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This model was built around 1994 or 95, if I recall correctly. It was photographed for the very first time in August 2014. It’s the old Monogram kit from 1986 and mine is painted in Israeli livery. It’s pretty much OOB but I did add a bit of screening to the turbine vents and made a couple sets of map that are stowed beside the seats. This kit suffered the only damage in transit to the airport out of five different aircraft traveling that hot day. The rotor is not attached and it fell off and knocked the cable cutter off the top of the cockpit 🤦‍♂️, easily seen in these pics. Oh well, the photo shoot must go on! The locale is the Coffield Regional Airport in Rockdale, Texas. H.H. Coffield was a local millionaire who owned a bunch of vintage WWII-era planes at one time, stored there at the airport in Rockdale. When he passed, the airport was bequeathed to the city of Rockdale, about 20 miles from my hometown of Cameron. The old hangar in these pics dates back to WWII, so I’m told. Thanks for taking a look and thanks for your comments on this old model.

While taking a break from scratching the Hudson Bomb Bay, I started 2 new projects, a Brewster Buffalo in USAAF Markings (Australia 1944) and this one, a Monogram F4B4 as a Boeing 256 of the FAB. Thankfully, no obvious conversion was needed, so I simply assembled the kit and got to painting. I'm looking forward to doing a Thai Air Force F4B next. Hopefully, the finished model will look like this: Currently, it looks like this: I apologize for the poor photo: MM Russian Armor Green is curiously hard to photograph. Tomorrow, I will try to get outdoors to take a better one if the weather holds. The Engine is done and ready to attach, but first I need to finish painting the pilot and then attach the upper fuselage around him. Finally, I will need to source some Brazilian Roundels. I might just buy an FCM P-40 Sheet and a P-40 as well, for a stablemate. Perhaps a P-36 could even appear if I can get the old Monogram or Revell kit for cheap. That's all for now, Tweener

Hello everyone... Im starting this WIP to fill another promise. About 6 weeks ago i received an email from a member. He was curious if I had ever been able to find a Monogram 1/72 F-8F Bearcat? I hadn't so he offered one of his kits. About a week later i received two items in the mail. The first a small package containing a baggie of plastic bits, instructions, and an old decal sheet. The second was an envelope with several photocopied Grumman plans and copies of the line drawings of the bearcat in 1/72. I know the vertical tail is short by a little bit. So this is why the drawings were sent with the kit. Also there were photo copies of the airwaves detail set for the kit. It will allow me to scratch build a better cockpit. You will note that I've already laid the fuselage to the drawing. You can see were i will need to extend the vertical tail/rudder. Copies of the Airwaves set. Emailing back and forth and many internet searches later I've decided my build will be of a F8F-2P in these markings. I know the universal rule never trust a profile without a photo. Well I found a Russian website that actually had a photo of this plane. this aircraft still exists in the U.K. and does fly from what i understand. I also posted a query in the cold war aviation section, asking for any information on the -2P ? https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235053866-f8f-2p-bearcat/ Now due to Life getting in the way and some illness slowing me down for a couple of weeks i was finally able to start on the plastic today. After an hour or so i had a reasonable better cockpit. I forgot to take a photo of the office outside of the fuselage. I will remedy that and post them soon. I also had to drill the skin of the plane in 3 places to simulate the camera doors. I did add the prominent ducting in the wheel bay its not perfect but its enough to simulate them. Here are some photo's of the real camera windows. A close up of the camera window. If you look closely its sunken in. So i will backfill the openings i have with plastic sheet. Once that is done i can do the 3 oil deflectors around the openings. The schematic for the photo. In closing i will say thank you to @72modeler for both the kit, and all the help researching it. Questions, comments, jokes, or stories are always welcome ? Dennis

After getting back into scale model circa 1988 or so, I started buying kits. Remember, this is pre-internet days and I had never even seen a Finescale Modeler magazine at this point. I simply bought model kits that caught my eye (or my budget 😉). A nearby Michael's (think "Hobby Lobby" type store) was closing and all their models were reduced in price. I bought several, including the ancient Lindberg F-100. A few months later, I was introduced to FSM magazine and came across a letter from a gentleman critiquing a recent article on the F-100 Super Sabre. He had flown the type in Vietnam. The letter had his name and city and so I called him up via directory assistance. I had a lot of questions about the Hun and he said he would send me some info! In a couple months, a big box arrived and it contained a very nice note from retired Air Force Major Don Schmenk along with a Monogram 1/48 F-100D. Major Schmenk said in his note that the model was the plane he had flown in Vietnam. Upon closer inspection, it turned out that the kit's decals did replicate the same exact plane he had flown, down to his name of the plane's sill. He included spare parts and instructions needed to convert the kit's drop tanks to the correct size that he had used in service. I had that kit in my model stash for many years, until it finally saw the light of day around 2006 or '07. After finishing the model, I sent pics to Major Schmenk, receiving some very nice, gracious comments in return; a real gentleman he is! This is the venerable Monogram 1/48th North American F-100. The plane has the markings of the Hun that Schmenk flew in Vietnam. The kit is challenging to say the least, and required much fitting and sanding and filling. I added the bombs (found somewhere...) and did a lot of detailing in the main gear bays that is for all purposes unseen now, and also detached and refitted the horizontal stabs. Otherwise, it's mostly OTB. That was good experience but also a lesson learned about spending valuable modeling time on things never seen! The paint used was Model Master and Humbrol enamels, weathered with an over spray of Floquil Dust, all through the Paasche H. The heat-weathering on the engine area is sort of a toss-up. I think the color looks good but the paint seems much too thick and out of scale...oh, well, that's how it goes sometimes! 😊 Thanks for stopping by and taking a look. Comments always welcomed. I hope you enjoy! 😀

This will be my contribution to the Ship Killers section of this GB. I have yet to decide on the colourscheme but it will be carrying two torpedoes.

Both of these aircraft came in the same kit, first issued in the mid-1970s I believe and reissued in 1987. That was the version that I bought, circa 1988-89. It stayed in the stash for several years until the Sabre was built. Then, a few years later, I finished the MiG-15. The kit’s age shows when compared to more “modern” versions of either aircraft but finished, they each are a fair representation of their real-life counterparts. I think I build “four-footers” in that they don’t look too bad when viewed from that distance (1.5 meters? :)). So, ready for your inspection are two more four-footers! As designers will tell you, if it looks right, it is right. Well, the North American F-86 Sabre just really looks right. Really right. With its sleek swept wings, the Sabre was an elegant warplane. North American had started the XP-86 project in 1945 and when German data (and engineers) became available post-war, the design adopted swept wings, settling on 35 degrees. The first production P-86A flew on May 18, 1948, several months after the MiG-15, its classic rival and adversary in countless dogfights in “MiG Alley” during the Korean War. In addition to its pleasing aesthetics, the Sabre is one of the most-produced warplanes, with 9,502 built by North American as well as licensed versions built in Japan, Canada, Italy and Australia. My plane bears the markings of Capt. Charles McSwain. His plane was “Mike’s Bird”, an F-86F-30 of the 39th FIS/ 51st FIW, Korea, summer of 1953. I finished this model in SnJ aluminum with some panels polished with the SnJ aluminum powder to various degrees. The decals are Microscale Decal no. 48-198. Here, she’s seen at the Cameron Airport, “just a’ gleamin’ in the sun” (with apologies to B. Springsteen ;)). The great rival of the Sabre, the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 is finished in Floquil Old Silver, with some panels done in other shades of silver or polishing to various degrees. It carries the markings of Russian Capt. Pavel Milauszkin. Flying for the North Koreans in 1952, Capt. Milauszkin was credited with 10 kills. The decals are the AeroMaster set, Korean War MiG Aces, no. 48-230. It’s pretty much OOB but the cannon barrels are hypodermic tubing from the vet supplies at the farm and ranch store. Of course, you’ll recognize the locale, it’s just so damned convenient at about 4 minutes from our house. ps. Sorry ‘bout the out of focus front shot! I guess it’s conceivable that these two aircraft might’ve encountered one another in the frigid, blue skies high over Korea. It’s intriguing to ponder that at any rate. 😀 They were beautiful but deadly opponents and together they made aviation history. Thank you for your interest, and as always, thanks for having a look. Gary Monogram North American F-86F Monogram Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15

Today is Memorial Day here in the United States and with the advent of the 75th anniversary of the D-Day invasion coming up I felt compelled to post of pictures of my meager tribute to the brave men of the 101st Airborne , The Screaming Eagles built for the 65th anniversary. It has held up rather well after a dusting. Please remember those who did not return from all our wars for when the call was made they went. All the Best! Don

I had not planned on posting this model here due to its age and lack of detail, but with so many other recent Typhoon threads showing just magnificent models, I decided I would show one that isn't that great. I have no idea just how old this kit is; I know it was issued in the early 1970s at least. So, it won't have the features found on today's great models. But, perhaps we can see how much improvement manufacturers have made since then? At any rate, she is what she is and represents both an earlier era in scale model kits, and my earlier attempts at building them too.🙂 Some of these pics were taken at the Cameron airport, but some were also taken at another small-town airport in neighboring Rockdale, Texas. The airport there once belonged to a local millionaire, H. H. Coffield. He had a bunch of WWII planes out there at one time including a couple B-25s and a few C-47s too. Supposedly he had hired an ex-Luftwaffe flyer to run a, ahem, "crop dusting" operation in South America...oookayy. 😉 There are two hangars and a pilot's lounge there. One of the hangars is very old (supposedly of WWII vintage) and makes a neat background. I met a couple really nice local pilots and had an enjoyable afternoon taking photos of several model planes. It was quite windy at the Rockdale airport though, and the Typhoon almost blew away a few times and the canopy did fly off several times. I put the plane away and came back to Cameron where it was a little less windy for more pics. The model is the old Monogram 1/48 scale Typhoon Mk IB. It was built more than twenty years ago now but had never been photographed before its trip to Rockdale a few years back. I did add some radiators underneath from an old '60s model car. The paint was Model Master and Humbrol enamel sprayed with my Paasche H. I used Parafilm for the first and only time for the masking. Other than that, it's just OOB Monogram from "back in the day". I appreciate your interest and thanks for taking a look at the old girl! 😀

I'd like to show the few pics that I do have of this model. The wind was really gusting the day I took her to the local airport for some pics, and I had to curtail the session early. So, I only have a handful of decent shots. I was glad that I didn’t knock-off either drop tank. I have disengaged them a couple times just moving the model around the display cabinet! 😉 In the very first issue of FineScaleModeller magazine that I ever bought (Jan. ’89), there was an article by the great Bob Steinbrun on converting this old kit into one of the P-80s that were sent to Europe in the waning days of World War Two. Bob did an incredible job on his YP-80 and it sort of inspired me several years later when I built this Korean War-era bird. His bird was finished in grey auto lacquer and really was breathtaking to see. This kit went together well as I recall. Pretty typical of the "good" Monogram models, lot's of detail, very accurate shape and the need for a bit of old-fashioned modeling skill to wrestle it into shape. I recall that the joint between fore and aft fuselage sections needed some work. The model was painted with SnJ aluminum. It came with aluminum polishing powder and the shiniest sections were polished with that powder. I masked some areas to be left unpolished, and some with another shade ( polished without the powder) of the SnJ and some might’ve even been painted with another variety of metal paint. It has been a long time since I built (20 years?) her so some details have probably been forgotten by now. But the now long-gone SnJ was the primary paint used. It was my favorite for NMF by far! I tried to replicate what Mr. Steinbrun did around the gun bay and added a few flourishes, ie. replaced the kit exhaust pipe with a section of ballpoint pen and a few added bits and pieces. Thanks for your interest, and for stopping in to have a look! 😀 So, here’s the “Salty Dog” at the Cameron Airport.

Hi Comrades! Here is my recently finished Heinkel-111. It's old but good Monogram kit (Revell boxing) with Eduard brass, mix of Kagero and Peddinghaus decals, national insignia painted with Montex masks. The main issue of the Monogram kit is inappropriate gondola configuration with blind forward end. I ignored it, sorry. After completing the model, I ordered ICM kit of H-20 and found a great additional clear part for the gondola - so sad for me... Unneeded Lofte gunsight window was faired over, some other modifications made to the undercarriage. I was unable to find the photo of the prototype, but always wanted this one - now I have it! Here are some pictures of interior (brass+scratch) And the complete model Hope You like it and thanks for looking!

Hi, here's the most recent completion. ProModeller boxing of the Monogram kit, finished with Hataka orange line for the metal/silver and Tamiya for the OD, red and yellow areas. Hi-Decal decals for a Greek Air Force aeroplane. Thanks 20190303_105027 by bryn robinson, on Flickr 20190303_104957 by bryn robinson, on Flickr 20190303_104854 by bryn robinson, on Flickr 20190303_104817 by bryn robinson, on Flickr 20190303_104757 by bryn robinson, on Flickr

Just one photo for now, will get more up tomorrow night of the sprues etc Will be done as per kit, but with AM decals as the kit ones are bust.. I have a good feeling about finishing this one Huey Hog by Rainbow 1984, on Flickr

This is the old Monogram 1/48 MiG 15 from the 70's. Dad had this kit kicking around the house for at least 30 years and he finally gave it to me so I thought I'd build it. It's not too bad, but scales out to around 1/44, so any aftermarket bits you have in 1/48 will be way too small. The fit is decent but the canopy is fairly poor. I added some instrument decals to the cockpit to add a little detail. Markings are those of Maj I. P. Golshevskij who apparently flight night time interception missions over Korea. Decals from the spares box and I made the front FOD cover.

Hello Everybody ... This will be my entry for this build. The classic but very good Monogram Republic F-84F Thunderstreak. I will choose which markings i will do this in as i approach the painting stage. My two - three options are 390th T.F.S out of Chambley-Bussieres France. This one has Yellow/Black striping. The other is the 77th T.F.S. These are the markings of the CO of the 77th. Lt.Col.Bob Ackerly. The 20th were at RAF Wethersfield. From the NMUSAF records. ”Nov 1951–22 May 1952; Wethersfield RAF Station, England, 1 Jun 1952; Shepherds Grove RAF Station (later, RAF Shepherds Grove), England, 9 Aug 1955; RAF Wethersfield, England, 27 Apr 1956.” See everyone when this starts next week, @Col. Thanks for setting this build up im looking forward to it. Dennis

This project has been a light hearted in-fill model to relax with whilst building other models and it’s finally finished, but I wasn’t sure if to post it in this section or not, especially as it’s not a true scale model. Anyway, here it is and what I’ve try to do is create a vehicle that’s been in a hell-like dusty desert with plenty of battle scars from multiple engagements with the enemy. I’ve used this model to try a coulple of new finishing techniques and also add a few bits and bobs from the spares box to complement the kit. The main mods I’ve done are as follows: The addition of pioneer tools, a couple of towing shackles, extended tapered radio aerial, scratch built some radio headphones, added a rear light, jack, two interior storage bins, a battery and cooling fan for the engine, a side window for the driver, fire extinguisher, reposing of both skeletons (breaking of many bones was necessary 😈), adding a strap to oberleutnant ‘Scally’s’ binoculars, giving the vehicle some battle damage including bullet holes, making the bonnet removable, adding metal footplates, making new flags, and adding a few extra decals. I do intend to make a base for it in between other builds, but for now I’m calling it finished. Bitte, haf a looksee, aber, critics vill be shot!

My first “big” build after i started making model planes about a year ago... Thinks this is the sixth model i have made so far... The 1/48 C-47 “Honey bun III”, Italian, Normandy, Holland and Bastogne veteran! Hope to improve my weathering techniques in the future... Please let me know what you think, i can only learn and hope my next plane will be better 👌🏻

Hello again, Here's one I finished last year, Monograms 1/48 P-38 Lightning from the 1960's - updated and marked in my favourite scheme for the type, the flying Dragon! The kit was rescribed, worn area of wing riveted, all flight controls and flaps had to be defined/rescribed in order to stand out, all engine scoops on the engine nacelles and the supercharger were opened up, and a scratch built gunsight, instrument panel, engine controls and wiring were added to the cockpit. A modified Ultracast seat was used. - Bazooka's and wheels are spare from and Academy kit - Landing gear detailed, oil coolers in nacelle, and radiators /interior structure added to radiators on tailbooms, brass tubing for guns. - Dragon faces and mouths were masked and painted, green color custom mixed to match decals, Aeromaster decals for the rest of markings, - Painted with Tamiya acrylics using "hairspray" technique for worn/chipped paint area's, weathered with oils and acrylics. Lots of work, but I enjoyed it and the model won Gold at our local Winnipeg IPMS contest, and "Model of the Year". I'm quite proud of it, hope you like. Again, hope you like Colin

Time to put the GR5 up on RFI. It’s a kit bash of a Monogram AV-8B with new Sky Models decals and a Pavla resin Martin Baker seat. Nice kit to build in the basic form thanks for looking

this time with an early Harrier of the 8th Squadrille, Spanish Navy, or Armada Española, Octava Esquadrilla hard to come by Monogram kit, as Kinetic did not manage yet to release a very early Harrier single seater... fingers crossed they will soon! (GR.1, Gr.3 and AV-8A and AV-8S) Decals by Series Españolas, looking great, as usual! Quickboost Stencel seat here we go! ingredients and WIP and output: no long time retired after having been sold to Thailand were they had a second spring!

This was one of my final models before graduating to an air brush. A P-39Q Zebra Training aircraft, used to train air-gunners. This was the forerunner to the P-63 Pinball aircraft.

Hi everybody y bien venidos! I will move on here with my Spanish series.... this time with an early Harrier of the 8th Squadrille, Spanish Navy, or Armada Española, Octava Esquadrilla Monogram molds, as Kinetic did not manage yet to release a very early Harrier single seater... fingers crossed they will soon! (GR.1, Gr.3 and AV-8A and AV-8S) Decals by Series Españolas, looking great, as usual! I will add a Quickboost Stencel seat I guess... that is what I have for now, fit looks good! Weapons? gun pods I assume, as well as N/ P Sidewinders, or alternatively Lau -10 Zunis.... external tanks? which size and where to take from? are the 100 Gallon tanks from Hunters the same one? looking forward top your comments! Thanks, Werner

I'm going to join the party with Monogram's classic 1/48th B-17G: DSC_0002 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr I've built many of these over the years, and despite it's age it builds into a lovely rendition of the Fortress. In fact, when you look at a real B-17, the raised detail is more accurate than modern recessed toolings so I'm going to do my best to preserve all of the raised panel lines, etc. I also think that the new Airfix 1/72nd scale kit aside, this is the most accurate of the available B-17 models. This will be built more or less out of the box, with the exception of some aftermarket wheels and decals. I have a sheet for 'Swamp Fire' - a veteran of well over 100 missions with the 397th BG out of Kimbolton, or alternatively I have an old MicroScale sheet covering the Bassingborne-based 91st BG's aircraft 'Out House Mouse', 'Little Miss Mischief', and 'Nine-O-Nine', as well as 'Joker' from the 463rd BG, 15th Air Force. I'm undecided as to which aircraft to go for yet, but I'll make my mind up as I progress. DSC_0004 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr So, it's time to dive in and get cracking! Tom

After a 20+ year break, BM inspired me to start building the Monogram OA-4M that I'd carried around with me since the 90s. The idea was to blow the dust off some modelling skills and practice some of the new techniques that I've read about on here. There wasn't much after-market available, but I did get some Eduard PE for the Hasegawa kit, canopy mask that didn't really fit, and some left over hase parts kindly donated by BMers (stand up @John B). I scratch built the intake and primary fan, which you can't really see, but I promise is there, and I used some weird clay stuff to make insulation for the cockpit. I chose the airframe - 4638 because there are lots of reference pictures online. Decals are by Furball. Thanks for looking

Hello, Haven't had a lot of time lately, but just added one more to the collection, a 1/72 Monogram F-105F Wild Weasel, done up in Leo Thorsness's Medal Of Honor mission markings, courtesy of Wolfpak decals "Sambuster & Tyke" decal sheet. This kit is bone stock OOB except for the removal of wingtip antenna, wing re-enforcement panels, and the addition of Hasegawa weapons, plus a very slight amount of filling here and there. These are described over on the build thread on ARC: F-105FWW For the first time, I did not rescribe the raised panel lines, but it looks about as good as those to which I did. Without further ado, here are the pics: It was great fun to build a great kit with No fit problems, and no issues (except self-inflicted!) at all. Hope you enjoy the pictures. 'Til next we meet, Ed

Despite being best known for it's part in the air war over Vietnam republic's big fighter did see active service in Europe, that is until losses over South East Asia forced them to re-equip with other aircraft (mostly F-4's) and send their aircraft to units involved in combat. The F-105's were split between two units, the 36th TFW at Bitburg and the 49th TFW at Spangdahlem in Germany and were based there long enough that aircraft could be seen in either the earlier silver lacquer scheme or in the South East Asian scheme but I much prefer the silver scheme (not natural metal but painted, yes!) as it will make a change from seeing a Thud without any camo on it. I don't currently have any markings for either unit but think I can paint the ones for the 36th TFW as it seems to be just coloured bands on the vertical tail, in fact it will look a lot like this F-105D of the same unit, note the "F" sitting behind it; The Thud lovers amongst you will notice that this aircraft does not have the modified engine cooling inlet which is moulded onto the kit's fuselage halves but I think I can remove it without destroying the kit, I will have to remove the wing strengthening panels from the kit whichever scheme I go with as these are only relevant to the "G" model which was the first of the family to be kitted and so these are incorrectly carried over to both the "D" and "F" kits. Below is a picture of an "F" from the 49th TFW; She is in the same basic scheme but I don't think I can replicate the unit badge on the tail, she does however have the modified cooling inlets which would save a job, but would also mean that I need to find some decals from somewhere. Now onto the actual kit itself. For my build I will be using the old but extremely accurate Monogram kit, now I know it's not state of the art and I know it has raised panel lines but it is from Monogram's best period and is extremely accurate shape wise (apart from the aforementioned wing strengthening plates for a "D" or "F") and has a decent cockpit and landing gear wells, and to be honest the panel lines don't bother me as they are very restrained and don't leap out at you. Here are the obligatory shots of the box and it's contents, starting with the box art; Good isn't it, now that is what box art should look like! And now the contents; Republic are quite well represented in this GB already with an F-84F, an RF-84 and now my F-105, can't be a bad thing. Just have to wait for the weekend before I can get started, oh and finish my Wildcat build. Thanks for looking in and any thoughts or help are gratefully received. Craig.