Curtis Tomahawk IIB

To prevent me racing on in my normal uncontrolled way and to let the glue harden on an Me410 commission I've just kicked off, I thought I’d make a start on a small Airfix Starter Kit, the Curtis Tomahawk, which was picked up a few weeks back by a friend in a Bristol charity shop. I’ve built a few of these and they are great fun. 

Flying Officer Neville Duke of 112 Sqn RAF in November 1941

North African RAF camouflage applied and decals added. 

Don’t know why, but although not an old kit, these decals broke up into so many pieces that I’m going to use this kit for some serious and experimental weathering! 

I said having had a bad crop of decals with this Airfix Curtis Tomahawk IIB Starter Kit that I would have to try out some serious weathering! 

This is AK402 GA-F Tomahawk IIB (P-40C) flown by Flying Officer Neville Duke of 112 Sqn RAF in November 1941. While flying this aircraft, Duke was credited with three kills in nine days (a CR.42, a Me 109F, and a G.50) and became the Allies' highest scoring ace in the Mediterranean theatre.

On 30 November, the aircraft was lost when Duke was shot down by Luftwaffe ace, Otto Schultz of JG27 flying a Messerschmitt Bf 109. Duke belly landed and survived the crash, it was however, the last flight of the aircraft AK402. 

Messerschmitt Bf109E-7

I can resist no longer … back to the Seaton Scale Modellers’ Group Build and Part 2 of my Airfix 1:48 scale Dogfight Doubles, the Messerschmitt Bf109E-7. It’s so refreshing, after wading through that awful MiniArt Staff Car build, to be back working on such a nicely designed kit. 

Here you’ll see me applying my proven technique of spraying yellow over layers of black, silver and white.

It’s times like these that I wish I’d bought canopy masks! Masked and primed the Airfix Messerschmitt Bf109 ready for further masking and the camouflage layer. 

Airfix provides decals and painting instructions for the aircraft flown by fighter ace, Oberleutnant Joachim Müncheberg. 7./JG26 "Schlageter", when in Gela, Sicily, during Spring 1941,

As Müncheberg would have just received delivery of his factory new Bf 109 E-7/N marked as "White 12" shortly after arriving in Gela in February 1941, I’ve finished it to a very pristine condition with minimal weathering. 

As I’ve built this kit to be displayed as part of a group build in my local model shop, Devon Art Supplies, at the end of the month, I’ve kept it very much as an “out of box” build, even down to using the little Humbrol pots of acrylic paint!