@Wizard: looks good. I am looking forward to see you build progress.

Here is my finished entry for the Vietnam campaign. It did not turn out as I wanted it. Partly because of my relative inexperience with building aircraft compared to panzers and partly because of the very bad quality of the kit. I will stick to Eduard, Tamiya and Hasegawa for the future!!
Main problems in the kit were:
Very bad fit between the upper and lower wings
Very bad fit of the cockpit glazing - I had to use a lot of clear fix to patch gaps
Very bad fit between the wings and the fuselage - especially at the front of the body.
Pin marks in strange places - in wheel wells, missiles, missile launch rails etc.

Anyway, the result is allright after a lot of work. On the bright side I learned a lot of how (not) to finish the aircraft.
Overall the aircraft looks cool with the sharks teeth and the "Arkansas traveller" personal marking. So I the end I think I am satisfied. The next one will be even better Especially when I get my airbrush up and running again. A brush is not the best way to weather and finish a 1/48 aircraft

Now top cover is here to keep those MiGs of the tail of the FACs and the ground attack guys

Comments are welcome

Hello Jesper,

Okay let me get this straight. You brush painted the entire model? If so you have more ambition (or is that desperation ? ) than do I. A 1/48th Phantom is a major undertaking with an airbrush itself in my opinion.
The photo of the bottom of the aircraft seems shinny, is that from the camera flash? All in all I say you did a nice job on it.

Sincerely,
Brian

Yes, only the base coat was sprayed on, the rest is brush painted. It was no problem with the camouflage as I managed to apply the coat of paint evenly and without any "brush strokes" in the finished paint job. However, to weather it properly I will need a airbrush.
It was an act of desperation - I have been struggeling to get my airbrush to work for months and I keep getting "blow back".




The white undersurfaces are satin and more shinny than the upper surfaces. However, the flash makes it appear more shinny than it is.




Thanks, appreciate it

Looks fabulous Jesper

and hand brushed too !! It looks great

Kudos to you

Steve

Thanks Steve. I appreciate it

great looking model Jesper - and the finish is excellent ... I tend to take the view that an airbrush isn't necessarily going help you weather it better ...panel lines, pastels, dry-brushing ..it can all be done perfectly well with brushes - mind you, Nige's Tamiya Smoke through the old Badger looks like it might be worth a try ..

Hi all!

@ Jesper;

A really Phaboulus Phantom phor another Phantom Phreak!
Wonderful job!

@Lampie;

That Bird Dog really turned out great, small as It is!
Don´t forget to watch your six for Migs!

@Penny;

Nice to have you onboard, Your Phantom looks good so far!

I have assembled the airframe, many seams to fill and sand!

here´s a pic of the sub sections;





Fuselage assembled, filled and sanded;





Some pics of the office;









Soon It will be time to get some paint on the aircraft, can´t wait for that!

Please feel free to comment and give me some feedback!

Cheers!

Stefan E

Hi guys, i'm a little bit late but i hope i'll build it on time.
Italeri's 1/72 F-4G Phantom II "Wild Weasel".

Have a lovely weekend...

Hi Stefan,
Thanks a lot for the kind words

Your MiG cockpit looks great. Looking forward to see your MiG finished - and in my sights :-) :-)

@Neil: Thanks for the kind words. Appreciate it! I planned on combining brush and airbrush weathering. Especially on modern aircraft that are not necessarily weathered as much as a fighter taking off from a muddy field. Anyway, I have only build a few aircraft so I am still learning with every project

@Serdar: you are not too late - we can always use some more help to take out those NVA SAM sites Welcome to the forum and great to have you onboard in the campaign

Hi guys and ladies (as far as I see we have at least one). I finally made a tinzy winzy bit of progress on my already small aircraft. Here it is:
https://aeroscale.kitmaker.net/modules.php?


I sort of made up the camo scheme, because I couldn't menage to find a decent profile, from photoes and stuff. And now here is my problem: does anyone know that this bird flew in USAF in these colors or is it only the South Vietnamese Air Force? Thanks alot from advance. By the way all the models look pretty cool.
PS:Penny, are you sure the F-4G flew in Hill sheme in Vietnam?

Adition to the message: Can anybody tell me did the VF-84 with F-4B's flew in Vietnam? I may add one more:}

from what I've read:

F4-Gs flew Hill grey II scheme for USAF..

But only F-4Ds with the 37th flew in SEA... they came from the 389th FS in '69 to join the 37th at Phu Cat AB.....F4Gs were converted from the E model and began flying in '75. Squadron service began in 1978. The F-4G saw combat during the 1991 Gulf War and remained in service until 1996. F-4G was the last operational variant of the Phantom II.

VF-84's first cruise with the Phantom began on 10 May 1965, and lasted until 13 December. This was not the usual Med cruise of an Atlantic fighter squadron, but a Vietnam War cruise - the only one that the Jolly Rogers ever did. Their war role was that of a fighter-bomber outfit, and they lost 2 aircraft and crews to the enemy's surface to air defenses, with another aircraft managing to trap aboard with one engine out and some serious holes in the wings.

read more here: http://www.almansur.com/jollyrogers/phantombones.htm

Thanks for the Jolly Rogers link. All I can say is "YEEEEEEEEEEEEHA!" :}

Looks good, Yarbay

The dark green seems a little on the light side and is almost the same shade as the light green. However, that might just be the lighting in the photos.

I do not know if the USAF also used this scheme I have never seen one in USAF colours. Hopefully somebody else can be of more help on this subject.

Wow, have I made up to Yarbay( Lt. Colonel)?? I didn't notice that. I was Major the last time I saw it. No no the dark green is definately light but I don't know why. I used Humbrol colors 116,117,118 without mixing with anything. Anyways I'll try to finish it soon. Cheers...

I couldn't find a USAF camo version.....except this one...which I believe is an after the war version with the AD tail code

http://www.warbird-photos.com/vietnamairwar03/index.html

http://www.airliners.net/open.file?id=1153267&size=L&width=1024&height=752&sok=JURER%20%20%28nvepensg_trarevp%20%3D%20%27Abegu%20Nzrevpna%20G-28%20Gebwna%27%29%20%20beqre%20ol%20cubgb_vq%20QRFP&photo_nr=22&prev_id=1153735&next_id=1152856

My dad says he saw camo versions and black ones with Air America at Udorn, Thailand around '65 or '66

Okay, have made a start on my Cayuse /OH-6a / Loach.

I think the addition of photo etch components may have been a little ambitious for my ( not yet honed) skills

My eyes , my big fingers and my skill level admits defeat on some of the tiniest of parts ! That said, I shall be adding some of the more "handleable" parts, as I feel they do enhance the detailing.
You can see where they have been added in the pics.

The seatbelts are amazing,,,, but I had to remove the pilots head to try loose fitting it to him
The pilot figure is nice , he did need some surgery to get his hands to fit around the cyclic and collective.

Well, its a start, and again something new for me..











Bye for now
Stevie B

Hi all!

@Stevie;

Your Cayuse looks good, first time I have seen a pilot properly strapped in!
Don´t give up on the etched parts, remember that practice makes perfect!
I have used etch for several years now, but I have never used ALL parts on the frets!
My eyesight and clumsy fingers prevents me from handling too small parts!

Some update on my MiG-17F;

This week I finally got it into the spraybooth!

First came the light sand color (Humbrol 121 Pale Stone), followed by dark green (Humbrol 105 Marine Green) bands;



Next day (today) I filled in with the lighter green (Humbrol 120 Light Green) between the darker bands;



Looking at this pic, taken with the flashlight, I think the colors look awful and too pale!

This (somewhat out-of-focus ) pic, taken only by the rooflights shows completly different colors;



Funny that the flash changes the colors this way, never trust a camera or picture for determing colors!
The truth is somewhere inbetween those two pics!

Cheers!

Stefan E

@Stevie: that looks very good. The seatbelts really adds realism to the cockpit and pilot. I know what you mean about PE. Sometimes it is not worth the effort and can get out of hand.

@Stefan: great colour scheme. Unusual and attracktive. Flash, daylight, and normal indoor lighting can do strange things to colours

Looking forward to see more

fun with the camera!!

figured out how to set it for Macro/ close up




here's my center console for my Huey...I've added different gauge wire for togle switches instead of using stretched sprue....it works alot better...I just stick a t-pin in the spot I want the switch and then dip'er in glue and place...then snip with scissors.

I also added some radio knobs by adding different sized stretched sprue and then snipping with those toe nail cutting snips...looks good I think..

and made a couple toggle guards in red by sanding some sprue into four sides....

I was waiting for two books to arrive to get the radio/ center console more exact for a UH-1D model...but I couldn't wait....



this one looks like it went through a flash fire..hehehe...I've got some work to bring down the gloss of my Future Finish application....

great looking mig!! that scheme is awesome....it's very well placed to break up the outline of the jet......

Looks great, Bounce. Very crisp photos with the macro feature.

Looking forward to see more.

A little more etch additions.. the dashboard is only loose fitted, but should look fine once tidied up and painted.

The XM27E1- 7.62mm gun pod, has been fitted with the etch
"shell exhaust " this is much bigger than what was moulded in the Dragon Kit styrene.



and some fuselage etches added





Still a long way to go yet

Stevie B

Wow!! Thanks alot Bounce. Pretty helpful. Pass my thanks to your father too:}
That is a tremendous looking Cayuze by the way...

yes I agree...those etchings are really gonna make the Cayuse a standout. Keep the pictures coming.....


B

Thanks guys, appreciate the encouragement

A question ?
What colour would the seat belt straps/webs be on a Cayuse of the Viet Campaign period ?

They are amazing etches, I shall need to spend some time assembling these, but they need painting before adding them to the seats.

If anyone can give me a guide on the belt colours, I'd sure appreciate it !



Stevie B

Here are some more pics of the build so far

I just can't resist the dry fitting of parts to "see how they look"
You know how it is ?



The ( incomplete) cockpit loose fitted into the fuselage.



While awating parts drying, more dry fitting.



Made a start on the rotor assembly too.. again loose / dry fitted.



The windscreen bubble, looks like its gonna be a bit of a pain to fit... the "clear" parts are not very clear, straight off the sprue So before I get to that I shall dip it in Klear.

If anyone has any advice on fitting the bubble,/screen I'd appreciate the input !

S'all for now

Stevie B