Photographs taken at the Air Zoo, Kalamazoo Michigan.
Tag: RAF
2020 Year in Review
“May you live in interesting times.” – ancient Chinese curse

Oddly for a method of telling time, the positioning of our new year is arbitrary from a physical perspective and should have no actual bearing on earthly events, but here’s hoping for a better 2021 anyway!
I’ll look for the “win” here even if it is minor: We modelers are fortunate to have an inherently solitary hobby in these times. Overall modeling appears to have picked up, Hornsby (parent company of Airfix) is reporting profits for the first time in years. Modeling podcasts have come into their own and make bench time even more enjoyable.
The biggest void from a modeling perspective in my opinion is the cancellation of the shows. I usually attend half a dozen per year and they are always a fine day out, with friends, new kits, and getting to see the work of hundreds of fellow modelers. Also missing was the Half Price Books annual clearance sale where literally semi-truck loads of books are sold at ridiculously low prices at the state fairgrounds.
On a different note, perhaps the most interesting story of the year received very little attention – the U.S. government admitted that it was studying materials retrieved from vehicles of extraterrestrial origin. Another commentary on the year 2020.
Blog Statistics and News
2020 was the second complete year for the Inch High Guy blog. I am happy to report that I again managed to make a post each day, so 366 posts due to the leap year. The blog received 73,992 views and 26,731 visitors, up from 27,174 views and 7,303 visitors last year. The most popular post was “Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress Interior Colors Part I” with 1,857 views, followed by “The B-17E and the Myth of the Bendix Ventral Turret” with 1,116 views. Forts appear to be popular around here!
Link: https://inchhighguy.wordpress.com/2019/09/11/b-17-flying-fortress-interior-colors-part-i/
Link: https://inchhighguy.wordpress.com/2018/11/18/the-b-17e-and-the-myth-of-the-bendix-ventral-turret/
I am still struggling with the counter-intuitive Word Press editor, and that was only made worse with the introduction of the Word Press “Block Editor” in September. This eliminated some useful functions while re-naming and moving others, with no apparent improvements on the user end. On a more positive note, I did finally locate the tagging function and busied myself adding tags to all posts old and new.
I have linked several posts on ScaleMates, where the walk-around posts of museum aircraft have proved to be the most popular. The Women Warriors posts have found a following with wargamers over on The Miniatures Page, among others. I had intended for these pictures to tell their own stories, but there have been a few requests for captions. Easier said than done with the modern-era photos as information ranges from obvious to impossible-to-determine, but there may be hope for the historical pictures.
Models Built in 2020
Forty-seven completions, twenty-nine aircraft and eighteen vehicles. In addition I painted fifteen figures (plus one dog) and constructed three diorama bases. Everything was built to 1/72 scale as is my preference. The mosaic has a picture of each build, if you want to see more finished pictures or the construction posts just follow the tags at the bottom of this post or enter the descriptions in the search bar in the upper right column.
Hasegawa Kawanishi Kyofu (Rex) x 2
Tamiya Kawanishi N1K1 Shiden (George)
Aoshima Kawanishi N1K1 Shiden (George)
MPM Kawanishi N1K1 Shiden (George)
Hasegawa Kawanishi Shiden Kai (George) x 2
Hasegawa Mitsubishi Raiden (Jack)
Fujimi Aichi B7A1 Ryusei (Grace)
LS Yokosuka K5Y Akatombo (Willow)
AZ Yokosuka K5Y Akatombo (Willow)
Special Hobby Curtiss P-40 Warhawk x 5
Tamiya Republic P-47D Thunderbolt
Airfix Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress conversion to B-17E x 2
RPM Hotchkiss H35 French Light Tank
RAF Bomber Supply Set x 2 (6 vehicles)
IBG Chevrolet C15A Personnel Lorry
Monogram Boeing F4B-4 x 2
Rare Bits Boeing F4B-1 Conversion
Monogram Curtiss F11C-2 Goshawk
Matchbox Boeing P-12E x 2
Czech Master Resin Curtiss F9C Sparrowhawk
Plastic Soldier StuG III Ausf. G Assault Gun x 3
Trumpeter StuG III Ausf. G Assault Gun
Revell Heinkel He 177A-5 Greif
Revell Junkers Ju 88P-1 Conversion
Hasegawa Heinkel He 111H-20
Italeri 15 cm Field Howitzer sFH 18
Trumpeter Sd.Ah.116 Tank Transporter
Zvezda Panzer IV Ausf. H
Planet Models Resin Sd. Kfz. 9 FAMO Halftrack
Revell Sd. Kfz. 9 FAMO Halftrack
Trumpeter Sd. Kfz. 9 FAMO Halftrack
Forward
Arma hobby has just announced a P-51 B/C Mustang in 1/72. The computer renders look good and show areas such as the wing leading edge and wheel well openings which have given other manufacturers problems appear to have been rendered properly. Here’s hoping! Every previous B/C in 1/72 scale has had some major shape issue so an accurate new tool kit has been at the top of many modeler’s wish lists for many years now. The early Mustangs, if done well, are sure to be a hit and a license to print money for Arma so here’s wishing for a successful release!
In more local news Ms. Inch High put a Creality LD-002R 3-D resin printer under the Christmas tree this year. These are very useful if you know what you’re doing, which I don’t at this point. Hopefully I will soon though, and I look forward to printing something useful. It is an amazing technology to have sitting on the bench. For all the talk of “Death of the Hobby” in some circles, I have yet to see any hint of it from here.
I have enjoyed putting this together, and have enjoyed hearing from other modelers and discovering other blogs. A big thank you to all who have visited here, commented, followed, and especially those who have posted links.
May you all live long enough to build every model in your stash!
Typhoon Wings of 2nd Tactical Air Force Book Review
Typhoon Wings of 2nd Tactical Air Force 1943–45
Osprey Combat Aircraft Series 86
By Chris Thomas
Softcover, 96 pages, 40 color profiles
Published by Osprey Publishing, September 2010
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1846039738
ISBN-13: 978-1846039737
Dimensions: 7.3 x 0.3 x 9.9 inches
The Typhoon was designed as a fighter but was mainly used as a ground attack aircraft. It enjoyed great success in that role, the Royal Air Force fielding twenty wings of the type at the time of the Normandy invasion. The type had a troubled development history which only got sorted out with great difficulty, and even then with some compromise.
The first chapter deals with the technical and production issues which plagued the introduction of the Typhoon into service. There were substantial issues with the type’s Napier engine from both the reliability and availability perspectives, the issue got so bad at one point that there were several hundred Typhoon fuselages in depots without engines, as these had been cannibalized to keep the operational squadrons going. Another more famous issue was a series of structural failures which resulted in Typhoons disintegrating in flight. The fault was eventually traced to elevator flutter which caused the tail assembly to fail.
The remaining chapters describe the exploits of the men and units which flew the Typhoon in combat. This is standard fare for the Osprey aviation books but the anecdotes are impressive nonetheless. There is also the expected color profile section which is a highlight of the series, in this volume there are a total of forty profiles, all in the Dark Green and Ocean Grey over Medium Sea Grey scheme.
Author Chris Thomas mentions three bits of information which I found particularly interesting from a modeling perspective. First, Typhoon units carried underwing markings in 1943 which were similar to the Normandy “invasion stripes”. Second, Typhoons were configured with either bombs or Rocket Projectiles, and these versions were usually concentrated together in squadrons of the same type. And third, a note at the beginning of the Colour Plates description section designates the tailplane and propeller configurations by serial number.
This is a typical Osprey Combat Aircraft series volume and delivers all the goodies readers have come to expect. I found the chapter on the design and production problems and their solutions particularly interesting. Overall a nice package and a welcome addition to the series.
B-17E Color Photographs Part II
B-17E Color Photographs Part I
USN McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II Book Review
USN McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II
By Peter E. Davies, illustrated by Adam Tooby and Henry Morshead
Series: Osprey Air Vanguard Book 22
Paperback, 64 pages, heavily illustrated
Published by Osprey Publishing March 2016
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1472804953
ISBN-13: 978-1472804952
Dimensions: 7.2 x 0.1 x 9.9 inches
This is the first book in the Osprey Air Vanguard Series which I have read. Like most Osprey books, it covers a lot of ground in a small number of pages, so it is best thought of as a primer or an introduction rather than a comprehensive history. The story of the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom could easily (and does!) fill several volumes so it is wise that Osprey have focused on USN F-4s in this work while issuing a separate book on Phantoms operated by the USAF. Having said that, this volume also covers Phantoms in US Marine, Royal Air Force, and Royal Navy service, so the USN in the title is a bit of a misnomer.
The first chapters are devoted to the developmental history and technical description of the Phantom. This is well known among aviation enthusiasts but is useful for being concise – an example where the brevity of the format is a strength. There is a description of all the major sub-types operated by the naval services, and then a history of the type in service.
Like most Osprey books, this one is profusely illustrated, mostly in color. There are several pages of artwork including portraits of two aircraft and profiles of nine. The profiles are reproduced to a much smaller format than either those in the Aircraft of the Aces or Combat Aircraft series and there is much less information presented in the captions. One of the nicer presentations is one which I almost overlooked – the back cover is actually a gatefold which contains an annotated cut-away illustration of the Phantom.
Overall a nice package, the contents and quality of which would not come as a surprise to anyone familiar with this publisher.
Heinkel He 177 Greif (Griffon)
Colorful Curtiss P-40 Warhawk Markings Part 1
Luftwaffe in Africa Book Review
Luftwaffe in Africa, 1941-1943
By Jean-Louis Roba
Paperback, 128 pages, heavily illustrated, index
Published by Casemate, November 2019
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1612007457
ISBN-13: 978-1-61200-7458
Product Dimensions: 7.0 x 0.5 x 10.0 inches
Germany was drawn into the war in North Africa by Mussolini’s ambitions. Italy had little to gain by conquering the region; Germany even less so. For the German Army and particularly the Luftwaffe North Africa did little more than provide an ever-increasing drain on assets which could have been better used in the Soviet Union. Once the influx of American men and material began to be felt the Axis cause was beyond redemption.
This volume provides a good overview of the progression of the campaign in North Africa from the Luftwaffe perspective. There were quite a large number of units committed over time but Germany was never able to achieve the concentration of force necessary to achieve her goals, attempts to supply the Africa Korps by air transport proving particularly costly. Roba does a good job of tracking the constant redeployments, and describes the results of the major air actions as the campaign progressed. Also included is the commitment of the Luftwaffe’s Fallschrimjäger. The LRDG attacks of Luftwaffe airfields are mentioned as well but only briefly. In the last third of the book there are several first-hand accounts from pilots which are interesting, although one from Arman Köhler’s diary appears to have been inadvertently omitted.
There are quite a number of photographs reproduced in this book, many of which were new to me. They include some original color examples which are presented well and are generally well captioned. There are also fifteen very nicely done color profiles, but these have only the briefest of descriptions.
Overall a nice presentation and a quick read. A few first-hand accounts in the beginning of the book would have been welcome, but this book provides a good overview of the campaign.
Airfix Standard Light Utility Vehicles in 1/72 Scale
These are Standard Light Utility Vehicles which are part of the Airfix WWII RAF Bomber Re-Supply Set. One is included in each box, it is essentially a light truck and a quick build in 1/72 scale. Many of the kit parts are molded on the clear sprue, but mine suffered from the dreaded Airfix flow lines so I cut the portions representing glass off and replaced the windshields with acetate. There were also gaps at the sides where the cab joins the hood which I filled with Perfect Plastic Putty. Other than that they build up nicely.