This is not a Wildcat! It's French, for a start...

[dewoitine]

Hello Nigel, an another wiewView attachment 2974

 

[dewoitine]

Sorry for the fault of ortography :"view" of course.
The magazine is "les ailes françaises 1939-1945" n°4.
@+

 

[va44]

Hello,
I should mention weapons installed in France as the Curtiss.

For strip elevators can be a strange idea of the French naval aviation (?)
Vought 156F received the same painting.

Regards

 

[dewoitine]

Maybe this photo is interesting : the cockpit of G36-A with the bilingual instrumentation.
Regards.View attachment 2975

 

[ndicki]

Well found, once more! I wish I could see that photo of the panel more clearly, because it answers a question I've been wondering for a long time. Apparently the gauges were graduated in metric, according to one FAA pilot who flew these, but the throttle, for example, had been replaced by the standard "push-to-go" unit found on American aircraft. (For those who don't know, pre-war French aircraft had their throttle inverted - you pulled towards you to increase speed.)

The other photo is interesting, too - note the polished prop blades without coloured tips, but with the maker's mark in the usual place.

I think I've got enough to do a skin for this one! For amusement only, because it was repainted in British Tropical Sea Scheme before delivery to the RN. But it's quite fun!

 

[ndicki]

For strip elevators can be a strange idea of the French naval aviation (?)
Vought 156F received the same painting.

Regards

Yes, I've seen this on most/all Aeronavale aircraft of the thirties, but I thought it was discontinued at some stage around the outbreak of the war. I simply don't have the source material necessary about the Aeronavale...

 

[dewoitine]

Color of cockpit View attachment 3028Wildcat.

 

[ndicki]

Thanks!

Slight problem - I'd forgotten there is a major mapping glitch on the starboard elevator... Which may make it look bloody awful if I try and paint in the tricolour stripes.

Somebody must have the source file, or where did we get the short-tailed version from anyway? The original had the tall tail. And the MAW version (which I have) which is a far better version of the same original external model, with separately mapped tailplanes, etc, does not have adequate LODs and hits FPS hard...