72modeler

Oh, what the heck- might as well put in my two cents (tuppance?) worth; all in 1/72 scale, natcherely: metal wing Hurricane, Mk IIc/d Spitfire Vc P-63A/C/G Bv-141 Hampden Beaufort PBY-2/5/5A A-20C/G/K F/RF-84F Hunter, especially a two-seater! Scimitar F4U4/5, AU-1 P-61A/B/C C-130A/E/H Widgeon Canberra BMk 2 DH-88 Comet Ford Trimotor Nieuport 28C Hawker Demon Bristol Bulldog DH-4

Her crew chief would be proud of you! Very clean, just like ADC kept them! Mike

Very nice build. It's very hard to pull off a winter camouflage scheme convincingly, but you have done it! If it's a 110, it's gotta be a Wespe! Now, if I can just find a Wespe D model with the extended tailcone with codes I like... Mike

I was researching this topic for a fellow modeler, and I thought some of you might like to see these photos; I did some searching on BM forums and didn't see anything already posted, but if so, Mike, please feel free to move to a more appropriate forum location. Some neat and unusual modeling project fodder here, and IIRC one of the decal makers did the markings for many of these aircraft. When you consider how much it cost to prep and paint these, it is a wonder that so many schemes were done and so well. I know which one was my favorite, what about you? Enjoy, mates! Mike http://www.public.navy.mil/airfor/centennial/Documents/Heritage Paint Project.pdf

Fido, Modern weenie cookers ain't my thang, as they say around here, but your post piqued my curiosity. It seems that there are three styles of FOD covers used on the F-14. One is more or less square, has an 'X' shaped stiffener on the outside, and looks like it mounts vertically with the bottom flush with the lower lip of the intake. The 2nd type looks like it has elastic around the edges and covers the entire intake, sort of like a big shower cap. The 3rd type is shaped like a coffin and has a rectangular tab on its upper edge that looks like it fits over the top edge of the intake and the remainder of the guard looks like it folds down to match the angle of the intake. I have attached a link to some photos that show the variations as well as diagrams of the aftermarket sets. Our best bet, I think, is hoping that Tailhook Tommy reads this and can give you a much more definitive answer...he has probably forgotten more Tomcat trivia than I will ever know! Sorry I couldn't be of more help! Mike https://www.google.com/search?q=f-14+tomcat&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0ahUKEwjs3tK3odLUAhVnw1QKHZEwBE0Q_AUIBigB&biw=1280&bih=654#tbm=isch&q=f-14+tomcat+intake+covers&imgrc=w0UIDiPua6iCDM:&spf=1498162309863 I also forgot about this website that is for the F-14- go to the walkaround section and click on engine intake to see some FOD photos; this is an excellent reference site for F-14 builders in any scale. http://www.anft.net/f-14/index.htm

I just found this photo collection; some of these photos I am sure many of you will recognize, but many of them I have never seen before; some great modeling possibilities here! If this has been posted before, please fell free to delete, Mike. I hope you all enjoy looking at them. Loved the factory-fresh B-26 in RAF markings! Mike http://www.mission4today.com/index.php?start=60&finish=15&name=ForumsPro&file=viewtopic&t=14429

BB, Looks good, so far! A rare but handsome multi! Awaiting further progress- thanks for posting the drawings and cockpit diagram, BTW. What kit did you rob the cowlings from? Mike

Spadad, 1/48 is not my favored scale, but I went back and looked at sprue shots and review articles for the Encore/Czech Model 1/48 F3D-3 kit, which I guess is the one that you were asking about. It appears that the kit only has a cable duct on the RH side of the fuselage, from the intake to the base of the radome, so this can easily and quickly be removed and you will have a proper operational Skyknight I have posted a link to the kit review/sprue shots below. I say go for it! Mike http://kits.kitreview.com/f3d2skyknightreviewpb_1.htm

Howdy, all! You might have seen this one already- if so, I am sorry, but it is a great photo from an unusual angle. Enjoy! Mike https://www.pinterest.com/pin/408983209899734098/

Steve, You did a bang-up job on your F3D-2, both the construction and the finish- one of the nicest builds of the Sword kit I have seen so far. I hesitated posting this, as I do not in any way mean for it to be a criticism of your model, which it certainly is not, but in the interest of providing an accurate description of a fairly significant error that Sword made when they measured and photographed the example that they used to make the kit that was on display at the Museum of Marine Corps Aviation. There were two F3D-2's that were bailed to the Raytheon Corporation for use in their missile trials- mainly the AIM-7 Sparrow. To provide the wiring and power to the many sensors and recording devices mounted in these two airframes, external cable ducts were fitted on both sides of the airplanes that ran from front to back, much like those fitted to EE Lightnings. Operational Skyknights did not have these ducts fitted; one of the test aircraft was donated to the museum, who repainted the airplane in USMC Korean War black night fighter scheme and markings- they did not remove the cable ducts from the airplane, and when Sword examined the airplane, they did not realize that the cable ducts were not fitted to operational Skyknights, so they molded them on the fuselage halves of the kit. When I read the kit reviews and none of them seemed to comment on this, I sent an email to Michael Benolkin at Cybermodeler so that he could also check and confirm my findings, which he did and was nice enough to put an addendum of this error on his original kit review so that others might be made aware of the issue, which is easily fixed by sanding them off of the fuselage halves. I have attached a link to the article below for everybody's information. Heckuva job on your model, and you had no way of knowing that the airplane they molded was not based on an operational airplane, but a test mule; You would have to remove the markings you so beautifully applied and add dayglo panels for the kit to be an accurate model of one of the two Raytheon test aircraft, one of which was donated to the museum. I probably wouldn't have caught the error when I got my Sword kit, if I hadn't been actively collecting photos and going through all of my print references on the airplane while I was waiting for it to arrive. The Naval Fighters monograph on the F3D as well as the Squadron In Action have photos and text describing the two Raytheon Skyknights, if anyone is interested. You've still got the prettiest F3D I have seen in God's Own Scale! Regards, Mike https://www.cybermodeler.com/hobby/kits/swo/kit_swo_72074.shtml

Dave and Giorgio, Glad I could help. I just found some neat photos of NASA and Edwards AB Starfighters in some pretty colorful and unusual markings that I thought might be of interest to you or others as possible modeling subjects. In some of the photos that show the aircraft without wing tanks, you can see the attachment point and fuel line connection. Dave- there is also one good head-on photo of an F-104G that shows the underwing pylon that was perpendicular to the ground, unlike the canted one fitted to the earlier versions. IIRC Superscale did a decal sheet for NASA F-104's, but it's long, long OOP. Enjoy the photos! Mike https://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/multimedia/imagegallery/F-104/EC76-5079.html

The wingtip fuel tanks were bolted directly to the wingtips; the rails were only used to mount the AIM-9's, so on the wingtips you could have rails and Sidewinders, or fuel tanks but no rails. On the F-104A/C, the underwing pylons were perpendicular to the wing, so looking from the front, they were angled in, due to the anhedral of the wings- however, the tanks themselves were aligned so that their fins were perpendicular to the ground. On the later F-104G/S variants, the pylons were perpendicular to the ground, when viewed from the front. Mike

The method that I have used is to take regular masking tape and cut it into thin strips using a metal straightedge and a single edge razor blade; I put a length of tape on a glass slab to cut it into several thin strips. I then use the tape strips to mask either all of the vertical or all of the horizontal frames, airbrush the primer/canopy interior color and then the exterior color. Repeat the process for the frames not masked the first time. For curved frames, I either use one of the thin aftermarket tapes, auto pin striping tape, or cut a curved piece with curved surgical scissors. This is pretty tedious for a multi-framed canopy like the Do-217, I know, but gives razor sharp demarcations. So many incredible builds are compromised by sloppy canopy framework, in my humble opinion. If you don't cut the masking tape with a razor knife, the slight irregularities in the tape will really show! Mike

Cumulus, See if this link takes care of your questions. Mike http://b26mhs.bizland.com/index.php/archive/marauder-basics/aircraft-variants

I found this earlier today; I'm not certain if this has been posted before or even if this is the best location, so feel free to move it, Mike, if you think it's best. Excellent photos, specs, development, and first-hand accounts regarding all four types as well as the carriers they flew from. The photos and comments of the late great 'Winkle' Brown are worth the price of admission! Might be a timely post, in view of the current Martlet/Wildcat discussions! Enjoy! Mike http://www.armouredcarriers.com/