Sikorsky UH-60 Blackhawk Walk Around Part I

Photographs taken on 12JUL25 at the Fort Wayne Air Show, Hosted by the 122nd Fighter Wing “Blacksnakes” of the Indiana Air National Guard

Women Warriors 363

Sixteen newly deployed CST-4 members supporting VSO pose for a group photo at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, before conducting marksmanship training, 10 November 2012.

RAF Squadron Leader Nicola Lofthouse C-17

Aerial Gunner Mary Howe, 4th Special Ops Squadron AC-130

USAF CAPT Jammie Jamieson, F-22 Raptor Pilot

ww449b_Serbian_2K12 Kub SAM — **Serbian Army 2K12 Kub SAM**

ww449c_USARMY_Specialist Jenny Martinez — **US ARMY Specialist Jenny Martinez**

ww449d_Italy_B1Centauro_TankDestroyer — **Italian Army B1 Centauro Tank Destroyer**

(from right) 1Lt Julie “TIMBER” Ayres, Capt. Mary “GINGER” Melfi, and Capt. Tally “VIXEN” Parham, three of the five female fighter pilots from the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing that flew in combat missions in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM from this forward-deployed air base in the Middle East, walk together down the flightline on May 3, 2003. Lt Ayres and Capt. Melfi, from the 336th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron out of Seymour Johnson A.F.B., NC, are weapons system officers on the F-15E Strike Eagle. Capt. Parham, from the 157th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron out of McEntire, SC, is a fighter pilot on the F-16CJ and is part of the S.C. Air National Guard. The 379th AEW is credited with flying 3,440 sorties and delivering over 1,500 tons of ordnance during the combat phase of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM. (RELEASED)(U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. DERRICK C. GOODE)

ww052wasp — **WASP pilot Shirley Slade**

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Junkers Ju 88 and Mistel Conversion Builds in 1/72 Scale Part II

Back for an update, and it’s time to talk about the engines. My base kits for these conversions are all Revell Ju 88A-4, an excellent kit. The Ju 88A-4s were equipped with Jumo 211s, and Revell has done a really nice job of molding these. Unfortunately, none of the variants I’m building carried this type of engine. I had considered using engines from the AMT kits, but they were way too small. Here are the undersized AMT engine halves in the light grey plastic taped up to corresponding Hasegawa parts for comparison. The nacelles are equally as small, there’s just not a good way to salvage them.

Fortunately, Hasegawa comes to the rescue here. Most (if not all) of their boxings of later Ju 88s come with the sprues shown above which provide parts to outfit a given model with either BMW 801 or Jumo 213 engines. That leaves one set of engines as a spare from each Hasegawa kit you build. I had enough spare BMW engines, and was able to cast copies of the Jumos from an unbuilt Hasegawa G-6.

The Hasegawa kits come with a wing insert to adapt the engines to the wing. The Revell wings are engineered a bit differently. The easiest way to adapt the parts is to cut off the Hasegawa inserts at the forward edge of the wing roots and blend them in to the Revell wings.

Here are both types of engines adapted to the Revell wings. The BMW radials have aftermarket Quickboost replacement exhausts. No major problems were encountered fitting the Hasegawa engines, the Revell nacelles were filed down a bit on the lower sides but everything else matched up rather well.

On Ju 88G and subsequent series, the forward upper edge of the main gear doors are rounded, on the A-series kits I’m using they are square. A few passes with the file fixes the doors, and small inserts fixes the corners. It’s almost impossible to drill out tiny squares, but an easy trick is to drill the holes in plastic card and cut the squares out around them. The same trick can be used when replacing oleo scissors.

… and here are the inserts in place. A small detail, but only a few minutes to correct. This is a good time to mention that the main gear legs were shortened by about 2 mm each, and pinned back together with a bronze rod insert.

This is the underside of the nose of the H-1, showing the Waffentropfen for two MG 131s. These faced to the rear, and were sighted by the pilot using a periscope. This one was made from two bomb halves from the Revell kit and some Evergreen, filed to shape.

The Führungsmaschine had a solid radome in the nose which was sourced from the AMT kit. Fit was good, only needing a bit of blending.

One problem was sourcing the vacuformed canopies, but I finally was able to locate some replacements. They are from the Falcon set, and require the decking fore and aft of the actual glazed area to be thinned down. Here’s one installed on the S-3. The sun shades are just masking tape, rolled with the sticky side out. The barrels have been cut from the guns, with bronze rod used to penetrate the canopy. The rods provide a resilient anchor point for reattaching the barrels.

Here’s the underside of the nose, the crew access hatch and various other details were replaced with 0.01″ plastic card. An easy fix, and looks the part after painting.

Later versions of the Ju 88 featured re-designed tail surfaces which were much more squared off compared to earlier versions. Many Hasegawa Ju 88 kits provide these parts and I used these as masters to cast new tail surfaces for the conversions which needed them.

Here are all the Junkers before priming showing the conversion work done on each. This is the Ju 88H-4 Führungsmaschine, the most-stretchy Junkers of all. 3370 mm forward fuselage plug and 2740 mm aft fuselage plug, AMT nose radome, cast replacement Jumo inline engines and the squared off tailplane modifications.

This is the Ju 88H-1 maritime reconnaissance version, 1950 mm for the forward fuselage extension, 1350 mm aft. Engines are Hasegawa BMW 801 spares.

The Ju 88G-10 will be the lower component for the Mistel 3. It is modified with an Airies warhead with cast resin stub, a 2740 mm fuselage plug aft of the wing, squared off tail surfaces, and cast Jumo 213 inline engines.

This is the Ju 88G-1 lower component for the Mistel 2. The BMW engines are spares from a Hasegawa kit. The warhead is from the AMT kit, mated with a cast resin stub. Tailplanes are modified with resin casts from a Hasegawa Ju 88G-6 nightfighter.

Last is the Ju 88S-3. This is the most basic Junkers of the batch, just the engines have been changed and the gondola under the fuselage deleted.

Part I here: https://inchhighguy.wordpress.com/2026/03/20/junkers-ju-88-and-mistel-conversion-builds-in-1-72-scale-part-i/

Picture of the Week 116

A Lockheed Martin F-35C Lightning II from VX-9 flying through Star Wars Canyon. A close examination of the photo reveals several shock distortions formed around the aircraft.

Nakajima B5N Type 97 “Kate” Part II – Pearl Harbor Raid

On 08DEC41 Tokyo time the Japanese began the “Hawaiian Operation”, known to Americans as the Pearl Harbor Raid. By this time the Imperial Japanese Navy had replaced their B5N1 Kankō with the improved B5N2, and the A5M4 “Claude” with the superb A6M2 Zero on the large carriers, although both types soldiered on aboard some of the smaller carriers of the 3rd and 4th Divisions. Here a B5N2 is seen launching aboard Akagi to the cheers of the deck crew while a formation of nine other aircraft is just visible in the skies above, some references indicate this photo was taken during the raid on Ceylon on 05APR42.

A still from a Japanese newsreel shows a Kankō launching from Shokaku during the Hawaiian Operation while another gains altitude in the distance.

A Shokaku Kate is seen climbing out over Kaneohe Naval Air Station with empty bomb racks while hangers blaze in the background. Carrier Division 5 (Shokaku and Zuikaku) were relatively new to the fleet and had not trained extensively in shallow water torpedo attacks, therefore they were assigned to bomb airfields and shore installations during the Pearl Harbor Raid. Shokaku’s Kates were to attack Kaneohe NAS and Ford Island.

A group of Kates with empty bomb racks gather for the return flight back to Shokaku. Shokaku Kates wore a dark green mottle over a gray-green base. Markings were a single white fuselage stripe and red tail codes beginning with “EI-“ prefixes, (“E” = 5th Carrier Division, “I” = first ship).

Zuikaku’s Kates were assigned to bomb Hickam Field. Zuikaku’s Kates were reassigned from Kaga shortly before the ships left from Japan and several show signs of a hasty repainting of their markings. Upper surfaces wore a solid dark green with the vertical tail painted brown. Zuikaku’s markings were two white fuselage stripes and tail codes beginning with “EII-“. This Kate is seen during the raid above Hickam Field with ships along Battleship Row burning in the background.

A clear view of a Kate from Hiryu carrying a special 800 kg bomb adapted from a 16” armor piercing projectile which was used to attack ships moored along Battleship Row. Hiryu’s Kates were camouflaged with a dark green over gray-green mottle, in the case of BII-307 this mottling extends to the folding section of the wing undersurfaces. Hiryu’s aircraft were marked with two blue fuselage stripes and tail codes beginning with “BII-“, signifying her position as the second ship of the 2nd Carrier Division.

A close-up of the cowling of one of Akagi’s Kates during the Pearl Harbor Raid showing details of the aiming lines on the upper surfaces as well as the maintenance servicing stencil on the port side.

A pair of Kates from the aircraft carrier Kaga seen over Pearl Harbor. These Kates were painted with solid dark green upper surfaces and brown vertical tail surfaces. Kaga was the second carrier of the 1st Division, her aircraft were marked with a pair of red fuselage stripes and tail codes beginning with “AII-“. A close examination of this photo shows the aircraft in the foreground only carries the numbers “352” on her tail, maintenance crews have not gotten around to painting the prefix at the time of the raid.

One of Kaga’s Kates during the raid, black smoke is rising from Hickam field below while the white smoke is from Battleship Row. Note the flak bursts above the harbor.

LT Mimori Suzuki led the last section of six torpedo bombers from Kaga which attacked during the first wave. By then the element of surprise was wearing off and American anti-aircraft fire hit his Kate in the torpedo. This photo shows the wreckage of his Kate being recovered. Visible on the underside of the port wing, the last two numbers of the Kate’s tail code (AII-356) can be seen. These were applied to Kates of the 1st and 2nd Carrier Divisions to aid observers evaluating torpedo training before the Raid.

Part I here: https://inchhighguy.wordpress.com/2026/03/18/nakajima-b5n-type-97-kate-part-i/

SMER Ilyushin IL-2 Stormovic of 62nd ShAP in 1/72 Scale

The SMER kit provides the option of building a single-seat IL-2 with ski landing gear which I liked just because of the novelty, if nothing else. Markings are provided for this example in temporary Winter camo, tentatively identified as belonging to the 62nd ShAP on the Leningrad Front during the Winter of 1941/42.

Construction here: https://inchhighguy.wordpress.com/2026/02/20/ilyushin-il-2-stormovic-comparison-build-in-1-72-scale-part-i/

Lockheed F-104 Starfighter Book Review

Lockheed F-104 Starfighter

Series: MMP Books Yellow Series #36

By Jaroslaw Dobrzynski, Illustrated by Lieuwe de Vries

Softcover, 176 pages

Published by Mushroom Model Publications, April 2015

Language: English

ISBN: 978-83-63678-39-5

Dimensions: 8.3 x 11.8 x 0.4 inches

In 1951 Lockheed’s legendary chief aeronautical engineer Kelly Johnson traveled to Korea on a fact-finding mission. There he discussed jet combat operations with front-line USAF F-86 pilots. When asked what qualities to emphasize in future fighter designs, the pilots emphasized the need for speed and altitude. Johnson’s F-104 Starfighter design delivered both in spades.

Mushroom has a reputation for publishing quality modeling references, and their F-104 Starfighter volume does not disappoint. This book includes line drawings of all the major variants and 45 full-color profiles, all drawn to 1/72 scale. The text describes the development and operational history broken down by country, and the last 54 pages are devoted to walk-around photos and factory diagrams. The book is profusely illustrated with color photographs throughout.

I stumbled across this book on a vendor’s table at the recent BlizzCon book adoption event. Honestly, I went with intention of just petting the books, but I soon found myself exchanging the necessary papers to give this one a good home! MMP books are always worth a look, but they are not easy to find and can demand high prices on the secondary market. This one is a great reference on the classic Starfighter, highly recommended!

Eurocopter UH-72 Lakota Walk Around Part I

Photographs taken on 12JUL25 at the Fort Wayne Air Show, Hosted by the 122nd Fighter Wing “Blacksnakes” of the Indiana Air National Guard

Women Warriors 362

CAPT Kacey Grannis, 721st Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron, Mi-17 pilot, Iraq

USAF Senior Airman Julie Breault, 97th Security Forces

Maj. Ashley Rolfe, Massachusetts Air National Guard 104th Fighter Wing

ww445_VFA83_CVN75 — **US Navy sailor from VFA-83 aboard the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman** (**CVN-75**)

ww445b_Kazakhstan_T80 — **Khazakhstain soldier with T-80**

ww445c_USAF_AC130 — **US Air Force AC-130**

ww445e_Belgian_Navy — **Belgian Naval Officer**

ww447_USAF_Trena Savageau_F16 — **USAF F-16 pilot Trena Savageau**

ww247 — **Russian soldier with SVD Dragunov sniper rifle**

ww048wasp — **WASPs with AT-6 Texan, Waco, Texas**

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Junkers Ju 88 and Mistel Conversion Builds in 1/72 Scale Part I

This is a construction thread which originally appeared on the 72^nd Scale Aircraft forum as a series of posts. I still get questions about these builds to this day, particularly regarding the “stretchy” Ju 88s. The original posting was marred by the problems wrought by Photobucket and is difficult to find in any case. Fortunately, I backed up the original photos and text, so I am able to update the original material and present it here, augmented with some additional information to answer the most common questions.

My original intention was to use old AMT kits for the Ju 88 components, but the more I looked at them the more I realized just how much there was to be corrected. The AMT kits are too small in the fuselage and engine nacelles, getting a good Ju 88 out of them looked like a lot of work, especially when compared with the quality of the new Hasegawa and Revell of Germany kits. Fortunately, I was able to find a good deal on some Revell kits which were on sale at Squadron. The Fw 190s which served as the upper components for the Mistel combinations are modified Hasegawa kits.

So, starting with five Revell Ju 88A-4s and six Hasegawa Fw 190A-8s and various spare & aftermarket components, my intention is to build a Mistel 2, a Mistel 3, a Ju 88H-4 Führungsmaschine long-range recon combination, a stretched Ju 88H-1, a Ju 88S-3, and three standard Fw 190A-7 / 8s.