Brewster B-339B 'Buffalo'; GCM 1, Free French Air Force; Morocco, 1941

Dizzyfugu · November 30, 2014, 06:51:46 AM

A quickie, done in just two days plus one for the pics!

1:72 Brewster B-339B 'Buffalo', aircraft '9' of Groupe de Combat Mixte 1, Free French Air Force (Forces Aériennes Françaises Libres, FAFL); Morocco, 1941 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Brewster B-339B 'Buffalo', aircraft '9' of Groupe de Combat Mixte 1, Free French Air Force (Forces Aériennes Françaises Libres, FAFL); Morocco, 1941 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Some background
The Brewster F2A Buffalo was an American fighter aircraft which saw service early in World War II.

Designed and built by the Brewster Aeronautical Corporation, it was one of the first U.S. monoplanes with an arrester hook and other modifications for aircraft carriers. The Buffalo won a competition against the Grumman F4F Wildcat in 1939 to become the U.S. Navy's first monoplane fighter aircraft.
Although superior to the Grumman F3F biplane it replaced and the early F4Fs, the Buffalo turned out to be a disappointment because the weight of added equipment was not balanced by an increase in horsepower.

>1:72 Brewster B-339B 'Buffalo', aircraft '9' of Groupe de Combat Mixte 1, Free French Air Force (Forces Aériennes Françaises Libres, FAFL); Morocco, 1941 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Brewster B-339B 'Buffalo', aircraft '9' of Groupe de Combat Mixte 1, Free French Air Force (Forces Aériennes Françaises Libres, FAFL); Morocco, 1941 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Several nations, including Finland, Belgium, Britain and the Netherlands, ordered the Buffalo, too. Just before the start of the war, Belgium sought more modern aircraft to expand and modernize its air force, and the nation ordered 40 Brewster B-339 aircraft, a de-navalized F2A-2, fitted with the Wright R-1820-G-105 engine approved for export use.

The G-105 engine had a power output of 1.000 hp (745.7 kW) on takeoff, some 200 hp (149 kW) less than the engine fitted to the U.S. Navy F2A-2, and the type was internally known as B-339B. The arrestor hook and life-raft container were removed, and the aircraft was modified with a slightly longer tail.

The aircraft intended for Belgium reached France by the time Germany launched its Blitzkrieg in the West on 10 May 1940. One Buffalo was captured intact by the Germans, while 32 other aircraft could be ferried over to North Africa (Morocco) and were integrated into the Free French Air Force (Forces Aériennes Françaises Libres, FAFL). One Buffalo was lost during this transfer, though, and six more Belgian Brewsters were offloaded at the French Caribbean island of Martinique and languished on a coastal hillside, never to be flown.

1:72 Brewster B-339B 'Buffalo', aircraft '9' of Groupe de Combat Mixte 1, Free French Air Force (Forces Aériennes Françaises Libres, FAFL); Morocco, 1941 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Brewster B-339B 'Buffalo', aircraft '9' of Groupe de Combat Mixte 1, Free French Air Force (Forces Aériennes Françaises Libres, FAFL); Morocco, 1941 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

One of its first jobs of the FAFL was to try to persuade the governors-general of colonies in French West Africa not to submit to the orders of the Vichy government, and instead join the Free French in their continuing fight against the Axis Powers of Germany and Italy.

"Operation Menace" was the Allied plan to make Dakar join the Allied cause, or capture it by force. Among the units taking part was the newly formed FAFL Groupe de Combat Mixte (GMC) 1, code-named "Jam", consisted of four squadrons, composed of Bristol Blenheim bombers, the ex-Belgian Brewster Buffalos and Westland Lysander liaison/observation aircraft. The resulting Battle of Dakar was a failure. The port remained in Vichy control, FAFL envoys were arrested and imprisoned at Dakar by the Vichy authorities.

1:72 Brewster B-339B 'Buffalo', aircraft '9' of Groupe de Combat Mixte 1, Free French Air Force (Forces Aériennes Françaises Libres, FAFL); Morocco, 1941 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Brewster B-339B 'Buffalo', aircraft '9' of Groupe de Combat Mixte 1, Free French Air Force (Forces Aériennes Françaises Libres, FAFL); Morocco, 1941 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Brewster B-339B 'Buffalo', aircraft '9' of Groupe de Combat Mixte 1, Free French Air Force (Forces Aériennes Françaises Libres, FAFL); Morocco, 1941 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

However, French forces in Cameroon and Chad, in French Equatorial Africa, rallied to the Gaullist cause. There were three detachments of French air force units — based at Fort-Lamy (now N'Djamena) (Chad), Douala (Cameroon) and Pointe-Noire (Congo) – operating a mixed bag of Potez and Bloch aircraft, and they thus became part of the FAFL, too.

The first combats between Vichy and the FAFL took place on 6 November 1940, when two Vichy air force aircraft took on two FAFL Lysanders near Libreville. Both aircraft sustained damage but made it back to base. Two days later, the first FAFL airmen were shot down and taken prisoner. Two days after that, Libreville was taken by Free French army troops, resulting in the FAFL aircraft now operating from the air base that had been used by their opponents of a few days before.

1:72 Brewster B-339B 'Buffalo', aircraft '9' of Groupe de Combat Mixte 1, Free French Air Force (Forces Aériennes Françaises Libres, FAFL); Morocco, 1941 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Brewster B-339B 'Buffalo', aircraft '9' of Groupe de Combat Mixte 1, Free French Air Force (Forces Aériennes Françaises Libres, FAFL); Morocco, 1941 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

The French attitude towards the fighting was that of a "civil war" that was being won for Free France, since now Libreville had joined the Gaullist cause. As it happened, this would be the only time when opposing factions within FEA territory would fight each other openly.

The Free French Buffaloes soldiered on with limited success until the Anglo-American landing in North Africa in November 1942, which marked the rebirth of the French Air Force, thanks to the commitment by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Until then, only about a dozen French Buffalos had been kept airworthy, and they had primarily been used against ground targets since they could not keep up with modern German fighters like the Bf 109, which was superior in any respect. In fact, no Free French Buffalo pilot was able to claim an air victory.

1:72 Brewster B-339B 'Buffalo', aircraft '9' of Groupe de Combat Mixte 1, Free French Air Force (Forces Aériennes Françaises Libres, FAFL); Morocco, 1941 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

With the delivery of roundabout 1.000 new, U.S.-built aircraft, the French began to replenish its squadrons. In early 1943, all remaining B-339Bs had been replaced by P-40 Tomahawk fighters, which then fought alongside American units in clearing North Africa of Axis forces in 1943.

General characteristics
Crew: one
Length: 26 ft 4 in (8.03 m)
Wingspan: 35 ft 0 in (10.67 m)
Height: 12 ft 0 in (3.66 m)
Wing area: 209 sq ft (19.4 m2)
Empty weight: 4,732 lb (2,146 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 7,159 lb (3,247 kg)

Powerplant:
1× Wright R-1820-G105 Cyclone 9 9-cyl air-cooled radial piston engine, rated at 1.000 hp (745.7 kW)

Performance:
Maximum speed: 321 mph (517 km/h; 279 kn)
Cruise speed: 161 mph (140 kn; 259 km/h)
Range: 965 mi (839 nmi; 1,553 km)
Service ceiling: 33,200 ft (10,119 m)
Rate of climb: 2,440 ft/min (12.4 m/s) [N 9]

Armament
4× 0.50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns, one pair nose-mounted above the engine, one in each wing
Provisions for two 50kg (110 lb) bombs under the wings

The kit and its assembly:
This quick project was inspired by Heller's SBC Helldiver kit in 1:72 – one of the OOB decal options is actually a whif, a French Navy aircraft or better how it would have looked like if the type had escaped the Blitzkrieg.

That story could easily be expanded to other types, I thought, and since I had planned to test the relatively new Hobby Boss Brewster Buffalo (which is a USN version, though), I decided to build the kit in a simple markings alternative, almost OOB with just minor mods.

These changes include a spinner-less propeller, an opened canopy and a dashboard plus some stuff behind the seat as the Hobby Boss kit is absolutely bleak there. In order to modify the USN's F2A into an export version I implanted an extended tail cone and wheel from a Pavla conversion set which is intended for the Hasegawa F2A. Actually, the parts don't fit together well, so I could have scratched the tail from putty, but it was an attempt... The pilot figure was just temporary addition for the pics.

1:72 Brewster B-339B 'Buffalo', aircraft '9' of Groupe de Combat Mixte 1, Free French Air Force (Forces Aériennes Françaises Libres, FAFL); Morocco, 1941 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit conversion) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Brewster B-339B 'Buffalo', aircraft '9' of Groupe de Combat Mixte 1, Free French Air Force (Forces Aériennes Françaises Libres, FAFL); Morocco, 1941 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit conversion) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Painting and markings:
Well, even though the aircraft would probably have been delivered to Belgium in a Dark Green/Dark Earth/Sky livery and then transferred to north Africa, I decided to use a typical French livery in Khaki/Dark Brown/Blue Gray – inspired by the Heller SBC and for the odd look of the resulting aircraft.

The latter would be enhanced through FAFL markings from a Colorado Decals sheet – they actually belong to a Curtiss Hawk 75, based in Syria 1941.

One very inspiring fact about the French tricolor-paint scheme is that actually no aircraft looked like the other – except for a few types, every aircraft had an individual scheme with more or less complexity or even artistic approach. Even the colors were only vaguely unified: Field mixes were common, as well as mods with other colors that were mixed into the basic three tones!

1:72 Brewster B-339B 'Buffalo', aircraft '9' of Groupe de Combat Mixte 1, Free French Air Force (Forces Aériennes Françaises Libres, FAFL); Morocco, 1941 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit conversion) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Brewster B-339B 'Buffalo', aircraft '9' of Groupe de Combat Mixte 1, Free French Air Force (Forces Aériennes Françaises Libres, FAFL); Morocco, 1941 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit conversion) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

I settled for a scheme I found on a FAFL MS.406, with strongly feathered edges between the paint fields and a rather cloudy paint application. That, coupled with some serious aluminum shining through, creates a very interesting (if not somewhat shabby?) look. The decals come from a Print Scale sheet with various FAFL aircraft.

1:72 Brewster B-339B 'Buffalo', aircraft '9' of Groupe de Combat Mixte 1, Free French Air Force (Forces Aériennes Françaises Libres, FAFL); Morocco, 1941 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Brewster B-339B 'Buffalo', aircraft '9' of Groupe de Combat Mixte 1, Free French Air Force (Forces Aériennes Françaises Libres, FAFL); Morocco, 1941 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Interior surfaces were painted in Cockpit Green (Humbrol 78) while the landing gear well parts of the wings were painted in the same light blue gray as the aircraft's underside and the struts in Aluminum.

The aircraft was weathered well with a black ink wash and some dry-painting, simulating dust and sun bleaching on the upper surfaces.

As a last step, everything was sealed under a coat of matt acrylic varnish.

1:72 Brewster B-339B 'Buffalo', aircraft '9' of Groupe de Combat Mixte 1, Free French Air Force (Forces Aériennes Françaises Libres, FAFL); Morocco, 1941 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Brewster B-339B 'Buffalo', aircraft '9' of Groupe de Combat Mixte 1, Free French Air Force (Forces Aériennes Françaises Libres, FAFL); Morocco, 1941 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

I must admit that this is a simple whif, but it's good just to do a "color variant" instead of always taking out the saw or using tons of putty... ^^

The Rat · November 30, 2014, 07:35:04 AM

Lovin' it!

PR19_Kit · November 30, 2014, 09:21:49 AM

TWO DAYS???

Don't you sleep, eat or work Thomas?

That looks terrific and SO plausible too.

Dizzyfugu · November 30, 2014, 09:42:27 AM

Thank you... I must admit that I have been bound at home due to a flue - so what to do with the time? Anyway, progress was quicker than expected, even though I had all ingredients at hand. But I guess that's a new "personal record".

And "La Buffalo" looks even pretty!

JayBee · November 30, 2014, 09:57:34 AM

Superb, and so plausible too.
My only comment is that, in comparison, my speed of building has been reduced from "the speed of a striking snail" to ""sub-glacial". Sigh!

Jim

NARSES2 · December 01, 2014, 07:22:37 AM

Well it's certainly plausible that's for sure. Combine that with that fantastic French 3 colour top camo and it's a superb model

As for 2 days ? As I keep having to remind people Thomas lives in a different space/time continuum to the rest of us mortals

Captain Canada · December 01, 2014, 08:58:19 AM

That's a little beauty right there ! Nice job. Looks like the pilot needs a taller cushion tho

Dizzyfugu · December 01, 2014, 10:14:30 AM

Quote from: Captain Canada on December 01, 2014, 08:58:19 AM
Looks like the pilot needs a taller cushion tho

Thank you - and, yes, one of the few kits that have space GALORE in the cockpit! The figure is juts placed loosely inside, but it would have needed 2-3mm of "cushion support", despite the huge seat! Somehow the work beyond space and time took their toll...