Flag Plot

The Fujimi 1/72nd scale A-7 Corsairs:   Here are my Navy A-7s depicted as Vietnam era aircraft. The Fujimi kits are, pretty much, accurate in shape and in the details. The intake, specifically, has the correct rounded bottom mouth. On the downside, the intake fit is not very good. The intake assembly is just a touch too narrow where it mates to the main fuselage; the hardest circumstance to correct with putty & sandpaper. Several things going on here: I played with some different panel line techniques. After I primed the model with flat white enamel & it dried, I drew in & restored the panel lines with a medium lead pencil on the model scheme that would remain white. Then I went over the flat white with gloss white enamel mixed with 40% paint and 60% thinner. This overcoat produced a simi-gloss finish that wasn't a toy like high-gloss appearance. The translucent overcoat toned down the pencil lines. I was pleased with the effect, but next time I'll used a li...

Skale Wings AD-5Ws  Official U.S. Navy Photo The Douglas Aircraft AD-5 Skyraider was a major redesign of the Skyraider attack plane. Previous multi-crew Skyraiders were based on the single place fuselage resulting in a cramped, uncomfortable crew station that was near impossible to escape from the in event of an emergency. Douglas Aircraft completely redesigned the fuselage to accommodate side-by-side seating and a spacious open layout behind the front seats. This plane was designated as the AD-5. With the DoD unified aircraft designation system in 1962, the AD-5 became the A-1E. This configuration proved so versatile that the airframe was adapted to several missions each with a mission designation. The major versions were: basic airframe was the AD-5 which could be configured for carrier onboard delivery, MEDIVAC and target towing; night attack was the AD-5N (EA-1G); electronic warfare was the AD-5Q (EA-1F), and a single ASW prototype as tested. The early warning AD-5...

Dragon 1/72nd scale Jian Ji5 (Chinese built MiG-17 Fresco)   This model depicts a Shenyang F-5 of the 923rd Fighter Regiment of the Vietnamese Peoples' Air Force in late 1965 as piloted by Ngo Duc Mia. He was credited with at least 3 confirmed kills.  For this model, I finished it in Alclad lacquers and used the Eagle Strike decal sheet EP72066, "MiG-17 Fresco". This sheet was produced after Squadron Products bought  the "Eagle Strike"  decal line.   Here's the 2 principles of the air war in South East Asia. This is a good relative size comparison of the antagonists.  Trivia fun: The Mig-17 weighed less in this 2 tank configuration than the internal fuel load of the F-4. One's a rapier, and the other 's a battle axe!  RJ  Ref: Air War Over North Viet Nam by Istvan Toperczer, Squadron / Signal publications, Carrollton, Texas, USA, 1998.

1/72nd Scale Hasegawa SOC-3 Seagull This kit is one the first releases of this aircraft from the mid-'70s. The cockpit and engine need a little help, so I added: * The Mark's Models & Toys Starfighter-Decals cockpit resin set 72-15  * The Mark's Models & Toys E-Z Rigging set PE-08 * The Radial Wheels & Engines resin P&W-1340 Wasp engine 72-001 * And the period markings come the Yellow-Wings decal sheet 72-013  The simple wood base and kit supplied placard was painted in Navy colors and the miniature gold wings set the "Fly NAVY!"  by the-seat-of-your-pants spirit to model display.   The figure is from the CMK US Navy Pilots WW2 pilot set -72115. Our intrepid hero* adds the scale reference.  FLY NAVY!  RJ * "You came in that thing?! You're braver than I thought!",  Princess Leia

The Hasegawa SOC-3 Seagull   In a departure from my usual post WWII aircraft interest, I decided to build a SOC-3 Seagull: one of the last bi-planes to serve in the US Navy and Marine Corps.  I've had a passing interest in the SOC Seagull since my friend Bill Blackmore asked me to build two 1/96 scale resin Seagulls for his USS Nevada model way back in 2001.  You can read about the that here:  Curtiss SOC-3 Seagull .  I decided to build the SOC Seagull in the yellow-wing scheme prevalent between the wars. I chose the USS Mississippi embarked aircraft because the Mississippi was my fathers first ship when he enlisted in 1950. By that time, however, it was re-designated as AG-128 and used as a test platform for new weapons and sensors. Yeah, it's a tenuous link. Along with the Hasegawa kit, I bought the Yellow-Wings decal sheet 72-013, the Starfighter-Decals cockpit resin set 72-15 and the E-Z Rigging set PE-08, as well as the ...