with a tailpipe angled below the wing. A
variation of this was fitted to the later AEW Mk 2 aircraft
and also fitted retrospectively to existing airframes as
they were maintained in operation. When 150 Grade fuel
was not available, the Griffon engines were made to
produce +25lb take-off boost by the use of Water-
Methanol injection in the fuel system, and also led to the
fitting of turbine boosters. The little A-S Viper jet unit
with an early axial compressor was still undergoing
development, and these were fitted into the rear of each
of the outer nacelles as boosters in an extremely neat
installation. These were effective and in the 'Mk 3 Phase
3' it has been said that these aircraft could be flown on
the Vipers' unused fuel to extend duration or range on
long patrols.
SAAF 1722/P, was the last flying Shackleton MR 3
The Avro Shackleton was a late developer, and
the last of the British piston-engined long-
range aircraft.
11
THE AVRO SHACKLETON IN DETAIL
WL801 making a low pass
The Airborne Early Warning requirement was fulfilled
by the conversion of twelve Mk 2s in 1969-71. These AEW
Mk 2 conversions had a distinctive wide radome sited
under the front end of the shortened bomb bay the
standard Mk 2 'dustbin' frame was capped over with a
flat plate, and supplementary fuel tanks fitted in the
bomb bay. This, the last adaptation of the type came
when a carrier aircraft was sought to operate AEW
equipment on longer patrols from British coastal waters
and the North Sea to the Norwegian North Cape. The
tricycle undercarriage of the Mk 3 made it unable to carry
the large scanner cupola required, but the Mk 2, with its
tail-wheel arrangement could readily be adapted to the
role. The AEW scanner was located under the cockpit and
the exhausts converted to Mk 3 form with the manifold
and tail pipe and the Phase 3's ELINT aerial was still
evident on the top of the fuselage.
There has always been a reluctance to invest in any
new aircraft if existing incumbents could be adapted.
Thus the versions and modifications perpetrated on this
'old-fashioned' aircraft enabled its operational life to be
extended from the beginnings of the jet-age for over
forty years. The RAF up to 1979 when patrolling duties
were transferred to the jet equivalent, the Nimrod,
operated one or other form of the MR Shackleton. The
overseas MR.3 operation of the type as a guardian of
South Africa's Atlantic and Indian Ocean seaboard by the
SAAF continued to mid 1984. Even beyond this time there
still remained the AEW.Mk 2’s of No 8 Squadron, with the
remaining six aircraft being retired on June 30th 1991.
Retired SAAF 1721 N,
on permanent display at Swartkop
10-17-Shackleton-AM-0116_MAM-08 04/12/2015 14:12 Page 12

12 THE AVRO SHACKLETON IN DETAIL www.sampublications.com

Drawn by Len Whalley

1:96 Scale
10-17-Shackleton-AM-0116_MAM-08 04/12/2015 14:13 Page 13

Model Aircraft | January 2016 13

THE AVRO SHACKLETON IN DETAIL

10-17-Shackleton-AM-0116_MAM-08 04/12/2015 14:13 Page 14

14 THE AVRO SHACKLETON IN SERVICE www.sampublications.com

The classic lines of the Avro Shackleton

Shackleton in Service
Paul Lucas looks at the career of the MR.2 in the RAF from 1954 – 1972

T
he Avro Shackleton Mk.2 entered
service with the RAF on 1 January
1954 when WG533 arrived at the
Anti Submarine Warfare Development
Unit at St. Mawgan in Cornwall.
This was followed by the arrival of WG555 and WG556
at St. Eval for 42 Squadron on 12 January. All Shackleton
MR.2s were finished on the production line in the then
standard camouflage scheme for Coastal Aeroplanes as
laid down in Air Publication (AP) 970 'Design
Requirements for Service Aircraft' Chapter 108
'Camouflage and Aeroplane Identification Markings'
Amendment List (AL) 44 dated 1 February 1949 and Air
Ministry Order (AMO) A.217 dated 19 April 1951. These
documents both stated that medium and long range
anti-shipping, anti-submarine and maritime Forerunner of the MR.2 was the MR 1, as seen here with VP256 on patrol
reconnaissance aeroplanes were to be finished on the
upper surfaces in Medium Sea Grey whilst the under extended upwards and merged into the upper surfaces in forward of the boundary of the upper surface colour of
surfaces to Pattern No.1 were to be gloss White and the such a manner that when viewed in side and front the wing near the leading edge. On the Shackleton, this
under surfaces between the boundaries of Pattern No. 1 elevation the aeroplane was to appear almost entirely was actually on the centreline of the leading edge of the
and Pattern No.2 were to be matt White. In addition to White. On the engine nacelles, the white finish was to be wing. The national markings were to consist of 1-2-3
this, the matt White finish on the fuselage sides was to be extended upwards to cover the whole of the top surface proportioned Bright Red, White and Bright Blue roundels.
On the Shackleton these were of eighty four inch overall
The Avro Shackleton Mk.2 entered service with the RAF on diameter on the upper surfaces of the wings and of fifty-
four inch diameter on the sides of the fuselage. The fin
1 January 1954 when WG533 arrived at the Anti Submarine marking consisted of an equally proportioned fin flash
Warfare Development Unit at St. Mawgan in Cornwall thirty-six inches long and twenty-four inches high. On
the under surface of the wings of the Shackleton, the
10-17-Shackleton-AM-0116_MAM-08 04/12/2015 14:13 Page 15
serial number was applied in Black characters forty eight
inches high in the traditional manner with the letters
outboard on both wings so that the serial number could
be read from behind the aircraft on the port wing and in
front of the aircraft on the starboard wing. On the rear
fuselage the serial numbers were applied in Light Slate
Grey characters eight inches high.
Squadron Markings
On 7 March 1951 Headquarters Coastal Command wrote
to HQ 18 Group, 19 Group, RAF Gibraltar and the Joint
Anti-submarine School, Londonderry to inform them that
the two letter 'squadron codes' system which had been in
use to one degree or another since 1938 was being
abandoned and to inform them of the new marking
system to be used in the future. In Coastal Command,
each aircraft was to carry two letters, the first was a Unit
identification letter which was to be allocated on a
Station basis to identify which unit on a Station the
aircraft belonged and was to be placed aft of the fuselage
roundel. For operational units of all Commands the choice
was restricted to 'A', 'B', 'L' or 'T'. For Operational Training
A Shackleton MR 2 taxies out
Units (OTU) and other non-operational units of Bomber,
Coastal, Fighter and Transport Commands the letters 'C' to
'K' inclusive less 'E' and 'I' were to be used. The second
letter was to identify the individual aircraft within that
unit and was to be placed forward of the fuselage
roundel. Both letters were to be applied in accordance the
instructions for the application of unit code letters in AP
2656A 'Camouflage and Marking of Aircraft' Volume 1
Section 6 Chapter 2 which stated that such markings
were to be Light Slate Grey on Coastal aircraft which had
White under surfaces. The change over to the new system
Avro Shackleton WG557 of No.220 Squadron, September 1953
Model Aircraft | January 2016
Beautifully restored by the Shackleton Preservation Trust is MR 2 WR963
was to be completed by 30 June 1951.
In August 1953 HQ Coastal Command standardised
the position of the individual aircraft letter on the nose of
the Shackleton MR.2, issuing a drawing which showed it
as being contained within a rectangle forty eight inches
high and thirty inches wide placed centrally on the nose
when seen in side elevation with its rear edge four feet
forward of the weapons bay. The letters were to conform
with the standard design as shown in AP 2656A. Besides
the code letters, RAF squadrons were also permitted to
display their squadron badges on aircraft as laid down in
AMO A.334/50. This stated that at the discretion of the
AOC- in- C badges could be displayed on aircraft either
complete with the standard frame and motto provided
that the overall height did not exceed eighteen inches.
Alternatively they could be applied on a circular White
background eighteen inches in diameter with a half-inch
border of RAF pale blue without the frame or motto.
These instructions were repeated in AMO A.232/53 dated
10 September 1953, which illustrated the standard frame
with a Queens Crown in place of a Kings Crown following
15
THE AVRO SHACKLETON IN SERVICE
the Coronation of HM Queen Elizabeth II in June 1953.
Following the issue of this AMO, HQ Coastal Command
revised the layout of the Shackleton MR.2s markings with
effect from 8 October 1953. In the new layout, the
rectangle remained the same size but was moved further
forward so that its rear edge was five foot, four inches
forward of the base of the cockpit canopy on the
centreline of the aircraft whilst the badge was to be
applied three foot, six inches forward of the same datum.
‘..a disgrace to the Royal Air Force’
By July 1954 it had become apparent that an
unsatisfactory feature of the Shackleton's White
camouflage scheme was the difficulty experienced in
trying to keep it clean. Unless a very considerable amount
of effort and man hours were expended in removing the
exhaust tracks and discolouring from the heater outlet
ducts, the camouflage effect was reduced and the
exterior of the aircraft looked dirty and ill kept. During
the lengthy correspondence with the Air Ministry on the
subject, AOC-in-C Coastal Command stated that he
considered that the appearance of the Shackleton’s was
so bad that he was seriously considering whether to
recommend that they not be sent abroad on cruises and
so lay the RAF open to adverse criticism, on one occasion
going so far as to describe the appearance of the aircraft
as “a disgrace to the Royal Air Force...”
Finally, after an extensive war of words with the Air
Ministry, Coastal Command obtained permission to
completely change the colour scheme of both the
Shackleton MR.1 and MR.2 on 28 June 1955 when the Air
Ministry gave its consent to the adoption of overall Dark
Sea Grey on the Shackleton fleet.
10-17-Shackleton-AM-0116_MAM-08 04/12/2015 14:13 Page 16
16 THE AVRO SHACKLETON IN SERVICE
Operating in warmer climes
The Glossy Dark Sea Grey Finish
On 24 July 1955 HQ Coastal Command wrote to the units
concerned to inform them which materials would be
required following the decision to revise the finish on
Shackleton aircraft of Coastal Command to high gloss
Dark Sea Grey to DTD 827. These included 33B/1085 for a
five-gallon container of Dark Sea Grey, 33B/1076, 1077
and 1094 for a one-gallon container of Bright Blue, Bright
Red and White respectively. RAF Stations Aldergrove,
Ballykelly and St. Eval were to demand forty, sixty and
one hundred gallons of Dark Sea Grey immediately with
issue of the necessary supplies to other Coastal Command
Stations not being expected to commence until
September. Following the application of the Dark Sea
Grey, code letters and serial numbers were applied in
White as specified in AP 2656A for aircraft wearing a dark
camouflage scheme.
Squadron Numbers
The Air Ministry lifted security restrictions in the use of
squadron numbers in January 1955 with the object of
A rather worse for wear MR 2
identifying squadrons more closely with the localities
near their bases. Following this, in May 1955 HQ Coastal
Command requested that consideration be given to
permitting squadrons to paint the squadron number on
the sides of their aircraft. Evidently some kind of interim
permission must have been given for the application of
squadron numbers to aircraft as when four Shackleton
MR. 2s of 228 Squadron set out on Operation Suntan, a
goodwill tour of South American countries in October
1955, they carried the squadron number '228' on the rear
fuselage in Bright Red numerals with a thin White
outline.
Besides the application of the squadron number, the
four Shackleton’s, WR953, WR956, WR957 and WR959,
had their Dark Sea Grey colour scheme further modified
by the fuselage roundel being given a narrow Yellow
outer ring which made it stand out more clearly from the
Dark Sea Grey finish and the removal of the usual fin flash
and its replacement by a Union Jack of about the same
size. This is thought to have come about as the result of
several comments being made that the presence of a tri-
colour flash gave the impression that British aircraft so
marked were French and because the Union Jack was
www.sampublications.com
unmistakably a British marking, it came to be substituted
for the standard fin flash on Shackletons dispatched on
overseas deployments. In place of the usual individual
aircraft letter, a number, 1-4 inclusive, was applied to
each side of the nose. This marking was also applied in
Bright Red with a thin White outline. The under wing
serial number was similarly treated. The new glossy finish
appears to have caused some problems for the pilots with
reflected light from the forward fuselage which led to the
adoption of a matt Black anti glare panel which extended
over the upper surface of the fuselage forward of the
windscreen to varying degrees. This feature became
common to most Shackletons until the type passed from
service.
Following Operation ‘Suntan’, on 7 November 1955 HQ
Coastal Command wrote to the Air Ministry to request
early confirmation that squadron numbers could be
painted on aircraft as standard markings. In their reply
dated 14 December 1955, the Air Ministry granted
permission for Coastal Command to apply squadron
numbers to their aircraft and on 29 March 1956 HQ
Coastal Command wrote to its subordinate units to inform
them that the Air Ministry had given approval for
squadron numbers to be painted on the aircraft of Coastal
Command. Stations were to paint squadron numbers on
their Shackleton’s and re-colour existing identification
letters and serial numbers as soon as possible. The
squadron number was to be applied in red to the
proportion 8:5:1 in accordance with the provisions of AP
2656A so that the figures were thirty-six inches high and
twenty two and a half inches wide with a stoke of four
and a half inches. The red figures were then to be
outlined with a one inch white band.
The squadron number was to be located centrally
between formers 29 and 33 on the rear fuselage with the
upper edge of the figures twenty-nine inches below the
horizontal plane of the upper surface of the fuselage. All
the figures were to be marked out using the upper
surface of the fuselage as a datum so that the number
10-17-Shackleton-AM-0116_MAM-08 04/12/2015 14:13 Page 17
was horizontal when the aircraft was in flight. Where the
squadron number consisted of three figures, it was
necessary to move the fuselage serial number aft to a
position where the edge of the figures on the port side of
the fuselage and letter on the starboard side was in line
with the leading edge of the tail plane in order to give
adequate clearance between the squadron number and
the serial number. In practice, most Shackleton’s had their
fuselage serial number moved irrespective of how many
numerals were present in the squadron number. The
serial numbers on the under surfaces of the wings were
to be painted in red to their original dimensions and then
outlined with a one inch wide white band. The serial
numbers on the side of the fuselage were to be painted
red but not outlined in white. The existing individual
aircraft identification letters were to be re-coloured red
before being given a white outline. The paints to be used
were 33B/1008 or 1077 Bright Red and 33B/1009 or 1094
White, these numbers being for one-gallon containers to
DTD 827 for overseas and home use respectively. At the
same time, the break-in markings were to be altered to
Yellow from Bright Red.
Heat Reflecting White
Over the next few years, this basic colour scheme was
modified in a number of ways for a variety of reasons. The
first such modification was the temporary adoption of
'Suez Stripes' by the Shackleton’s of 37 Squadron and 38
Squadron during Operation Musketeer in November 1956.
These markings were described in Appendix 'L' to the
overall Air Plan under the heading 'Terrapin' where it was
stated that the markings for Maritime aircraft such as the
Shackleton were to consist of three yellow and two black
stripes which alternated around the main planes and
fuselage, each black or yellow stripe being two feet wide.
The second modification was the adoption of the White
top to the fuselage. This measure had first been
suggested following 220 Squadron's detachment to
Ceylon for an exercise in 1956 where they temporarily
whitened the top of the fuselage to reduce the internal
temperature. When similar measures were tried out by a
42 Squadron detachment to Aden in the Colonial Policing
role and the 206 Squadron detachment to Christmas
Island for Operation Grapple and found to be effective, in
the interests of standardisation, the heat reflecting White
finish was applied to the tops of the fuselage of all
Coastal Command Shackleton’s. When 37 Squadron
The classic lines of the last long-range British piston-engined aircraft
Model Aircraft | January 2016 17
Coming Soon!
THE AVRO SHACKLETON IN SERVICE
moved permanently to Aden for the Colonial policing
role, their Shackleton’s had a much deeper White top
than was usual on the rest of the Shackleton fleet with
the bottom edge coinciding with the bottom edge of the
main cockpit canopy.
A further, related, modification saw the heat
reflecting White finish extended to the upper surface of
the wings on Shackleton’s of the Far East Air Force (FEAF).
These Command inspired modifications were
incorporated into AMO A.285/59 dated 9 December 1959
which under the heading 'Grey Aircraft' stated that
Maritime Reconnaissance Aircraft and Meteorological
Aircraft were to have a high gloss finish in Dark Sea Grey Avro Shackleton MR.2
and were to have a heat-reflecting White finish on the Manufacturer: Airfix
upper surface of the fuselage and over the area of the Scale: 1:72
wing fuel tanks. Following publication of this AMO Kit Type: Plastic injection
however, HQ Coastal Command had to write to its moulded
subordinate units in the UK to make it clear that the Kit Number: A1104
requirement for the main plane tank area to be painted
White applied to overseas-based aircraft only.
The Last Decade
Following an incident in the Red Sea during 1961
involving a Soviet freighter and an aircraft which was
misidentified as being a Shackleton, the decision was
made to apply the legend 'Royal Air Force' to the side of
all Shackleton aircraft “to avoid confusion with aircraft of
similar types operated by other nations”. HQ Coastal
Command informed its units of the new policy in a letter
dated 4 September 1961. The application of the legend
'Royal Air Force' to the rear fuselage just forward of the
tailplane in White characters some twelve inches high
which extended for a distance of approximately ten feet
along the side of the fuselage led to the squadron
number being reduced in size and being moved forward
to a new position just aft of the main plane above the
ventral radome. The fuselage roundel was reduced in size
to thirty-six inch diameter and moved forward to just
above the trailing edge of the wing. The Bright Red eight-
inch high serial number was placed centrally underneath
the legend. Defence Council Instruction (DCI) T.346/65
dated 4 August 1965 extended the practice of applying
the heat reflecting White finish over the area of the wing
fuel tanks to aircraft of Air Force Middle East (AFME) in were 'pooled' within a Wing organisation with only
addition to those of FEAF. individual aircraft letters being applied. From 1968, small
From 1966, the advent of centralised servicing saw Station badges inside standard frames began to be
the deletion of the squadron numbers as Shackletons applied to home based 'pooled' Wing aircraft whilst
where only a single squadron was based at a station in
overseas Commands, squadron badges began to
reappear. During the autumn 1969 the tips of the
propeller blades changed colour from the Yellow tips,
which had been in use since 1937 to feature Red-White-
Red bands. The new colour scheme for the propellers was
included in DCI S.136/69 13 August 1969, which stated
that the tips of propellers were to be coloured with bands
of Post Office Red/White/ Post Office Red. On the
Shackleton, these markings were applied to both the
front and rear faces of the blades with the two Post Office
Red bands being approximately four inches wide with the
White band separating them being approximately six
inches wide. The introduction of the new propeller tip
marking was the last major change to the colour scheme
of the Shackleton MR.2 before it was retired from a front
line role with 204 Squadron when this last maritime
Shackleton squadron disbanded at RAF Honington on 28
April 1972. MA
18-24-COMBAT-EDGE-F106-Delta-Dart-AM-0116_MAM-08 04/12/2015 14:19 Page 18
18 COMBAT EDGE F-106 DELTA DART
The Six
Convair’s F-106 Delta Dart
T
he F-106 ‘Delta Dart’ was envisaged
as a specialised all-weather
missile-armed interceptor to shoot
down bombers, and was complemented
by other ‘Century Series’ aircraft for
other roles such as daylight air
superiority or bombing.
To support this role, the F-106 was equipped with a
Hughes MA-1 Fire Control System, which could be linked
to the Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE)
network for ground control interception (GCI) missions,
allowing the aircraft to be steered by mission controllers.
The MA-1 proved extremely troublesome and was
eventually upgraded more than sixty times whilst in
Loading andAIM-4 Falcon
COMBAT EDGE
F IG H T ING
service. Similar to the F-102, it was designed without a
gun, or provision for carrying bombs, but it carried its
missiles in an internal weapons bay for clean supersonic
flight. It was armed with four Hughes AIM-4 Falcon AAMs
along with a single GAR-11/AIM-26A Super Falcon
Nuclear tipped semi-active radar homing (SARH) missile
(which detected reflected radar signals), or an AIR-2
Genie air-to-air rocket intended to be fired into enemy
bomber formations. Like its predecessor, the F-102 Delta
Dagger, it could carry a drop tank under each wing, but
otherwise flew in a ‘clean’ configuration. The F-106 served
in the continental United States, Alaska, and Iceland, as
well as for brief periods in Germany and South Korea, and
in service, the F-106's official name, ‘Delta Dart,’ was
Sponsored by
COLO U R S
A spectacular shot of the F-106
launching a missile
COMBAT EDGE
F IG H T ING COLO U R S
Similar to the F-102,
the F-106 was
designed without a
gun, or the
provision for
carrying bombs
rarely used, and the aircraft was universally known
simply as ‘The Six.’
Although contemplated for use in the Vietnam War
the F-106 never saw combat, nor was it exported to
foreign users. As previously noted, the F-106 was
progressively updated in service, with improved avionics,
a modified wing featuring a noticeable conical camber,
an infrared search and track system, streamlined
supersonic wing tanks which provided virtually no
degradation to overall aircraft performance, better
instrumentation, and features like an in-flight refuelling
receptacle and an arrestor hook for landing emergencies.
Air-to-air combat testing suggested ‘The Six’ was a
reasonable match for the F-4 in a dogfight, with superior
high-altitude turn performance and overall
manoeuvrability (aided by the aircraft's lower wing
loading). However, the Phantom had better radar – was
operated by an additional crewman – and could carry a
18-24-COMBAT-EDGE-F106-Delta-Dart-AM-0116_MAM-08 04/12/2015 14:19 Page 19

Sponsored by

www.albionhobbies.com 19
COMBAT EDGE
F IG H T ING COLO U R S

COMBAT EDGE F-106 DELTA DART

Colour Profiles By
Convair F-106 - 57-2481 of the 498Th FIS (Fighter Interceptor Squadron) JP Vieira
based at Geiger Field in Washington State, 1959

Convair F-106 - 56-0467 of the Air Force Flight Test Center, Edwards AFB,
15 December 1959

Convair F-106 - 57-2475of the 95th FIS (Fighter Interceptor Squadron),

based at Osan AFB Korea, 1970

Convair F-106 - 58-0760 of the 159th FIS (Fighter Interceptor Squadron),

Florida Air National Guard based at Jacksonville International Airport and
wearing 1976 US Bicentennial markings

Convair F-106 - 59-0091 of the 87th FIS (Fighter Interceptor Squadron)

based in Keflavik, Iceland 1978

Convair F-106 - 59-0059 of the 318th FIS (Fighter Interceptor Squadron) at

the William Tell '82 Competition, Tyndall AFB Florida, 1982
18-24-COMBAT-EDGE-F106-Delta-Dart-AM-0116_MAM-08 04/12/2015 14:19 Page 20

Sponsored by

20 COMBAT EDGE F-106 DELTA DART COMBAT EDGE

F IG H T ING COLO U R S

One of the QF-106A Drones takes off

load of up to four radar-guided Sparrow and four infrared

Sidewinder missiles, while the Falcon missiles proved a
disappointment for dogfighting over Vietnam. In 1972,
some F-106As were upgraded in Project ‘Six Shooter’ that
involved fitting the F-106 with a new bubble canopy
without the metal bracing along the top, which greatly
improved pilot visibility. Also added was an optical
gunsight, and provision for an M61 20mm Vulcan with
650 rounds of ammunition mounted in the centre
weapons bay replacing the Super Falcon or Genie missies.
The F-15 began replacing the F-106 in 1981, with ‘The
Sixes’ typically being passed on to Air National Guard
units, and remaining in service in various USAF and ANG
units until 1988. When the need for a high performance
Full Scaled Aerial Target Drone was required the USAF
began withdrawing Delta Darts from storage. Starting in
1986, 194 of the surviving surplus aircraft were converted
into QF-106As and the last aircraft was destroyed in
January 1998. NASA also used six drones in its ‘Eclipse
Program’, which ran from 1997-1998.
Quite a line-up of ‘Sixes’

The unmistakable delta shape of the F-106

18-24-COMBAT-EDGE-F106-Delta-Dart-AM-0116_MAM-08 04/12/2015 14:19 Page 21

Sponsored by

www.albionhobbies.com 21
COMBAT EDGE
F IG H T ING COLO U R S

COMBAT EDGE F-106 DELTA DART

Convair F-106 - 59-0044 of the 119th FIS (Fighter Interceptor Squadron) New Jersey Air National Guard,
based at Atlantic City during the June 1988 ‘Dart Out Ceremony’

Convair QF-106 - 57-2459 based at the White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, 1990

One of the few F-106B two-seat ‘Darts’ The F-106 wore some colourful plumage during its career

An F-106 of the 87th Fighter Interceptor Squadron Showing its open weapons bay

Doing what it was designed for!

18-24-COMBAT-EDGE-F106-Delta-Dart-AM-0116_MAM-08 04/12/2015 14:19 Page 22

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22 COMBAT EDGE F-106 DELTA DART COMBAT EDGE

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Century Series Inte

James Dickerson build the 1:48 Trumpeter Delta Dart

L
ike any modeller, new releases Work in progress on the
always excite me. However, over the wheel bays
past several months few releases
have grabbed my attention as much as
Trumpeter’s new-tooled F-106A.

F-106A Delta Dart

Manufacturer: Trumpeter
Scale: 1:48
Kit Type: Plastic injection moulded
Kit Number: 2891

The first model kit I ever attempted to build was the

old Monogram Delta Dart, but this was many years ago,
and ever since I’ve wanted to build one to a better
standard. I’m not afraid to admit that I like new, easy-to-
build toolings, so this kit was a very welcome addition to
my collection. The first thing I did with the kit was to
remove the major components from the sprues and clean
them up for test fitting. I wanted to get a sense of how
well this kit was going to come together, and I was
pleasantly surprised when everything came
together with little effort. Of course, the true
test would come when it was time to
commit to glue. Assembly work began in
the cockpit, and here I opted to add an
Eduard colour etched set and a True
Details resin ejection seat.
The cockpit parts were painted with
Hobby Color Grey H317, and were
followed with Ammo of MIG Dark
Grey Panel Line Wash to add depth
and shadow. The ejection seat
was detail brush painted
using a variety of
colours to match
my references.
Though the seat is intended for
the old Revell/Monogram kit, it
will fit this kit nicely; all you need to
do is remove the moulded location tab from the bottom
of the cockpit tub. Next I moved to the gear bays
and these were primed with Hobby Color Black. I
then used Hobby Color Interior Green H58 to
paint these parts. Using a black primer allows the
paint to be built up in a manner that creates tonal
variation and adds a shadow effect to the parts. A
detail pin-wash of Ammo of MIG Dark Green Grey
added more needed depth. I also dry-brushed
some lightened interior green over the raised
details to enhance their appearance.
The main gear bay is designed
in such way that it imparts the
wing dihedral into the
model when installed.
The best way to

The True Details ejector

seat ready for fitting
18-24-COMBAT-EDGE-F106-Delta-Dart-AM-0116_MAM-08 04/12/2015 14:19 Page 23

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COMBAT EDGE
F IG H T ING COLO U R S

COMBAT EDGE F-106 DELTA DART

install this piece is one side at a time - glue, clamp the

terceptor
piece down and let it dry, and then repeat the process on
the other side. The lower wing is a bit stiff, so they could
pull away if not allowed to cure fully before removing
the clamp. The exhaust assembly also needs to be
addressed before closing the fuselage. For this I turned
to my trusty stash of Alclad and used a combination of
‘Jet Exhaust’ and ‘Exhaust Manifold’. The outer heat shield
Painting began with a ring on the fuselage was finished with ‘Polished
Black pre-shade Aluminium’. This is of the high shine variety, so a gloss
Black base was needed here.
With the cockpit, exhaust and gear bay behind me it
was time to close the fuselage. No surprises here, and the
assembly was very clean. The fuselage halves joined nicely
and only the typical join seam clean-up was needed. Wing
attachment is also straightforward and without fuss. The
intake interiors need to be painted before installation, and
these were painted in the exterior colour, so masking
wouldn’t be an issue later. However, I will say the intakes
are the biggest weakness of the kit as they are blanked
out. With modern CAD design and moulding technology I
don’t feel there is any good excuse for this. Thankfully, it’s
Adding a ‘marble coat’ fairly hard to see into them unless you’re trying, but some
for more depth … aftermarket intakes would be very welcome, and getting

… gives very pleasing

results

If you love dirty aircraft like I do then you’ll be a

little disappointed to find that these aircraft
were kept incredibly clean
18-24-COMBAT-EDGE-F106-Delta-Dart-AM-0116_MAM-08 04/12/2015 14:19 Page 24

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24 COMBAT EDGE F-106 DELTA DART COMBAT EDGE

F IG H T ING COLO U R S

Model Aircraft Choice

We Recommend
Hobby Color Grey H317
Hobby Color Aircraft Grey H57
Hobby Color Interior Green H58

The Hobby Color paints used in
this feature are distributed in the
UK by Albion Hobbies
and available to order
directly from the SAM
Shop and from other UK
modelling outlets and stores
Looking down the afterburner can
The Caracal markings are really excellent
this kit to the painting stages shouldn’t take long at all.
Now was the time to start referring to my images of the
real thing so I could think about the painting and
weathering stage. If you love dirty aircraft like I do then
you’ll be a little disappointed to find that these machines
were kept incredibly clean. Of course, these were
peacetime aircraft, so there must have been plenty of time
to dedicate to keeping them shiny.
With that in mind, I decided weathering was going to
be minimal. As much as I like dirty aircraft, I’m not a fan of
unrealistic finishes, so roughing this one up would have
been a blatant disregard for reality. I did want to add
some tonal variation to the finish, so the typical Black
Primer base was used. To impart this tonal variation the
Hobby Color Aircraft Grey H57 was marbled onto the
surface with the airbrush. This coat was then blended with
thin coats of the same colour. This allowed some of the
Black to show through and created the desired depth. This
can look a bit stark at first, but keep in mind that adding
markings will significantly tone down the effect and bring
things together. The next order of business was to mask
and paint the nose and anti-glare panel. With this done a
couple coats of gloss prepared the model for the decals. I
opted for a set of Caracal decals featuring Air National
Guard F-106s. I really like how the 106 looks in the baby
blue markings of the Massachusetts ANG, so that is the
scheme I opted to depict. I used a mix of tail numbers
from on the sheet to do a specific aircraft I found an image
of, instead of using the serial numbers offered by Caracal.
As someone who doesn’t really enjoy the process of
decaling, I was very pleased with the performance of the
Caracal markings, as they required minimal effort to get
them to sink into details, and silvering was not an issue.
The decals were sealed with another coat of gloss for their
protection and I moved on to a wash. Again, F-106s just
didn’t get that dirty, but I did want to add some subtle
highlighting to the panel lines. I did this with
Ammo of MIG Medium Grey Panel Line wash,
and as much as it pained me, this was the
extent of my weathering.
I wanted the final finish to
I just love the baby blue markings of the Massachusetts ANG
have a slight sheen so the model was finished off with a
satin coat, and for aircraft that have a gloss finish this
gives a suitable in-scale look. Finally, I noted that the anti-
glare panel was quite flat compared to the radome and
the rest of the aircraft. So to accommodate this the panel
was re-masked and overcoated with dull matt. The final
assembly was wrapped up by adding the main landing
gear and doors. The kit requires the nose gear strut to be
attached before closing the fuselage, but the main gear
legs can be added at the end of the build. The gear bay
doors have some dainty actuators, so take care with
installing these, and here I’d recommend using workable
PVA type glue. The last bit added was a Master turned
brass pitot tube. For aircraft with prominent pitots like the
F-106 I find the Master replacements to be a worthwhile
investment.
The anti-glare shield had a matt finish, unlike the nose
All in all the Trumpeter F-106A was an enjoyable and
painless build. Trumpeter has now released a twin-seat F-
106B, and I imagine I’ll build it at some point too,
especially since the Caracal sheet provides markings for
one. The Century Series jets are some of my favourite
aircraft, and the 106 is at the top of that list, so this was a
great kit to start filling out that collection and to nurture
some always-welcome nostalgia from my youth. MA
Trumpeter kits are available from our friends at
Creative Models.
www.creativemodels.co.uk

I wanted the final finish to have

a slight sheen so the model was
finished off with a satin coat
25-Albion-PaintChart-WP_Layout 1 04/12/2015 14:48 Page 1
26-28-Super-Flanker-AM-0116_MAM-08 04/12/2015 14:18 Page 26
26 SU-30MK FLANKER
A Super Manoeuvrable F
Chris McDowell builds the 1:48 Academy Su-30MK
T
he original Su-27 kit, which this
Su-30 version is based on, was
originally released in the mid-
nineties by Academy. The detail has
been well captured, with fine panel lines
and a straightforward breakdown of the
airframe components. The first thing that
strikes you when you open the box is the
size of the kit, as Academy has moulded
nearly the entire top half of the fuselage
in one piece, and it is almost the full size
of the box!
So work began with the upper fuselage, as this
requires a little surgery before any construction can
commence. The Su-30MK was the export version and had
a slightly different cockpit arrangement with added
hardware. Academy has supplied the new
section complete with a refuelling probe,
but the original part needs to be cut off
The first thing that strikes is that Academy has
moulded nearly the entire top half of the fuselage
in one piece, and it’s almost the size of the box!
Su-30MK Flanker
Manufacturer: Academy
Scale: 1:48
Kit Type: Plastic injection moulded
Kit Number: 12223
first. There are guidelines on the inside of the fuselage to
assist you, which happily correspond with panel lines on
the outside of the fuselage, so after some repeated
scoring with a new blade, the old nose section was
removed. After plenty of dry fitting and sanding, the new
nose was glued on using CA glue to ensure a solid joint.
Once the glue had dried the seam
was sanded, polished and re-
scribed. The lower fuselage was
www.sampublications.com
prepared by drilling all of the holes for the weapon
pylons, and once this was done, the two fuselage halves
could be set to the side and I turned my attention to the
cockpit.
The cockpit consists of the tub, two seats, two
consoles, two control columns and four side consoles.
There are not that many parts to the cockpit, but it has
plenty of raised detail, which with a little patience can be
easily painted to create a busy looking ‘office’. My only
complaint is the quality and detail of the ejector seats.
Although they do have the seat belts moulded on, they
could do with being replaced with some aftermarket
resin ones; however, I decided to do my best with the
seats supplied with the kit. I used Vallejo 71089 Light Sea
Blue as my interior colour, before detailing the rest of the
cockpit with other shades of paint from the Vallejo Model
Color Range. The whole thing was given a dark wash to
bring out the detail, before misting on a light coat of
Vallejo Matt Varnish. The cockpit tub was then glued to
the inside top half of the fuselage and left to dry.
While the cockpit was drying I stepped out of
 26-28-Super-Flanker-AM-0116_MAM-08 04/12/2015 14:18 Page 27
e Flanker
the recommended build sequence and began
constructing the engine nacelles. These were simple
enough to assemble, apart from getting the etched
grilles into position once the two halves of the nacelle
were together. While the two engines were still
unattached from the main assembly, I took the
opportunity to paint the interior with Vallejo Gloss White
before masking up the intakes. Once everything had
dried, the next stage was to join the two fuselage halves
together, and here I discovered a major error with the
moulding of the kit. On the lower fuselage half are the
openings for where the undercarriage would retract,
which should correspond with the wheel well depression
on the side of the engine nacelles. Unfortunately the kit
has been moulded without this depression on the lower
fuselage. This leaves a large piece of plastic cutting
straight through the wheel well. It’s a simple piece of
surgery to mark and remove the two offending
semicircular pieces of plastic, but I’m just surprised that
they were there in the first place! Once I was happy, the
fuselage was closed up and the engine nacelles glued
into place.
Fitting of the leading edge of the wings was next
along with the wing flaps, engine exhausts and
nosecone. Everything fitted together lovely with no major
fit issues. I took the time now, though, to ensure that the
seam lines around the aircraft where the two
fuselage halves joined were okay. There was
some filling and sanding to do here and
Model Aircraft | January 2016 27
A SUPER MANOEUVRABLE FLANKER
there, but in general the fit was pretty good, and any
panel lines that were damaged due to my sanding were
easily re-scribed. I put the fuselage to the side and
started to work on the wheels and undercarriage. I
assembled as much of the undercarriage as I could at this
stage leaving the wheels separate, to aid at the painting
stage. I then started work on the Flanker's payload,
removing all of the missiles from the sprues. The general
moulding of the missiles was quite good, and the only
things missing were the manufacturer’s stencils. I used
Vallejo Matt White and Black for most of the missiles, and
Alclad for the natural metal finished missiles that are
located under each nacelle.
Moving back to the main airframe, I put together the
halves that made up the horizontal and vertical
stabilizers. The tips of the vertical
stabilizers did need to be
removed, though, as there are brake, pitot tube, and refuelling probe were also removed
different ones that are specific from the sprues and cleaned up ready for painting. The
to the Su-30MK that needed to last major part to add to the build was the canopy, and
be added instead. The here the clear plastic was beautifully thin and crystal
remaining parts like the air clear. The only problem was a seam running the full
length of the canopy. I scraped most of this seam off with
a new blade before polishing the plastic with Alclad
Micro-mesh polishing cloths. Once the canopy had been
masked and temporarily attached to the kit, it was time
to get everything primed and ready for painting. Here I
used Vallejo Grey Primer, which is beautifully fine, but I
have found that it can take a few days to fully cure.
Once dry, though, I airbrushed a fine layer of
Alclad Black Primer on the exhausts and
26-28-Super-Flanker-AM-0116_MAM-08 04/12/2015 14:18 Page 28
28 SU-30MK FLANKER
gun shield. I used a few different shades of Alclad
including Steel, Burnt Iron, and Pale Burnt Metal to
achieve the look of different materials being used on the
real aircraft. I sealed everything with gloss varnish before
masking them with Tamiya tape. The nose cone and
various other parts of the vertical stabilizers were
airbrushed with Vallejo Gloss White, and once dry they
were masked ready for the main camouflage colours.
The entire airframe was first sprayed with Vallejo
71008 RLM 65. This was lightened with White to
highlight the centre of all of the panels. Following the
scheme in the instructions I masked up the areas that
were to remain this colour. I then airbrushed on Vallejo
71089 Light Sea Blue. Again this colour was mixed with
White to highlight the panel centres before masking up
for the final colour. Last up was the darker blue, for this I
used Vallejo Medium Blue 963. As with the other colours,
this was lightened with White to add highlights. Once the
masking was removed I touched up any of the paint that
I’d missed or had bled under any of the masks. I then
spent some time ensuring all of the sub-assemblies were
painted, like the undercarriage, airbrake, and refuelling
probe so they were ready for weathering.
Everything was given a coat of gloss using Johnson's
‘Klear’ before adding the Cartograph decals. They
conformed beautifully to the surface of the model and
settled down with just a little Micro Set decal solution.
Once everything had dried, I gave the model a quick
clean with a damp kitchen towel to remove any excess
solution, and then applied another gloss coat
to seal in the decals before applying a
panel line wash in the direction of the
www.sampublications.com
airflow. To add an extra layer of weathering I used Tamiya
Smoke to very lightly highlight the panel lines. For me
this is a great way to control the level of contrast
between the panels, and certainly adds a bit more
interest to the painted finish.
I started to put the remaining sub-assemblies
together on the airframe leaving just the canopy and the
airbrake still loose at this stage. I then gave everything a
couple of light coats of Vallejo’s Matt Varnish. I then
turned to AK Interactive Streaking Grime, and this was to
simulate general grease and oil being swept back along
the aircraft. I personally didn’t want to go overboard here,
but after checking reference photographs of the real
thing, there doesn’t seem to be a limit to how much you
can weather these aircraft. The rather large but very
impressive Su-30MK Flanker was finally finished, and I
have to admit I had a lot of fun building this one. There is
an absolute bundle of aftermarket products out there for
this aircraft, so maybe next time I’ll indulge myself …
and trust me, there will be a next time! MA
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30-32-Indian-Summer-AM-0116_MAM-08 04/12/2015 14:17 Page 30

30 INDRADANUSH 2015 www.sampublications.com

Photo-Recce
An Indian Summer
Tim Senior reports from RAF Coningsby on Exercise ‘Indradanush 2015’

T
he Royal Air Force recently
welcomed the Indian Air Force back
to the United Kingdom in July 2015
for the bilateral training Exercise
‘Indradanush IV.’ The first exercise in the
series was held in India in 2006 and
involved Tornado F.3s from No.43
Squadron at RAF Leuchars.
The following year a second exercise gave the Indians
the opportunity to deploy to the UK during the rather wet
summer of 2007, when six Sukhoi Su-30MKIs were
deployed to RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire with the
support provided by a pair of Ilyushin Il-76 Candid
transports and a pair of similar Il-78 tankers, which
remained based for the duration. While they were at
Waddington they flew with the now retired RAF Tornado Kalaikunda in West Bengal in October 2010 with Norton. After a gap of five years the Indians sent a
F.3s from No.25 Squadron based at RAF Leeming who Eurofighter Typhoons from RAF Coningsby and an E-3D detachment with 190 personnel to the UK, consisting of
relocated to Waddington for the exercise. from No.8 Squadron at RAF Waddington; tanker support four Su-30s with crews from both 2 Squadron based at
Since that exercise the RAF had paid a return visit to was provided by VC10s from 101 Squadron at RAF Brize Tezpur, and 31 Squadron home based at Halwara. At the
30-32-Indian-Summer-AM-0116_MAM-08 04/12/2015 14:17 Page 31

Model Aircraft | January 2016 31

AN INDIAN SUMMER
same time a Boeing C-17 Globemaster III from 81
Squadron and a Lockheed Martin C-130J from 77
Squadron, both based at Hindon, provided the transport
support. While they deployed the tanker support was
from a single Ilyushin Il-78 from 78 Squadron at Agra. The
detachment left India on 15th July spending a night with
a stopover in Saudi Arabia, before they departed for a
second night stop in Greece before arriving in the UK on
17th July
The Su-30s stayed at Coningsby for the duration while
the C-17 and C-130 relocated to RAF Brize Norton after
unloading support equipment. While the C-130 took part
in the exercise at various stages the C-17 remained at
Brize Norton. The Il-78 also took part, providing fuel
during the later stages, and also operated from Brize
Norton along with the RAF Airbus Voyager KC.2s from
both Nos.10 and 101 Squadrons. After a long weekend
30-32-Indian-Summer-AM-0116_MAM-08 04/12/2015 14:17 Page 32

32 INDRADANUSH 2015 www.sampublications.com

rest the exercise started on 21st July, with the base

Typhoons flying Su-30s enabling the Indians to
familiarise themselves with the local area and UK
methods. The Commanding Officer of 3 Squadron, which
was taking part in the exercise with the Typhoon, referred
to this as the "Crawl, Walk, Run" stage of the exercise. By
the time the exercise finished on 29th July the RAF and
IAF had built up to a force of six Typhoons and the four
Su-30s tasked with supporting a flight of C-130s, while
other assets attempted to oppose them.
With the deployment finished, several lucky RAF
pilots were given flights in the Su-30s, and several Indian
pilots were given flights in Typhoons. The detached IAF
later left for home via the same stopover locations used
at the start of the deployment.
Model Aircraft gives thanks to the RAF Coningsby
Media and Communications Office for their valuable
assistance with this feature. MA
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34-Casemate-Comp-MA-0116_MAM-08 04/12/2015 14:17 Page 34

34

Under the Maple Leaf

Competition
M
odel Aircraft has got together with
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Employees/volunteers working for SAM Publications Ltd, Casemate Publishing and associated companies or their families are not permitted to enter. Entries are limited to one per
person/household. No correspondence will be entered into. The judges’ decision is final. Winners’ names will be published in a future edition of Scale Military Modeller International.
All entries must reach Media House by 29th January 2016, when the prize draw will take place.
35-45-MA-EXTRA-KFIR-AM-0116_MAM-08 04/12/2015 14:27 Page 35

www.kineticmodel.com
Model Aircraft | January 2016 35

MODEL AIRCRAFT EXTRA DELTA LION ABROAD

Table Head
Table Text
Table Text
Table Text
Table Text
Table Text
Table Text
Table Text

Delta Lion Abroad

In the first of a three-part series, we look at the Mirage based Israeli Aircraft Industries Kfir
The Kfir inwww.kineticmodel.com
Foreign Service

T
he IAI Kfir is an Israeli-built all-
weather, multi-role fighter based on
a modified Dassault Mirage V
aircraft airframe, with Israeli avionics
and an Israeli-built version of the
General Electric J-79 turbojet engine.
As the J-79 turbojet is a US design, although made in
Israel, all export sales of the Kfir are subject to prior
approval from the US State Department, a fact that has
limited the sale of the Kfir to foreign nations. However, The Columbian Kfirs look resplendent I their dark grey plumage
this has led to some notable sales to Ecuador, Columbia of these being delivered in 2009. The additional Kfirs,
and Sri-Lanka, the subject of this first look at the Kfir in then, all the C.2s have been upgraded to the C.7 variant. models C.10-C.12, have been upgraded and improved to
service. The FAC Kfirs have been widely used in ground-attack include IAI's latest technologies and products. On
missions during counter-insurgency operations against November 1, 2013, two Colombian Air Force IAI Kfirs
Colombia Colombian terrorists, armed with Python 3 IR-homing intercepted Soviet Tu-160s that had entered Colombian
As a result of a trade agreement between Columbia and AAMs and various types of air to ground ordnance. Two airspace, having taken off from a site in Venezuela.
Israel in 1989 the Government bought a batch of twelve aircraft have so far been lost in accidents. In February Columbian Kfirs have also been invited to take part in US
ex-IAF Kfir C.2s and one TC.2, which were delivered to 2008, Colombia signed a deal with the Israeli government ‘Red Flag’ exercises, much to the delight of aviation
Fuerza Aérea Columbiana (FAC) in 1989–1990. Since for an additional twenty-four ex-IAF Kfir aircraft, the first aficionados worldwide!

Columbian Kfirs took part in ‘Red Flag’ exercises

35-45-MA-EXTRA-KFIR-AM-0116_MAM-08 04/12/2015 14:27 Page 36

36 MODEL AIRCRAFT EXTRA DELTA LION ABROAD www.luckymodel.com

Streaming its braking chute this Kfir taxies in

Quite an impressive line up at Nellis AFB

35-45-MA-EXTRA-KFIR-AM-0116_MAM-08 04/12/2015 14:27 Page 37
www.kineticmodel.com
Note the kill marking of a Peruvian A-37
Model Aircraft | January 2016
An Ecuadorian Kfir in formation with a Jaguar and Mirage F.1
Ecuador
In 1981, Ecuador and Israel signed a sales agreement for
ten refurbished ex-IAF Kfir C.2s and two TC.2s, which
were delivered to the Fuerza Aérea Ecuatoriana (FAE) in
1982–1983. The Kfirs formed the 2113rd Squadron
(Lions) of the FAE's 21st Fighter Wing, based at Taura AFB,
on the Ecuadorian western lowlands. The FAE Kfirs went
into action during the 1995 Cenepa War between Ecuador
and Peru. Relying on its fleet of subsonic A-37Bs for low-
level ground-attack missions on Peruvian positions, the
Ecuadorian Air Force held back its Mirage F.1s and Kfir
37
MODEL AIRCRAFT EXTRA DELTA LION ABROAD
C.2s for use as escorts and interceptors. On February 10,
1995, a Kfir C.2 shot down a Peruvian A-37B with a
Shafrir 2 missile. In 1996, with tensions still running high
between Ecuador and Peru, the Ecuadorians acquired four
additional Kfirs (three C.2 and one TC.2). In 1998, with its
aging squadron of SEPECAT Jaguars about to be
withdrawn from active duty, Ecuador began talks with
Israel for the sale of a new batch of eight Kfirs. Fearing an
escalation of the arms race in South America the United
States blocked the deal. As an alternative, Ecuador and
Israel signed an agreement in 1999 for the delivery of
35-45-MA-EXTRA-KFIR-AM-0116_MAM-08 04/12/2015 14:28 Page 38

38 MODEL AIRCRAFT EXTRA DELTA LION ABROAD www.sampublications.com www.luckymodel.com

Quite a striking tail artwork on this Kfir

Close in on the ‘Tiger’ tail artwork The modified nose of the Kfir TC.2

The FAE Kfirs went into action during the 1995 Cenepa War between Ecuador and Peru A Sri Lanka Kfir in service with No.10 Fighter Squadron
35-45-MA-EXTRA-KFIR-AM-0116_MAM-08 04/12/2015 14:28 Page 39
www.kineticmodel.com
Note the painted over patches on the national insignia on this Sri Lankan Aircraft
Wearing air defence greys this FAE Kfir come in to land
two Kfir C.10s and for the conversion of an undisclosed
number of the FAE's original C.2s to the C.10 version,
referred to in Ecuador as the Kfir CE, featuring a Helmet
Mounted Display System, and armed with Python 3 and
www.kineticmodel.com
Python 4 IR-homing AAMs. By 2005, Ecuador had lost
four Kfirs, including one TC.2, in accidents.
The Sri Lanka Air Force acquired six Kfir C.2s and a single
TC.2 from Israel
With its nose covered this TC.2 awaits it next call to duty
Model Aircraft | January 2016
Kfirs in their original camouflage
Groundcrew prepare a Kfir in its shelter
Sri Lanka
The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) acquired six Kfir C.2s and a
single TC.2 from Israel in 1995–1996. A further nine
aircraft had been added to the inventory by 2005,
including four C.2s and four C.7s acquired in 2000.
Currently the SLAF operates two TC.2s, two C.7s and six
39
MODEL AIRCRAFT EXTRA DELTA LION ABROAD
C.2s as part of No.10 Fighter Squadron. The SLAF used
their Kfirs to carry out attacks against LTTE rebels during
the Sri Lanka Civil War and two Kfir C.7s were destroyed
on the ground in an LTTE attack on SLAF Katunayake air
base on 24 July 2001. Three others were lost in non-
combat related accidents during the Civil War period,
although none were lost in aerial combat. In March 2011,
two Kfirs collided in mid-air during an airshow practice
sortie, leading to the type being grounded pending
retirement.
In the early 1990s, IAI was looking to export forty
Kfir-C fighters to Taiwan but the deal fell through, and in
2013, the Argentine Air Force commenced negotiations
with Israel for eighteen Kfir Block 60 aircraft as an
alternative to another deal x-Spanish Mirage F.1s
* In Part 2 we will look at the Kfir as the F-21 in US Service and in
Part 3 we will look at the genesis of the aircraft in Israeli service.
35-45-MA-EXTRA-KFIR-AM-0116_MAM-08 04/12/2015 14:28 Page 40

40 MODEL AIRCRAFT EXTRA WALKAROUND www.luckymodel.com

Santiago Rivas provides the details for the Kfir

Ecuadorian service
35-45-MA-EXTRA-KFIR-AM-0116_MAM-08 04/12/2015 14:28 Page 41

www.kineticmodel.com
Model Aircraft | January 2016 41

MODEL AIRCRAFT EXTRA WALKAROUND

35-45-MA-EXTRA-KFIR-AM-0116_MAM-08 04/12/2015 14:28 Page 42

42 MODEL AIRCRAFT EXTRA 1:72 SCALE PLANS www.luckymodel.com

SCALE PLANS 1:XX

XXX
35-45-MA-EXTRA-KFIR-AM-0116_MAM-08 04/12/2015 14:28 Page 43

www.kineticmodel.com
Model Aircraft | January 2016 43

MODEL AIRCRAFT EXTRA 1:72 SCALE PLANS

35-45-MA-EXTRA-KFIR-AM-0116_MAM-08 04/12/2015 14:28 Page 44

44 MODEL AIRCRAFT EXTRA KINETIC KFIR C2/C7 www.luckymodel.com

Latin American Lion

Vini Pompeo details the 1:48 Kinetic C2/C7
Kfir C2:C7
Manufacturer: Kinetic
Scale: 1:48
Kit Type: Plastic injection moulded
Kit Number: 48046

F
or a long while, if you wanted to
build a 1:48 Kfir then the Italeri kit
was the only game in town. Then in
2013 Kinetic hit the market with their
wonderful 1:48 kits. The Kinetic Kfir is
accurate and well detailed, with correct
dimensions and shape with a really well
thought out canopy and a plethora of
weapons including Python 3 AAMs, the
Griffin LGB, Mk.12 LGBs, Mk.82 ‘Slicks’ and
wing tanks, together with some excellent
Cartograf decals.
I decided to go for something a little different with
this build and I opted for an Ecuadorian C2 version using
the FCM Latin American Air Forces decal sheet #48-02, a
Master metal pitot tube, and Airscale Modern Jet Gauges
decals. The kit is quite superb and built up really easily

with just a minimal amount of filler needed here and
there, and I was soon ready to paint. The first thing to
paint was the interior and here I used Lifecolor Light Gull
Grey and painted the details with various other shades,
finishing off with a Dark Grey was from Ammo of MIG.
The Ecuadorian paint scheme is two-tone Green on
the upper surfaces and Light Gull Grey for the undersides.
The kit is quite superb and built up really easily
with just a minimal amount of filler needed
here and there
So, I began with an overall coat of Lifecolor Gull Grey and
once dry I masked off the undersides and applied a coat
of Humbrol US Light Green 117 #. To better define the
camouflage pattern I cut out some paper masks and then
placed these over the model and then applied some
Humbrol Olive Drab #155, through my Iwata HP-C at
15Psi. When the paint was dry I removed the masking
and was very pleased wit the result! Then I added a coat
of gloss ready for the decals
As I was using one of the older sets from FCM, I
needed to be careful, as these early sheets tend to be
very fragile, unlike the newer ones now printed by
Microscale. So plenty of Microsol and Microset were very
35-45-MA-EXTRA-KFIR-AM-0116_MAM-08 04/12/2015 14:28 Page 45

www.kineticmodel.com
Model Aircraft | January 2016 45

MODEL AIRCRAFT EXTRA LATIN AMERICAN LION

important here. Once the decals were in place and

dry another coat of gloss sealed them in.
Ecuadorian Kfirs didn’t show many signs of
weathering, so I decided on a minimal Ammo of
MIG ‘Night Black’ panel line wish, and also used a
little of the same brands ‘Smoke’ pigments on the
undersides, and added some Gunmetal to the
engine exhaust, along with a little ‘Rust’ pigment.
The final steps were to add the landing gear
and weaponry, and here I chose wing tanks
Python 3 missiles on outer pylons. This was a really
cool and enjoyable build and I can highly
recommend the Kinetic Kfir to all, and I hope to
build another one soon. MA
46-49-Salmson-AM-0116_MAM-08 04/12/2015 14:26 Page 46
46 SALMSON 2-A2
French Lessons
Neil Pinchbeck builds the Salmson 2-A2 and finds that a
1:32 Wingnut Wings kit can be a step change in
your modelling career.
‘S
ocit de Motors Salmson’ began their
ventures in aircraft construction
with building the Sopwith 11/2
Strutter under licence. The influence of
Sopwith design and construction on the
2-A2 is evident, in what looks like a
Sopwith grown large.
Observation Deck
The observer's compartment is marked within the
fuselage by a wooden deck, and the only concession to
comfort in this cramped space was a fold-down wooden
seat on the port side. Communication with the ground
was of paramount importance and the 2-A2 was an early
example of an aircraft with on-board radio. The kit radio
has a clear front, presumably to see that all the valves
Opportunities for wood grain effects
started early as timber frames slotted
into the floor unit
were working, and a neat little brass Morse key on top. I
used black painted fuse wire to wire up the radio to the
aerial and battery unit. On this early 2-A2, the aerial was
a flexible wire, with a weighted end winched in and out
on a spool. Later models had more fixed arrangements,
and should this advanced technology fail, the portside
housed an Aldiss type lamp to send visual Morse signals.
French Blues
An interesting feature of the interior is the extensive use,
on metal fittings, of a colour referred to as Dark Horizon
Blue, represented by Humbrol 96 RAF Blue. The fuel tank
was painted a bronze colour, dabbed with Humbrol
Maskol then painted the blue shade. Once dry, masking
tape was used to remove paint chips over the Maskol and
this was enhanced with pastels for a spillage-stained look.
Cockpit Confines
Although provided with a much more luxurious seat, the
pilot's accommodation was just as cramped as the
observer's space. The seat was confined on both sides by
timber panels and part bulkheads. These were painted
light brown with Humbrol enamel, and then wood
grained with Burnt Umber artist's acrylic. A shaped
aluminium fire bulkhead created legroom, and this was
painted with Humbrol Metal Cote Polished Aluminium
and the front face shaded with black and brown
soft pastels to indicate the proximity of a
hot engine. The mouldings of the
side panels contain a variety of
www.sampublications.com
Salmson 2-A2 (French Service)/Otsu 1 (Japanese Service)
Manufacturer: Wingnut Wings
Scale: 1:32
Kit Type: Plastic injection moulded with etch
Kit Number: 32038
pipework and instrumentation. I added wiring, using
vintage photographs in the instructions as a guide. The
cabane struts are also integrated into the structure of the
side panels and framework, in exactly the same way as in
the real machine. This has tremendous advantages over
trying to fit them in at a later stage and was a great help
in locating and fitting the upper wing.
Great Advance
The French were among the first to recognise the value of
observation aircraft, after aerial reconnaissance played a
vital part in the Marne offensive of 1914, averting the
German advance on Paris. In line with this, the next
innovation of the 2-A2 was a large vertically mounted
plate camera mounted behind the fuel tank. This must
have seemed a great advance on hanging over the sides
of an aircraft with a hand held camera.
46-49-Salmson-AM-0116_MAM-08 04/12/2015 14:27 Page 47

Model Aircraft | January 2016 47

FRENCH LESSONS
A self-sealing fuel tank separated the cockpit from the observer's
compartment. The tank was painted a bronze shade, dabbed with
Humbrol Maskol, then painted Humbrol (96) RAF Blue

A radio, battery and aerial spool occupied

the starboard side of the observer’s
compartment. A tip-up wooden seat was the
only concession to comfort for the observer

Snap Together
On the model, the camera installation is portrayed in fine
Although provided with a much more
detail and slots into its own timber framework, and the luxurious seat, the pilot's accommodation was
term ‘slots in’ is very apt. The fit of all the interior parts is
superb and at times resembled a ‘snap together’ kit.
just as cramped as the observer's space.
Indeed there were some components that fitted so well
that I never did actually cement them in place! All this is the main engine block. The radiator unit is a separate
just as well since a kit of this complexity with poorly entity comprising a radiator panel surrounded by exhaust
fitting parts would be a true nightmare. Instead, Wingnut pipes and fronted by an airflow control shutter.
Wings have engineered a dream. Alternative parts portray the shutter either open or closed
and the whole fits inside a radiator cowl and exhaust
Flights of Imagination collector ring.
When I first began modelling at age 10, part of the fun
was to imagine that I was building a real aircraft. Such is Imaginative Painting
the degree of detail and authenticity, which Wingnut There is plenty of opportunity here for imaginative
Wings have crammed into their kits, that I found myself painting of metallic finishes, oily and heat affected parts
reliving this boyhood experience. After synthetic brush and the vintage photographs of the instructions give an Timber side panels, furnished with instruments and
bristles were used to add the cross bracing rigging within excellent guide. There are two elements to remember pipework, flanked the pilot's cockpit. A shaped aluminium fire
the fuselage, the built-up interior formed a fine model in here, however, firstly the cylinder heads were copper bulkhead gave the pilot some legroom
its own right, and I was very reluctant to conceal it all plated to aid heat dissipation, and secondly, the radiator
within the fuselage halves. screen louvers were of a canvas fabric. Once again,
Wingnut Wings have produced such a fine replica of the
Engine Engineering
Even before the 2-A2 had left the drawing board, Emile
Salmson had been working on the development of a
radial engine to replace the rotary types of the day with
their attendant problems. I have always thought of the
radial engine as an inherently air-cooled beast, so it came
as a bit of a surprise to encounter a radial engine with a
radiator.

Engine Build-Up
The build-up begins with the front and back of a nine-
cylinder block. To this basic cylinder block are added the
push rods to the front and a ring of intake pipes at the
back. A mounting plate goes behind the intake ring and Cabane struts were integrated into the fuselage
in the centre of the plate, a pair of magnetos completes structure. This was a great help when it came to locating the upper wing
46-49-Salmson-AM-0116_MAM-08 04/12/2015 14:27 Page 48
48 SALMSON 2-A2
The internally mounted vertical plate camera slotted in
between the fuel tank and observer's compartment
Salmson 9Z engine, it really constitutes a model which
could be displayed in its own right. In final assembly, I
decided to leave two side access panels off, so that at
least some of this superb detail should remain visible.
Decal Delights
Then came a time to choose which aircraft was to be built
from the decal sheet selection. And a very difficult choice
it was too. There are three later French aircraft, all in
camouflage schemes and with striking unit insignia, plus
an attractive pale cream Japanese version, built under
licence by Otsu in the 1920s.
I forsook all of these in favour of the early Salmson 2-
A2 of SAL 122, in bare metal and silver dope finish. Since
almost all kits have decal sheets, it always surprises me
how different this element can be from one kit to
another. In this case the decals are thin but robust. They
react to setting solution by turning into a liquid state and
it is essential not to touch them at this point. By the time
they have set, they have conformed to the surface of the
model in such a way that they are indistinguishable from
painted markings.
Skin Deep
Another novel feature of the 2-A2 was that the fabric
areas were not covered with the usual linen canvas, but
were actually covered with silk. Regardless of the cost
implication of this luxury in the original, it does mean
that a particularly smooth paint finish is called for on the
model. This was achieved with two coats of a mix of
Humbrol (34) Matt White enamel and Metal Cote (27002)
Polished Aluminium. The undercoat was lightly rubbed
down with 1500 grit wet and dry paper before being
sealed with Klear. This scheme also features a geometric
‘turned’ finish on the bare aluminium panels around the
pilot’s cockpit and nose. The problem here was how to
apply a regular geometric grid pattern over curved
The Cabane rigging lines were anchored inside the main decking panel, and the main decking panel was fixed in place
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The completed interior really was good enough to be exhibited as a model in its own right
surfaces with irregularities. The solution was to paint the Moving On
panels with Metal Cote (27002) Polished Aluminium then Encouraged by the successful placement of the cabane
apply the pattern on Xtradecal decal film. So an ‘ink grid’ lines, I was ready to move on to the lower wings and the
was drawn up and sections of clear decal film were main interplane rigging. The first job here was to pierce
mounted over the grid on an improvised light box. The location holes for the lines in the lower wings. For this, a
small roundels of the pattern were than painted in Metal steel needle held in forceps and heated in a night-light
Cote slightly darkened with black enamel. The decal film candle was used. Since some thirty-four holes are
was then applied to the panels and trimmed to shape needed, this is a much quicker technique than drilling,
and to conform to any irregularities, with a scalpel. even though small sooty volcanoes are created. These
were easily removed with a scalpel and tidied up by a
Defining Moment little sanding. The upper surfaces of the lower wings were
Sorting out the finish on the metal panels naturally led to painted and suitable lengths of monofilament anchored
one of the defining moments of this build: namely in each hole with cyano glue. Projecting ends were
starting to tackle the rigging. Not only was the Salmson trimmed off, just inside the rim of each hole, on the
2-A2 a two-bay biplane, in addition, flying wires, landing
wires and the cabane lines were all doubled up. All this
combines to make what seems a rather daunting exercise
in rigging. The key to success is to make sure you really
thoroughly know where everything is supposed to go and
then do not lose your nerve. I chose nylon monofilament
for the main rigging, and the first step was to pierce
location holes for the double cabane lines and pairs of
lines from fuselage to upper wing. These lines were then
anchored inside the nose panels with cyano glue. When
the panels were fixed in place, the lower piece of the
upper wing centre section was pierced to receive the
cabane lines and set in place on top of the cabane struts.
The lines were then threaded through, drawn tight and
anchored in place.
The engine with Humbrol Metal Cote Aluminium and Steel with
oily acrylic washes added. Push rods were added to the front.
Cylinder heads were copper coated to aid heat dissipation
The rigging lines were anchored in place with Deluxe
Materials glue and accelerator
46-49-Salmson-AM-0116_MAM-08 04/12/2015 14:27 Page 49
The main undercarriage unit received some chipping and
weathering with acrylic washes and pastels before fixing
undersides of the wings. Holes were filled with correction
fluid and the wings set in place. The undersides of the
lower wings were then painted, lower ailerons added,
and the whole painted and decals applied.
Pressing Ahead
Although there were other jobs which could have been
done at this point, the urge to press on and conquer this
rigging scheme was more compelling, which meant
preparation of the interplane struts. These were varnished
wood and began with a coat of light brown Humbrol
enamel. When dry, grain effect was added by scrubbing
with acrylic burnt umber. Each strut had five binding strips,
which were provided from the decal sheet. The upper wings
were pierced next to receive rigging lines, in the same way
as the lower wings, and with holes tidied up, the lower
surfaces were painted. Each upper wing was then located
and glued into the lower portion of the mid-section and
supported at the outboard end by a pair of struts. When all
this was dry, the upper portion of the centre section was set
in place and the inboard struts inserted.
Threaded
Now each line from the lower wings was threaded
through the corresponding hole in the upper wing,
Model Aircraft | January 2016
The French Darne built Lewis guns appeared to be in a
brighter metal finish than their British counterparts
tightened and fixed in place. It was at this point that a
thorough knowledge of the rigging scheme and steady
nerve were equally invaluable. Since this rigging
technique imparts the same kind of tensions to the model
as in the original, it was also important to work round the
model evenly at this point. With lines anchored and holes
tidied up, the upper wing paint and decal scheme was
completed and at last there seemed to be an end in sight!
Side Shows
Moving towards completion consisted of dealing with a
number of sub-assemblies, which seemed rather like side
shows to the main build. Fixing the engine cover panels
also included locating the forward firing Vickers machine
gun and a rather complex looking valve to the radiator
header tank. With so much to concentrate on in terms of
wings and rigging, careful scrutiny of the instructions was
needed so as not to miss these smaller details. The
undercarriage was one of the external elements to be
painted Light Horizon Blue (Humbrol 65 Aircraft Blue),
which I found I had to weather considerably so that it did
not look garish. Vintage photographs show the 2-A2
The Wingnut Wings kits builds into an impressive model
49
FRENCH LESSONS
Salmson 2-A2 propellers appear not to have been laminated,
rather formed from a single block of Mahogany. The propeller
was painted light reddish brown enamel then grained using
artist's acrylic Burnt Umber
propeller not laminated, rather fashioned from a single
piece of mahogany. I painted mine light reddish brown
enamel as a base coat. When dry, this was scrubbed with
Burnt Umber artist's acrylic to give a wood grain effect;
this has the advantage that acrylic is dry in five minutes.
The French manufactured TO-3 ‘Tourelle’ Scarff ring and
Darne, licence-built Lewis guns look great at this scale.
The guns have a distinctly futuristic look and seem to have
been in a brighter metal finish than the British version.
Tail End
The last sub-assembly to be tackled was the tail. There
was no fin on the 2-A2, just a movable rudder and
similarly, elevators with no fixed tailplane. This meant a
rather complex looking arrangement of struts and
support wires. Both the support wires and control cables
were done with synthetic brush bristles rather than nylon
monofilament.
There are some kits which serve as milestones in a
modelling career, after which things will never be the
same again. Such is the experience afforded by a kit like
this. Whilst I will, doubtless still build other things, from
now on part of me will always be looking forward to the
next Wingnut Wings kit. MA
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50 HE 219A-7 ‘UHU’ www.sampublications.com

Luftwaffe
‘Night Owl’
Christoff Theunissen guides
you through painting and
finishing the 1:48 Tamiya
He 219A-7 ‘Uhu’

T
he Heinkel He 219 ‘Uhu’ or ‘Eagle-Owl’
was a twin-engined night fighter
that served with the Luftwaffe in the
later stages of World War II. The He 219
possessed a variety of innovations, the
most notable being the Lichtenstein SN-2
advanced VHF-band intercept radar, used
on the Ju 88G and Bf 110G night fighters.
The Uhu was the first operational military aircraft to
be equipped with ejection seats, as well as being the first
operational Luftwaffe World War II-era aircraft with
tricycle landing gear. Feared by its adversaries, despite its
slow climb rate and under-powered engines, had the Uhu
been available in considerable numbers it might have
had a significant effect on the strategic night bombing
offensive of the Royal Air Force. Fortunately for the Royal
Air Force, only 294 of these potent night fighters were
built by the end of the war, and even then saw only
limited service.
Revell, and more recently Zoukei-Mura, have both
released kits in 1:32 of the Uhu, and although Tamiya’s kit
of the Uhu has been around for some time, it still
represents the only 1:48 kit of this iconic aircraft. That,
however, takes nothing away from the quality of the kit.
The parts have crisp but restrained recessed panel lines,
excellent fit of parts, are nearly flash free and easy to
clean. A dry fit of the major parts revealed no problems
whatsoever, and this trend continued throughout the
build. Much of the all-metal cockpit tub has been said
about the kit, and it certainly holds truth. The only real
criticism that is worth mentioning would be the
undercarriage bays, some pesky sink marks, and the decal
sheet. The undercarriage bays lack detail and the fit of
the bays to the surrounding engine housing assemblies
proved tricky. One or two sink mark in areas that will
catch the eye mar the kit somewhat, the most obvious
ones situated on the cockpit sidewalls. The issues with
the decals will be discussed later. Since the construction
of this kit has been well documented and reviewed, I will
not discuss the building process. Instead, I will skip
straight to the painting of the model after basic
construction was completed.
Dots Versus Squiggles
Before I started the kit I dreaded painting the
complicated Luftwaffe night fighter camouflage pattern,
and extensive research prior to attempting this paint
scheme is definitely highly recommended. The sources I
consulted indicated that the main types of camouflage
were either a dot pattern of RLM-75 Grauviolet over RLM-
76 Lichtblau, or a squiggle pattern of RLM-76 over a base
coat of RLM-75. Following the example of the National
Air and Space Museum’s (NASM) restoration of an Uhu, I
decided on the latter pattern of squiggles. I practiced and
50-53-Uhu-Nightowl-AM-0116_MAM-08 04/12/2015 14:25 Page 51

Model Aircraft | January 2016 51

LUFTWAFFE ‘NIGHT OWL’

Heinkel He 219A-7 Uhu
Manufacturer: Tamiya
Scale: 1:48
Kit Type: plastic injection moulded
Kit Number: 61057

The Tamiya kit is highly recommended for

any Luftwaffe enthusiast

Beginning to paint-in the night fighter scheme on the wings...

• RLM-76: 20% XF-19 (Sky Grey) + 70% XF-2 (White) +

10% XF-23 (Light Blue)

These colours were then adjusted for scale effect,

using the formula: Scale/2 = Percentage White Added.
This means that for 1:48 aircraft, 24% of the total volume
of paint used should be white. I didn’t strictly adhere to
these percentages, but followed it roughly as a guide
until I achieved results that looked right to me.

...and on the tail
that they compare very well. Using the colours of the
NASM Uhu, I mixed my own batch of RLM-75 and RLM-
76, making sure I will have enough paint left spare for
future Luftwaffe models. The formulae for the two
colours are as follows:
• RLM-75: 5% XF-7 (Red) + 15% XF-19 (Sky Grey) +
20% XF-2 (White) + 30% XF-24 (Dark Grey) + 30% XF-
18 (Medium Blue)
Getting it On!
Painting began with a basecoat of the RLM-75 on the top
surfaces. No pre-shading was done as I was going to
accentuate panels afterwards with oils and pastels. After
leaving the paint to dry for about an hour, I started the
RLM-76 squiggles. The squiggles were painted in a
combination of round and square figures of 8. Working on
a small section at a time, I first painted a rough squiggle
pattern followed by repainting the pattern with two
more coats. Once a section of squiggles was completed, I
moved on to an adjoining section, making sure to merge
the sections seamlessly. Because the painting of the

played with my airbrush and differing paint consistencies

and air pressures until I settled on a combination that
allowed me to paint the squiggles in a tight, narrow
pattern. The paint was thinned to a ratio of three-parts
paint to seven-parts thinner, and airbrushed between 14
– 16 psi.

So What Colour was the Colour?

I used Tamiya acrylics as well as their acrylic thinners
throughout the painting stages. Since Tamiya does not
provide specific acrylic paint for the various RLM colours, I
mixed my own colours using various references. Period
colour photographs and colour charts found on the
Internet provided the bulk of the references. When the
wings were removed from the NASM Uhu, a rare sample A little patience was required to get the right
of well preserved, original wartime paint was revealed in airbrush settings and paint consistency
the wing root. I compared these original paint colours to
wartime colour photos of Luftwaffe aircraft, and found
50-53-Uhu-Nightowl-AM-0116_MAM-08 04/12/2015 14:25 Page 52
52 HE 219A-7 ‘UHU’
I went for a hard demarcation line separating the upper and
lower camouflage colours
Adding chips and scratches
camouflage is time consuming, I stirred the paint in the
cup regularly to ensure a proper mix of paint and thinner
at all times. I kept an eye on my reference photos
throughout this stage to make sure my work resembled
the actual camouflage applied to the real aircraft.
Black is the New Black
Once the squiggle camouflage was painted, I sealed it
with a coat of Johnson’s ‘Klear’, and after leaving the
model to dry for twenty-four hours I masked the
demarcation line between the black sides and
camouflaged upper sections. I have not used pure black
on a model. Instead, I used XF-24 Dark Grey mixed with
XF-1 Black to create a colour that’s neither black, nor dark
grey. Let's call it black-grey for now. I sprayed this
mixture onto the model in light coats, gradually building
up the colour. This allows you to have more control over
the coverage of the paint. Selected panels were masked
The undercarriage was painted using a
50:50 ratio mix of Tamiya XF-22 RLM
Grey and XF-49 Khaki
The completed camouflage, ready for
weathering
and painted either with a lightened or darkened shade of
the black-grey colour. I kept the colour difference
minimal as I was planning on using oil paints to introduce
shading after the painting stage. Once the main colours
were applied to the model, I sealed the whole aircraft
with Klear. This provides a glossy, smooth surface for the
decals to go on, as well as providing protection to the
paint underneath.
Defiant Decals
Next, I applied the decals provided with the kit. Several
decals are out of register, most notably the Balkenkreuz
markings. Being a bit of an impatient modeller, I only
realised this fact after I applied the port fuselage
Balkenkreuz. There are also no stencils provided, which,
even at the end of the war, were still very much a part of
the real aircraft’s markings. Having decided to build the
kit out of the box, I resisted the urge to rectify this
omission by using spare decals, and only used the decals
provided in the kit. The decals struggled to settle down
into the panel lines, even after the liberal usage of Micro
Sol - and Set decal solutions. I ended up cutting the
decals with a new Exacto knife blade, letting the tip of
the blade follow the panel lines as a guide. A final coat of
Micro Sol then helped to make the decals settle into the
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panel lines. Sealing the decals with a coat of ‘Klear’
completed the decal stage.
Dirty Bird!
Using Tamiya Weathering Master Set D, I used the oil
stain colour to introduce panel shading on selected
panels as well as panel lines. Further panel line shading
on the top surfaces was achieved using a mixture of
Burnt Umber and Black oil paints. Small dots of paint
were applied along the panel lines, and a soft, square
brush used to fade the paint dots along the panel lines,
leaving a soft shading effect. The bottom and sides of the
aircraft received a similar treatment, but using Buff
Titanium instead of the black and burnt umber mix. This
colour was then also used to further shade the panels,
and introduce some streaks down the fuselage.
Downward strokes with the brush created a streaky
effect, while a soft swirl movement left a more faded
appearance. The sand colour from the Tamiya Weathering
Master Set A was used to replicate accumulated dirt
around the crew access areas, as well as maintenance
panels. A very light touch of MIG Productions ‘Gulf War
Sand’ pigment was also applied to the crew access areas
to reinforce the effect of accumulated dirt left behind by
the crew and maintenance personnel.
50-53-Uhu-Nightowl-AM-0116_MAM-08 04/12/2015 14:25 Page 53

Model Aircraft | January 2016 53

LUFTWAFFE ‘NIGHT OWL’

When the antennae are fitted onto the nose,
ensure that they are fitted at the correct angle

Before accentuating the panel lines, I sealed the Tamiya weathering sets to create the impression of dirty offset. Be sure to remove all remaining cockpit masking
weathering effects in with another coat of ‘Klear.’ Once and worn rubber. Once the undercarriage was completed, before fixing the antennae to the model, as you might
dry, I mixed some black and grey Vallejo acrylic paint I fixed it to the model, making sure that the flattened inflict damage to them if attempting to remove masking
with normal tap water to make a wash. I added a drop or tyres were level and flat to the surface. The whole model after they are fitted. The last touches to the model
two of dishwashing liquid in order to break the surface was then given a coat of Humbrol Matt varnish. included adding the aileron balance weights, the
tension of the water, and make the wash easier to work Next, I gently removed the radar antennae off their remainder of the antennae underneath the wings as well
with. Next, using a thin brush, I applied the wash over all sprues. Take extra care here as well as when cleaning as on the tail, and adding the radio antenna wire using
the panel lines on the top of the model as well as the them, as they are very fragile. They were then painted stretched sprue.
sides of the fuselage above the black demarcation line. dark grey, followed by the red and white warning bands. The Uhu definitely makes a unique addition to one’s
The areas painted with the black-grey colour received a When fitting them to the rest of the radar assembly on model collection. Tamiya’s kit is highly recommended for
panel line wash using a mixture of buff and medium grey the nose, ensure that they are fitted at the correct angle. any Luftwaffe enthusiast, and with a little research and
instead of the dark grey mix used on the top surfaces. Some Uhu’s had the antennae vertical, while others such effort, the modeller can create a beautiful model of this
Once the wash was dry, I simply wiped off the excess as the aircraft I modelled had them at a forty-five degree iconic aircraft straight from the box. MA
with a soft cotton cloth. Stubborn wash residue was
cleaned with the cloth moistened with Tamiya acrylic
thinner. The exhaust stains were airbrushed on using a
mixture of buff and brown Tamiya paints. Once again
restraint goes a long way to create effective exhaust
streaking. Slowly build up the colour, and add some more
buff to the colour mixture for the areas closest to the
exhaust stacks to suggest hot exhaust burns. Extend
some of the exhaust staining to the bottom of the vertical
stabilisers since they are directly in the path of the
exhaust gasses during flight.

Fitting Legs and Horns

Not wanting to risk the front wheel
snapping off during the painting stages,
I left the undercarriage off until the radar antennae were
about to be fixed to the model. The undercarriage was
painted using a 50:50 ratio of Tamiya XF-22 RLM Grey and
XF-49 Khaki. A wash of Burnt Umber with a touch of
Black oil paint, thinned with distilled turpentine, was The Uhu definitely makes a unique addition to
then applied. Once dry the excess was cleaned with one’s model collection
cotton buds moistened with distilled turpentine, creating
the impression of accumulated dirt and oil in the
recesses. The bottoms of the tyres were sanded flat to
suggest some weight on them. They were then painted
with dark grey Vallejo acrylics, and weathered with
54-57-Combat-Zone-Dr-Strangelove-AM-0116_MAM-08 04/12/2015 14:21 Page 54
54 COMBAT ZONE ARCTIC AIR DEFENCES
COMBAT-ZONE
Dr Strangelove
Anthony Tucker-Jones recounts the strange tale of
America’s top-secret Arctic Air Defences
F
or those of you who have seen
Stanley Kubrick’s seminal ‘Dr
Strangelove or How I learned to Stop
Worrying and Love the Bomb’ you will
know what I am banging on about. For
those of you who haven’t, it epitomises
the paranoia of the Cold War and the
threat posed by long-range bombers
carrying nuclear payloads.
The film culminates in a B-52 bomber pilot riding his
nuclear bomb rodeo style to its target. Straight after the
Second World War America and Canada looked to their air
defences as the armed face-off with the Soviet Union
began to gather pace in Europe. Looking at the map it
was self-evident that the shortest line of attack for Soviet
bombers to strike North America was via the Arctic Circle
and across the North Pole. The Americans knew that the
Soviets were busy building the Tu-4 strategic bomber
capable of reaching continental America. Homeland
defence suddenly became an urgent priority.
The United States Army Air Force created the Air
Defense Command (ADC) in 1946, which had
responsibility for the integrated air defence systems of
the continental United States. This had its headquarters
at Mitchell Field in New York. The following year with the
creation of an independent United States Air Force (USAF)
it assumed control of ADC as part of the Continental Air
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F-106A Delta Dart from the
Massachusetts Air National
Guard intercepting a Soviet
Tu-95D bomber
Command. Not long afterwards the HQ was relocated to a
much more central location at Ent air force base in
Colorado. For a brief period the ADC was wound up but
with the outbreak of the Koran War was swiftly
reactivated. This led to the joint US-Canadian North
American Aerospace Defense Command known as NORAD
that was first established at Ent in 1957. To begin with
ADC had just four day fighter squadrons. This force was
eventually expanded to 93 active USAF fighter interceptor
squadrons, 76 Air National Guard fighter interceptor
squadrons, a number of naval fighter squadrons plus
supporting airborne early warning units. By 1957 USAF’s
key Alaskan Command had six fighter interceptor In the 1950s America built three radar belts to protect it from
squadrons with almost 200 aircraft operating from attack via the Arctic Circle
Elmendorf and Ladd air force bases. These were tasked
with patrolling the frozen wastes of the Arctic Circle.
ADC’s first interceptor aircraft was the P-61 Black Widow, interceptors in the shape of the F-102A Delta Dagger and
but it could not take on the Tu-4. Likewise the F-82 Twin the F-104A Starfighter, which entered service in 1956 and
Mustang proved equally disappointing. Crucially the early 1958 respectively. They were followed by the F-101B
jet fighters such as the F-80 Shooting Star and F-84 Voodoo and the F-106 Delta Dart. By 1960 ADC was flying
Thunderjet lacked an all-weather capability which largely the F-101, F-102, F-104 and F-106. By the early 1960s
rendered them useless for defending America’s skies. The America’s ultimate interceptor aircraft, the F-106 Delta
F-94 Starfire was pressed into service as an all-weather Dart, was patrolling the skies of the Arctic Circle operating
interceptor until the Sabre F-86D became the most from Elmendorf in Alaska. To do its job effectively ADC
numerous interceptor in ADC’s inventory by the mid- had to be given plenty of warning that the enemy were
1950s. on their way. Initially USAF and the Royal Canadian Air
Hot on the Sabre’s heels were the first supersonic Force (RCAF) created the Pinetree Line to provide early
54-57-Combat-Zone-Dr-Strangelove-AM-0116_MAM-08 04/12/2015 14:22 Page 55
warning of Soviet bomber attacks. This consisted of a
series of 39 radar stations located across northern
America and southern Canada on the 53rd and 50th
parallels. Before it was even operational Pinetree was
rendered obsolete by rapid advances in technology. The
advent of the jet engine meant attackers would be well
inside North America before the defenders could react,
also the pulse-based radars could not pick up targets
close to the ground and were easy to jam.
As a result Pinetree had to be swiftly supplemented
by the Mid-Canada Line (also known as the McGill Fence),
which was a series of radar stations across the middle of
Point Lay radar station in Alaska, which formed part of the western end of the DEW Line
Canada using Doppler radar. Construction started in 1956
and was fully operational by 1 January 1958 at a cost of
almost $225 million. The drawback with the Mid-Canada
Line was that despite being technically more capable it
was reliant on Pinetree to guide ADC’s interceptors to
their targets. Also it was found that Mid-Canada did not
greatly add to the early warning times. The ongoing
improvements to Soviet technology meant that both the
Pinetree and Mid-Canada Lines were inadequate before
they were even completed. American and Canadian
Model Aircraft | January 2016
planners had little choice but go back to the drawing
board. Their solution was worthy of a James Bond plot;
they devised what became known as the Distant Early
Warning (DEW) Line to cover Alaska, Canada and
Greenland.
As early as mid-February 1954 the Americans and
Canadians agreed to build a third line of radar stations
along the 69th parallel, some 200 miles north of the
Arctic Circle. It was intended that 63 radar stations
stretching 6,200 miles from Alaska to Baffin Island would
Fairchild C-119 ‘Flying Boxcar’ transport aircraft were used to help build the DEW Line and keep it resupplied
55
COMBAT ZONE – DR STRANGELOVE
Typical DEW Line radar station
warn of incoming Soviet bombers and give time for US
bombers to take off to retaliate. This was no easy
undertaking and shows just how much a threat the
Soviet Union had become. The location so far north
meant much of the construction work had to take place
during the cold, long dark Arctic winters. This presented
enormous challenges because the radars and
communications equipment of the day were not designed
to function in the severe Arctic weather and atmospheric
conditions. Testing of new equipment was conducted in
Alaska and Illinois in the early 1950s. After that the Arctic
landscape had to be surveyed to establish the best
locations for the radars.
It was decided that the DEW Line would be
operational on 31 July 1957. Allowing for the short Arctic
summers this meant there would only be about six
months of tolerable weather conditions. This enormous
and highly secret project was to employ 25,000 people.
To keep the civilian contractors supplied meant airlifts,
sealifts and snowcat trains. USAF committed C-119 Flying
Boxcar, C-124 Globemaster and C-130 transport aircraft to
54-57-Combat-Zone-Dr-Strangelove-AM-0116_MAM-08 04/12/2015 14:22 Page 56

56 COMBAT ZONE ARCTIC AIR DEFENCES www.sampublications.com

A blizzard blots out a snowbound DEW Radar station in

Greenland

the enterprise. A staggering 460,000 tonnes of materials

were shipped from America and southern Canada into the
Arctic by air, land and sea. Sworn to secrecy some 7,000
workers had to construct airstrips, hangers, housing and
antenna towers for each of the isolated radar stations.
Many of these had to be completed in subzero
temperatures, in the dark and in the face of appalling
blizzards. Not surprisingly drifting snow proved to be a
major problem and the main ‘H’ shaped buildings had to
be sited facing the prevailing winds with the connecting
bridge raised high off the ground. Struggling in the most
hostile conditions, after two years and eight months since
the decision was taken to build the DEW Line it was ready
by 15 April 1957. The Aleutian Islands section became
operational two years later. Although all the work was
conducted in the utmost secrecy Soviet intelligence must
have known what was going on deep in the Arctic Circle.
The DEW radar stations consisted of three types, the
large manned stations, intermediate stations with just
three staff and the smaller unmanned gap filler stations.
Most of the stations were the joint responsibility of USAF
and RCAF, and all the installations flew both the US and
Canadian flags. The responsible USAF unit was the 64th
C-124C Globemaster of the US Military Transport Service. They helped move nearly half a million tons of material to the Arctic
Circle
Air Division, ADC, supported by the 460th Support
Squadron. The DEW Line was supplemented by two naval
barrier forces out in the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans,
operated by the US Navy from 1956 to 1965. These
consisted of radar picket ships and Lockheed WV-2
Warning Star aircraft. Clearly the Americans were taking
no chances as they prepared to fight a nuclear war. Most
of the DEW installations were run by American and
Canadian civilians and operations were automated as
much as possible. USAF personnel only operated from the
main stations and conducted annual inspections of the
auxiliary and intermediate radar stations. Often cut off
from the outside world, the radar operators and support
personnel had to be fully self-sufficient for long periods
of time and had their own generators, fresh water
supplies, canteens, libraries and even cinemas. They
waited and watched, monitoring every incursion as
Soviet bombers probed and tested North America’s air
defences across the top of the world.
It became imperative to develop a long-range
interceptor that could shoot down Soviet bombers over
the North Pole before they ever got near American soil.
Under development was the F-106’s successor the F-108
Rapier. Capable of Mach 3 it was also designed to serve as

F-106s of the 5th Fighter Interceptor Squadron photographed over Mount Rushmore in 1981
54-57-Combat-Zone-Dr-Strangelove-AM-0116_MAM-08 04/12/2015 14:22 Page 57

Model Aircraft | October 2015

Convair F-102A Delta Daggers of the 327th Fighter Interceptor Squadron

an escort fighter for the XB-70 Valkyrie Mach 3
strategic bomber, which was intended to retaliate
against the Soviet Union via the Arctic Circle.
However, by the late 1950s although USAF were
anticipating getting almost 500 F-108s, it was clear
that the highly expensive Rapier was behind the
technological curve. No longer was Moscow’s long-
range bomber force the primary threat, this had been
overtaken by its intercontinental ballistic missiles
(ICBMs). The F-108A could offer no protection against
Soviet nuclear missiles. USAF also appreciated that
unmanned American ICBMs could achieve the same
mission as the B-70 Valkyrie/F-108 Rapier force and
more cheaply. Before any prototypes were even built,
on 23 September 1959 the F-108 was cancelled.
Ironically, like the other early warning systems,
the Arctic DEW Line was overtaken by technology.
DEW’s role was to warn of an aerial bomber or
invasion force, it could not detect incoming ICBMs or
submarine launched missiles. As a result the
Americans were forced to authorise yet another bout
of massive spending with the creation of the Ballistic
Missile Early Warning System in the late 1950s. ADC
began missile warning and space surveillance in the
early 1960s. It was redesignated the Aerospace
Defense Command or ADCOM in 1968. USAF began to
phase out both the F-101 and F-102 as interceptors in
1968 transferring them to the Air National Guard.
Both would remain in service until the 1980s as
target drones. The F-106 Delta Dart was considered to
be the best all-weather interceptor ever built, and
remained in service well into the 1980s. It proved to
be USAF’s last dedicated interceptor aircraft.
With the advent of the DEW line only parts of the
Mid-Canada Line remained in use until the mid-
1960s. In contrast some of the Pinetree stations
continued to operate until the 1980s. Some of the
DEW stations were upgraded in the mid-1980s with
passive electronically scanned array radar systems
and merged into the North Warning System. Many
sites were automated so a number of stations were
closed. Also after the collapse of the Soviet Union the
US relinquished all responsibility for the Canadian
stations, opting to run just the North Warning System
stations in Alaska and Greenland. MA

Atlantic Barrier Lockheed WV-2 Warning Star flying over the USS Sellstrom off Newfoundland in 1957
58-59-Wingtip-AM-0116_MAM-08 04/12/2015 14:32 Page 58

58 AIM-9 SIDEWINDER www.sampublications.com

58-59-Wingtip-AM-0116_MAM-08 04/12/2015 14:32 Page 59

Model Aircraft | January 2016 59

Wingtip ‘Winders

AIM-9 SIDEWINDER
Bruce Rowe, a former McDonnell Douglas Structural Flight Loads Engineer who worked
on the AV-8B, describes one the upgrades looked at for the Harrier.

O
ne of the advanced
designs that was
considered for the
AV-8B Harrier II
programme was that of
wingtip-mounted AIM-9
Sidewinder missile
rails. McDonnell
Douglas engineers
outfitted their Harrier
testbed with new outer wing
panels containing launch rails
in order to allow the Marines aircraft
more space for ordnance on their
standard wing pylons. Although never
adopted, this would make an interesting
build project! MA
60-62-Merlin-Warhawk-AM-0116_MAM-08 04/12/2015 14:31 Page 60
60 CURTISS P-40F WARHAWK
A Merlin Powered
Warhawk!
Angel Exposito builds the 1:72 Special Hobby Curtiss P-40F-1 in the markings of the 66th
Fighter Squadron, 57th Fighter Group, mid-1942
T
he Special Hobby kit represents
possibly the best 1:72 P-40 on the
market, and features the ‘short
tailed’ version. Having built examples
from other manufacturers, I think this kit
has much better detailing and the best
overall shape, however there are some
areas that need improvement. The
cockpit is pretty good, and Special
Hobby has added a small etched fret for
it which adds more depth. On the other
hand, the weakest points are the wheel
bays, which are hollow. Also, although
not as bad, is the forward fairing for the
Merlin engine (the P-40F differed from
the rest of the P-40 family mainly
because it was fitted with a Rolls-Royce
engine) which is not very accurate, and
so needs a little work.
Apart from all this, the rivet detail is good, and you
www.sampublications.com
have the option to cut and reposition the rudder and
control surfaces, as well as showing the flaps in an
extended position. I used some Eduard P-40E flap hinges,
but scratchbuilt the flap interiors. The ventilation pipes
were also scratchbuilt and I used Quickboost exhausts
and True Details wheels. As I mentioned earlier the
wheel wells need
some work and are
perhaps the most
complicated part of this
build. So using some reference
photographs I completely scratchbuilt new
interiors for the wheel wells using Evergreen strip and
tube, making sure I also created the necessary conduit
holes for the cables, and I also added some thin strips of
plastic stretched to the bottom of the wheel well. For the
inside of the flaps, I again used Evergreen strip to
represent the interior structures taking into account that
they had two rods which stretched across the entire
interior. Another complicated part was to lengthen the
60-62-Merlin-Warhawk-AM-0116_MAM-08 04/12/2015 14:32 Page 61
The Special Hobby kit represents possibly the
best 1:72 P-40 on the market
nose radiator area, which although only 1mm out, really
needed to be addressed.
Desert schemes have always been one of my favourite
finishes and being a weathering enthusiast, this build
offered a number of possibilities. So to begin I took some
Gunze Neutral Grey H53 and applied this to the lower
surfaces, and then I used different Gunze Sand shades (H27,
H37, H72 H310) on the upper surfaces. Oil washes are also
Model Aircraft | January 2016 61
CURTISS P-40F WARHAWK
very important at this stage, and I used then to highlight all
the lines of panels and rivets, as well showing fuel and oil
leaks and stains. Finally, after a gloss coat I applied the
decals and sealed them in with a gloss and then a matt
coat. Then I completed the worn look by adding some P-40F Warhawk
selected oil washes and then a light coat of Buff. Manufacturer: Special Hobby
Scale: 1:72
The Curtiss P-40F Warhawk Kit Type: Plastic injection moulded with etch
In USAF service the P-40 was called the Warhawk, and in Kit Number: SH72155
the P-40F the normal Allison engine was exchanged for
60-62-Merlin-Warhawk-AM-0116_MAM-08 04/12/2015 14:32 Page 62

62 CURTISS P-40F WARHAWK www.sampublications.com

the vastly superior Roll-Royce Merlin 28 (later Packard Merlin V-1650-1) with a
single-stage supercharger built into the P-40D airframe which gave a the type a
better performance at higher altitudes. With the new engine, the carburettor air
intake on top of the cowling was removed, and with the P-40L some aircraft also
featured a fillet in front of the vertical stabilizer, or received a stretched fuselage to
compensate for the higher torque. The first 699 production aircraft were designated as
the P-40F, after which time subtype numbers were introduced to keep track of
modifications introduced directly on the production lines. These ‘dash numbers’ were
assigned as the -1, -5, -10, -15, -20 and so on. Thus the first P-40Fs were
retroactively treated as P-40F-1, and subsequent during modifications were
designated P-40F-5, P-40F-10, P-40F-15, P-40F-20. Actually the official designations
carried an additional suffix -CU indicating Curtiss production facilities, like P-40F-10-
CU. The US fighter groups operating in the Mediterranean Theatre extensively used
the P-40F and P-40L. MA
 BOOKWORLD
Airframe Album 8
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Airframe Workbench
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The first in this new series covers building
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Warpaint 103 Avro
Manchester. Complete and
detailed history
* 1:72nd scale plan * In detail pictures *
Kit, decal and accessory list * Pages of
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Aircraft Scale Modelling.
F.A.Q.
This book is a compilation of aircraft
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This new Warpaint title explains the F-
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X-Planes of Europe II
Following on from the successful X-
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Warpaint 102. Convair
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complete and detailed history * 1:72nd
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Modellers Datafile 25 The
Grumman F6F Hellcat a
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This latest Datafile from SAM Publications
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Air Force Legends 218
Lockheed F-94 Starfire
Contents follow the publisher's proven
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Encyclopedia of Aircraft
Modelling Techniques 1:
Cockpits.
The definitive encyclopedia of model
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The Modeller’s Guide
Superdetailing, Painting and Weathering
Aircraft of WWII, with airfield
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Warpaint 105. Sopwith
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This is the first WWI title in the series
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Canadian Starfighters
The CF-104 and CF-104D in Canadian
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from Canada wrote a fantastic book about
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The Lancaster
Illustrated with over 250 photographs,
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MDF Scaled Down No.3
The Fairey Firefly.
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V-Bombers,Valiant,Vulcan
and Victor
This book contains fabulous colour profiles
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The Complete Book of the
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This book covers every aspect of the SR-
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The Weathering Magazine
13. Desert.
In this issue we examine the affects that
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types subjects: from a sweat stained
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American Secret Projects 1.
The secret out - Secret Projects is back.
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66-70-MIG-Master-Bf-109-MA-0116_MAM-08 04/12/2015 14:30 Page 66

66 MIG MASTERCLASS BF 109E-7 TROPICAL www.migjimenez.com

MIGMasterclass
Grounded in
the Desert
Mark Chisholm shows you how to produce a realistic
weathered finish on an abandoned Bf 109E-7 Tropical,
using the 1:48 Eduard kit

M
aybe the ground crew could not start this Bf
109, or perhaps it had simply become surplus to
requirements. In any case it sat abandoned on
the side of the runway and items of value were salvaged
from this once-proud Luftwaffe ‘scourge of the desert
skies’. Time and environment are the ultimate and purest
weathering elements, and in this build we will look at
methods to show off an aircraft abandoned to the sands
of time. MA
Bf 109E-7 Tropical
Manufacturer: Eduard
Scale: 1:48
Kit Type: plastic injection moulded with etch
Kit Number: 8264
66-70-MIG-Master-Bf-109-MA-0116_MAM-08 04/12/2015 14:30 Page 67
We start by modifying the cockpit, to show the fact that most
of the instruments and equipment has been removed. The
fuselage access panel is also cut out and detailed to show the
internal structure
A.MIG-1614 Neutral Brown Wash can now be added with a
round brush to the cockpit to further outline the details.
Using repeated applications a more weathered and dirty
appearance can be achieved
www.migjimenez.com BF 109E-7 TROPICAL MIG MASTERCLASS
Let's begin with some A.MIG-2005 Black Surface Primer
applied using an airbrush on the internal components. Not
only are we able to prime the metal and plastic parts but we
also now have a pre-shaded black base colour
While the wash is still damp, let’s add A.MIG-3013 Rubble
Pigment and this can be flicked onto the wet mixture using a
micro brush
67
BF 109E-7 TROPICAL
Early Luftwaffe Cockpit Set A.MIG-7430 contains everything
we need to both paint and weather the cockpit, and RLM 02
can now be airbrushed into the cockpit, using ‘mist coats’ so
the dark shaded areas remain to enhance depth
The pigments can now be softened and blended once
everything is dry. Use a dry round brush drawn downwards to
blend the pigments
66-70-MIG-Master-Bf-109-MA-0116_MAM-08 04/12/2015 14:30 Page 68

68 MIG MASTERCLASS BF 109E-7 TROPICAL www.migjimenez.com

With the engine, the only painting required is to use more The basic assembly can now be completed and the Eduard kit has everything we require including etched details and even
A.MIG-2005 Black Primer, and some of the Brown Wash which canopy paint masks
imparts its own worn and dirty look

So we are ready to paint and the first colour to be airbrushed

on is always the lightest camouflage shade
Now let's lay down a coat of Alclad White Aluminium on the
upper surfaces, in particular the wings, to make the finish
resilient enough for the upcoming weathering steps
The sandy brown camouflage colour is applied by airbrush in
one thin and mottled coat. Then using a technique as
championed by master aircraft modeller Jamie Haggo, let's
use sanding sticks to gently abrade the paint to reveal the
bare metal

Now let's apply some A.MIG-2010 Scratches Effects Fluid with

our airbrush and allow this to dry. Then let's apply the final
camouflage colour
66-70-MIG-Master-Bf-109-MA-0116_MAM-08 04/12/2015 14:31 Page 69

www.migjimenez.com BF 109E-7 TROPICAL MIG MASTERCLASS 69

BF 109E-7 TROPICAL
Model Aircraft Choice
We Recommend
A.MIG-2005 Black Surface
Primer
A.MIG-7430 Early Luftwaffe
The Olive Green blotches are then chipped to create a worn Cockpit Set
appearance and the model can then be sealed with a coat of Now we can add some dots of Buff and White oil paint,
varnish. The decals can now be applied, and again we use applied to the upper surfaces of the model. Of course this is a
sanding sticks to abrade and depict wear on the markings classic paint fading technique-using oils

A.MIG-1614 Neutral Brown Wash

Now with a brush just damp with A.MIG-2018 Enamel Thinner, This can now be given a coat of protective varnish, and we can A.MIG-3013 Rubble Pigment
the oils can be stippled and blended into the paintwork. apply some A.MIG-1612 Green Brown Panel Line Wash using a A.MIG-2010 Scratches
Stippling will avoid obvious brush marks, and is one way that small round brush. You don’t need to be particularly accurate Effects Fluid
we can create the appearance of desert sun-bleached paint here, just follow the rivets and panel lines

Now use a cotton rag to gently wipe away any excess wash,
after it has cured for about five minutes
A.MIG-2018 Enamel
Thinner
A.MIG-1612 Green Brown
Panel Line Wash

A.MIG-1404 North Africa

Dust
A.MIG-1408 Fresh Engine
Oil
66-70-MIG-Master-Bf-109-MA-0116_MAM-08 04/12/2015 14:31 Page 70

70 MIG MASTERCLASS BF 109E-7 TROPICAL www.migjimenez.com

In some areas such as the fuselage, a repeat application of In some areas I used a cotton bud to remove and blend an So, let's now add some A.MIG-1404 North Africa Dust by
the panel line wash can be made excess panel line wash airbrush. Again, use a ‘mist coat’ to achieve a realistic but
subtle overlay. This really adds to the perception of the
subject being abandoned to the elements
71-MigJimenez-SAMI-0116-WP_Layout 1 04/12/2015 14:47 Page 1
96-97-ShopWebGuide-0116_Layout 1 04/12/2015 13:07 Page 96

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74 And Finally... www.sampublications.com

Bulgarian MiG Power!

A
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