Airfield 1/72 scale modelling

All my model railway stuff is in a box in the loft one day it'll make an N gauge layout.

Since space - or rather lack of it - in our modest homes is always a problem, the dream model railway layouts are usually beyond us. You either go 'up-scale' with real steam running around the garden or 'down-scale with an 'N' gauge layout running around the rim of your bowler hat!

I had a period of 'N' gauge modelling but couldn't come to terms with the un-scale like 'running' Now I see that there is Digital control which overcomes all of those objections. Too late! My lifelong hobby of aeromodelling prevails although my projects now take years rather than months to complete and then I'm too rusty to fly them.

But, I'm off thread and would like to build a diorama of a typical airfield bomb store. I'm toying with Bicester at present since it has the original pre-war plus a later addition. As usual, despite being retired my free time is limited and there are many other 'projects' that I am working on. AiX alone takes a couple of hours a day but where else can one find such a mine of information.

Nice layout (see link) Able Mable the additions will keep you busy.

Able wrote:

Here is my attempt at such ...

airfixtributeforum.myfastforum.org/about14027.html

I have followed your project on that site fantastic ! I have a friend whose father was killed in a Lanc on 100 sqn flying out of your drome. I see you add the odd vehicle, are you aware of MATADOR MODELS they do a range of RAF stuff plus kits to modify /upgrade airfix products. I like to scratch build but as I am getting greyer by the day I thought I would look at some of Matador's products to reduce production time . I read elsewhere they can be very slow to respond to an order so gave it a miss, but then saw a recommendation to purchase their items via SCALE LINK Ltd . I purchased a trolleyfull !! via the Scale Link web site late sunday night and paid via Paypal. My parcel arrived this morning and although I have only had a cursory look at each item I am very happy with both the products from Matador & the service from Scale Link. The pictures on Matadors own site do not do the products justice.

Attached are some of my scratchbuilt scale models; left to right
just partly in shot Fordson Sussex, Crossley 4x4. Fordson WOT1, Fordson WOT1 Weeton Type, Fordson 44 monitor conversion, Fordson 45 monitor, these were all scratchbuilt in 1/76 I did utilise Airfix tanks on them all and part of the Airfix back end on the 45 monitor. You are possibly aware that the fire truck (45 monitor) in the Airfix kit was never used by the RAF mounted on the Austin K6 chassis it was always on the Fordson. The ministry of civil aviation had 45 monitor types on the Austins and it was one of these that airfix copied !! By the way I have heard Airfix have been to court under the trade description act and have admitted that all their RAF sets are in fact 1/76 not 1 /72 and have admitted 1/72 had been a ploye some 40 years ago to capture the aero modeller market with the sets.
regards TED

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Ted

What can i say ...
You are one step ahead of me when it comes to RAF vehicles. I want that Bantam fire tender !!!
There was such a vehicle at Grimsby and i have a photo of that particular type although i am not sure about the red ?
You have such a great range of vehicles there, i like the Crossley 4X4. there really is some nice finnishes to those vehicles.

I was aware that the K6 was never used in that guise and to that end i produced these two vehicles for my diorama.
There isn't a great deal of difference in 1:76 & 1:72 really, 4mm & 3.5 i believe

Have you seen this site ??

www.mmsmodels.co.uk/restricted/products_restrictedPage.php?24

Some good stuff on there, I too purchased about ten models of him !!!!

Many thanks for the compliment Ted, its much appreciated.
I am hoping to get some real progress done this summer and have it well on the way to completion as its the 70th anniversary of the airfield becoming operational with Bomber Command in 2011

Attached files [IMG]/community/39764=1209-Crash Tenders 002.jpg[/img]

Yes thanks I have had a handful of items from MMS, pre heater van , Commer tractor and 33ft trailer, a humber 8cwt that I converted to a Min Civ Aviation rescue tender.
One of my many ongoing projects is a repair and salvage convoy. I have a Hurri fuselage on the 33Ft trailer and I am putting the wings and seperated wheels & undercart legs in a QM. there were 2 QMs in RAF service in WW2 a 3 ton and a 5 ton physically the same size but they were very different The lattice sides were different and the bit that connects to the tractor (the head) is also different. The Airfix kit has the sides from the 3 ton but the head from the 5 so that is being modified.
The Hurri and its cradle both need weathering etc,
Do you have a picture of the Bantam at Waltham in case you haven't I have attached one of it towing a Coventry Climax FF500 trailer pump . The Bantam is availible from CONVOY models and the pump from BW. In the picture the Bantam & Trp are still in their war colours but with a high visibility roof either yellow or orange . My Bantam is the one at RAF Kinloss in 1953 hence red and the fairly unique markings.
It was April 1946 before authority was given to return to blue grey and october 1949 before red was authorised for fire trucks.
Throughout my time in the service I was delving into MT and GSE from year dot and in the last 2 years have gone very deeply into Air Min Orders re vehicle and equipment colours and markings; I can tell you that in many of the old articles in various magazines and in Robertsons book on RAF MT there is a lot of wrong info.
Obviously with the internet etc etc research has become much easier- so don't get me wrong those that went before did a great job putting info together its just a case now that we start to add more and hopefully put the icing on the cake.
regards
TED

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[IMG]/community/39783=1216-RAF Waltham April 1945.jpg[/img]

Many thanks for posting those pics Ted.

Question concerning the Bantham;
Are they White metal or Resin?
What colour would it have been overall?

What colour do you think the shed doors would have been??

Just had a look on their site and think i may well be making a number of purchases.

Ian

Ted
I doubt that report of Airfix being taken to Court. I recall, from my modelling days, that everyone was aware that the vehicles scale was 1/76 - it was always a niggling annoyance that they didn't use 1/72 [although the difference didn't matter that much]. I think that, historically, 1/76 scale derived from the need to fit in with 00 gauge railways.

From Wiki it appears that true '00' scale is 1/76.2. Wonder where that came from - and does it matter? The difference between 1/76 and 1/72 is only 5%

Never forgotten the night when a hook came loose in my bedroom and 30 or so Airfix models crashed down from the ceiling onto my bed while I was asleep.

Also remember being ill in bed with cold/flu etc at the age of ten? My parents produced a kit to keep me occupied and I assembled it with just my head and hands outside the bedclothes. This meant the polystyrene cement was about two inches from my nose. Woke up at some point feeling 'totally spaced-out' ,but with a splitting headache. Never really took to glue sniffing.

Graham

papabravo;39799 wrote:

Ted
I doubt that report of Airfix being taken to Court. I recall, from my modelling days, that everyone was aware that the vehicles scale was 1/76 - it was always a niggling annoyance that they didn't use 1/72 [although the difference didn't matter that much]. I think that, historically, 1/76 scale derived from the need to fit in with 00 gauge railways.

The report seems very genuine; Its annoying to the aero modeller that its not 1/72, but the majority of vehicle modellers prefer 1/76 due to availibility of products.
When the Airfix emergency set first came out about 1971/2 i had just finished measuring up an Austin K6 recovery gantry I had found in a back street in Limmassol, so although labeled as 1/72 I knew the K6 in the kit was 1/76.
I did the same with the QL when that came out. The point over the trading standards action was to get Airfix to admit that they were mislabeling. The guy wasn't seeking damages or compensation simply an admission.
If you see the adverts for the 2 Bedford QL kits due release this year you will see 1/76 on the adverts.

re Carnaby's point does it really matter 5% :: if you put a handful of dis-similar vehicles on display say round an aircraft model I doubt anyone would be any the wiser, but if like me your modelling ( of the scale variety) is mainly vehicles and you put say a true 1/72 QL next to a 1/76 one the difference sticks out like a sore thumb.

re Able's request Convoy is mainly resin, they are a bit crude compared with say CMSC but a good starting point. colour most likely SCC 2 which is similar to the dark earth on aircraft . I will post some pictures .

re the door : peace has arrived its april 1945 the huts have been white washed so the doors may well be red. most of the old wooden doors on the 1917 hangers at Leuchars appear to have been dark brown gloss for a looooong time. So dark brown would be likely if not red,

TED

In the picture of the fire trucks the Fordson Weeton type (foreground) is in Khaki Green No 3 [KG No 3] ( had it been given a disruptive colour that colour would have been Nobels dark tarmac green No 4 which was a very very dark grey Revel No 78 would suffice)
the Fordson 44 monitor with the elevated tower is SCC 15 UK olive drab. for a short period SCC 14 was used as a disruptive over the SCC15 but it was soon done away with.

In the other picture the base colour of both is SCC 2 commonly called brown , frequently incorrectly called dark earth, dark earth was an aircraft colour to MAP/AM standards. The Fordson WOT6 has SCC 1a which is a dark brown as the disruptive colour, the Austin has SCC 14 which is a Black- blueish colour as the disruptive.
SCC colours were to War Emergency British Standard 987c SCC means standard camouflage colour. each color had a number. only SCC 15 had an official title i.e. Olive Drab ( not really very similar to US O.D.)

In the RAF, paints were all given a descriptive name; SCC2 was often know as brown MT special No 2 brown being the approx colour, MT because it was provisioned for painting MT and ground equipment and special as it had anti gas properties, No 2 as it met BS 987c SCC 2 shade.

Have a look on the White Ensign Models website they do all these colours.
Their version of SCC 2 is called british army dark earth and is slightly light. I mixed my own using REVEL 5 parts No 86 and 6 part No 84.
Finally there is a lot of photographic evidence that contrary to AMOs, many vehicles that were supplied in base colour only never received their disruptive pattern,
Timeline approx: photographic evidence that most MT that went to France in 1939 was painted camouflage but first AMO on the subject is not until jun 1941 previous instruction would have been by directing letters or telex signals,

KG no 3 and dark tarmac no 4 up to mid/late 1942 when SCC2 plus SCC1a came in, SCC1a replaced by SCC14 mid 1943, early 1944 SCC15 plus SCC14, Sept 1944 SCC15 on its own. Alll schemes overlapped and AMOs stated vehicles not to be repainted until repaint is essential.
hope this is of use

TED

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