US forces in Korea got a lot of second line equipment for a number of reasons.

There was a fear of escalating the war, so "nuclear" bombers like the B-36 and B-47 were not approved for use.

There was a fear of losing top secret technology which kept aircraft like the F-89 and F-94 from being used because of their radar systems (the F-94 did eventually get approved and sent over late in the war because the F-82 couldn't effectively counter MiG-15s being flown at night).  

There was also a fear of the Soviets making a move on Europe if too many European units were sent to Korea. It was only the loss of large numbers of B-29s that finally allowed a second Sabre unit to be approved for Korea and that was done by transitioning an F-80 or F-84 fighter group to Sabres, not by sending another fighter group from elsewhere.

Not to mention that the Army played third fiddle in the post war budget to the Air Force and the Navy. Since both of those were focusing on how to deliver atomic weapons of the time, little money was left, nor thought process devoted ot conventional land warfare by the DoD.

Ok here's the K1A1:

And here's what I've done so far, with the PE and resin aftermarket that I burned out on I think I'm going to leave some of the smaller PE off...

Hopefully I can get her rolled out before too long. I'm thinking of doing a diorama as well with a US M46 crew and ROK (Republic of Korea- aka South Korean) infantry inspecting a knocked-out North Korean T34/85. Here are some figures I did as an experiment. More pics are posted on the figure area of the forum.

BTW great badge Stikpusher but I think it needs more pizazz. 

Can anyone add the proper caption to my contribution?

She's holding a S. Korean flag isn't she? Hmmmmmmmm?????????

Ok, ok forget it............

Well I do love her patriotism! But I dont think she fits the sprit...

I would have to say, since this is on the military aspect of the Korean War, as well as the continuing cold war between North and South Korea today, I would like to stick with the original badge.

It would look good if Seoul was ever home to the Olympics.

 On a side note, if you think about it, the Korean war never accually ended. It just went dormant and has been so for the past 60 years, and has been held back by the DMZ on the 38th parallell. Because of this, it can also be said that the Cold War never ended eather. It's just that the stalemate is now between the two Koreas. That's my take on it, but it does hold some merrit.

You're very correct Railfan. The war only "ended" with a cease fire, not a peace treaty. Technically a state of war still exists. Back in the 80s I served with many guys who had served there in the 70s or 80s. Many had told tales of firefights occurring during their patrols in the DMZ. One old time Sgt even received a combat patch and CIB from his experiences there in the late 60s or early 70s, I can no longer recall.

I found this great clip from Bridges At Toko Ri on You Tube. Some great footage of carrier ops of that era and the F9F. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHZ8HrVqrWE&playnext_from=TL&videos=kzKPP2utZ3A 

And here is my entry for the GB, Tamiya's old 1/35 Centurion Mk3. I will be adding a set of indy link tracks from AFV Club and turned metal barrel from Barrel Depot. I will be building it up as when they debuted in combat in Winter 1950/51.

Gamera

 

NOT IN THE SPIRIT!!!!!????? I'd fight for that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Great progress everyone!!!!!! Looking forward to seeing more progress.

Hehe honestlly stik the badge looks great!

Will be pulling the Corsair out of the hangar soon. Want to get either MUCH farther along a couple more builds or finish them before I get back to my bent-wing birdy.

Great start everyone>> And as to the question of the M35,,since this build encompasses up to today..the M35 could easily be used in a more modern dio...Just a thought!

I got the chance to do some work on the figure I am finishing,,,soon as I get a chance will post some pics...

Then on to the dio...

Happy building everyone!!

I did a little interior green airbrushing on some of the S-51 and the A-26B pieces

I came across another kit in my stash that has Korean War markings...

C-119 USAF , 63rd TCS , 403rd TCG Kimpo Air Base , Korea 1952 ;

I wish I had picked this kit first ,

Oh well , at least I have plenty of incentive to finish the Helo and Invader , I would really love to have a go at the Flying Boxcar .

                          John .

Helo the lot looks great!!!! I have the same $1.19 kit, and totally forgot about it having Korea markings!!! Hope to see your come together!!!! Get crackin' man!!!!! It is truly one of the undersung heros of airlift!!!

stikpusher

And here is my entry for the GB, Tamiya's old 1/35 Centurion Mk3. I will be adding a set of indy link tracks from AFV Club and turned metal barrel from Barrel Depot. I will be building it up as when they debuted in combat in Winter 1950/51.

 

Ah, the Centurion. The british main battle tank for many years.

I saw a TV show once, about battle-tank restoration on the Centurion, and it's amazing how mony variants were out there. It's also amazing how complex a tank can be, once you tear into it for a restoration.

 I never herd about Barrel Depot before. Mabe it is time for me to consider another armor kit. My last one (still a work in progress) was/ is Tamiya's 1/48 scale Panzer IV with the die-cast lower hull. Yes, I may try to do something armor, if I have the time.

I take it that it's a safe bet that M-4 Shermans were used in the active years of the Korean war. That will be good, since my hobby shop mainly has WWII and modern-day subjects for military ground units.

All joking aside great looking badge Stikpusher. The only change I'd suggest is that maybe a different version for those who finish more than one build since several people are talking about doing more than one model. Just an idea.

Looking forward to your work on the Centurian. For some reason I was thinking of the new AFV Club kit and forgot about the older Tamiya one. I started armour modeling on these kits but haven't built one in years.

Helo: I love the Boxcar too! You've got a year to finish so I hope you can squeeze it in as well.

Tonka, if you can find a current use M35 in Korea today, go for it.

Gamera, no rush on your kickoff for the F4U- we got a year.

Helo, nice start on the Invader and S-51, but I am with the others, I would really love to see the 119. There is just something about those birds, a classic ride for the Airborne, with a status like the C-47 or C-130.

Railfan, yes Shermans did see fairly widespread service in Korea, in both 76mm and 105mm howitzer versions. Most had the later HVSS suspension, but some late M4A3 VVSS also saw service with Canadian units.

Gamera, I had not even considered different versions for more kits built. I have an idea brewing now for that. Good idea.

As for me, I began building this morning. I built most of the suspension components and was moving along well till the usual snag had to hit. I dropped a tow shackle mounting lug and the carpet monster refused to give it back. So I had to build a new one from sheet plastic. Not too bad a snag at least. I also had to modify the sprockets a bit as the width of the track teeth was just a tad too wide for the AFV tracks so I had to sand them to fit better. The AFV tracks themselves fit together pretty easily. Aside from a quick swipe of sanding stick to remove ejector pin marks on each link, they are great. Much better than my last experience with  AFV tacks on some Kfz 251 links... those were fiddly little bastiges...

Thanks. I'm not real sure if my hobby shop has any Shermans with a late-war suspension, but I think they had an M4A3. I'll have to check, as it may have been sold by now.

If all else fails, I can do a T-34. But, I have to finish the H-13 Medevac chopper first (still in step 1. It's driving me up the wall, not having the right paint)

First, I am all for Gamera's Build Badge! .

Hey Stickpusher, I wasn't able to get a hold of the Panther.....maybe later. I do have a H-19A that I think fits in with the build. Let me know if it is OK. It is the Italeri 1/72 kit. Chrome Silver Airforce colors.

Travis

Railfan, the older suspension on the Sherman will work, it just limits your choices of markings. A T-34/85 would be great too. No rush here.

STFD, the H-19 will work just fine. It was used by all the services in Korea, so NMF Air Force will be just fine!

Stikpusher , The C-119 will definitly follow the other two builds .

I don't want to get to far ahead of myself but I was reading through Squadrons C-46 Commando book , am I correct in thinking that the USAF used the C-46's in Korea...

Just a little curious ???

                                          John .

Helo, yes the C-46 was used in Korea during the war there. Here's a shot of them doing a practice drop of the 187th Airborne RCT. The 119 and the 46 were the two primary troop carriers for that purpose in the war.

STFD637

First, I am all for Gamera's Build Badge! .

Hey Stickpusher, I wasn't able to get a hold of the Panther.....maybe later. I do have a H-19A that I think fits in with the build. Let me know if it is OK. It is the Italeri 1/72 kit. Chrome Silver Airforce colors.

 

Travis

I built that kit last year, the only tricky bits are the floats, they really want to spread out, so you have to rig up a jig of some sort to keep them from becoming pigeon toed. I just took two metal squares and taped them into place on a piece of wood so the floats had to stay inline.

Also make sure the back of the fuselage lines up, you will have to even it up at the front where there will be a small step at the bottom between the left and right sides. John (H-34) discovered this bit working on one of his, he lined up the front which led to issues with the fuselage.

Also the silver H-19s are painted silver not NMF, unlike the silver H-21s which were bare aluminum. The H-19 had a large amount of magnesium in it to save weight. Magnesium corrodes very easliy so it needed a protective coating of paint. The H-19 had a higher % of magnesium in it than any aircraft built to that point.

Stik, if you can email me the original jpegs of the map and the medals I would like to work on it some.

John

stikpusher

Here is a rough draft idea for the GB badge. any help from a more computer savvy person here will be most appreciated.

Aaronw: Thanks for the head's up! I do like how Italeri bent the blades when molding them. I wasn't sure on the pain....it didn't quite match a NMF finish. I was thinking more of a Flat Aluminum. but I will look for the H-21 (bare aluminum). The kit looks like fun. Nice detail.

Looking forward to building a Helo with thsi build. I recently got into them so it should be fun.

Travis

The H-21 was too late for Korea but it is a neat helo particularly if you want to do a NMF helicopter. The Italeri H-21 kits are much better detailed than the Hobbycraft or Kitech ones. It has been released a couple of times with differant parts. If you can find it the Italeri Gunship kit #1203 includes decals for a nice looking red and NMF USAF helicopter. 

I would love to see an affordable H-21 done in 1/48, since the ones out now are out of my price range.

Well here are my first progres pics of my Centurion.

Left and right shots of main lower hull and suspension...

Front end of lower hull

Rear end of lower hull...note the scratch built replacement mount for the tow shackle...

Close up of modified sprocket to fit AFV indy links

And two shots of the glacis plate and front fender work done so far...

In the next few days I will get a coat of Bronze green on the lowers.

Stik that is a great start mate!!! Looking forward to seeing her come together!!!!  One thing, if you plan on going to a contest with it, fill in those gaping holes on the bottom. Those were only there for Tamiya's motorized versions of yore. last year whilst helping judge the model expo, just such holes cost an entrant a podium spot.

Um, quick question, did the french take part in korea? and if so did they fly bearcats? i have a bearcat with french markings, i can get some USN ones but yeah im thinking about a no aftermarket build for once lol (this is on top of my corsair)

Simpilot, I have not made up my mind yet as to whether or not I will fill those things in. I know that is one of the things looked at in AMPS. IPMS has not been much of an issue about that so far.  If I fill n the gaps in the sponsons and upper hull side, I will take care of the lowers as well.

Mikey, from quick research, it does not appear that the French had a large presence in Korea. They had their hands full in Indochina at the same time. They had one infantry battalion, and some naval assets there and that was pretty much it 

stikpusher

Simpilot, I have not made up my mind yet as to whether or not I will fill those things in. I know that is one of the things looked at in AMPS. IPMS has not been much of an issue about that so far.  If I fill n the gaps in the sponsons and upper hull side, I will take care of the lowers as well.

Mikey, from quick research, it does not appear that the French had a large presence in Korea. They had their hands full in Indochina at the same time. They had one infantry battalion, and some naval assets there and that was pretty much it 

So no french bearcat? *wimper*

Looking good Stik!  Cant wait to see more progress pics.

Well the kit finally arrived.  Here is my contribution to the GB.  I hope it will be up to everyone else's standards.

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