AIR Modeller - Issue 66 (2016-06-07).pdf

MENGAIRMODELLERJUNE/JULY2016 JUNE/JULY 2016 • £6.50 UK $15.99 www.mengafvmodeller.com 66 FINN-TASTICAntti Lappalainen’s incredible Finnish Brewster Buffalo AIR 66 cover_Layout 1 10/05/2016 12:42 Page 1

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1 Meng AIR Modeller welcomes contributions from interested parties, but cannot accept any responsibility for unsolicited material. The contents of this publication including all articles, drawings and photographs originated by AFV Modeller ltd become the publishers copyright under copyright law. Reproduction in any form requires the written consent of the publisher. Whilst every care is taken to avoid mistakes AFV Modeller ltd. cannot be liable in any way for errors or ommissions. Meng AIR Modeller is published Bimonthly by AFV Modeller ltd Old Stables East Moor Stannington Northumberland NE61 6ES Tel: 01670 823648 Fax: 01670 820274 email: david@mengafvmodeller.com Editor and Designer: David Parker Deputy Editor: Mark Neville Sales Director: Keith Smith ISSN 2059-5964 We are now on Facebook, ‘Like’ us to follow what we are doing and follow our build projects. 2 F-106 Meng’s state-of-the-art Dart test driven by François-Regis Binder. 12 Short Sterling Part 3 Megas Tsonos continues to scratchbuild the heavy bomber in 1:48. 20 Brewster Buffalo Type 239 Antti Lappalainen’s six year project in 1:32 scale. 34 Dornier 355 B-2 HK Models recent 1:32 kit modelled by Sampson WS YU 虞文碩. 42 Grumman TBM-3 Avenger Olivier Soulis takes on the huge 1:32 Trumpeter torpedo bomber. 48 Air Born New releases. 58 Wooden Wonder Tamiya’s latest super-kit modelled by Albert Tureczek. CONTENTS AIR 66 June July 2016_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 10/05/2016 15:23 Page 1

Francois-Regis Binder discovers MENG’s new small-scale Convair Delta Dart is pretty sharp straight out of the box. 2 AIR 66 June July 2016_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 10/05/2016 11:38 Page 2

The F-106A was an American supersonic all-weather interceptor. It is essentially an evolution of the F-102 with a new Pratt & Whitney J75 Engine. It was designed in order to replace the F-86L Sabre. The nicknamed ‘Delta Dart’ it had the benefits of high speed and various navigation methods, the U.S.A.F claimed that the F-106 was fully capable of automatic interception in any weather, “the only thing a pilot needed to do was to use their hands and brain at take-off and landing”. The armament included four AIM-4 missiles and one AIR-2 Genie nuclear rocket. Later, in 1972 one 20mm M61A1 Vulcan canon was installed. When the F-15 Eagle entered in service, the F-106s were passed on to the Air National Guard. MENG have promised a highly detailed and accurate F-106 in seventy- second scale with brand new tooling and have certainly delivered the goods, perfect for an out of the box build. The surface detail is some of the best you’ll see in this scale and the moulding beautifully crisp throughout. 3 AIR 66 June July 2016_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 10/05/2016 11:38 Page 3

The instruction plans are very clear and you feel encouraged to start immediately with the cockpit. The cockpit is complete and finely detailed. There are two types of seat offered (Weber zero-zero and Convair rotational). Only the seat belts I felt should be redone, using foil this is the only improvement I made to this kit. The dashboard panel is supplied on the fret of photoetched parts and very finely rendered. Both early and standard instrument panels are included. Once painted the cockpit looks superb in this scale with raised control details. The forward wheel bay interior is partially detailed but will remain largely invisible on the finished model so more than adequate for most modeller’s requirements. It’s important to follow the instructions and fix the forward landing gear at the point stated otherwise it will be impossible to position it! On the other hand, you must be careful not to break the leg which protrudes (which is unfortunately exactly what happened to me...) An excellent feature of the kit is the complete air inlet duct and also the afterburner and the exhaust nozzle. All these sub-assemblies fit perfectly in the fuselage and were fixed with Tamiya liquid cement whilst holding the parts in position. State-of-the-art dart Two types of seats and dash panel are included. The cockpit is excellent for 1:72. The front landing gear bay must be fitted before closing the fuselage, be careful not to damage the leg... The edges of the ducts are moulded beautifully thin. More delicate moulding on the multi-part exhaust features full internal detail. 4 AIR 66 June July 2016_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 10/05/2016 11:38 Page 4

With the fuselage closed, the air intakes can be fixed, I did find a small amount of filler was need for a seamless joint here. At this step, the opened avionic compartments in the nose should be painted if you choose to display them. While the paint dried I assembled the wings taking great care at the joints of the leading edge, the engraving of this kit is particularly fine and is easily erased during any sanding or clean up. One very positive point is the option to position the flaps down (Meng provide two type of hinges). On the tailfin, the airbrake can be fixed closed or opened. In each case, it is important to follow the instructions and fix them before positioning the tailfin on the fuselage, If not, you will have difficulty attaching the airbrake at the end of the build. One major point of interest on the Delta Dart is its huge weapons bay. The kit has the option of an open or closed display, all of the complex mechanisms are finely represented. Meng offers a complete weapons load like the classic red and white AIM-4 F or G missiles, the AIR-2 nuclear rocket and even a 20mm gun pod. Two types of drop tanks are also included (230 and 360 gallons). As a bonus the unused AIM-4 missiles can be put in their specific cases and the nuclear rocket on a trailer which is included. A welcome addition for those diorama builders amongst us. The nose can be represent closed or opened with the radar exposed. For this build, I chose to keep the nose closed in order to preserve the lines of the aircraft. Surface detail is excellent and very delicate and fine meaning some careful filling at a few of the joint seams of the main sections. The air intakes look superb in position. 5 AIR 66 June July 2016_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 10/05/2016 11:38 Page 5

The plain light grey was given some interest and realism with some airbrushed panel highlighting by adding Gunze white to the grey and gradually building-up the heavily diluted mix. The panel line and rivet detail is enhanced with an application of ‘Dark Wash’ from MIG. Alclad lacquer is used for the touch of realism to the exhaust. With the painting of the avionics bays and cockpit complete they were carefully masked ready for the all-over Gunze light grey, a super-simple scheme requiring only the anti-glare black and nose requiring masking and spraying. Three marking options are offered on the decal sheet, as we’d expect from Cartograf the quality is first rate. Detailed stencilling is included. All of the schemes offered are light grey base colours ‘A’ is the option I’ve chosen; F-106A 57-2463 186th FIS, Great Falls International Airport in 1977. The interior green responds well to MIG dark green washes which show the detail to the full. The weapons bay and weapons make up a large proportion of the assembly. 6 AIR 66 June July 2016_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 10/05/2016 11:38 Page 6

The clear parts fit very well, but there are two moulding lines on the canopy that require removing. After careful masking the glazing was fitted along with the weapons and fuel tanks. A simple scene was created with the kit’s photoetched access ladder and weapons trolley adding a much needed splash of colour to the monotone grey-on-grey. 7 AIR 66 June July 2016_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 10/05/2016 11:38 Page 7

Meng have brought us an excellent F-106 in 1:72. Looking at my final display it’s hard to believe this is a true ‘out-of-the-box’ project (except for my foil seat belts!). Features that modellers would often look to the aftermarket suppliers for such as the avionic bays, radar internals and weapons bay are all there ready to use without the need for any surgery to the base kit- everything is designed to fit, and it does with ease. I certainly look forward to more new releases from Meng. 8 AIR 66 June July 2016_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 10/05/2016 11:39 Page 8

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SHORT STIRLING As can be seen in the illustrations kindly provided by Michael Skoularikos for use in this article, the structure was made from flat pieces which were folded upwards and between them were attached the frames that divided the wing interior into the bomb cells and the undercarriage wells. This was a representation of the Warren truss tubular construction of the real Stirling, which allowed one to see into the bomb cells when looking from the wheel wells and vice versa. There were no intermediate sidewalls and this is what is achieved here, an unobstructed view through all the adjacent compartments! 10 The Wings At this point of construction, one is normally focussed on the finishing of the fuselage, a task already under way and in this case the obvious next step should be the cockpit. On the contrary, I decided to commence the wing construction for two reasons: Firstly, it would be unwise to work on the cockpit and then some months later face a problem with the wings or undercarriage, enough to cause a major setback or - even worse, call a halt to the construction. Secondly, it entailed the completion of the model’s basic shape, enabling me to also focus my attention to the notorious undercarriage which was the models’ most intricate and complex aspect. The wings of the real aeroplane were designed around the Gottingen 436 (modified) airfoil, “modified” meaning that the airfoil was designed thicker than normal so the resulting wing could be made deep enough to accommodate bombs, undercarriage and fuel tanks. Exactly how deep? As the plans on hand offered no solutions, I went straight to AirfoilTools.com, picked out Goe436 and plotted it in the application provided by the site. The result was the Stirling’s root airfoil, ready to be photo-etched in brass! As the rest of the wing’s geometrical data is already known, I made the necessary drawings soon to be turned into etched brass. Michael Skoularikos stepped in once more and the wings started to take shape in photo-etched form. AIR 66 June July 2016_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 10/05/2016 11:39 Page 10

MEGAS TSONOS SCRATCHBUILDS THE HEAVY BOMBER IN 1:48 part three Only the visible areas were made to simulate the tubular construction. Just outside the wheel wells (towards the wingtips) the etched brass sides were made solid, to add to the wing strength. 11 AIR 66 June July 2016_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 10/05/2016 11:39 Page 11

The top skin is now soldered on the framework and both assemblies are now joined together and checked for correct dihedral with the aid of a jig that was cut to the 2º 25’ top surface dihedral at the front spar. The visible portion of the fuel tanks sidewall was made of black styrene sheet. The undersurface openings of both wings were checked to confirm that they are parallel using a jig that was cut to the fuselage width. Then the excess brass was cut and removed to make room for the flaps. The area removed was a little wider than needed so as to allow the styrene top layer to overlap towards the trailing edge, as it was easier to work on it than on the brass. Work continued with the soldering of the eight attaching points that would accept the undercarriage structure. The attaching points are themselves fitted to the front and main spars. With a ruler I checked that the front pins were on the same line and horizontal (NO dihedral here!) in relation to the horizontal level. I also checked that the rear attaching points were parallel to the front ones, as the main and rear spars are NOT parallel and are converging towards the wingtips. In other words, each set of four attaching points in each wing, formed a horizontal parallelogram, for the main undercarriage leg to be correctly installed. The top skin, cut to shape and etched as well, is seen here just before soldering to the rest of the assembly. The two pewter panels seen here were inserted between the top skin and the fuel tanks. This was done to conceal the brass visible through the wheel wells, as the interior of the wings outwards of the wells was unpainted on the real aeroplane. 12 AIR 66 June July 2016_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 10/05/2016 11:39 Page 12

Wings Using a spray can as a bending tool (!) I formed the ten flap tracks out of a length of solid rectangular section brass (KS Engineering) These were then soldered into their respective places behind the main spar. I used the Sanger kit wing undersides as their erroneous curves were in fact perfect for cementing them instead as the topsides on my model’s wings! The brass surfaces as well as the inside of the styrene topsides were sanded so that they became roughened. 13 AIR 66 June July 2016_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 10/05/2016 11:39 Page 13

14 I joined the styrene and brass surfaces together with CA glue. The wings flat undersurface was also glued at this point using .040” sheet styrene for this purpose. I also used Chemiwood high density tooling/ modelling board for the leading edges, the wingtips, and the exposed (rear) fuel tanks, normally concealed by the retracted flaps. I started detailing the wings interior with the primary structure. As I already mentioned, the Warren truss framework was tubular. I had to do the same in the structure of the model. I used Evergreen’s half round strips to good effect gluing this onto the brass structure. The primary structure detailing also included the interior behind the main spar and over the flap tracks, an area which is visible at least from the wheel wells. In the process I realized that one of the flap tracks on each wing should be cut away and replaced by two smaller ones. That I did but I left its rear end still attached to assist when gluing the flaps in place. AIR 66 June July 2016_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 10/05/2016 11:39 Page 14

I painted the area of the wheel wells and bomb cells in a very dark grey matt colour. Evergreen strips were also used as stringers for the detailing of the bomb cells and wheel well ceiling. The area behind the rear (main) spar was painted with Alclad ALC-101 Aluminium. Then it was masked along with the undersurfaces adjacent areas. 15 AIR 66 June July 2016_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 10/05/2016 11:39 Page 15

Following the inevitable paint touch-ups, the area behind the bomb cells was covered with a piece of sheet pewter... ...over which a piece of thin plasticard was added. The pewter was used as a light reflecting surface to make the interior more visible. After all, this area was left unpainted on the real Stirling. I masked the wing openings for an overall application of Mr. Surfacer 500 16 AIR 66 June July 2016_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 10/05/2016 11:39 Page 16

The wing was then carefully sanded to a smooth finish. One more masking followed... 17 AIR 66 June July 2016_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 10/05/2016 11:39 Page 17

...and I sprayed three coats of White Surfacer 1000, to prepare the exterior surface for scribing and riveting. The first details to be scribed on the wings were the outlines of the eight fuel tanks. For this purpose, a template was drawn and cut out of thin plasticard. 18 The plasticard helped as I could use both sides of it to scribe the opposite wing with exactly the same outlines; in doing so, I did not compromise the much-needed symmetry. Using an old airbrush needle, I made the first outlines. Then I rescribed with a Hasegawa Trytool modelling scriber, and finished with an Olfa scriber. The latter usually helps in removing all excess plastic off the line edges, something the round tools are not good at. Above Then I made the chordwise lines (leading-to-trailing edge) which are positioned in a peculiar way as the ones behind the main spar are vertical to the spar while those at the front are parallel to the aeroplane’s center line, i.e. at an angle to the first. left The reader can easily see the double riveting which took almost a month to complete. The riveting was done even under the areas where the outer nacelle fairings would later occupy. Above Although in these photos the scribing is done already, the procedure followed is the same as in the case of the fuselage. Here the front spar and main spar lines were scribed first, along with the rest of the spanwise panel lines. AIR 66 June July 2016_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 10/05/2016 11:39 Page 18

Above The panel above the dinghy stowage compartment is the only difference between the wings in this area. Below I cleaned and degreased the wing root airfoils carefully with alcohol and toluene so as to remove all dirt, over-sprayed Mr Surfacer residue and paint that was accumulated during the wings construction and joined the wings to the fuselage by soldering them on the fuselage bomb bay. Only the front (visible) section was actually soldered on the bomb bay as I did not want to overheat and possibly distort the fuselage in an attempt to solder inside towards the airfoils rear end. I covered the messy appearance of the soldering with a piece of plasticard which was later painted matt black and went on with the rest of the mating of the wings to the fuselage. The subtle angling of the rear chordwise lines in relation to the ones forward of the main spar can be seen to advantage. The project continues in the next issue 19 AIR 66 June July 2016_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 10/05/2016 11:39 Page 19

A six year project involving his own research and creation of photoetch parts... Antti Lappalainen’s fantastic Finnish Brewster Buffalo 20 AIR 66 June July 2016_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 10/05/2016 11:27 Page 20

BREWSTER A chieving almost a legendary reputation during the Continuation War (fought between Finland and the Soviet Union between 1941-44) the Brewster Model 239 was the backbone of the Finnish Air Force fighter units until they were superseded by the Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-2 and G-6 –fighters during 1943-1944. On 16 December 1939, Finland acquired a total of 44 Brewster F2A-1 export versions from Brewster Aeronautical Corporation, 43 of those were already prepared as F2A-1 configuration for the US Navy and therefore stripped of naval equipment including carrier hooks and even armament, gun sights and instruments. Also the Wright R 1820-34 –engines were replaced with G5 –versions. The dismantled Brewsters were shipped from New York to Norway packed in wooden containers between January and February 1940. The containers were then sent by railway to Sweden and the aircraft were assembled and test flown in the SAAB aircraft factory at Trollhättan. Unfortunately full combat- readiness was not achieved before the end of the Winter War of 1939–1940.However in the Continuation War of 1941-1944 Fighter Squadron 24 with their Brewsters achieved a kill ratio of 32:1, the highest in the Second World War. 21 AIR 66 June July 2016_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 10/05/2016 11:27 Page 21

The only available kit in 1:32 is the Special Hobby kit from 2008. Basic dimensions and shape are mostly accurate, but there are quite a few errors in the cockpit area, some panel lines and other surface details. Because there are virtually no aftermarket detail parts for this kit, everything had to be made from scratch including my own custom photoetched parts and some decals. The only surviving Brewster fighter was found in 2008 so the reference material before that has been very limited, which is partly the reason the kit has it’s issues. Fortunately the aircraft BW-372, found in a lake in Russia, was loaned to Finnish Air Force Museum from the National Naval Aviation Museum in Florida. I had the fortune to measure and to photograph every detail from the Brewster. In addition to that, I managed to get copies of some original drawings from Smithsonian Institute via a fellow modeller. The whole project took me almost six years to complete. I have to admit that it spent some time in a box too, waiting for inspiration to return. Researching the surviving Brewster, war time photographs and other documents was significant part of the project. All the photo etched parts were designed by my brother and made by Eduard. The 30x30 cm fret contained a few hundred parts. I also cast in resin the correctly shaped main wheels, exhaust collector, tail cone, engine cylinders, ailerons, horizontal stabilizers and elevators. First of all I compared the fuselage halves and wings to the scale drawings. Major issues were the location of the radio compartment hatch on the right side and location of wheel wells in the fuselage. I built the hatch in a open position in the correct place and fixed the wheel well location with styrene sheet and filler. Lots of panel line engraving was done and incorrect panel lines were filled and sanded. Because I wasn’t happy with the moulded ones, I modelled longerons and frames with styrene strips inside the fuselage. In the cockpit area I used the kit parts for the bulkhead behind the wheel well and fuel tank housing, but I covered them with photo etched parts. Also some detail parts like handles were used from the kit parts, everything else in the cockpit were made from photo etched parts and from scratch. I wanted to build the canopy in an open position, but the kit part was too thick, so I vacuum-formed a new clear part and finished it with photo etched frames. Much of the panel joins and inspection covers needed to be modified to be completely accurate. In addition to my home-made photoetch panel detail, new fastener detail was added in the correct positions. I first made a circular indent with a tube held in a pin-vice... From my plans it was evident that the tyres provided lacked the correct profile which was re-sculpted and a pair cast in resin. More photoetch detail was created for the landing gear including the hydraulic pipes and connectors. the slot-head of the fastener was made with a fresh scalpel blade. The kit detail was filled with Mr Surfacer. Working from original plan drawings and my reference from the museum aircraft, masters were constructed and cast in resin where I wasn’t content with the kit parts. 22 AIR 66 June July 2016_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 10/05/2016 11:27 Page 22

I made openings and hatches for the fuselage machine guns, radio compartment and left the right side engine panel was opened. For the inside of the radio compartment I made the radio equipment, battery and the escape skis for the pilot using my photo etched parts. The fuselage gun compartment was also built with photo etched parts and for the guns I used Aires Browning M2 .50 cal. resin pieces. The engine panel was made using a photo etched part, styrene strips for reinforcements and Masterclub resin bolts for the Dzus-quick-release fasteners. The gun compartment hatches were made with a similar technique, but with styrene sheet. The radio compartment hatch was made with five photo etched parts soldered together. The Wright R-1820-G5 Cyclone engine provided in the kit was quite basic, so I decided to reshape the cylinders to a more accurate shape using the kit part as a pattern and cast resin copies. Air deflectors and other detail parts were made with photo etched parts. Copper wire was used for ignition harness. Exhaust manifolds were made with thick soldering wire and the exhaust collector ring was scratch made and then cast in resin. Inaccurate cylinder fins were re-worked and copies cast in resin. 23 AIR 66 June July 2016_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 10/05/2016 11:27 Page 23