A/RF/X"'

IN Building a 1:72 scale seaborne Swordfish

THIS
ISSUE Airfix Scarab conversions, old and new
 · .. even the guns elevate!
This A;rfix 1!12nd scafe Halifax bomber is loaded series are proportionately right: and a great
with realistic detail, 16r span , ruffy crewed, 122- ever-Increasing range-there are 11 series now,
part It.it 7/6. It's typical of the realism you get with over 200 kits. A t prices from 2/ - to 15/ -.
with A irfix models. They're just like the real Airfix are great on value too.
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constant scale, so that the models of every

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 HOBBIES WEEKLY
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FLYING REVIEW
INTERNATIONAL

HELICOPTER SURVEY
A major survey of world helicopte r operations In peace and war.

For the first t ime of tell ing is the story of the spoof operations
that took place du ring the Normandy D·Day landings.

monthly For model e nthusiasu this month there Is a colour spread of the
Messerschmitt 109 of World War 11 fame. Plus a highly detailed
general arrangement drawing of the notorious Junkers Ju 87.
256d
Plus all the usual features.

THE AVIATION MAGAZINE THAT GUARANTEES TO KEEP ITS READERS UP·TO·DATE

FelKuary. 1f6.4 I7J
 TOP FLIGHT MODELLERS . ..
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AIr(l1C M lllozlne
 v
AlllFlA magazine
r

FOR PLASTIC MODELLERS

Volume 5, Number 6 February, 1964

CONTENTS
NEWS FROM AIRFIX
New OO/ HO clUet 0-4-0 Saddle Tank kit and 00 sale Runlan Inb.ntry figures 176
IN THE AIR
Panchute paddnl. marldnlS of some interestinc Jet Provost nrianu, and a ProlrflJ
report on the velo by Ala" W . Hall 178
MILITARY MODELLING
c . O . ElIls shaWl you how to make a heavy breakdown truck from the A im. tank
transporter kit 180
LAYOUT REALISM
'The mon important char1Cterlnic of a nllway I. Its lenlth and spaciousness,' says
Al ex Bowle, who ,Ivu some more important tips for scenic modelling IB2
SEABOR NE SWORDFISH
Al an W . H,dl presents a step-br-step ,uide to pun!n, the Airlix 'Stringba,' on fle».u 181
WHEELSPIN
How to motorise the Almx 'E' type Jaguar 'or slot ncinl. by Bett ~mkjn '86
MAINLY FOR MODELLERS
Norm a n S imm o ns tells you how to make BR Scarabs POlllt and present from the
standard Alrfox kit ... 188
PROFILE
History of the Havoc-fi,hter version of the Bolton-by M. J. F. Bowyer '90
PLASTIC M ODELLI NG
Mike Bryant ,Ives some advice on modellin, tools for be,lnners ... ,9<
ON ROAD AND TRACK
Lookin, at the Radn, Car Show with Darryl Reach '96
NEW KITS AND MODELS
Latest new releues of interest to modellers '98
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
The pate where you have the chance to tell Ul what you think-and urn yOl.ll"1e lf
a free plastic kit 201

COVER PICTURE
'The Gr(ldlem'. To record t~ lost o( on ero---(l Mollell locomotive on 0 heovy (reirh! drol In the United Stotes. Our splendid (ron! CClVer
illustration Is lo~en (rom on orilinol oil pointlnf (-48 In I( 33 in) by oce-orlist TerelKe Cuneo, and is reprinted (rom Visual, twbUshe4 by
lI(ord Limile4.

Editorial Director ........... JOHN BLUNSDEN EDITORIAL OFFICES

Editor ...... ........................ DARRYL REACH Brands Hatch C ircuit, F;r,wkh;r,m, Dartford, Kent
Telephone : West Ash 411
Art Editor ..................... MICHAEL ROGERS
Advertisement Director ... PATRICK STEPHENS ADVERTISEMENT DEPARTMENT
Lud gate Circus Buildln,I, Lo ndon, EC4
AIRFIX mo,ozJne I1 published on the fourth Wednesdoy Telephone : LUD,ate Circus 82ll
of eoch month. AIInuol subscription rote 24s.
/Suo"'" Cl .... ~ ....... ,..U .. , N.", Yo'. 1"0.. OI'Jl"., HY.) CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT
NEXT PUBLICATION DATE: Surridge, DawMln (Productions) Ltd,
136/ 142 N ew Kent Road, London, SEI
February 26, 1964 T elephone: RODney S480
February, /964
'"
 The world's greatest value In construction kits

0-4-0 SADDLE TANK AND

RUSSIAN INFANTRY SET
X han: followed up last month's introduction models. can be assembled either as a worl..ing model or
A IRFI
of a J94 ().-6-Q Saddle Tank locomoli,'c wilh an as a scale replica for Ihe show-case. For this purpose.
DO / HQ guage lit of ilS smaller counlerpart. the ().-4-0 t'o\O different selS of coupli ngs are included-scale three-
Saddle Tank. Once a familiar sighl in shunting yards and linl... or standard Airfix 'bucke)'e-.
doel..s. Ihis Iype of locomotive is fasl bein, replaced by Detail on this little model is pleasin,. and virtually
the more efficient and more comfortable diesels. This ' ugly every thin, featured on the protot)pt hM been faithfully
dUCkling' of Sleam locomoth'es will not be allo'o\-ed to dis- reproduced. The moving parts are particularly worth men·
appear completely. howc\·cr. for in model Brilish R ailwa~ tion. a careful assembly, closely followin, the instructions.
(LMR) fo rm il will be with us for a lot more years )'c1. allows the miniature coupling rod gear to work in a most
The ().-4-0 kit joins Ihe Drewry Shuntcr and Olher
wagons in the Airfix Rolling Stock Series I ranSe. pnced
at 2s each, It comprises 43 parts (plus assembly and paint- Above: Tire /u~ 1I' AirfU ().-4-0 Saddle Tank kit COSIS !S. and
has 43 parU ,hat assemble illfo tlris aCCllratc replica, Below:
ing instructions, and a fou r-pa rt colour Iransfer sheet) Added to ,he Air/ix mllge of HO "lid 00 sC(lle military
and. M with all these re-issues o f the fo rmer Kitmasler figures is lhis 48-pilrl set of R IlSsi(1!I 1IIIIIIIIry ",/ticlr COSIS!s,
satisfactory manner. Ri,'c! detail i, reproduced on the
phuin&. and the cab interior has a host of features. indud-
inl fClulalo r handle. handbra1.c and Sllfel)' va lve stems.
The 0-4-0 Saddle Tank locomoti\'cs were dcsiCned by Mr
J. A. F. Aspifla11. Chief Mechanical Engineer of the funner
Lancashire & Yorlshire Railway, and first built al Ho r-
wich Worl.:s in November 189 1. Weigh ing 2 1 tons 5 CW\ in
Tramway topics
working order. and with a tracth-c effort of 11.335 lb. they TIn'.TRAMWAVS 01' WOOlWICII ANt> SovTII EAST l..osf)os. by
were irllcnded for use in shun tin g yards and in the docks ·SfJIIlf'l'{/$/erll·. Pllbfisilt'tl by Till' Lighl RaiflO'Qy TramPQrI
connected 10 that railway. wlgl//'. 245 CricklcK'()()d BroadK'ay. Lolu/(m, N1V2. Prict! 35,r.
There have been, of course, many hundreds of other UI S book is the joint work of live authors. three of whom
small 0-4-0 tanl. locomotin:s of different designs. emplo}w
not only on dod, shunting. but also al blast furnaces. steel
T ....ere rm:mbers of the 'SouthrTlCt' team who wrote 'The
Trnmwayt of Croydon'. This second volume in the series of
mills. mines ami other industrial plant'. One of the main detailed histories of the tramways of London is typical of the
features of Ihis type of design is its shon wheelbase. v.hich painstakiT\l thoroughness of all The Light Ra ilway Tra nsport
enables these engines to negotiate the sharp curves on the League's publications.
cramped tracls where they have to operate. The \'ery early days of transport history in the district arc
sur.cyed in the first chapter. follo.....ed by four chapters dealing
LATEST 00 SCALE SOLOIERS with the LCe. Erith Ilnd Bo;lcy UOC and Dartford Council
ATEST recruits to the growing Aimx HO and 00
L scale military ranks is a band o( 48 soldicl'1' and
Light Ra ilways. Joint commillC(: working of the last two
councils is dealt with in a chaptcr and another covers the
... capons of the World War 2 Russian Infantry. selling London Transporl period. Finally. there arc two chapters
fo r 2s. This latest set. like others in the ra nge, is suitable surveying follin8 stock and equipment. and fllres and tickets.
for use with the Airfi)[ HO and 00 scale trackside and Modellcrs will greatly appreciate the ta ble of rolling stock
fighting vehicles series, and for the First time includes 'set dimensions contained in one of the four appendices.
pieces'. in the (onn o( a monar team and a machine gun A really generous selection of photographs. all now of con-
team- both with their own bases. The bases feature a siderable historical interest, are interspersed throughout the
number of small holes. each with key lellers, v.hich are book at appropriate points in the lext. thereby helping to make
correspondinl1l) repeated on Ihe appro priate figures as an the book so much more enjoyable and extremely u5C!ful as Il
aid to location. refereTlQC \'olume. The historical value of the book is beyond
The 48 pieces in Ihis set comprise the following items : - measure, and it is excellent value at 355,
mOrlar base, barrel. tripod and learn NCO. machine gun
base. bogie, loadcr. learn NCO and machine gun (one of
each): onicers, NCOs pointing. grenade throwers, wounded Miniature motoring
riflemen. riflemen at high pon. riflenlan on guard. monar MOot:l CAll COlU:CT\NG. by F, Brim/ JI''''!!I/. Pl/hfi.rJ,/,d by
team loaders. and machine gunners (two of each); three Tl'lIIpll' Prl'J.T Books, 42 RlIssl'lI Sq, LOIK/OII. IVCI. Priel' 15s.
riflemen walling; and fou r each of riflemen la ying fire-
ing. ~neeling firing. and crawling. an d sub-machine gunners
running. and kneeling,
I Tnearly
is a fai r bet that since the introduction of die-cast miniatures
all of us have at some time or another, eithcr as
children or as grown-ups who h:l\'e succumbed to the fascination
The figures are complete. with the e)[ception of painting. of a particular model, collected model cars. Like collocting of
and carry a wealth of fine authentic detail. any sort. be it stamps. butterflies or cigarette cards, there is
more in the game than at first meets the eye.
NEWS FROM BPMS As collectors of miniatures ourselves wc "''ere greatly
interested in Brian Je....'(;II·s book and ha\'e not found it
WING to pressure of business. Mr F. A. 8rown has ..... anting. lie SUfVeys the beginnings of the mass-produced model
O found it necessary to resign as Secretary of the British car industry and reca lls many long-forgollen makes of the inter-
Plastic Modeller's Society. This post is now being held by .....ar and post-war periods. There is, for example, a complete
Mr Roger R. Wainwright. of 23. Chadville Gardens. Chad· list of pre-wur Dinkys.
well Heath. Romfo rd, Essex, to whom all enquiries and Subsequcnt chaptcl'1' describe how die-cast miniatures are
correspondence should be addressed. The Society is also made, how they can be coll~ted by I1roupi ng thcm under
delighted to welcome as President Mr W. J. Mathews. who various headings (such as antique vchicles. sports or racing, or
writes the 'Model Talk' column in Flying R e~j(' ... fnler- battlcw.tgons) and how they can be modificd or restored. As
IIIllimwf. and will also serve on 81'MS's panel of specialists an example or what can be done. there is a wealth of information
co\'ering civil aviation and lesser-lnown foreign colour showin, how racing car miniatures can be modirtcd to portray
schemes and mar~ings. Mr Peter Elley, founder of BPMS. particular cars as seen on the G P starting , rids of 1961-62.
is now acting as Treasurer. An interesting chapter on standards describes a fonnula
Recently. se,'eral restricted source5 of infonnation ha\'e which can be applied to measure the accuracy of models. The
been put at the Society's disposal for the benefit of mcm- heart-breaking topic of the variety of scales is also discussed.
bers desiring more authentic colou r and filling detail. and The author pays great attention to the subject of scale when
the advisory service is being lept \'ery busy with nlembers' discussing a parlic:ular modcl and a lot or uscful information
ideas and requests for infonnation. It is the Society's proud is contained on this aspect Slot r.tcing is mentioned and an
boast to date that it has been able to satisfy even the nl<)5t exciting glimpse of the fu ture is gi\'en in a description of a
critical modellers by return of post. Membe rshi p is steadily I :32 scale circuit the author saw dC1llonstr.tted where model
incre:lsing. both at home and O\'crscas, Have you sent for cars were controlled rr~ly wi thout :t slol. Appe ndices givi ng a
your copy o f the current BI'MS 'Newshect' an d enquiry list of model car manufacturers. enthusiast's clubs and societies,
roml! yet " R.CJ. con\'crsion scales and a host of photographs comp]ele the book,
February, 1964 177
 • •
, f , 1'1
- •
.,
•
...
,
Wo,k f o, rhe WRAP paradmlt pad,trl. /)uratroopuI
under trail,i,'g jllmpillg from all RA F Trill/Ipa" Com -
mtmd lIaslillS' ut RAF AbillgdQII ftCrllll)".
The added confidence achie\ed, not only by the soldier,
but by the girl .... ho packs his pamchute, is considerable.
COMPLETEO AT COWES
The world's largest Uovercraft, Ihe Westland SRN ], has
been completed at Cly, es an d is now 51aning an intensi\·e
series of trials before handi ng over to the Interserviccs
Hovercraft Trials Unit at Hamble. The 37i · ton vehicle has
been o rdered by the Ministry of Aviation fo r evaluation
pu rposes.
PROVOST MARKINGS
One of the least talked about aircraft in RAF service
has always been. 10 my mind. the Jet Provost. It has been
expoorted to Ce ylon, Kuwai t. Sudan a nd Vene zuela, both as
a trainer and in its armed \ersion. From the o ri ginal r- ta rk
DID}OU realise that the Roya l Air Force uses some 600 I .... hich first flew on June 26.1954. it has been in conti nuous
parachute a da y? E\en in these times when the production at the Hawker Siddeley factory at Luton and
number o f operational ai rcraft in the Services is mu ch was the first jet trainer in the ....orld to be used for initial
sm alle r than. shall wc say, Icn }cars 3g0, the demand for fI)'ing training.
parnchUIC$ is much areater. After a moment's renection il is Operatina at heights abo\e 25,000 feet, the .J p. is an
easy 10 see how this comes about. High-speed jets require excellent aircraft to f1). Its all· round vision and ell:cellent
bra!.ing and drag chutes 10 retard thei r speeds on landing, fo rward view, pl us the roominess in Ihe t.... o place side·by-
and the job of packina these essential pi~ or equipment side seatin, arranacmcnt. male it an ideal aircraft for its
still falb 10 the \\. omen of the WRAF, as I learned ",hen purpose, as I can testify through having had my hands on
I visited their depot at RAF Upper Hc),ford, recently, one recently.
Not onl y do RAI: Fi,hter and Uomber Commands require Airtill: male the ir own model o f the T] \·ersion and pro-
parachutes, bUl the men or the ai rborne forces also need vide rocleu in the l it for con\'ersion into the a nned aircraft
them fo r basic and continuation training in the United with y,hich the air forces of the Sudan an d Venezuela are
Kingdom and for larRe exercises and operations in all o\'cr· equipped. My photographs this month gi\'e an idea of the
seas commands. The original close rel ationshi p between marling of these va riants and the y make a \"ery useful
the WRAF parachute packer and the ai rborne soldier, addition to a model collection. providing you don·t mind
wh ich arose durinlthe war, has been main tained, unbrolen, turning your hand to painting Ihe different insignia. The
for over 20 )ears, Since the war the use o f parachutes fo r top picture of the Ceylonese Jet Provost should be the
dropping su pplies has developed considerably an d, y,hile easiest. The fin marling is red an d yellow, the fuselage has
the size of these pamchutes precludes their packing by the a red oUler circle. yellow centre and orange and green bars.
WRAF. the girls a re act ively concerned with the repair Seri al numbers are in bllld.
an d maintenance of them. Thc Kuwai t llircraft shown nCll:t has a slightly more
The activity of a WRAF pamchute packer need not end difficult ro ulldcl to reproduce, as it consists of four colours.
with thc packing of pamch utes. Many of the girls, curious to The outer circle is green, next white. then red, and finally.
lnow what happens when the pamchute goes to the soldier,
ha\·e recentl y been able to male descen ts alongside the men
at their tminin& school at RAF Abingdon. Following the
normal pattern of training, the gi rls go through the airborne
soldier's course at the school and ta ke pan in all the pre-
limi nary exercises that have to be passed befo re the great
day of actua ll y malinc a free·fall comes round .
In the usual way the fi rst drop is made from a static
balloon from a heiaht of about 800 feet . and I saw six
WRAF lirls make tlieir first attcmpt, togelher wilh anum·
ber of airborne soldiers. This tmining an d dropping side by
side .... it h potential pa ratroope rs gh'C! a sense o f purpose to
the girls in their .... o rk. and the presence of the girls is
commented upon \ery favourably by their male companions.

'"
 ----
• -e. I.H. 1. U.

the centre in black. Recent observations al Luton reveal 1\ 1)(l\c: The lVeSI/and SRN3 lJ o~'ercrall, which is IIIlder-
that sc\cral ex· RAF machines are being rc -furbished for goil/g Iriais OIl Ille So/elll prio r 10 /wing It anded In'er 10
use by the Sudanese Aif Force. Of tncse, two recent lite /lIIerserl,jces 1I0 l'UUfljl T,i"ls Ullil. lido,"': Tlte JCI
chanscs of colours were on WVBJ. now 106, and WV620 " U,..OSI ill diOcrel!t guises. '1'011: lite CeylOllesc ,'('fsiofl 01
which has become 107. lire aircrall displays (m UII/I ..rw;'lg /OIK! 01 Iou, ,ockn pro-
jecti/e:J (md ligh / bombs. CClllrc: Ihe K/IImil Jet Pro"O:JI
PROVING THE VCIO TSI. 110110111 : Olle ollhe /tIlIny T Alk 4 Jel Pro,'o:JU in RAP
Initial experience with the VC IO flyinl on I)pical BOAC ' '-')iIl8 Tf/lillilll~ Com/tlimd.
routes has shown an uccl1cnl standard of reliabi lity and
scl"\iccabililY. Since the oversellS roule'proving programme
began on October 17, the aircruh has averaged mo re than
8.2 hours in the air C\cry day, eXcluding a period for
routine maintenance. The proving programme is being flown
by G-A RVF. the fifth o f 12 standard VCIOs for BOAC.
h is intended to occupy approximately 1,000 hours in fl ying
llllder I)pical senicc conditions.
Up 10 December 9. the velO had flown 364 hours on
overseas flights an d a funher 72 hours on local crew train-
ing at Ueathrow. The aircrnft undef"\\.ent a routine main-
tenance chec!. plus ce rtain modifications d uring the rest of
December. and furthe r pro"in, nights to Africa began early
in January, These will be follo\\ed by a series of transatla ntic
crossings to Montre al, Toronto :l1ld Vancouver fo r cold
weather e;>;pericnce,
Total flying hours on nil of lhe VCIOs up to December
16. 1963. was 2.051 in 862 nights, Cont rib uting to this total
were the seven :.ircra ft of the nOAC fl eet and G -ARTA.
the o rigi nal VC I O owned by the manufacturers, Two o f the
BOAC !lircraft 'VG and 'V B are now at Shannon Airport
in Ireland, where BOAC crew t mining has st!lrted_
CONVERSION. NOT KIT
I hll\C had sc,'eral letters from correspondents as!':ing
\\he re the y might ~ t lhe !.it of the Yor!,: "hich appea red in
the photograph illustrating canopy decoration in the October
issue, Unfortunately for them. this aircraft was not a !':it
as Ihey supposed, I1 is, in fact. a con"ersion from the
Airfix Lancaster and \\iI1. I hope. be the subject o f a special
article later this yea r_ The actual model is iIlustrnted on
the 0 pp05itc page.
l..cft : Not I1 kit, tu 1111111.1 mf'poj~d, Iml 1I COIII't'fsicm oj Ihl:
Airfix i.AmcflS/er illlo (I Trflll ~fK'" Comm(///{/ A.'ro York_
February 1964
 Military modelling
by C. O. ELLlS

A HEAVY
BREAKDOWN Tile elHflp/f"l'd model brt'tlkdo",.,. ,ruck; IlOlC '"l' sfm CIIl
ill ,111' access door lor a 'IIand grip'. The jib js sccn ill 'lie

VEHICLE Oll/l.'r iX,sj'i(m.

I']atfoml fl oor. 36 mm x 31 mm; 1001 locker sidcs. 36 mm
x 9 mm: rear. 31 mm x to mm; tool locler tops, 36 mm
x 10 mm.
Note that the lefl· hand side is di vided into two sections
Another model from the by an access door 6 mm wide situated 8 mm af! of the
cab. and thuJ a 'gap' must be cut in the left· hand side
components before assembly. All pam shou ld a lso be
Airfix tank transporter kit scored at 2 mm intervals to represent the plan ling- length.
wa ys for the sides and rear, and c rossways on Ihe locker
E panicular Arm y vchicle o ften suggested as the tops. Use a set square 10 ensure a nice true asse mbl y.
O subjel;:t for an Airfi x kit is that usdul item the break· building up the lockcrs on the platfo ml fl oor: stri pwood
dO\ln truc k. HO\l ever. those \lho Ilish 10 add one or these inside the corners is a usc:ful aid 10 rigidity, thoogh this
to their mi niat ure ' Field Workshops' cquipmen t, need look is largely a matte r o f choicc,
no further than the Airfi,'< tanl transportcr kit \lhich, along Jib componentS come entirely from the tan k trans·
\I ilh a small qua ntity of Plastila rd, furnishes all that is poner kit, arranged as shown in Ihe plan view in diagram
rcquired to ma ke a modcl Scammell SVf2S 6 x 4 heavy C, On the real vchicle Ihe jib arm runs on rollers in a
brCllkdo\11l vchicle, Issued in large numbcrs to RE ME re· runway and is wound by hand between an o uter positioll-
covery units during World War 2, a numbcr of thcse big where the safe \\orking load is two tons and an inner
Scammclls still su rvive in civilian use al the present ti me, position where the swl is three tons, Very stu rd y legs. like
thus also giving the model quite an appropriate place on an inl"cned 'V'. su ppon the ouler end of the runway and
an 00 gauge model railway layout. a cou ple of cross·members from pan $8 are suitable for
A lool at the pictures sho\ls :1 marked similarity to the Ihcsc, cemcnted in position such Ihat the apex of the 'v'
:miller) tractor descrilx.-d in last Sc:plcnlbc:"s AIRHX is 3 mm abol'e the lop of the sides. It only rcmains to
MAO,\LINL and, in fact, both I'ehicks shared a common point out that the ends o f all parts used must be trimmed
chassis. So before any assembly tales plate, the first task and chamfered "'here necessary 10 ensure Ihat el"erything
is to shorten both Ihe transmission unit (pan 21) and the butts neatly into place, The runway itself is made from
chassis (part 1$) by chopping out a 10 mm length from the two lon& arms o f pan 59. cemented loaether flange to
the middle. as described in the previous anicle. The rear fl ange. A template fo r the angled jib·head is given and a
halves of the cab sides and roof a rc also cut o r sawn off, slice of sprue does for the pulley wheel. Another slice of
as is the !'tar half of the seal unit (part S)-this needs 10 sprue is required as a dnl m on the hand·winch behind
be cut reall y close up against the front seals. Olherwise the the cllb, with a wire 'handle' tilled to the Icft·hand side,
cab back will not fit squarely in place, The template in A bmcket, shaped like an inverted 'u' is tilled ac ross the
diag ram A gives the sha pe and si1.c of the cab back. and nmway, afte r which the whole 101 can be rigged with
once this has been cut from Plastilard the chassis and cab collon-one length f rom the hand·winch led over the
can be assembled up to slage 23 in the instruction sheel. pulley wheel and gil"en a wi re 'hool.', :md another length
omit\ina only stages 6 and 8. Then find pan 8 in the from Ihe jib-head to the base of the winch. Three strips
lit and cuI off the semi-ci reular winch mOUlding: Ihis of Plaslilard. each measu ring 31 mm x I mm. a re re·
is cemented to the lower pan of the cab bad: below the quired under the platform fl oor as lateral su ppons and
line sho"'n dolted on the template, painting can Ihen be carried out while the chassis and
underside of the jib platform are still readil y accessible.
PLATfORM STRUCTURE Hal'ing arril"ed al this slage the time has come 10 'marry'
Now comes some scratch modellinG in Plaslil.a rd, made the jib platform to the waiting chassis, The winch mouldi ng
e.'l! tremel y easy by the fact that all the pans involved arc on the cab bacl su pports the front end and 2 mm st rips of
rectangular. General a rrangcment is qui te clca r from thc "Iastil.:ard, armnged as shown in diagram 11, support the
photographs. and 1 have also givcn a sl.etch (diagfllm C) reM end, By slightly adjusting the nldius of the curved
showinG the layout of tool locl.e rs a nd jib suppons on uprights with tweezers while the ccment is d rying, the
the platfoml, Dimensions for all the parts a re as fol!ows: - platform can be madc to sit perfectly level. All thal
'10 AJrfl. MOl0z/tM
remains are thc mudguardJ and the countcrwcight in fron t
of the radiator. a piece of scrap plastic serves as the
' wcight .. but if you intend to actually tow diecast model
cars. something more substan tial. li~e lead shot inside the
o 0
,
bonnet. is also required to prevcnt the front wheels leaving
the ground in a rather undignified way! Such items as the
towinll bar. tools. spare wheel. strapping and so on are
'- -- - --- - ~

obvious f rom thc photollraphs. and time spent in 'super

de tailinll' is well rewarded by the attrncti\'c appearance
of the finished model.
Sample WD numbers of Scammell brea~down vehicles
includcd H4S007S7, H47S2372. H4782266, and H4782487.
Lilc the tank transportcrs, they oflcn carri ed amusing
names; one 5uch vchiclc in thc Sicily campaign. for
a
instanc.: ..... a$ embellished with thc legend ' Soys from
Syracuse', paintcd abo\'c the windscreen. This n;'lme was
Ranled by thc 8th .... rm y formation si&".
CIVILIAN VERSIONS
Ex,WD Scammclls of this type. as mcn tioned earlier. are
still to be seen in civilian service, The \'ehicle illustrated
is, in fact, in daily use at a service station just outside
8 irmingham on the northern end of the M I. Finish is in
d ark blue with white roof and mudguards while, in com·
mon with 311 motorway service vehicle!, :tn ambe r beacon
is fitted on the roof; I suggest th3 t a small bead might
be suitable fo r this modification. While on the subject
of cx·WD ,·chides. it is .... onh mentioning that our old
friend thc Scammcl1 artillcry tractor i5 also to be seen
in civilian guise-a special favourite with travclling show·
men and oftcn paintcd in flamboyant livcry, These ' fair·
ground' Scammells sometimes ha\e the tilt removcd and
invariably carry a diesel generator mountcd in thc back,
The box·vans which thcy tow are quite simple affairs and
onc could easily be made up from 1>lastikard. using wheels
and axles left over from the transporter trailer. T hus there
arc plenty of possibilities here for railway modellers who
may not previously ha\'e g;\cn the artillcry tractor a
second thought,

Key to drawings: (a) Temp/ults for rellr /lwdg/lards, jib

IInld tJlld eOl/llluM,tighl bflld,eu (tM'O 01 each reqllired!
IIIla Irmp/alt lor eob bark, (b) TemplOlt for II(1IId'M'i/l(~/1
c
sidt plolt (IWO rt'qllired) UI/d urrmlgrme/ll of SlIpporfillK
,"111, 011 cil(usi" (c) Lo),OIll of pb p/mlorm Ulld pI(III of jib
srmclIIre (1I0t 10 sca/e-/IIlmlH!rJ illdkult pari, IItilised from
~JOJ
/(lIIk t,mUJ>Orlcr kil). The Illref' df't(IU deM'S (below) of the
prQIOI)'/1f' SC(l/lImeli 6 x 4 11/!(n'I' brt/ik(IQlnl I'ehide ~59
~how (left to right) Ihe jib ill lite illller IKJ~ititftl Ulld
OCUSI door with loldill/: !tu/dn (photo COl/firs)' of Imperial
lOl l
! 's,
=======~
lVar !;fIUC/l",): jib ill Ihe O/lln posilirm {Ill/I opliona/ spllrt'
wlll'l'l: alld cmmll'Tweiglll ill lrolll of Ihe radimlJT, and roof
bCllCOII filled 10 a eil'i/illll l'l'Tsiml, ::;:J99
 for most modellers prefer to have at least a simple scenic

LAYOUT background. Some of the ambitious ones get so absorbed

in scenic work that the railway appears to take second
place. But that, o( course, is strictly their own business.
On my part, I like to strike a medium, with perhaps a
bias towa rds the railway section of the layout, Thus, the

REALISM
greater portion of the baseboard is taken up with track and
railway accesso ries. But even if there is no scenery at all.
scenic tech nique is essential for realism. To appreciate this,
let's compare an old-type model rai lway with the new,
TOO MUCH ON TOO LITTLE
- - - b y Alex Bowie The old-style layout designer got out his pencil and
paper with one thought only, and that was to cram as
much track as possible on to his baseboard. This was all
Avoiding overcrowded scenery very well in theory, but resulted in railways "hich were
not only ultedy unrealistic ;n appearance, but quite often
HERE used 10 be a lot IHinen about the lack of realism were not el'en gOQd from the operational point of view.
T of outside third mils. Some people were so impressed A typical model would have dozens of sets of points lead-
by this argument that they used to run Southern electries ing into sidings, sometimes a few inches long. sometimes
on \\\0 rails only, with the dummy collector suspended in continued round sharp-radius curves, but almost always
mid air. This illustrates the ridiculous extent 10 ... hich spaced ridicu lously close to each other.
impressionable modellers can be frightened by propagaoda. The scenic worker, 011 the other hand, designs his track
Naturally I push a lillle propaganda mySl;!Jf- in favour layout with prototype spacings and appea rance in mind.
of scenic backgrounds- but like all argument I don·! Givell a small baseboard. there are times when trackwork
expect th is to be accepted without ver iticatioll. All the has to be pruned a bit to give realistic spacings, but this
modeller has to do is 10 go out and look at the prototype, isn't so ter rible as all that.
and try to visualise it posed against a background of giant Firstly, the average operalor can only handle so much
noml wallpaper, traffic at a lime, and any simple layout, provided it's not
However. I suspect that I am preaching to the converted, too simple. can keep him pretty busy fo r two or three
Fig I : Careflll pl(JCing of track and buildings CQlI make a laYO!ll look a lot larger than it act/wily is. The less 'dill/er',
Ihe beller,

~AYOl/T W'/ rH
S"'PA C'Ol/SNESS A 5"
H A IN F E ATURE
 1tfIjR",,.l T"~££ FEEr
P.O,u5

S'HARP H I OD£ ". (:lJRV£ S

CA'" Se; M ORe: I<"E"A LI S T,c_

Nor. £ft/J?1l ~ LlVGm

O, ' ST1!i'AH;HT'
I</fTM SMAl.l.eR
N I DDAN C UIfVE

Fig 2: Not Wo m(l1/Y buildings-jllS( t'!lollgh 10 gil't' life to tht' SCt'IW. Note how Ihe track disappears ;1110 lire blldJCNIC.
Ti,e 111"0 skelches slwllld meel e(lcll ofller af X.
hours without repeti tive movements. Secondly. the dis- tunnel entrance at the station end too. an d this ma y give
cipline imposed by scenic .... ork makes him plan more the illusion that the line continues further.
logically. He prefers a few long. well spaced sidings to One double slip is shown. though a Graham Far ish
a dozen half lengths tucked in odd corners. single slip \lould do al most as well, and if you total up
the track you will fin d plenty to keep you occupied fo r
FIDELITY OR FUSSINESS ? months. But having just met an energetic Scot who built
Now any designer. whether he designs rai lway layouts a 20 feet square layout in Iwo weeks, I couldn't be
or wallpape r, \I ill tell you that a few straight lines will dogmatic even about this.
always look longer and more imposing than a mass of fussy All the same. it is generally conceded that the normal
detail. And the eye, instead of darting all over the place, is modeller, unfortified by genu ine Scots porridge. takes
riveted to the main essentials. Thus. if the scenic worker quite a time to bui ld a layout. For th is reason. I prefer
knows his job. he can effectively make his ra ilway {mek to wor k in casy stages, laying out and ballaSlinll the track
look far more like the real thing than the chap who crams on the whole length of one side of a room first. This is
every possible piece of track on to a baseboard. followed by the station build ings, then by sections of
Here we come to the crux of the matter. The most im- scenic wo rk . com pleting each section before beginning
portan t characteristic of a railway is its length and another.
spaciousness. By eliminating fussy and overcrowded detail
of the o ld type, some of the im pression of space an d CAMERA COMES IN HANDY
length can be reproduced, and even if there is not one T his is "here myoId friend the camera comes in, for
single ext raneous bui lding on the layout. it will still look even if I don't use it, I build each section so that it can be
more realistic. photographed. Thus. each section becomes a model in
Fig I shows a layout 14 ft 6 in x 20 in, in which the itself. and as one afte r another is completed. the layout
background scene is fairly simple. Another 20 inches is ta kes form quile naturally. I have tried other models, but
added on to make space for a hidden curve of [8 inches frankly, if the whole layout is attempted at once. one has
rad ius. Observe that the trackwork is des igned to give a large un completed model for a long time, and there is
a long spacious look. and this is helped to some extent by the danger of boredom.
having the tight hidden curves at one cnd. If o f about 18 Some modellers attempt to get the layout operating first.
inches radius, compared with the nonnal three feet. th ese before doing any other work. In fact . the po pular wa r
will give about 18 inches extra straight on the main base- cry used 10 be 'Get something running'. This works with
board. All of which helps to make the layout look longer some peo ple. but agai n is a dogma which does not allow for
than is actually the case. individu al temperament. It is up to modellers th en. to wo rk
The curve can either be under a tunnel. behind trees or out their own methods. If you like operati ng, get something
embankment. or can di sa ppear under a bridge, an d into running- but if scenic \lork is your main interest, complete
a hardboard back-scene as in Fig 2. Note that there is a a section first.
February, /964
'"
 I
l
I,m

SEABORNE SWORDFISH
Akin W. Hall tlescribes an interesting
way to put the 'Stringbag' on /loats
A LL Mark I Swordfish produced had the capability of being con-
verted to noatpJancs vcry easily. Not a great nu mber were used
operationall y during the war, and most of these were assigned to
fleet-spotting duties in battleships and cruisers. Nos 701. 702, and
70S Catapult Flights were equipped with Swordfish floatplanes in
the Royal Navy and No 202 Squadron RAF operating from
Gibraltar used them from October 1940 10 January 1942. At the
second battle of Narvict.. in April 1940, a Swordfish noalplane cata-
pUlted from HM S Wafspitc spolted for the guns of the British fleet
50 successfully mat an entire force of seven enemy des1rorers and a
submarine were sent 10 the bottom.
Although the Swordfish noalplane had a iood war record, I
preferred, for Ihis aMicle al least, 10 concentrate on a prc-war one
and found some excellent rderence in 'British Naval Aircraft-. by
Owen Thetford. This shoW's a photogra ph o f the aircraft from one
of the battleships stationed at Gibraltar, and wa5 taken by that
ace-photographer Charles Brown in 1938. Unfortunately he co uld
not remember which ship his subject came from . but the photo-
graph, reproduced abo\'e, showed all that I nceded for the job and

-----
----....~ that was good enough!
More reference ,",as found in the war-lime Penguin paper-back
' Aircraft Rc:coanition', by R. A. Savillc-Sneath. This shows a vcry
good side view o f the prototype (KS662, third pre-production
Swordfish) of the noatplane. William Green', ' Float planes'. volume
six: in the Warplanes series. also has a drawing and photograph of
th e Swordfish noatplanc.
CONSTRUCTION
have always found that one of the reasons why model makers
light shy of pre-war aircraft is the necessity of bracing wires between
the main planes. There should, however, be no difficulty about this

'" !.Jr(!. Marazine

 ..,."Iyu.r 1_' '*"'tn of ~_"' ID i«tJl/ool """I
s-J ....... "'."R6rjoi~ll. All"'" ~_, """'1 by
_ 1"1' pI_ Md N't'1"'lylo"," I~""/Qp Md .-......
"",11 IItIO poJ/,kM.

Uol't' ......, lit bo;r: IhI ID nu~... j/oGlI dry'" AdtI ('OCkpil .'flJdy,ult.;oJio _11, ,Gi./ _ ' ' ' '
~ I poJ/lkM. Sum Aurmbly <'lW/ill "'iKI"t ".~, '" pio« of'Gi./ .-/tul. oIle.- /fUll, b<J/OltUI
_I..., """ I<up ' M "."., /It ,AI, pod,/ooI "",U """ pI,o, Mod .... _ , "",.. ".u'. Add l(KpNIo
l'OfIJp/n~. V_""ud.
if care is taken and sumcient time
allowed for the job. T use Coates
T erylcne 'Oosamer' thread for this
purpose, and fin d tha t the grey YS93
is the best. Only a small ma rk: is
leh if you place a dab of glue on
the inside strut and leave the end of
the thread in it 10 dry thoroughly
before repeating the operntion on
the nexl .stru l Al\\a ys be generous
\\ith the amount o f thread )OU leave,
and cm'er any marls with the ,lue by
painting o,·er them late r.
The .struts fo r the noats and o ther
COll/illlUd 0/1 page 192

Allow. left: n.- JWOl<II,,,. S-./Ii_ /IoA/p;-

"'/~1011t Ilwu;r:'{JIIItHt> by C_/a E. Bh>_).
February 1964 'IS
 fit in the angles of pnrt No 25. Thc Ihree
pieces are shown in sketch C.
You will notice thnt the nylon bearings
ImlC a slllall circular flange iocorporated.

eelspin This ",ill retain the bearing when

mounted, being inside the side members.
and registering with the recesses filed
in the top, or rather OOllom, piece.
BY BERT LAM KIN There is also an aperture in the laller
piece 10 clear the Cfown wheel. Cement
the two sides to part 25--lhe rectangular
flange fOf the original axle ",ill locatc
spindJc. (That piece of glass will help them the right distance ap.1ft, f in in
Motorising the you again.) 1lIe sealS, which will halc fact. Then drop the axle in place in the
V-slots. Do not foraet you are looking
to be trimmed, will provide some rein-
at the underside of the ca r, so the crown
Airfix •E' type forcement. But let the cemcnt on the
cradle dry first. wheel will be to the right of the centre

r
motorising
OR the Airfix 't:.' type
F Jaguar kit I decided
same method as lO.ilh
to adopt the
the Zodiac (des·
Front assembly
While waiting for the motor cradJc
cribed last month), usi ng Airfix spares to set hard, we can prepare the mounting
and Plastikard. This is based on the for lhe front axle. PlaSlikard is again
used, and pieces as shown in sketch B
!::=
assumption that a 10\ of my n::adcrs arc
not fully-nedged mechanics. and ha,-e 10
rely on a corner of the lilchcn table for
a workshop_ H you ha,"c managed 10
are prep;lred and cemented together as
illustrated. not forgelling 10 insert the
lugs on the Airfix front 1I'lle assembly
.. I I ~J A
product the workshop unit descr ibed in before securing the second support. F
~
the July issue of AIRnx M AGAZI'r, then Some reinforcement in the anglcs. 11150
c,'crylhing required is to hand . So. be· indiC"Jted, i~ needed. This can be from
sides the kit itself. you need an Airfix serap plastic. 1)lace this on onc side to
molor, front a:de assembly, rear axle set whilc Ihe rcar ax le is lackled. .., hIS
sknell sh(J"'s how 1111' "IIII$lms-
and pick·up braids, and some small
pieces of Plastikard-ir you bought a Back ax le assembly sivlI fllllllr/ alld f/{)()r au elll, tiller
rl'm(Jl'illg fll,. Ullg/l'd Irom members
sh«t for the previous conversion, then The third portion of the under body Wld Il,,, l'X/"'U;Q/I fHCe,. 0/1 Ih,. s/lmp.
you should have enough by you for Ihis (part 25 in the kit) forms the b.1SC for
O~. our rear axle. Some CUlling will be line. Now cement the re tention plate,
There is a sligh t difference between needed to clear the motor unil on the and put to one side to set. You can in
the size of the Airfjx Ferrari wheels and cenlr:ll section. This lime I am using Ihe the meantimc deal with itenu 14. 15, 16,
lh()';C in the Jaguar kit, but Ihi s need nvlon bca ring~ already on the Airfix and 17 on the instruction shcet.
nol worry us-our C'Jr is intended for axle. The mou nting ",ill lherefore hal'c Now is the time 10 paint all those
rad ng. You will notice that with this 'E' to be similar to lhe standard G P car surfaces Ihal will be difficult to reach
type. the underside of the body is in body. ie two triangular-shaped soc~ets when the caf is complete. When the
three pieccs, so that wc will not have as ",ilh a lop retai ning clip. These can be pai nt and cement arc quile dry the three
much CUlling away to do as ..... ilh the fabricated from Plasti kard and made to units comprising the chassis can be
Ford.

Mounting the motor

, " 1 H\ ,nll'll\ " \1\,,\
Starting with the central noor unil,

o
cu t off the angled front members and the
utension piece on the sump. Now cut
OUI lhe transmission tunnel and noor as
shown in s~eteh A. As a guide to the
fiui ng of the motor, the join between
the upper and lower parts of the body is
approximately lhe centre line of the
motor armature. l B
To mountthc motor, the sa me type of
cradle as used for the Zodiac will do.
It has the adl"3ntage that, by removing
the 10 BA bolt, the molor can be re·
placed if necessary. The sketch in my
G ,--I---' o
I

o
Th t mmlll/illg l(Jr lilt Ir(J1II a.I·1t i" mtu/I' IIfl
last article will gile the details. When 01 1'ltl5lihlrd pit'C"I'S (($ sllt, ... /I II('ft. IWI lor-
made, the cradle can be cemented to the

.,.
gl'lIillg III illS,." 11,1' IlIgl (}fl ,,,,. Air/i.c IWIII
central unit, using the top edges of the 11.1"11' (lstt'mh/y bc/ore Jt'ellri/lg 11,1' "t't'ond
curved portion 10 line up the armature $1IJ1lltJrI •
cemcntcd together- skctch D shows how
they should line up. The axles havc been
omilled for darity.
The seats can now be cut to fit close
to the motor unit. There will not be
[V) c
much seat left, but they reinforce the
motor mountini. This is a case where
one must sacrifJCe somcthinl for sim-
plicity of construction. The motor could
be mounted in the actual position indi_
cated in the kit, but this would necessitate
fitting a propeller shaft with bearings
and a f1exiblc coupling. So if )OU fcel
like the cxtra effort, the: shaft can be
CJ
mounted in the transmission tunnel on
the central floor unit.

Modified mounting
Ob\iously, the cut-away portion will
be differcnt. and the mou nti ng of the
front ax le assc1llbly wi ll need modifying.
This arrnngeme ntlcaves the scalS intact.
so the Airfix driver CM be filled fairly
easily. With the rear·mounted \"crsion the
dri\'cr will have to be somewhat dras·
tically rcduccd- 'cut down to size' in
fact.
With the chassis in one unit wc can II. l'lIr 11.\'/1' /tKlllioll is by ''''0 lri(lIIgu/ar-sluwt'd SlId.I'IS (liS sl/UI..,1 hrre) ...i,h a
lOp retaillillg dip. Thrse arc mm/e ta fit ill Ihe IIIIgIl's a/ plIf' No 25.
now proceed with the upper part of the
body. If this is goi ng to be detachable,
the bumpers and lights, ctc. must only come the trouble when the thrC'Jd has cars carrying lights- which is criss-
be cemented to onc hair of the: body- stripped in those pillars. Two small crossed across the 'glass' and pre\-ents
cither the bottom or the top- not both. pieces of robber insulation, stripped the pieces falling oot in the cvent of
In view of the shapc of this car, ...-e can from clectric light Rcx, inserted in the brc.lkagc. Paint whitc discs on the sides
copy the method used on the: Airli.~ G P hole will do the trick. The holes ... iII and bonnet for the racing numbers. You
car- two small sere,.-s through the cnds need drilling 10 takc the thickness of the can follow full·siJ!e practice here by
of lhe chassis to rcgistcr with the plastic robber. cutting the actual numerals from plastic
pillars on the top half. Finally, before pulling together and sheet. like Fablon, and applying it to
addi ng the finishing touches, two stan. the discs when the paint is dry. Yoo wilt
dard braids are threaded through the be easily able to change the number if
Wider spacing slots in the front axle's mounting and rcquill.'d.
Drill centrally with a sm.l11 drill about dipped on to the motor connections,
-R- in through parts )5 and 25. ( Inci· Allow about half an inch below the car 'Customising'
dcn tall y, part 25 C'Jrrics the t... in cxhaust and bend the surplus to lie wit hin the Another touch of individuality is
pipes- you may need to space these chassis. given by adding a coloured stripe across
... ider to clear the screw hcad.) After the bonnet, or c\en runni ng the whole
dri ll ing, place the two h:llllc;s of the car Extra weight Icngth of the car. If the ' E' type is to
together and m:trk inside the top half You may fi nd somc addi tional .... cight race as an open car, a tonncau cover
with the drill. This will gile the position is requi red, especiall y if YO U'IlC mounted can be fitted ollcr the p<lsscngcr scat.
of the pillars. These can be cut from the motor in the forward position. The Adhesh"c plastic sheet ... il l do. Cut it to
scrap plastic thic k cnough to take the article by Norman Simmons in our fit just ollcr the cockpit edgc. The proto-
screw. In {:tct, if you follow the standard December issue ,.ill provide the ans .... cr. type wou ld be fitted with press studs
car for 5i7.1:$ you can't go ..... rong. Wait Thcre are one or two details th.lt can (ti ny spots of paint could indicate these)
for the cement to set before screwing be added to the completed cnr to gi"e along the cdge of thc plastic, But they
the two halvcs togethcr. it that authentic look, ' Tapc' the head· must be small and even-try your hand
While wri tins abou t this p.lrticular lights with narrow strips of gummed on a spare piece before tackling the
feature, here is a tip to help YOll over· paper- in prototype this is done on all actual co\'cr.

Th~ flm:1! IInils comprising thl' dl(lS$is art Cfnlcllftd togl'fll(!r likl! tllis (1111' axil'S art' omilf~d from tIll! dmwillS for c/(lfit}').

Ftbruar y, 19'"
"'
 Mainly for
modellers
BY NORMAN SIMMONS

the Scammcll Scarab nlcchan-

SINCE
ita] horse and trailer kit was intro-
duced by AirflX in September, 1962,
SO~ imponanl new developments ha\< ('
talco place alTeclina the information
contained in the kit instructions for
painting the British Rail"'~I Ys version.
AI the 'New Design for British
Raitwa ys' exhibition held al the Design
Centre in March, 1963, the British
Railways Board exhibited many cx-
3mples of the work of their Design Panel .
In an allempllo create a greater impact
on the public, it was dl'Cided to replace
the former red and cream livcr)' applied
to BR road vehicles by bright yellow.
In addition, the former BR 10lem is re- Top: Modi/it d mtc/ulllic,,/ horse mm/el, 10 GIYR .J/~cific(Jlioll. willl ".J/Jt'eled
placed by a I'ICW 'freight arrow' symbol. roof lrailer. Above : A pr%"f#! GIYR 3 lOll IrlK"lOr will, (J .J/~cialised /ypc 0/
The new bright yellow li\cry and tmill",
freight arrow symbol is most striki ng bed trailer to allow for the thick ness of the sides. Diagram A illustrates this.
on the three-Ion collection and dclh"cry Plaslikard used. Defote the cement holding the ends in
van trailer, which can be built up easily I found it easier to start construction place has thoroughly set, the sides should
from the flat-bed trailer in the Airfix Id!. with the ends. These were cut to size be cemented in place and the \"3.n body
On these pages are reprodUi,:Cd 4 mm and cemented in place. A 5eCOnd piece can then be squared up all round and
scale drawin~ oltwo types of three-ton of card, cemented from behind each end left to dry. On the flush-sided \"3.n there
van trailers. The simplest one to make with liquid cement, adds strength and is a rubbing strip a scale 2! in by 2 in
is the flush-sided \ersion ..... ith tapering holds the sides and roof firmly in plaoe. on the front and sides at waist 1e\·e1.
sides. In my model the sides of the van The 5eCOnd pieces of card are cut This can be cuI from Plastik"ard of the
were made from thin Plastikard ce- straight at the toP. J mm below the appropriate: thiclrx::ss and ttmented in
mented to the sides of the fiat-bed maximum roof 1~'cI, to hold the balsa place with liquid cement. A further strip
traiJcr, and the roof .....as made of balsa roof in position. Any thickness of sheel of thin card a scale 1 in wide: cemented
wood. The scale dimensions of lhe flat- balsa can be used. as it can be sand- in place around the lower sides and
bed trailer are eXllctly the same as the papered to size afler assembly. using the forward end completes the: assembly.
van, namely IS fl by 6 n 6 in so, to ends as guides. The width of the The van chassis use largcr-diamete:r
preserve exact scale: dimensions, it is strengthening pieces for the ends should rood wheels than those supplied in the
necessary 10 reduce the size of the flal- be less the thickness of card used for Airfix kit and a 12 mm y,heel of suitable

BR SCARABS PAST AND J

r • "I

e ...-

Ldt: Modd mull/mical lIoru ill /II~ '" R"i/ frejghl II/(Jrl.:jl/lts. Right : RtfHka 0/ " GWR ,rtIC/or ...ith jlm-btd trailtr.
'" AlrfI. McI,CI;r:/ne
 BRITISH RAILWA YS 3 TON DELIVERY VAN TRAILERS FOR MECHANICAL HORSE
Flush sided, tape red sides, fi nished in red and cream with BR tote m

_L
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C

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ID $'",-.

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...,. "'-2" T ylt/iS

SCAL E 4 mm = I ft
St raight sided, panelling below waistline, fini shed In ye llow with Ra il Fre ight symbol

;bA~" ,,.(If " oF

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16 D

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shape should be substitu ted. Th is IJCCCS.. Diaarol.m A (NOT TO SCALE)

sita les modifying parts 54 and 5!i of tne
ki t to raise the axle by .7S mm. I used a 6"~JI'I Woos> R Ooo;";;';;O::7/'/,?'>-.
pair o f 1:72 scale modelllircrafl wheels
of approximately the right slyle and

RESENT
.,..,
1'N1C:p'£UU
Of t; AAll
JIIr UlCfj
• •D
Dia, ra m B
(NOT TO SCALE)

o
drilled ou t the centre with a -A in
drill to take the standard hub caps (pa rts '~ionl (unoed
no 57 and 59). New mudguards are _ afOd umoJO'' ' on
req uired, and can be cut from Plasti·
symbol from thin strips of coloured
Sdlolape. Except for the colou r scheme,
.eo. ,''''''' .. ""'.I . _
kard. It is p~ferable to make: these fronl /.. flI«e.
two or mOTC thicknesses of card which, the Scarab tractor is unchan&c:d. A
small freight arrow symbol should be
when cemented together, hold thei r
pain ted on the cab dooTII. Letteri ng is in
sllape and can be filed and sandpapered
to correct outline. black aDd can be done with Indian ink
The fi nished van body should be and a fine mapping pen. All chassis D i;ag ram C
p.1inted bright yellow and the f~ight detai ls should be painted black. The
arrow symbol painted in black and red . roof of the ,-:an body is crcam-colourcd
You may find it easier to make up the (COnlinUffl on pose 1(1)
febrlHlrr . 1964
'"
Abo"c : Hol'QC I IJf)12I: )' P-F of No. 23 Sqll . Ilclow, ri)lhf : A ll AI-eqllipI'Cl/ H<lI'QC NFU. AH522. S" e 11'1/.1' COIII'er/ed
f rom (I OIJ-7A .

I Ncedithengyear.i immediately pre- as Rangers. T hey retained fou r

PRgF!LE~
World War 2. fighter.i guns at the base of the nose.
we re designed simply 10 catch and had a Vide T$ K gun fitted
the bomber.i they were in- in the rear cockpit. The Ranger
tended to intercept. and could ca rry up to 2,400 Ib of
the frills wh ich they have bombs, and was introduced into
since grown were undreamed 23 Squadron in Octobe r 1940.
of. It is, therefore, ironic that Intruding operations by the
two of the most successful MJuadron's Blenheims com-
fighter.i. the Mosquito an d Ju
88. we re derived from bombers
conceived before the war. Such
airc raft were mainly built as
Havocs: the menced soon arter, and 1:lter
the Havocs ( Rangers re-named)
joined them . AE461 was one of
the first to reach 23 Sqn, but
fighters. but in the case of the afte r a few weeLs she went to
Douglas Havoc- which served
with the night-fighter squadrons
of the RAF from 1940 until
1943 - all were conversions
fighters based 418 Sqn. B0 1l2 coded YP :T
came into use in the Spring of
1941. and carried very pale grey
codes and serials. BOl 21 was

on Bostons
from 0 05ton bombers. another, coded YP-F in red.
The arrival of the early The fonner had typical 1941-
Bostons was reco rded in last style wide yellow and white
month's Profile. Clearl y. the rings in her roundels an d
DB-7s did not meet the RAF's nashes, whereas the latter had
day bomber requi rement and the OB-7As were little beller. the outer ring o f her fuselage roundels reduced in width.
i\leanwhile. there was a desperate need for faste r night- It is, perhaps, unfortunate that the name Ranger was not
fighters to rep lace the ageing Blenheims. an d panicularly lcpt fo r these clear-nosed Boston-like aireraft: it existed
of aireraft which could accommodate bully Al radar. For fO f but a short time and \las superseded by Havoc. This
these purposes the early Bostons seemed quite suitable. The name applied both to the Boston lis used as intruders by
Ooston lis also had suflicient range 10 remlil them 10 Fighter Comman d and also 10 a night-fighte r version with
maraud across the Channel and attack the enemy bombers a solid nose. The first o f the latter. BJ464, reached the
at their bases by night. so tha t Fighter Command could RAF at the cnd of 1940 and. lile the Rangers, was blacL
harass the enemy throughout his operations. overall. Eight .303 in guns were installed in the nose, fou r
lnltially, BoslOn 11 conversions for this role were Lnown in ad dition to the others t;arried by the intruders. To dis-
190 AJr(I. MCllcu:ine
 •

tinguish the laller, the~ were designated Havoc I (Intruder). Aerial Mine, or LAM, experimenu with which were under·
AW40.3 of 8S Sqn. was one of the fighters, whh YY-Y taten under the code nallle 'Mutton', A score of Havoc Is
Hpplied in the usual Boston / Havoc positioning, in a mther were supplied 10 No 420 Fit at Middle Wallop fo r the
light shade of grey. BB900 with :1 solid nose was yp·G Olnd purpose. where they joincd a motley collection o f aireraft
others, likewise painted a very mall black IInd .... earing light which included a few Harrows, Mutton consisted of a small
grey codes and serials..... ere Bl469 : YY·C Olnd BJ472: YY· IL bomb suspended from a parachute by 2.000 feet of piano
rhe $OOt black paintwort on the night·fighters rapidly wire-to scale with the Airlix l-Ia\'oc this .... ould require
deteriorated in the difficult conditions in which they about 12 feet of invisible th read.
nperated, so if you conven the Airlix noston into one of 420 Flight became operational during October 194{l. and
the Havocs a liberal supply o f "Iumbrol flallening :Igenl is set about dropping the mines ahead o f enemy night raiders.
essenlial when painting time comes around. Any of these colliding with the wire would have quickly
To conven the Boston inlo a Ha\'oc I will require more caused the parachute and then the bomb to hit the enemy
slill than at first might be sunnised. The engine cowling bomber. The sky is a large place and the chances of success
shape is similar to that of the Boston 11 depicted in our wue slender, so the scheme was abandoned. and the unit-
previous issue, and is not by any means straightforward 10 which had become 93 Squadron on December 7. 1940-was
produce. A new fin and rudder will be requi red. If the disbanded almost a yea r later, Havoc I ( I'andora) tnown
version made i, of the clear nose type, then a stepped rear for a short tillle as Havoc Ill , and used by the squadron.
to Ihe canopy will need to be built. which calls for careful included AX914 : H N- L and AX913: H N· D. both all blad.
cutting and placing of transparent areas. The bulges o\'er the and carryin, grey codes, etc.
side guns on the nose will ha\e to be dispensed with. but Nearly a ll of the DB·7As supplied to Britain were oon-
before removUlg them it will be found best to reduce the \'cned into night fighters or intruders. The fomler had a
lellgth of the IWO prongs inlo which the nosewheel struts solid nose designed by Manin· Baler Aircraft. in .... hich there
fit. Othel"\\'ise, it will be difficult to retain the TCtracting .... cre no less than 12 x .30.3 in guns, and this was rapidly
nosewheel. Some very cOl rcfu\ fairing o f the holes which filled to almost 100 aircraft. The Havoc lis had fin shapes
will appear .... hen the side blisters are remo\ed .... ill also be Iile those of the Boston III and similar engine cowlings.
called for. so the lit com'ersion requirements for this marl arc easier.
A compensation is born b) the con\ersion. for it is \ery It is still necessary to reduce the size of the nosewhecl attach.
easy to weight the ne .... solid nose ..... hich on the model will ment prongs and 10 remove the bulges on the sides of thc
need 10 be in leeping with the 47 foot length of the fuselage nose. ,\ 'Iost of the Havoc lis carried AI gear ...... ith Ihe radar
of the reat aircr.!f!. i\lan y fighter Ha\ocs had A I Ml YI screen hooded in the rear coclpit. an d Ihis can easily be
installed ..... hich called for bow and arrow aerials on the represented on the model.
nose and two Y·shaped aerials filled through the pon wing The operator sat at the rear of the cockpit. from which
at about two-thirds or its span. An H·shaped aerial was the gun mounting . . . as removed, and faced forward as in
filled on the pon side of the nose, Discarded lun barrels such ~I avoc Is similarly equipped. Bow and arrow aerials
are useful for making these small features, which will be need to be filted as before, litewise long·tailed name damper
found to add much realism to the models, cxhausts. For the laller I tool two Slacu from a Beau·
An intcresting oddity for a model collection would be one fighter lil. frolll which a ycar ago I had converted a
o f the Ha\'oc I (I'andora) aircraft. Thcse resembled the solid Beaufighter into a Mk 11 , This is but one instance of just
nosed fighters, but carried in their bomb ba~'s the Long COnlinutd 011 I~xl page

Febr"Q~y . 1964 19/

PROFlLE-COnlimff'(1 )ellow codes AR·9Q flanL;ng Ihe fuselase roundels. This.
and some Ha\'OC Is and lis still in night·fighter blacL, were
how valuable discarded pieces of an} kits can become. used as target lov.ers by the Navy.
Comparati\'ely few squadrons operated HavOl."S as night· Many Havocs and early Ik)stolls su r\i'ed c"mparati\'ely
fighters, and there were frequently to be scen anwng them uneventful perioos uf front-line ser,ice, and found all
a few clear nosed :Iircraft, the canopy slepJ)l:d ill :111 but the nmnner of special niches of emplO)'TTIenl. AW394.:1 Havoc L
illstances of DB-70s, or what might best be called 8o5ton III went to the USAAF in 1943. also AX913 which Imd carried
hltruders. No 85 Squadron was first to operate the H:n'oc. r.lulWn and undergone Turbinlite coll\·ersion. A H484:A
from Dcbden, where Mk Is joined the unit in January 1941. was still 10 be secn at " amborough for many months after
AX403 :VY-V was one such. Shortly after, the unit mo\"oo the \lar, 'Beau GCStc' scnbbled on her nose, where shc
10 Hunsdon and used Ha\Ocs such:ls ML 1I AH500:VY·A v.as used for fire tests.
until it receh'ed Mosquitos. No 23 Squ:ldron, which AE469. one of the very earliest Oostons, survh'ed long
pioneered the IIse of lIa\ocs, ga\e up ilj mlil:ture in 1942. enough as a Havoc to wear I)-Day stripe5. She. like a few
A fai rly simple ctJnvcrsion for Havoc 1 or 11 is presented of the Bostons which had $Cen late service with ,·jghter
by mooelling onc of the Turbinlite-equipped machines, Command, was then painted in the grey and grecll finish
These aircraft had Iheir noses cut oIT almost immediately associa ted wilh the licaufighter and Mosquito.
ahead of the undercarriage bay, alld a fl:1I circular panel M. J. F. Ro\o\ ) t'r
fitted on to the fuselage cross·section. Into this w;u installed
a searchlighl givini some 2,700 million candlepower. Design
of the light had been done by Air Commodore Helmore, Seaborne Swordfish-conlinlll'd
and proouclioll undertakell by GEe. To retain the circular .!'mall parIs were made in this instance from l'lastikard. Five
panel and liShl agaillst Ihe rectangular·shaped fuse lage thicLncsscs arc 3\ailable. I used .060 in thidncss which
cross·section, two special fairings \lere placed on the side costs Ss for a 13.\ 9 in sheel.
o f the nose, The wing aerials were retained on these aircraft.
and AI aerials were also placed at the front of both the PAINTING
relaining fairings. Batteries for the searchlight were installed Painti ng this model is an easy job. The \lhole thing is
in Ihe bomb bay and the aircraft were unarmed. ch'en onc or t\lO COOlS of silver, apart from the propeller
It was plallned Ihat the Havocs would patrol alongside boss. which is in blue, and the torpedo, \lhich should be
the satellite anned fi&hter, then illuminate any target for in dark grey. The forepart of the ellgine cowling should
the fighter to dcslroy. Ten ,·Iights were formed to operate be coloured bronze. v.hich can be obtained by a mixture
the Turbinite Havocs, both Mk I and 11 , and eight of o f Humbrol copper and black. The cockpit should be given
these being the equivalent to four squadrons v.cre opera- a coat of light green alld the pilofs headrest a touch of
tional by the end of 1941 in three I' ighter Groups. The black.
performance of the scheme and equipment during exercises
was good. but there wcre few large-scale raids to intcrcept MARKINGS
in 1942. In poor \leather Ihe equipment was obviously of T he upper and 10\ler \ling alld the fusclage roundels
little use, and co-operation with the anned fighters on dark \lere taLen frolll one o f the HisAirOec transfer sheets
nighlS pro\'ed none too eas)'. Added 10 this. the perfonnance marLeted b)' BMW Model.!' and imported from the United
of enemy bombers W35 improving fasl. and Ihe blunt·nosed States. Serial numbers ILZ74Z) on the rudder and rear fuse-
I-I avocs were hard put 10 catch the enemy. It was February lage came from Letra-.et transfer sheets- IO and 12 point
Oil1 Bold Condensed, These sheets can often be obtained
Nose fittin g oo~
Turbin li te __
I _~E1TI'J---~ from artists' supply shops- you need Ihe '\I cl' Iype, not
the new ' Instant' letraset which just cannot be used for
these small jobs. The leuers Ihemselves ha\'e no 'carrier'
liLe the lransfers v.e are used to. and need great care in
their application. 1 find that a liule old fa5hioned 'spit'
applied on the finger tip 10 the surface of the model can
help a great deal. The numbers are transferred f rom the
carrier frame, also su pplied by the art shop, on the tip
of a sharp-pointed Lnife.
S<juadron markings '529' on a blue band on the rear
1943 before the Turbinlite Havocs were mainly laLen from fU'iClage came from Yeomans transfer sheets that a lot of
service, by which time the ten nights had become Nos 530 model shops stocL. I cut out a piece of paper to fonn a
10 539 Sqns. pauern for the blue background before cutting the transfer.
A surprisingly large number of Havocs were fitted with This was fiddled with unlil it fitled the required area on
TurbinlilCS. certainly more than the generally-quoted small the fuselage exactly. and was then used as a fomler from
numbers. The special Turbinlite Hights also used fighter \lhich to cut the transfer. The \\hite leuers are t-inch high.
Havocs, and some aircr..ft specially filted out as trainers, Underv.ing transfers \lere also from Yeomans sheets.
such as BOIl6. A triab Turbinlite Havoc was AW400 : Black i-inch lettcrs and numbers were used. The numbers
ZQ·A, which had red codes. BO IlS was a ,,"'110 I (Turbinlite) '.529' also appear under the upper wing surface and a re in
used by 532 Sqn. W8389 was a Boston III converted to carry the same size and colour as the seria1.
a Turbilllite in Havoc style and the red codes UB·X. There 1)!"'Coration to the floats- lines and circles are made
were many such conversions, like W8300 and W8303 used from either thin strips o f red transfer cut (rom onc of the
by 1452 Aight. Boston III W83SZ passed Ihrough the Turbin· Yeomans sheets o r, i( )OU are o nc of those with a \cr)
lite stage to become a 50lid nosed machine resembling a stead) hand. they can be painted on. The circles arc in
Ha voc 11, and saw service wilh the Royal Navy wearing blaeL.
Alrfl x Ma,Gzin e
'"
 TTIES OF LDNDIl"~
Phone: PAL 42S8/ 1121
SOUTHGATE HOBBYSHOP
01'1'. Soutlo.ato tuN 1& 5 THE BROADWAY LO N . '4

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Febru(lry, /964
'"
 -
..

MODELLING
TOOLS FOR BEGINNERS
many of the questions I am asked concern the well. it would probably be best just to get the longer one. The
A GREAT
tools you need in modelling, and phrases like 'What do you smaller engineer·, steel squares are ,·ery handy; the one I use
use to do ... r. and 'What kind of pliers do you use?' are most is four inches long. bUl a larger cmpenter's square would
continually cropping up both in convc:rsation and letters. be equally useful, if not quite so handy.
Well, you know, the tools )'ou use or don't use depend very For a cutting surface, the ideal is a piece of plate glass, as
lar&d), on personal preferences and ptejudi~ and it is ,cry this gi\es n really sha rp, clea n cut, but if you cannot rise to this
diffICult 10 be dogmatic on the subject. DUI in an effort to help an offcut of hardbo:.rd, used smooth side up, is a good sub-
modellers in general, and beginners in particul ar, it might be a stitute. Discard il and get another pi~e as soon as the face
good thing 10 run through some of the lools I consider essential, becomes badIY-SCllrred- you cannot cut cleanly on such a sur-
and to give some ideas on wha t f think are desirable additions face. Plate glass does, of course, treat CUlling blades pretty
10 a basic tool kil. For this article I am not rcstril.:ting my harshly, and a small oilstone on which you can sha rpe n your
remarks to plas/lt" modelling only. but am widening the scope knife is n re:,l money-saver- no-one can produce good models
to include modelling in card and wood. 'A-ith a blun! blade.
Addi tional culling tools 'A-hich are more or less essential
CUTTING TOOLS are sa\l\'S. I have already mentioned the fine leoon saw blades
First. then, the mea," of cuning out: a sharp modelling sold by Tri;<. which are ncellent fur Slmight cuning in both
knife. a steel ruler, a metlll square and something Oil 'A-hich to metal and softer materials, such as wood and plastic, as are the
cut. There are a number of quile inexpensi,e knives on the smaller Eclipse: hacksaws. For oulline culling, a fretsaw or its
market, all with interehangeable blades. and one kind in partic- smaller brother, a jeweller'S piercing saw, (which cuts metal)
ular, by Trill:, with a y,hole mnge of different gouges, routers. is very useful. Out a great many jobs can be tackled using the
saws and chisels, all of which fit the one type of handle. I Trill: blades mounted in their knife handle.
al\l\"3)'5like a six-inch steel rule for general small-scale modelling, Of course. for 'cutting' plastic sheet one of the best ways is
bUl if you do not \I\"3nt to buy this and a Sled one-foot rule as the 'score and crack' method. For this, as well as for mark.ing
Alrf/x M Olozine
'"
out on n~tal, a scriber is useful; you can use an old compass
point or an old style metal gramophone needle held in a pin
chuck (which I shall mention later). Once again the oilstone
comes in handy for keeping the points sharp.

FILES
A smooth, Oat metal file is ,cry useful, particularly if you are
assembling white metal kits. Jeweller's fine files (round taper,
nat :md half,round in particular) arc things to acquire in due
course, but be sure you get the bellcr quality ones. Sandpaper
and glassp.1per in various grades, or a supply of manicure
boards. arc useful in wood modelling.

DRILLS
For holes. a drill and drills are needed, though often in the
small sizes we deal with in model-making a pin vice is perhaps
of more use. ThC'sc are miniature precision chucks mounted on
a milled stem; Eclipse: sell se,'eral sizes and I find the smallest
about the most useful. In ..... ood and plastic the re is often no
need to mount the pin vice in a drill chuck, and the hole ca n
be made by mounting the drill in the pin vice ... hich is rotated
by twisting between the thumb and forefinger.

PLIERS
The subject of pliers is a diffICult one on which to gi"e advice.
I think e"ery modeller has his ow n pet ideas about the most
useful t)'pC'5-1 «rtainly have a favourite pair of fine-nosed
011C$ .... hich I find will do for almost any kind of job. Certainly
to start with a good quality pair with long, thin jaws and a
firm grip on evcn the thinnest materials will be about the most
useful, but if you are an)"thing like me you will gradually acquire
an assortment of sizes and types. Fine, round-nose, side- or
end-cutters all have their uses at "arious times.
For this type of modelling, you will fi nd that you need the
jeweller's or instrument maker's lighter types; there is a good
and quite iOC')lpensive range of them coming in from Germany.
The heavier types of pliers to be found in multiple Stores are
not much use in the general run of modelling alt hough, if you
do have any heavy bending or culling to do, don', use your
lightest modelling pliers- you will only strain them and will
soon find they are useless for the finer WOI"k for which they are
intended. And if you really cannot get hold of any pliers at all, A ho,·c. Id !: .A stiulioll 01 items ill Q begi""u's /001 kit.
it is amazing what you can do with a pair of tweel.ers! Top draWing (abo.'e) sho ..·s side QI1d ends 01 simpk tool
box glucd and pill/led IOgether. while the bOllom dra"'illg
LATER ADDITIONS illllxtr/I/ts the fOp and bollOtll g/" ed Qnd pilllled ill place
(the dOlled lint shows sa>,'-{"/I/ to separate lid lrom bottom
Lately two developments ha,'e TC\'olutioniscd the home 01 box).
miniature 'workshop', and I ha,'C' mentioned them both al
some lenGth in previous articles- the bauery-opcratcd miniature later, your 1001 kit will outgrow such a modest container, and
power tool and the self-contained spmy gun. I would certainly you will be fnced with the need to bu y or make a 00)( big
put high on my list of additional tools to acquire one of the enough for everything.
more powerful Minidrills (together with some extra grinding Obviously the carpenters among you need no hints from me
and cutting he:lds, and a miniature cireular saw) and Humbrol's on how 10 do this. But if, like me, you never quite know when
e;o;ccllent spray gun. Both thC'sc useful aids to good modelling the lid you make is going to be a really good fit on the bo)l
have the inlll~nse advantage of being independent of mains itself, perhaps I can give you one worthwhile tip, for which I
electricity and complete]y portable, claim no originality as it is, I believe, a very old dodge. Instead
There are other tools whieh you will doubtless get as you of making the bottom of the bo)l and ilS lid separately, make
progress with your modelling. Bul you will see from what I ha\'C' the lid and the bo)l as one-that is, glue and nait or serew the
written that the initial outla y need not be very ,real. particularly sides and the ends together, glue and pin on the top and the
if you 1ea,'C' the power drill and the Spray lun until later. bottom and then separate the lid and the bo)( bottom by care-
rully sawing round a marked line. Add catches, hinges and
TOOL BOXES carrying handles and you should find that ),ou have a strong
]t is, or course, a good idea to have a bo)( where all your tool bo)( with a close-fitting lid. Racks, clips or straps can be
modelling tools can be kept ready for use. In the ea rly stages, screwed to battens 'Evo--stuck' to the bottom and to the lid, and
about the cheapest container you can get is an ordinary box I strongly recommend a compartment for some tins or jars to
file which you can buy at any off1Ce supply shop. But sooner or hold va rious small parts. Copyright, Mike 8ryonl, 1964
February, 1964 19'
 ITH the exception of the annual
Wmolor r;)ce meeting at Brands
Hatch on Boxing Day (and. in 1963,
fo r the first lime al Mallory Park.
100), the months from Octobe r \0
Ma rch are barren ones for British
moto r racing fans. At this lime of
the yea r. with thoughts cast back on
the past season. an d forwa rd 10 the
next, many enthusiasts turn their
attention 10 going motor racing on
foot. with a visit to the BRSCCs
annual Racing Car Show. The fHlh
Show in the series opened i1$ doors
On road and track
at Olympia o n January 22 and runs
through 10 February I.
The 1964 Racing Car Show, again
sponsored by the Daily E:cP'~u.
promises 10 be the biggest and hri,hl.
est yet. VisilOrs can see all the latest
fasl-moloring equipment. a \\-hole
host of famous competit i on cal1
(bo th old an d new), and a number nence on a mOlo r racing ca reer which
of new machines ma king thei r public by DARRYL REACH ellentually led to his World Cham-
debut. Pride o f place in the Show son', sensational dra gster is su re to pionship win in 1958.
goes to Jim Cla rk's Lotus 25. with draw the crowd" while among the A special section at the Show is
which he won sevcn of thc ten 1963 historic cars on show are the 1939 dcvoted to Cars o f the Champions.
grande:s epreuvcs (more than any Ligh tweight Special (an ea rly example 1963. and includes thc Ford Conina
other dri\'u has e\'er won in a single of monocoque racing car construc- with .... hich Jack Sears too k the
seasonl. gaining himself the World tion). an 1899 CanSlall-Da imler, 1922 Saloon Car Championship. Josh
Driver's Championship and the GI' Sunbeam . 1923 Merccdcs. 1925 Randlcs' Cooper-Mascrnti (winner o f
Manufacturer's laurels for LoIUS. On G P Aston Martin. 1926 G6 Amilcar. the sporlsmr hill-<:Iim b champion-
show on the Daily Express stand is 1931 'Monu' Alfa Romeo, 19)4 T )' pe ship). the Felday· Daimler with ..... hich
a Lotus 29, like the one Clark took 59 Bugatti. 1934 K3 MG Magnette. Peter Westbury won the RAC Hill-
second place in at Indianapolis. 1953 2SOF Maserati (onc of the best- Climb Championship. and the Ron
In addition to Clark's Lotuses. looking racing cars eller built) and a Ha rris-Team Lotus 27 th at Peter
there are 28 other interesting 19S3 Cooper-Bristol of a type which Arundell placed first in the Express
machines on show. Micley Thomp- launched Mike HaMhorn into promi ' af!d Swr FomlUla J unior Champion-
Two 01 the /!,l'-lO'or/i.r AS/Oil Martif! DIJ4GT /IIodf'1s hi",e bUf!fO/d 10 M ike ship.
SU/IIIo/l uf!d iJriml fi elrecd. 10'110 ..-ill rure Ihem it! 1964. Finally. there is a fine trio of
Grnnd Touring cars. com prising a
~r T}pe 212 ASlon Marlin. a GTO Fer-
rari and a liaht .... eight 'E' t}pe
Jaguar.
On the trnde exhibitors' stands can
be found anyth ing from the latest in
gearboxes o r carburettors to steering
..... heels and lamps. Besides this son
of equipment, th ere nre nlso selle rnl
new motor cars. Coopers are ex·
hibiting thei r FomlUla 3 car. wh ile
Lotus have on show thei r stupen-
dously po .... erful Ford V8-engined
LoIllS 30 spons car. Wel1-known
racing and rally driver Sydney Atlard.
builder and dri\e r of the Chrysler-
po.... ered Altard I)rn pter, hu de·
signed a ne .... drngster, known as the
Dragstar Drngon. to be sold in kit
fonn. The sport o f drng racing
(alread y .... cll-cstablishcd in the
USA) is spreading fast in Britain.
and this year the Allard Owners'
Club is organising the First British
International D rag Festival. which
will bring toge ther top drag stars
19. AIr(l1f MO'f O'dne
frorn Ensland ami abroad to com-
pete in a series of dras meetinss this
September.
More newcomers on show include
the new Sebrins Elva Courier, the
latest Me rl)"n sports car and their
new Formula ) machine, the Elva-
Porsche sports ca r. the Emery GT
car (powered by the Il illman Imp
enSine) and the new GT ; sport -racinS
ca r built for the newly-formed
Sprinl.cI-La"renceTune racing team.
On the Auto-Models stand (no )1)
can be seen the new Auto- Kits model
of the ·stad. pipe' UR M, In metal
kit fOllll, this I : 24 scale replica COSI$
495 6<1. l\l iniature car mcing fans wi ll
also want to visi t stand 69, whe re Fut/gio ill a VI6 If litre 511/H!rrhflr/tcd IJRM , IJflJi!'"I/" Ihis ill-fated machine
the Elect ric Car Racing Associat ion WQuld he e1is:ihle ,."der tlrt IIt ... /I"-(1II1rowlcc:d 1966 r om",ltl I N/C;lIg regll/a/ioll!'.
has some inl~resti ng e\hibits.
b~n sold to Mike Salmon and Brian Eril Carlsson (winne r of last years
Gl topics II ctrt-cd, " ho plan a full nlcing pro- Monte) is also entered. Graham Hill
gramme with the cars in 1964. is p;u lnered by lan Walke r in onc of
O NE of the stars of last )'ear's
Racing C:lr Show was the newly-
Another Monte
the Ih ree Arnerican-ente rcd wo rks
Ford Falcon Spri nts, sillning f rom
llnnounced Loin OT, Since then, the
car has unde rgone a lot of del'clo p- y the lime these nOles appea r, I'aris.
ment worl (including an encouraging B ano ther Monte Ca rl o Rally will
New Formula 1
appearance in the Le Mans 24-hou r be under way. with some )00 crews
rnce). DesiSner Eric Broadley, of baltling against the European ele- .p ROM Jlmuary I. 1%6, thc Fo rmula
Lo la Cars, has now the full bading ments on their way from the nine I Grand Prix enginc regu lat;o'l!
of the siant American Ford co:nbine different startins points. to the Princi- \\111 permit cars to use pov.cr ullits of
and a full competition season is pality. For the first tinle, lhere is a I J 1,lres supercharged or ) litres un-
planned with thc nev.' Ford or, starting poiO( in Russia (at Minsl l. supercharged, This may seem a
which will be: a formidable challenger chosen by nine 8 ritish teams and strange mo\c. as the current It litre
to the hitherto-invincible Furaris. five Russian cars.. fomlUla "as mcant to product' less
Although Aston Martin will not be Among the notable Brilish dril'ers powerful. and therefore safer, cars,
rtlnning a works learn of OT cars in talins part are Pat /l. loss (in her first This apart, at least the 1966 regula-
1964, t"O of the Mon7.3 Coppa 1nl er- drive for the worls Saab learn) ",ho tions will mean some pretty 'hairy'
Europa v.inn;ns DU40T models have is starting from Oslo. Her husband, motor cars, in true pre,"a r G P 5t) le_
7 lit w/lI-iluJlirtd r ord G1'- lI for",id(lhlt IIt14' chal/tllgu to lilt rtrmrj for lilt fortllcomitlg rl/dm( St(JJOII i.r po ...trtd by
(I 4.2 litrt 1'8 tllgim! mQlUUtd CllttCld 01 Ihe rtClr u.dt.

februQry, 1964 /97

 ,

New kits and models

men\. We used U Ii U as adh esi\ie, but Ourofix or any of
IRON CURTAIN PLASTICS the imp.1Ct adhesivcs .... ould have done, provided that 'thin'
L'l1-IOUGH we all complain from time 10 lime about joints can be made. Thc onl) ~tcp in the assembl y \lhieh
A inaccuraci~
in the aircraft comtruclion I..iu 31'ailablc
on the home market we are really Icry .... cll 01T. This fact
.... e found requi red eare was the fitting of the COl/pling hooks.
\\e found it best to 'easc' the t;hanne l bearing with a file
was brought home to us recent ly ""hen ..... 0 liiS from the 50 tha t the hooks rosc a nd fell without 5ticldng.
Sovie! Union arrhed al the office, lindl y $Cnt in 10 us b) 1 he \ehicles arc fairly heavy, and it is particularly
reader Ing K. Kl iment of Prague. importa nt that they should run frccly if any length of train
The Iwo models, one of a TU·I04 and the olher of a is contempla ted, T he pointed ends of the axles must be cut
fighter aircraft or no known design , were extremely crude off with n sharp modell ing knife 50 that the ax les run in
when compMed to the kiu available in the U K. Alt hough the cast U_shaped slots and do not protrude at {Ill on the
in diITcrcnt colours, the plastic from which they \>oc rc outside fat;e of the underframe. The cast retaining axle·
moulded ,',as simi lar 10 prc·war Bakclilc and vc ry brittle. bo~cs then only sto p the .... heels fa11ing oul \I hen the vehide
A bolt]c of cement was included in eac h I..it, bUI I found is lifted ofT th e track and grcat care sho uld be taken in
that this did not clTe<:li~c l y Slick the sections together unless gl u ing them in position to ensure that no glue gets near the
a great a mount ",as applied, consequently leaving a ICry ade ends.
untidy join. The goods \ehidcs submitted .... ere an open wagon, a slate
Transfers, none of which was rcprescntati\e of the airline wagon and a bolster ..... agon, All sell a t 5s IOd each, com-
coloun in the case of the TU·l04, .... ere different to those plete .... ith .... hee ls and couplings and come in ncat Cello-
.... hich we kno ...... The stid,y side was uppcrmo51 on the phane pad..s. No assemb ly instructions arc iocluded, but
bading paper and, although they were easy to get off in thcir make-up is so obvious and straight.for .....ard that this
hot water, the quality of the gum left muc h to be desired. is onc of the few occasions .... hen we agn.'C ..... ith the makers
T he fighter a ircraft looked someth ing like the Mig-19 wh ich that the add itional cost in\'oln.-d in induding them is not
Au rora ma rk eted some )ears ago, an d had a nose radome justified.
and t .... in jet orifices under a ta ll fin and rudder. The canop)' T he coach ing stock .....e rcceived consisted of a firs t class
was semi-opaque and cockp it struts \ery heavy, coach, a quarryman 's coach and a bra ke va n ~ h ich is, of
Unfortunately, we don't know the price that these lo ilS course, used for both passenger a nd goods duties, The last
sell for in Russia, $0 no comparison can be made but I t\lO ha\c I/nderframcs \icry simIla r to the goods \'ehicles
should imagine that the prices arc fairly high. Apart from and our remarks abou t assembly apply here. The fi rst class
my criticism of the two kits, it is pleasant to .sce that other coach dlfTel'$ in that the .... heels arc retained by 1....·0 lengths
countries apart from the USA, Great Britain. Fraoce and of ..... ire .... hich arc gl ued a long the bottom of the channd
Japan arc beginning to produce plastic aircraft loilS. The
standards set by the West arc high and it is hoped that o thers
.... ill attempt to match these in later prodUC\lon . A. W ,If ,

NARROW GAUGE ROUND·UP

EO RGB M ELLOR, in collaboration ith the Fcstiniog
G \I
R:lilwuy Company, has launched a se ries o f kits for
a loco and rolling stock of this grand little line to a scale
of SI mm to the foot, running on 12 mm gauge track. We
understand their reception has been cnthusiastic and , from
the samples submitted to us for review, .... e can well unde r·
stand .... hy this is, as all arc superb models,
All the rolling stock ki ts 50 far issued are in .... hite metal
\lj th plastic .... heels, and only require cementing together
and painting to produce accurate, .... el1 detailed and sturdy
model5. The amount of 'Oash' on the kits submitted was
\ery small and was easi ly remo\ied with a knife or a file ,
\l hile the parts .... ent together accurately without any adjust-

.,. ... Q of Ille FC$ti"iog //(/"0'" g(mgc itCIII,f frolll George

Md/or rl"'icwed tllis lII om lr the qll/lrrYIllIllr"s coaclr (!lid
Ille ' !'rillce' loco m,(/ tem/cr.
It.
underframe. Wc thinl.: a note on the padage label about
-
';wo_ac...
=-_
.{4S ,.
these t"o lengths of wire and about the position o f the Stcps
in both the Quarr}man's and the brake coach .... ould haye
been a good idea; some beginners could well be foxed on
both these points.
The amount of 'flash' was again commendably small and
the parts went together well. The greater site of the
passenger stock means tbat these all-metal \chicles arc
prctty heayy, .... hieh is good for track holding but it will
need a po .... erfulloco to pull an}thing but a 11Iodcst train up
,radients or round tight, t} pical curves. Those .... ho hanker
after longer trains might .... ell consider substituting card
roofs for the metal ones supplied as this step .... ould result
In a big lightening of the load for a loco. Prices for all the
p.1sscnger Slock, including the brake \·an. arc 9s each.
It is, of course, typical of Gcorge Melior', thoroughness
.... hen he undertakes a projf.:ct that he should also produce
track and points to give the true narrow gauge look to show
oIT the Jocos and stock to the best advantage. lT3 track
.... ould ha\'e done at a pinch, but there is little doubt about
the improvemcnt .... hich the correct track .... ork giH:s. The
he:lyier, wider sp:lced sleepers are ready drilled for pinning
down to the b:lscboard and the nickel silYer rai l is hdd to
the sleeper strip by metal clips. "l'l le track can be made
flexible by cutting through the ",cb under the rail on one
side or the track and by curvIng the rail \0 the desired
radius. The price is 55 6d per yard. The matching (left- or
right·hand points (12s IOd) each) follow the now well-
established GEM practice of using diccas\ (rog and switch
blade units. These have the greM adyantage of electrical r ap: A selec/;o/l 0/ some 0/ Ihe "ew Mmc/rbox models for
continuity ",ithout further wiring and gi\'e an exceptionally 1964. Above : Corg;'s filiI' modt'1 0/ Ihe Chi(l /..6.4.
.smooth ride through the crossing. To work them, the obvious among modellers in this country and wc have 00 doubt that
choice is a GEM point lever and an Omega wire loop. the quality of this range of models brought out by Gcorgc
Lastly. and by no means least , Gcorge Melior has intro- Mellor .... iII do much to stimulate still further our apprecia-
duced a vuy nice white metal kit for that 100 + year old tion of these lI.ondcrful1ittle lines. Knowing Mr Mellor..... e
veteran 'Prince', complete with tender (4Z.). The recom- arc sure that he will not rcst on his la urels and we look
mended motor. which is /10/ included in the kit. is the forward eagerly to any further introductions he may make
Romford 'Terrier' (215 9d). The body of the locomotive in this new scale. M .f/.I1.
and the tender arc again simple exerci5C:II in remo\ing a
small amount of ' nash' and cementing together. 1 here is an SPACE-SAVING TRACKWORK
instruction shect, complete with e'ploded asscmbl}' diagram
and details of the colour scheme.
Many modellers who have no narrow gauge line will be
I Tbeyond
is unusual for mass-produced model railway firms to go
the generall y-accepted b:lsic track "'ark requi re-
ments of right- an d left-hand points. diamond c rossing and
tempted to have a non-powered version oC this historic straight and curved rails of varying lengths. Grah:lm Farish
loco and some rolling stock in a scenic seni", in a 500"' - are the exception. and they are really going to town with
case, but those .... ho decide to go the "bole hog and run a their Formoway track. Thcir latcst productions the 2 ft
"'orking line need not be frightened of the motorisation. radius three-way point, and the 3 ft radius single slip-were
lne kit contail\i all the paru, except the molar, and a seen for the first time at the Model Rail and Road Hobby
second fun instruction sheet to tell }'ou how to do it. Wc Show, described in ou r Novembe r, 1963. issue. and early
found it best to ream the driving wheels slightly before production samples have been submitted to \15 for reyiew
forcing them on to their ax les and quanering them, and the by 8 ~I W Models oC Wimbledon ..... ho have supplies.
tang of a file .....;u used for thil process. Because of the dccp These t"'o new items are real space-sa\·ers. since in eITeet
o\"erhang of the footplate, the kit has ~n Simplified by they each combine lhe vinuC5 of two points. The three-way
the omission of connecting and piston rods and crosshcads. point can. for instance, be visualised as a left-hand and
but those who want to add them should find it reasonably right-hand point combined, and it is most useful for leading
casy. It would be best to make the crosshcads out of small into a b:lnk of sidings in a locomotive depot or goods yard
squares of plastic. drilled fo r the slide bars. as this would where space is limited. The single slip is a combination o f a
cope with the insulation Question for 2-rail "'orkiog. the single point and a diamond crossing and can, like it! proto-
",heds being hub insulated. type. be used in a number or situations. Both these points
Current collection is simple, the 1000 being onc polarity are 'fiddly' things to make by hand. and Graham Farish are
and the tender the other, "ith an insulated "ire from the to be congratulated on m:ll.ing such a good production job
tender to the insulated brush on the motor. Care must be of these items.
taken therefore 10 follow the instructions for the insulation The track b:lses are specially moulded in da rk brown
of the dra"'gear between the loco and the tender. plastic. with Ihe frogs and check rails moulded i/l si/II.
There has alwa}s ~n a lively interest in n:l(ro", gauge COII/in/l l'd 011 flUI page
Februar y. 1964 In
 rails and piers for a sim ple o,crpass. A varicty of different
New kits and models- elm/ill/ml packages o f trad.. is alw available. comprising diffen::nt
Despite the clear space between every sleeper (spaced to lengths of rail. O.R .
correct BRMSB standards) each point is strong and rigid
and will stand up to hard .... ear. The 11Iil se<:tion is na t MAKING MILLIONS
bonom in hard d11lwn nickel silver. with sprung point blades.
In common with all other G11Iham Farish track they will
take scale. Horby-Dublo. certain Tri-ang as well as Graham
P RODUCfION of Ihe e\er·popular Matchbox models is
now running close to an amazing output of I1 million
picceJ .... .::ekly. Some ad,ance de ta ils of ncw models to be
Farish rolling stock. and they a re n:ad y wired (or two rail. produced du ring 1964 hale been rcleased. as one of our
The three-way point has two sets o f point blades and care piCIllr;.'S Ihis month shows. Se,eral o( thcse models will
has to be taken to ensure the y do not foul each other. Full not be avai lab le until much latcr in the )ear. but thc first
oper.lling instructions are given and. provided these an: ' .... 0 to be released arc thc RolIs.Ro),ce I'hantom V and the
carefull y re,ld and followed, 110 trouble should arise_ This, Jeep pick· up truck. both at the slightly highe r price of
the only commercial scale three·way point in the wo rld. is Is lid each. Thc I :74 scale Rolls has opening luggage boot.
remarlable \'alue for 32s Id. The single slip is alSQ wonder-
spring suspcnsion (a ne ....• Matchbox feature) . windo .....s. sealS,
ful value for 285. Further new Graham I-arish points arc steering .... heel. and sill·e T·grey finish. It is 2! in long. Also
on the way_ NoS. to I : 74 scale. the Jeep pick·up trocl is 2t in long. and has
openmg doors. fronl suspension ..... indo .... s. JealS and Sleer·
LATEST SLOT SYSTEM ing .... heel.
A'I EST table-top slot racing S)'StCfTI 10 reach the British Starting .... ith the Jeep. illustrated in the top left·hand
L market is the new HO scale German Falkr Auto Motor
Sport s)·stem ..... hich can be used for racing or as a modcl
corner of our photograph, and .... orking round anti-clock·
..... ise. the other forthcoming models ill ustrated are the Mark
highwa y. T o a dd 10 Ihe realism. milcstone~. rent'ClOrS. guard 10 J:lguar, eight·",heel ti pper truck. 1912 t>ackard Landaulct .
rails. stn::ct lights and trame and adlc rtising signs can be Jumbo crane. four-car transporter, Rolls· Ro)·ce I'hantom V
clipped to the track edgc. Thc cars lire controlled from and the smaller lersion of Ihe eighl ..... heel lipper truck. The
miniature dash boards. .... ith bunons (or oper:uion of clcctri· new r-, Iatchbo'( suspension system is also shown (centre).
ca l accessories .... hich include a Ic\el crossing a nd a control logether .... ith the ne .... 1964 catalogue .... hich. in 32 full-colour
to .... cr with IlIp counter for four cars. 1.... 0 lehicles can be pages (pricc 3d) sho ....·s O\eT 140 items. D.R .
independent I) controlled in the same lane ..... hile the tracl,
is available in 1.... 0 radii. in both single· and double·lane
sections.
DE-LUXE MODEL
We were able to try out one of the single·car sets. thanks ORG I hal'e really gone to lo ..... n wilh their latest release
to the co-operation of IlMW Models of Wimbledon. Sclling C a model of the Ghia L6.4. one of the wo rld 's most
for 12 195 6d. it comprised a track oval of len dual·lane Cl[clusilc cars. This 4-!.inch·long model has an amazing
sections. a Merct'<l.::s 220 and a conl rol dashbo.ud. (rhe number of features. and sells for 8s 6<1. JUSI about every·
transfomler necessa ry 1;0515 34s 6<1. and can run up to cight thing thllt mo\'es on the body of the real car is reproduced
ca r .) Wc found that Ihe .... ell·made miniacure j\Iercedcs ran on this Corgi model. T he doors open. and have press·fit
extremely satisfactorily and hacl a good performance. The interior trim. The engine CO\'cr is rear hinged and when
electric motor and pick · up contacts are particularly raised discloses a reasonably·detailed facsimi le of the
pleasing. A larger SCI is available at £5 195. and comprises a Chr)'5ler V8 engine. The rear luggage boot also has an
J\len:edes 220. an Opel Kapitan. t .... o dashboards. and guard opening lid. and a ribbed floor. but the most praise .... orthy
feature is Ihe interior. The t .... o individual front seats have
adjustable backresls. there is a central instrument console
topped by a renc<:ting rear· ... iew mirror, and el'en a dog (a
Corgi. of course!) on the rear parcel shelf.
Other fealures include jewelled headlamp reflectors.
Glidamatic spring suspension. front an d rear screens. steering
..... heel , and 'chrome' bumpers and radialor grille. D.R.

CROSSED LINES
IthatNBahn
our n:view lasl month of the excellent range of Eggar·
narrow gauge railway items..... e mis takenl~'
they .... ere imported by BMW Models of Wimbledon.
said

In fact the 8ritish importers are Richard Kohnstam Ltd.

of 78 White Lion Street. London. NI . .... ho dist ribute to
larious retailers. among Ihem BMW Models. We apologise
for getting our lines crossed and any inconl'enience it ma y
hale caused. Ri cha rd Kohnslam also inform us that S. N.
Ikattie and Co Ltd. I Broadway. Lo nd on. N 14. have
been appointed n:pair agents for Great Britain for Marklin
and I' aller Auto Motor Sport. and all repairs should be
sent 10 them direct.
ell,. Irllck. COII/ro/ 1)(1IIe/ fIIld IKJ ... rr rUlil from lite lie ...
/. (llIrr '/01 .f lfl.m (top). (IIld Gm/will nlri~'11 IlIrre· ...(I)'
poim mu! filll[/e flip.
 Occasionally, the ha tches .... ere "ould they please contact me. The
Herald markings opened without the deflcc.:tor plates museum is closed for the winter and
WAS most pleased to sce the
I c;\:ccl!cn\ article in YOllr December
being swung-out, and I could tell
many humorous storics of the results
.... ,11 npen again in the spring,
I' , Wood, SATCO, The Aerodrome.
UliUC regarding the colour schemes of iteffill being thro .... n o ut under these Elslree, lIen.s.
for our Dart II crald aircrafl. cin:umSlances.
I WQuld l ike 10 point out a few 1". \". Cooper, I-aw l"),, Southa mpton. Wrong way round
aitcra tioll! tha( have occurred since 'T'HAN K you very much (o r your
the information was 5uppli~'<I. The 1. new.style AIRPll' MAGAZ I'II!, which
last word of the name 'Tcntcrn Ud:lra Help wanted is now even beller than before.
Diraja I'cnckuluan' shou ld now be I would, ho .... ever, like to poinl out
'Malaysia' to correspond with Ihe
change in name from ' Ro)·al Malayan L AST year wrote to you regard.
I
ing a Mk l A nson, G-A MD A, and a miSla!.e in the model o f the Hawker
1' \127 shown on page \07 of your
Air Force' 10 ' Royal Malaysian Air I thought Ihat your readers might be
interested to hear that it has joim:d December issue, The outrigger wheels
Force', The position of this name is ha\'e been placed Ofl the wrong way
also inco rrect: it should now appear Mosquito T A 179 in Ihe Slyfame Ai r·
craft M uscum at Staten on. round and .... hen retracted would
below the cockpit in 6 in letters c\"- point forwards.
tending all starling directly beneath T he Mosquilo was used in the film
'633 Sqdn' and is now 'G' of 613 Sqdn Miflmel Walkt r, I.)dnt')', GI05.
the rear ntrcmity of the window Sorry for tht mistakt. This aircraft
frame. The letters are S.S in abo\c the RAu'l[A F. This is the aircra fl no",n
b)' S/ Ldr (now AVM) Datcson in a hll.f 110'" butt 6rOltndtd!-Ed.
dark blue cheat tine.
The Royal Malay ian Air Force raid on Gestapo Headquaners.
ha\C ordered eiaht series 401 Ilerald5, G-AMDA, as soon as a gun IUrn:t Wrong wingspan
can be found for it, will be coloured WOULD like to point out that as
not four as reported, of .... hich one
WlU deli vered on NO\'cmbcr J. as an aircrah of 206 Squadron .... hieh I the Airlh: model of Ihe Liberator
D. E . W b lCOff. "ubl le R e la lion~ shot down t ....·o Gennan airernft .... hi le is to I: n scale, the ...ingspan should
l>eparlme nl . 1I:lIIdJ ey P9ge Lld, be I8t inches and not 1I t inches as
I ..Olld()fl. N Wl, slated in Dect:mber Airfix news.
1Yf' aff' illdrbltd /0 fIItSJrs U andlq F, I', O lek~lI, Slanlfom, Uncs,
Pal[t for thti, Co,,«I;Ol/ /0 ollr 1I01tS.
FULL UP! Qljiff' COfT?ct,-Ed,
OWING TO .......... p ........ On
0", df(lM';lIg M'm IIllftd 111'011 Iht odi , o . ial .pa<:. t h;' mon,h (la.,.lr b.
",amlfMIII,t,·S. 1/ (1/ II'MI Iras all Ms- eau. . of • • t . . , . .n inel f _ ......) ...
hn. h a cl .0 ~o..., ..... 0 ... I."... 10"0
Endorsement
lo,/cal !fm'ollr 11" T?co,dillg ",lrat
miglrl hal,t bUII!-Ed.
0'" p . .... W . will clo ou r _ , , 0 make
..p '0 •• h i. ... I t mo ...h , I IIbyASTEN to endorse the suggestion
Mr, J. L.eslie $cOli of Invemcss,
in the December issue o f A IRFIX
Taken to task MAGAZINe.
on a trnwk r protection flight nO"n
I WAS deliBllIed to relld of the new
Li berato r kit in your November by P l O I-I enderson,
BOlh Ihe abo\'c aircraft will shortl y
I hal'e four ' Darings' two ' Devon-
shires' and four 'Cossaeks', I foun d
issue, as I flew these mac hines in the that deca ls of Ihe right shape an d
1939/45 war in the Far East. I sha ll be be joined by' an Oxford (G-,\ 1-11'\\1) size to fi t 'Nubian" ' Decoy' and
building my model Li berntor in RAF ex Wolve rhampton. It will be re- ' Hampshire', an d the others we re un·
South·East Asia Command eoloun. painted 10 rep resent aircraft of No obtainable in Malta. I tried to paint
I would take )OU to tas'" over the 2 FTS at Brize Norton in the 1940- the pennant numben using a tapered
photoBraph act:ompanying the te· \94 1 period. The painting of this ai r- match but the result, I regret to say,
view. The side-gun Meche! nc\cr crnft will be carried out al Elstr«. "'as a meu.
opened in the manncr shown, They May I appeal to your readers for T am sure Airfb: will let us have
opened inwards, swinling ...enically help? We have Iried all the usual a frigale some lime or anothe r (the
from a hinge alonl their top edges. To sources for a gun·turret for the Anson sooner Ihe better. please) and both
spoil the in\l,ard rush of air through 10 no avail. Out Ihe samc type of m)self and other 'nolilla minded'
the large openings, deflector plates. lurrel was fitted to the Admiralty collectors or modellers will find them-
operated from inside the fuselage. Special Duty Pinnace (60 fecI) and it schcs in the SlIme difficulty all Ol'er
",ere fitted at the leading edge of each is rumoured Ihat there are a couple again. Exlra decals as suggesled would
hatchway on the outside of Ihe air- of Pinnaces wandering around slili so be a boon 10 all.
craft. equipped, 1£ an)'one knows of one J . ", Sddulla , Hirkirkar.., l\falla,
February, f9'" 201
BR SCARABS -Continued should be filed flat and as square as the shcct of card bent to shape with thin
thickness of plastic will allow. This strips of card cemented in place to repre-
transluscent plastic, but in many reduces the width of the back of the cab sent the open framework. The frame-
exa mples it is da rk grey or black. and in plan form reduces the forward work shows through when the Indian
taper of the body. The windscreen ink dries the tissue tau t.
Another conversion tha1 can be
pillars should be removed and a new I added a further touch of realism by
carried out on the Airfix Scammdl
flat windscreen. made up of Plastikard, aflixing tWO miniature ad\'ertising posters
Scarab is to change the cab and bonnet
filled in place. The gap between the on either side of the tarpaulin. which
shape of the mcchanic.'11 horse to repre-
base of the windscreen and the top of should of course also carry the wh ite
sent the earlier type of tractor used by
the bonnet is best filled in with plastic lelters GW.
all fou r pre-nationalisation railway com-
putty and filed to shape. My own pre-groupi ng Scammell was
pa nies-LNER, LMS, GW R and SR.
Two pieces of Plasti kard shaped to the finished in G WR livery. Chocolate
It is believed that all these earlier
curve of the roof should be ct'mented in brown tractor and trailer with cream
exa mples ha\'e now been withdrawn, but
place at the front over the windscreen above the waistli ne of the tractor, and a
large numbers were taken into BR stock
and at the back of the cab, A groove crcam panel on the lower plank of the
and were to be scen until comparatively
should be filed in the back of the C'Jb trai ler side. The chassis is black with red
recently in BR red and cream livery.
to ensure that the card fits flush with the wheel hubs. A 'GWR' monogram tm ns-
Construction follows the kit instruc- back. It is necessary to file the cab roof
tions exct'pt for items I, 3 and 4. I fer (obtainable from EAM ES of Reading)
to follow the shape of the new roof, is fixed to the bonnet side and 'Great
found it easier to construct the chassis which is cut from Plastikard and ce-
first and offer it up to the finished cab Western Rai lway' is added to the cre3m
mented in place. The unglazed cab side panels on the sides of the trai ler. A
at final assembly. I started first by ce- windows are deeper and wider and
menting together the two halves of the small GW R (nonogram is also painted
should be filed to shape. A thin Slrip of ove r the centre of the windscreen. The
cab (parts 5 and 6) and put them aside Plastikard forms the lOP window frame .
to set. While they were setting I corn· November 1939 issue of the Rail ...ay
Perhaps the trickiest part of all is Muga:int' has some excellent photo-
pleted assembly and painting of the the front wheel spat. This is made of
chassis. The front wheel was put in graphs of GWR mechanical horses and
Plastika rd cut roughly to a funnel shape l1a t-bed tmilers. and typical fleet num-
place at this stage. (diagram C refers) and cemented in bers and registration numbers are
The forward part of the bonnet was place on the front of the bonnet. The C3607, BGX577, and C3509, GUV753.
cut away from a poi nt just behind the top of the spat should be fixed first and The transport muscum at Clapham has
number plate and just forward of the the base can be carefully squeezed an example preserved in GW R livery
slots holding the front bumper. The cut bet ....-ecn the fingers nnd held in place and its number is 6271 , F LL362.
was made vertically and finished SQuare until the cement sets. I used the Airfix
with a fine file. A piece of Plastikard to front bumper (part 7) on my own
cover the front of the bonnet was cut model, but strictly speaking a smaller
10 fit over the front wheel. The forward bumper should be fixed to the front of Pen-Iriends wonted
part of the chassis (part 2) has to be cut the bonnet either side of the whcel spa t. HE following rcade~ have written
at this stage at a poin t immediately
behind the fronl two axle be;lrers. Re-
The sidelights (parts 20 and 2 1) ca n be
cemented in place, and a small piece of
T to the Editor requesti ng pen·
friends, and interested readers arc
movi ng these two bearers un fortunately plastic cut from the Watncys drain hose invited to contact them direct, at the
means that the front wheel falls out, but (part 47) cemented at the top left-ha nd addresses given. Wi lliam Daniel, ( 11),
the wheel can be cemented in place or, corner of the windscreen represents the Chanel, I Brook Vale, Rat hfarnham,
if you prefer your wheels to revolve, the old rubber bulb type hooter. Dublin, 14, wants a pen-friend in
card covering the front of the bonnet Many of the collection and delivery France, Germany, Switzerland or
can be cut with two strips either side vans used by the former railway conI' Austria, with an interest in mode l
of the wheel arch which, aner assembly, pa nies used tarpaul in sheets for sides aircraft and cars. B. Gildea, (27), of
can be curved around the axle and and roof. These can be represented by a 13 Spencer St, Gra vcsend, Ken t, wants
cemented to the rea r axle bearers. crumpled sheet of tissue paper stretched to correspond with an American will-
Diagrnm B iIIust rntcs this point. over a card frame and pai nted with black ing to e.~change kits and books on
The sides and rear of the cab assembly Indian ink. The card frame consists of a cars and railways.

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Cop,., .CIG4:
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 A/RF/X ~ ;:e
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Enth....I•• t. 01 ,11 I g et enJoy Ihe IJ.cltemeo' and r.alism of A lrfb

Motor Raclng-handllng I red Ferra.! or green Cooper ov'r 'ap efler
tiP 01 winding circuit. And jUlt lik, the r•• 1 thing, you need skill to
win. The,,! runl off main. or battery, and hat 11 feet of rigid double
track wh iCh can be .,rlnged In I variety of track layoutl. On. of these
Include. I pert,et figu ,. eight with . wooplng. road-h opping fly-
over! Being Alrllx, the Clr. are au th entic 1/32n d Icale 'Grand P,II '
mod el. with lull Acke rma nn I lel rln g 10f natural cornering_ All car.
Ind lit ace...orl••• r. available separately.
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COSTS ONLY £4-19-11d. AIIO l t a .t'. l1d .wlth Po r.ch•

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 Worship modelJing

a by C. 0 . fL LlS

5 - -- ,,
• G
.
j O O f~ Z~Oft

I
b c d I
co

cs
IfJE' AND 'Queen Elizabeth' class came in ror \'&riow: dqrm of m0dernis-
ation O\'tr me )un.
TheAirfU Warspfu kit, (or instance, Jq)n!Imts the ship as she
...... In 1940 after III extensive I'UOQIIruction In the bte 19305
had dwlpd het appcataDCC COOIHicn.bly (rom earlier )un.
QII«JI £I~tll and J'lIli4nt YI"'Cf'CI utcn in band for sunilar

VALIANT
Variations on the Airfix
reconstruction m 1931, but wben they lioally emerpd from
the dockyards early in World War 2 they differed 10 tubswt-
I.ally (rom Wanpilt! that they make thaNdva equaJly
wonhy of reproduction in mo<kl (orm.
The pic1UfCI and drawinp show m()It of the work: in.... olved
In such models and the preliminary alterlltions concern the hull.
Qllt,,, El/wIN/I! and Valiant were fitted with " new dual·
purpote secondary armament ot 20 4.S-Jnch IUnt mounted in
HMS Warspite kit ten twin turrets. and to accommodate the .net
mountinp the
lidt's of 'X' JUD deck m~ be CUI from the main deck mouldin,
are bul1t to la$t-20 10 30 yea.n is quite usuaJ- at ahowc in diapam 8 ; • OOI'TUpOI)dilll portion of the ship',
W ARSHlPS
but weapons met filhtlnl lechniques cha.n.,e so I'2pidJy lbll aide b alIo removtd and the PPlin deck and bulkheads filled
moll naval \"C5XlS are conlLOualIy bclna modemiIcd and _ith pWtic card. "The r~vd 4 ..s-inch IUJfeU completdy
refilled 10 keep abft:ul 01 new dc\'Clopmmts. This is ...eO iUus- da:placc. the old 6-;ocb bn»dsidc ball~ evKk:ot in the

\2ww'1I ElkdK,i, M,wy., H"",ut, Bllrltatw and v,.,.,

tRIed by the batlk:sltips 01 the fartlOUll'Queett Elizabah' cia-.

an of which mlem;i ICn'Jcc In 191$ and SI.Q"Vh."Cd (with the

w.,splu mode~ 5pK'e they occupied bcUIa co~ .1111 •
100 nun 6 mm strip of plastic card c:urwd to follow tbe lines of
the hull.
exception or BorIMm) u.otd after Work! War 2.. Spanninl a In d1a,n.m C. I ba\"e Ji\"en a templall~ for the pteea 0( plastic
period from Jutland 10 the rnisalle aF (Warspilt benelf wu. card required to fill the areas abo\~ the run bays. The template
victim al Salemo or one of the lirsl-ever missile attacks), all the Is .Iiahtly oversize, since to act a neat fit it is best 10 trim down
I
HMS
IIl"U
OU[[N £lIZA·
shfl II'OS rarty
(U
I" 1941. At this ti~
Wslil/((Urlft/(lalta.
I
pili, IUfIJ hodlt()l Wrll
fi"rd wi,h oddlliOtttJl
Onl.... JjzlJl AA
I'WfI. (I".m.I w..
,.,~ photo.)
 Key 10 drawinp: (A) Schematic layout (half full·s;;:(!) dtPlclilll and r~~rs~d so that the searchliaht phHCorm now faces a!'t_ A

]
VAUA!'.' wilh pole maJtt.mas,. Note position o/4.j·im:h turrets. low deck-house is siluated forward oC the runDOl, co,~g the
Colourill8 ,ukk: Capital/cltefJ Dnd Wtbrobtl linu-port silk. locating bole and reachina to the end of the pom-pom platrorm.
Small'tlltrs and broIcen IUIu-starboard silk. B-blw: S- Diagram D sbov."S the rcconsIruction needed around the:
Wry dark b/IW-pty: G-litht Irq. (8) lkcJc mDdjfictJliI)n aft 0/ hanpr, full-size templates for the side piccc:s being given in C ,
caJapu/,; difMlUlons I" milJifMlru (MIIO sal/e). (C) Ttmp!atrl
for main d«k iIu"1S OM midship side pitus-t ...'O 01 ~d! Plastic card is used extensively here, oC course, and it is laraely
rt!quirM. Full sfu front c/eMtion 0/ secondary dirtclors olld a matter of filling in all the pps. At the same time opportunity
~esto/. (0) M/dshfp delail-/Jltlfd up ..-;tll plastic card. NOte can be taken, if desired, to cover the hangar apenures and thus
after pom-pom d{,telors (made [ram scrap plastic) (lnd bulwark represent the closed sh Uller doors. Crunes are in the same posi-
oll/mrd 0/ crom! posit/on. tion as Warspiu's, but are of later pattern and, in fact , [ used
those from 'cannibalised' Tiger kits, though it would be easy
each piece uutil it slips exactly into place. Defore covering the enough to make up a couple from thick plastic card. After
broadside battery positions it is noccssary 10 remove the vertical structure is e.-o:aetly as for Warspllt, except for a searchlight
'gash chute' mouldines. while the bollards adjacent 10 'A' turret platform on the forward cnd cut to the rull width of the super-
must becan:(uliy CUI off and resiled outboard along the modified structure and shaped like the funnel searchlight platfonn.
deck ed&e_ The "'cvspitt deck moulding has a number or Positions for the 4.5 inch turrets ean be seen in diagram A.
prominent 'o~np" especially amidships and abreast 'Y' It so happens that these were similar in shape and diameler 10
turret. 11Iesc should be filed off Hush with the ship's side so that, the modem 3-inch tuml mounted in 1Tgtr, so anyone who h.,
when viewed rrom above, the hull is a perfect 'cigar shape' wilh done the croiser eon\-ersions described in AtltRX MAOAZlr.:1I
no projections or any kind Other than ttte catapulL for October 1963 will have some spares which can be used. All
that is required is 10 (tie each turret- from the bottom--to a
SUPERSTRUCTURE MODIFICATIONS deplh of 3 IlUTI and fill in the silhtint apertures (each side of the
Part 32 is the first section of the superstmcture 10 receive embrasure) with plastic cement. If you don't have these turrets
attention, since it has to be reduced in width to clear the rorward spare, then 1 suuest that similar fininlS could be cut and
4.5 inch batteries; this is achieved by cutting it away parallel shaped from /r inch do ....-elling or thick plaslic sprue. The con-
with the ship's side, making the cuts outboard of the ladders verted Tigf!r kit is also the source of the socondary dircctors-
moulded in tho after edge. The bridge is built up as for Warspllt!, two on the bridge pedestal and IWfJ (lbrcflJt on the after super-
but the admiral's bridge (part 38) and compass platform (part structure. Cut off the moulded radomes nod file all the corners
43) must be extended aft with pllUtie card to line up with the to give a rounded shape, before cementing into position.
after end of the sipl platrorm (part 35). The main ocr Once the after 4.!5-ioch turrets are in position cut two plastic
(part 44) comes rrom the kit but the secondary direeton stand on card strips 2 IlUTI X 30 mm and cement these along the edces of
a pedestal, as shown in diapam C. I used three pieces of ICnIp 'X' gun deck so thal the tum:ts an partly CO\"Cred. Then cut
plastic ror this., \l,lIh 'fillets' or p~ic oe:mtnt to gh-e tbe curved two tiny lrianguJar piec:es which fit verticaJly aga.inst the over-
inside comm. Pom-pom directors (parts 39 and 40 in the kit) are hinging deck edl'! between the turrets on each side. Low
located in the wil\lS or the admiral"s bridge, while a unall 3 mm 'bra.k~lers·, apin cut ftom plastic card, are sit uated ahead
square of scrap plastic is cemented at the after end on the same of the forward 4.S-inch turret on each side,
level.
Superstructure amidships demands drastic modifications, the FINAL DETAILS
first of these being to cut back the edges of the shelter deck (part At this stage the model is almost complete and the remaining
14) until they match up with the low bulkheads on the main deck details larg..-:ly depend on which ship you choose to model. The
moulding. Ne:<ltake the pom-pom deck (pari 23), carefullY cut catapults ....-ere removed and plated ovcr by 1943, the space
off the forward pair of gun platrornu, and cement them back remaining being utilised for extra boat stowage. This part of the
in place on the same level as lhe after pair. Remove bolh the de<:k, incidentally, was not planked oyer. The prominent fixed
locating peg and the moulded upper platform from the funnel.
which is then cemented in position half its it!nglh /urrh~r a/I Continued on pagt 23!5

-----
Tht! compltted nr<Nh1 of QUEEN [LIZABETH, showing h~r (n 194!5 candit/on ..ith catapult and admiral's walk ftn/Oved, Wt! ap()lolis~
for tht scrotch mark abo~ •A' tllrrt!t, due to ptmlitU in 0Il1' (O~rQI

2lI

/
WARSHIP MODELlING -Colllinlled exotic than plain greys, puun £lizabelh·s 1941 camouflage
scheme can be seen in the prototype photograph. Close scrutiny
'gash chu!c'-which can be made from a thin strip of plastic will disclose fille distinct tones, these being in order of depth:
card- was sited forward on both ships originally, but was moved very dark blue-grey, blue, light sea-green, and light grey.
amidships in QueI'll Elizabeth after removal of the catapult. Di agram A gives V(lliall/'s colour scheme in the mid-war years.
Valiant did not have an admiral's walk, while Queen Elizabeth This looks somewhat perplexing at first glance, since I have had
had hers removed in 1944. Both ships had a stern hawse-pipe, to incorporate both port and starboard sides in one. However,
and an anchor moulding from one of the smaller Airfix &hips by following the various dividing 1ines wit h a pencil the layout
makes a nice stream anchor. r used the Warspile main-mast, be<:omes quite clear. The dark blue-grey is ,·ery dark indeed-
extended wilh a length of scrap and with added legs, as the fore- something like the shade of blue-black ink-while the lighter
mast, while the Warspite top-mast (part 116) served as the basis blue can be obtained by adding a little white to the Humbrol
of the mainmast. ValiQ/tl had a pole-type mainmast until 1945, matt blue.
aftcr which she received a tripod mast like Queell Elizabeth's. Yet another livery is illustrated in my own model, which
Carley rafts were prominent each side of the bridge and these depicts Queen Elizabelh as flagship of the East Jndies Fleet in
can be made by cutting slices from the raft clusters supplied with 1944-45. She was then painted very light grey-virtually 'sky'-
the kit. wi t h a blue panel the length of the armour belt.
As originally re-constructed, both ships had little in the way of
light AA guns, other than the .5 in m/gs on 'B' and 'X' turrets.
These were subsequently replaced by twin 20 mm Oerlikons,
while a number of single Oerlikons were fitted wherever they
could give a good arc of fire, notably on the tops of 'A' and 'Y'
turrets and right aft on the quarterdeck. The turret-mounted
guns were located on a platform rigged across the turret clear
of the I S inch barrels. I use small locatiog pips for OerJikons,
these giving quite a good representation of the guns under their
canvas COllers. This gets round the awkward problem of sub-
miniature barrels and gun-shields. Final touches include a
platfonn on the bridge front for a barrage director and the big
lantern-like radar acrial on the foremast, fitted in 1942-1943.
Much of the painting is best done as you progress with the
model, siooe many parts become inaccessible io the later stages
or construction. For those who want to try something more
Vol.5 No.10 June 1964
News from Airfix – F4U-1D Corsair
1:32 Volkswagen
Mercedes Benz W125 1936 Auto Union slot racers
In the air – Air Sea Rescue
Railway modelling – motorising the Pug
Military modelling – Churchill bridgelayer
Wheelspin
Layout realism
Aircraft modelling – Gloster Gauntlet from Gladiator kit conversion – scale drawing
Railway modelling – track laying
Profile – Gloster Gauntlet – markings summary
New boks
New kits and models
Reader’s letters.
Warship modelling
by C. o. ELLlS

R
M
K
Jj L 5
A
T

The 'A-I'
Drawing (filII-size for model) shows retrospective modifica-
tions and small differences in 'A -J' destroyer classes. Key:
A - 'Hedgehog' mortar in place of A gun. B- Arlg/ed bridge
front for 'I' class arid some 'H' class. C- Bridge frolll for
'£-H' classes. D-Bridre front (dol/ed) for 'A-D' classes.
E- Surfoce radar aeria in place of director cOlltro/ lower.

destroyers
F-Sing/e 20 mm AA gUllS ill etlch bridge wing in sople
ships. C-Carley raft on skids outboard of bridge wings.
H---Crows nesl in most ships. I-'Charlie Noble' type steam
pipe forward of funnel. !-Steam pipe (dotted) to starboard
in later ships. K-Machine guns replaced by two single
20 mm. Call vas 'dodgers' round gun platform. L-Gun plat-
form extended aft Cl' class and some others) to provide
Models from the Airfix Cariey raft stowage. M - Aft fllllllel reduced in height.
Most ships, bllt not'/, class. N - SjL platform with canvas
HMS 'Hotspur' kit 'dodgers' alld wings built port and starboard for single
20 mm guns. a - Single 3 in gun inside circular 'bandstand'.
OFHotspllr
all the Airfix warship kits so far produced, HMS
undoubtedly offers most possibilities to the
Tllbes removed. P- Spreaders for wIt aerials. Q- X gUll
deck extended forward, .4 depth charge throwers or two
modeller. As a typical representative of the standard pre- 20 mm gllns. Depth charges stowed under. R - Pole mast
war Royal Navy destroyer, H otspllr was one of over 70 for direction finder or stump mast for ellSigll. S- Y glln
vessels produced in batches- mostly of eight- authorised removed. Dlc racks and throwers added. Sweep gear re-
by succeeding Naval Estimates during the 19)05. At the moved. T-Slern chute each side in ships fitted as mine-
building stage, differences between the classes were limited layers. Boms, anchors, ladders, elC, omitted for simplicity.
mainly to slight variations in annament and minor struc- launched in 1926, from Which all succeeding 'A,!' classes
tura! details, but with the coming of World War 2 the were developed. In actual fact, she differed dimensionally
situation changed considerably. by a few feet, but this is hardly noticeable in ~uch a sma1i
With so many vessels involved, it is obviously not pos- scale. Ambllscade had abbreviated half-shields on the 4.7
sible within these pages to cover every 'A-l' class model guns and this effect is achieved simply by sawing off the
that could be built, and therefore I have taken a representa- lower half of each gun moulding. The thin after funnel
tive cross-section covering both ·"pre-war and post-war is taken from a CampbeilowlI kit, cut down to ! I mm and
variations, in addition to the wartime modifications. raked to match the fore funnel.
Before describing IhC5e in detail, however, there are one The most notable difference between Ambuscade and her
or two points worth mentioning that apply to aB models. successors, however, was the small bridge set well forward.
First of these concerns the davits, which are sited too far To get the correct appearance here, saw off the B gun-deck
inboard in the kit. Destroyer-type davits are, in fact, situated moulding (part 10) 20 mm f rom the front edge, and cement
~~
on the extreme deck edge, so before cementing the deck
section in place, 'plug' the original davit locating holes and
drill new ones outboard at the same spacing. The improve-
ment in overall appearance when this is done is consider-
able. By the same token, it is worth substituting bristles for
the masts and bent pins or wire for the torpedo and depth
-charge davits. A typical destroyer characteristic was the
canvas 'dodger' surrounding gun and searchlight platfonns.
No provision is made for 'dodgers' in the kit, but they can
be easily represented by cementing 2 mm wide strips of
paper round the platform edges.
HMS Ambuscade is the first conversion in chronological
order, and she represents one of the two prototypes
HMS Echo (top right) in pre-war days shows typical early
appearance. By comparison , HMS I.nconstant (bol/om
right) in 1944 displays laler modifications, illcluding bridge
radar alld 20 mm guns. Note angled bridge front. (Photos
by Real Photographs Co Ltd.)
372
 a small square bridge, made from card and measuring 9
mm (lengtn) x 7 mm (height) x 8 mm, on the after end.
Bridge wings are cut f(om the part ropplied in the kit.
Triple torpedo tubes were fitted, easily made by reducing the
quadruple torpedo tubes in the kit, and sin£le 2-pounders
were carried on the gun platform instead of {I.S in machine
guns. There should be no director control tower- Ambus-
cOOe had the earlier optical rangefinder which can be made
by cutting a T-shaped piece, 6 mm high, at the point where
the yardarm crosses on the original mast mO·Jlding. If you
don't have a spare Campbeitown funnel, make HMS
Amazon, the other prototype, which was similar to Ambus-
cOOe but with a normal after funnel. In this case the pen-
nant number should be D 39 and the pole mainmast should
be slightly lower, with a yardarm.
The 'A', 'B', 'C and 'D' classes which succeeded the
prototypes differed structurally from the later cJass~ by
having a slightly smaller bridge (0 in the drawing). This is
achieved in the model by cutting 2 mm off the front cnd of
the bridge moulding (part 19) and re-siting the compass
accordingly. As built. the first two classes had the s:)me sort
of optical range-finder as Ambuscade, and all had the single
2-pounders-easily made from a bristle on a piece of scrap
plastic-in place of machine guns. A typical pre-war appear-
ance was Acheron (H45), in light grey with three black
bands on the after funnel. In 1941 Beagle (H30) had the
rangefinder replaced by a director and a 3 in AA gun in
place, ~f the after tubes. Four extra depth chuge throwers
weresltuatcd between the gun and the after superstructure,
but otherwise she was unaltered in appearance, Colour was
dark grey with the pennant number in white 'blocked' to
the right with black.
- The 'E', 'F', '0' and 'H' classes come nex:, and typical
models could represent Echo in 1939 (see photo), F,uy in
1940, with two white funnel bands, and Gloworm (H92) in
1937, with qllinlllpie torpedo tubes, made by cutting addi-
tional tubes from a spare quadruple se!. At this period
Gloworm was light grey with black penmmt numbers and
a single black band on the after funneL All had the
'OJarlie Noble' steam-pipe on the fore-funnel.
During World War 2, all vessels so far mentioned were
subjected to some, if not all, of the modifications seen in
the drawing_ HOf$pur, for instance, differed greatly from her
early days as represented in the Airfix kit. The alterations.
shown in the model photograph, included removal of Y
gun to give space for depth charge racks, bridge radar, cut- Five models from Ihe Airfix kir depier lrap 10 OOl/om):
down after funnel, and the fitting of a 'hedgehog' an ti- HMS Ambuscade, one of Ihe prototype desigl/s, ill 1935:
submarine mortar in the after tube space. T his fired ahead HMS Fury ill 1939; HMS Icarns it/ 1941, filted as mit/C-
o'-er the forward superstructure, unlike the arrangement in layer; HMS Hotspur in 1944. Netherlands frigale Mamix
at prestllt time.
most ships which usually had the 'hedgehog' 0:1 the fo'c's'le
in place of A gun. H o/spur was also given a 3 in AA gun Last of the line were the 'I' class ships, all with the angled
in the after tube space but at the period depicted in the bridge front, prominem steam pipes on the fore tunnels,
model, this had been removed subsequent to her employ- quintuple torpedo tubes and the machine gun platfcrm ex-
ment as an anti-submarine training ship. Colour scheme at tended aft. As built, these were the only differences from the
this time was very light grey ('sky') with a light blue panel 'H' class, and a typical pre;war model could represent J/ex
and pennant number also in light blue. (D61) in 1939. She had three black bands on tbe after fun-
Later vessels of the 'H' class were built with the hand- nel and fhe red / white / blue .flash on B gun. With the com-
some angled bridge front, which can be made by simply mencement of hostilities most of the '1' class were fitted as
substituting card parts for the flat bridge front supplied minelayers, and h'arus-(l03) is a good example. In 1941,
with the kit. A typical model could represent Huo (H !!9) she had a 3 in AA gun in the after tube space, mining rails
in 1938-39, finished in light grey wilh two black bands on and chutes, depth charge throwers on an e.xtended X gun
the after funnel, and one black band on the fore funnel. deck, and 20 mm AA guns on a widened searchlight plat-
A colourful touch at this period was given by the red, form. I used 2 mm wide strips of paper, laid each side of
white and blue vertical stripes carried on the sides and top the deck as far as the machine gun platform, to represent
of B gun as a neu trality identification sign for the Spanish the mining rails, and made stern chutes from styrene sheet.
Civil War. Continued on pr;ge 391
Augult, 1964 J73
'WARSHIP MODELLING- Continued
[carus carried only a whaler· (port) and a mo tor-boat
(starboard), this same arrangement applying also to Ambus-
cade and a good many war-modified vessels, such as Hot-
spur, where the second whaler was removed to reduce top-
weight. Note that /carus carries a good number of Carley
rafts, in this particular case painted in red and yellow
stripes, and these have to be cut from card, styrene sheet
or scrap plastic. [carus had a very dark grey hull with light
grey upper-works, and the same colour scheme, with the
addition of a white band on the fore-funnel, was applied
to the very similar Intrepid (HO) at the same period.
Later in World War 2, most 'I' class ships were modified
for convoy escort work, similar t9 Inconstant (H49) as
illustrated. In 1944 this ship was camouflaged in 'sky' and
light blue, and the pattern can be seen from the photo-
graph. Inconstant was not fitted for mining, had the Y gun
removed in favour of extra depth charges, and had her
motor boat set well aft on the starboard side. She also
carried two 20 mm AA guns on the extended X gundeck.
In post-war years, most 'A-I' class ships, worn out by
strenuous war service, went rapidly to t he scrapyards, but
a few of these old-timers linger on. HMS Garland, for in-
stance, was taken into the Royal Netherlands Navy as
Mamix (F80l), in whose service she is used as an anti-
submarine training frigate. With only two main guns, no
coaming on the bridge wings, a 'hedgehog' on B gun-deck,
no tubes, and a lattice-mast, she differs considerably from
her original appearance. The distinctive clinker screen on
the fore funnel is made from a strip of paper, while four
bristles are quite effective in representing tbe tall lattice
mast. The after superstructure needs to be extended forward
by 8 mm, and other small deta,if{.:ccan be seen iIf the
photograph. '.
Hotspur herself and Fame were sold to Dominica, where
they a re now known as Duarte (DIOI) and Sallchez (D102),
respectively. Present appearance is reminiscent of p re-war
days, but the after tu bes and Y gun are now removed, while
both ships still have the shortened after funnel as a reminder
of wartime modifications. They also have a primitive look-
ing rangefinder on the bridge, similar to that described for
Ambuscade.
For a very simple but authentic conversion, try finis hing
a model as one of the 'Buenos Aires' class. These were
'export versions' built pre-war for the Argentine Navy and
similar in every respect to the standard design. Typical
vessels would be San Juan (T9) and Santa Cruz (TJ2).
Appearance is unaltered from pre-war days, so no struc-
tural modification is required, although a distinctive featu re
in these ships is the Carley raft lashed vertically on each
side of the bridge wings. Colour is medium grey with white
pennant numbers.
For those who require further details and photographs
of other vessels not covered in this necessarily brief sur-
vey, there are two useful pUblications readily available at
the pr esent time. These are)an Allan's 'Warships of World
War 2' and ' Putnam's 'The British Destroyer ', by CaptaLn
T. D. Manning. 'Jane's Fighting Ships' for the relevant
period is also, of course, an invaluable aid to the modeller,
when copies can be obtained.
Churclllll bridgelayer. Pressure of space in the June issue,
when we covered this model, caused me inadvertently to
cut the sentence giving the width of the bridge ramps.
Although this dimension could be deduced it should, in
fact, be 10 mm. Apologies to anyone inconvenienced by
this omission.
391