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Hi all, I needed a build to get my confidence back after trashing my Super Mystere recently. The replacement SMB2 is now in work but to fill gaps in my time as a slow burn build I am taking on a build of "TR-KMP", an AD-4N Skyraider that flew with the Gabon Presidential Flight. I have built this machine before as my very first model after returnng to the hobby. So, as it is another machine that has some significance, I am giving her a second go! The aircraft was flown by Jacques Borne (known as "Sarfice"), an ex-Armee de l'Air pilot who spent about half of his military flying carrer in Gabon. Here he is in a GAP Fouga CM170 Magister. I have been corresponding with Jacques and his son for a number of years and now want to repay that generosity with a better build of this fine machine. Here she is when in service, with Jacques at the controls, as always: I will be using a Hasegawa A-1 Skyraider kit (I have a few), Zotz decals, a resin cockpit, a couple of underwing tanks from a F4U, and other bits and pieces. I'll set about the build in the next 48 hours and post progress. Martin

Hi all, I am extremely pleased to get this one rolled out of the paint shop today. Independence came to Gabon in 1960. The armed forces of the new nation were divided into several branches. Noteworthy is the Republican Guard which controls some of the flying units, including the Presidential Flight and the Air Force Training School, for example. Early examples of Presidential Guard flying machinery was the AD-4N Skyraider and AT-6 Harvard, among many others. Gabon's air force has used European hardware for decades. It is one of the few countries that acquired modern jet fighters at a relatively early stage. It received the Mirage 5 in the mid-1970s through a contract signed on the 9th October 1975. More French material in use were Alouette III, Gazelle and Puma helicopters and Fouga trainers (from Austria). Little then changed until the arrival of the F1AZs. These were/are operated from the two main Armée de l'air Gabonaise bases: Base aérienne 01 at Libreville and Base aérienne 02 at Franceville. These are current as far as I can ascertain. The background is that in 2006 it was reported that Gabon had purchased the surviving South African Mirage F1AZs (plus spares) for about R40M, The first two aircraft have arrived in Libreville, Gabon in August 2006. These were TR-KML/239 and TR-KMM/241. Aerosud of South Africa were contracted to restore the aircraft to airworthiness standards, as well as to provide an avionics upgrade. The first two aircraft were test flown at Hoedspruit. More were received through 2007, building up to a reported fleet of eight aircraft. These included TR-KMN/236, TR-KMO/244 and TR-KMP/217. My build represents TR-KMP/217. I had started it as my contribution to the recent French Fancy GB but it was a non-finisher. I therefore moved it to the WIP section. It was built using the Special Hobby F1AZ kit as a basis, with a very little aftermarket addition. Initially my plan was to use the LF decal set but I found that to be woefully lacking in accuracy. It also is not comprehensive enough to build an accurate model. I therefore drew them myself and had Arctic Decal print them for me. It adds a further model to my Gabon collection (AD-4N, AT-6D and Fouga Magister). What did I do or use? 1. Kit – Special Hobby Mirage F1AZ/CZ 1/72 (SH72435) 2. Decals – The Gabon-specific decals were home drawn and printed by Arctic Decals. The kit provided other details. 3. Aftermarket – Pavla MB Mk.4 Seat (as close as I could get) (S 72059) 4. Paint – The upper surfaces a Colourcoats US Tan (ACUS18) and Olive Drab BS381C-298 (ACRN35) . The lower surfaces are Colourcoats Medium Sea Grey (ACRN04). Around these I used a variety of Humbrol enamels for various details. 5. Weathering – Flory washes, including a mix of Light and Black to get a slightly darker grey for the movable areas. Tamiya Weathering powders were also used here and there. I hope you like her as much as I do.

At the risk of over stretching myself, and realising that I haven’t even attempted to start the Vanneau, I am declaring this second build as a further entry in this GB. It will be Special Hobby’s Mirage F.1AZ as operated by the Gabon Air Force. It will be a further member of my Gabonese collection. Aside from the Starfighter I reckon the F.1 was/is the best looking Cold War fighter ever! I have amassed a wealth of aftermarket, including the Decal set from LF which, it has to be said, isn’t great :(. I will be back to this very soon Martin

Hi all, I am wrapping up my GB WIP here as I missed the finish deadline. To be honest, as you can see from the GB thread below, she is nearly done. I am held back a little by waiting time for paints and varnishes to dry etc. I was so nearly there! Despite that, and as (nearly) always I have enjoyed the build of a machine that will add to my Gabon and African collection. Right now she is sat, patiently, in her "Paint barn" while everything settles down. Back again soon. Martin

Hi all! The third and final part of my Sarfice trio of aircraft is finally done and rolled out – North American AT-6D “C” joins my AD-4N “TR-KMP” and Fouga Magister “TR-KFJ” in celebration of the flying career of Jacques Borne. Those of you who have seen my previous RFIs on these will know the background and so I won’t bore you with that here. 😉. I intend to mount these three on a presentation board in the future. Globally the last military operator to put the Harvard in to service, the GAP operated a fleet of six AT-6D/Harvards for many years. They arrived in Libreville in this dark blue paint scheme and then, over a number of years, they progressed through natural metal to a sand camouflage scheme. These were ex-SAAF. The construction number of this machine was 88-14876 which, I believe, was registered “TR-KFC” in Gabonese service. She was formerly 41-33904, EX931 (RAF – received?) and “7491” (SAAF), being delivered to the GAP on 15th December 1970. The fleet was retired in the 1980s. The base kit needed to be converted from T-6G configuration. The means by which I did this was to adopt a Yale canopy (thanks @Graham Boak for the steer) and upper rear fuselage. It almost fits! 😉 She also needed a blanked off single machine gun housing on the upper nose, which also had a groove running forward along the top of the cowling. The other major difference was the two Browning MGs in the wings. The fitment of these MGs meant the scribing of the access panels on the upper wings. I also added a few lumps and bumps here and there that were features of South African T-6s and removed the Rudder nav lights. Each of the Gabonese Harvards seemed to have different antenna fits. “C” had a simple pole to the rear of the canopy. They were pretty scruffy. You can see from the few available images that the blue came away readily. I’ve therefore used a fair bit of “modeller’s licence” to get dirt and scratches on her. For all of this work I was robustly supported by Wez @Wez, Geoff Timms at The Harvard Club of South Africa and Fred Borne. What did I do/use? Well: 1. Kit – Academy/Squadron T-6G Texan (Double Set) 1/72 and RS Models NA-64 Yale (92208) 1/72. I used the Yale cockpit and rear fuselage fairing. 2. Aftermarket – 0.5mm brass rod, Master Browning .30 calibre Machine guns (M1919), aerial from our kitchen broom! I planned to use Radial Engines and Wheels P&W R-1340 (72001) but despite a lot of scraping and sanding I couldn’t get it to fit in the Academy cowling. I also intended to use the Pavla cockpit set (72021) but in the end I used only the seats. I also intended to use the CMK Harvard conversion set but I have an aversion to vac form canopies and, in any case, it split on me! The exhaust in the set was not what I needed either. 3. Decals – Arctic Decals drawn and printed, Techmod white “C” in USAF Amarillo font. 4. Paints – Colourcoats USN Glossy Sea Blue (Post war) ACUS36) plus numerous Humbrols for various small parts 5. Weathering and washes – Flory Sand and Tamiya Weathering Powders. Prismacolor silver pencil I hope you like her as much as I do 😊 Martin

Hi all, I am finally able to get the second member of the Sarcife trio rolled out and RFI for your delectation 😊. It follows my earlier AD-4N, The link being the French pilot, Jacques Borne. Jacques had 663 hours on the Magister. The Groupment Aerient Presidentiel de Gabon (GAP) received four of these machines, while the Gabon Air Force is reported to have also received three (to be confirmed). While their role was formally to protect the head of state in practical terms it was ceremonial to a very great extent. These aircraft came from Austrian stock and, following Gabonese service, this machine – TR-KFJ/368 – went to the Congolese Air Force as 9Q-CPC. It was previously 4D-YQ in Austrian service. https://fougastribute.forumgratuit.org/t192-le-fouga-au-gabon-entre-1975-et-1990 The kit used here is the exceptionally fine Special Hobby offering. It is super-detailed, and I’d venture to suggest that it is the best in scale for this machine. There are a few fit issues but essentially it is a nicely engineered kit. My main area of angst was the upper nose gun section – which is slightly narrower than the lower section. To correct that I inserted a small shim after halving the section vertically (thanks for the encouragement @Wez). For anyone contemplating a similar build be aware that there are many minute parts! Also, the French liking for complex canopy mechanisms did not help, either. Having said that I managed to corral them and get them in the intended locations. Note also that the nose guns do not fit too well. I replaced them with Plastruct rod. For the markings I used the Max Decals set Fouga Magisters Part 1 (7205). The decals settle beautifully but I quickly discovered that they are not accurate in dimensions. The wing roundels are too small, the side pennants are too big, for example. In fairness it was a set that was designed before the SH kit came along. Anyhow, as it is the only option (to my knowledge) I soldiered on and got a nearly decent representation of the aircraft early in its Gabonese career. What did I use? 1. Kit – Special Hobby Fouga CM.170 Magister (72284) 1/72 2. Aftermarket – none 3. Decals – Max Decals (7205) See above, some kit stencilling and warning marks, 4. Paints – Humbrol Polished Aluminium (27002), Matt Black, Steel (27003), Gunmetal. Model Masters Fluorescent Orange-Red undercoated with white and yellow. Various other Humbrols. All enamel. Finished with Humbrol Satincote. 5. Other – broom bristle for the dorsal aerial. 6. Weathering etc – Flory Dark dirt to accentuate the numerous hatches etc, kept to a minimum plus a few wipes with Tamiya Weathering Powders here and there. I hope you like her. Now on with the third part of the trio 😊 Martin PS: now to get the Harvard III done

Hi all, Finally, time has enabled me to get my Skyraider across the line 😊. As you will have seen in the WIP (below) she is one of the former Armee de l’Air (French Air force) machines that were acquired by the Groupment Aerient Presidentiel de Gabon (GAP). Eight aircraft were on GAP strength over time, with four machines, colour-trimmed red, blue, green and yellow, being the longest serving. They flew as part of a broader and varied GAP fleet that included, at the time, other types like the Banderainte, L-100/C-130, Harvard, Fouga Magister and others. These were the last active and armed Skyraiders world-wide, being retired in the 1980s. For those who are interested, TR-KFP “green” is now F-AZDP in France, TR-KMO “blue” is G-RADR in the UK, TR-LQE “yellow” is in France and TR-KMP “red” now resides in The National Museum of Naval Aviation in the US, having been impounded by customs. A sad end for the old girl . Of the others only one was lost – TR-KFR on 14th July 1978 in Lome. They were flown by contracted French pilots, the most well-known of these being Jacques Borne. Jacques was the flight commander and was an ex-Armee de l’Air mechanic (on H-34/HSS-1) and pilot, having amassed more than 6,400 hours on a number of types, including the Fouga Magister, T-6/Harvard, Mirage IIIB/C/E and IVA, and T-33. He maintained a nickname through his career of “Sarcife”. You can see more about him here, albeit in French: http://www.pilotedechasse.org/2017/06/en-vol-avec-sarcife.html and search "sarcife". Google Translate is a great thing! 😊 The subject of this build is Jacques’ machine, TR-KMP “red”. She was an AD-4N. She is built from a Hasegawa A-1H Skyraider kit, supported by some parts from a Sword AD-4W. The latter is a spare ship for this and other builds in the future. For this build I used the side doors, leaving one “ajar” so that it has a little more detail interest, plus the main wing pylons. For the build I have been supported superbly by Jacques’ son, Fred. He provided me with many images of these aircraft, some of which are also available online, and answered questions along the way. Here she is in a shot taken during her Gabonese career: What did I do/use? Well, here goes: a. Inserted the starboard side door section from the AD-5W, cutting the port side door aperture (slightly too low ☹) and used the AD-5W door b. Built the internals for the rear cabin in a generic sense. Used Kristal Klear for the side windows. c. Added different antennae top and bottom of the fuselage. d. Removed the “pitot” and light from the fin tip. e. Used a F-84G wing tank (thanks @Wez) for the belly tank and made the AD-4 shackles from Plastrict rod. f. Built T10 rocket rails and cables with Plastruct rod and wire. Used the AD-5W main wing pylons. g. Used an Aires cockpit set h. Added static wicks with wire i. Re-scribed per AD-4N j. Painted the red trim rather than using decals k. Here and there, as appropriate, I dry brushed with aluminium, black and red. I also left the Flory wash more intense in places to mimic the dirty(ish) conditions of the aircraft. Unusually for Skyraiders she did not have much oil or exhaust staining, as you can see from the above photo. l. Added the foot steps behind the wings, using brass rod. m. Drilled out the cannons and exhausts - Thanks for the prompt Stuart @Courageous 1. Kits – Hasegawa A-1H Skyraider (00780) and Sword AD-4W Skyraider (SW 72126) 2. Decals – Zotz Skyraiders over Africa set (72026) for the national insignia, lion motif and stencilling, Modeldecal French numbering set (No.63) for the “MP” ID letters, Xtradecal black lining and red lining for the walkways, etc. 3. Extra parts – Aside from the side doors – I used a modified F-84 underwing tank to represent the large belly tank used by the French, various antennas and dorsal intake from the spares box, Plastruct rod for the rocket rails, belly aerial poles, belly tanks saw braces, electrical copper wire for the rocket rail charging cables and static wicks, and a few other little bits and pieces. I used an, Aires A-1 resin cockpit. 4. Paints – Humbrol Metalcote Polished Aluminium (27002), Colourcoats Matt Black, Insignia Red, Interior Green, plus various other paints for small details. Humbrol Glosscote and Satincote. 5. Weathering – Flory Dark Dirt and Light (mixes), Tamiya Weathering Powders, Prismacolor Silver pencil (PC949) 6. Colin @Colin @ Freightdog Models kindly donated a couple of Aero tanks but I needed the larger belly tank. I'll keep these, with his agreement, for a later AD-4B build. Thank also to Mike @72modeler for some valuable data. The WIP is here: I hope you like her. Having got this build done I am now working on Jacques’ Fouga Magister and will then add a Harvard/AT-6D to the Gabonese fleet in my display cabinet. 😊. I hope you like her. Martin