[Sutripta]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

For most pilots the big thing was that if the engine caught fire, which it often did, the flames will be flowing away from the pilot and not towards him!

Or hot leaking lube.

The person starting the engine - did he take gymnastic classes too?

Sutripta

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

Yes and that too. Imagine flying + trying to control a gun + having cold wind and sleet slapping on your face. Those WW-I pilots did not have it easy. Also with those massive (relative to weight) wings these aircraft must have responded a little like a kite to every strong gust of wind. Hats off to those chaps.

This one has a push propellor so at least the machine gun can fire at will and doesn’t need to be synchronised with the prop. In the early days they had not figured out how to synch the gun with the prop. So some pilots just put little armour plates (deflectors) on the prop where the bullets might hit. So on top of all of the above you would have ricocheting bullets to content with too!

Jeroen

[Sutripta]

^^^
Did Fokker ever design a pusher?

Sutripta

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by Sutripta

^^^
Did Fokker ever design a pusher?

Sutripta

At least one the F25. Also they did design a push pull. The Fokker D23. Flew only as a prototype late 30s I believe.



Jeroen

[Foxbat]

Originally Posted by basuroy

Lt. Indra Lal Roy’s SE.5a.

Originally Posted by basuroy

And another 48th scale model finished in unison- the Airco DH-2. A very complicated rigging job but what an esoteric model it is!

And finally some pics of a Seahawk, this one in 72nd scale of course which still remains my standard scale.

Those are some seriously perfect models

The rigging must have taken hours of precision work to complete. Where did you source these kits? Are all your models air brushed or you use a paint brush also ?

[basuroy]

Originally Posted by Foxbat

Those are some seriously perfect models

The rigging must have taken hours of precision work to complete. Where did you source these kits? Are all your models air brushed or you use a paint brush also ?

The rigging took about eight hours for the DH-2 and around four or five for the SE.5a .

Both kits imported from a Polish hobbyshop and painted with airbrush. Minor detail painting is done with a paint brush.

[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by basuroy

Lt. Indra Lal Roy’s SE.5a. Indra, born in Calcutta joined the Royal Flying corps at the age of 18 in 1917 and went on to score 10 German airplanes in a span of just two weeks- this feat makes him the only Indian till date to achieve Ace status as a pilot. He was eventually shot down and killed himself near Calais, France. His service was rewarded with the Distinguished Flying Cross.

The following is a 48th scale model of the plane with which he scored all his kills. Also attached is a postage cover issued in his honour by India Post in 1998. The model is extremely accurate inside the cockpit and has the tiniest knobs and dials represented.

OMG!! How did I ever miss this. What a masterpiece not only for the exquisite finish but also that realistic look and being Indra Lal's mount. Imagine what he achieved in that short span of life. His nephew was Subroto Mukherjee our first Indian Air Chief. Congratulations

[Foxbat]

Originally Posted by basuroy

The rigging took about eight hours for the DH-2 and around four or five for the SE.5a .

Both kits imported from a Polish hobbyshop and painted with airbrush. Minor detail painting is done with a paint brush.

5 hours
You must have an insane amount of patience!

Were these kits ordered pre-covid ? I have ordered a few kits from Europe but it seems all are stuck in shipping for monhts as flights have been cancelled to India.

[skanchan95]

Originally Posted by basuroy

And finally some pics of a Seahawk, this one in 72nd scale of course which still remains my standard scale.

Loved that SeaHawk!!! Awesome work.

Its serial number IN238 caught my eye.

IN238 was an ex-West German Navy Sea Hawk Mk.100 VB134. 14 ex-West German Navy Mk.100 & Mk.101s were bought by the Indian Navy in the mid-1960s.The Mk.100 & the Ekco radar pod equipped Mk.101 had a taller fin and rudder compared to the standard Indian Navy FGA.6.

In the 1971 war, IN238 was the first IN Seahawk to be damaged by a bullet during a strike mission against and East Pakistani target. IN238 was also the last flyable Seahawk in the country and it welcomed the first three Sea Harriers to Goa.

IN238 was donated to Germany and is now on display in a museum in Germany back in its original West German markings as VB134

[basuroy]

Originally Posted by Foxbat

5 hours
You must have an insane amount of patience!

That's true though I normally break them across multiple sessions. The nature of work takes a serious toll on the neck/spine so care must be taken.

These two kits I purchased last year; that said I did receive a parcel recently but it arrived from Hong Kong, was shipped last month. Which European country did you purchase from?

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

. His nephew was Subroto Mukherjee our first Indian Air Chief. Congratulations

Thank you and yes that family is a semi royalty here. First Indian VC of Presidency college was also from their home; started a notable girls school and so on...

Originally Posted by skanchan95

IN238 was an ex-West German Navy Sea Hawk Mk.100 VB134. 14 ex-West German Navy Mk.100 & Mk.101s were bought by the Indian Navy in the mid-1960s.The Mk.100 & the Ekco radar pod equipped Mk.101 had a taller fin and rudder compared to the standard Indian Navy FGA.6.

correct and this is the mk.100 model infact. I also have a FGA.5 incoming and that has the shorter fin

[Foxbat]

Originally Posted by basuroy

These two kits I purchased last year; that said I did receive a parcel recently but it arrived from Hong Kong, was shipped last month. Which European country did you purchase from?

I have purchased from Germany, Estonia and Russia. All our stuck and haven't even left they country. Some of the models I saw were available from Hong Kong at a cheaper price but I'm not going to buy anything from China and Hong Kong.

[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by basuroy

Thank you ☺️☺️☺️

Oh I didn’t know about the engine flameout thing but that of course makes perfect sense.

Piston engines right up to the 1960s were known to catch fire, - in flight, during start up, while taking off - they didn't discriminate. Any time was a good time! In the bad old days they used to have a ground technician standing by with a huge fire extinguisher in front of each wing during engine start up ...just in case.

Note extinguisher next to port outer.

[skanchan95]

Originally Posted by basuroy

I also have a FGA.5 incoming and that has the shorter fin

With probably no visible difference between the FGA.5 & FGA.6, I suppose you will paint it in IN colours? May be in the short lived All black livery that was painted on the second hand ex-Royal Navy Sea Hawks delivered to the Indian Navy?

[basuroy]

Originally Posted by Foxbat

I have purchased from Germany, Estonia and Russia.

Germany is down I know. No idea about the other two. I do have a parcel arriving from Poland though.

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

Piston engines right up to the 1960s were known to catch fire, - in flight, during start up, while taking off
Note extinguisher next to port outer.

That is a good pic, never noticed this before but makes sense...

Originally Posted by skanchan95

With probably no visible difference between the FGA.5 & FGA.6, I suppose you will paint it in IN colours? May be in the short lived All black livery that was painted on the second hand ex-Royal Navy Sea Hawks delivered to the Indian Navy?

Yup IN colour. And I had forgotten all about the gloss black one but that sounds like a cool idea now

[basuroy]

Bell-47, Indian Air Force.

This type was mainly used for recon and med evac purpose- stretchers could be fixed to either side of the cabin. I left the doors to better display the super detailed interior.