Mario Posted April 27, 2018 Share Posted April 27, 2018 (edited) Hello modellers, today I would like you my builds of all three fixed wing gunships used during the Vietnam war. All three models were originally built in the late eighties and early nineties und underwent a different amount of refurbishment recently. The 1/72 Italeri AC-130A restauration took the greatest amount of time as it had to be completely disassembled as most of the guns were pushed to the inside during handling. I took the opportunety to strenghten the wings, sand down the old brush-applied paint and completely rescribe the panellines and repaint it. The flight deck was completely reworked, pilots were added and the clear parts polished. The props were made movable and some of the small parts that had disappeared over the years needed to be scratchbuilt. The original kit comes with large auxilary fuel tanks on the inner pylons which I cut off and moved the rack with the ECM pods to that place. For the outer pylons I crafted some SUU-42 chaff/flares dispensers made from leftover ordnance coming with the 1/72 Italeri B-58 Hustler kit. Biggest problem were the new decals which all needed to be self-printed except for the national insignia which came from an aftermarket sheet. The Italeri 1/72 AC-119 K Stinger gunship had already been part of my “Secret War in Laos” topic which appeared on BM several years ago. Since then, the model was cleaned, got a nose re-shaping and after some paint touch-ups and some additional decals got a new clear coating. The decals had a strong silvering despite a brush painted clearcoat which I sorted out by making small cuts with a razorblade and carefully applying Tamiya´s extra thin plastic cement. The windshield was polished and details were added to the flight deck as well as new and more stable aerials added. The props were already repaired with nails in the past which turned out to be a bad idea because of corrosion which prevented the props from spinning freely again. To remove the props, the whole cowlings had to be removed. My new technique for spinning props using brass tubing and needles is much better and allows easy repairs. The AC-47 gunships is the oldest model and without doubt the oldest kit, dating back to 1966. I bought it in 1988 when the kit was re-released in Monogram´s “Heritage Series”. There is no scale on the box and the model appears somewhat smaller than 1/72. My first intention was only to clean it a little and add some minor details to have the gunship trio complete for the post here in the forum. But then I tried to overpaint the brown areas with a lighter color and wipe off the fresh paint on the decals with a brush and some turpentine. As this worked out so well, the other colors were oversprayed in the same way. For masking I tried a new technique using flexible masking tape from the local hardware store and cut it in narrow stripes of about 3mm. This allowed very narrow curves and the bond on the model surface was better as with Blu-Tack saussages. To give a little fading between the different colors, I oversprayed the borders with heavily diluted paint. As the kit has recessed and raised lines, I used different weathering techniques, using a wash for the recessed areas and some pencil and pastel chalk shading for the raised areas. For the paint chipping, I used a silver pencil and some drybrushing with aluminium paint. The original glass cupola on the roof was lost or never attached, so I had to be scratch-built it as well as all the aerials. Hope you like the trio Mario Edited April 27, 2018 by Mario 59 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polo1112 Posted April 27, 2018 Share Posted April 27, 2018 What an awesome trio ! Great work. I love them. Bravo! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russ c Posted April 27, 2018 Share Posted April 27, 2018 Very nice trio there Mario, great job(s). Wish I had the room to do them in 48th ( though I might attempt a Spooky one day, for my too big to go anywhere collection ) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Convair Posted April 27, 2018 Share Posted April 27, 2018 (edited) Each with its individual characteristics, but all three models are impressive. One more case where I can not decide which one I like best. What about a photo with the runway ligths on? Edited April 27, 2018 by Convair 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learstang Posted April 27, 2018 Share Posted April 27, 2018 Very nice - I've always had a soft spot for the Vietnam War gunships and Special Ops aircraft. I used to have that AC-130A kit, but lost it and need another to go along with my Italeri AC-47 and AC-119K Stinger kits (mine aren't built yet, unlike your excellent examples). Regards, Jason 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mario Posted April 27, 2018 Author Share Posted April 27, 2018 Thank you Polo, Russ, Convair and Jason for the comments! 1 hour ago, russ c said: Very nice trio there Mario, great job(s). Wish I had the room to do them in 48th ( though I might attempt a Spooky one day, for my too big to go anywhere collection ) Hello Russ! These models cause storage problems even in 1/72. I´m really glad that they are off the bench and back on the shelf. Next projects will be smaller again! 1 hour ago, Learstang said: Very nice - I've always had a soft spot for the Vietnam War gunships and Special Ops aircraft. I used to have that AC-130A kit, but lost it and need another to go along with my Italeri AC-47 and AC-119K Stinger kits (mine aren't built yet, unlike your excellent examples). Regards, Jason Hi Jason! Nice to hear from you since a long time! I remember our conversation after I posted the AC-119 here for the first time. Cheers, Mario 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Val_Ukraine Posted April 27, 2018 Share Posted April 27, 2018 Very nice birdies here, Mario! I love them all! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unfinished project Posted April 27, 2018 Share Posted April 27, 2018 That is a fantastic trio of gunships thank you for sharing 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted April 27, 2018 Share Posted April 27, 2018 Beautiful Trio of Gunships 👍 ... Ive seen the AC-47 & 130 built up before. This is the first 119 ive seen built up though good work. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovely Pig Posted April 28, 2018 Share Posted April 28, 2018 Very nice indeed 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMCS Posted April 28, 2018 Share Posted April 28, 2018 Brilliant modelling 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goggsy Posted April 28, 2018 Share Posted April 28, 2018 Great job on those challenging kits. You’ve done good work there. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivan-o Posted April 29, 2018 Share Posted April 29, 2018 Superb trio of gunships!👌 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mario Posted April 29, 2018 Author Share Posted April 29, 2018 Thank you Valery, Unfinished Project, Corsairfoxfouruncle, Lovely Pig, RMCS, goggsy and Ivan-o for the compliments. Very much appreciated. BTW: Have recently added the Roden AC-123 K "Black Spot" to the stash. I would be very thankful if anyone knew about good references regarding this bird. Cheers, Mario Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kapam Posted April 30, 2018 Share Posted April 30, 2018 Excellent! I particularly like the AC-119 K Stinger gunship, on account of not seeing too many of those around. Brilliant work on the display base too! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luis Alfonso Posted June 10, 2018 Share Posted June 10, 2018 On 4/29/2018 at 1:36 PM, Mario said: Thank you Valery, Unfinished Project, Corsairfoxfouruncle, Lovely Pig, RMCS, goggsy and Ivan-o for the compliments. Very much appreciated. BTW: Have recently added the Roden AC-123 K "Black Spot" to the stash. I would be very thankful if anyone knew about good references regarding this bird. Cheers, Mario Hi Uncle Mario!!! Just look for this ones in the Squadron Book Gunships, and think the In Action title has something about this ones. Also, you can try here: http://www.theaviationzone.com/factsheets/ac123.asp https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/aircraft/ac-123.ht Cheers!!! Luis Alfonso 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mario Posted June 12, 2018 Author Share Posted June 12, 2018 On 6/10/2018 at 11:02 PM, Luis Alfonso said: Hi Uncle Mario!!! Just look for this ones in the Squadron Book Gunships, and think the In Action title has something about this ones. Also, you can try here: http://www.theaviationzone.com/factsheets/ac123.asp https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/aircraft/ac-123.ht Cheers!!! Luis Alfonso Hi Nephew Luis Alfonso! Thank you very much for the helpful links. This bird has a highly complicated and unique camo scheme and the Roden instructions only refer to the Vallejo paints range. Think I will have to buy these paints for the build. Unfortunately I don´t have the "Provider in Action" book by Squadron Signal wich obviously contains some references, too. Cheers, Uncle Mario 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luis Alfonso Posted July 6, 2018 Share Posted July 6, 2018 On 6/12/2018 at 11:39 AM, Mario said: Hi Nephew Luis Alfonso! Thank you very much for the helpful links. This bird has a highly complicated and unique camo scheme and the Roden instructions only refer to the Vallejo paints range. Think I will have to buy these paints for the build. Unfortunately I don´t have the "Provider in Action" book by Squadron Signal wich obviously contains some references, too. Cheers, Uncle Mario Hi Uncle Mario!!! Check your messenger ASAP.... seem have something for you to help. I know someone here to sell Vallejo Paints, and as is Closer Friend with Karina (She has learned how to paint Miniatures with him in THREE HOURS.... ) ask her if she can ask her friend about color equivalents in FS numbers, then can go for other brands looking this system numeration.- Cheers, Luis Alfonso Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcdonnell Posted July 9, 2018 Share Posted July 9, 2018 Hello,Mario - These are two magnificent examples of your skills and expertise.Imaginatively displayed as always at Kempen Air Base. How I love visiting there! All The Best,Paul.👏😉👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mario Posted July 13, 2018 Author Share Posted July 13, 2018 (edited) On 7/10/2018 at 12:52 AM, mcdonnell said: Hello,Mario - These are two magnificent examples of your skills and expertise.Imaginatively displayed as always at Kempen Air Base. How I love visiting there! All The Best,Paul.👏😉👍 Hi Paul! Thank you very much for your kind words. Usually Yeadon Air Base is also a nice place for a visit ✈️. Cheers, Mario Edited July 13, 2018 by Mario 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BerndM Posted April 9, 2019 Share Posted April 9, 2019 A very nice flight of gunships you have. Guess your flight line display is pretty crowded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWM Posted April 11, 2019 Share Posted April 11, 2019 Mario, great restoration work! I am less familiar with AC 119, so it is the most impressive to me, especially the photo with props turning! Regards J-W Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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