BIG Russian Jet Groupie GB

Well that's great, so I have no plans for this for a start date as I would like to do a Flanker on your GB Dre, but having said that I am starting a university course on the Arts next month so I will have to finish up the Mig before then and at some point I will start the Flanker soon after I guess but the PLAAF/PLANAF GB is something we should definitely do, and by the way Dre thanks for the thanks I would not get someone saying thank you for my service over here as in Northern Ireland it is not something you tell people.

Guys, thank you both for your service to your respective countries, especially during a time of crisis.

I wasn't quite that old for Reagan, but I was well past 18 on 9/11...  I feel kind of old too.

A PLAAF GB?   Hmmmm......    I think I could do that!  (it will still be a Russian jet!)

Dre, love the art deco too. I saw a documentary on it and was amazed at how quickly it was completed; less red tape back then I suppose. The WTC towers were still there the first time I visited as a kid but I never went up; not enough time and my dad didn't want to wait.

 Dean, just read your last post and noted you were 18 on 9/11....holy cow I feel old! I was deployed as a member of the AF during that time but  when I was 18 Reagan was still President!!!

Yeah Dre, there were not enough bombs in the world in the following months I remember as the section of the ship I was on dealt with stuff I cannot really talk about, basically besides US carriers we were Directing the war jointly with them, people were literally baying for blood, you had never seen a naval force so big, as the whole world was outraged I was talking to ships of many many nations, even there was a Russian Typhoon sub! I remember it was constant day and night at the start of the invasion, non stop aircraft, missiles etc.... I am not sentimental about it I just was glad to be there as a force for good and doing my part I am glad about that, anyway it's all the past now but I really want to see the whole city, I only have Law and Order and a few various TV shows to see what it is like, but one day Dre I will come. Also I had an idea about the subjects mentioned a few days ago, I know this is not the thread to do it a new post would be more appropriate but after this and the Flanker GB would anybody be interested in a Chinese AF GB at some point? Also back to the Mig I have attached the wheels and weathered them so they look as good as is possible with my skills  next will be the gear doors and then pylons as the weapons supplied are wrong as there are long range missiles included in the kit and as the UB had no RADAR it could not carry them, only short range heat seeking missiles and medium range, so I want to load it with rockets from a Trumpeter kit and under wing drop tanks. Should look good, I hope!

No, I think that 'she' was just one of the locals.   There's plenty to see- just go to Times Square or Central Park and someone odd will walk by eventually.  

I didn't go to the memorial- just not into that I guess.   My mom used to work for the Chief of Naval Operations, whose office used to be in the section of the Pentagon that got hammered.   My sister lost quite a few clients in the towers.

I can well imagine the ship's attitude upon hearing the news.  

Hmm a fat tranny on a sofa smoking a cigar, was that one of the sights for tourists do you suppose lol. Well I will be going one day, I would actually like to see all the things you mentioned, also the 9/11 memorial I think as I remember I was on my way to the gulf onboard HMS Illustrious when I was 18 and I remember watching live as the second plane hit the tower, and a guy next to me said well thats it we are off to war instead of a patrol. Those following months of the invasion were really quite something I will not forget as well as the constant footage of that day on CNN that day, I really must get the 1/350 Airfix kit of my old ship. I would like to see where it happened. On a lighter note also I hope the tranny is there too lol, want a picture of that lol.

Mikey- I thought that the weather in Anaheim was superb when I was there back in September- sunny and 71*F the entire week with no clouds.   Too many weird people on the left coast for my tastes....

The Empire State building is great- you don't really realize that you're standing next to it until you look way up.   Nice art deco doors though.

Dre, love reading of your experiences in NYC. Went there for only the second time a while back and did all the tourist stuff with my girlfriend; Empire State Bldg., U.N., etc. Glad I did cause the first time around I was too young to appreciate it. Your story of the "individual" on the sofa reminds me of my time in L.A. I met more than a few interesting folks there, to put it mildly. Weather's superb though and if I  had unlimited cash I could get used to it.

Well, believe it or not....    when I was very young during the early '70's, my parents were employed by various alphabet-soup agencies and we once took an extended car ride from I-can't-remember-where, Pakistan to Kabul, Afghanistan to change postings.  We stopped randomly (truly, this was high-mountain nowhere well off the recommended travel route), hiked up a hill and watered the ground.    There was nothing to mark the location as the Sino-Paki border, other than my dad's map reckoning, but I believe that we were generally close to it.   It wasn't the sort of place that invited further exploration.  

New York City is OK from what I saw of it last year- I didn't do any of the tourist stuff but just walked around neighborhoods looking for interesting food.   It is very expensive to a rural-living person like myself- lunch for me at a street deli was usually $12-15.00 and dinner?  Fugeddaboudit!  

It is a fun city to wander- you can see things that you'd expect to see in NYC.   When I was in the Theatre District, I walked by an obese crossdresser smoking a cigar while seated on a sofa that was in the street between two trailers full of production gear...  no kidding.   That's not common, but it isn't unusual.

I found a model/railroad shop a few block off Times Square...  can't remember the name but it's in a walk-down basement and crammed full of stuff.   Literally floor to ceiling with kits and trains with very little organization.   Expensive prices due to NYC taxes and profit mark-ups, but the owner has some interesting things in there and it is worth going for the experience.   My girlfriend will never set foot in there again...

America's fun- come visit!  

Yeah true I guess, where were you?I have never been, seen many places but that is one place I will definitely go, and New York too, I have never been to America but I really want to visit New York.

That sounds like a great trip- I never made it into China, but I have 'watered' their border from a remote hilltop in no-man's land.

I imagine that you could score quite the stash while in China...  just sayin'.

True I am planning on heading to visit China next year, my sister went last summer and loved it, talk about rich!! Her boyfriends cousins own quite a lot of land and the nightclub she was in had a minimum spend of £300 for a seat at a table and they were like yeah well the champagne is £1000 so we'll have a few. Nice for some!! I must go with Marshall so I can drive a Ferrari around Beijing lol.

I knew about the early Flanker clones, but nothing about any further indigenous development.

Gotta say that they don't let inexperience slow them down- space flight and naval aviation don't come without a steep learning curve.

Well a Chinese company  Shenyang makes them it is designated the J-15 and has Chinese RADAR and avionics all based on the Su-33 it is said to have stealth incorporated into the design and because of the J-20 I would say that could be an accurate assumption,  All in all because of this I think and hope that we will see a box of the J-15 Flying Shark in 1/32 scale, also this development came about after China bought a prototype Su-33 from the Ukraine in 2001, just in case you wondered I also really hope there will be a J-10 in 1/32 scale too I have the 1/48 kit and it looks great, I will be making it soon after the Mig 29UB is finished. I really like Chinese fighters, it's an interesting area of military aviation to me.

A 1/32 Su-33 would be a nice addition to the fleet....

I agree Porkbits you know Trumpeter have a Facebook page, I went on and asked if they were making a 1/48 su33 and Mig 25, also in 1/32 as well, they have not replied but people seem to think its a good idea so hope they pay attention to it, although being that there is no Facebook in China it may never reach them unless they have offices in Hong Kong. But hopefully they will.

Thanks Dre,

  I have to use the magnifying hood glasses to work on them, so my eyes aren't that great.  I prefer 1/48.

I need to paint them gray to match the real ones then I'm done with the seats.

John

The Su-27 does look awesome, Dean. :-) Now if only someone make a 1/48 Fullback. I'd buy about ten.

You've got better eyes then I to do that work in 1/72....  looks pretty good too!

The SU-24 is 1/72

Dre,

  Yes I did,  from Tamiya masking tape and some small gauge wire bent around a surgical tweezers.  It's my first attempt to scratch build seat belts.  the ejection pull handles were from some I believe 28 Ga wire.

John

Looking good so far, John.   That's a lot of aircraft for such a tiny cockpit.

Did you make the seat belts?

First of all I need to apologize for the bad quality of these photo's.  can't wait until tax time to get a new camera.

I just got a Dragon SU-24 for Christmas and it is a fairly easy looking build so O thought I would get it in this build.

I have almost completed the Monogram  1/48 MiG-29 I was working on but I'll wait till I get a better camera to post it's pictures.

John

The SU-27 looks awesome! You can't say that Porkbits lol.

Thanks, Vance!

I'm a big Su-27 fan. :-) Love it's slightly unconventional outline. But then again, I'm a fan of all slightly weird or ugly airplanes. Love the A-10. :-) :-)

I'm still heavily biased towards the Su-27 ...  although either one will do if forced to decide.

Got a little more stuff done and began to peel canopy masks when I remembered that I still have to detail and weather around the canopy sections..  oops.   It's getting a lot closer to being done.

You know guys I never could decide which I liked best, the Mig 29 or SU27, I know they are different aircraft but I never could decide until I saw this video, its to me simply the best fighter aircraft ever made, the Mig 29 that is, with the right pilot I bet it would be an opponent you wouldn't want to go up against, let me know what you think, and this might be inspiration for any of you doing a mig 29 right now.

Porkbits yes I have seen this it looks superb, i really want one, that and Academys 1/48the Serbian Mig 29 I really want to do the digital Camo for the SMT version.

Heres another one, it has a better view of the landing gear.

Yeah totally, I want to try and replicate it as best as I can.