HG is, without question, the best. No one else I know would try, and succeed, in scratch-building the interior of a B-17 Sperry ball turret.
When this gem is done, I’ll take some pics of it alongside my own Dutch Buffalo and CW-21B builds – a trio I have wanted since forever!
Thank you HG, for this rarest of birds.
Thank you for the kind words Sir. Terminating the ends of the rigging I can teach, if a modeler wishes to know. Testers dull coat hand-paints easier than Tamiya or AK, but it’s your choice. I like the Testers product because it cleans up quicker from my brush and air-brush. The comments really give me motivation John, so thanks again.
Quick update,
Please remember, there’s lots of hours needed to fine paint and clean-up the enamel wash.
Here’s the approved bar on the windscreen.
I had to fill the huge hole for the circular gunsight then drill a proper hole for the photoetched part. The pin sight (No clue what that is called) is made from a metal rod.
HUGE thanks to Sunward Hobbies for getting my supplies to me in a quick way and for packaging them so well.
Another quick update.
Brian (Redhand) wanted a multi toned aluminum prop. I couldn’t pull off a three toned, yet managed two.
It’s a slight difference but hopefully noticed and appreciated.
God bless.
Indeed it is.
She’s looking good. I love the lines of the P-36 and P-40.
Thank you for the kind comment Martin! Yeah I completely agree about the look of both AC and the sexy yet aggressive stance, even on the ground they look fierce.
Hi Friends!
I’m extremely happy to announce the completion of a project, yet I need your help with a detail.
Brian sent over some very cool items. On this decal sheet are the Curtiss Wright propeller labels (how amazing is this!) they even have a slightly polished gold/brass tone. Thank the Lord I bought soft AK rubber paint brushes to assist placing them.
Here’s the kicker (as we say in Canada). I need your help with the paint scheme for these bombs and racks. I know they were as disposable as a cigarette butt, however someone had to paint, arm and load them. For me, that’s hard work even with my Parkinson like affliction.
You ALL have a wealth of knowledge. Any color photographs would very kindly appreciated.
Cheers and let’s get this model to its rightful owner.
My two cents is that the brackets with the three holes in them need to be cut away from the bombs – they are standard U.S. issue, but of no use here – the parts from an AM Vindicator kit – and the bombs should probably be flipped over so that the nubs “fit into” the underwing bracket holes of the H-75 kit. I do have some pics from that online C-W brochure on the H-75 that I’ll post.
UPDATE. Here is the picture I have.
Our single bomb should go on the middle bracket.
Doing some additional searching now.
Even from this distance, those logos stand out!!
Merry Christmas and Seasons Greetings to All!
Stablemate #1 Brewster B-339C, CW-396.
I mentioned before that when HG’s Dutch Hawk arrived, I would
I’m not jumping the gun, but I did do some research into the two builds that I have and thought I would share some pictures and a bit of history about them.
My oldest build is of Brewster Buffalo B-339C, Dutch Serial B-396, the second aircraft in the Dutch Buffalo order. Major components of the airframe were manufactured in Brewster’s Long Island City, NY plant: a four-story, former furniture factory hardly suitable for aircraft manufacturing!
It still exists, BTW, as the Corporate HQ of Jet Blue.
APerson, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Then the aircraft was assembled in a hanger at Newark Airport, New Jersey (site of the present Newark International Airport). These photos were taken on Jan. 29, 1941.
And here is a view of B-396 prior to flight testing at Newark Airport with Civil Serial No. NX3180 on the tail.
I know of only one photo of B-396 in Dutch service. Here we see it being flown by 1st Lt. A.G. Diebel
at the inauguration of the Volunteer Flying Corps at Kemajoran Airport outside Batavia, the capital city of the Dutch East Indies on Java (now Jakarta).
Kemayoran_Airport_shortly_after_opening,Star_Magazine_2.20(August_1940),_p45
As for the darkened panel on the rear of the cockpit, I can only assume that there was a crack in the Plexiglas, and they substituted a piece of wood or metal for this flight.
So what happened to B-396 during the lost campaign to defend the Dutch colony in 1941-42? All I can say is that it entered service with the ML-KNIL in June 1941 and was assigned to the 2nd Afdeling (Unit) VI.G.V. in July at Semplak Airfield, West Java.
It was lost on Jan. 17, 1942 when it “Crashed on a mountain due to bad weather.”
That’s it for tonight. But hold that thought about the “Volunteer Flying Corps.” It will become relevant to the discussion of my CW-21B build, which I’ll post in the next day or so.
Stablemate #2 Curtiss-Wright CW-21B
This is the second model waiting for the arrival of H.G.'s Curtiss H-75A-7 Hawk. The example I chose was CW-357, of which there are two photos I know.
Only 24 of these were procured by the ML-KNIL in 1941, which can be seen in the NEI below. They did not last long in combat.
The other shot of CW-357 is below.
The one I built, long before the advent of the limited edition Dora Wings release of CW-357 earlier this year
and their mainstream release in the last couple of months,
was a resin model from a German Company, WSW,
which I supplemented with a crude but workable injection molded cockpit set from a Sierra Scale Models Vacuform kit of the aircraft.
And yes, it took some work, as this was my first resin build and also my first kitbash. But I’m happy to say that it came out rather well.
The pilot’s name in the small lettering forward and below the cockpit is “Hermans.” There is next to nothing written about him (and about CW-357) except a reference to his crash landing in a Dutch Hurricane supplied by the RAF after the C-W 21B’s were gone. Whether he survived the war, I don’t know. But I wanted to see what, if anything I might find out if I did some further searching, and a few days ago, I hit paydirt.
Maddeningly, I can’t find the URL now, but here’s the man’s picture from an official Dutch photo archive.
The caption listed him in Dutch as “Sergeant Temporary Service Pilot Hermans” with the year 1941 so I don’t even know the rest of his name. It strikes me that he was a civilian with a private pilot’s license who volunteered as the war clouds gathered. If you look just to the right in the picture next to his left elbow, you will see the image of a small boy. So, I assume he had a family to protect. This fits when you consider the photo caption in my prior post about B-396.
If I had the time and knew where to look, I’d love to find out what happened to these two people caught up in events that were world-changing. For now, I’ll close with the observation that the picture sure reminds me of the story in Spielberg’s “Empire of the Sun.”
Enough of my hogging H.G.'s build blog! The next entry will be by him!
I realy like the looks of the CW21 so I’ll be following the build. I build in 1/72 scale and I understand that there will be one out in that scale soon
Holy Cats, what an experience. I think I learned more about modeling in this build thread than I already know. Probably the main thing which I’ve known about but have still to put successfully into action is the patience factor and the complete attention to detail. I try, but, HG, your work shows I have a tremendous way to go. Thanks for the inspiration.
As a side note, I built the fixed gear version of the Hobbycraft H-75 Hawk. It’s cowling is even worse than the kit you have. This kit sat in my stash for years and years until a friend of mine suggest that the B-17 cowling looks similar. and might serve as a starting point for a conversion. So I gave it a try. My effort is nowhere near as nice as yours but here’s how I tackled the cowling.
Kit part in the center, Monogram B-17 cowling on the right, my modification on the left
Ain’t it the truth. If there’s one thing that can be counted on, it’s that if you go to the trouble to build something that isn’t available (or needs help in his case), then one of the manufacturers will release one. 
Well, H.G. will “beat em to it” with his build, though I expect Clear Prop or someone else will FINALLY issue a retractable gear H-75 with an accurate forward fuselage and cowling for a Wright R-1820 Cyclone engined kit in 1/48. I had hoped there was a fix, finally, with the Must Have kit, but it turned out to be a dog’s breakfast.
Redhand, i saw the picture of my uncle Sgt.Romeo Maurice Hermans.
He was a volenteer pilot at the KNIL.
He flew a short time the CW 357.
When i read your comment about the foto i had a litte laugh.
The little boy on the foto is his litlle brother, Hugo Hermans.
The foto is made in Batavia in the garden of the house from my grand parents.
When the Japs won the war over the Dutch Indies he was taken prisenor and send to Thailand to work on the Birma railroad.
He survived the war.
A several years ago he past away at the age of 94 years.
I wish you all the best…
Gr,
Alphons Hermans.
The Netherlands.
Alphons, thank you so much for this information! It is wonderful to find out your uncle’s full name and to learn not only that he survived the NEI campaign but also the Burma railway and lived to 94 years of age. What a life the man had!
I assume that his younger brother survived the war too?
What’s great about this is that a model aircraft becomes the key to discovering not just the identity of a pilot who flew the real thing but also something of his personal history and fate. Now, through your contribution, anyone building a model of this aircraft can learn about your uncle with a few keystrokes. It’s a small but important way of “making history” by publicizing it for all to see.
Years ago, when I built the resin model of this aircraft,
(in need of a good cleaning, now, I admit) I remember wondering who “Hermans” was and figuring the information was so obscure I would never find out. You really made my day with this comment!
Warm regards,
Brian O’Neill, a/k/a Redhand.
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