First Annual USAF Vietnam Group Build

Hi Everyone,

First off, Merry Christmas to everyone!

I picked out my Christmas presents but they have not arrived yet.  First up is this:

I will be converting this to a F-104D using this conversion kit from C&H Aero Miniatures: 

And for stencils, I will be using these from DACO Products:

Ken 

Kiwi

I must've been a good boy!

Nice Christmas present Tim!   

Ken

PeteG

Oops. Above comment was meant for GreySnake.

Kiwi-I have the same older kit in my stash. This is the  same but repacked by Encore. Thus far the cockpit on the repack is much more detailed. It has been interesting looking at the repack versus the original. I do like the historical data in the Monogram instructions over the Encore instructions. I would recommend doing the air intakes before joining the fuselage. You may also want to consider doing the stick in the cockpit last. I didn't and haven't had a problem...yet. I have a feeling I'm going to break it off one of these days.

Son of Medicine Man-The resin was packed with the kit. Encore did a repack of this old Monogram. In fact, early on in this build someone told me about it ass I was originally going to do just the Monogram kit. As luck would have it, Squadron had it on sale at the time.

Finally, would anyone like to recommend some cockpit weathering for me? Should I jut throw down a wash of brown or something? I did some drybrushing with silver and grey but would like to do more.

Thanks for all the positive feedback and help,

Hi Pete,

Ah yes, the Encore kit.  I believe I was the one that told you about that.  I had you down as using the Pro Modeler kit, that is why the confusion.

I agree with David on using a clear coat before applying the wash.  Otherwise you would have a mess trying to clean off the excess "wash".  My preferred method is one that I picked up from a book printed by FineScale Modeler.

I prefer using enamel clear gloss as the base.  Let this dry at least 72 hours.  Now to mix the "wash".  This should be an acrylic color several shades darker than the color you are putting the wash on.  Mix this with water at a 50/50 ratio with about 30 percent plain dish soap.

Next paint using this mixture the inside corners, and any detailed recessed and raised surfaces that you want to bring the detail out.  Let this dry, but not completely.  Usually about 10 minutes or so.  Now use a damp cloth or moistened cotton swab to start wiping off the excess.  For really tight and hard to access spots I use a Microbrush.  You can get these at Hobby Lobby.  Don't rub too much or you will remove too much.  It will take some practice to get it completely right.

Once you have it looking the way you want, you need to seal it.  If it is supposed to have a flat finish use a flat clear enamel.  If it needs to have a gloss finish of coarse use a gloss clear enamel.

Ken

Nice score Tim! And Merry Christmas everyone!

David

Good boy indeed!  Congratulations, Tim!  And Merry Christmas

Russ

Pete, For giving the cockpit a wash. Remember to give the cockpit a clear coat of gloss, it will let the wash flow better. But its especially important when using a wash using the same solvent as your base coat.. Brown is fine or you might want to mix in some black as well.

Kiwi, I built my Monogram F-102 a few year ago and can't remember any problems with the kit. Just do a lot of test fitting and you should be fine. The only part you might run into trouble is the bomb bay if you go with closing it, I recall reading that it doesn't fit that well.

David

Oops. Above comment was meant for GreySnake.

Kiwi-I have the same older kit in my stash. This is the  same but repacked by Encore. Thus far the cockpit on the repack is much more detailed. It has been interesting looking at the repack versus the original. I do like the historical data in the Monogram instructions over the Encore instructions. I would recommend doing the air intakes before joining the fuselage. You may also want to consider doing the stick in the cockpit last. I didn't and haven't had a problem...yet. I have a feeling I'm going to break it off one of these days.

Son of Medicine Man-The resin was packed with the kit. Encore did a repack of this old Monogram. In fact, early on in this build someone told me about it ass I was originally going to do just the Monogram kit. As luck would have it, Squadron had it on sale at the time.

Finally, would anyone like to recommend some cockpit weathering for me? Should I jut throw down a wash of brown or something? I did some drybrushing with silver and grey but would like to do more.

Thanks for all the positive feedback and help,

I will check the instructions later today or tomorrow. For some reason my wife made me pack everything away off the dining room table (my workspace). Something about needing the space Christmas dinner.

PeteG

Hello all,

Well I've started the F-102A and am off to a pretty good start. This kit is my first jet and my first time with resin and so much photo etched parts. I'm enjoying the experience with both so far, but the amount of cutting and sanding can get a bit tedious. But so far so good. I did encounter some fun when putting the resin intakes in. One was a tad bit short and I had to dive make up for it with some strip styrene to fill the gap. Again, another kit first. Needless to say I am going to learn a ton with this build.

I am running into one issue and I've tried to document it with photos. Instructions call for the fuselage to be assembled an then cockpit put in. I may or may not do that as it is a very tight fit. I have tested it out a you can see and am wondering exactly how the non-glare panel is supposed to mate up with the fuselage. It looks like there may be some gaps. I've put this aside for now and have moved to other parts. If anybody with past experience of this kit has any thoughts I'd appreciate it. 

Happy Holidays to all!

 

Hi Pete,

Great work so far on your F-102!  It looks outstanding!      Where did you get the resin intakes? 

Ken

Pete, First off the 102 is looking great! Ditto what Russ said on the cockpit. I took a look at my 102 in the stash. Now I may be wrong on this so feel free to correct me. But have you tried putting part R23 over part R10 yet? That's the only spot I can see that would fix those gaps.

David

Happy Holidays to you too, Pete!

Looks like you've got a good start on that 102. The cockpit is looking great!. Sorry but I've never built a 1/48 scale kit so I can't be of help to you there.

Looking forward to watching your progress.

Cheers,

Russ

Hello all,

Well I've started the F-102A and am off to a pretty good start. This kit is my first jet and my first time with resin and so much photo etched parts. I'm enjoying the experience with both so far, but the amount of cutting and sanding can get a bit tedious. But so far so good. I did encounter some fun when putting the resin intakes in. One was a tad bit short and I had to dive make up for it with some strip styrene to fill the gap. Again, another kit first. Needless to say I am going to learn a ton with this build.

I am running into one issue and I've tried to document it with photos. Instructions call for the fuselage to be assembled an then cockpit put in. I may or may not do that as it is a very tight fit. I have tested it out a you can see and am wondering exactly how the non-glare panel is supposed to mate up with the fuselage. It looks like there may be some gaps. I've put this aside for now and have moved to other parts. If anybody with past experience of this kit has any thoughts I'd appreciate it. 

Happy Holidays to all!

 

You're welcome, bud

Striker8241

Son Of Medicine Man

Hi Russ,

I cannot find any pictures of the MC-130E Combat Talon.  Since that is what you are building, I thought I would ask you.  Did that plane have the AN/ARD-17 Aerial Tracker Antenna on top?  I know the HC-130P had them.

Ken

Hi, Ken

As far as I can determine, the AN/ARD-17 is only used in the HC-130.

There aren't very many pictures of the original Combat Talon aircraft. At the time I worked on them, they were not called Combat Talon or MC-130's - they were designated "Rivet Clamp" aircraft. We just called them "Blackbirds" over there.

Below is a picture of 64-0555, the aircraft I'm modeling. The nose radome houses the original AN/APN-115 radar. When they upgraded the Rivet Clamp aircraft with the new AN/APN-122 radar, they had to modify the nose radome with an extension on the bottom to accommodate bigger terrain-following antennas, which gave the radome its distinctive "droop." These upgraded aircraft had the MC-130E designation and were called Talon I's.

Cheers,

Russ

Thank you Russ for the information!  I really appreciate it!

Ken

Son Of Medicine Man

Hi Russ,

I cannot find any pictures of the MC-130E Combat Talon.  Since that is what you are building, I thought I would ask you.  Did that plane have the AN/ARD-17 Aerial Tracker Antenna on top?  I know the HC-130P had them.

Ken

Hi, Ken

As far as I can determine, the AN/ARD-17 is only used in the HC-130.

There aren't very many pictures of the original Combat Talon aircraft. At the time I worked on them, they were not called Combat Talon or MC-130's - they were designated "Rivet Clamp" aircraft. We just called them "Blackbirds" over there.

Below is a picture of 64-0555, the aircraft I'm modeling. The nose radome houses the original AN/APN-115 radar. When they upgraded the Rivet Clamp aircraft with the new AN/APN-122 radar, they had to modify the nose radome with an extension on the bottom to accommodate bigger terrain-following antennas, which gave the radome its distinctive "droop." These upgraded aircraft had the MC-130E designation and were called Talon I's.

Cheers,

Russ

Hi Russ,

I cannot find any pictures of the MC-130E Combat Talon.  Since that is what you are building, I thought I would ask you.  Did that plane have the AN/ARD-17 Aerial Tracker Antenna on top?  I know the HC-130P had them.

Ken

Thanks everyone! I got all 12 for a total of $75.00.  That is $6.25 a piece!  Great deal!  I am pretty sure that they are all out of print.

Ken

Congrats on the score Ken! Those are some really cool looking pictures.

Well, you could always suspend them from the ceiling - like a flag .

Outstanding group of picture, Ken! Well done!

Russ

Hi Everyone,

I made a really good score on eBay this evening!  More pictures (although I have no idea where I am going to hang them!).  Here they are:

 They are all 22" X 17", a really good size!

Ken

Kiwi

Here's a final shot of the Cat!
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And my final shot of the Starfighter for the front page-

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Looks like the Skyraider will be delayed further as I had a request from my best friend to build him a F102 Delta Dagger for his desk at work. He's an engineer and builds plane parts, his grandparents were killed when an 102 slid off the runway in Alberqurque and hit their car, but he loves the plane. I'll build this at the same time as my little Dragonfly, which is an awesome kit so far!

Nice job on your Cat!     

That is a good picture of your F-104C Starfighter!  The front page has been updated.

Wow, that is some story about your friend's grandparents.  Talk about being at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Ken

Tim, nice work on the cat! And it has my favorite squadron markings as well!

Kiwi

I've almost finished my distraction project! Rubbish day here in Seattle so I scrapped the ski plans and have been decaling for the last few hours so I can finish this project and get on with the dragonfly!

Nice work there Tim, that looks outstanding!     

Ken

PeteG

Hi-

Just finished the P-26 in the Pearl Harbor Build and am now ready to begin my F-102A. Hope I'm not too late : )

The start will be slow as the holidays are rolling in, but I promise to contribute as often as possible.

Hi Pete,

No you are not too late.  We are pretty laid back here.  I fully understand the hectic schedules involved with the holidays.  Take your time and we look forward to seeing your build!   

Ken

Hi-

Just finished the P-26 in the Pearl Harbor Build and am now ready to begin my F-102A. Hope I'm not too late : )

The start will be slow as the holidays are rolling in, but I promise to contribute as often as possible.