WWII ID Models

[lastvautour]

I need to smarten up and put some scribing on my ID Models as well. Mine kind of look crappy to say the least. I have quite a few Krylon colour and like the finish. The white is the best I have found to date. Their silver is not very good. The other colours are great as well as their dark gray primer. I am about to get some black for the bottom of the Ascender. The Mk II was rough carved last night at our Thu euchre night. I stray - sorry.

[Oceaneer99]

I scribed the control surfaces on my 1/144 Spitfire, but that's the only other time I've done so.  I had better success with a carbide scribe (conical point) than with an X-Acto knife, but it definitely takes practice.  Where I messed up, I used some putty and sanded the surface smooth.

PS for the I-16, I had to do all sorts of filling on the bottom side of the wing-fuselage joint.  It really blends into the bottom of the fuselage, a detail not shown on the ID plans.

Garet

[Oceaneer99]

I finished the Polikarpov I-16.  The paint is still the slightest bit tacky (so probably wasn't lacquer); hopefully it will cure out in another day or so.


http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-1854


http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-1853

[cliff strachan]

Very nice model, Garet.  Though I feel that it would be even better - if this is at all possible - if it was painted to the appropriate "realistic"  colours. This only reflects my personal bias. It seems too nice to be left in black.

Cliff

[Oceaneer99]

Cliff,

I know exactly what you mean.  This is the first airplane model I have made in "ID black", and it took a lot of self-control to keep from giving it one of those bright red I-16 paint jobs with the Soviet slogans on the side.  The only reason I painted it black was because of the ID model cookup.

I did make a small PT boat that I left as "ID gray", but that isn't all that far from the scale appearance!

Garet

[lastvautour]

Outstanding work Garet. The bottom photo is even better with the undercarriage doors jumping out at you. Excellent model.

Lou

[Oceaneer99]

Thanks, Lou.  I should add that I also painted it ID black because you asked me so nicely. 

Garet

[lastvautour]

Purhaps we should have an ID+ catagory where you build to the ID Model plans, but you paint it any colour you wish. I know that would please Cliff.
Thanks for the black paint. A very good contender for model of the year.

[Oceaneer99]

Thankfully, the paint fully hardened after an extra day.  I did notice that there was lint stuck to the model in the photo!

Garet

[R.F.Bennett]

Good Polikarpov restoration http://www.nzfpm.co.nz/article.asp?id=i16
I have a set of decals for several versions, I haven't posted them because they are still in production.

[Joe]

Hi, All,

My quest for interesting Strombecker models has led me to WWII ID models that Strombecker marketed.  I have managed to acquire a few and plan to build them when time allows.  One that is very high on my list is the B-17.  My late uncle was a navigator and bombadier on a B-17 during WWII and, so, that warbird holds a special place in my heart. 

In the event, I found a built (and abused) Strombecker B-17 Spotter Model and have attached the photos hereto.  My plan is to see if I can dismantle it and do all the usual things to bring it back.  However, it appears that someone may have tinkered with it and used some hot glue on it.  If so, dismantling may not be an option. 

I am going to paint it flat black, but will deviate from the normal vintage process by applying the markings over the paint.  The instructions on my un-built models indicate that flat black versions should be left un-marked.  Oh, well, the Gods of Solid Models will have to forgive yet another trespass.

Photos of the model in its as-received state reveal the task ahead.  And I could not resist attaching one more photo: it is of me standing by a B-17 in which I flew two years ago.  My sons gave me that ride as a birthday present...a very happy birthday present!


Joe

[Oceaneer99]

Joe,

Good luck with the restoration.  What a flight that must have been on the Fortress!

The reason that they said no markings on the black model was that they didn't want to give the trainees any additional information regarding friend or foe.  I'm sure plenty of kits were built, painted black, and kept by the builders (rather than sent to the Navy as ID models), and they probably were likely to add markings.

Garet

[dave_t]

Garet,
     Do you know if the SMM collection of ID plans is a complete set? I just wondered if there were any others out there. Did the UK have a similar program?
Dave

[Oceaneer99]

Dave,

We have a complete set per the list of ID model plans at the National Air and Space Museum (NASM).  Two of our sets are from Kenny Horne's collection and were reprints made by Comet or some other model company, so they differ from the official US Navy plans.  However, I have recently received new copies from NASM of the original plans, and I intend to scan those and add them to our collection.

As to similar plans, I have read that the US Navy plans were translated into Brazilian Portuguese, but have never seen copies of these.  I have UK books printed during WW II, but these just feature commercial plans, so I don't have leads on possible official government plans.  The German government made profile cardstock models, which were mass-produced, so may not have had a plans program.  I don't know of any other "students building ID model" programs, but would be happy to hear about them.

As to ships, Ray and I visited the Puget Sound Naval Museum, which at one time had a large set of hand-made ship and aircraft ID models.  However, as part of their move to new facilities, Navy historians removed most of the collection, and none of it is currently on display (they were still rebuilding the second floor of the museum).  We do know that there were ship plans that the government printed.  One example is the German ship Koln, seen here (from the Navy Archives web site):


http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/displayimage.php?album=search&cat=0&pos=0

We also see these plans in photos from the National Archives:


http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/displayimage.php?album=125&pos=4


http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/displayimage.php?album=125&pos=3

These photographs were taken at Gila River Relocation Center in Arizona, and the men in them were most likely Nisei (second generation Japanese-American).

We'd love to find more of these ship plans!

Garet

[dave_t]

Thanks for all that info Garet. I started to post the Koln drawing last night until discovering it had been on SMM for over a year. It would be nice to find more of those plans.

  Somewhat related, I found a link to a collection of ID cards. http://www.flickr.com/photos/army-of-neff/sets/72157622754498904/ I actually own these same items from WWII except mine are not cards but printed on 5x7 paper front and back. Also my collection is larger, covering allied aircraft. They belonged to my dad.