US Navy and USMC Between The Wars in 1/100

[Rata]

Bit more done. I often use refillable pencil leads for guns. They're easy to cut and the right colour. These are .07mm but I reckon .05 would be better for 1/100.
Regards struts on biplanes, my own preferred method is to attach centre section (cabane) ones first, cut slightly overlength and trimming a little at a time till the upper wing sits on (without glueing yet) even and straight. When satisfied that all's good I'll glue and when set solid, do the outer struts, again cutting overlength and trimming down.
One of the pics shows some of the edge colour paints I use. These are leftovers from my plast days. I've got stacks of 'em so I'm glad they're still seeing useful service.
And MichaelS, there's your plucked paintbrush bristles ready to go.

Going away for a few days, so Tommy is on hold for a bit. The next post will be of completed model which will be some time next week.

[CMDRTED]

Garry, this is very informative. what type of paint brush bristles are we talking here. and thanks for the strut info, watching with keen interest.

[Vinalssergio155]

That is beautiful Garry, you are incredible, excellent work. My face sketches another smile. Between your Tommy and the Bearcat of Kacper that I am building (I calculate the Saturday I finish it) the mood rises again. Very well done!

[Rata]

Originally Posted by CMDRTED

Garry, this is very informative. what type of paint brush bristles are we talking here. and thanks for the strut info, watching with keen interest.

They're just standard hardware shop items. Don't even have to the expensive ones- I went for the ones with the finest and longest bristles of which the smaller brushes (3/4'') seemed to have.
But don't forget I nicked this idea from MichaelS. He's the real authority figure on this!

[Rata]

Originally Posted by Vinalssergio155

That is beautiful Garry, you are incredible, excellent work. My face sketches another smile. Between your Tommy and the Bearcat of Kacper that I am building (I calculate the Saturday I finish it) the mood rises again. Very well done!

Good on you Sergio. Paper modelling is the best therapy!
Looking forward to your Bearcat mister.

[Rata]

Here she is. Can thoroughly recommend this Perry's Paper 1/72 kit. As I said earlier, probably not for rank beginners, but those with even moderate experience will really enjoy.
I originally rigged with MichaelS's pre-painted paintbrush bristle technique, but found they looked a bit heavy and overscale. I re-did with unpainted bristles and am much happier with this result. What do you think?

[Don Boose]

Garry’s model is a U.S. Navy Thomas-Morse S-4C Scout advanced trainer. It is in the markings of Navy 19, which was painted Navy Gray and retained Army serial number 44636. It was most likely used for training Marine pilots at the Marine Flying Field in Miami, Florida, or Navy and Marine fighter pilots at Naval Air Station Pensacola during and after World War I.

In 1917, the Thomas-Morse Aircraft Corporation of Ithaca, New York, U.S.A. produced the S-4 rotary-engined “Scout” biplane designed by B. Douglas Thomas, who had previously worked for Sopwith. The aircraft had some Sopwith physical characteristics and, while it did not have the performance required for a fighter plane, it was very suitable for training fighter pilots. After Thomas-Morse incorporated improvements based on flight testing in the summer of 1917, the U.S. Army Signal Corps placed an order for 100 S-4B Scouts, powered by U.S.-built Gnôme 100 hp rotary engines. The U.S. Navy procured ten S-4Bs and an additional six aircraft with floats designated S-5.

Problems with the Gnôme engines and flight-control deficiencies led to further improvements including changes in the control surface geometry, replacement of the cable aileron control system with torque tubes, and installation of 80 hp Le Rhône engines manufactured under license by the Union Switch and Signal Company of Swissvale, Pennsylvania. The War Department placed an order for 400 of these S-4Cs in January 1918. The Navy purchased four S-4Cs and an additional nine aircraft, including 44636, were transferred from the Army and kept their Army serials while in Navy service.

The Tommy was the most widely-used advanced fighter trainer for both the Army and Navy during and after WWI. Many of them were later sold to civilians and were popular as barnstormers, sport airplanes, and in films, where they emulated WWI fighters. Several S-4Cs have survived and at least one, Army Serial 38923 is in flyable condition at the Pioneer Flight Museum, Kingsbury, Texas.

A development of the Tommy, the Thomas-Morse MB-3 Fighter, and the Boeing-built MB-3A, powered by Wright-Hispano in-line engines, served with the U.S. Army and Marine Corps until the late 1920s. The Thomas-Morse Corporation became part of Consolidated Aviation in 1929.

Images

Image 1 is a September 1920 U.S Navy photograph of 44636 in Navy Gray finish. It mounts a Marlin machine gun with coaxial camera. This image is from Swanborough and Bowers, p. 447. It most likely was taken at Naval Air Station Pensacola, where naval aviator training was conducted immediately after WWI.

Image 2 is restored Thomas-Morse S-4C Army Serial 38923 on display at the Pioneer Flight Museum, Kingsbury, Texas. As far as I know, this is the sole remaining flyable Tommy.

Image 3 is a U.S. Navy S4C converted to S-5 configuration by the addition of floats and carrying BuNo A-5858. It is on display at the National Naval Aviation Museum, http://www.navalaviationmuseum.org/attractions/aircraft-exhibits/item/?item=s-4c_scout

Sources:

Joe Baugher, “US Navy and US Marine Corps BuNos, First Series (A6002 to 9999),” available at http://www.joebaugher.com/navy_seria...stseries2.html

Peter Bowers, “The Story of the ‘Tommy’ (Thomas-Morse S-4),” Air Progress, Vol. 15, No.4, August/September 1963, pp. 52-57, 97.

Roy A. Grossnick, United States Naval Aviation, 1910-1995, Washington, DC: Department of the Navy, Naval Historical Center, 1997.

E.R. Johnson, American Military Training Aircraft: Fixed and Rotary-Wing Trainers Since 1916, Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, 2015, pp. 29-30.

---, United States Marine Corps Aircraft Since 1913, Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, 2018, pp. 280-281.

National Naval Aviation Museum, “S-4C,” available at S-4C Scout | National Naval Aviation Museum

Naval Air Station Grosse Isle Virtual Museum, Thomas-Morse S4C “Scout,” available at http://nasgi.net/scout.htm

Bruce Robertson, ed., United States Army and Air Force Fighters 1916-1961, Letchworth, UK: Harleyford Publications, 196 1, pp. 10, 12, 18, 25-26, 146.

Frank Strnad, Aircraft Profile No. 68: The Thomas-Morse Scout, London: Profile Publications Ltd, 1966.

Gordon Swanborough and Peter M Bowers, “Thomas-Morse S-4B, S-4C,” United States Navy Aircraft Since 1911, New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1968, p.447.

United States Navy History and Heritage Command, “U.S. Navy Aircraft Marking,” available at https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/naval-aviation-history/aircraft-markings.html

Vintage Aviation Historical Foundation, “Thomas Morse Scout,” available at http://pioneerflightmuseum.org/aircraft/tommy.html

[Rata]

Thanks yet again Don my friend.

This thread wouldn't have half the impact without you.

[CMDRTED]

looks great. so you just cut the bristles to the length you need, ingenious. perhaps use a sharpie marker to color the bristles. the sharpies wouldn't add much girth to them.

[YOAVHOZMI]

good job

YOAV