by Steve Mackenzie

W/Cmdr Clive Caldwell's JL394 in it's parking bay.

Now we will have a look at the three schemes included.

Firstly W/Cmdr Caldwell's JL394. This is the least known of 3 airframes that Caldwell flew in 1943 in the NWA area (N.T), the others being BS234 and BS295. One point to note is that the White wing leading edges were unusually narrow in size (refer to the heading photo on Page 1), also note the large amount of exhaust staining which you may decide to add to your model. Also note in the heading photo on this page that the upper wing roundel appears to be the later style with a larger proportion of Dark Blue. This would be unusual at this stage of the airwar, the decals give the earlier style. An alternative option for the modeller to consider.

The second option is S/Ldr Lou Spence's QY-V A58-254 'Rima II' from 452 Sqn. There is an overall photo of the airframe in the set's instructions and the above is a closeup of the individual name. I note that the instructions call for a Red spinner, while it is not possible to tell from photos of this airframe which it may have been, the standard at this time was Black.

The third option is SH-K A58-250 'Marge' from 85 Sqn. There is a Starboard side photo of the airframe in the set's instructions and the above is of the Port side. One point that the modeller should carefully note that there is a small variation in the line that the Black anti-glare panel follows. It is slightly different on the two sides. The instructions correctly note the difference.

Thanks to Chris Brown from High Planes Models for the review set. Use the index button to return to the main issue 35/1 index.