General Discussion

[RAFF-35]

I've read through the rules and through this discussion thread and noticed that there's no mention of Japanese whifs here. To my mind, Japan would be taking part in Operation Downfall, just on the opposing side. So are Japanese entries allowed or are we only focusing on the Allies?

By default, the Japanese are a combatant in Downfall, and therefore eligible

Wonderful!! If that's the case, I'm surprised that no one has mentioned J7W Shindens or any Luft '46/ Hikoki '46 designs 

[Andrew Gorman]

No matter what, it would have been a bloodbath, with the military clique in command, the Emperor stashed away in the bunker built for him and victorious armies in the field in mainland Asia.  The US made a massive stockpile of Purple Heart medals for the occasion, the last of which were awarded ca. 2022 (!).  Stir in a few more u-boats and long range aircraft arriving with nazi tech and things get interesting!

[buzzbomb]

Wonderful!! If that's the case, I'm surprised that no one has mentioned J7W Shindens or any Luft46/ Jap46 designs 

Shhhh.... Blown my plan    I have had the venerable Hasegawa, Shinden as in the old old boxing in the stash for, lets say a long time

[jcf]

I've read through the rules and through this discussion thread and noticed that there's no mention of Japanese whifs here. To my mind, Japan would be taking part in Operation Downfall, just on the opposing side. So are Japanese entries allowed or are we only focusing on the Allies?

By default, the Japanese are a combatant in Downfall, and therefore eligible

Wonderful!! If that's the case, I'm surprised that no one has mentioned J7W Shindens or any Luft46/ Jap46 designs 

It's Hikoki46, not "Jap46", and as I've said before, that shortened form of Japanese is a
racial epithet in North America that carries a lot of baggage, and did so long before WWII.
Look up anti-Japanese, and anti-Chinese, laws in the US and Canada, also the internment
of Canadian-Japanese in WWII was worse than what it was in the US.

The web is international and so is this forum, I know some of you in the non-North American
English-speaking world think it's no big deal, but would you use other racial epithets on this
board because they don't effect you personally? As to the "well I know Japanese people, from
Japan, and it doesn't bother them" argument, it's irrelevant because their life experience and
that of their parents, grandparents etc., is completely different from that of US and Canadian
people of Japanese descent. 

[TomZ]

I fear we are going to see a lot of Shinden's here 
I have mine ready to start.
It's the jet version and I am planning to pair it up with a USAF P-80.

TomZ

[kitbasher]

Just out of interest (not listened to it yet).....https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/297-operation-downfall-the-invasion-that-never-was/id1617276298?i=1000713335302.

[RAFF-35]

I've read through the rules and through this discussion thread and noticed that there's no mention of Japanese whifs here. To my mind, Japan would be taking part in Operation Downfall, just on the opposing side. So are Japanese entries allowed or are we only focusing on the Allies?

By default, the Japanese are a combatant in Downfall, and therefore eligible

Wonderful!! If that's the case, I'm surprised that no one has mentioned J7W Shindens or any Luft46/ Jap46 designs 

It's Hikoki46, not "Jap46", and as I've said before, that shortened form of Japanese is a
racial epithet in North America that carries a lot of baggage, and did so long before WWII.
Look up anti-Japanese, and anti-Chinese, laws in the US and Canada, also the internment
of Canadian-Japanese in WWII was worse than what it was in the US.

The web is international and so is this forum, I know some of you in the non-North American
English-speaking world think it's no big deal, but would you use other racial epithets on this
board because they don't effect you personally? As to the "well I know Japanese people, from
Japan, and it doesn't bother them" argument, it's irrelevant because their life experience and
that of their parents, grandparents etc., is completely different from that of US and Canadian
people of Japanese descent.

My apologies, I have amended the original post now.

[Thorvic]

The B-17 and B-29 were both used in the role of picket duty for airborne early warning,  the PB-1W springs to mind so something similar in RAF colours and Tiger Force markings is a possibility.
So too could be said for the Avro Lincoln bomber, as there's two conversion sets for the Lancaster and if you prefer the vacuform model kit,  I'm thinking along the lines for the Avro York as a bomber or AEW.
Could stick with the C-46 Commando and use the bomb racks from the B-17 as it won't be needing them along with the guns.
Best do a bit of reading first.

A Lincoln  with the kit from Wellington  R1629, a Wellington equipped with a specifically designed radar for controlling interceptions would be reasonable. R1629, was equipped with a rotating dorsal aerial array, the purpose being to try and counter the threat from Fw 200 Condors in the NW Approaches. TRE designed the radar with the design, manufacture and installation of the aerial blade with mounting and turning gear the responsibility of RAE Farnborough.   By late 1945, a York or Lincoln would be reasonable

https://www.aerosociety.com/news/airborne-early-warning-and-control-detecting-the-battlespace/

What about a Short Sunderland or Shetland as an alternative AEW platform ?

[McColm]

The B-17 and B-29 were both used in the role of picket duty for airborne early warning,  the PB-1W springs to mind so something similar in RAF colours and Tiger Force markings is a possibility.
So too could be said for the Avro Lincoln bomber, as there's two conversion sets for the Lancaster and if you prefer the vacuform model kit,  I'm thinking along the lines for the Avro York as a bomber or AEW.
Could stick with the C-46 Commando and use the bomb racks from the B-17 as it won't be needing them along with the guns.
Best do a bit of reading first.

A Lincoln  with the kit from Wellington  R1629, a Wellington equipped with a specifically designed radar for controlling interceptions would be reasonable. R1629, was equipped with a rotating dorsal aerial array, the purpose being to try and counter the threat from Fw 200 Condors in the NW Approaches. TRE designed the radar with the design, manufacture and installation of the aerial blade with mounting and turning gear the responsibility of RAE Farnborough.   By late 1945, a York or Lincoln would be reasonable

https://www.aerosociety.com/news/airborne-early-warning-and-control-detecting-the-battlespace/

What about a Short Sunderland or Shetland as an alternative AEW platform ?

Or the Handley Page Hastings. Got an idea to shorten the Mach2 DC-4 or Heller DC-6B fuselage and add the wings, engines plus landing gear.
Still opting for the Avro Lancaster AEW and C-47 bomber if it's possible. Too many ideas even the Lockheed Constellation XB-30 looks very likely.

[McColm]

Someone could change the engines on the Shorts Sunderland maybe switch them over from the Stirling that they have in their stash and change the decals.

[NARSES2]

I've decided on two builds for this GB, one Japanese, one Allied. and construction will start once I've got the Spitfire sorted. There could be a third but it's a busy time for me both site and SIG wise.

[TomZ]

Getting ready to start.....









All with custom decals. The Ki-100 with a special twist....

TomZ

[RAFF-35]

I initially wasn't particularly interested in this GB, but the ADHD has kicked in and I now have 5 ideas. 3 of which I actually have the kits in the stash already! 

Anyway, here's some more inspiration I found whilst digging around on Google...

[RAFF-35]

And some more pictures....

[RAFF-35]

As for the Downfall invasion stripe question... Is black and white the most logical choice as they're high contrast and would be the most available paint colours to quickly apply to thousands of aircraft very quickly. Alternatively,  would black and yellow be the next choice as the Suez Crisis hasn't actually happened yet? Or do we want different colours so we can tell that they're part of this GB?