wisco7 Posted June 19, 2017 Share Posted June 19, 2017 Hi everyone. Here are a few pics of the 1/72 Sword F3D-2 Sky knight I just finished up this afternoon. The kit builds up nice except you will have to address the canopy fit issue by sanding the lower surface where it meets the fuse, its slightly larger than it should be. You will have to weigh down the nose area so its not a tail dragger as well. Other than that its a very nice kit to build. Hope you like the way it turned out. DSC00078 by Steve Cook, on Flickr DSC00079 by Steve Cook, on Flickr DSC00080 by Steve Cook, on Flickr DSC00081 by Steve Cook, on Flickr DSC00082 by Steve Cook, on Flickr DSC00084 by Steve Cook, on Flickr DSC00088 by Steve Cook, on Flickr DSC00092 by Steve Cook, on Flickr DSC00093 by Steve Cook, on Flickr 50 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jean Posted June 19, 2017 Share Posted June 19, 2017 Hi wisco8, the Skyknight is so much nicer in grey/white than in dark sea blue, or so I think! Yours is superb and the weathering is just right. Congrats JR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidgeRunner Posted June 19, 2017 Share Posted June 19, 2017 A very nice build - unusual subject and In 1/72!!! Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveinnscotia Posted June 19, 2017 Share Posted June 19, 2017 Good looking model, thanks for posting ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celt Posted June 19, 2017 Share Posted June 19, 2017 Not a fast jet then,judging by the shape,but a well tidy model. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vultures1 Posted June 19, 2017 Share Posted June 19, 2017 Looks great! Nice sharp build. Well done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niles Posted June 19, 2017 Share Posted June 19, 2017 6 hours ago, jean said: Hi wisco8, the Skyknight is so much nicer in grey/white than in dark sea blue, or so I think! Yours is superb and the weathering is just right. Congrats JR I'm glad you added "or so I think" because I think exactly the opposite. I'd much rather see it in dark sea blue. However I do agree with you that he did quite a nice job on the model. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Posted June 19, 2017 Share Posted June 19, 2017 Very nicely done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vulcanicity Posted June 19, 2017 Share Posted June 19, 2017 Excellent job, and not a type you see modelled often! To throw the cat among the pigeons, my favourite Skyknight scheme is matt black, but this looks excellent! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted June 19, 2017 Share Posted June 19, 2017 Superbly done, a rare beast as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJP Posted June 19, 2017 Share Posted June 19, 2017 Nice one - very neat model like the paint job too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin1967 Posted June 20, 2017 Share Posted June 20, 2017 Sweet ! Really like this build, thanks for sharing this with us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_W Posted June 20, 2017 Share Posted June 20, 2017 Very nice. The wings and tail look like Douglas took them straight from the Skyraider. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wisco7 Posted June 20, 2017 Author Share Posted June 20, 2017 Thank you everyone for the kind compliments. Best regards, Steve Cook Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kapam Posted June 20, 2017 Share Posted June 20, 2017 That looks super cool! Love the older and less familiar planes of the early jet era. Brilliant work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72modeler Posted June 21, 2017 Share Posted June 21, 2017 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 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cngaero Posted June 21, 2017 Share Posted June 21, 2017 A great looking model and nicely finished. Your work on the canopy is excellent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kapam Posted June 21, 2017 Share Posted June 21, 2017 7 hours ago, 72modeler said: when Sword examined the airplane, they did not realize that the cable ducts were not fitted to operational Skyknights Thanks for the head-up on that 72Modeler. Admittedly, I'm not about to get this kit soon (though I just might change my mind tomorrow, you never know). But I do get enthused when another modeller's knowledge on a subject is imparted in a gracious and interesting manner. It's the kind of feedback I really enjoy seeing on Britmodeller. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booty003 Posted June 21, 2017 Share Posted June 21, 2017 That is a great build of the Sword kit, absolutely flawless. A kit that I am trying to get my hands on!! Very good and useful info from 72Modeler too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spaddad Posted June 21, 2017 Share Posted June 21, 2017 Tasty I suppose the 1/48th kit has the same problem? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72modeler Posted June 21, 2017 Share Posted June 21, 2017 7 hours ago, spaddad said: Tasty I suppose the 1/48th kit has the same problem? 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wisco7 Posted June 22, 2017 Author Share Posted June 22, 2017 On 6/20/2017 at 7:00 PM, 72modeler said: 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 Thank you Mike. That is very helpful info not only to me but to the entire modeling community. Outstanding research Mike!! Thank you very much!! Best regards, Steve Cook 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tailspin Turtle Posted June 22, 2017 Share Posted June 22, 2017 My notes: http://tailspintopics.blogspot.com/2015/04/the-f3ds-of-flying-nightmares-in-korea.html 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thud4444 Posted June 22, 2017 Share Posted June 22, 2017 (edited) It's weird to see one of these in gray. Fantastic painting and weathering. BTW, how did you do the panel lines? Great work! When ever I think I know everything there is to know about US naval aviation, I go to your site Turtle and realize you've forgotten more than I ever knew. Thanks for the efforts Mike! Edited June 22, 2017 by Thud4444 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bearmatt Posted June 23, 2017 Share Posted June 23, 2017 Nicely done, really like this Skynight a lot! And by far not that easy of a kit. A friend of mine built it recently too and he experienced quite a few problems, especially around the air intakes. You did a great job on the canopy adjustment and masking and all in all a very clean build. To honour your model a bit more you should give her a proper photo session - that would be very much appreciated. Thanks for sharing. b. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now