Special Hobby 1/32 Brewster B-339C Buffalo
By Ronald Dorenbos
In dire need to quickly obtain more or less modern fighters for the defence of the Netherlands East Indies (now Indonesia), the Netherlands ordered a total of 72 Brewster B-339C /D and 20 B-339-23 Buffalo aircraft in 1940. Most aircraft were delivered in 1941 and equipped 3 fighter squadrons. The remainder aircraft were delivered to Australia as the NEI had meanwhile been occupied by the Japanese forces. The Buffalo pilots fought well but were outnumbered and suffered heavy losses. B-3110 (a 339C) was flown by Lt Jacob Van Helsdingen. He was reported missing on 7 March 1942, the very day the Dutch forces surrendered to the Japanese. He was leading a flight of 4 aircraft on a desperate ground support mission. All pilots in this flight were awarded the Dutch highest medal for bravery, in the case of Van Helsdingen posthumously.
Dutch Buffaloes were painted in a 2-tone green upper surface camouflage (‘old leave’ and ‘young leave’ green) that tended to fade pretty quickly in the tropical climate, with aluminum undersurfaces. B-3110 carried the ‘Java Rhinoceros’ badge of the 2nd squadron (2-VI G V.) and a white recognition band around the fuselage.
The kit contains some PE and resin parts. It assembles well, however the tail cone didn’t fit flush to the fuselage. The trailing edges of the wings, rudder and tailplanes are rather thick but this can easily be rectified. The undercarriage is a bit flimsy. The model was airbrushed with XtraColour FS 34092 and FS 34088 and heavily weathered. Decals are Dutch Decal and Flevo decals. Antenna wire is Uschi van der Rosten, pitot tube is Master’s. I scratch-built the upper and lower intake ducts in the front of the engine cowling.
© Ronald Dorenbos 2026
This article was published on Sunday, March 29 2026; Last modified on Sunday, March 29 2026