Allied

Aircraft: Supermarine Spitfire PR.IV

Kit: Tamiya, Spitfire Mk.I

Notes: The PR.IV was basically just a Mk.I with cameras and every available space filled with fuel. It was called the "flying bowser". I like PRU builds and having the Russian markings is a bit different.

Build thread: https://uamf.org.uk/viewtopic.php?t=27353

Aircraft: Supermarine Spitfire Mk.VI

Kit: Italeri

Notes: This and the Mk.XVI, PR.XIX and Mk.24 Spitfires further below were built for a class project I ran for Engineering Studies, to analyse the Spitrfire. The Italeri kit is not a good one, well not for the price anyway. Not in a rush to build another. I'm not a fan of the wingtips on this either but from an engineering standpoint the differences in wing design between the regular shape, this and the clipped wings were interesting.

Aircraft: Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IX

Kit: Italeri

Notes: A bit of a personal story behind this one. My father grew up in the Netherlands under the Nazi occupation as a boy. He rarely spoke about the war but one story he did tell was of British Spitfires strafing the German trains in the railway siding across the road from his house and how exciting and terrifying it was. I looked up train strafing squadrons and 401 Sqn was one of the foremost, so I picked that for my build.

Aircraft: Supermarine Spitfire Mk.XVI

Kit: Heller

Notes: The Heller kit was somewhat crude, which was not unexpected. Came up alright in the end.

Aircraft: Supermarine Spitfire PR.XIX

Kit: Airfix

Notes: New tool kit and an easy build. I like the 2 tone scheme.

Aircraft: Supermarine Spitfire Mk.24

Kit: Special Hobby

Notes: Despite being a short-run kit, this didn't put up too much of a fight. Not much else to say about it really.

Aircraft: PBY Catalina, "Felix"

Kit: Monogram

Notes: This is a model of the Black Cat restored to flying condition by HARS. It required some custom decals but no modifications. I couldn't get enough weight in the nose to have it sit flat without the very high likelihood of collapsing the undercarriage, so I glued it to a base instead.

Aircraft: Curtiss P-40E Kittyhawk

Kit: Academy

Notes: Built for the annual IPMS club ANZAC day display. Polly is on display in the War Memorial. This aircraft flew in Milne Bay and when I visited that region in the early 2000s on a short mission trip I was shown a WW2 drop tank in one of the villages, probably from a P-40. For that reason I built this one with tank.

Display thread: https://uamf.org.uk/viewtopic.php?p=634246

Aircraft: Cessna Bobcat

Kit: KP Models

Notes: WW2 trainer and liaison aircraft. Built in a Canadian scheme. Looks very cute in yellow. 

Display thread: https://uamf.org.uk/viewtopic.php?t=25283

Aircraft: Vought F-4U Corsair

Kit: Hasegawa

Notes: Built for no other reason than I love the look of the "bent-winged bird". 

Aircraft: Republic P-47D Thunderbolt (Bubbletop)

Kit: Tamiya

Notes: Built for a 1944 theme. The Tamiya kit was a delight to build of course.

Display thread: 

Aircraft: Republic P-47D Thunderbolt (Razorback)

Kit: Hasegawa

Notes: Basically a companion to the bubbletop, but built in a PNG theatre scheme.

Display thread: 

Aircraft: Westland Lysander

Kit: Matchbox

Notes: This is modelled on the flying example in the Shuttleworth Collection in the UK, which is based on an aircraft that served in WW2 dropping spies into Europe and that sort of thing. All over black scheme in place of camo....I couldn't resist!

Aircraft: Bristol Blenheim Mk.1, Night Fighter

Kit: Airfix

Notes: Out of the box build that looks great in black. What more can I say?...

Build thread: https://uamf.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=483&t=24757

Aircraft: Boulton Paul Defiant, Night Fighter

Kit: Airfix

Notes: Companion build to the Blenheim.

Build thread: https://uamf.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=24931

Aircraft: Polikarpov PO-2

Kit:ICM

Notes: I built this as a tribute to the brave women who flew these slow, outclassed aircraft on night bombing missions against the Germans. They were the "Nachthexen" (Night Witches) of the 588th Night Bomber / 46th Taman Guards female regiment:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_Witches 

Later I upgraded the gun dramatically, which is why it looks different in the second shot.

Build/display thread: https://uamf.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=21933

Axis

Aircraft: Focke Wulf 190 A-9

Kit: Airfix (new tool)

Notes: Built as part of a group build. The FW190  is about the only German WW2 aircraft I like the look of. I detest camouflage colours though, and I refuse to paint Luftwaffe mottle, so I was pretty happy to find this Winter scheme. I looked long and hard....

Aircraft: Heinkel He-111E

Kit: Revell

Notes: Built for my brother's collection. Straight out of the box scheme. I find this to be an extremely ugly aircraft. Iconic, though.