Tour de Airfix Posted April 21 Share Posted April 21 This is Airfix's 75th Anniversary 1:72 D-Day Air Assault Set A50157A which I'm finally getting around to building as my offering to commemorate this the 80th Anniversary of D-Day. I've already built the aircraft, Airfix's excellent kit of Hawker Typhoon Mk.Ib ... and the Airfield Utility Vehicles of Standard Tilly, Bedford MWC and BSA M20 motor cycle. I am now working on the base, which I've secured to a frame and while awaiting the glue to dry, I've made a start on the RAF figures. It always surprises me just how long painting these little figures take and how careful you have to be in handling them before the acrylic paint cures, as it so easily gets brushed off. The RAF Brass / Officers ... The Aircraft Armourers ... The Dispatch Rider who wishes he'd taken the BSA! I'll share more as I progress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tour de Airfix Posted April 24 Author Share Posted April 24 Airfix 1:72 D-Day Air Assault kit A50157A which I have built to interpret ALG. B5/Le Fresne-Camilly, Normandy, France, home of Typhoon MN625 MR-B of No.245 (Northern Rhodesian) Squadron, 121 Wing, 2nd TAF, June 1944. MN625 was flown by Fg.Off. W Smith who, on 10 June 1944, was made famous as being the first Allied pilot to land at one of the Advance Landing Ground (ALG) airfields in Normandy. This is how the Squadron’s Operations Record Book recorded it: “At 0520 hours eight aircraft with R.P. and two fighters airborne to attack reported position of H.Q. Panzer Division. Intense flak of all types was encountered but despite this and much cloud the target was located and successfully attacked. F/O W.Smith was hit by flak and reported excessive vibration and much oil on the windscreen. He was instructed by W/Cdr. Green (who was leading) to put down on the ALG at Banville (B3/Ste Croix-sur-Mer) east of Bayeux. This he did successfully. He was met by a swarm of photographers and high officers who informed him that he was the first pilot to make a wheels down landing in France since D-Day. Apparently this honour was being saved for Air Vice Marshal Broardhurst who arrived some time later in a Spitfire!” On 17th June, the Advance Landing Ground (ALG) B5/Le Fresne-Camilly was to be 245 Squadron’s new home. This was the fifth airfield to be established in the British and Canadian sector of the Normandy landings. Only about four miles inland from the invasion beaches, it had only recently been freed from shell-fire which had come from German units dug into surrounding woods. The wire mesh strip or Square-Mesh Track (SMT), which I've included in the diorama, served as a runway over 5,500 feet long and ran from north to south along the plateau. Surrounding orchards were used to give cover for maintenance hangars and as dispersal points for aircraft requiring servicing. The observant may notice that I’ve used my Airfix Club kit/decals in this diorama as the one provided with the D-Day Assault kit were for Squadron Leader Stapleton's Typhoon of 247 Squadron which took part in the September’s Operation 'Market Garden'/A Bridge Too Far rather than June’s Operation 'Overlord'/The Longest Day 😉 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain.Glumbo Posted April 24 Share Posted April 24 Very well done there. My feeble attempt at the operation overlord set will be in no way be as good as yours but it is good practice for future dioramas 🙂 You're attention to detail is phenomenal! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul71 Posted April 27 Share Posted April 27 i like how this has turned out TDA. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tour de Airfix Posted 4 hours ago Author Share Posted 4 hours ago Does anyone else here follow ModelU, the Bristol based 3D Printer of scale model figures? They are probably better known by our Hornby members as they have majored in railway figures for many years. More recently they have tested the military modelling world with some excellent WW2 army figures, many of which I have bought for a number of dioramas. Last week they launched a range of WW2 RAF personnel which are truly amazing. I pre-ordered 5 different sets thinking I'd use them over a few projects but couldn't resist adding them all to my D-Day Air Assault and sorry Airfix, the supplied figures have been relegated to my spare figures box! If interested in seeing more, I've created an SCM Album for this build here https://www.scalemates.com/profiles/mate.php?id=82465&p=albums&album=111002&view=thumbs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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