Slater

No. Acrylic, lacquer, or any other finish that does a decent job. And that's a reasonable match to most military schemes.

I guess I'm a bit late to the party but I recently found out that Testors has discontinued this product line. I don't build a lot of kits but Model Master has been my go-to brand for probably 30 years or so. For those more active in the hobby than myself, what brands are a suitable replacement for Testors?

An F-106 had some minor fame as the "Cornfield Bomber": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornfield_Bomber

Sounds like the Monogram kit is the way to go. Does the Trumpeter kit have anything to recommend it?

From today's (20 June 23) US DoD contract announcements: "Raytheon Missiles and Defense, Tucson, Arizona, was awarded a $1,151,111,454 firm-fixed-price contract for Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) Production Lot 37. This contract provides for the production of AMRAAM missiles, AMRAAM Telemetry System, initial and field spares, and other production engineering support activities. Work will be performed in Tucson, Arizona, and is expected to be completed by Jan. 31, 2027. This contract involves unclassified Foreign Military Sales to Bahrain, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Finland, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom, which accounts for approximately 39% of the contract value...." Could this be for Ukraine's future (notional) F-16's or maybe for Ukrainian aircraft adapted for this missile? EDIT: Could be for NASAMS, I suppose.

Not that there's a lot of available options, but what's the best F-106 in 1/48?

Joined the USAF in 1978. When I arrived at my first assignment (Davis-Monthan AFB) the first aircraft I saw was a pair of F-106's taking off. Believe these were from the 5th FIS, on rotational duty from Minot.

"When I was very young I would go visit my grandfather. We had to stand side by side in a little room for 30 seconds and not say a word. My grandfather called it elevator practice".

Interesting that MER's seem to have vanished from USAF use not long after Viertam ended.

When it comes to firearms aiming devices, I see "gunsite" as often as "gunsight". Mildly annoying.

Got one of these on order. I believe it has a few issues but I think I can work with it. Probably will go with the wraparound SEA camo scheme (23rd TFW, England AFB). Weapons selection looks fairly comprehensive, although I don't think that GBU-8 was used much beyond the Vietnam conflict. Choice of LAU-88 (three round) or LAU-117 (single round) AGM-65 launchers. Might make a good candidate for a Vietnam participant, with "MB" or maybe "DM" tail codes. Anyone have any positive or negative feedback on this particular kit? http://www.hobbyboss.com/index.php?g=home&m=product&a=show&id=611&l=en

From a recent Government Accountability Office report. The F-15 has been in production so long that one would think production issues would be minimal: "Boeing planned to deliver the first Lot 1B aircraft in December 2022 but delayed those deliveries by 6 months due to several production-related issues. The primary driver of these delays was supplier quality problems related to a critical component in the forward fuselage assembly that ensures safety of flight. Program officials said that those quality issues were corrected as of the production of the seventh and eighth aircraft. According to a DCMA report, Boeing also used tooling that had a design error, which caused inaccurately drilled holes for the windscreen installation on the third through sixth aircraft. Boeing made adjustments to the drilling tool to address the issue. Program officials said that the issue was identified before it affected the seventh aircraft and Boeing plans to re-drill the holes on affected aircraft before beginning production of the Lot 2 aircraft. Program officials added that each Lot 2 aircraft has also been delayed 2 months due to these Lot 1B production-related issues."

"Yesterday my girlfriend came up to me and said 'Would you want to know the exact day, month, and year that you were going to die?" I said "Oh heck no" She said "OK, well never mind then"

Has to be more problem-free than the KC-46, but it sounds far from being a sure thing: https://www.defensenews.com/air/2023/06/06/lockheed-picks-engine-to-bolster-interim-tanker-case-for-us-air-force/

For some really "out of the box" thinking, one need look no further than World War II Germany, especially the drawing board designs that never made it to production.

I take it that the Hunter is not quite on the "iconic" list as of yet?

"Why do cowboys wear two spurs? If one side of the horse goes then so does the other".

Was this ever a UK tradition? Presumably it's not around any more. Or at least in a much more muted form. https://www.jetsprops.com/fighters/what-happens-if-you-land-on-the-wrong-aircraft-carrier.html?fbclid=IwAR2NaDMzQXZk47J329i4Qja1msXXzaogMyoW2PGedZHC-rdM5duWqr302fo

From today's (31 May 2023) US DoD contrac announcements: "Global Military Products Inc,* Tampa, Florida, was awarded an $118,375,740 firm-fixed-price contract for the purchase and delivery of Gepard 35 mm air defense systems. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in Amman, Jordan, with an estimated completion date of May 30, 2024. Fiscal 2010 Foreign Military Sales (Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative) funds in the amount of $118,375,740 were obligated at the time of the award. Army Contracting Command, Newark, New Jersey, is the contracting activity (W15QKN-23-C-0012)." Presumably these aren't in the best condition?

One of the later modifications to USAF's A-7D was the addition of a Pave Penny pod under the intake lip. Was this a fleetwide modification or was it only applied to certain aircraft?

I'm sure Boeing is happy: https://www.dsca.mil/sites/default/files/mas/Press Release - Germany 23-26 CN.pdf

USAF selected the Chinook and then they were told "No, try again".

Maybe Airbus thought that the sale was a sure thing, so they didn't put a lot of effort into it.

Steering clear of any political aspects, what would be a suitable substitute (capability wise) for the H225M? https://breakingdefense.com/2023/05/uae-cancels-e800m-military-helicopter-deal-with-airbus-government-official/

What Soviet-era kit are these replacing? https://www.dsca.mil/sites/default/files/mas/Press Release - Slovakia 23-39 CN.pdf