Skull Leader

someone on ARC did a whif conversion for an israeli A-10 called an A-10I...(reporting name "cha'zir" or "sand hog" I think) where they added some reinforcement plates to the wings (I think they did this before it was announced that the existing A-10 fleet would be re-winged back in 2007) as well as a built-in targeting pod in one of the landing gear sponsons. I think they did some other mods as well, but it was well conceived and the israeli desert scheme looked fantastic on it! edit: here's a link to the build: http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index.php?showtopic=131657

The revell kit gets an unusually bad rap.... and despite a few shortcomings, its really no worse than the Tamiya kit. It's certainly the cheapest 1/32 tomcat out there and still churns out a great model. And yes... the cockpit (AND seats... on all but the original release) are far superior to the tamiya offering. I just wish they had provided closed engine nozzles... much like their 1/48 offering you only get the open ones.

Nicely done! It will make a good ceiling hanger. Now build more!

Oh I did post shade... it just would've been less time consuming if I'd pre shaded also lol

I just finished building the F4U-1A kit in 1/48... those tamiya kits really fall together nicely! (Don't know about you but mine didn't need any putty!) I think your weathering turned out nicely... I didn't do any pre - shading on mind and I'm kind of wishing I did. A beautiful rendition of "whistling death!"

Not bad at all for your first attempt! Which kit is that? Whenever possible, interior painting is best done before the kit is assembled. Any hobby shop (or even your local Walmart) will sell fine tipped liner brushes that can be used to pick out the details. You mentioned that your rushed your kit... it's a trap we can all fall into when we're anxious to see results. The best results come with patience and slow work though. Remember, there's very little you can do to the model that you cannot fix later with enough effort, but why go back and fix it when you can do it right the first time? Patience (and some would say a beer or three) is the key. Post more photos!

edit: LOL didn't read your concern about the decals properly, lol... hope the replacements work out!

Sharp build! Always nice to see another Ali-cat in the pipe. sounds like the HB kit builds up easy enough. I've got an F-14D version in the stash I'll probably break out in a year or so. One tiny detail I noticed is that the TACAN antenna (the blade antenna just aft of the canopy) is the taller version used by USN tomcats after about 1989 or so... the version on the earlier jets (including the IRIAF ones) would be the same height as the rear-most antenna (the UHF one) on the back of the fuselage. Just a couple of random details FYI (because discussing Ali-Cats is fun), You were partly right about the IFR door. The first batch were delivered with them on and had them promptly removed upon arrival (this from one of the pilots who helped ferry the initial airplanes over) while the second round had them deleted at the factory. (which begs the question... is there a batch of 40 or so IFR doors floating around the cavernous storage areas of Calverton? LOL) Second, the Iranian jets were not delivered with fuel tanks. (or the TCS system for that matter, which Iran expressed interest in, but had yet to reach maturity before the fall of the Shah) Their new F-14AM upgrade "boasts" a whole new list of upgrades and capabilities (how much is true is another story), it also has a really wicked splinter scheme version of the original southwest asia camo that you're putting on yours!

the VF-124/VF-31 boxing has never had the updated parts in it, only the VF-2/VF-213 one. Beyond the new IPs you really aren't missing out on much anyhow. The LANTIRN pod/adapter doesn't even remotely resemble the real thing, the BOL rails are about a mile too long, the drop tanks are a joke, and the weapons are mediocre at best.

I noticed that a while back with the Aerofax Su-7/17/20/22 book... I picked it up a number of years ago for a measly $25 (US) brand new.... I glanced at Amazon not long ago and now it goes for $200 or more! It's a great book, but not THAT great...

Definitely a sharp looking build!

not so! I *still* would've voted for the turkish jet (Being from an all-navy family, there are only TWO display teams: The Blue Angels and those that aren't!)

Thanks, Garry! Don't think I considered THAT particular name, but I did kick "The Phoenix" or "Firebird" around for a bit. I may have to reconsider one of those! You're right about there being something magic... As the model snob I've grown to be in my 30s, I want to hate the kit, but I can't bring myself to do anything but smile at it!

When I was probably 11 or 12, the father of a girl I was sweet on was building the Lindberg B-17G kit. I had just seen "Memphis Belle" and my love of the B-17 had just kicked into full swing. After hanging out at their house one afternoon and seeing him building this kit, I remember thinking "I gotta have this kit!" At the time, I was still pretty new in my knowledge of models... I'd built a smattering of 1/72 fighter jets and had recently augered through my first 1/48 Revell/monogram F-14A kit, so I was pretty raw. I remember mowing lawns for an entire week just to make sure I had enough money when I went to the hobby shop that saturday. Sure enough, it was sitting right there (I didn't even pay attention to the 1/48 Fortress kits beneath it... I would a couple of years later though!) that was the one I wanted! I had more than enough to buy it, as it turns out... I had enough to get a Dragon 1/144 F-14A kit too. Total glue bomb... I don't think I even fully painted it (I remember slathering some grey on the bottom, I didn't worry about the top since the kit was molded in olive green), seams visible everywhere, and I didn't even glue the wings in. But this thing sat on my bookshelf FOREVER, and I'd just space out and stare at it for hours when I was supposed to be doing homework... as I mentioned over on zone-five when I mentioned this kit, I must've imagined myself flying *every* bomb run the 8th air force took part in with that thing! St. Nazaire, Lorient, Bremen, Wilhelmshaven, Berlin... I was there for them all! Fast forward to a few years ago, my folks gave me a box of old stuff I'd left at their house when I moved out, in a shoebox was a couple of old models I'd built, including the lindberg fortress! The wings had been carefully removed and it had been packed away (evidently I did it, but I sure don't remember it). Now, the kit is a total bomb as far as I'm concerned... it only marginally resembles a Fortress of any pedigree, but it was a fun build and a testament to building in my childhood, so I decided to see if I couldn't clean it up a bit. As no one does aftermarket decals in 1/64 (that I know of), I decided to do fictional markings of a plane in the 91st bomb group. I did glue the wings on and seal them up. I removed what transparent parts I could and tried to mask the others off as I sprayed olive drab on it. Got (most ) of the de-icers painted on, as well as the bomb group triangles Free-masked the 91st BG "A", I'm not too concerned about a perfect lineup, this is for fun. As a fictional plane, I'm working on a few different names... any input? The leading choices right now are: -"Hi There!" -"Lovers and Heroes" -"Boots and Saddles!" Also not sure how I'm going to source roundels... I *really* don't want to have to spray those on my own, lol. Anyone got a spare lindberg decal sheet they aren't using? Or any transparent pieces? Most of mine are pretty fogged up, and Id at least like to have a nice, transparent nose piece if I could find one.. What do you guys think? Wasting my time, or is it looking decent?