Search the Community

Kit - Italeri (Esci) 1:48 Paint - All enamels over acrylic base-coats Decals - CAM 48-042 Extras - AGM-45's from Hasegawa weapons set, Mk82SE's from spares box. Douglas A-4F Skyhawk VA-152 'Mavericks' Assigned to the Air Group Commander CVW-8 USS Shangri-La Tonkin Gulf, Mid 1970 Built for the Skyhawk GB over at www.kiwimodellers.com, Not one of my best builds but alongside my Hasegawa A-4C from quite a few years back, it looks fine. Surprisingly for a kit that traces back to the very early 1980's this went together with little fuss, any problems were entirely down to my own deficiencies and impatience, and little to do with the 'plastic'. Thanks for taking the time to look and/or comment. As ever all comments, questions and criticism are welcome. Next, a trip in to the unknown for me, a sci-fi kit with my No1 son... AFN Ian.

Hi, all This is my last completion for 2014 - a "Scooter" from Airfix in Vietnam war markings. I liked the construction process a lot - Airfix offering is really well engineered and requires minimum dry fitting and putty. Major modifications made to the kit: - Eduard PE set used wherever appropriate - cockpit, wheel bays, interior surfaces of dropped slats, released flaps, etc. - I armed Scooter with LAU-10 launchers from Hasegawa weapons set. I went for this option as I came across a photo of the prototype with LAU-10 being recharged on board of Intrepid - Bobtail fuel tank supplied by Airfix has a very slim rear part. Kit's standard fuel tanks with stabilisers have better shape. So I did some surgery by cutting standard tank and reshaping its fin to resemble what's seen on photos and drawings. - I added some extra panel lines on underside as Airfix omitted many of them. Not bad actually if you don't like Airfix's engravings.. Markings are for VA-15 'Valions' on board of USS Intrepid in 1966 from Xtradecal set for A-4B. Actually that is the only alternative if you do not like kit's 'Green Lizards' but want a Vietnam A-4B. From what I was able to find on the Web, no other squadrons were equipped with A-4B's in Vietnam. Should I wait for another couple of months - I would definitely buy a resin mod to get an A-4C which allows much wider choice of Vietnam war options. A warning note! Please do not even attempt to apply Airfix red stripes for intake! These decals should be longer and have curved shape to get into place smoothly. I failed to read about this issue in other posts of completed Scooters... So I ended up brush-painting red edges on my intakes trying to match with "danger" arrow color... Stupid oversight from myself and ridiculous error from Airfix The only suspicious thing about kit parts fit was attachment of speed brakes in extended position. Initially I wanted to make them fully extended. But if attached as is, they are visibly sloped down. I decided to avoid surgery and attach them in just slightly opened position as can be seen on many photos of Skyhawk standing still on the deck or airfield. Finally here are the photos: Happy New Year to everyone! Dennis

Ok this and my Uboat are the final builds of 2014 - a good year for my modelling I am pleased to say! I have had this kit for ages and was put off doing it as I haven't as yet mastered NMF! I then came across some decals for Vietnam era Starfighters and bolstered by the success of my SEA camo Super Sabre I decided to go for it. I then decided I would try doing the camo 'free hand'. This actually went well and I now feel confident doing more this way - which of course is quicker and doesn't involve reams of Tamiya tape! I used Mr Color paints, Eduard paint mask etc Anyway let me have your comments etc Chris

Does anybody have a good reference or indeed references for the vehicles used by the USAF for airfield defence in Vietnam? I think I've read that they were mainly scrounged and improvised from what could be found & bartered for from local army units. Thanks very much. I know the title is spelt wrong, but I can't figure out how to change it. Ah well.

Hi Guys 2015 is a long way off but it will also be forty years since the end of hostilities for the Vietnam War. Also known as the American War to the Vietnamese and sometimes referred as the second Indochina war. This conflict was a flashpoint of the cold war that affected most country's in South East Asia at some point from the end of World War Two until the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. With nearly thirty years of conflict involving many nations air, land and sea concluding with over ten years of US involvement I feel this is a good idea for a GB next year. Would anyone be interested??? snapper_city (Host) hgbn Shar2 Antoine Enzo Matrix SaintsPhil Tomjw Mozzy19 Radleigh (Co-Host) Mr Grumpylee georgeusa Mish mungo1974 chockhead fallmonk The dragonborn trickyrich Mr B smuts Atom.uk AndrewE wellzy Crossy Giorgio N LDSmodeller DaveJL plasmahal chaddy Lex77 swat11 badger Shermaniac AndyC thepureness S48 PlaStix Caerbannog

Afternoon folks - this is the Trumpeter 1:48 F100F Super Sabre and was a very enjoyable kit to build. I chose the SEA scheme of 614th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 35th Tactical Fighter Wing, Phan Rang, Vietnam 1968. This is largely OOB with Eduard interior detail. I used Mr Color paints and Alcald shades on the rear end and had some debate with myself as to whether I should have done it all the around. In the end I liked it as it was and decided not to tinker with it for fear of making a hash of it! A big thank you to Spooky56 who kindly sent me some replacement decals following a slight cock up - much appreciated! I enjoyed doing this one so much I have bought two other Trumpeter F100's! Hope you like it and comments welcome! Chris

Ok so I am building the Trumpeter 1:48 F100F Super Sabre and am getting confused with the weapons! I am doing the SEA camo version and apart from the drop tanks I am not sure what the normal weapons would have been? There is a limited choice with the kit - Aim 9b, ALQ31 and practice bombs. Any advice would be appreciated Thanks Chris

Second attempt at owning a 1/32 Tamiya F-4C Phantom. The first met an untimely demise…. This one I managed to dislodge the open canopies whilst taking these shots. A bit of a dusty layer on the Rhino…can’t imagine why as I’ve always got fluffy dusters handy….OOB, gunze paints, mig pigments, pastels. Next one will be the 1/32 F-4E Early Version…..maybe as Arkansas Traveller or Steve Ritchie version...

This is the old kit from Revell. I think all they did was put some new pieces in their PFM kit to make an MF. Detail is lacking, the cockpit is a mess and inaccurate with the molds and fit are not up to what you'd expect today. Rather than chuck it out I thought I'd just build it as is, for the detail sets would cost more than simply buying the rather nice Trumpeter kit. Mark was nice enough to send me a pilot from the Trumpeter kit and Tony some VPAF markings (thanks guys) and I scrounged some sidewinders from an old Revell F-4E kit to stand in for R3-S missiles as they were pretty much Russian made sidewinder copies anyway. I was meaning to represent red 5040, the MiG 21 nightfighter that allegedly shot down a B-52 during the 1972 Christmas bombings, but I mucked up the masks for the numbers several times and rage quit them, so I'm calling it done. Unfortunantly its a grey old day in Melbourne for taking pictures, as you can see.

Built for the "Less than a tenner" group build. Build thread.

Build 13 A bit of an unusual subject for me as a model. I've got a ridiculously large collection (98) of Airsoft rifles, sub-machine guns and pistols (even a LAW rocket launcher) but I've never owned an M-14 as it's not suitable for my style of play. So when I found this & a double pack of Glock 17s on eBay I couldn't resist and I ended up only paying £3.97 for the lot! The stock is smooth-sided so I'm doing it as one of the early fiberglass versions that were used in Vietnam, the stock is pre-painted but the colour is too light and not glossy enough so it'll be getting a repaint. Price: £1.99 from eBay.

I've just seen this image of a US aircraft in a revetment in Vietnam and it looks as if it could be simple to scratchbuild a diorama in 1:144 - if I had the dimensions! Can anyone here please help with sizes or better still plans of these types of revetments? I'm looking for details of the ones for fighters (Phantom etc.); transports (C-130 Hercules etc.) and helicopters (Huey's and Cayuse etc.) during the Vietnam war. Thanks in advance Mike

Hi, I'm building a UH-34D Choctaw from Hobbyboss, but it's been hard to find references, specially about the cockpit. I tried at Prime Portal, the BM search, but there are not many pictures. can someone help me ? Thanks,

Aeroscouts in Vietnam – Combat Chronicles Series Squadron Signal Publishing (ISBN 978-0-89747-674-4) Another of the new Combat Chronicles books, this edition details the experiences of the pilots of the Loach, or Light Observation Helicopter, the Hughes OH-6A Cayuse, during the Vietnam war. It is a mixture of text and contemporary photos, plus a few current photos of the aviators and their mounts. The first pages are taken up by the forward and introduction, with details about the aircraft and the situation and political circumstances that led to the conflict in Vietnam in the 60s and 70s. It lays the groundwork for the stories to come, putting them into context with the overall story. The stories then begin, and there are 31 of them in total, spanning 2 to 6 pages each, and incorporating appropriate pictures when they are available. There are a number of then-and-now shots of the pilots themselves, as well as quite a few beaten up Loaches that have strayed too close to the enemy for comfort. The Loach was quite well equipped for crew survivability in the event of a crash, but it still managed the unenviable achievement of having the highest crew and equipment losses of the war. Some of the stories beggar belief with lucky escapes and close calls, that should keep the reader amused for hours. Page count is 136, and with over half of the pages used in the story-telling, it's not just a quick read, however because of the way the stories are laid out on a few pages, it should be easy to pick up and read for short periods whilst admiring some of the excellent pictures that cry out to be recreated with dioramas. From the 1:48 modeller's point of view (a.k.a. me) there are the Academy and Hasegawa kits of this pugnacious little chopper, and in 1:35 there is the rare Dragon kit, the old Revell/Hobby Craft kits in 1:32, while in 1:72, modellers have the Italeri kit to play with. There were lots of variations on the armament and equipment fits, so be careful to check your references if reading this book inspires you to build. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of Available in the UK from Hannants