Builds Douglas A26 Invader Airfix 1/72 scale kit with airwaves PE set

[orgASMic]

starting on the Concrete base for the Invader 30cm x 28cm and a much smaller base for the "Super High Tech Jet Fighter" Saab JAS 39 Gripen my previous project.
first I smeared a thin coat of car body filler, let that dry.
View attachment 580858
then when that was dry, sanded out the larger faults and rough edges to produce a nice concrete surface, with a knife line down the centre for the expansion joint, I dunno, does concrete expand in the sun? Maybe just a concrete join then.

My experience as SATCO at an RAF airfield having large-scale groundworks done.
Concrete can crack when it dries due to contraction, When laid for aircraft servicing platforms, it is laid in a deep (ours were ~4m), single strip ~5m wide to ensure that it lays in one homogenous piece. Then the surface is scored at intervals as it dries to ensure that it cracks in the right place, effectively turning the laid strip into large blocks. The gaps are then filled with flexible sealant.
A civil engineer will be along shortly to fill in the details.

 

[SPROCKET321]

Thanks for the ideas. as it's a WW2 plane, I'll have to guess, laying concrete on some shitty, blood soaked island in the Pacific like Tinian, they didn't expect the concrete runway and admin Apron to have to last much longer than the war, but it probably did. In my local area, there are still BOB Apron's and Hangers used by the local council for bin trucks, they are good to study. Anyway, I'm going with this for the Invader, later on, I may change my runway routine for later models. (A 1/32 Bf109 G for example.)

 

[orgASMic]

Island airfield construction by the Japanese on the smaller Pacific islands was generally of crushed, rolled coral. I found this ppt show about USN Construction Battalions (SeaBees) which shows some photos of construction in action and practical detail of materials (slides 65-82). They pretty much used whatever they could get hold of, which generally wasn't concrete. SeaBees Ops WW2

 

[Daz]

I think the tooling of the kit is ex Hasagawa, taken over by International, on the box, or Science Treasury on the Sprues? bit of a mess to be honest, think I got them cheap somewhere, on a stall.

Hasegawa 1974, repopped by Popye in the 80's and Science Treasury in the 90's

 

[Chef]

Island airfield construction by the Japanese on the smaller Pacific islands was generally of crushed, rolled coral. I found this ppt show about USN Construction Battalions (SeaBees) which shows some photos of construction in action and practical detail of materials (slides 65-82). They pretty much used whatever they could get hold of, which generally wasn't concrete. SeaBees Ops WW2

James A. Michener describes this in 'Tales of the South Pacific'.

The coral would be crushed, spread out and rollered flat. It was then sprayed with water and by the next day had set like concrete.

 

[Bubbles_Barker]

I think the tooling of the kit is ex Hasagawa, taken over by International, on the box, or Science Treasury on the Sprues? bit of a mess to be honest, think I got them cheap somewhere, on a stall.

My long awaited 76.2mm ‘Diana’ in the Desert thread is Science Treasury. Still not finished and the instructions are indeed a joke:

 

[orgASMic]

My long awaited 76.2mm ‘Diana’ in the Desert thread is Science Treasury. Still not finished and the instructions are indeed a joke:
View attachment 580997
View attachment 580998

Many moons ago, I was given a Mah Jong set as a Christmas present. The game instructions must have been translated by the same team as I quickly gave up trying to understand them and got the Chinese lad in my class at school to teach me how to play.

 

[NSP]

I dunno, does concrete expand in the sun?

Yes. Jointed with a compressible rubber-like compound these days but back in WWII it would likely have been soft wood.

 

[robinrocket111]

On weathering the base, oil! Radials are quite notorious for dripping oil, part of the starting procedure was to turn the engine over a number of times manually before starting. It was to scavenge oil out of the downward facing cylinders and would have been blown out of the exhaust.

 

[ches]

Location of joints will generally be about the depth X 30 mark. So a 100mm depth slab will be 3m joints but have seen them much further apart than that & in war time conditions, that would be stretched a lot i reckon.

Gen dit, back in the 90's i was involved in some softly softly works at RAF Sealand - relocation of some airborne radar repair workshops from somewhere down south. They'd earmarked an old WW2 era hangar that was going spare & had been built by US CoE apparently in 42. Intent was to build some hefty blockwork walls inside the hangar forming very robust self enclosed units that could provide necessary shielding while these radar thingys were being repaired/tested. The walls were very dense 215mm thk concrete blocks. Struct Eng says existing slab is fine & will be more than adequate. Ok says the contractor, you spec em I'll build em & his gangs get in & lay these blockwork walls in a couple of days to a height of approx 3m high. Walls are laid in 'lifts'.....say to window height or door head height, let them cure then lay the rest of the height above - avoids the setting mortar at the lower levels compressing too much during the cure.

Anyway they finish em on a Friday.
Come back Monday & nearly all the walls have sheared through the old WW2 slabs due to the weight of the full height walls on a narrow line of load bearing along the wall length on what turned out to be some pretty ropey concrete in some areas on a cpl of inches thick.
Struct Eng sucking his teeth & scratching his head while we were listening to the sounds of a purple caped twat laughing his head off as he buggered off.

 

[Chef]

My long awaited 76.2mm ‘Diana’ in the Desert thread is Science Treasury. Still not finished and the instructions are indeed a joke:
View attachment 580997
View attachment 580998

I just noticed the M3 instructions for the Sdkfz 7.

Still a halftrack's a halftrack I suppose.

 

[SPROCKET321]

final shot of it with the fuel guys in their final positions, a fuel spill rainbow under the truck created using a nail art foil. This is how the Luftwaffe would have photographed it. The low sunlight gives it a realistic effect. Very pleased with it, next time you see it, it'll be in a glass case.

 

[Helm]

Come out very well that mate, you really ought to have a go at a high quality kit though for a change

 

[SPROCKET321]

Come out very well that mate, you really ought to have a go at a high quality kit though for a change

I know, I'm stuck in a Nostalgia rut