World War 2 US Army Fighter Modeling [Osprey Modelling Masterclass]

129 Pages·2002·26.79 MB·English

by  Jerry Scutts & Brett Green:

WORLD WAR 2
US ARMY FIGHTER
MODELING
JERRY SCUTTS & BRETT GREEN
OSPREY
PUBLISHING
WORLD WAR 2
US ARMY
FIGHTER
MODELING
'M
,
I
W O
J
I
Jerry Scutts & Brett Green
OSPREY
PUBLISHING
Fil'SlpubUslw:d,nGTnlRriwnin2003by
OspreyPublishin~DInSCourt,Chapd\\'2);
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CONTENTS
IntrOOut.:tion __.. 6
Chapler I: Gettingstarred . _.11
Chapter2: Referencesources . ..32
Chapter3:Available products . ..............................................43
Chapter4: Basicconstruction . ...... 57
Om.ptcr 5: Ad\':mccd consrruction . .... 65
Chapter 6: Sp<..'Cial lcchniques . . 91
The gallery . . 115
Appendices
AppendixA: Useful addressesand websilcs .. ................. ... 12-1-
Appendix B: Sclccl bibliography . . 125
Acknowlcdgmcnls ..... 127
Index .. . 128
I
.
INTRODUCTION
Since bl:ginning to collect plasti(; modd wondering how long it took me 10 find the
airplane kits in the lalC 19S0s/carly ahove data aoout that Mustang because few
1960s, I realize looking back that I've model companies then shared such with their
wimessedthegradualgrowthofanentirelynew cUStOmers.
hobbyalmost from dayone. Liuledid Isuspect SufficetosaythatintryinglOkeeppall'with
",hal a thin-winged, blue plasticAirfix Spitfire the growth ofan entire industr}'. albeit a small
packed into a polythcne bag "Quid k':ld to. h one b)' Wall Street standards, the supporting
....-a.~ nOI too long before there were enough cast hasoftcn provedas fascinat-ing asthestars.
modelson themarkerfor indi\'idualstostanto Many ofus have, I suspect, had our intl'TCSt in
specialize in World WarI aircraft, theRAF, the the various wanime air forces stimulatl-d by a
LuftwarTeorthe lJSAAFand soon.The more particularly good and new kit, and from this
modelstherewere,themorcthiswaspossible impetus other areas (dealing with the same
if only we'd had some decent references for subject) have beckoned, fed panicularly by
the huge range ofcolor schemes waiting to be books and films. Thatmoreor less happened to
unearthed. A full set ofAlrcraji ofthe Filil/mg me. the downside being lhal' less and less time
Power" was only of limited help until William could realisticallybedevoted tosimplybuilding
Green published Famous FIgh/us ojthe Stcond kits. I'm ccrtainly not alone in confronting that
World IVarin 196LThat did it- we finally had dilemma.
a comprehensivc O\"Cryiew of the main Allied These days, all 1and numerous others can
and Axis fightcrs. Armed additionally with our do is attcmpt to keep abreast of the flood of
monthly copies ofRAF Flying Rt7.Ii~JlJ andAi,. models and accessories, but some fundamental
Pittona/, wc began slowly to build up the rules do not change: I trUSt therefore that the
picture although as far as we knew (or did not pages ofthis book inspire some to set aside a
know) the dab we had then was the \"CI)' tipof fewhoursaweektoindulgethcmsch-csinwhat
theiceberg_ isafterallaycryabsorbingpastime"Atthetime
Color was virtu:ally unknown in thosed:ays ofwriting,thereferences, thedecals,thepainrs
the "real" equivalents of the gray shades seen and thekitsareon adifferent planetcompared
in monochrome photographs were not even to the pioneering days, so much so that the
quoted, let'alone published in color- but things subject ofthis book may be explored in great
didchangewithsuchmilestonebooksasAi,.(t"ult depth, at manydifferent levels,
CdlmmJlug~ undMa,.klngs /907-1954, This kept
the pot boiling while Airfix (plus Frog, Revell, THE EARLY DAYS
Aurora, etc.) continued to impro\l' their kilS.
Special paintsformulated for useonpolystJrcne Theartofsolid model airplanecon.<;truction is
plastic appeared and we began tcntati\-e1y to now much casiCT than when the hobby first
finish models in the few a1tl-mati\"C schemes bc~r:1n to gain popularity duringWorld War 2.
we'd found in the refCTences. The finished Prior to then, making a model aircrafl usually
models probably weren't that good, but we meant building it from a range of sofrwoods,
enjoyedourseh"cs. balsa being the most popular. The complet'e
With reb":l.rd tospecialization, I simply can't airframe structure was usually built and lhen
remember when aircraft with stars and bars finally co\'ered in tiSS\IC Of other material.
began to hold my interest- maybe it was when Littlc thoughl was given to the application of
Airfix released their P-51D-S of the 380lh authentic markings, therebeingan almost total
FighterSquadron, 363dFighterGroup,named concentration on the aeronautical aspect and
"Fool'sParadiseIV."1doubtwhetherwe'deven mdeed, thedesiretofly the finished model_
ha\-e been able to find those derails then, but a The a\'ailability of a number of kits
silveraircraft finish ""1lScertainlyabit difTCTent containingpre-fonned wooden parISand known
to camounab'C, so maybe that was it. In any initiallyas "solids" was astep forward for those
event, that Aim'\': kit, plus a few others., more who had no wish to actually fling their model
or less hooked me on the hobby of plastic into the air ....ith the inherent risk of it being
modeling_ As an idle mental exercise, I'm still smashedbeyondrepairinthefirst hea\'~·landing.
6 WORLD WAR 2US ARMY FIGHTER MODELINGMASTERCLASS
Thos<:individualswould instcadturntheirhand of modeling, that of choosing a (;Olor scheme ABOVE Tamiya's recent
to non-fiying model kits, thc range of which and applying it. Completion of ,1 model air 1/48-scaleP-47DThunderbolt is
extended to many different typ<.."S during World plane mnsequently became that much quicker beautifully detailed.accurate and
War2.These re,1t:hed adegr<.."Cofwphistication and the emphasis changed completely from provides plenty ofoptions for
and induded pre-formed plastic propellers, what might well be termed "structural" to the modeler.This kic represents
the current standard in ahobby
canopy s<.."Ctions and wheels, but thc skill lewl "cxterior." What went on under the skin
that has been developingfor
rcquin.x! to turn out a first rate model was still was now ofonly passing interest to the model
halfacentury.
mnsiderable. maker, who began searching for national
De\·elopmeDt of the industrial tcchnique insigniastyles,c:amouflagepattt:rns,(;Odeletters
whereb)· polystyrene plastic could be injecred and personal markings applied to mark om a
intoametal mold 10 turn outpre-formed pans successfulpilot.
in grc:at number, all ofthem c.xaetly the same, J\'lodel kitsoftheearly 1940skept pacewith
was about to make a world of difference to aeronauric:al development, as while there was
onebranchofthehobbyofair-modeling. From still some emphasis on the airplanes ofWorld
largehousehold itemssuchasbucketsandcups, \Var I, those ofthe then current conflict soon
the injection molding process made ir possible becamethecoresubject forthemanufacturers.
to make a set ofscaled components that, once Allied and Axis ty)X."S predominated while
:assembled :and glued together, constituted American fighters were unden,.t:mdably few:
mini:aturc:aitplanes:md \·ehieles. ::\"0longerdid the prototypesofthefamous fighters ofWorld
theindividual needtospend timewhinlingand War .2 were onll' then being tested but to
forming the correct :lirfoil shape and fuscl:age pro,-ide an international balance, kits were
contours out of wood, thus postponing the released ofsuch exotica as the CurtissYP-37.
p:lintingand finishing sugcs. A popular one, it remained a\llilablc for some
Plastic construction enabled a jump to be time as thc P-37. How many kits ofthe early
made to :trguably the most interesting phase Curtiss fighterdoweha\'e today;
INTRODllCTION 7
,
mE
North American
1/32Scale
MUSTANG III
FUSELAGEU"
WINGSPAN14"
,
,
ABOVE Revell's 1/32-!.C3.lekits EARLY MARKINGS \\;th another in terms ofrclati\'e dimensions
ofthe 1960$were highly was somt..timcs e\'cn dictated by the size ofthe
desirablemodels in theirday. Along with the componcms thcmsch'cs, boxthemodelcamein.Thismadeforsomevery
Manyofthese kits featured manufacturersorlheearly plastickiL~ included odd"ocnn:enscale"parts,ofrcn(00smalltotake
operatingcontrol surfaces, asetofmarkings [0coverthebaSICessentialsof full ad\-:1ntage of the subjecl. This was true of
retractinglandinggear and
nationalinsigniaandsoforth, sothatwhen they larger alfcTaft such as bomhcrs however, the
sliding canopies.Unfortunately,
appeared in due course, a reasonable looking fighters being a generally more convenient size
due to the requirementfor
example of the P-51, 1'-47 or P-38 could be with whidlto work.
styrene hinges and rails,these
workingfeatures often robbed built. In some model releases, their designer~ Once there W,1S a perceived marker, the
the model offinesse and were so demonstrably worried that the simple industry in the Uniled Stales soon occame
impacted on accuracy_ task ofapplyingnational insigma via waterslide organized and manufacturers released most
Kitsofthe 1960$frequendy decals (transfers) might be misinterpreted plasticmodels in whal issomelimcs referred to
sported thousands ofover.;ized that they scribed the outlines into the surface. as "quarter scale." This translated the full-size
rivets.Revell's 1/32-scale Fortunatcl}~Ihispracticedid notlast very long. aircraft'sdimensions 10 model componentsthat
P-SIBJMustangIIIkits certainly Earlymodelairplanekittransfershcctsmade measured out al a qU:lTIer of an Inch to the
fell intothis category! However;
few concessions 10 authentic markings such as foot.Thisscalingcould beentirely relied upon,
afew kitsfrom this era are still ro
wdclettersor numbersand those thai \\ere as non-amformist models cominuc-d toappear,
worth buildingtoday.
included were seemingly chosen al r.lndom. but in general bigger \\-:15 better in the US.
Sheets of ehed:ers and numbers became Interestingly, the UK market had already
a'-:1ilablc,thesebeingIinlemorethanrecognition appreciated the undoubted ad,-antagcs of
aidsbased on nyingmodel decoration. And kilS models in this larger scale. The Chingford
ofwartimefighlCTSmadeinAmericausuallyhad Model Aerodrome (C~IA) was, by 19+1,
USAF r.lther ,han USAAF national insignia offering a range of quartcr-scale solid models
soa~"ain,it isnOI hardtoS(:ehowfar we\'ccome which ineludeda P-3S, P-39and P-H.
in this TCSI>CCI alone. Equally popular W:IS the ll72~scalcrange hy
TruscaleofIloumemouth, L"K,\\'hichascarlyas
WHICH SCALE? 19{() had released an Airacobra andTomahawk.
Atthattimeofcoursethe USAirCorpshad few
Theoutline,lccuracyoftheseearlyconsl'rUCliun otherfull-sizc designs ofwhich modelscould be
kitswasnot alwaysallitmighthavebeenand the made.Thatdidnot meanAmeriGlllfighters wen:
qucstion of scale - i.e. one model comparable overlookedandlackinganythingmoredC\'elopcd
.. WORLDWAR 2USARMYFIGHTERMODEUNGMASTERClASS
for service use: the P-37 had to suffice until manufaClurcrs put out a stt':ldily increasing
dctails were relcasL'<! of[he IkI1VP--{i3 and the number ofsubjL'(;tS. With regard to singlc-scal
carly P-IOs. Dimensionally about half the size fighters,althoughthefinished resultswerequite
ofa 1/+8-scale model in terms ofa single~seat small they weI"CL"Onvcniell! to build and easyto
fighter, each of [hese smaller kits included line up alonga bL'<!room shelf, Additions In[he
pre-formL'(jwingsandfuselage,metalpropellers, smallerscalesoonovertookthefewcr l/-l8-scale
hardwood cowlings, national insignia transfers models Ihal appeared in those days simply
and glue. Again there was a lad of squadron because IhLTe were fewer ofthe l:lner and they
markings, prooobly due to wartime national werenotalwa)'seasytoobt:1in,
security restrictions. As rime passLxl and the product generally
\Vith the war O\'er there was a temporary impro\"ed. model company engravers became
re\;sion to traditional model aircraft pending increasingly aware that the necessary heavy
reorganization ofthe industry from wartime to metal molds for plastic kits were adaptable and
peacctime footing. When plastic kits became capable of reprodu6ng components with verT
3'v'3ilablc in England, there was a general swing fine scale detail. On the actual plastic the work
towards 1/72 scale, while the Americans of toolmakers appeared as raised or recessed
generallysuyed loyal to the larger scale.Those panels, lines of rin:ts and numerous optional
kiLO;thatcrossedtheAtlanticfromtheUSalways pansdesigned 10enablethebuildertocomplctc
carried [he penalty of a higher price, and in oneormoreversionsoftheS:tmeaircraft.
"pocket money" terms, the low price of a J\lodds of the machinL"S that flew in lhe
bagged Airfix kit successfully created a firm colors of the United States Army Air Forces
brand loyalty - despite their rebtive crudity were early arrivals on the plastic modeling
compared to wh:'ll came bIer. Another reason scene and the popularity of the "big three"
was that lhese kil'S successfull~ lapped into the (the 1)-51 Must:1ng, P-47 Thunderbolt and
"collector" inslincr, for Airfix, Frog and other 1'-38Lightning) wasquickly est:1blished.That
,
LEFT Old bookscan sometimes
be found atbargain prices.Many
books frum earlierdecades are
still valuable referencesources.
All ofthe books pictured here
were published in the 196Os.
Theyfeature awealthof
wartime photos,and these
images are as relevanttoday as
theywerewhentheywerefirst
published.However,beaware
thatresearch has uncovered new
facts aboutaircraftvarianu,
details and colorschemes over
theyears,socolor profilesand
drawings in these old books
may need verilia-tionagainst
modern sources.
INTROOucnON 9
As the War progressed, basic markings
schemes for American fighters developed
to encompass local conditions, the various
configurations oftheaircraftand above all, the
need for concealment on the ground and
instant recognition in the air. Each theater of
war had its own detail requirements for
markings although there was a considerable
degree of commonality regarding paintwork,
once the early-war anomalies resulting from
diverTed contracts settled mto standardization.
These often conflicting reqUIrements of
blendingintotheterraintoeludetheenemyand
being recognized by pilots on the same side
resulted in a plethora of colors, code letters,
numbers, bands and stripesbeingapplied to all
US fighters in combat. Reliable and adaptable
systemssoon emerged.
EUROPEAN BASIS
Arguably the most effective markings system
used on US fighters during World War 2
was developed for the RAF whereby each unit
was giycn a code consisting of two letters
(sometimes aletter and a number) with a third
leller identifymg the individual "planc-in
squadron." There was tar less visual confusion
after this system was adopted, but the first
ABOVE Old blueprints and this popularity has hardly ever waned is not American fighters based in England were also
technical drawings are also difficulttoexplain. So many ofthedecisive air given an additional recognition scheme. Thus
helpful reference material. cOmbats of the war were fought by American whitenose,wingandtailbandsovercamouflage
and Allied pilots flying these types and, via finish marked out the P-47 and P-.:il, fighters
their fathers, youngsters were imbued with a that could conceivably be confused with
keen senseofpatriotism. theircommonGermanadversaries, the Fw 190
and Bf 109 respectively. Untold numbers of
FIGHTER VERSATILITY Thunderbolt and Mustang pilots probably owe
their lives to this paint scheme as they dived
With ten air forces in the field by 1944, all through bomber formations in pursuit of the
of them with their fighter component, the LuftwaffeJagdflieger. "Friendly fire" incidents
USAAF had, like mostairarms ofthefighting continued to occur but the whiTe bands
powers, come to appreciate the effectiveness minimized this risk.
and economy of pursuit aircraft, those the Colorswereusedasanadditionalrecognition
pilots first nicknamed"peashooters."Therole aid and so diverse did these become rhat the
ofacategoryofaircrafthistoricallyregarded in whole subject of aircraft markings eventually
the US as much less useful than bombers had becameaseparatefield ofstudy, largelydivorcer.!
changed radically. Very early on in World 'Var from technical development, combat operaTions
2,American fighters were adapted - and soon and first-hand pilot narratives. Many of those
built - to carry external ordnance, which wartime fighter colorschemes, marchingawell
brought their basic combat duty partially into documented key,survived viaan unprecedented
the realm ofthe bomher. Burgeoning numbers visualandwrittenrecord,sothat60yearsonthe
of single- and multi-seater fighter bombers publication of still photographs and the
now demanded a comprehensive system of widespread availability of movie film footage
markings schemes aimed at rapid air-to-air enable the enthusiast model maker to acquire a
and "friend from foe" recognition. Different comprehensive libraryofreference.
theaters ofwar saw differenl fighter markings Books devoted enlirely to the subject of
schemes, for instance those ofEurope and the wartime American fighters arc lcg-:ion, be it
Pacific regions. their technical development, performance, the
10 WORLD WAR 2US ARMY FIGHTERMODELINGf-MSTERCLASS