Zippo the Zipdrive

Thank you Adam! I will certainly follow your advice. \\Dan

Yep here it is!

I would like to make a Black Buck Vulcan. I already have Xtradecals decal set and Airfix's new kit. However its the A12011 kit and not the A12013 witch is a dedicated 'Black buck' kit. I looked around but haven't been able to find pictures of the "extra parts" like Shrike missiles, ECM pods and pylons. What else was different about the Black Buck Vulcans? Refueling probe maybe? Is there any good reference for these extra bits? Enough to scratch build them. It feels a bit unnecessary to buy a £70 kit + £20 Shipping + £20 import tax to get the few extra bits home to Sweden. So I am looking at alternatives. \\Dan A litte bit of fun reading from https://vulcantothesky.org/articles/black-buck-six-rio-de-janeiro-diversion/ There was no spare ramp space on Wideawake airfield for another Vulcan, so the Shrike missiles would be airlifted there also. Now the following tale may have been told many times before and some would say it is anecdotal if not apocryphal. Well I can vouch for its authenticity because I was there as a witness. The VC-10 had been re-rolled for freight with just a half dozen seats remaining in its tail section. Amongst all the ammunition crates and supplies were two open racks of Sidewinder AIM-9L air-to-air missiles destined for the Task Force and eventually the Sea Harriers embarked on HMS Invincible and Hermes. Each AIM-9L had had its safety pins removed and when I enquired of the corporal Air Load Master where on earth they were she pointed to a card board box on the cabin floor where she had gathered them all. She explained, “The red flags on the pins said ‘REMOVE BEFORE FLIGHT’, so I pulled them out and kept them in this box for safe keeping.”

Ahhh Ic

Hmmmm... Did it finally happen? "Preorder" 150 USD Available on December 30, 2023 https://modelcollect.com/index.php/product/b-1b-lancer/

Hi Viz fighters is a fetish of mine! Very nicely done

Very nice!!!!

Some time has passed since the last CADs. I have spent some time searching for more current and updated renderings. But I haven't found any. I'm gonna interpret it from the positive side and say that that MC is working to correct the already mentioned problems. Does anyone have current news?

If you don't want it to go to waste modify it to a B-21!

Maybe if I had the jet exhaust on it would show better.

Your right I didn't show that! So I took some more photos and edited the above post. Number 12, 13 and 14 are new.

Perhaps I am doing Mr Kanezawa a disfavor calling it a "garage kit". My point is that AFAIK he is a one man operation and I really appreciate his efforts in making this conversion kit. Thank you again Mr Kanezawa! So here follows a small inbox review on Lonestar F-16 XL no1 conversion kit. I recorded with the limitations of my phone camera since I can't access my proper camera after a move; http://lonestars.web.fc2.com/LSR7201.htm 1. It comes in a neatly package with the main body attached with two wires to a plastic base that keeps the big part from moving around, keeping it safely secured for international mail (miss)management. There also is 1 small bag (see picture 😎 with the parachute extension fin, exhaust pipe, 2 sidewinder launch rails, 12 individual bomb racks and a pilot instrument board. 2. There is also a 4 page instruction booklet and two color profiles with a decal sheet for two versions. It's the same individual, the original scheme and then later in its life as NASA 849. 3. Only judging from a close visual inspection it looks like the decals seem to be a of a good quality. I don't have any information as to how these are produced and by whom. Close up and when the light hits in a certain angle you can see that the individual markings have a transparent base. 4. In general the resin parts are of fair or better quality. The surface is smooth but there are a few areas witch have a sort off texture that should be easily fixed with some thin putty and sanding. A part from some minor flash I only found a single bubble on one of the bombracks. 5. The wings have a visible camber. However it was rather hard to record it on the phone camera. This is the best picture to show there is a camber. 6. As picture 5 but without the flash 7. Top of the wing and fuselage. You can see a shadow form on the upper side of the wing where the camber starts. 8. The small bits and pieces. 9. A spartan cockpit 10. Bottom of the wing. Camber visible through the reflection on the leading edge. 11. Another Bottom of the wing. Camber visible through the reflection on the leading edge. 12. Bonus camber shot 13. Side view without any editing 14. Attempting to emphasize the scorpion tail. 15. In summary this is a conversion kit and as such should be build using the Hasegawa F-16A plus or F-16CJ kit. You will need the Ejections seat, Canopy, The undercarriage and the Jet inlet. Although there are not many parts missing this is clearly intended for the experienced modeller. \\Dan

Indeed. I don't know if I can call the very old short run garage kits more fun (work) or more painfull (work)

http://lonestars.web.fc2.com/SaleIndex.htm Text is mostly Japanese with some English, so use chrome or similar if you want the text translated. Also he is a one-man show so he might not always be available for prompt service. Although he was very helpful and expeditious with me and my order. \\Dan

I was unsure of where to post this but I think this is the most fitting one. The thing is I know I wont start on these kits anytime soon. So I bought my self some Christmas presents from Lonestar, a single person "garage kit" manufacturer located in Japan. I'm so happy to have them so I wanted to share this. Unfortunately I know I don't have time to start on these kits anytime soon, due to circumstances and "in the pipeline projects. But I will defiantly share when I start them. So I bought F-16XL no1, F-16XL no2, F-16 DSI and F-16/79 all in 1/72. The resin models are smooth as a baby's bottom! \\Dan