The Wooksta: Not a Spitfire Blog

[The Wooksta!]

Oh, brilliant! Neil, you're joining the police.

Way back in post #332, I mentioned an Academy D-9 with a Ta 152 tail and a plain top cowl.  I had thought of a post war RAF scheme, and there is a second to play with, but whilst I wrote the back story I never did anything with it.  Fast forward to now and it gets a camera fairing as an FR one.
I consider it as the upper component for the Fuhrungsmaschine instead of a Ta 152, but I have moulds for the relative parts so can do it again.  There is another Ta 152 tailed D-9 to play with elsewhere.  A Ju 88G-10 as the lower component of a Mistel S3C is possible.  I did cast the fuselage a few days back.


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[The Wooksta!]

I think he'll get a shock when he feels this. We've run out of nails, so we'll have to start using the cutlery.

Having looked again a bit more closely at the Kora Ta 152 C wing*, I've decided that any Ta 152 A is best done with a combination of the two Dragon kits and some surgery and add ons from a Revell 190.  I have the bits to do it, although using the Dragon C wing ** with an Art Model H fuselage is easier and I don't have to fit an ill fitting engine to an equally ill fitting fuselage, before having to use the drill, the hedge trimmers and bleach to fit the ill fitting wing.  By Christ, that Dragon C wing is a poor fit but the H is even worse.

So, my plan to do a Ta 152A from a Kora E kit and some extras has come to naught, although using the R4M racks from the IBG D-11 did cross my mind.
I did take the spare wing from the D-11 and test fitted it on the D-14.5 and it fits quite well. I will be replacing the tail at some point.

And then for some reason I moved sideways to do some work on getting a Revell 190A/F together. I'd modified the tail years back to a Ta 152 profile, so it's an F-10.  Just need a big fan an prop for it now. Added the kit wing racks for the SC50s and I'm thinking of a dark scheme, with the two late greens all the way down and black undersurface.

Having second thoughts over that Tamiya 190A-3 I got before Xmas. It was going to go Spanish but increasingly I'm thinking I'd much rather do it as an FR type captured in Tunisia. Scheme?  Thinking about that nice scheme found on the Luftwaffe's 109Es.

I did find that Hungarian Ta 152 in the loft.  The undercarriage main gears have survived too and I found the cowling, but the prop and canopy have long vanished.  Hopefully I can get the decals off, give it a wash and a quick respray as a post war Czech one.

Finally, whilst I still have a hankering for some Ju 88 related stuff, I am managing to resist.  It's an even deeper rabbithole than the Fw 190/Ta 152

* Nope.  Not getting used to it.
** See above

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[The Wooksta!]

Why aren't you dead?

Having repeatedly tried and failed to get a complete big 801 fan from the current mould, I went digging to see if I can find my old mould. That had been one of my very early ones, made with some really horrible melt in the pan rubber. It stank, you could only use resin or white metal masters, and I almost set the kitchen ahad.  I think I still have done of the early castings, made with horrible Halfords glass fibre resin. Cheap and very nasty, it does work.

Anyway, I couldn't find it, or indeed any of the others and I think they all got chucked a few years back. I did find the moulds for a Bv P.197 and then one I didn't know I'd done in a decent rubber, the MK 103 cannon pod for Fw 190s.  This is fantastic news, as I wanted at least one set for the Ta 152B.  Well, it would be if the mould was for a pair, but I only get one per casting session.  I did find the master, so another mould is on the cards.

Having also sorted out some conversion bits for two seat 190s and Ta 152, I need to work out a plan. Firstly, a late S, with the late 801 engine, big prop and fan, and Ta 152 fin and wheels.  A straight D-9 basis and also a D with the D-11 top cowl and Ta 152 fin. I may use an IBG D-11 as a basis, as it would fix some of the issues.

Having had my request for a spare Eduard Fw 190 fuselage answered, thoughts turn to the chopped one I received.  I have the DB 603 from the Esoteric body job, recast in a vastly different superior resin, and I'm curious to see how it will fit the Eduard. Plus I need to know how well it will take a Ta 152 fin, so this is s step into the dark, albeit with something surplus to requirements.

One last Ta 152 thought. The H was intended to get and designed for cowl guns from the get go, but worries over weight saw them deleted. Perhaps one could get them?  Another of my very subtle whiffs?


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[The Wooksta!]

It's a fish, Mike.

The current merry-go-round with the legacy Fw 190s continues apace.  Quite a few are getting close to primer and hopefully the weather will be dry enough for half an hour to do so.

The bundle of Focke Wulf kits is proving interesting. I did put a shout out for a replacement fuselage (ta, Chris!), but upon looking further the seller had also modded the wing for the open engine.  So some extra surgery wouldn't be amiss, and with the wing and fuselage taped up, it takes the DB 603 cowling reasonably well and looks good.  Admittedly, the wing is a four cannon one, with the MG151/20 rather than the MG FF wing that the Fw 190Bs had, but this could be a late one. A B-6 maybe?  Anyway, I can probably cobble together the rest from the spares box and some plastic card.
The Ta 152 H-0 is going straight into the stash, but the C...  The seller had done a good job of getting it together, just a few sherbet dib-dabs of filler here and there. The cowling was partially assembled and that has been given a resin replacement front end, as well as a set of new resin wheels. Not sure yet how it will be finished, but some extra lethality under the wings is likely. R4M racks or X-4 pylons. 
The other alternative is a torpedo fighter, using the rack from the Kora mishmash and the underwing drop tanks from the IBG Fw 190D-14.5.

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[The Wooksta!]

What fish?!!!

Jumo 222 engined Ta 152s.  I took a brave pill and chopped the front end off the last Revell Ta 152 I had - I'd already cut down and reprofiled the wing around 1997 - so the resulting model is likely to be a C-9.  The Aoshima with get the long span wing to do the Jumo 222 H.  Both look a lot more brutish than their counterparts. 

Thinking Wilde Sau schemes for both due to the baked in flame dampers.

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[The Wooksta!]

Six? Only if you'd killed him, Mike. Let's call it a Two.

Rain stopped play.  Did some tinkering by adding blisters to various wings, painted several cockpits, closed three fuselages and got the wings on two. These being a pair of late Fs, an F-8 Torpedojager and an F-10 night bomber. The glare shields will go on once the sanding at the wing root is done.

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[The Wooksta!]

Very probably, Michael. But we've got to keep the bogeys off the wall.

Another day of tinkering but a good number got an early coat of primer.  I have a lot of Fw 190Ds and I need to come up with some sort of...Plan as to what to do with them.

I was happy enough with the Ta 152C to attach the engine.  I say attach, it fits where it touches. The Dragon kits really are horrible.  I'm curious to see if there's another way to assemble the fuselage.  The wings can be done with care and strategic use of tape.  Again, I need a proper plan drawn up.

The former Hungarian Ta 152 has had the markings removed, albeit by scraping and sanding.  They seemed to have been superglued in place.  It just needs a good clean and then I can think about paint.  A Swedish H-11 with the oblique camera pack could be interesting.  Which gives me an idea for at least one of the Ds kicking about, or possibly one of the As. I did consider a Lebanese one a few months back, having been supplied from a batch of 190As produced by the French post war.

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[The Wooksta!]

Mike, I've struck oil! We're going to be rich! I found oil in the cellar!

Having done some more searching in the loft, I've turned up an assembled Hasegawa 190A that with a quick respray is likely to be Lebanese.
Having quickly done some research online, it would appear that the Lebanese decided against getting fighters in immediate post war years, and given that the Israelis only had the S-199, it wasn't a bad decision.
Well, not until the Israelis got Mustangs anyway.  The first fighters they got were Vampires.
So, French supplied iffy 190s, gifted, could do the trick.  When they go unserviceable, they get Spitfires.  I got distracted by the prospect of a shiny aluminium F22 with Lebanese markings. 

Or have I already done one in a desert scheme and Lebanese markings? I know I did a 22 in a desert scheme with a Middle Eastern user, I don't recall which one.

Also uncovered was a D-9 that was intended to be ANR.  It never got finished, so again, a quick repaint over the markings and another one captured in Italy.  I did notice that I'd added cannons in the outer positions.

Just got to add the Air Min numbers to a few things and I can get some varnish on.

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[The Wooksta!]

Think I'll play Murder in the Dark

Having checked, the desert scheme Spitfire F22 is Jordanian, the Lebanese one was a LFIXe lowback, so a nice shiny F22 in Lebanese markings is quite likely. I just need to find the relevant Zotz decal sheet, I know there are two in the stash somewhere for Middle Eastern air forces.

The special escort Ta 152C is now resplendent in it's first coat of 76.  The second one is slowly coming along and that's getting one of the Rusatze conversions to carry 20mm cannons in the outer position.  81/82 over 76 with a JG 301 tail band.  They allegedly received a few of the Cs but there's no photographic evidence to prove it.

On reflection, having reread the relevant section of the Hitchcock Ta 152 book, there's no mention of any C variant with outer guns. X4s, R4Ms or the stupid stovepipe rocket mortars, yes. No cannons, not even the BFO 30mm gondola ones, but they were slated for the A and B variants.  Hmm, may just go with R4M racks instead, and I've settled on 82/83 over 76 for the colours in the official scheme.

Also getting some paint was a 190A-8 with the light wing, which has gone overall 82 as a Czech one, and an A-8 with a Ta 152 fin and Doppelreieter overwing tanks.  IIRC it was going to be a torpedo attack aircraft and has the glare shields.  I never did fit the rack, so I'm going top down with the paintwork. 75 Grauviolett with Dunkelgrun over 76.  Interesting masking for this one.

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[The Wooksta!]

I'm completely bloody sick of this!

After some issues with paint coverage - odd bubbling, paint not adhering properly, eventually fixed by hand painting several thin coats then sanding back and respraying - the 'special escort' Ta 152 is ready for decalling.

I finally managed to get the Air Min numbers on the few I'd decalled a few weeks back and I can try and get some varnish on.  Of the four, the two I want finished are the two Ta 152s, especially the Dragon one.  30 years since I started it, so finally finishing it will be a relief. I need to start clean up the replacement resin wheels.

The new approach to assembling the Dragon Ta 152 fuselages looks like it could work, although way too late as there's only one fuselage in two halves, all the others being glued together around 1998. Still, I'll give it a go in case I acquire a few more.

Flicking through a Ta 152 reference book (Japanese and it cost 20 notes in 1996, a relative small fortune then), I found a photo of the Fw 190 V20.  This had a DB603 and the tail of D-9.  At a quick glance, the IBG D-15 looks to be a slam dunk for it.

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[The Wooksta!]

Eh...Sausages. It was a Tuesday.

I've been tinkering with several Ta 152s, with several cleared for a primer coat tomorrow, including two of the Es.  The C wing* one I think will get a proper C series scheme (75/83 over 76), the H wing probably overall 76.

Several cockpit tubs have been painted and should be ready to go in. There's another Dragon C on the go, but the other one may well end up being another DB603 engined H, specifically the H-8 which according to Hitchcock was another reconnaissance type. 
I don't like the Dragon H at all, but having stripped out the Art Model H of it's fuselage to fit it to a Dragon C wing to give me the basis of an A or B, I'm left with  a DB603 fuselage and a marginally less bad H wing.  Doing the recce version seems an economical way out.

Somehow I discovered another part modded Frog/Revell fuselage, so I can do both short and long span Jumo 222 versions but the drawings in the Hitchcock book are not consistent with the exhaust positioning. One set shows them too far back, almost next to the firewall.  Given that nothing reached hardware stage, I'm going to just muggle something up.  I know I need to something about the Toad engine front.

The B is simply an Aoshima fuselage, with a modified resin top cowl and a Kora C wing. I'm not sure what lethality is going in the outer wing station, but the BFO cannon pods are very tempting...

* I am never going to get used to saying C wing in a non Spitfire context.

I doubt it's worth it, given the lack of replies and all that, but comments for those still remotely and vaguely interested, and who can actually be arsed to reply, go here:
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For more information, please reread.

[The Wooksta!]

It's funny, but being ill makes me lose my usual tolerant and easy-going approach to communal living.

I have a cold, so everything is being slowed down.

I did get a couple of Ta 152s closed up after finalising the cockpits, these being an A-2, using an Art Model H fuselage married to a Dragon C-0 wing, and a B, using an Aoshima fuselage and a Kora C-1 wing.  The only difference in the wings is the C-0 wing has a larger access panel underneath at about half span, similar to the Fw 190, where all sorts of lethality can be hung.
The former is likely to go JG 301 (they did get two Cs) but possibly JG 11. The latter will get a pair of BFO MK103s under the wings.

The cockpits went in a pair of Dragon Cs, but I've yet to assemble the wings as they are tricky and fiddly buggers to play with at the best of times.  Strategic use of tape is required too.

Possible schemes for various 190s and 152s...  I went looking for the distructions for the Ventura sheet that had the Bf 109G-10 special escort schemes, largely as I wanted to know what the underside crosses were.  I mean, does it matter if they're only getting a roundel over the top anyway?  Well, yes, I'd rather have something more correct underneath than make it all up, but that's The Wooksta Factor and you'll just have to deal with it.
Anyhow, I didn't find what I wanted, but did find something more interesting, attached below.  It gave me the info I needed and several ideas into the bargain.  I have a 190D which may well be first in line.
I did have some other thoughts on camo for Luftwaffe recce types, using a darker colour underneath (say 75?) and a lighter one on top (say 76?). Could it work?  Possibly, I'll try it on a mule to try it first.  Any number of wrecks are available.


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[The Wooksta!]

"Even SPG is covered in snot!"

This cold is not doing my modelling good, although I have got some spraying done. This is mainly the Ta 152 tail Fw 190Ds which are now special escort types, plus one that got the micey oblique camera in a similar scheme but with more RLM 84 on the fuselage.  It's masked so I can do the upper two colours.  I'm rather taken with it, so some of the other Ta 152s may well be finished in similar schemes.

Also did some bread and butter filling and sanding, which I find rather therapeutic but lost focus after tidying up the tails of four radial 190s.  I should get some primer on tomorrow if the weather is reasonable.

I did have some thoughts on a radar equipped Fw 190D, perhaps a night fighter.  Sounds rather usual, but I was thinking more along the lines of Fireflies equipped with an ASH radar pod. Not sure which D I'd use as a base (and I have an abundance to choose from), but I want Doppelrieter tanks and a Ta 152 tail, possibly some flame dampers.  Doppelrieters rule out the outer wing cannons, so I can't use a D-11/12/13. Flame dampers mean exhausts as separate bits, which rules out several D-9 kits, apart from the Tamiya.  I did consider a two seater but I don't have enough 190S kits, although a Ta 152S with the short wing is possible.

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[The Wooksta!]

Look. Nobody's fed Special Patrol Group, have they?

More spraying done and there are several 190s ready to decal. One is a recce 190D and whilst it's okay, it hasn't come out quite the way I wanted.  Still, it'll do.  One of the grey ones has had some remedial spraying and it looks rather good.

Little bit of work on several Ta 152s and I can start with getting some paint on them.  I just need to sort out the schemes, in my head if nothing else.


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[The Wooksta!]

I'm completely bloody sick of this!

The Ta 152s are subject to interminable delays due to spotting things that need fixing and filled.  The A and B variants are looking good, but I'm not sure if the A is getting either the BFO cannon pods or the more standard blister fairings.  The Artmodel one really is a horrible build, though marginally easier than the Dragon one it's pirated from.

Went into the loft to check though the 2 boxes of part started Me P.1101s, only to find I have far too many. I mean, I can come up with ideas for three, but not the rest. 
I also did the same with the Ar 234Cs up there. Turns out there was just the 3, one sans engines.  Which is cool, I need it as a donor for the Toad crescent wing one, which comes with rocket boosted engines.  The Dragon Ar 234s are a mixed bag. The Bs are nice enough, but the C has a horrible fit. I gave up on the first, and gave a second to Willie a few years back.

I did find a final 190 in the loft, which I'd grafted on a BMW 801 TJ cowling.  No tail, but I can add a Ta 152 one.  May be a bit unbalanced, but it does look different.

I doubt it's worth it, given the lack of replies and all that, but comments for those still remotely and vaguely interested, and who can actually be arsed to reply, go here:
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For more information, please reread.