The SAAF Forum

I think the last Tiger Moth was retired from the SAAF in 1946.

That's too bad. I saw a Tiger Moth decal sheet from MAV Decals with Springbok Roundels and thought that the SAAF had Tiger Moths in the 50's...

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http://www.aviationlink.co.za/
http://saafinscale.blogspot.com/

I also have info where it states that the Tiger Moth had Springbok roundels. This info comes from the SAAF decal sheet no.2 in 1/72. I don't know who the publisher is, but it isn't MAV.

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There are only two types of aircraft — fighters and targets.

Work on my Shack is slow - work / kids / social excuses!

Really need a day or weekend free of distractions to make some progress - last night fitted the engine cowlings which are a really poor fit - just what I didn't need to get me motivated! Sanding & filling on the cards now

The wheel & bomb bays are sorted Now so hoping to put some primer & couple coats of white in these areas over the weekend & with a bit of luck the first coat of PRU blue on the rest of the job

Having said that I forgot Sunday is out - a rare event here in Perth on Sunday - RAAF base is having open day - F18's will be the highlight also some historic USAAF craft, B 52 & Catalina also heavy transporters C17, C130 & Orion recon

It's been a long time so looking forward to this ....

After kids sports birthday parties braai tonight there goes the weekend so I suppose it was wishful thinking

Wow B-52! Don't forget to take photos!!!!

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http://www.aviationlink.co.za/
http://saafinscale.blogspot.com/

see pics from RAAF Show yesterday - posted some to general forum - you can also access my photobucket album to see a few more - took over 700 pics

the F18 superhornet was awesome,



as was the C17A Globemaster



& the finale was the B-52 which flew in from Guam 8 hours away & returned without stopping over



Unfortunately light was against me most of the afternoon so was difficult to get clear shots in the air

Quite impressed with Aussie resources!

The Catalina I was expecting to see was in fact a Grunman Hu-16

I did say I would have to step up my game to do this kit?

The engines, wheel bays & fuselage generally had gaps & warps all over the place - so lots of sanding & filling, little bits at a time, not quite perefect but had enough now - at one point thought I might want to sand off all the rivets & rescribe but on a kit this size thought btter of that idea - also a deadline to meet here!

So she was ready & primed for first coat of paint yesterday - here are some pics. Am planning on do the later version, with white top, but ordered the roundels (early version) by mistake instead of the castles - so thats another decision to be made (Dean how soon can you get new decals to me?)









Planning on doing a weathered paint version - so 2 to 3 coats x 3 colours with a day in between each - should be finished by month end deadline?

My next build I want to do a modern Tamiya/Hasegawa perfect fit kit!!!!!

Okay this week have managed to get two PRU coats on, one grey coat on upper wing surfaces & have primed the roof, wheel & bomb bays for a white coat this weekend

Can someone advise me?

1. See pic below, the exterior of the wheel bays under the wings have a different colour to the PRU blue, looks black/metallic/grey -what is this colour?

2. What colour schemes were used with the springbok roundels? Was the Grey/PRU blue/White only used with castle insignia's or were the roundels also used with this colour scheme?

Painting done, not without its problms though, had to pay the price of not sanding off the raised rivet lines - the white roof paint bleeding into th PRU blue, and lifting when removing the mask ..., final PRU coat reslved this


Final results now ready for gloss coat & decals, I've added quite a bit of white to recommended colours to get the weathered appearance. Also got to add all the fiddly bits - anyone got some pics of whats required in the way of antenae etc on roof & under wings & fuselage?





This old kit is far from perfect, any suggestions how to resolve this one - the cockpit canopy has warped - i tried shapping after dipping in boiling water, didnt help?

I really like this Shackleton! Inspiration for me to one day do mine! Very nice, looks the nuts.

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EX ALTO VINCIMUS

Read somewhere back in this thread an Albat was being built - don't have any pics of the inside but these may help get the colour scheme right

For the sake of this GB Shackleton now finished, here are some pics.

I'm not an experienced builder so I have taken my time with this one to try and give a decent presentation to your forum (if I could improve my photography & photoshop skills that would be easy)

Its a 1/72 from Chematic, suprisingly accurate but its from a very poor quality mould - lots of surface blemishes which you dont see in the photos.The fuselage, engines and clear parts dont fit well so lots of imagination, sanding , filling & patience

There are still some finishing touches required - the most obvious being the two front glass canopies which arent seating properly, they havent been glued in yet. Also the front guns need to be installed & gun ports painted. Propellor tips need red flashes. i would also like to put a little glass dome on the roof if I can source or make one. Still have some decals available but dont know where they belong?

Its tail heavy & no amount of weight in the nose or bomb bay is going to make it stand on its wheels - so its just going to stay on a stand

It has been a challenge but a lot of satisfaction has been gained from this build. The build was based on #1721 at Zwartkop Museum - I was fortunate to be there in 2008 and took some pics of my own - not sure what the state of the restoration was in 2008 so this source of reference I suspect is inadequate. Otherwise have just sought reference from pics on the internet and help from yourselves. From the internet pics I have seen it looks like each Shack has its personality and characteristics with no two being identical in appearance (maybe when they were new?). Applying the decals & fiddly bits was an interesting challenge having no personal knowledge of this aircraft - the decal instructions were a not very clear so to a certain degree I have used my imagination.

With regards the fiddly bits on the roof I have scratch built most as they werent supplied. To attach the rigging I drilled pins into the fuselage which provided a secure foothold & look the part - I used a light weight fishing line. Likewise the gun ports were cut out of the nose and filled in with white glue (will paint these black after inserting the guns I have sourced from left over kits)

Hope you guys can appreciate this one & look forward to your feedback

Well done ! It looks "the part"
I didn't know the wings were a different shade of grey to the fuselarge, interesting!
The subtle weathering look just about right I would say

T
ps. you should post on FSM too

Thanks Theuns

That's the thing with being such a large aircraft you don't often get to see the upper surfaces & likewise with most pics unless taken from another aircraft whilst flying

It's definitely grey upper on the wing surfaces as opposed to the pru blue fuselage

Once all the touch ups & finishing done will photograph under better lighting & surrounds & if results are satisfactory will consider submitting to FSM

What next - I 'm actually spoilt for choice now with a good selection of nice kits, problem is I start something then move on with out finishing ...

I've got a c-130 1/72 crying out for paint, two 1/48 Hasa F-22's and Tamiya Bismarck 1/350 - all WIP being neglected - then I've started a Star Wars "thing" that needs a couple of finishing coats , then there's a tank, armoured car, Bakker with gun, ... - I think I've also committed to your Fast Movers GB , then there's the three FSM GB's. ....... Sound familiar?

think I'll finish WIP aircraft here then will move on to a new challenge ie my Scaleworx conversion kits for Cheetah & F1 - no experience in this area - so will need to tackle this with clear mind

Take a look at Vlamgat16's photos of the P166 Albatross further up this page - the same two colours on the wings.