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Found 18 results

  1. Howdy everyone, Finally finished the latest addition to my small but growing `Air America` collection, Isra Casts 1/48 Do 28 Agur loosely converted to represent an aircraft used by the CIA airline in Laos during the 1960`s I couldn`t believe it when the kit came out as I`ve always wanted to do one and was thinking it wouldn`t be a too difficult job to convert even though it was manufactured in my 3 most hated mediums........ .....ie, resin, vac form and photo etch Unfortunately I under estimated the amount of changes I had to make and over estimated my ability to build something purely from these materials The kit consists of vac form mainplanes and mid fuselage, resin nose, rear fuselage tail, engine nacelles, undercarriage and fuselage interior, clear resin transparencies and photo etch fiddely bits Had to do a few changes to the nacelles, including: removal of air intake from the top, removing and extending the lower intake, extending and fairing in the exhausts and 2 blade propellers instead of 3 bladed ones. The worst part of the build was fitting and blending the transparencies to the vac form fuselage, especially as once the excess plastic was removed from the fuselage it twisted into some weird shapes needing copious amounts Gorilla Glue Gel, Milliput and P-38 Car Body Filler, Wet and Dry, and polishing with toothpaste to get looking neat. Blending in the mainplane to fuselage needed more copious amounts of Milliput and sanding, plastic strip to create the fairings at the mainplane/side fuselage join The rest was easy: decals from the stash, aerials, lights, handles etc from bits of wire and sundry bits and pieces from the spares box Really glad to have one in the collection now. Hope you enjoy the photo`s Thanks for looking, cheers Russ
  2. Hi all, finished my Testors 1/48 O-2a Skymaster which I`ve done to represent an aircraft of the 23rd TASS, used for night missions over the Ho-Chi-Minh trail during the Vietnam war, call sign `Nail` Scratch built some dodgy front seats and radio gear in the back, also fitted with 7 shot rocket launcher and flare dispenser which I also cobbled together they had the stbd window removed for the observer/navigator to lean out of with a `starlight scope` to search for targets and a cover for the anti collision light, which I also did and some little plates in board of the landing lights to reduce the glare Hope you enjoy looking at
  3. Hi everyone, Just finished my attempt at `loosely` converting Revell`s 1/48 Wessex kit into something that looks vaguely like a S-58T Twinpack .......... .......in the absence of an available kit. Finished to represent a chopper of Air America as used in the early 1970`s by the CIA during the Secret War in Laos Which fills one of the gaps in my small sub theme on the subject. Apart from the work to the nose: I added a cabin roof and converted the seats to look like military examples, added a bit of detail in the cockpit such as coaming over the instrument panel, cyclic sticks etc..... ...some hydraulic hoses to the winch, brake pipes and landing lights, wire mesh on areas around the tail, an attempt at creating the sling ,pipework and `gubbins` under the fuselage. and added various aerials to suit the subject. The mis-matched patches and touch ups on the paint work were copied from a picture of XW-PHB at Udorn AFB in Terry Loves book ` Wings of Air America` although the port side is not shown. The nose was done with plastic sheet, P-38 car body filler, wire mesh and a lot of wet and dry All measurements and cross sections were done with Mark 1 Eye Ball and are not to be taken seriously 🙄 Hope you enjoy the pic`s Thanks for looking, cheers Russ
  4. Hi Everyone, Thought I`d share some pic`s of my latest addition to my collection of `Secret War in Laos` collection My second attempt at Gallery Models 1/48, H-34 Choctaw kit Finished in the markings of the Royal Laos Air Force, but based at Udorn Thailand and partly operated by Air America during the `Secret War` Built mostly from the box contents, the only differences being, pipes/cables for the winch, brake pipes and, antenna fit, which were sourced from the spares box or carved out of a bit of clothes peg. Improved the kit a bit by removing the plastic from behind the etched mesh parts, to give a see through look Decals were sourced from the spares stash and some from the kit Hope you enjoy, thanks for looking Cheers Russ. PS, if anybodies interested in the subject I`ll be gradually replacing the PB images in previous posts as I get time.
  5. Hi Everyone, Hope you don`t mind seeing some pic`s of the latest addition to my `Secret War in Laos` collection My attempt at building an Air America, `D` version Huey from Italeri`s 1/48 Kit Built pretty much from the box contents, omitted the cable cutters and grab rails................ .....replaced the whip aerial on the tail with wire and built the triangular HF Radio antenna above the co-pilots seat from same The decals came from a Saab 91 Safir sheet which are offered as a what-if option....... ...but this is not made clear until you open the package Luckily I was able to swap the Safir kit and decals for a Hobbycraft Beaver ( Cheers Larry ) which is a costly way of obtaining a Beaver, in case anyone has the same idea. Lastly a shot of it with my other Air America builds Hope you enjoy, thanks for looking Cheers Russ
  6. Hi everyone, Whilst I was concentrating on my `Secret War`theme recently I dragged this one off the shelves and gave it a make over, so I thought i`d show you some pic`s of my newly refurbished, 2nd attempt at building a B-26K from the Monogram kit. Finished as an aircraft of the 609th Special Operations Squadron, Used for `Steel Tiger` missions over Laos on the `Ho Chi Mihn Trail`, using the call sign `Nimrod` On my 1st attempt I used a Paragon Designs conversion but wasn`t 100% happy with the nose as it was and I didn`t make a great job of attaching the resin prop` blades to the hubs So when I managed to get a hold of a Cutting Edge 8 gun nose and another glass nosed Invader kit, I salvaged as much of the Paragon set off the other one as I could ie, cockpit, tip tanks, antenna(s), rudder, fuselage insert and wing pylons and fitted to the new kit using the C/E nose This time I modified the kit prop`s using sheet polystyrene and filler and had to make the vortex generators on the fin from scratch Unfortunately the Paragon late style engine cowls didn`t survive the surgery so I completed it as an early `K` with just the white serial on the fin and used the kit cowlings as they came. to portray one of the first aircraft of the deployment The weapons came from a Hasegawa weapons set. Hope you enjoy looking at. Cheers Russ
  7. Hi Everone, Just completed my latest `Secret War` build, so I thought I`d share some pic`s Rodens T-28D kit, built to represent an aircraft used by the RLAF during the South East Asia conflict and actually the first `D` I`ve built from the `D` boxing Mostly from the box but added bomb load from a Hasegawa weapons set and..... decals from; Hobbycraft Beaver, the stash and a few from the kit the only other additions are scratch built gunsight and some seat belts Hope you enjoy looking at, Cheers Russ
  8. Hi All, Managed to finish this in the week and get some shots outside before the clouds came back, Model USA 1/48 Cessna Bird Dog Finished to represent an aircraft from the Ravens secret detachment of Air Commandos, FACs from the War in Laos Built OOB except for lack of decals Almost given up hope of getting another of these kits as I wanted to do this subject for a few years now Also a shot of it with its companion Raven, Rodens T-28 and here with my first attempt at the kit from some time back, with kit decals Hope you enjoy looking at, Thanks for looking, Russ
  9. Howdy everyone, Just finished my latest `Secret War` build, so I thought I`d show you some picks of my attempt at building an `Air America` ( read CIA ) Hughes 500P, dubbed `The Quiet One` from the Academy CHiP`s boxing Specially designed for laying Telephone Cable `Wire Taps` on to North Vietnamese Army communications on the Ho Chi Minh Trail towards the end of the `Secret War` in Laos Could only find 4 photo`s to work from: one prototype, two demonstrators and one `in service` to work from so had to guess quite a bit as to final configuration Modifications include; four bladed St Andrews cross tail rotor made from wire, plastic sheet and a lot of superglue gel, bigger panel to accommodate terrain following and LLTV systems, change the T tail back to earlier V, Scratch built side panniers..... various lumps and bumps around the nose area and of course the silenced exhaust and rear fuselage, also scratched a carrier at the rear which I presume was to carry...... solar powered relay that sent the Tapped Info back to HQ. Hope you enjoy, thanks for looking Cheers Russ
  10. Excuse me, is that an Uzi? Hi guys Finally getting my build up and running. With impending being between jobs starting next week I will have some free time for the first time in as long as I can remember. My build will be the Revell UH-1H Huey (it says on the box) that will be in the Air America scheme. The sprue says UH-1D. The difference between the two is a more powerful engine. The kit is circa 1994 and I recently purchased this off of everyone's favourite auction site. I remember building the kit in my younger days and for an extortionate fee of £3 I fancied a trip down memory lane. Mostly I wanted the miniguns as a huey with one strapped either side just looks mean. My disappointment started upon opening the box to find the kit has the XM16 system hosting two very badly molded and overscale M60C machine guns on each side. For the scale the rest of the kit isn't too bad. I will be using Mike Grants Air America decals and will need to source or make some registration decals. This is what I am aiming for. The box DSC_6594 by Mark Inman, on Flickr All the contents DSC_6595 by Mark Inman, on Flickr Mike Grant decals DSC_6599 by Mark Inman, on Flickr I hope the kits nose looks better than stage 13. DSC_6600 by Mark Inman, on Flickr Exhibit 'A' DSC_6601 by Mark Inman, on Flickr The other half of the relationship. DSC_6603 by Mark Inman, on Flickr UH-1D DSC_6604 by Mark Inman, on Flickr Crystal clear, ish... DSC_6605 by Mark Inman, on Flickr I should be starting this towards the end of next week.
  11. Hi Everyone Just finished my latest `Secret War` build, in the shape of Hellers reissue of Occidentals 1/48 Texan Completed to represent one of the T-6s that were obtained for the Royal Laos Air Force by........ .. the Joint U S Military Assistance Group from the Royal Thai Air Force in exchange for 5 T-37s in 1961. The kit is built mostly from what`s in the box with Seat Belts and Brake Pipes added although I did raise and tidy.... ...the cockpit sill so that the open canopy sat better and aerial mast from a Tamiya Buffalo. The .303 Cal` Gun Pods were scratch built with odds and sods from the spares box, the Rockets I think came from... ... and Eduard Hellcat and the Decals were from the stash. Hope you enjoy, thanks for looking and have a great Christmas. Cheers Russ
  12. Hi All, I am going to enter with a US clandestine C-130A. I haven't picked an exact airframe, yet, but I only opened the box today, so I don't think I need to rush! Here's an abridged history taken from the excellent research notes created by the Air America archive at UT Dallas: http://www.utdallas.edu/library/specialcollections/hac/cataam/Leeker/aircraft/c130.pdf In late 1961, E-Flight was established within the 21st Troop Carrier Squadron / 315th Air Division at Naha, Okinawa. Unlike other C-130As of the 315th AD, the four or five E-Flight C-130As were uncamouflaged. They had very small USAF insignia, and had skate-wheel rollers installed on the cargo-compartment floor over which cheap wood pallets could be moved. That made handling easier at locations without forklifts and made it unnecessary to recover the pallets. Initially, 4 five-man Air America-crews (including a navigator) were trained to fly the C-130. From the second half of 1965 to the spring of 1971 Air America used USAF C-130As from Takhli, Thailand to fly large supplies of ammunition into "forbidden territory under cover of darkness". Those flights ended at Long Tieng, Vientiane, Luang Prabang, Sam Thong, Pakse, Savannakhet, or Saravane. In 1965 the Takhli-Long Tieng service (CIA logistic support pipeline) was opened. Since 1967 at least one of the two C-130As at Takhli flew into Laos every day; and since 69, C-130 missions from Udorn to Luang Prabang were added. When, in early 1970, the situation became too dangerous in the Plain of Jars (Laos), Air America made several refugee airlifts. Missions included the evacuation of refugees and the importation of troops along with the backhaul of critical USAID and -713 "Customer material", much of which was of a highly classified nature. In the spring of 1971, that part of the 374th TAW which had used C-130As from Naha, Okinawa, was deactivated, and the responsibility for supply flights to Laos activities shifted to the E-model wing at Ching Chuan Kang Airbase, Taiwan. As ever with these sort of missions, it isn't easy to identify individual aircraft involved, and the aircraft histories are very difficult to explain. But from a modellers' point of view the all-silver (Corroguard?) finish, usually with no markings other than a 3-digit tail code presents an easy win! In fact the challenge will be making it look interesting! The Kit: I will build the Italeri 1/72 C-130 with resin props/tanks from OZMods to backdate to an C-130A. I will drill the extra fuselage window and scribe the front cargo door, but I leave the modifications there. I will also leave the model 'buttoned up'. Anyway- a full afternoon of modeling is ahead, and I'll post some pictures later!
  13. Hi Everyone, Been at this for a long while it seems, delayed a bit of course by Christmas and New Years activity, but finally calling it done: Rodens 1/48 Air America Turbo-Porter, to complement and provide some of the decals for my recent Beech 18 you might remember. The actual kit builds up OK but I had my normal battle with Rodens decals...... which I was in two minds whether to use or try and paint the markings, but in the end chickened out of all that masking Mainly OOB, only additions being: seat belts, antenna, two scoops under the cowling and replacing some of the delicate bits with wire Managed to melt some of the passenger seats whilst setting the decals with hair drier.... So it`s carrying a fuel drum on the starboard side ( to deliver to stock up a Lima Site probably ) but you can`t see much anyway. Finally a shot of it alongside its companion Beech 18 Hope you enjoy Thanks for looking, Cheers Russ
  14. Hi all here`s my Roden 1/48 scale T-28 Trojan, completed to represent an aircraft of the 606th Special Operations Squadron based at Nakhon Phanom, Thailand, around the late 1960`s. I actually built this last year some time but have just finished repainting it as I felt that my previous attempt was not `right` The kit actually started out as a `B` version, but is updated with modified Skyraider pylons, weapons from the `stash` Numerous scratch built antenna and Decals from Rodens latest boxing of the kit Spent a long time researching the colour scheme, which was not std SEA USAF camouflage colours on these aircraft Hope you enjoy looking at.
  15. Howdy everyone, finally calling this one done My attempt at Mach 2s boxing of BattleAxe 1/48 scale Beech 18 Finished to represent an aircraft flying with the CIA funded Air America airline during the Vietnam/Secret War The kit is mostly OOB with just a few embellishments, inluding; seat belts, curtains/blinds for the cabin windows.... Sratch built windscreen wiper, some brake pipes and ignition harness for the engines. The decals came from the stash and Rodens Porter kit, the serial no is bogus (it`s what I could find in the spares box ) Been a bit of a battle and don`t think I`ll try another one for a bit. Hope you enjoy, thanks for looking Cheers Russ
  16. Hi Everyone, just finished my second Trumpy F-100F build, Done this time as an aircraft of Commando Sabre, Detachment 1, 416th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Vietnam in the late 1960`s Which were a specialised `Fast Mover Forward Air Controller` outfit, operating over the Ho-Chi-Minh Trail in Laos, Made a few changes to the basic kit, including deletion of the inner pylons, shortening the main gear to improve the sit, re-shaping the nose intake a bit, adding a cross brace and opening the canopy, adding the HUD, and widening the main tyres slightly. The decals are some from the kit, the spares box and a very old War Eagles sheet which took three applications of boiling water to release and had to be assembled jigsaw fashion as they shattered severely Hope you enjoy looking at, Cheers Russ
  17. Hi Everyone Thought I`d take the opportunity to show you my very latest effort; Italeris 1/48 scale UH-1N Twin-Huey Finished to represent a Huey from the 20th Special Operations Squadron, The Green Hornets Who operated under the illusion of being a Psy-War Squadron but in fact dropped and supported Studies and Observation Group Commandos in Vietnam and often `Over the Fence` in Laos and Cambodia. The actual kit airframe is built mostly OOB with just some reworked aerial positions but added; CMK Miniguns with scratch built mounts and rocket pods from a Roden T-28 kit with modified kit gun mounts Sort of enjoy not having to bother with decals on these `Special Ops` subjects ( or just getting lazy ) Hope you enjoy looking at Cheers Russ
  18. Hi Everyone, thought I`d show you some pic`s of my `Ravens` T-28D Forward Air Controller that I built from Rodens 1/48 T-28B kit Which is another addition to my small but growing collection of unmarked aircraft from the `Secret War` in Laos at the time of the Vietnam conflict Additions include; rocket pods from Roden Mohawk, slightly modified pylons from resin Skyraider set and bits of wire and sheet for the various antenna This is the third build of Rodens T-28 (Fourth if you count the repaint job on the 606th Air Commandos build) with one still in the stash to do with another `Ravens` aircraft on the bench at the moment, hopefully coming soon Anybody interested in the `Ravens` should look up Chris Robbins book of the same name, amazing read ( in my opinion anyway ) Hope you enjoy looking at, Cheers Russ
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