Hunting the Hunter

by Konley Kelley

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In the early stages of WW2, German U-boats were devastating shipping in the North Atlantic. Faced with overwhelming losses, the Allies needed to develop a strategy to counter the U-boat threat.

Introduced in 1943, escort carriers or CVE’s like the USS Bogue began operating in the North Atlantic. Using radio direction-finding equipment, the Allies could locate surfaced U-boats. At night, the aircraft employed searchlights to find targets.

The TBF Avenger was the formidable aircraft assigned to anti-U-boat operations. Carrying bombs and homing torpedoes, these aircraft took a tremendous toll on the U-boats.

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The models:
My friend Mike gave me an old 1:48 Monogram Avenger kit. I saw an article in FSM about painting “razor-thin” canopies. It featured an Avenger in North Atlantic camouflage. I picked up some decals for an Avenger that flew from the USS Bogue. I also picked up the 1:700 Tamiya USS Bogue kit.

The aircraft was a pretty easy build and I think the movable parts are pretty cool. I used Naval Aggressor Grey for the topside camo and Flat White for the rest.

The Tamiya Bogue kit is pretty detailed right OOB. I also built two of the 1:700 Tamiya U-Boats – probably the smallest model kits I have every built.

The ultimate objective was to create a Photoshop diorama of the Avenger. I composited the USS Bogue and the Avenger into a basic scene using Bryce to make a 3D backdrop.

Years ago, I acquired a 3D U-boat model. I decided to use this for the diorama. With some Photoshop to depict the spray from the bomb blast, I had my images.

For more Photoshop dioramas and 3D, check out my website www.shortfuse3d.com or drop me a line
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Konley Kelley

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Photos and text © by Konley Kelley