Popular Post fox1_BE Posted February 22 Popular Post Share Posted February 22 (edited) Hello all, This is my DHC-2 Beaver, as operated by the Royal Lao Air Force, in the '60s. I came across pictures of this aircraft, in its gunship configuration, on these 2 sites: https://aviadejavu.ru/Site/Arts/Art9878.htm https://dhc-2.com/id855.htm Thakhek West was also used by Air America, being designated "Lima Site 40". The armament of this aircraft, described as 4 small underwing bomb racks and a .50cal machine gun in the port cabin door, is also mentioned in the recent Warpaint Series publication on the Beaver. Here is another photo of a different RLAF Beaver, better showing the bomb racks: http://www.wings-aviation.ch/73-Laos/2-Aircraft/DHC-Beaver/Support.htm This Airfic classic has a pretty good fit, considering its age, but I did rework a few items: Removed most of the raised rivets and panel lines and rescribed the model; Added a few simple details in the cabin: a bit of floor structure and seat belts mainly; Replaced the entry steps on the landing gear struts and those below the main cabin doors; Sanded down the clear parts (except windscreen) as these were very badly molded, then polished them to get the clarity back - not perfect, but better than it was; Thinned the engine cowling; Scratchbuilt the pitot tube, a few small fuselage details and various antennae on the roof/bottom; Added a machine gun from a spare Hobbyboss H-34 kit. Paints were Tamiya/Gunze acrylics mostly, with a bit of Alclad on the engine parts. Markings were put together using bits and pieces from several decal sheets as well as a few stencils from the kit. Weathering with oil paints and pigments. Hope you enjoy the pictures: Credits background picture: freepik, photo by Kireyonok_Yuliya, https://www.freepik.com/free-photo/nature-background-dense-tropical-vegetation-palms_24172944.htm Thanks for looking and comments always welcome! Cheers, Patrick Edited February 22 by fox1_BE 78 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vultures1 Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 Well that's certainly something special! I'd never heard of a gunship DHC Beaver and yours looks great - well done. I like the reddish dust sprayed up under the fuselage too; very effective 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew1974 Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 That is really cool. Nice work! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noelh Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 Really well done. I also never heard of gunship/ bomber Beaver. I wouldn't want to fly it either. I imagine it was highly vulnerable to ground fire. Although I'd love to add some DHc2 time in my logbook. The Airfix kit is still nice and the work you put into it really brings it up to date. It really looks like the photo. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbadge Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 Looks absolutely superb, what a cracking job on this old kit. Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pauly Boy Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 Love it! I'm a big fan of the "Shadow War" in Laos & Air America. I've never seen or heard of an "attack Beaver". Very cool. Again, beautiful build. Love to see more on this subject. Paul 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russ c Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 Brilliant Patrick! a subject I heard about but never found any pic`s of. You`ve done a stunning job on it too 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zigster Posted February 23 Share Posted February 23 Beaver can do anything! Great find (of original) and presentation, highly unusual. Superb job on that old kit! zigster 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roman Schilhart Posted February 23 Share Posted February 23 What an interesting subject, great conversion from the original kit, and unique choice of markings! I have only one objection: the area around Thakhek is completely flat, so the palm-lined hills on the first three pictures are a little bit out of place! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcrfan Posted February 23 Share Posted February 23 11 hours ago, noelh said: Really well done. I also never heard of gunship/ bomber Beaver. I wouldn't want to fly it either. I imagine it was highly vulnerable to ground fire. Although I'd love to add some DHc2 time in my logbook. The Airfix kit is still nice and the work you put into it really brings it up to date. It really looks like the photo. The US had a program that investigated small gunships like Beaver, Cessna 0-2 and Pilatus Porter with weapons like a side firing 20 mm gatling gun. There is a detailed magazine article and online report, neither of which I can find at the moment. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fox1_BE Posted February 23 Author Share Posted February 23 Thanks for your comments! 14 hours ago, Vultures1 said: I like the reddish dust sprayed up under the fuselage too; very effective Actually, I used some pigments for this dusting effect: simple to use and, as you say, very effective. 1 hour ago, Roman Schilhart said: I have only one objection: the area around Thakhek is completely flat, so the palm-lined hills on the first three pictures are a little bit out of place! Very true Roman; I used a slightly “greener” background, as it makes it easier to photograph a dark green subject. 1 hour ago, dcrfan said: The US had a program that investigated small gunships like Beaver, Cessna 0-2 and Pilatus Porter with weapons like a side firing 20 mm gatling gun. Indeed, I have the Pilatus Porter in my stash for such a future build! Thanks again all, comments much appreciated 👍 Patrick 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
georgeusa Posted February 23 Share Posted February 23 You have done a really great job on converting this to an armed Beaver. Looks wonderful. You might have a look at this website: https://greydynamics.com/air-america-the-history-of-cias-covert-airline/. Down at the bottom of the article is a picture of interest showing rockets mounted on the wing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fox1_BE Posted February 23 Author Share Posted February 23 Thank you @georgeusa - interesting reading material and useful reference pictures 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ad-4N Posted February 23 Share Posted February 23 Great job, love the red earth weathering on the bottom. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred piket Posted February 23 Share Posted February 23 Beautiful build in a unusual livery, but fantastic build! I love the brown dusting 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mig88 Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 Outstanding work on that old kit! Very nicely done and finished. Miguel 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheyJammedKenny! Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 Beautifully done, truly inspirational work on this! How did you thin the cowling walls uniformly? I assume you did the thinning from the outside. As for the weapon, you've mounted an M-60D, which is more accurate for door-mounted armament of the period, not a .50 caliber. I assume the 7.62 would have been effective in any chance aerial encounter with AN-2 COLTs, too. As for this: https://greydynamics.com/air-america-the-history-of-cias-covert-airline/. , it contains numerous factual errors, such as misspelling a former CIA director's name, mistaking a smoke-rocket carrying O-2 for something else, and misidentifying the location of the Saigon evacuation photo, but still conveys a good message about lack of accountability and oversight--hopefully since resolved! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fox1_BE Posted February 26 Author Share Posted February 26 1 hour ago, TheyJammedKenny! said: Beautifully done, truly inspirational work on this! How did you thin the cowling walls uniformly? I assume you did the thinning from the outside. Thanks! Actually, I thinned the engine cowling from the inside: using a rolled up piece of sanding paper gave good control of the sanding process. Regards, Patrick 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zigomar Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 I first thought that it was a rare Russ pic, but nooooooo! Excellent choice of subject. cheers. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wellsprop Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 Absolutely beautiful! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 Excellent model, very well presented. Martian 👽 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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