World War II (1939-1945)


Allies

  • United States
  • Great Britain and Commonwealth
  • Soviet Union
  • France
  • China

    Axis

  • Germany
  • Japan
  • Italy

    United States of America

    Year Model Make Photos Comments
    1944 P-47D Razorback Academy 325FG at Foggia in early 1944. They upgraded to P-51B Mustangs in late April. Kit has undersized rudder and wing shape issues. Decals are a silvering nightmare.
    1944 P-51C-10-NT Academy 332FG Tuskegee Airmen in Italy. Lt Buddy Archer's plane in 1944.
    1944/45 US Infantry ETO Caesar, Revell Late war ETO US Infantry in a mixture of 1941 and 1943 jackets.
    1944 P-51K Tamiya Maj. Kit Carson's P-51K in late 1944/early 1945. 362nd FS 357th FG 8th AF.
    1944 M4A3E8 Sherman Easy Eight Cromwell Somewhere in Germany towards the end of the war
    1945 F6F-5 Hellcat Revell VF-17 on the USS Hornet.
    1945 P-51C-10-NT Academy 530th FS, 311th FG in China, July 1945

    Great Britain and Commonwealth

    http://www.mondo72.com/1942-UK-CrusaderII01.html
    Year Model Make Photos Comments
    1940 Spitfire I Airfix Battle of Britain
    1941 British Infantry Revell, Esci British infantry in colonial uniform. They could be fighting Germans and Italians in the desert or Japanese in SouthEast Asia.
    1941 A9 Close Support MMS Early desert cruiser tank in caunter colors
    1941 Matilda II Fujimi Early desert infantry tank. The model seems undersized.
    1942 Valentine 2pdr Fujimi Succeeded the Matilda in 1942. Not much better but cheaper to produce.
    1942 Crusader II Milicast Fast but undergunned and prone to mechanical breakdowns. The Milicast model is more accurate than the Airfix kit, which is too long by a mile.
    1942 Lee Airfix The first US medium tank. Used alongside Grants. Packed a powerful and versatile 75mm that could shoot HE rounds, which British tanks could not. Scratchbuilt sandskirts.
    1942 Grant Cromwell The Grant had a larger, lower turret than the Lee which housed the radio.
    1942 Stuart (Honey) Matchbox US light tank. Much more reliable than British designs. Scratchbuilt sandskirts.
    1942 Humber MkII Matchbox Used for recon. Armed with 15mm and 7.92mm Besa MG.
    1942 Daimler Dingo Matchbox British scout car. Armed with bren gun.
    1942 Diamond T tank transporter Matchbox Rated for 45t. Used by delivery units.
    1942 Bedford QLD Airfix Standard British 3ton 4wd truck. Scratchbuilt GS body on Refuelling Set truck
    1941 Leyland Retriever Matchbox Monty's Office. Captured Italian Office dbody mounted on Leyland 6x4 chassis.
    1942 Chevrolet 1533 30cwt Matchbox Used by LRDG. Probably the most popular 1/76 kit ever made and my favorite.
    1942 Jeep LRDG Matchbox Used by LRDG. Probably the most popular 1/76 kit ever made and my favorite.
    1942 Chevrolet WB 15cwt Trux One of many light trucks in the 15cwt (3/4ton) range. Kit is rudimentary. Grille is a mix of various late 30's Chevrolets, depicting none correctly.
    1942 Ford WOA2 Firing Line Militarized UK Ford station wagon.Kit is multipiece metal. Its weight and protruding details (crank, mirrors) made me add bases on all vehicles since it could not be picked up without damage.
    1942 Austin K2 ambulance Airfix Standard Ambulance. Nice kit from Airfix. CMSC make replacement wheels for it.
    1942 Morris tractor and 25pounder gun Airfix Standard British field artillery piece throughout the war. One of the older Airfix kits, on the simple side. Better replaced by newer offerings from Milicast or AB Figures.
    1942 AEC Matador and 5.5in gun Airfix Standard medium artillery gun (150mm) and tractor. Matador is one of the better kits by Airfix. The gun is crude and could use replacing.
    1942 Ford 01T 3A with Marmon Herrington all wheel drive conversion Matador Australian artillery tractor.
    1942 Ford WOT2E 15cwt MMS One of the many variants of 15cwt (3/4t) truck used by the British. Markings are for an Infantry Motor Battalion attached to one of the Armored Brigades attached to 7thAD in late 1942.
    1942 P-40E Kittyhawk Academy+Airfix canopy, spinner,decals Desert Air Force fighter bomber. Squadron 112
    1942 Hurricane IIb Hasegawa+Quickboost propeller 274 Squadron in Egypt
    1944 Spitfire VIII Hasegawa 155 Squadron Burma
    1944 Australian Infantry Airfix Aussie in New Guinea. Airfix figure had legs lengthened 2mm.
    1944 Spitfire XIVc Academy 610 Squadron V1 hunter in the spring of 1944
    1944 Typhoon Ib Academy Rocket armed panzer hunter closing the Falaise gap in August 1944. This is the three bladed prop version with small tailplanes. Much maligned kit in terms of accuracy builds up well nevertheless. The rockets were repositioned closer to the rails. The overthick fins were left as is.
    1944 British Infantry ESCI Standard temperate uniform with MkII helmet.
    1944 Churchill VII Airfix Infantry tank, slow and heavy.
    1944 Sherman Firefly Matchbox M4A4 with British 17pdr gun, the best Sherman in 1944.
    1944 Spitfire XIX Airfix 541 Squadron RAF Benson UK in residual D-Day stripes in the fall of 1944. New Airfix model with Pavla detail kit of which I used the propeller, exhausts, radiators, air intake and the small scoop on the cowling. Decals are from generic RAF sheets. Last step is to color the nav lights. I hadn't noticed before but there are none!
    1945 Spitfire XVIe Heller 350sq leader Raymond Lallemand's plane. Technically postwar. 350 and 349 reverted to Belgian control in late 1946. You could do the same plane with Belgian markings. They now fly F-16MLU's. Heller kit is nice. Underwing radiators were cut off and sanded down. Canopy is Falcon vacform. It was a reject for my Spit 18 but fit the XVI nicely since the fuselage is a bit on the skinny side.
    1945 Hawker Tempest V Academy This plane (NV994) was flown by leading French ace Pierre Closterman in April 1945 when he was a flight leader with RAF 3 Squadron. The kit comes with decals for NV724 in colorful postwar markings. NV724 never saw action with Closterman. He flew SN722 on his last wartime missions in May.

    Soviet Union

    Year Model Make Photos Comments
    1941 T-34/76 1940 Model with cast turret Cromwell Combat Ready Stock ready built resin model. Added some texture to the turret using liquid putty.
    1941 T-34/76 1940 Model with welded turret Cromwell Combat Ready Stock ready built resin model.
    1941 T-34/76 1941 Model with welded turret Fujimi Stock Fujimi model. I used a spare gun from a derelict Matchbox T-34 as the Fujimi gun is 2mm short.
    1941 KV-2 1941 Model Fujimi Stock Fujimi model with Fujimi IS-2 link and length track and multiple scratch upgrades.
    1942 T-34/76 1941 Model uparmored Vacucast Vacucast resin kit. It meeded a lot of clean-up work, expecially around the track/wheels. The driver's vision ports need to be filled in, they are pure fantasy.
    1942 T-34/76 1942 STZ Vacucast/Matchbox/MMS Vacucast resin kit with Matchbox cast turret and MMS tracks. Needed a lot of clean-up work. The Matchbox turret was textured and reshaped. I broke the original resin tracks and replaced them with those from the MMS T-34 model 1943. I have since repaired them and they will go on the MMS hull. This model is a grab handle nightmare with 16 handles. The model is finished with various earth colored Mig pigments. I overdid it a bit.
    1944 T-34/85 1944 Model with flattened turret Fujimi Stock Fujimi model. It seems to have an early small cupola with the later one piece hatch, which is probably incorrect.
    1944 IS-2 1943 Model Fujimi Fujimi model with PST roadwheels and sprockets.
    1944 SU-122 Cromwell Combat Ready Ready built resin model. Tubular handholds, periscope, antenna holder and lifting ring are scratch.
    1944 ISU-122 Cromwell Combat Ready Ready built resin model. The grabrails are 8 thou brass wire.
    1944 ISU-152 Cromwell Combat Ready ISU-122 model with 152mm gun from old Red Star kit. The grabrails are 8 thou brass wire.
    1944 La-5FN KP 32nd GvIAP, 3rd GvIAD, 1st GvIAK
    1944 Yak 3 Hasegawa Marcel Albert, 303rd IAD, Normandie Niemen. 2nd ranking French ace of WW2. 23 air victoires incl. 1 in 1940.
    1941-1945 Infantry Italeri, ESCI, SHQ 5 figures : 3 Italeri winter, 1 Esci late war summer, 1 SHQ early war summer
    1945 SU-100 Cromwell Combat Ready Stock Cromwell Combat Ready Model

    France

    Year Model Make Photos Comments
    1940 French Infantry Caesar, Matchbox 1940 soldiers with MAS36 rifle Tired of waiting for Pegasus set so here is a figure from the Matchbox B1bis kit. Webbing in the back has been corrected from X to Y straps. The firing figure is from Caesar. Nice set but too many men in tunics, which were rarely used.
    1940 Simca 5 SMA Resin body with metal parts. Decals are from Aleran. It is is a tiny car, smaller than a Jeep. Actually the French Army classified it as a motorcycle.
    1940 Renault UE Skytrex Infantry tracked supply tractor. Model is a poor resin knock-off of the Skytrex model unwittingly puchased on Ebay. Trailer is true Skytrex metal model. Details from scratch. Decals from Black Lion
    1940 Renault R35 Cromwell Combat Ready Resin model with numerous scratch details. Decals are from Aleran. Markings are for the 24th BCC in May-June 1940
    1940 B1 bis Matchbox/Revell Classic plastic model with numerous scratch details. Decals are from the Revell boxing. Bourrasque (#257) from the 15th BCC, 2nd DCR in May 1940. This tank was captured on May 16 after running out of gas and ammunition.

    China

    Year Model Make Photos Comments
    1937-1945 Nationalist Infantry Caesar From the first set of WW2 Chinese ever, and from a Chinese company no less! Interestingly when painting the nationalist Sun badge, I realized that a star is molded on the cap so this guy is really a Communist.

    Germany

    Year Model Make Photos Comments
    1939-40 Infantry Caesar Early war infantry with gray trousers and blue-green collars. Trousers became field gray in the summer of 1940.
    1939 Me-109 E1 RPM Dreadful kit. Easier to remove the cannon detail on a Tamiya or ICM wings than to add missing details to this dog. The wings are much too thick, detail is soft and the whole section under the nose is incorrect. Markings are from the kit's sheet and depict a Polish Campaign machine without unit detail. The plane is RLM71 Dark Green with RLM65 Light Blue undersides.
    1940 Me-109 E3 Tamiya Excellent kit. A bit short in the rear fuselage but otherwise perfect. Markings are for a 4./JG77 machine in September 1940 in Norway.
    1941 Me-109 E7 Tamiya JG27 in Lybia
    1942 Afrika Korps Infantry Airfix, Revell, Caesar The 3 on the left are actually Caesar Italians
    1942 Panzer II F Matchbox
    1942 Panzer IV F1 Airfix
    1942 Panzer IV F2 Airfix
    1942 Panzer III H MMS 21st Panzer Division
    1942 Panzer III L Matchbox 15th Panzer Divisions
    1942 StuG III D MMS
    1942 15cm Sig 33 on Panzer II SPG Cromwell one piece kit, cleaned up with scratch gunsight and spare shells
    1942 SdKFz 251 B Matchbox Standard early to mid war APC
    1942 SdKfz 11 Matchbox 3ton tractor. Usually towing the LeFH18 10.5cm howitzer.
    1942 SdKfz 6/1 Cromwell Combat Ready 5 ton prime mover
    1942 SdKfz 7 Airfix 8 ton prime mover. Usually paired with the 8.8cm Flak gun
    1942 8.8cm Flak 18 Airfix Used as tank killer in the desert
    1942 Opel Blitz Airfix 3ton workhorse of the German army
    1942 Krupp Protze Matchbox
    1942 VW Kubelwagen Fujimi The German Jeep. The SMA etched brass license plates have been replaced by Aleran decals.
    1942 Horch Kfz 69 MMS German Heavy Personnel Car
    1942 Phaenomen Granit 1500A MMS Another German Heavy Personnel Car
    1942 Stoewer 40 Kfz 2 Modeltransport early war light staff car. Radio version. I lost the windshield!
    1942 SdKfz10 Demag D7 Cromwell 1ton halftrack. Used as chassis for SdKfz 250
    1942 Me-109F-4 Italeri 3 piece vacform canopy was a nightmare to fit.
    1942 German Infantry Esci/Italeri Mid war uniform: field grey trousers and jackboots. Somewhere in Russia
    1943 Infantry Caesar Mid-war Heer infantry with splinter camouflage smock and long boots
    1943 Pak40 7.5cm AT Gun Airfix Standard german mid to late war antitank gun Airfix kit is the best of the 3 available plastic model guns (Matchbox and Fujimi). The breech slide needs carving out as well as the 2 handwheels. A groove was scribed onthe sides onf the shield to simulate the real life two layer spaced armor.Fujimi's gun has not internal shield detail while Matchbox's model is simplistic.
    1943 Me-109G-6 Academy Gerhard Barkhorn's G6 in 1943. The Polly scale RLM74 gray-green is too green.
    1944 Panther G Matchbox
    1944 StuH42 10.5cm Assault Gun Cromwell Combat Ready generic vehicle in 3 color camouflage. Could be in Italy, Russia or France
    1944 Panther A Late Production Cromwell 1stSS Panzer Division. Normandy, July 1944.
    1944 Tiger I Late Production Cromwell Combat Ready SS Heavy Panzer Battalion 102. Normandy, July 1944.
    1944 Tiger II Porsche Turret Cromwell Combat Ready 503rd Heavy Panzer Battalion . Normandy, July 1944.
    1944 German Infantry Airfix Late war uniform (after 1943) with British style gaiters and cap.
    1945 German Infantry Revell Late war camo gear
    1945 SS MG42 LMG team Revell Late war camo gear
    1945 Me-109G-14 Academy Erich's Hartmann's JG53 G14 in Feb. 45.
    1945 Me-109G-10 Revell Jg27 in April 45. Camo is RLM81/82 (Brown/Dk Green).
    1945 FW-190D-9 Tamiya

    Italy

    Year Model Make Photos Comments
    1940 Italian Infantry Revell Early war European uniform.
    1942 Lancia 3 RO 7t 4x2 Hinchliffe Italian heavy truck. Scratchbuilt cab. Body was extended 5mm.
    1942 Fiat 626 3t 4x2 Model Transport Italian medium truck.
    1942 Macchi MC202 Folgore Italeri 3 Stormo 85 Squadriglia in North Africa 1942

    Japan

    Year Model Make Photos Comments
    1941 A6M2 Type 21 "Zero" Hasegawa Zero from the Akagi Fighter Group over Oahu on December 7, 1941. Nice kit from Hasegawa. Filling required for the wing roots, whicvh was unexpected. Push rods were added to the the engine cylinders. Decals from Techmod were very fragile and immune to Microsol. Only way to get them to conform to panel lines was to cut them through and add Future. Color is Tamiya AmeHiro (XF-76), the proper light green shade that is now conventional wisdom for early IJN fighters.
    1944 Ki44 II "Shoki" Hasegawa A Shoki from the 47th Sentai, a B29 Special Attack (it means ramming!) squadron in late 1944 in Japan. Entering service in 1942, the Ki44 was fast and a swift climber, being designed from the start as an interceptor. It wasn't adapted to dogfighting however, unlike most other Japanese fighters. This is one of several older Hasegawa kits picked for $6 each at Rollmodels. Great value for money. I also used a True Details resin interior, which is a waste of time and money as you can't see it. The pilot sits too low because 1/ his shoulders can't clear the fuselage, and 2/ his head bumps up against the canopy. Talk about scale thickness!