The Aircraft

The TSR-2 has now been kitted in three scales: 1/48, 1/72, and 1/144. Because of space limitations, I built the 1/144 model. Only one TSR-2 ever flew, and the two in museums are prototypes. What if the RAF had managed to salvage the program and this marvelous looking piece of hardware actually went into full production? RAF TSR-2s could have seen action in the Cold War, the Falklands, Bosnia/Kosovo, the Gulf War(s), Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya! The Pit Road kit comes with two of these “what if” schemes, and due to the popularity of the kit, several decal makers have produced sheets for “what if” TSRs. Of course I had to do a different one.

The Scale Aircraft Conversions Set

The SAC set for the TSR-2 consists of seven parts, all in white metal. There is a nose gear leg, two main gear legs, oleo scissors, and bogies for the main wheels (the kit’s wheels are used). These replacement parts closely match the Pit Road parts.

This is one of a prolific series of very fine brass replacements for pitot tubes and gun barrels from Master Model Poland. They do ranges in 1/24, 1/32, 1/35, 1/48 and 1/72 for aircraft as well as guns in all the major scales for ships and a few guns in 1/35 for our armor-building friends. They are all very well made, being very petite and usually more in scale than their plastic counterparts. And, once installed, they’re much harder to accidentally break off than plastic. Yes, some of them are sharp enough puncture the less than vigilant. Ask me how I know.

Caracal Models is an Austin, Texas based firm that offers high-quality decals and detail parts for scale modelers. Their subjects include a variety of military aircraft from post-World War II to the present. I have purchased several of their decals sets on my own, and their offerings are typically well-researched and interesting subjects not usually addressed by other manufacturers. The usual 1/72, 1/48 and 1/32 scales are well represented. Shipping/mailing to US customers is free. If there is a subject that is not currently covered you would like to see done, visit their website at www.caracalmodels.com, and drop them a line via email or snail mail, and while you’re there, sign up for their email list to be notified of new issues. Ordering can be done on site via Paypal, or through various on line hobby suppliers and select local hobby shops. Those of us in Texas cough up an additional 8.25% for maintaining the Republic.

I like the way Lifelike does their decals. They pick a type of aircraft and give you markings for several variants of that aircraft, rather than four or six of one type. Personally, I don’t think I’ll be doing four Bf109E-1s, but I might do an E-1, an F-2, a G-6, and a G-6/R2. That’s what’s on this sheet. You get markings for four different variants of the Bf109 (or Me109, depending on when). The Bf109E-1 is from 2/JG77 with a yellow lightning bolt on the side of the fuselage. The Me109F-2 is Oblt. Hans Philipp from 4/JG54 with a prominent green and grey camo sprayed on the fuselage sides. The Me109G6 is flown by Uffz. A. Kellmayer of 7/JG52, an aircraft that previously belonged to Eric Hartmann. The last aircraft is an Me109G-6/R2 with an oversprayed grey and dark green camouflage from I/JG300. This one is a reconnaissance version.

Thank you to Bert Kinzey and Rock Roszak for bringing back a tremendous resource for the modeler, and introducing a new digital format. Thank you to the IPMS Reviewer Corps for allowing me to test out this new and exciting way of researching the F3H Demon.

Overview

This review of an exciting new format of a familiar product will take two parts, 1) content coverage and 2) how effective and useful the digital e-book format is from a modeler’s perspective. I certainly would expect the first question a reader would ask is, "Why do I want an e-book format?" I like reading through traditional books as much as anyone else, with the page-by-page discovery of storyline or new information. I also have tons of books in my library, mostly residing on stoic-looking bookshelves. This new publication format provides many advantages for the modeler, with few disadvantages, as described below.