Windsock Datafile 142: Parnall Panther

Published: October 16, 2010
Book Author(s): Colin Owers
Company: Albatros Productions, Ltd.

It is refreshing to see a quality publication dealing with an airplane that is little known and rarely publicized. This certainly applies to the Parnall Panther, an airplane with as obscure a service history as any I’ve heard of. Conceived during the latter stages of World War I, the Panther was produced in some numbers at the end of the war, approximately 150 being constructed by several manufacturers. In addition, the U.S. Navy procured two for flight testing, the Japanese obtained a dozen, and one was briefly on the British Civil register, flying in the 1922 Royal Aero Club’s Easter meeting.

The airplane was tested by the Royal Navy, and recommended for use by the fleet as a spotter-reconnaissance type aboard the Royal Navy’s aircraft carriers Eagle and Furious. Apparently,… more

Decals for DO-215B-2, DH-85, Fokker D.XXIII, DB-7B, PBY-5, B-10, Ryan STM, B340

Published: October 13, 2010
Company: Dutch Profile Publications

This is a Dutch product, dealing with some Dutch aircraft using the orange triangle marking during the early part of World War II. Two, the Dornier DO-215B-2 and the Brewster B340 Bermuda, were apparently ordered but never delivered, so they become part of the “What If?” category, much like Luft 46. The others, including the DeHavilland DH-85, Ryan STM, Martin B-10, Consolidated PBY-5, and Douglas DB-7, were actually delivered and used, at least at the beginning of World War II. Some of the Ryans, by the way, were evacuated to Australia in 1942, and I had the opportunity to fly in one of the survivors, then privately owned, while I was in Sydney in 1962. Therefore, I’ve got to build that one when I get another MPM kit.

The decals are printed on one sheet, about 5 x 7 inches,… more

Junkers Ju-52/3mg6e MS

Published: October 12, 2010
Company: Italeri

Introduction

The Junkers JU-52/3m was to the Luftwaffe what the Douglas C-47 was to the American military during World War II. Stemming from Junkers’ World War I all-metal designs, the JU-52 first appeared in 1931 as a large, single engine transport, the last of which was produced during 1935. Only a few were built, but the trimotor JU-52/3m first flew in 1932, and it was an immediate success, being sold to Bolivia and Colombia as well as other European governments. Lufthansa began operating the type in 1932. Powered by a variety of engines, including a Diesel, the type quickly became a standard airliner during the middle thirties, and when the clandestine Luftwaffe was created after Hitler’s rise to power, the JU-52 was adapted as a bomber, seeing service in Germany and… more

IAR-80C

Published: October 12, 2010
Company: A-Model

Introduction

The IAR 80 series of fighters was developed by IAR Brasov, a Romanian company, and were intended to replace some of the outdated Polish fighters which equipped the Romanian Air Force before World War II. IAR, which had produced a series of low wing, single seat fighters dating back to 1930 as well as some of the PZL fighters under license, developed a ‘home grown design”, the IAR-80, which was originally powered by a Romanian derivative of the French Gnome Rhone 14K Mistral-Major radial engine rated at 900 hp. Later models used 1,025 hp K-14-1000A engines, and the IAR-80A and IAR-80B were fighter and fighter bomber developments with slight detail differences. The IAR-80C, which was built in small numbers, was the last production model, and featured two 20 mm.… more

Airfix Buffaloes and Dutch Profile Decals

Published: October 11, 2010
Company: Airfix, Dutch Profile Publications

Background

Several months ago, I was asked to review an excellent publication dealing with the Brewster 339’s operated by the Netherlands East Indies Air Force in the Malaya-Dutch East Indies theatre of operations at the beginning of World War II. It was entitled Brewster B-339C/D/-23 History of Camouflage and Markings by Gerard Casius and Luuk Boerman, and appeared on the IPMS site a while back. There was a set of decals for Brewster Buffaloes in Dutch, RAAF, American and Japanese markings in both 1/72 and 1/48 scale. These looked very good, and John Ratzenberger wrote a review on the decal sheet, but I decided to actually build some of the models and use the decal sheet, and as usual, the project got a little bit out of hand, resulting in six new Buffalo models… more

Kyushu Q1W1 Tokai "Lorna"

Published: September 26, 2010
Company: Pavla Models

History

Once the Japanese Pacific "empire” had expanded to its greatest extent in mid-1942, the Navy General Staff realized that their supply lines -- basically consisting of slow, plodding “marus” usually sailing independently and not in convoy -- were extremely vulnerable to American submarines, which patrolled almost unopposed throughout the empire.

The Japanese considered the submarine mainly a weapon to be used against enemy warships. But American submarines were used primarily as commerce destroyers like the German U-Boats, and took such a toll of Japanese shipping that more and better aircraft were required for anti-submarine duties. In 1942, the Watanabe Tekkosho, later Kyushu Hokoki, was assigned the task of developing a specialized aircraft for this role. A… more

Model Art, #799, Plastic Model Color Guide

Published: September 23, 2010
Company: Model Art

This little paperback is intended to provide modelers with examples of the various colors that are normally used in plastic modeling. It is organized according to nationality and service, beginning with primary colors, fluorescent colors, and a list of Mr. Color shades. The nationality colors lists begin, naturally, with Japanese Army and Navy, followed by Luftwaffe, RAF, US, US Contemporary, Israel , Japanese SDF, Car Model Colors, WWII German AFV’s, NATO German AFV’s, Allied AFV’s, IJA AFV’s, JGSDF AFV’s, Ship Colors, and Rail Colors. Some colors have FS numbers, and the Luftwaffe RLM numbers are provided. Also included are several shades of silver, and at the extreme back, there are some colors listed that are probably commercially available model paints.

The colors are… more

Junkers JU-52/3mg6e MS Minesweeper

Published: September 22, 2010
Company: Italeri

The Junkers JU-52/3m was to the Luftwaffe what the Douglas C-47 was to the American military during World War II. Stemming from Junkers’ World War I all-metal designs, the JU-52 first appeared in 1931 as a large, single engine transport, the last of which was produced during 1935. Only a few were built, but the trimotor JU-52/3m first flew in 1932, and it was an immediate success, being sold to Bolivia and Colombia as well as other European governments. Lufthansa began operating the type in 1932. Powered by a variety of engines, including a Diesel, the type quickly became a standard airliner during the middle thirties, and when the clandestine Luftwaffe was created after Hitler’s rise to power, the JU-52 was adapted as a bomber, seeing service in Germany and during the Spanish Civil… more