Gorby 21,590 Posted September 28 Report Share Posted September 28 Hope you had an enjoyable hols Gaz That looks very believable contraption. It's a shame they didn't try it as I'd love to know how it would have fared. Maybe it didn't do very well as it seems to have extended the war by another two years. Is it just going to be the forward firing guns or is there going to be a turret of some sort? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ExNurseGaz 1,179 Posted September 28 Author Report Share Posted September 28 1 hour ago, Gorby said: Hope you had an enjoyable hols Gaz Certainly did! I'm doing it again at Christmas! Maybe it didn't do very well as it seems to have extended the war by another two years. It wasn't the Dagenham's utility that extended the war, it was the resources we had to devote to rebuilding the aircraft industry. A twin Mossie was never going to be as effective as a Lanc or Halifax, but as a "light-heavyweight" it kept the bomber offensive going. Is it just going to be the forward firing guns or is there going to be a turret of some sort? There's a 0.5 Browning in the tailcone of each fuselage, with sighting by periscope. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ExNurseGaz 1,179 Posted October 3 Author Report Share Posted October 3 I've had a false start with the tailplane. On the last TwinMossie I built, I had stub tailplanes on the "inner" sides of the fuselages, and then skinned it over with Plastic card. It worked well. On this occasion, however, I bridged the gap between the tailplane stubs with an offcut from the discarded wing panels and the card I used didn't fold cleanly over the leading edge, but split, leaving a very awkward join. Here's that first effort, partly done: S So I'm now building a new tailplane in situ, from more wing panel offcuts and filler. This is ongoing. 6 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ExNurseGaz 1,179 Posted October 5 Author Report Share Posted October 5 We're at it again now, and (still) forgetting to take pics of build progress(!), so this is is now well into the paint process. It is of course being painted in the RAF WW2 "Night Bomber" scheme, of Dark Green/Dark Earth topsides with Night undersides. I did think about a prototype scheme, but the thought of painting all-Yellow undersides put me off! When the photo was taken, the DG was still wet, but the DG is satin and the DE is matt, so hopefully the glosscoat for decalling will sort that out Ah, yes, decalling. I'm thinking about finishing this as a 106 Sqn. aircraft, mostly to suggest how important the DH Dagenham was in this timeline- it was used by a unit that we'd recognise as a leading Lancaster squadron, which was a leading Dagenham unit in this fictional timeline. Make no mistake! The Dagenham (5 stops past Barking!) was the mainstay of Bomber Command until UK's "traditional" bomber manufacturers were back on stream! Let's hope Dagenhams (or Bisquitos as they were nicknamed) were better-built than my model! 6 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Gorby 21,590 Posted October 5 Report Share Posted October 5 1 hour ago, ExNurseGaz said: and (still) forgetting to take pics of build progress(!), That means you're enjoying it. Looking even more believable with the paint on. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RWG686 40,515 Posted October 5 Report Share Posted October 5 3 hours ago, ExNurseGaz said: were better-built than my model! Nothing wrong with it and it is certainly coming to life. Your back story is very believable too. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ExNurseGaz 1,179 Posted October 9 Author Report Share Posted October 9 The de Havilland D.H.196 Dagenham has now left the production line, and is sitting in a dispersal awaiting an Op. In the end, I decided against 106 Sqn, mainly because getting 5 Gp "red with yellow outline" code letters in the right size was proving difficult. So now here is a Dagenham Mk.1 of an unnamed unit, based "somewhere in the East Midlands". To recap: the Luftwaffe's Unternehmen Bomberdaemmerung (Operation Twilight of the Bombers) basically destroyed Great Britain's capacity to manufacture heavy (and medium) bombers in late 1940. De Havilland offered an "Emergency Heavy Bomber" in the shape of a 3-engined Twin Mosquito (the Mosquito was on the verge of service entry at the time), which the Air Ministry named the Dagenham (5 stops past Barking, you see!) It was an immediate success, and held the fort for the Bomber Offensive while Avro, Bristol, Handley Page, Shorts, Supermarine, and Vickers all rebuilt their factories. Later versions emerged as mixed-power (jet & piston) fighter-bombers, as well as pure-jet reconnaisance aircraft, serving well into the late 1950s with the Royal Auxiliary Air Force. Its place in RAF history is assured. It's been great fun revisiting this craziness! I'm sure that I'll come up with more madness before the plug gets pulled on this GB! 10 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RWG686 40,515 Posted October 9 Report Share Posted October 9 Excellent story and model. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mad Steve 25,050 Posted October 10 Report Share Posted October 10 Excellent Gaz 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Gorby 21,590 Posted October 10 Report Share Posted October 10 Love it! Plus it looks eminently believable. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
skwonk 9,618 Posted October 13 Report Share Posted October 13 Brilliantly Bonkers! 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Blue Noser 4,873 Posted November 8 Report Share Posted November 8 Wonderful imagination and a fine end product. Great stuff! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hutch6390 3,292 Posted November 8 Report Share Posted November 8 Don't know how I missed the finale! Great job, Gaz, and great back story, too Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts