Maestro's 1/48 buildings.

[Maestro]

Greetings ladies and gentlemen.

Some of you will remember that I asked for any plan/hints about WWII airfield buildings. Well, after a few months of search in the deepest abysses of Internet, I found enough informations about them to be able to draw my first building plans. (It was for a long-term idea I have about creating a huge diorama.)

Now, for the ones who might be interrested, I decided to release those plans for you all... And at my best price : free !

So here they are (I'm sorry about the PDF format, but it was the only way for me to make a printable version for you).

P.S. Don't message me to tell me that there is French words mixed with English words, I know it. But I was too lazy to check in my dictionary.

P.P.S. If I've forgotten any building, feel free to let me know.

[ndicki]

Cheers, Maestro, could come in handy!

[PETERTHEEATER]

Thanks Maestro. I've added these to my WW2 airfields files for future reference.

regards,

Peter

[PETERTHEEATER]

Hello Maestro,

I am a long term member of the Airfield Research Group (ARG) located in Britain. The aim of the group is the study and recording of our WW2 airfields and architecture.

Our journal, published quarterly, is titled ‘Airfield Review’. Some of our members are authors who have published books on WW2 airfields and buildings.

I will browse back through many years of the Reviews because some contain dimensional drawings of airfield buildings that could be rescaled to 1/48 to suit your project. It would be useful to know whether you intend to build a ‘representative’ airfield or model a specific airfield (presumably one from which Canadian flyers operated?). As you will appreciate, airfields built during the ‘expansion period’ of the RAF were built to a standard layout usually with permanent ‘C’ type hangars whereas airfields constructed during the war had temporary buildings with ‘T’ type hangars.

If you let me know your intention, I can focus on the appropriate buildings.

Your local public library may be able to locate the following books;

British Airfield Buildings of the Second World War by Graham Buchan Innes,
published by Midland Publishing Ltd, ISBN 1 85780 026 5 (Softbank pocket format)

British Airfield Buildings of the Second World War (Vol 2) by Graham Buchan Innes,
published by Midland Publishing Ltd, ISBN 1 85780 101 6 (Softbank pocket format)

Control Towers, by Paul Francis, published by Airfield Research Publishing, ISBN 0 9521847 0 2 (Softbank A4 format)

The Royal Air Force Builds for War, A history of design and construction in the RAF 1935 – 1945, published by The Stationary Office, London, ISBN0 11 772469 6 (Hardback ) This contains outline drawings with dimensions for various hangars and buildings.


Airfield Research Group website:

AIRFIELD RESEARCH GROUP - Recording Britain's Airfield Heritage

Give me some more details of your proposed diorama and I will see what I can come up with.

regards,

Peter

[Maestro]

Well, first of all, thanks for your offer.

My first idea was to build a replica of Hawkinge. But after searching the web, I found very few technical information about it. So I switched to Tangmere instead, which had not a lot more informations about it, but the little more I had was better than nothing.

But then I realised that most of my planes are from different Wings... So from different bases... I won't build a whole airfield diorama if I cannot display any of my model kits in it !

So I'm still hesitating... My "perfectionist side" tells me to rather build a version of an imaginary RAF base, while on the other hand, building an exact replica of a real RAF base would be awsome.

So it will be either Tangmere or a fake RAF base.

And I still lack of some informations about Tangmere... I would need a good aerial picture to know how the buildings were placed one to the other and to the runway. The only picture I got was taken from a game made in 1994 (attached below). I would also need to know what was(were) the runway(s) made of.

Concerning the hangars, you're way ahead of me. I don't even know the difference between a "C" type and a "T" type hangar. The researches I made to draw my hangars were about the "Belfast Trust Hangar"... I don't know what is the letter designating that type of hangar. Or at least, I don't remember it.

But your help is more than welcome.

[PETERTHEEATER]

OK Maestro, I can help you with Hawkinge and/or Tangmere. Hawkinge was a fighter airfield with grass runways (not paved). Tangmere had paved runways. I certainly have a Hawkinge site plan but will have to hunt for Tangmere.

You mention 'Belfast Trust Hangar'. This should read Belfast Truss . Hangar. This hangar type was prewar and took its name from the peculiar wooden trusses used to support the roof.

I think that Tangmere would be the less demanding site to model as a diorama because it was more compact than Hawkinge. Tangmere is mostly still in existence so some buildings are still available to 'copy'. Hawkinge has been taken over as a housing estate and is practically extinct.

Hawkinge, in WW2 had 4 x General service aircraft sheds (the formal title for hangars was 'shed'); 2 x Blister hangars, and 4 x Extra Over blister hangars whereas Tangmere had 1 x T2 Hangar, 2 x Bessoneau hangars, 10 x Blister hangars, 6 x Extra Over Blister hangars and 2 x Civil (i.e. non RAF) hangars. The techical and domestic accommodation was mostly permanent build.

Given that a T2 (Transportable No 2) hangar, was built in different sizes, the longest at 224 feet, at 1/48 scale the model hangar would be over 4 feet long! Plently of room for detail which would be essential at this scale. The main runway was 2000 feet long so modelling the whole air field you would need a base board about 40 by 30 feet!.

Assuming that you have limited space, then a more practical diorama would be (say) an airfield parking ramp with a section of hangar in the background showing open doors with a couple of aircraft inside?

I will locate either site plans (or layouts) for both airfield, scan and PM them to you. Then you can decide which you want to model and I will research the appropriate hangars and adjacent buildings , Watch Tower (later known as Control tower) for example.

regards,

Peter

[k9kiwi]

Maestro

I am in the final planning stages of a build in 1/48 for 75 Sqn summer 1944. Have the Tamiya Lanc, only one arm and half a leg on ebay.

two stages.

1. Lanc MkI being serviced bomb loaded and general service work, with the groundies hut and sundry pieces beside. Next to the remote station housing ambulance fire crew etc.

2. Tower scene with Anson parked up and activity around it.

After bloomin adges of how to portray the essence of base activity this appeals to me for the simple fact it covers the essence of what a Squadron is.

Have a look at these little gems, they will be sitting in my picture.

Accurate Armour 1/48

D J Parkins

It will probably take two years, and be a complete stuff up, but what the heck. It was 15 years ago I built my last model. 1/35 German specialist and wheeled vehicles at the Kursk salient was my interest.

Start thinking about perspective and suggestion, where I am going with my project is not to present a snapshot, but to allow a whisper of the reality to draw the eye away from the aircraft to the real guts of any Squadron. The people.

[Maestro]

@ Petertheeater : Thanks for your help.

Well, like it is a very long term project for me (the more urgent being to find a second job and to buy a house), I planned of making a pretty big diorama... But certainly not 40 x 30 feet ! I was thinking of making it approximately 10 x 5 feet or something like that, so yes, it would be a small part of the airfield.

@ K9kiwi : Thanks for the tips and links.

I already knew about DJ Parkins... Even if their buildings seems to be of great quality (made of steel), it would be very expensive for me to order two or three of their buildings. That's why I decided to draw my own plans. Like this I could build them myself using wood or paper.

I didn't know about Accurate Armour though. They seems to have pretty nice stuff and I will surf their site for sure. Their ambulance looked pretty cool and I may buy it.

Tamiya has also begun to make 1/48th scale military vehicles and they seems pretty nice. Too bad most of their "non-tank" stuff seems to be German vehicles. However, I found and bought a nice "British Universal Carrier Mk. II". Even if it is an armoured vehicle, I think it will fit pretty well in my diorama.

I also know that Tamiya is about to release a GAZ (Russian version of the Jeep), so may be they're gonna release the american version of it soon or even a truck. If ever they do release them, I'll buy them as soon as they come out.

[hubbabubba]

Bonjour Maestro

Il n'est jamais trop tard pour bien faire...

I hope this is the case here.

Go to this link: http://www.defence-estates.mod.uk/pu...2/tb_02-02.pdf

Not only does this document depict the most common hangars used in England before and during WWII, but the Annex C gives links to actual plans made for identification purpose but still precise enough for your purpose.

I used them (downloaded all of them btw...) for my CFS1 squad base. Here is a J type hangar based on these plans:

[Maestro]

Thanks for the links. That kind of data is always useful.

[Njaco]

Just my 2 cents, Maestro but if you're having problems with which field for your models and realism it might be mentioned that although squadrons were stationed at certain fields, in the heat of battle, with a damaged plane, any field would do on the return. Might explain for you why this was there!

[Maestro]

Yeah... That's what I was thinking. Anyway, who really cares if a certain squadron was at a certain airfield on a certain date ? I've got to stop playing the "rivet counters"... After all, if I wanna make an airfield, it's only to have a nice base to put my models on display.

[Njaco]

and an Officer's Club!

[Maestro]

Originally Posted by Njaco

and an Officer's Club!

You mean the military bar on an airfield that we call a "mess" in French ?

[Njaco]

I thought "mess" meant army in french?