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  1. 1/72 Revell F-101B Voodoo, TDY to 13th Bomb Sqn, Ubon RTAFB, 1970 - Vietnam War My main interest is the Vietnam War and the many aircarft that operated there. Coupled to this I also like to throw in a curve ball every now and again. This Voodoo is one of them! This is the Revell F-101B, airbrushed using Tamiya paints, spare decals and a Flory wash to highlight all the lovely surface detail. A bit of 'History'. In order to further reduce the flow of supplies from the North via the Ho Chi Minh Trail, USAF planners converted a F-101B to be used in the night attack role against ground targets. Using 4 x modified AIM-4H missiles in the air to ground role this unique Voodoo became the very first Tank Plinker. Working alongside the B-57G out of Ubon RTAFB, the Voodoo was moderately successful but ultimately did not impress enough to warrant more airframes being converted. Cheers all, Phil
  2. Airkraft Modelling Guide Fighters & Attack Aircraft of the Vietnam War (9780995546080) MA Publications The Vietnam war saw the heavy use of aircraft and is one of the most modelled with lots of available kits, and source material. All braches of the US Military fielded aircraft in the war as well as their allies, and both armies of Vietnam. This new magazine style publication from MA publication give us a look at different aircraft use and 19 builds across the two most popular scales of 1/72 & 1/48., plus an odd 1:100 kit, There are information panels along side each build and a small history section at the beginning of the book (through one photo of Crusaders on a bombing run is actually taken in the 1970s over a range in the US! The builds featured are; US Navy F-4J - 1:48 Eduard (Academy kit) F-104 Starfighter - 1:48 Hasegawa F-104C US Navy F-4B - 1:48 Eduard (Academy kit) Arc Light Escort - 1:72 F-102 Meng Army Air - 1:48 Roden JOV-1A Mowhawk Fighter for Freedom - 1:48 VNAF F-5B Kinetic Gunfighters over Vietnam - 1:48 F-8E Monogram Fighting Fishbed - 1:48 MiG-21MF Academy Spook Shooter - 1:72 F-4D Italeri Green Machine - 1:72 A-6E Tamiya (Italeri kit) Hun On the Hunt - 1:48 F-100C Trumpeter Night Intruder - 1:72 B-57B Italeri Fresco Fighter - 1:49 MiG-17 HobbyBoss Sky Spotter - 1:72 O-1 Bird Dog Airfix Scooter Strike - 1:48 A-4 Eduard (Hasegawa kit) Dragons Teeth - 1:48 A-37A Trumpeter Flying Gas Station - 1:48 KA-6D Fujimi Jungle Viper - 1:100 AH-1G Revell Aussie Bomber - 1:48 Canberra Airfix It is good to see different kits are used which are readily available, reasonably priced; and in terms of the older kits it is good to see them not forgotten. The different modellers also use difference techniques and products on the various models so its good to be able to see them, and contrast their use. The reader will then be able to try a couple and see what works for them. The downside here is that this is a sponsored publication from HATAKA so only their paints are used with the obligatory recommendations. Conclusion This is a well put together publication for the modeller thinking of their next Vietnam war build. There is a good range of kits and techniques on show, as well photos of the real thing. Their is not too much history in this publication as most of it is devoted to the builds. When looking at the builds it also seems that some of the content here has been "recycled" into other MA Publications titles. In particular in this one I see that the A-6 build is in their A-6 Guide, and the F-104 is in their F-104 guide, as not having access to any other publications. Recommended if you want a book on modelling aircraft from Vietnam, though with the caveats that it is a sponsored publication with some of the builds appearing in other titles also. Review sample courtesy of
  3. 1/72 KP MiG-19S 'Farmer C', 6032 of Nguyen Hong Son, 925th Fighter Regiment, May 1972 I started this way back in the middle of last year and it has been sat on the SOD until this weekend. Finally put it to the top of the 'to finish' pile. It was a bit tricky building with the gear up (I wish more manufacturers would give seperate closed doors as an option). All of the engine cooling scoops are individually attached, fun... Once I had it primed it was a breeze to finish. All one colour, 8 decals, wash, clean and varnish. I am quite pleased with how it has turned out and it now gives my MiG-17 a wing man and something else for my Yankee Air Pirates to tangle with with. I have just noticed that the cannon barrels need a bit of TLC - back to the bench....! 🙂 I have an Eduard MiG-21 in the stash that keeps looking at me.....!! Cheers all, Phil
  4. US Vietnam Uniforms - Figures Set (A.MIG-7034) AMMO of Mig Jiménez This set is for your US Uniforms of the Vietnam period. This four paint set arrives in a clear clamshell box with a card header with some colour use suggestions on the rear. Inside are four bottles each containing 17ml of paint that is dispensed by a dropper that is found under the yellow screw-top cap. Inside each bottle is a little stirring ball that rattles when agitated. AMMO paints separate quite readily so having a ball in the bottle makes mixing them a lot easier. We’re all familiar with the quality of AMMO paints by now, and they have a pretty good reputation amongst us modellers, and dry a little slower than some of the competition, which can be useful to avoid paint drying on the tip of your needle when spraying. The paints are as follows: AMMO F-503 Dark Olive Green AMMO F-504 Yellow Green AMMO F-544 Pacific Green AMMO F-535 Italian Green Camo Conclusion It’s great to be able to get sets of paint that will set you up for any Vietnam project. The addition of some white and black to assist you with modulation will help if that’s your methodology. Review sample courtesy of
  5. Hello, I present the M48A3 Patton model from Dragon. Added the mantlet and searchlight set from Legend, PE parts from Eduard, AFV Club tracks and machine guns from Aber. Painted Tamiya Olive Green on B&W base. Enjoy watching and I hope you will like it.
  6. Hello everybody... As the instigator and primary host of the. This was my take on Tamiya's classic 1/35th M48A3. It is built in the markings of "DEATH" from the 1st Marine tank Battalion C-Coy company 1970 C-12. I used a mixture of kit decals and Star decals sheet 35 C-1074. The Sandbags are made from baked sculpey modeling clay and were molded to the hull. I went for a heavily used tank covered with stowage, sometime in the rainy season. Sometime in the not to distant yet cloudy future i would like to make a base for this. Pose it in a section of a Firebase defensive perimeter. Questions, comments, or thoughts are always accepted. Dennis
  7. Calling this finished now AFV Club 1/35 scale gun truck with some extra armour added from plasticard. Decals are from Star (I know, this does not depict the actual Bounty Hunter truck). Figures are from Paracel and are excellent, ordered direct from them in Vietnam and arrived quickly and safely. Paint is Life Color, Tamiya and Vallejo acrylics and weathered using Mig Ammo mud effects pack and oil washes. Base is just made from a drawer front and foam board. All comments welcome
  8. Here we are then, this old beastie. M48 1 by phil da greek, on Flickr There is a WIP on here if you care, but for those pressed for time this is going to be part of a larger project inspired by Kyochi Sawada's photograph of Lt. R Horner USMC and his platoon sheltering behind a Patton on Tran Cao Van Street in Hue on 1st February 1968. A little artistic licence here and there but trawling through the interweb of Patton photos I think this is fairly typical. As always it's brush painted in Humbrol enamels (a 50/50 mix of 155 & 030) and weathered in Humbrol 070 with a touch of white for variation and finished with Winsor & Newton Galleria acrylic varnishes. There's a little bit of aftermarket bits and some odds and ends from the spares box. M48 - 34 by phil da greek, on Flickr M48 - 41 by phil da greek, on Flickr M48 - 31 by phil da greek, on Flickr M48 - 36 by phil da greek, on Flickr M48 - 28 by phil da greek, on Flickr M48 - 30 by phil da greek, on Flickr M48 - 39 by phil da greek, on Flickr M48 - 40 by phil da greek, on Flickr M48 - 35 by phil da greek, on Flickr M48 - 38 by phil da greek, on Flickr M48 - 32 by phil da greek, on Flickr M48 - 29 by phil da greek, on Flickr Thanks for looking in.
  9. Hello everybody, Here is another double build I finished recently: the Accurate Miniatures reboxings of the old Monogram F-4D kits. I built both kits largely out of the box, adding only some wiring to the backseater's IPs, gunsights and spare PE mirrors. Construction was pretty straightforward, but filling and sanding is required, especially around the intakes and exhausts where fit is somewht problematic. Open airbrakes and lowered flaps are options in the kit. Despite their age, I really enjoyed building these two classics: the level of molded detail in the cockpit and around the airframe is just great!! For the 23rd TFS / 52nd TFW aircraft, operating from Spangdahlem AB, Germany, I used a (very, very old) Superscale sheet, showing the aircraft during the 1976 Tactical Air Meet at Twente AB, The Netherlands. These Superscale decals worked surprisingly perfect. This particular aircraft was credited with downing a Mig-17 over North-Vietnam in October 1967, hence the killmark on the splitter plates that was maintained. Stencils are taken from various spare decal sheets. Paints are Gunze. The travel pod is modified from a spare napalm cannister, the gun pod is taken from the kit. I also replaced the kit’s LORAN antenna with a spare one from a Hasegawa kit, as this is molded much finer, and finally I used an ECM pod from Revell's F-4F. "Ripley's believe it or not" flew with the 13th TFS / 423nd TFW, being stationed at Udorn AB, Thailand, during 1969 operations over Vietnam. I added a chinpod taken from the Italeri F-4C/D. Bombing load-out consists of Mk.82's from the kit (on Hasegawa TER's) and spare box Mk.83’s on the outboard pylons (found in the Fujimi kit). Sparrow missiles are Hasegawa items and the ALQ-87 is from the kit. Again, Gunze paints were used, followed by Eagle Strike decals. Hope you enjoy seeing my 2 SEA Phantoms, comments/feedback always appreciated! Thanks for looking and regards, Patrick
  10. VPAF MiG-21PFL 'Fishbed-D', '4127', pilot Dong Van Song, 921st FR, Noi Bai, 1966 Dong Van Song flew this plane often on the first part of 1966 - and two kills were confirmed by Noi Bai pilots with this airframe. On july 14th 1966 '4127' was shot down by F-4C (flown by Capt W J Swendner and 1Lt D A Buttell) using an Aim-9B missile. Pilot Ta Van Thanh was killed as the plane disintegrated over Hanoi, while he was chasing F-105s. - - - - - - Kit: Eduard MiG-21PF ProfiPack Edition (#70143) Scale: 1/72 Aftermarket: Master pitot tube, Print Scale decals. Paints: Vallejo acrylics Weathering: Flory Models Wash, Mig weathering products Simply brilliant kit by Eduard. Build thread:
  11. Just finished over this weekend. This Meng kit was a pleasure to build, well engineered, good fitting and lovely surface detail. You can have the internal weapons bay open but I much prefer the clean, sleek lines with it closed. Airbrushed free hand using Tamiya acrylics for the uppers and Vallejo for the really light grey belly. The decals went on perfectly over the gloss coat and everything sealed with Xtracrylics varnish. There is a large black and yellow banded decal for across the upper fuselage but I didn't like the look of it so left it off. A very nice and large model to have in my collection. Cheers all, Phil
  12. Hello! This is my VNAF Spad, a very nice kit from Tamiya. Used some Eduard PE and decals from AOA, since the originals were too old. Cammo was free hand painted (Gunze) and I scratch built a few details, like the wiring to the ejection seat system and those static dischargers. Hope you enjoy! Cheers! ps: by the way, the chart over the panel is a very reduced WAC 1:1000.000 of South Vietnam.
  13. A new project to build an F-4J Phantom of the Vietnam era using the Revell 1/72 kit, which I think is the old Monogram kit, but happy to be corrected. It has raised panel lines so I decided to sand those off and re-scribe (using my go-to UMM SCR-01 SCRIBER) and also add some rivets (using Rosie The Riveter tools). I find the SCR-01 SCRIBER the best I have used. It is easy to use and the results are better than other devices I have used. Thoroughly recommend. My normal approach is to sand and re-scribe & rivet before assembly so it seems to be weeks after opening the box to eventually "sticking" things together. Once together, filled and sanded, the plan is to coat in Mr Finishing Surfacer 1500 Gray (cut 50/50 with Mr Color Levelling Thinner 400) and then sort out the blemishes. Tools used: Before starting: Top half of fuselage "as was" and bottom half with scribing underway. My technique is to sand an area to the point the raised lies are just visible and then scribe and then sand the rest of the raised lines away when I have enough of a scribed line to act as a guide. Another before and after compare - this time around the nose. Taking lots of photos on the iphone also helps to keep track of the lines. I also use "blueprint" images of the aircraft I find on the internet. Such are particularly useful when it comes to rivets. Below is a before shot of the wing. in progress; only partially done. There are some whitish blotches on the leading edge of the outboard wing section. This is Mr Dissolved Putty which is good for fixing areas where I have overrun the end of a panel line. It works very well but is not suitable if I have made a mistake that needs re-scribing. For that I have my own concoction of old sections of sprue dissolved in an old pot of Humbrol glue in a ratio of about 25% glue / 75% sprue. It is essentially liquid plastic that I brush on and when it sets hard, it is just like the original plastic and can be re-scribed once sanded and polished. Warning, it can only be used in small amounts otherwise the model melts! Also it needs to harden for about 24 hours, Once I have done the two fuselage halves, I tape them together to ensure the lines over the spine line up. Once I am happy the scribing looks reasonable, I give each part of the model a primer coat of Mr Finishing Surfacer 1500 Gray mix and start marking out the rivet lines with a soft pencil, using a straight edged strip of thin sheet plastic as a guide, whilst referencing the "blueprints". I then run the riveting tool alone each line. Here is an almost completed wing section. I give each section a rub down with 4000 grit paper. And here is the result with the fuselage.
  14. Hello All, Thought I'd post some pictures of my completed 1/48 Monogram F-4C. This kit dates back I think to 1979, this is the most recent Revell boxing. It looks every bit the Phantom to me. I did not do much to it at all really...but being an older kit that brings it's own challenges. The paint I used is Tamiya acrylic as a primer as it adheres very well to washed plastic and the the colors are Vallejo Vietnam set. I really like this combination of paints. The gloss coat is Pledge (formerly Future) and the Matt is Vallejo. The exhaust area is Vallejo metallic which look really good over a Tamiya gloss black. The decals are Furball Gunfighter Phantoms Part 2. They worked great as did the kit decals. In any case I hope you enjoy the pictures. Any comments or questions are appreciated. All the Best! Don
  15. This old beastie, I think we all know her & she needs little introduction on here, dare I say a Tamiya classic. M48 1 by phil da greek, on Flickr M48 2 by phil da greek, on Flickr This is the beginning of what will almost certainly be my most ambitious modelling project in my 40 odd years of sticking plastic together. Having been in uniform all my life I retired last year at the grand old age of 52 and am now working through the stash and the list of ideas (in between all that other stuff that life throws at us). The build is inspired by Kyoichi Sawada's iconic black and white photograph showing Lt. R. Horner USMC and his platoon sheltering behind a Patton on Tran Cao Van Street in Hue on the 1st February 1968. If I can find a display box the right size then there will be two M48s and a number of figures, probably Bravo 6 as they fit the bill. This won't be a recreation of that photo but something close, as also seen in the movie "Full Metal Jacket". On with it then, being Tamiya it goes together pretty well, there are a few odd gaps that need filling with white plastic card here and there which I believe has to do with the plan for Tamiya to motorize everything. A couple of pics............. M48 3 by phil da greek, on Flickr Straight out of the box, nice and clean with a few seams to clean up and refine. M48 5 by phil da greek, on Flickr Some undercarriage detail and some white card filling in gaps that would allow the daylight to shine through. Once painted and weathered you'll never know. M48 4 by phil da greek, on Flickr Bottom detail is complete, the wheels are being prepared seperately as that's how I like it. She's going to be brush painted, prepped in matt black and then overall is going to be Humbrol 155 with an appropriate dirt on top. It's not going to be fast but you are welcome to jump in with any thoughts........................................
  16. Hi Folk's,built for the Vietnam GB for me it had to be a Huey,the dustoff choppers were stuff of legend saving countless lives during the conflict.HB's kit is a little beauty both option's in the box show some kind of filter on the front but photo's didn't seem to show this so I built it without,If HB got the scheme right I would assume it's an early war machine.
  17. I read an article in last month's Combat Aircraft written by Joe Copalman about the US Marines forming small squadrons of fast forward air controllers in 1966. They were called tactical air co-ordinator (airborne) or TAC(A). The Marines essentially had fast FACs in operation 10 months before the USAF had F-100Fs 'Misty' on the scene. The TF-9J was a tough airframe from the Grumman 'ironworks', these platforms usually carried two 4 shot Zunis had a pair of 20mm cannon with 200 rounds per gun as well. I like FAC aircraft and this one had a shark mouth so it was an easy decision. Kinetic's 1/48 offering even had the decals for one of the A Shau valley aircraft. I'd like to say the kit was like building a limited production kit but because my last build was a Tamiya F-14A I can only say the kit is a pig. Decals out of register or just plain wrong, poor fit, chunky bad plastic, missing obvious details, etc. The front landing gear needs lengthening to give it the right sit in case you are considering one. Otherwise despite a lot of Tamiya induced frustration there are good points to the kit and it sure looks like a Cougar. This was the photo that got my attention. I ended up doing number 3 as it has eyes and a red refueling probe.
  18. Hi all Here is Tamiya’s 1/35 M41 “Walker Bulldog”, which I originally built 8 years ago (and recently made into a diorama) to represent a vehicle operated by the IV Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) Armour School, Thu Duc, South Vietnam 1971. In 1964 the M41 light tank was selected to replace the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) M24 Chaffe light tank, which they had inherited from the French (who originally got them from the U.S.) The first M41A3s arrived in January 1965, equipping five ARVN squadrons by the end of the year. Apparently the M41 was an instant success with South Vietnamese armour crewmen, who found its interior to be just perfect for their stature, which had been a principal criticism by US crewmen who had been assigned to the vehicle. Scratch built items included: - Mantlet cover made from a piece of cloth - soaked in pva glue / water mix. - Ancillary generator exhaust system (brass tubing & card board) - Kit’s plastic grab handles replaced with wire - Tow cable made from string - Aerials made from round styrene rod - Jerry’s, water bottle and Ammo liners were from my spares box. It was painted with Italeri acrylics (O.D & Medium Green II) and weathered with oils and MIG pigment. Vehicle decals were from ‘Decalcomaniacs’ and .30 cal liner markings from ‘Arms Corps Models’ References Dunstan, Simon. Vietnam Tracks-Armor In Battle 1945–75. 1982 edition, Osprey Publications Various info I stumbled across on the net. Thanks for looking Greg
  19. Cessna O-2A Skymaster (48290) 1:48 ICM via Hannants Ltd. The O-2A Skymaster replaced the equally well-loved O-1 Bird-dog in the Observation role, adding Psy-Ops and light attack by the fitting additional equipment. It was developed from Cessna’s Type 337 Super Skymaster, and had additional windows in the pilot's side added to improve vision, the superfluous rear seats were replaced with racks of equipment including military radio gear, and hard-points were added under the wings. The twin props at either end of the stubby airframe gave it an element of redundancy in case of enemy fire, which also necessitated the installation of foam into the fuel tanks to help reduce the likelihood of leaks and subsequent fires bringing down the aircraft. With all the extra weight it was slower than the civilian version, but that was considered acceptable due to the crew and airframe protections it afforded. Like the Bird-dog it replaced, it spent a lot of time in Vietnam where it was used extensively in the role of Forward Air Control (FAC) and designated O-2B (31 converted Type 337 airframes) with the installation of loudspeakers to attempt to psychologically batter the enemy with recorded messages and leaflet drops that clearly didn’t have much effect other than supplying them with toilet paper in hindsight. Less than 200 were made in military form straight from the production line, and they continued service after Vietnam until the 80s, when some were sold on and others used in firefighting duties in the US, while others were flown in the nascent war against drugs in central America. The Kit This is a complete new tool from ICM, and I’m personally very happy to see it, as I have a soft-spot for the Skymaster after building an old Airfix Dogfight Double with a Mig-15 in 1:72 as a kid. There have been kits in 1:48 before, but nothing that could be called truly modern for a long time, so I doubt I’m alone. We’ve had a bigger scale kit within the last year, but this is the one for me and all those 1:48 modellers out there. It arrives in a modest-sized top-opening box with ICM’s usual captive inner flap, with two large sprues that fit snugly within the tray in their foil bag. Within that bag is a set of clear parts, and hidden inside the instruction booklet (which has a new more modern design) is the smallish decal sheet for the four decal options. Construction begins with the equipment racks in the aft fuselage, which are built up onto the bulkhead, then the fuselage halves are prepped with clear windows from the inside, plus an insert at the rear. The top surface of the engine is made up with exhausts and the front fairing that supports the prop axle, which is inserted but not glued. Under this the nose landing-gear bay is fitted with a firewall bulkhead that has the twin rudder pedals inserted before it is mounted into the starboard fuselage half. With those assemblies out of the way, the cockpit fittings are begun. The seats for the pilots have two U-shaped supports and a single piece back each, then the seats and instrument panel (with decals for instruments) with moulded-in centre console and control yokes added are offered up to the spartan cockpit floor, which slides under the already inserted electronics rack. The port fuselage half is decorated with a couple of M16 rifles and an arm-rest, then is joined with the other half taking care to insert at least 10 grams of nose-weight before you do. The aft fuselage has a complex shape that is moulded as a separate insert and is ready for a two-blade prop thanks to its axle and backstop part, and has two moulded-in exhausts under it. The nose gear leg was trapped in the wheel bay during assembly, and the two out-rigger main legs are a single C-shaped part that is trapped in a groove in the fuselage with a set of additional panels over it, making for a strong join, although some enterprising soul will probably make a metal one. Up front the big curved windscreen has a small instrument fitted into a hole in the middle, then is glued in place and the front prop is glued carefully to the axle if you want to leave it spinning. The wings are a single-span part on the top, and has the majority of the roof of the fuselage moulded-in, plus two top windows inserted from inside before fitting. The engine intake is made up from three parts including a separate lip, and fits to the aft of the roof, butting up against the rest of the fairing moulded into the fuselage, with a towel-rail and a small forest of blade antennae attached to the various depressions left for them. The wing undersides are attached after the booms are made up, and you should drill out the flashed-over holes for the pylons if you plan on fitting them. The booms are joined by the wide elevator that is made up of three parts including a poseable flying surface. The two booms are also two parts, and also have separate rudders, which are each single mouldings and can be posed as you see fit. The instructions show the elevator glued to the booms before they are attached to the wings, but this is probably best done at the same time to ensure a good fit and correct alignment, then the lower wing panels mentioned earlier are glued in, trapping the sponson ends between the surfaces. Front gear door, ailerons and wing bracing struts with their fairings are next, then the main wheels, more antennae, and two raised trunks that run along the main fuselage underside are all fitted in place, plus the four identical pylons if you wish, along with their anti-sway braces. You have a choice of using four rocket pods on all pylons, or rocket pods on the outer stations and SUU-11/A Minigun Pods on the inner pylons. The last page of the instructions show the placement of the masks that you are given a printed template for on the page, so you can make masks by placing the tape over the relevant template and either marking the tape and cut it later, or cut it in situ. It’s up to you whether you use the templates, but they’re there if you do. Markings There are four decal options from the box, and three of them are the more usual white/grey scheme that most people know. The last option is an all-black airframe, which gives the aircraft a more sinister look. From the box you can build one of the following: No unit details or timescale is given on the profiles, but you get full four view pictures and can use the tail-codes if you want to find out a little more about your choice of aircraft. The decal printers are anonymous, but they are in good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. The instrument panel decals are also very crisp and clear. Conclusion Finally a modern tooling of this important little aircraft with crisp detail, restrained panel lines, some good decal options and quality clear parts. It should prompt a number of decal options from the aftermarket arena very soon, and I wouldn’t doubt that they’ve started working on that already. Very highly recommended. Available in the UK from importers H G Hannants Ltd. Review sample courtesy of
  20. Cessna O-2A Skymaster Brass Undercarriage (for ICM) 1:48 Aerocraft Models To my immense joy, ICM have recently released their brand new tooling of the quirky Skymaster in 1:48, which we reviewed here recently. Immediately on seeing the main gear leg there were some concerns about strength, as the styrene part is scale-thickness, so necessarily thin. Ali at Aerocraft had the same feeling, and has been busy at work creating this set to replace the kit parts in tough brass to alleviate our concerns. The set arrives in an unassuming ziplok bag, with three parts inside, all made from brass. The main gear “bow” that supports the airframe, running under its width from one wheel to the other, the short nose gear leg, and a length of brass tube that forms the axle between the two sides of the yoke, holding the kit wheel in place. For this review I’m comparing the kit part with the replacement brass part, and as part of this I have nipped the kit part from the sprues, which showed just how flexible it is, and was something of a shock. The brass bow is immensely strong by comparison and of the same dimensions, with the curve captured exactly, as are the two pips on the top surface that locate it under the fuselage. While I was testing the styrene part, a mild flex led to it snapping in half, presumably at a weak-point where two wave fronts of hot styrene had met, the results of which you can see below along with the six sprue gates you'd have to remove and make good without damaging the part. Preparation of the brass part will involve removal of the casting gate with a file or a motor-tool at very low speed. The moulding marks on the top and bottom of the part should be similarly easy to remove using a small file with sanding sticks used to smooth it out once the task is complete. The little nose gear leg has its oleo-scissor moulded in, which is one of the benefits of brass casting. Again there are a few fine lines and a pouring stub to remove, then check the tubular brass axle will fit through the holes, which is 0.8mm across. You may need to gently twist the axles or ream them out slightly to ensure a good smooth insertion, which is best done before any paint is applied. Conclusion This is an absolute must for anyone that intends to rest their finished model on its gear, and even if you’re planning an in-flight pose, you should consider it for its strength during construction alone. It’s not expensive by any stretch of the imagination, and guarantees resilient gear legs for years to come, providing you use either super-glue or epoxy to attach it to the plastic. Extremely highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  21. UH-1D Huey 116th Assault Helicopter Company, Vietnam '71 There is no doubt that the Huey will always be associated with the Vietnam War. No 'Nam collection should be without at least one of these beautiful workhorses. Employed in many roles and many different variants I have built a pretty standard 'Slick' troop transport. I actually have another 2 of these on the go - both different again, doors removed, no seating inside etc. I also have pretty much all variants in the stash to be built at some stage. I am really looking forward to the Dust Off version. Not too much weathering or wear and tear on this bird. One thing I did do was to hollow out the front step on the skid as this is moulded as a solid piece. Very quick and simple mod but looks so much better. I have left the side doors off as this was a common practice to reduce weight. Here is an Academy M35 Truck - looking a little too clean for 'in-country'.....!! Cheers all, Phil
  22. This is my recently completed Phantom F-4C. The model is produced by Italeri and is a reasonable kit given its age. I did not do much to it other than add rivets to almost the whole aircraft. It is my first Vietnam USAF SEA tri-colour camo kit and I will be making more as it was fun to paint.
  23. 1/72 Italeri F-104C Starfighter, 435th TFS, Udorn RTAFB Thailand, 1967. A decent enough kit with some nice detail. Speed brakes and separate tail are areas to keep an eye on. I have done the underwing fuel tanks but I am unsure on the angle that they should be set at - I have seen some pylons at 90 degrees to the underwing and others vertical. Any advice would be well received.
  24. Hi everybody; after a couple of propeller builds, here I am back to a jet, and in 1/72! A few words to introduce this project: almost one year ago, I started the build of a Hasegawa 1/72 F-4 J Phantom II, this one: It was my first serious venture in 1/72 scale, and was a lot of fun. I learnt a lot from all the people who followed that WIP, and one in particular is Gene K; former USAF F4 pilot, he has been very helpful both in terms of technical info on the AC and in terms of modelling tips. Long story short, we became friends an I offered him, as a sort of way to thank him for the great help and as a tribute to his career, to build a model of one of the F4-s he has actually flown. He suggested the subject of this build, and not only that: he has actually donated me the two kits I'll be using for this, plus a lot of extras. Basically, following Gene's guidance, I'm going to modify an F-4 J Hase kit to become an F-4C, with the addition of parts coming from the greatly detailed MONOGRAM kit and a few aftermarkets (and some scratch building, of course ). This thread is going to be co-hosted together with Gene, and we'll go into more details in the next few posts. For now, what I have is: a completely cleared workbench (that is something totally new for me ) the kits Hasegawa parts to be added/modified: Nose sensor Stabs Seamless intakes, Gene's patented method Monogram parts: Tanks, pilons, gunpod etc Speed brakes and arrest hook Cockpit (amazing detail for a 1/72 injected kit!!!) Pilots!! One half fuselage has already been "treated" by Gene prior to sending me the kits, as an example to follow. He has also noted indications on the kit plastic Aftermarkets: Specific decals Stencils; these have been donated by another friend, Silvano (Phantom61 here on BM) AC Profile and most important thing: Now Gene will go into more detail about the project and the aircraft. Enjoy! Ciao
  25. This is my conversion of Academy's 1/72 North American OV-10D to the earlier YOV-10D Night Observation Gunship System (NOGS). 2 OV-10A's, 152660 and 155395 (note there is one of many typos in the Squadron Gunships book with lists 155660 in one place and 152660 in others). These had a lengthened nose with an FLIR turret and the sponsons removed and an M-197 20mm Gatling gun turret added. There is a MPC kit purporting to be of the YOV-10D but it is inaccurate as far as the M-197 and FLIR turrets and is pretty crude so I set it aside and used the Academy kit instead. I did use the M-197 mount from the MPC kit. To start I have to say that the Academy kit was a pleasure to to build with mostly good fit and finish. Removing the sponsons was fairly easy. I fabricated the m-197 turret from some 9mm brass tube and Master Models' brass 3 barrel M-197 set. The Academy FLIR turret is the later Texas Instruments one so I made the earlier one using the tail end of a multiple rocket launcher. Also note that the Academy kit uses the later type engine exhaust but includes the correct early type too. Other then all that it is pretty much OOB 😀 except for some Eduard seatbelts. I was going to use the MPC decals which were for 152660 but the Academy kit came with decals for 155395 which they say was used in Desert Storm. The only issue was that the type decal said OV-1D instead of YOV-10D but, the MPC decals had the same error so I decided to ignore it. The camelflage was roughly the same 3 color gray scheme used on the AP-2H. So here it is: Next up is the Fantastic Plastic (Anigrand) P4M. This will be the start of my blue period since the next 4 kits (P4M, AF-2S, TBM-3S and P2V-5) will all be painted Dark Sea Blue. Enjoy
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