Vietnam Air War GB - Extended!

Thanks guys...................

@Ken:very good cut & sew work........clean and sharp.

Ciao all,Enrico.

Hi All,

Made a little progress on my unlisted, Army bird Mohawk....

The Martin Baker ejection seats are very accurate when compared to reference photos of the real deal...

The IP is pretty sweet too, too bad I can`t do it justice..

After some confusion deciphering the instruction sheet, I put the bulkhead and `pit deck together...again, very deatailed IMO...

And the last thing I did for the night , and the most frustrating, was closing up the fuselage. The instructions say to glue the cockpit to the right fuse` half and the IP to the right, now whadda ya think happened next?? You got it, I was cursin` like a truck driver..... I have no pics of it but, to get the IP to fit I had to remove the rudder pedals and shave an 1/8 inch off the front edge of the control lever pedestal. I did a lot of work building up the pedals, only to have to remove them. After I calmed down a bit, I realized you prolly won`t be able to see them anyhow, once everthing is closed up...

That`s all for now. Thanks for looking!

Len

Enrico, that Hun is simply SUPERB! You are a master!

Ken, great work so far on the intakes there. I have to watch how you do this as I have never seen the process for using those before.

Hi Everyone,

Slow and steady once again.  Tonight I was down to using a file.  I am glad I used the approach that I did.  It worked out pretty good.  I took some pictures with it just fitted together without it being glued of course:

In this next shot you are looking down the inside of the intake:

Tomorrow night I will start on the other side.

Ken

Hi Enrico,

I totally agree with Jimmy D.  That is some great detail work you are doing there!  Fabulous!     

Ken

Hi all.....not finished yet.......same other updates........Ciao Enrico.

Hi Everyone,

Here is tonight's work, slow but steady.  The instructions are not very clear on where to cut so I am cutting on the lean side which is going to take longer.  First I drilled holes to use to help guide my micro saw:

 Next I started sawing.  This is all the farther I got.  After I get this side done and know how much and where to cut, the other side will be quicker:

Ken

Son Of Medicine Man

troublemaker66

Hey Ken, read over this list several times and couldn`t find an OV-1A/ JOV-1A Grumman "Mohawk" listed. That`s what I`m currently building for this GB.....  Just thought I`d let ya know..lol.

Len

Hi Len,

Thanks for the message, but the Mohawk was an Army bird.  My list is only of USAF birds.  It would be a lot longer if it included the other branches of service!   

Ken

troublemaker66

Hey Ken, read over this list several times and couldn`t find an OV-1A/ JOV-1A Grumman "Mohawk" listed. That`s what I`m currently building for this GB.....  Just thought I`d let ya know..lol.

Len

Hi Len,

Thanks for the message, but the Mohawk was an Army bird.  My list is only of USAF birds.  It would be a lot longer if it included the other branches of service!   

Ken

Hey Ken, read over this list several times and couldn`t find an OV-1A/ JOV-1A Grumman "Mohawk" listed. That`s what I`m currently building for this GB.....  Just thought I`d let ya know..lol.

Len

Nice job Mike!  It has that "washed for inspection" look where they couldn't get all of the oil stain out of the paint.

Ken

troublemaker66

Looking good Mike! Hurt my neck trying to look at the box art tho`.....

Greetings everyone,

My good friend Russ pointed out some more aircraft that should be on that list of aircraft used by the USAF during the Vietnam War.  They are a group of C-130Es that were known as Combat Talons used for special operations missions.  In 1977 they were all grouped together and designated as MC-130 but that was after the war.  During the war they were designated as the following; C-130E(CT) "Clamp", C-130E(I) "Rivet Clamps", C-130E(S) "Swap", and C-130E(Y) "Yank" (formerly "Yard").  So here is the list with the new aircraft included:

Ken

Hi Everyone,

I washed all of the plastic in the kit today with a vinegar and water solution to make sure to get rid of any residual mold release agents.  I also gathered all of my aftermarket parts for this kit which took a little bit of time to find.  Tomorrow I plan on starting on the seamless intakes.

Ken

Hey Ken,

I was looking at your VN list of aircraft and there is an interesting US Army plane you might want to add - the Beechcraft U-21A Ute. The U-21 was the military version of the Beechcraft King Air (an example picture is at http://earththreats.com/2012/05/u-s-finds-remains-of-soldier-missing-from-vietnam-war-plane-crash/) These planes used to fly into and out of Nha Trang all the time. Some had more colorful paint jobs than this one. The one in this picture appears to have only one blade antenna but the ones I saw had as many as 4 or 5 blade antennas of varying lengths, which means they carried specialized comm equipment. I suspect these planes were used to contact special units in the field.

Also, there were several versions of the C-119 used over there. Early on, they were configured as gunships. Later on, they mostly dropped leaflets, or so I was told. Some carried a large lens array mounted in one of the side doors that generated an incredibly bright beam of light. They would fly around and illuminate suspected VC ground targets while fighter aircraft and/or artillary worked them over. That version would make an interesting model.

Wuups! Just thought of one more - the Lockheed EC-121 Warning Star aircraft. It's an old Supper Connie modified to monitor special personnel sensors dropped along the Ho Chi Min trail.

Anyway, thought you might be interested . My apologies if you already have these listed later on - I haven't gotten through the whole thread yet.

Cheers, bud,

Russ

Hello, All,

Glad I stumbled onto this group build. Viet Nam was my war. This is a great thread - I'm still working my way through it.

Cheers

Russ

Looking good Mike! Hurt my neck trying to look at the box art tho`.....

Nice work on the A-1H Skyraider Mike!  The paint job came out looking very nice!     

Ken

Well, after a little setback I got back on track with the VNAF Skyraider. I used the paint call-outs from the directions: field green and camo brown but am less than happy with the choice. Doesn't look completely right to me but too late now. Anyway, did weathering and panel wash with acrylics as the base coat was MM enamels. I've used Tamiya "smoke" in the past for exhaust but have never really been happy with it. I always either use too much and/or I can never get it to look matte enough so this time I used a mixture of water-based grey and black wash which I like better. Also, I included the boxart as I had forgotten it in my first WIP's Enjoy.

Hey Enrico and Stick, great Huns!!  Trouble, can't believe all the problems with the A7; what a nightmare!!  Looking forward to getting into the mix!!

professordeath

Ahh...good ole Hasegawa Phantom! Did you have that in the stash or did you have to track one down online?

Can't wait to see it come together. I've built most of their 1/48 Phantoms before, but never the E.

Hi Jimmy D.

I did have to track one down a little over a year ago.  I was patient until one came along.  I do have a stack of aftermarket parts to put on it, so it should turn out nicely detailed!

Ken

Hi Everyone,

Well here it is!  The kit that I am going to put that cockpit into!  (1/48 scale by the way)

I am using this kit because the F-4EJ is a "hard wing", meaning it does not have slats.  The F-4E used in Vietnam did not have slats except for a very few at the very end of the war.  They were added later after the war.  The F-4E that I am building did not have them at the time period that I am representing.

Here is a shot of the instruction booklet:

 Here are the sprue shots:

 Here is a shot of the wings.  Another nice thing about this kit is the fact that the landing gear bulges that Hasegawa put into the molds for the Navy and Marines versions of their kits are not on this one, so no sanding and grinding!

I will be ready to start on this hopefully tomorrow.

Ken

@Falconmod:very beautiful Da Nang F-8......compliments.Ciao Enrico.

troublemaker66

Well...I`m done with the AMT A-7...what a shame, had the makings of a decent kit but weak, brittle plastic ruined it. Had all the cracks in the rear fuse repaired and almost sanded smooth, then another appeared..right at the cockpit!

I just don`t want to put any more time in on this kit if that`s just gonna keep happening.

SO....here`s my alternative, Roden`s OV-1A / JOV1A Mohawk....

...a few sprue shots...

...and a neat little print of the box art...

Looks to be a fairly detailed cockpit...I was looking at an AM `pit but don`t think I`ll need it. I also read a couple reviews...the consensus is to build it with speed brakes open, same with the canopy....some tough fit issues otherwise....and I certainly don`t need any more trouble now, right! 

Going to start work as soon as I hit the "Post" button.....

Len

Hi Len,

That is too bad about your A-7, that must be way beyond frustrating!  I look forward to seeing your Mohawk build and hope you have a much better experience with it!

Ken

falconmod

Finally some pictures to post.

So what do you think?

Hi Falconmod,

I think it looks real nice!  Good job!     

Ken

Ok...some progress already,,lol,

As usual, the build starts with the cockpit. I can never figure out how to do the "decal behind the IP" thingy, so I used a silver paint marker to fill in the dials, then painted black over the whole thing. I will go back and uncover the dials with a knife blade tip.

...lots of parts in the office...

...after a little paint...

XF-1 Tamiya flat black

and MM enamel flat aircraft interior gray 2739...

and lastly, XF-58 Olive Drab for the seat cushions...

After things dry a bit, I`ll start assembly. Lots of little parts...I`ll definately be cursing and talkin` to myself tonight...give the wife and kids a good laugh anyways...lol.

Thanks for looking!

Len

falconmod

That is the same kit as my ESCI A-7, my plastic wasn't that brittle but the quality was bad,  I think I'll invest in a hobby boss maybe.

That is the same kit as my ESCI A-7, my plastic wasn't that brittle but the quality was bad,  I think I'll invest in a hobby boss maybe.

Well...I`m done with the AMT A-7...what a shame, had the makings of a decent kit but weak, brittle plastic ruined it. Had all the cracks in the rear fuse repaired and almost sanded smooth, then another appeared..right at the cockpit!

I just don`t want to put any more time in on this kit if that`s just gonna keep happening.

SO....here`s my alternative, Roden`s OV-1A / JOV1A Mohawk....

...a few sprue shots...

...and a neat little print of the box art...

Looks to be a fairly detailed cockpit...I was looking at an AM `pit but don`t think I`ll need it. I also read a couple reviews...the consensus is to build it with speed brakes open, same with the canopy....some tough fit issues otherwise....and I certainly don`t need any more trouble now, right! 

Going to start work as soon as I hit the "Post" button.....

Len