Short S184 (8359) - The Battle of Jutland

The picture below shows the only actual British aircraft to take part in the Battle of Jutland, the decisive naval battle that took place one hundred years ago today.

Short 184

This aircraft, a Short S184, is located at the Fleet Air Arm Museum in Yeovil. From Wikipedia:

"A Short 184, aircraft number 8359, was the only British aircraft to take part in the Battle of Jutland. Flown by Flt Lt Frederick Rutland (who became known afterwards as "Rutland of Jutland") with Assistant Paymaster G. S. Trewin as observer, the aircraft was launched from HMS Engadine at about 3.08 p.m.: flying at about 90 feet (27 m) due to low visibility, they spotted four cruisers of the German fleet, reporting their presence back to the Engadine at about 3.30. The aircraft was presented to the Imperial War Museum in 1917, where it was damaged in a German air raid during the blitz. The unrestored forward section of the fuselage is now an exhibit in the Fleet Air Arm Museum." 

The reference to "damaged in a German air raid" during WWII is interesting. The fuselage is actually peppered with bullet holes, something that was only recently noticed during conservation efforts.

More details about the pilot from the Osprey Publishing website:

"Rutland received a well-deserved DSC for his gallantry, and was thereafter known as Rutland of Jutland. He left the Royal Navy in 1922, apparently becoming a consultant. Setting up shop at Honolulu, Rutland sold his expertise on aircraft carrier operations to the Imperial Japanese Navy. British intelligence, unamused by his enterprise, interned Rutland shortly after his return to Britain in October 1941."

TECHNICAL DETAILS

Role - Two seat reconnaissance, bombing and torpedo carrying seaplane

Manufacturers - Westland Aircraft Works, Yeovil

Power Plant - One Sunbeam 225hp/240hp or 260hp

Wingspan - 63ft 6.25ins

Length - 40ft 7.50ins

Height - 13ft 6ins

Weight - 5,363lbs loaded

Max Speed - 88.50mph at 2,000ft (Sunbeam 260)

Duration - 2.75 hours endurance

Armament - One free mounted Lewis machine gun aft, and provision for one 14in torpedo or various bombs up to a maximum of 520lb

Messerschmitt Bf109G-2 Trop, Hobby Boss (1/72 scale)

As one of my (many) current projects is creating a DAK force for Bolt Action when I spotted this kit in a local model shop I thought it would be a welcome addition to my small force. I've since spotted a pre-painted version of the same model during a scale model show so it's worth keeping a eye out for it.

Box Art

Using the power of Google I found that someone had posted that these markings represent Bf 109G-4/Trop 'White Triple Chevron 4', flown by Hauptmann Gustav Rodel, Gruppenkommandeur Il./JG 27, April 1943, although there is some discussion that the colour details are incorrect but seeing as I known nothing about the subject I won't comment. 

Although obsolete by the end of the war the Bf109 was the main workhorse of the German Luftwaffe. Over 33,000 were made, second only in numbers to the Russian Sturmovik - a model of which can be seen (here).

The kit itself is quite basic (although not as basic as the Grafix models) and easy to assemble. The box art is slightly misleading as there is no pilot figure and you only have the option of the landing gear being down. There is also very little cockpit detail but as I wanted to use this simply as a playing piece to match my other airplanes for Bolt Action I wasn't overly concerned about these points. 

A small magnet was superglued to the underside of the fuselage so that the model can to fixed to 'flying' base (see photo). To help give the impression that the plane is flying I remodelled the landing quite up. This is was quite crude but it will hardly ever been seen especially as the planes are only really supposed to be seen in plan view.  

Landing gear up 

The quote from the HobbyBoss website the armament spec of the Bf109 (replacing the most obvious typos) was:

"Standard armament was the engine mounted 20MM MG 151/20 cannon with 200 rounds and a pair of cowl-mounted 7.9MG 17 machine guns with 500 rounds per gun. This could be supplemented by Rustsatze 6, a pair of MG 151/20 cannons in under wing gondolas."

I fixed the canopy of the model in place without a pilot as at 1/72 scale you don't tend to notice that the pilot is missing, especially as the canopy of the 109 was notoriously small. 

Interesting decal options

One final point about this model is that the Chinese manufacturer has included the option to add a decal of a swastika to tailfin, although this isn't immediately obvious. The decal comes in two separate parts so you have to overlay one over the other to make the pattern. I assume this is allow the model to be sold in the German/Austrian market where any depiction of the symbol is illegal (which is perfectly understandable). Even posting images online such as on the Lead Adventures forum (which I believe is based in Germany) can give them serious legal issues.

Although this may seem a contradiction, seeing as I won't purchase miniatures depicting SS soldiers (this is obviously my own personal choice) I do prefer to have the option of modelling a model correctly in the same way I will paint a hammer and sickle on a flag for use with my Soviet forces.

Below are photos from RAF Museum Hendon of their own airtime Messerschmitt Bf109G-2/TROP W/NR.10639 - `Black 6'/RN228/8478M/G-USTV.

WWII American Warplane (Mustang), Grafix

I picked up this particular model from The Works, a well known store here in the UK but perhaps best know for selling discount books, for the bargain price of 99 pence. Occasionally if you have a rummage about you can find something of interest. They are also currently stocking Revell's - Mistel V Ta154 And Fw190 kit for an absolute bargain £20.

Miss Yelma

The model itself is based on the famous WWII American fighter the North American Mustang.

Box Art (and a bargain)

As you will see from my (now traditionally very poor) photos the kit is very basic, in fact the entire model consists of a grand total of ten parts. I'm guessing the model is built to approximately 1/72 scale although there is no mention of this anywhere on the box or on the instruction sheet (although why anyone would need instructions is a puzzle as the parts will only fit together in one way).

1st sprue

2nd sprue

Strange 3D decals

Using the powers of Google All Hail' Images I was able to find the actual plane the cover art was based on (the North American TF-51D Mustang 44-84847, Miss Velma, (N251RJ) to be precise).

As with the plastic cowboys this kit was bought on impulse (well, it was only a pound) and which I had only bought out of curiosity to use it as a desk ornament. However after making the kit I wondered if I could paint the model to a reasonable standard to enable me to use it in Bolt Action games along side my other 'proper' models i.e. ones made by Airfix and Revell.

As I had already glued the wheels/landing gear in place, in order to match the other Bolt Action planes, I removed the wheels with side cutters and superglued a small magnet to the underside of the model. As the mould line ran straight down the middle of the cockpit I applied liquid poly cement to the join and then sanded it down. I repeated this a number of times until I was happy with the result. 

After taking a look at the oddly designed decals, I decided to hand paint my own onto the plane as the originals are drawn in a 3D style complete with added shadow detail. Very odd as it's easier to produce a flat (and more accurate) pattern. The green & yellow checker pattern, the yellow 'go-faster strip' and the invasion strips were also painted by hand.

Completed hand-painted model

Again I'm not sure that the amount of time and effort that went into painting the kit was actually worth it in terms of the finished result but it was quite an enjoyable challenge.

Ilyushin Sturmovik, Airfix (1/72 scale)

Ilyushin II-2M3 of the 233rd Guards Assault Regiment, VVS 1944-45.

From the instruction leaflet:
"The Ilyushin Stormovik, which first entered service in 1941, became one of the best known of all the Soviet Air Force aircraft of the Second World War. It was designed specifically for ground attack and the support of ground force in the battlefields. The Stomovik played a crucial role in World War Two and was described by Stalin as 'as necessary to the Red Army as air and bread." Over 36,000 (36,183 to be precise) Stormoviks were built - more than any other aircraft type in history.

Armament consisted of two 23mm cannon and two 7.62 machine guns in the wings and a single 12.7mm machine gun in the rear cockpit. It could carry either a bomb load of 1000lbs (450 kgs) or up to eight rockets. The IL-2M was powered by a 1770 hp Mikulin AM-38F engine giving a maximum speed of 260 mph (416 kmp). Wingspan was 47ft 10ins (14.58m) and length 38ft (11.58m)."
 

I was deliberately heavy handed with the weathering and shading on this model as I wanted it to stand out on the table.

Ironically the Sturmovik was nearly identical (in appearance and performance) to the little remembered British little bomber the Fairey Battle, still considered one of the worst wartime RAF aircraft.

Junkers Ju87-B (Stuka), Airfix (1/72)

Junkers Ju 87R-2, 239a Squadriglia, 97° Gruppo, Italian Air Force, Lecce - Galatina, Italy April 1941.

From the instruction leaflet:
"Most famous of all the dive bombers used in the Second World War was the German Stuka or Ju87, designed by Junkers and first flown in prototype form in 1935. This unlovely but functional aircraft entered Luftwaffe service in 1937. Stukas were mainly used as close-support aircraft for the ground forces and this they did with considerable success both in the Spanish Civil War and in World War II. The Ju8B-2, one of the two versions in this kit, was built in large numbers and saw widespread service on all the war fronts, its success in the Polish and French campaigns was tempered by heavy losses during the Battle of Britain, the type being withdrawn at an early stage of the battle...Typical bomb load consisted of a single 250kg (550lb) weapon under the fuselage and up to four 50kg (110lbs) bombs on under wing racks. Armament comprised two 7.92mm MG 17 machine guns in the wings and one 7.92mm MG 15 machine gun in the rear cockpit. Powered by one 1,100hp Junkers Jumo 211 engine, the Ju87B-2 had a maximum speed of 390km/h (242mph). Wing span 13.78m (45ft 3in). Length 10.99m (36ft 1in). Height 3.76 (12ft 4in). "

 

 

Arguably the most recognisable airplane from the Second World War this model is to support my Bolt Action Italians.

Focke-Wulf FW189A, Airfix (1/72 scale)

Focke-Wulf FW189A

Wk.Nr.2100, 'V7+1H' of 1(H) 32 Luftwaffe, based at Pontsalenjoki, Finland May 1943

From the instruction leaflet: 

"The FW 189A reconnaissance and army co-operation aircraft was known as 'The Flying Eye' and was one of the most important and most successful Luftwaffe types, especially on the Eastern Front. In service the FW 189A completely replaced all earlier tactical reconnaissance and co-operation aircraft and was also used for light bombing missions. It proved extremely reliable and its ability to absorb punishment and defend itself made it extremely popular with its crews. When FW189 construction ended in 1944 over 800 had been built, most of which went into action on the Russian Front. Powered by two Argus 410 engines of 465 h.p. each the FW 189A-1 had a maximum speed of 217 m.p.h. and a range of 416 miles. Armament consisted of four 7.9mm machine guns and up to 440lbs of bombs. Wing span was 60ft 4 1/2ins and length 39ft 5 1/2 ins."

Plastic airplanes by Airfix were probably for most young males, of a certain age in the UK at least, the first introduction to scale modelling. I still have fond memories of walking to the local newsagent,  holding my pocket money in my sweaty little hands, to buy either an Airfix or Matchbox model. It was in fact an advert for a Tamiya scale model that rekindling my interest in modelling/painting/gaming after two decades of apathy towards my childhood hobby. Therefore this may possibly be the first model airplane I've ever actually finished properly. As a kid I rarely painted models, I just made them as quickly as possible to play with them. 

 

There's not a lot I can add to this piece really. The twin fuselages required a fair amount of filling and sanding but it is an attractive and interesting looking model.

There no real secret to painting the framework on the glass canopy apart from keeping a steady hand. It results in a far better looking model than if left simply blank. I painted the crew because they are so visable.  

I built this (and the next two models) with games of Bolt Action in mind. Although not necessary they make a nice visual marker for air attacks during play. As mentioned in the official blurb this plane saw a lot of action on the Eastern Front so it will be ideal for playing games invloving Germans, Italians against the Russians.

The stand is an acrylic base made by Ade with a small magnet attached. A corresponding magnet was then superglued to the underside of the plane (make sure you get the polarity right or it will never work). This way one base can be used for several aircraft.