Day 256 Monday November 7, 2022 I am moving along with relative ease with this build. Well almost. I had forgotten that Tamiya extra thin cement was to be used cautiously because it’s very fluid. I used fine grit sanding sticks to solve that sticky problem. The fit is so good with this step that […]
Welcome back… Tamiya’s P-38F/G – T minus 48 — My Forgotten Hobby VI
You can smell the rubber…
Photographs taken at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force (NMUSAF) at Dayton, Ohio.
Boeing WB-50 Superfortress Walk Around Part I
Day 249
Monday October 31, 2022
I have learned a lot about naval aviators who went missing in action in the Battle of Midway. A few years ago I met virtually Gerry Lawton who had composed over 400 biographies remembering the Fallen.
With his permission I thought it was important to share his research on a blog.
To learn more about Gerry Lawton and my interest in the Brewster Buffalo…
Learning about the courage of these aviators was the main reason I was looking desperately to find Tamiya’s Brewster Buffalo. It was always listed as out of stock on several online hobby shops except on Plaza Japan.
Finding it on Sunward Hobbies was like finding the Holy Grail.
Day 247
Saturday October 29, 2022
Tamiya’s Brewster Buffalo has been around for quite a long time. My interest was piqued when I read about the Buffalo in the late 60s when my brother and I were playing Midway which was a simulation game from Avalon Hill.
If I remember correctly I always played the American side and won everytime. My brother could correct me on this.
I ran across the Buffalo several times after, but my curiosity was piqued again by this painting.
The story is down here if I have piqued your curiosity…
Fast forward to Wednesday October 25, 2022.
What? Thank you for your order!
After I had placed my order on Wednesday, the website posted Out of stock!
You don’t make that up!
Description
Following the release of a U.S. Navy version of the Brewster Buffalo in 1993, Tamiya now releases the B-339 export version of the Buffalo used by the Royal Air Force and Netherlands East Indies Army Air Corps during WWII. Kit comes with new parts such as canopy, propeller, seat and decals to accurately reproduce the Buffalo used throughout South East Asia. Also includes parts to reproduce the U.S. Navy version featuring gray fuselage.
The Buffalo was first developed in 1935 as a U.S. Navy carrier based fighter. Featuring a modern mid-wing monoplane design with enclosed cockpit and retractable landing gear the first mass produced Buffalo was designated F2A-1, which was shortly followed by the improved F2A-2. Based on the U.S. Navy Buffalo, the B-339 Buffalo was for export only and was fitted with an export approved 1,100hp Wright Cyclone engine and redesigned for land use with navy equipment such as life raft and arrestor hook removed. The Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Netherlands East Indies Army Air Corps (ML-KNIL) used the B-339 to protect colonial outposts in Malaysia, Singapore and Java during WWII.
Highly detailed 1/48 scale assembly kit of the Brewster B-339 Buffalo
Overall length: 163mm, wing span: 223mm
Authentically reproduced large fuselage and unique landing gear.
Kit includes parts to accurately reproduce RAF, ML-KNIL or U.S. Navy aircraft.
New parts such as canopy, rear fuselage and propeller authentically reproduced in high-quality detail.
Includes a full range of accessories including two 100 pound bombs, one pilot figure sitting down and one figure standing, and markings to reproduce a choice of four different aircraft.
Assembly and painting required. Kit does not include model cement glue, paint, and tools. Adult supervision where required.
The price was right as well as the $9.99 shipping rates.
How could I resist the temptation since I had learned a lot about aviators who died while flying Brewster Buffaloes during the Battle of Midway?
We Shall Not Forget, For to Forget is The Greatest Casualty
To be continued, but I don’t know when…
Always learning new things…
Convair Aircraft – Vultee Vanguard, Consoldated LB30 and Convair B-36 Here is the link to this post over at The Little Aviation Museum
The Curator’s Choice 35
« The flash of her close range weapons stabbed at us, as first one and then another along her length opened up… We were in the centre of an incredible mass of crossfire from the cruisers and battleships and shore batteries. » Lt F. Torrens-Spence, 819 Naval Air Squadron at Taranto
Stringbag
I found this article in the Ottawa Journal, dated September 15, 1942. I thought I would find there more information about Flight Sergeant Gerard Pelletier. Collection Flight Sergeant Gerard Pelletier Gerard Pelletier Believed Killed In Air Operations A veteran of many air sweep over Germany and France, and a member of the first class of […]
Flight Sergeant Gerard Pelletier
These pictures are taken from negatives from rolls of film taken with a camera in 1942. 75 years ago. Click on each image for a larger view.
All pictures are courtesy of Chantal […]
Gérard Pelletier’s Collection
I will be offline until Saturday.
I still get visitors on the original My Forgotten Hobby. Some visitors viewed this post last week.
Building Trumpeter 1/72 scale Wellington Mk X a few years ago is explained on that post. However it doesn’t explain why I bought Trumpeter 1/48 scale model kit.
Featured on My Forgotten Hobby III
When I first had the great good fortune to meet Pierre Lagacé, I was starting to film a feature length documentary entitled “Fledglings” on 425 (Alouette) Squadron, Canada’s only French-Canadian bomber squadron during the Second World War. Pierre was an invaluable resource to me in tracking down former members […]
The story behind Trumpeter Vickers Wellington Mk X by James Girling
Written when I started to build the Yorktown.
Original post
I always try to document what I am building.
Click here for a progress report.
This is what I found on a Website…
https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/y/yorktown-iii.html
Naval History and Heritage Command has thousands and thousands of photos.
Description: Two Douglas SBD-3 Dauntless scout bombers of Scouting Squadron Five (VS-5) fly past the ship, during operations in the Coral Sea, circa April 1942. Planes parked on the flight deck, in the foreground, are Grumman F4F-3 Wildcat fighters of Fighting Squadron 42 (VF-42). Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the U.S. National Archives.
Catalog #: 80-G-11664
Description: Douglas SBD-3 Dauntless scout bombers preparing to take off, during operations in the Coral Sea, 18 April 1942. The first plane is from Scouting Squadron Five (VS-5). Note that it has no insignia painted under its starboard wing, and that the insignia below its port wing is much smaller than that on the next SBD. Man standing at left, just beyond the first plane’s wingtip, is Boatswain Chester E. Briggs, Jr. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the U.S. National Archives.
Catalog #: 80-G-10152
Description: USS Yorktown (CV-5) Bombing Squadron Five (VB-5) SBD-3 aircraft spotted forward on the flight deck, during operations in the Coral Sea, April 1942. VB-5 painted individual plane numbers on the engine cowling, as seen here. Scouting Squadron Five (VS-5) planes had the numbers on the wing leading edge. Courtesy of the U.S. Naval Institute, 1984. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph.
Catalog #: NH 95571
The more you look, the more you will find useful information…
Title: Torpedo Squadron Three (VT-3) (In front, seated, left to right): (Second row, seated, left to right): (Third row, standing, left to right):
Caption: Squadron pilots, photographed Naval Air Station, Kaneohe, Hawaii, in late May 1942, just before the Battle of Midway.
Most of these men lost their lives in that action.
Those present include Ensign Carl A. Osberg, USNR; Machinist John R. Baker, USN; Ensign Oswald A. Powers, USNR; Ensign David J. Roche, USNR; Ensign Donald E. Weissenborn, USNR; Radio Electrician Werner I. Weis, USN; Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Richard W. Suesens, USNR; Lieutenant Patrick H. Hart, USN, Executive Officer; Lieutenant Commander Lance E. Massey, USN, Commanding Officer; Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Curtis W. Howard, USN; Lieutenant (Junior Grade) John N. Myers, USN; Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Fred C. Herriman, USNR. Machinist Harry L. Corl, USN; Ensign Wesley F. Osmus, USNR; Ensign Otho W. Schneider, USNR; Ensign John M. Armitage, USNR; Ensign Gerald R. Stablein, USNR; Ensign Leonard L. Smith, USNR; Chief Machinist’s Mate John W. Haas, USN; Chief Aviation Pilot Wilhelm G. Esders, USN. Courtesy of Captain John W. Myers, USN(Retired), 1985. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command
Catalog #: NH 95554
And then you remember some of the names…
My Forgotten Hobby V 