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Hi all, it's been a while since I did any wip's here, (the Overstrand is being rigged and Buccaneer riveted !), I thought it about time I did one and as I had one of the newer, old EB-66E kits in the stash I thought I'd whip it out and give it a good going over (oooh-er) and update it while I'm at it. I've always liked the sporty look of the Destroyer and so decided to go for something a little different in the form of the earlier EB-66C variant, which has a number of marked differences over the more common E/DL version. Firstly it has uber cool wingtip tanks which actually carried the AN/APD-4 system equipment which was deleted later in the war, (though the tanks were retained as they formed part of the wingtip and didn't effect flight performance), and secondly the plethora of rather ugly under fuselage aerials are replaced by three much nicer looking fairings housing the ALA-6 direction finding antennas and the ALA-32 steerable jamming antennas as well as a new tailcone for the powerful AAQ-4 IRCM system. I know it's all technical stuff but before your eyes glaze over these alterations altered the shape of the Destroyer dramatically. Another interesting addition were the four small square windows in the centre section of the fuselage for the four extra EWO's to peer out of on their long trips, this version being unique in carrying the extra crew in this way. The EB-66C was of course well known for its involvement in the South East Asian war and in particular as being the last aircraft type shot down right at the end of the conflict, call sign Bat 21. She was a very successful design and performed her duties to the letter, easy to fly , fast and rugged. Here's the real thing taken at Upper Heyford, an EB-66C of Detachment 1, 39th Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron, 36TFW based at Spangdahlem in the early seventies an imposing looking beast and spectacularly noisy !!! Things to note are the drooped leading edge flaps, (they were often left at 20 degrees incidence when powered down), the black tip tanks, rear tail cone housing and under fuselage fairings. The kit has been around quite a while now and pops up at shows now and then usually at a bargain price, (though I've noticed recently that they are now quite pricey). I picked this one up on a second hand stall at Waddington airshow a few years ago battered and bruised for £2 and always intended to build it as an EB-66C but the elusive Airwaves set has always...well, eluded me ! Thankfully Hannants came to the rescue with a few sets being made available recently. As ever I start with the cockpit which is pretty good on this one. The details are generic at best as the real thing looked considerably busier. Detailing the rear positions is a waste of time as virtually nothing can be seen through the small side windows so I went ahead and detailed it anyway !!...why I'm not sure but hey ho, but I do draw the line at detailing the centre section EWO's positions !!, ( I'm not that doolally ..yet. The great Aerograph minigraph #19 by Rene Francillon and Mick Roth really came in handy here as everything you need to know about the aircraft is held within its pages. The boxing, or what's left of it...luckily the kit is in perfect condition. The Airwaves set minus the middle fairing which somehow went west somewhere between Waddington and home, all of 4 miles !! The extended tail cone is also included, see below, ( I've assembled and smoothed the white metal wingtip tanks ready for priming). Notice that the sticker says that it's for the EB-66E........it isn't ! The kits simple decal sheet is on the right with Wolfpack decals Vietnam sharksmouth set to the left. I bought this one for my Warning Star but luckily it had a couple of EB-66C's as well, including BAT-21 ! First up the extra EWO windows that need adding. It was extremely difficult finding any info or photos on their positions but was able to work out their placement using reference points from a few good quality photos. Drilled out and then shaped using a square file. The glazing will be done using Humbrol Clearfix, I wanted to have a few panels open so the next step was to remove the crew entry hatch....that means I'll have to detail the interior now !! The main gear bays have had extra supports added and been primed. The upper doors have also been fitted. The other thing to do before the fuselages are joined is to remove the E/DL's tailcone and replace it with the Airwaves one. I had to rely on photos and drawings to get the cut line in the right place as there's no simple panel line to follow, the part fits perfectly... You can see the difference in the cones here, the resin one having the modified upper section housing the alternate AAQ-4 IRCM set carried by most upgraded EB-66C's. Anyway that's it for now, more very soon, Cheers for looking, Melchie...