This model started out as the Airfix 1/72 Shorts Tucano. Our club president was converting it to a T-6A Texan II for this years Nats when he passed away suddenly July 2nd. I grabbed it and finished it. At the time he had only put the first (and smaller) plug into the fuselage and completed the cockpit. I added an additional plug and went to completely redoing the nose, tail, spine and canopy and the wings, which were a pretty drastic change over the Tucano wings. I also wound up completely relocating the nosewheel well. No decals existed for this aircraft (the first of the US Navy's Texan II trainers to show up at NAS Pensacola) so I just did everything on the ALPs. The entire aircraft was rescribed as well. It was really pretty much luck that the blue of the decals matched the Insignia Blue I used for the fuselage. On the real thing they are also indistinguishable.

Unfortunately I could not get in finished in time to go to Phoenix, it wound up being much more project than I anticipated!

Before:


And after:

Hi Scott.... would you be upset if I said....
AMAZING.....simply amazing..... doesn't even look like the original kit.

Thanks Dave.

No it doesn't! I know L&M makes a resin one but at the time this was all we had to approximate a Texan. I am not really sure what plans Jim had to convert it but now I know why he was procrastinating!!!!

Scott, had you got this finished in time for Pheonix, I think you would have done very well with it. It looks great. Nice of you to see it through to completion. "Q"