Mario Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 (edited) Good evening everybody, your interest in my Combat Search and Rescue collection encouraged me to do a similar second part. All these here shown aircraft played a crucial role in the aerial campain to back anticommunist forces in Laos and to interdict North Vietnamese supply on the Ho Chi Minh Trail. These missions were flown from bases in Vietnam and Thailand, with Nakom Phanom (NKP) as one of the major bases for propeller driven airplanes. Often referred as "antique airforce" these vintage planes as Skyraiders and Counter Invaders suited better for the truck hunting role as they had good payload and loitering time and were slow enough to find smaller targets. Later Gunships as the AC-119 and AC-130 took this role altough said to be vunerable to ground fire especially when after the bombing halt against North Vietnam the North Vietnamese began to move more radar directed guns and SAMs to Laos. The neutral status of Laos also led to a covert American involvement in this country, with the ethnic group of the Hmong under General Van Pao as main alliies. Their fighters were supplied by Air America using many airstrips constructed by the French and Japanese called Lima Sites (LS). The Headquarter of these guerillas was Long Tieng (LS-20A). Some of the Hmong got flight training in the US, flying the T-28 and O-1 from Long Tieng and other bases. There also was a group of American Forward Air Controllers, called the Ravens who flew missions as civilians. There is a very interesting documentation about that. I think you can find it on Youtube. The first two pictures show the Heller T-28 with Royal Lao Airforce markings in 1/72. I built one of these years ago straight from the box with Soutvietnamese markings and knew about it`s flaws. The biggest problem was the bulky Canopy. I tried to hide that by cutting it in three parts and present it in opened position. i also closed the upper air intake and shifted the windscreen about 1mm backward. This the impression of a longer cowling. the cockpit was detailed with two unused seats from Revell F-105, a pilot figure of unknown origin and an observer from the ESCI Special Forces set. This is not authentic of course but fills the space. I also added some other detail like underwing pylons from styrene, four MK 82 bombs from the Hasegawa set and gun barrels from small nails. The decals are self printed. As a gimmik I fixed the airvent of my airbrush and laid it in front of the diorama. The Arii Cessna O-2 was once again a restauration project . I found it without landing gear and side windows. I made a new landing gear from styrene and wheels from a Fujimi F-14 engine trolly. The windows are clear styrene, rocket launchers from Esci UH-1D and miniguns from sprue. The decals are from the spare box. The white letters on top are Verlinden dry transfers rubbed on clear decal film. The particular aircraft number is not correct by the way, but I had only these red decals. The Cessna O-1 is from Airfix. Straight from the box with only figures and antennas added. Actually it`s a FAC aircraft used in South Vietnam but I thought it would match well with this collection. The UH-1Bs are Italeri models. I added pilots made from Hasegawa`s ground crew and some bags and helmets to fill the interior. The triangle on the roof is not a winch but a sort of antenna I made from sprue. Decals were homemade. The final model the AC-119K is from Italeri, too. I think it´s older than 25 years. I only added seme antennas on that. Over the years so many parts broke off and were repaired that the model was in fact built two times. That was a lot of work for a rainy Saturday. i hope you like the second part as much as you did with the first. Nice weekend to all of you Mario Edited August 21, 2017 by Mario 36 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncan B Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 Some great details on show here, I like the pilot's pose in the Trojan and the helmet on the seat of the Huey. Duncan B 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philtn Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 Nice topic in general. I especially liked the 119K. Some more pictures of that one available? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luis Alfonso Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 Hi Mario: I am begining to think that you really have a wonderful stash and a real wonderful collection of built masterpieces!!! I liked a lot all the pieces you have used in that part two Viet nam veterans, .....all are great models, the superb C119, T28, O-1 and the Hueys BUT..... the one who have stolen my heart is the O-2, as I liked a huge lot THE FAC,......I have a half built Airfix one with broken landing gear (delicate parts BTW), who was destined to be in this version, and also have three of them by Usairfix in the stash that were coming without the transparent parts....., I am looking for all those nice pics you have posted one time and another without be tired, really admire all the work you have put on them....If you have many more pics to enjoy, please share ASAP.....not all the days the "Antique Wing" appeared here in Britmodeler.....and makes us smile of the happiness and pleasure watching your work !!!! Congratulations and thank you very much for sharing!!! Cheers, Luis Alfonso 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FalkeEins Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 very nice modelling ..and an impressive piece of taxi-way too! ....bout time Airfix re-released the Bird Dog, I thought they did an O-2 as well ? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thomastmcc Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 Lovely stuff .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russ c Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 Very nice collection, I`ve a soft spot for `The Secret War` stuff and have small but growing set of builds myself. Loving seeing your stuff 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mario Posted October 12, 2014 Author Share Posted October 12, 2014 (edited) Thank you Duncan, Luis Alfonso and all others! To Falke Eins: Hard to understand why Airfix didn`t re-release their O-2 kit for such a long time. The last time I saw one in a show was in the late eighties. Sometimes you can find one on ebay, but usually far too expensive for such a simple kit. Compared to the Arii version, Airfix has the underwing pylons, a leaflet dispenser for a psywar version, guns, rocket pods and the upper windows for the fuselage. But these parts are so simple that scratchbuilt parts look as good if not better. The fuselage of the Arii version looks better, too. Decals are bad with both kits. To philtn: Thank you for your compliment. I have made some more pictures of the AC-119 K for you. But as I wrote: It is an old build with a lot of damages and repairs. Regards Mario Edited October 12, 2014 by Mario 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mario Posted October 12, 2014 Author Share Posted October 12, 2014 (edited) Very nice collection, I`ve a soft spot for `The Secret War` stuff and have small but growing set of builds myself. Loving seeing your stuff Hello Russ, I know that. I remember your beautiful Skyraider and I think I have seen also a T-28 from you. Do you always build in 1/48 scale? Edited October 12, 2014 by Mario Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russ c Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 Hello Russ, I know that. I remember your beautiful Skyraider and I think I have seen also a T-28 from you. Do you always build in 1/48 scale? Hi Mario, Yeah, most of the time it`s 1/48, although i also dabble in 1/350 ships and 1/35 AFVs. Apart from the Skyraider I`ve also done; a Ravens Bird Dog, a couple of T-28`s that count, a Black Skymaster similar to yours, A-26A (B-26K)Green Hornets Huey and some Mohawks which I`ve posted here. I`m also about to start a Beech 18 and Turbo Porter both of which will be Air America a/c`s. Due to space limitations I don`t think I`ll be attempting any gunships ( although I`d Like to ) Keep up the good work, Cheers Russ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learstang Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 Very nice, Mario! I'm seriously considering buying (or re-buying - I used to have one but it's long gone) the AC-119K Stinger. It would go well alongside my Special Operations A-1H and B-26K Counter Invader. I used to have an O-2 kit also - I was going to do it as the very aeroplane you have. All good inspiration for me! Regards, Jason 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mario Posted October 12, 2014 Author Share Posted October 12, 2014 Hi Mario, Yeah, most of the time it`s 1/48, although i also dabble in 1/350 ships and 1/35 AFVs. Apart from the Skyraider I`ve also done; a Ravens Bird Dog, a couple of T-28`s that count, a Black Skymaster similar to yours, A-26A (B-26K)Green Hornets Huey and some Mohawks which I`ve posted here. I`m also about to start a Beech 18 and Turbo Porter both of which will be Air America a/c`s. Due to space limitations I don`t think I`ll be attempting any gunships ( although I`d Like to ) Keep up the good work, Cheers Russ Hi Russ, the UH-1F is already in my stash and the Turbo Porter is a model I would also like to build. But in my scale there is only the High Planes kit which is in my eyes too expensive for it`s quality. You are going to build the Roden kit I assume? Keep up with your good work, too! Regards Mario Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mario Posted October 12, 2014 Author Share Posted October 12, 2014 (edited) Very nice, Mario! I'm seriously considering buying (or re-buying - I used to have one but it's long gone) the AC-119K Stinger. It would go well alongside my Special Operations A-1H and B-26K Counter Invader. I used to have an O-2 kit also - I was going to do it as the very aeroplane you have. All good inspiration for me! Regards, Jason Thank you Jason. Always a pleasure to read your frienly comments! Nice, you consider my builds as an inspiration. Regards Mario Edited October 12, 2014 by Mario 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luis Alfonso Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 Hi Mario: Cheers for the Veteran AC 119, I'd like to have one. I sold many many years ago all the gunship collection I had, but maybe one day I could buy them again. The only one I have kept was the Airfix and MPC AC-47 and all the O-1/O-2/OV-10/A-26 kits, and hope soon to buy both OV 1 Mohawks......but before I have to finish any kit, just to start production again. For the Vietnam Collection, many times I had been losing Ebay bids for the German built Airmodel Helio Courier......and for the Turbo Porter, maybe one day the dream will come true. And as Jason, I am getting enough inspiration that I have found my Hasegawa OV 10 Bronco from the doom boxes. Have a wonderful weekend!!! Cheers, Luis Alfonso Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mario Posted October 13, 2014 Author Share Posted October 13, 2014 Hi Luis Alfonso, as I told Jason already, it makes me really proud to inspire you for some modelling projects! What about your F-86A project? Have you made any progress with that? Since I took the AC-119 from the shelf, I´m really motivated to continue a AC-130 A long time build. I have built a Spectre long time ago. Over the years it lost more and more parts - some of the guns were pushed to the inside and a lot of the smaller parts disappeard in the vacuum cleaner. But I have decided to restore it. The flight deck is aready rebuilt and new windows installed. I polished the windshield with a display polish with good success and rescribed the whole model. The problem I have are the decals and that is the reason the build has stopped for a while. I would like to do the "Ghost Rider" aircraft as it comes from the box with the Italeri decals, but I´m not sure if this is correct. All my references show this specific aircraft without the 40mm guns. Although I believe that most of the Specters were modernized with this "Surprise Package", I`m not 100% sure. Perhaps you know more details. Best regards Mario Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
somtec Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 Hi Excellent stuff, cracking models and some really interesting info on a subject I knew nothing about. Going to have to do some more research. Peter 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeVi Tophatter Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 Mario, Absolutely fabulous work!!! We don't often see stuff with regards to operations 'over the fence' in Laos, Cambodia, etc. Love it!!! The pilots are a very nice touch too. If you fancy doing more Special Operations builds, perhaps a C-130A Blind Bat or OV-10A Bronco/OV-10A Pave Nail...? I did both with the Academy kits a long time ago, the only problem with the Pave Nail is all the special equipment in the rear seater's cockpit, I've never been able to find a single picture of the instrument panels . Again, very nice builds! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mario Posted January 2, 2015 Author Share Posted January 2, 2015 Hi Peter and LeVi Tophatter, thank you very much for your compliments. i appreciate them very much! To LeVi Tophatter: Thanks for your interest. I have always been very interested in the Vietnam war and the corresponding campaigns in Laos and Cambodia. Especially in all topics regarding the Ho Chi Minh Trail and the aerial campaign against it. Therefore aircraft of this era are the backbones of my collection. A lot of them I have already presented here and a lot are still waiting in their boxes as all three gunships, Counter Invaders, a lot more old O-2s and Skyraiders. interesting you mentioned the Bronco. The A-version I have already shown in my "Vietnam Combat Search and Rescue Team" topic, together with a Skyraider, another Cessna O-2 and a HH-3H Jolly Green, which also took part in a lot of Special Operations missions in Laos and even was used in sensor seeding missions in low threath areas over the Trail. Have a look if you are interested. Also found another Bronco. Its a D-version that I built long ago from the old Airfix kit (the Academy one wasn´t on the market at that time). It is in fact a little gunship with a minigun-turret under the belly. Found it interesting as there is a picture of such an aircraft in Squadron Signal´s book about the gunships. Cheers, Mario 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stéphane Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 Georgeous, and the subject of the sery is appealing ... Raven in Laos are one of my fav. See you in "Alternate", at Gen. Vang Pao Phi banquet. You need a P2V to complete this, of the kind dropping sensors on the trail during Igloo White. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BerndM Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 Oldies but goldies, Mario. nice modelling, that brought back a lot of memories. And a very informative text, a fellow modeller, very much into the Vietnam war, wrote me, that Laos was the place were north bound U.S aircraft jettisoned their bombs in an emergency, i guess the people of this country still live on bombs. Your airbase is impressive ! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mario Posted January 2, 2015 Author Share Posted January 2, 2015 Thank you Stephane and Bernd! To Stephane: Thanks for you interest and kind comment! You are absolutely right about the Neptune! But perhaps my HH-3 or some Phantoms could drop the sensors until Revell or Hasegawa re-release their P2V? There is an interesting report (think it was on YouTube) about a travel to Long Tieng. It looks much the same as in the sixties (although warlord/General Vang Pao should be easier to find in the U.S.). To Bernd: I was really surprised that someone dug out this topic from last October. Without doubt, Laos played a keyrole in the conflict as it was sanctuary and lifeline for North Vietnamese troups. Some bombs were jettisoned in emergency, but the majority was used against the Trail, Pathet Lao and North Vietnamese. Therefore Laos is said to be the heaviest bombed country in history having a lot of problems with unexploded munitions. Cheers, Mario 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOUSTON Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 (edited) Mario, Absolutely SPECTACULAR collection of some really IMMACULATE, IMPRESSIVE models. You are like a mean machine of the modeling World. kudos. HANDSOME builds. Edited January 3, 2015 by HOUSTON 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mario Posted January 2, 2015 Author Share Posted January 2, 2015 Hi Houston, the "mean machine of the modelling world" says thank you for the kudos! :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
somtec Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 Some more nice work on the broncos, shows in doesn't have to be the latest release to look good. Peter 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cardiff guy Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 some nice work there well done Glenn. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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