Big D Builds A Tomahawk

 Hello again

 

  I'm making another model and this time it's an Airfix kit so I should be comfortably within my limitations.

  The current project is a WW2 fighter I've always had a soft spot for. 

  These days the Curtis P40 is seen as a bit  of an also-ran, especially compared to the late war triad of Mustang, Thunderbolt and Mustang.    The truth is, the P40 gave useful service across multiple theatres for US, Commonwealth and Russian pilots because it was what the Allies had.  The RAF would have sent Spitfires to North Africa in 1941 if they had any to spare  but they didn't, the RAF had Tomahawks and Hurricanes so that was what the Desert Air Force used.  For the vicious fighting over the Pacific Islands the USAAF deployed P40s until something better came along. You get my drift, yes?  The Tomahawk/Kittyhawk/Warhawk is another one of those fighters that held the line and helped chip away at the Axis Airforces in the early rounds, ready for the heavy hits later on. 

 Having said all that, I'm doing a P40 Tomahawk that didn't see any action, because it was serving with an airforce that gets a bit overlooked. 

I've been meaning to build this ever since I found this decal set online

 So after getting them from Ebay, I then chose the aircraft I want on my shelf
 

 

 Not only is it a handsome paint scheme but the Turkish markings make it look a bit different from the roundels and stars I'm used to. 

Next step: I needed an early model P40 - a Tomahawk rather than the later Kittyhawk variant with the longer fuselage and bigger chin radiator.  After a quick visit to Pompey's Waterlooville Models I came away with this.

 I am really looking forward to building a kit with those useful little pegs and holes again.

  I have just discovered two more issues though.

 

Problem One.

 Why is it that no matter how many paints I have in my box, I never have the right ones?  I managed to find 5 tins of dark green and none of them are the right bloody shade. 

  I may just use what I've got and hope nobody sharp-eyed makes a fuss. 

Problem 2.

 Oh dear.  I think I need some new brushes. 

 

Join me next time as I actually start glueing shit together.

 

That's All Folks. 

 

 
 

 

Film Review: Legend of The Shadowy Ninja: The Ninja Dragon (1990)

 Genre; Ninjasploitation. 

  Schoolgirl Shinobu Shindo is proclaimed head of her Yakuza family and as such, receives a family heirloom: A little bell on a necklace that summons three mysterious ninja sworn to protect her clan.  

  Meanwhile a pair of  ruthless killers are knocking off Yakuza bigwigs in brutal and messy fashion.  

  Gee, I wonder if those Ninja Defenders are going to be needed anytime soon. 

 Last night I watched 1917, which is a superb piece of film making on almost every level and I absolutely loved it. 

 "Legend... " is not a superb piece of film-making, or even a particularly good film but I still enjoyed it, albeit for vastly different reasons. 

 The acting is variable in the sense that everybody either emotes with all the intensity of damp cardboard or mugs ferociously to camera. At one point I became worried that one guy was going to be injured by his own flailing eyebrows.  

  The special effects are distinctly low budget but as seems to be common with this sort of Asian film, are definitely memorable. I couldn't help being impressed - sort of - by the guy getting his face peeled off like a bit of chicken skin on a drumstick. Then there's the monster at the end. 

 Yes that's right. A film  about warring Yakuza that already has mystic ninja in it, then ramps things up even more with rubber monsters. If I just say that this whole thing was created by Go "I am the Stan Lee of  exploitation manga" Nagai then it might make more sense. 

   Really, this is a live action anime right down to the OTT, hot-blooded speechifying. Accept that and everything makes more sense. 

  The big bonus for me was having a pair of  Joshi Puroresu superstars in supporting roles. You get Mayumi Ozaki being chillingly effective as "Female Killer" while Cutey Suzuki is on the side of good as a Ninja Defender. Naturally they square off in an epic martial-arts battle...um... a surprisingly technical wrestling match that goes on for quite a while. It's a strange interlude in a movie that isn't short of strange moments anyway. 

Despite the low-budget, the shonky effects, dodgy acting and a story that they might have made up as they went along, I found myself enjoying "Legend of the Shadowy Ninja." because it's so entertainingly daft that you just end up going along with it.   If you like the schlockier end of Asian cinema, this might be for you. 

WARNING: Do not confuse this film with the 1986 Godfrey Ho  cut n' shut effort "Ninja Dragon" which is an unwatchable trainwreck and doesn't have any lady wrestlers in it. 

Screenshot time.

Shinobu gets pensive.  "If I'm the star of this film how come I don't do anything remotely useful?"

 Look at me! I'm the comic relief. Aren't you lucky.

 This shot is cool and you know it. 

 

Ninja Defenders Assemble. 

Dude, you're breaking the Bro Code big time. 

 That's not how a gun works.

Suddenly  Yakuza, hundreds of them.  

Yakuza Assassin v Mystic Ninja in some extreme hugging!

 

That's All Folks!