First Annual USAF Vietnam Group Build

Thanks Russ!

Spent the morning on decals and finished up. She needs a few coats of future and some oil stains, exhaust weathering etc but the sun was out and I felt like taking some glamor shots, I mean, I found these photos of a F-104 in an old Vietnam USAF archive...

Really was a beautiful and easy kit, makes me want to build an entire century series collection from Hasegawa. The silver metallic finish is very forgiving and looks great on display in lounge type lighting. Even got approval from headquarters to display this one in our living room! :-)

Kiwi

Thanks Russ!

Spent the morning on decals and finished up. She needs a few coats of future and some oil stains, exhaust weathering etc but the sun was out and I felt like taking some glamor shots, I mean, I found these photos of a F-104 in an old Vietnam USAF archive...

Really was a beautiful and easy kit, makes me want to build an entire century series collection from Hasegawa. The silver metallic finish is very forgiving and looks great on display in lounge type lighting. Even got approval from headquarters to display this one in our living room! :-)

She turned out great Tim!  Outstanding!!      Congratulations on a job well done!

So do you want to use one of these pictures for the front page or were you intending on adding some final touches?  I wasn't quite clear on that.

Ken

Hi Everyone,

I was going to proceed with painting the rear cockpit this evening when I noticed it had quite a few air bubbles in it.  So since I have another set on the way, I will just wait for it to arrive and use it.  No need of trying to fix this one unless the one that shows up is just as bad or worse.

Ken

Hi Everyone,

Well this Friday, November 1st, will mark the 49th anniversary of the attack on Bien Hoa Air Base.  The base was attacked by Viet Cong forces with mortar fire which killed 4 U.S. servicemen and wounding 72.  20 B-57s were hit (5 destroyed), along with 4 helicopters and 3 A-1H Skyraiders damaged.

This made big headline news here in the United States because Bien Hoa Air Base was a major and important air base in Vietnam.

Ken

Hi Everyone,

Some disappointment today when the second cockpit I ordered showed up.  It had the same defect as the first one.  Not as bad, but still there.  Here is a picture:

My guess is that this cavity in the mold must be a shape that is hard to keep clean or fill.  I emailed Squadron (that is where I ordered my last set from) to see if they can check their remaining stock for the same defect.  I will wait to see what they say.

Ken 

Apparently they don't check their castings very closely after production, or they just don't care.

Russ

Hi, Ken,

The story I heard when I got in country was that there was also hand-to-hand fighting in some of the airmen's barracks. That had to be gut-wrenching for guys who were only trained to shoot an M-16.

Russ

Striker8241

Hi, Ken,

The story I heard when I got in country was that there was also hand-to-hand fighting in some of the airmen's barracks. That had to be gut-wrenching for guys who were only trained to shoot an M-16.

Russ

Wow, I agree, that had to be gut-wrenching.  There is no way I could imagine what that would have been like.  Especially since the attack started right after midnight, so it would have been dark, and that early in the war, no one would have had a clue as to what was going on.

Ken

Hi Everyone,

Happy, happy!  Joy, joy!  My latest acquisition arrived today:

It is a reissue of the Hasegawa 1/32 F-104C Starfighter in Vietnam trim!  Here is a link to a review of the kit:

http://www.cybermodeler.com/hobby/kits/has/kit_has_08234.shtml 

Ken

Hi Everyone,

Well it has been two days since I sent an email to Squadron explaining the problem about the cockpit, but I have not heard back.  Since I included a picture attachment in the email, I thought that maybe their email system may have blocked it, so I resent the message tonight, this time using a link to the picture instead.  Hopefully I will hear back from them soon.

Ken

Hi Everyone,

I just discovered some awesome news!  Kinetic Model Kits has announced that they will be releasing a 1/48 F-5B!  I will definitely be buying it when it hits the market.  Here is a link to the Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/Kineticmodel 

Ken

Looks fantastic, Ken! How many kits now do you have toward your goal of building one of every Viet Nam era AF aircraft?

Russ

Striker8241

Looks fantastic, Ken! How many kits now do you have toward your goal of building one of every Viet Nam era AF aircraft?

Russ

Hi Russ,

I would have to sit down and sort them all out, but I would say roughly that I have about 2/3 of every version sitting in my stash.  That includes the conversion kits and decals to go along with them, which in a lot of cases cost up to 10 times more than the kits themselves.

Ken

Son Of Medicine Man

Striker8241

Looks fantastic, Ken! How many kits now do you have toward your goal of building one of every Viet Nam era AF aircraft?

Russ

Hi Russ,

I would have to sit down and sort them all out, but I would say roughly that I have about 2/3 of every version sitting in my stash.  That includes the conversion kits and decals to go along with them, which in a lot of cases cost up to 10 times more than the kits themselves.

Ken

Russ. at least you and I have our BUFFs done.  Now on to all the other planes we need/want.

Roger that, Jim

Hi Everyone,

As I stated before, I have been busy with the F-84E project for my friend.  I still have not heard back from Squadron, but they may not have staff that work on the weekends.  I have been thinking about that spot that is void on the cockpit, and I could probably make my own shaped piece to glue into the spot.  If I get to a place on the F-84E that I am waiting for something, I have already looked at my stash of resin left over "pieces" that I have kept and I am pretty sure there is one that is close the right thickness.

Ken

Hi Everyone,

Well I finally heard back from Squadron today.  They said "We will send the part to you tomorrow."  From that statement I am assuming they have found a set with a cockpit without the defect and have removed that cockpit and are sending it.  So I will hold off on trying to modify the one I have.

Ken

That's good news, Ken. Just be sure they didn't leave something else out on this one .

Russ

Finally have some time to sit down at the computer.

Kiwi that F-104 looks awesome

Ken, Glad to hear Squadron is sending you a new part.

And here's a better picture I took of the 105 for the front page.

GreySnake

Finally have some time to sit down at the computer.

Kiwi that F-104 looks awesome

Ken, Glad to hear Squadron is sending you a new part.

And here's a better picture I took of the 105 for the front page.

 

Hi David,

Great picture man!      The front page has been updated!  Congratulations once again on a great build.  Any thoughts on your next build?

Ken

Hi Everyone,

Man am I glad Friday is here.  It has been a busy week.

The cockpit, or I should say cockpits showed up today from Squadron.  They sent two!  I am guessing that they were just not sure what I was talking about when I emailed them, even though I sent a picture with the arrow pointing to the spot.  But in hind sight, I should have also sent a picture of what that spot "should" look like.

Anyway, both cockpits are just like the one I just bought.  I am not going to fault Squadron, they get an "A" for effort, after all they did send two!  That just makes it easier for me to experiment with "fixing" the spot myself.  If I mess one up, I got a couple of spares!

I will do like I was talking about before.  I will take a piece of excess resin mold that I have cut off of other resin parts that is about the right thickness and cut it down to the right shape, then epoxy it in place.  It is mostly straight edges so I don't think it will be too difficult.

Ken

Thanks Ken! As for my next build as I was about set on building Monogram's F-4C. However the decals are for a training unit. And a quick search online yields hardly any Vietnam markings. The only ones I could find on ebay are $18 and up which is more then I paid for the kit.

Looking through my stash I have an F-100, F-101 or F-102 all in 1/48 that i might build. I'm leaning towards the F-100 since I've never built one before.

Bad luck on the parts Ken, but like you said at least you have a couple to experiment on.

Son Of Medicine Man

Hi Everyone,

Man am I glad Friday is here.  It has been a busy week.

The cockpit, or I should say cockpits showed up today from Squadron.  They sent two!  I am guessing that they were just not sure what I was talking about when I emailed them, even though I sent a picture with the arrow pointing to the spot.  But in hind sight, I should have also sent a picture of what that spot "should" look like.

Anyway, both cockpits are just like the one I just bought.  I am not going to fault Squadron, they get an "A" for effort, after all they did send two!  That just makes it easier for me to experiment with "fixing" the spot myself.  If I mess one up, I got a couple of spares!

I will do like I was talking about before.  I will take a piece of excess resin mold that I have cut off of other resin parts that is about the right thickness and cut it down to the right shape, then epoxy it in place.  It is mostly straight edges so I don't think it will be too difficult.

Ken

You're undoubtedly right, Ken,

Those are probably the only ones they've ever seen. I doubt they'd take the time to research the real panel to see what the missing area looks like. Apparently that detail was never included in the mold used by their source.

Russ

Beautiful job, GS! Congratulations! You're rocking on down the highway and I'm tip-toeing down the hallway...I hope to have some progress on my project this weekend.

Cheers,

Russ

Thank you Russ!

Hi Everyone,

Last night I put the "new" cockpit in Bleche-Wite and let it soak overnight to dissolve any residual mold release agents that may be left on the parts.  This afternoon I scrubbed the parts with a cheap long haired paint brush while they were still in the Bleche-Wite before rinsing them off in a strong stream of warm water.  Then I blow dried them.

Shortly after doing that I went to drain my air compressor tank (which is a big unit that sits in my garage) and a big pool of oil came out.  The valve plate gasket is blown!  I have ordered new parts but the arrival estimate is not until November 18th.  So I am not going to be able to spray paint until then.

 I will be able to work on "fixing" that part on the front cockpit that is not filled in however, so I do have that.  And I do have some work on the F-84E Hoosier Hotshot to do as well.  If I get desperate, I may go to my Mom's house and use my Dad's old air compressor.

Ken

Kiwi

Hey guys,

I know it's not part of the group build but I've put the skyraider on hold for a bit and am working on my hasegawa F-14. This is my first time working with a resin aftermarket cockpit, pretty exciting.



Any advice or tips would be appreciated!

Drove past NAS Whidby today, pretty neat. Apparently there are noise complaints about the OLF and it's been shut down so none of the pilots can practice carrier takeoffs and landings on shore. Seems kind of ridiculous...

Hi Tim,

I have limited experience with working on a resin cockpit myself but I will pass on what I have learned.

First, I use epoxy instead of super glue for adhesive when working with resin parts.  I have found that super glue just does not have the bonding strength needed to get the job done.

Second, test fit, test fit, then test fit again!  You are replacing the kit parts with aftermarket parts and the odds are they are not going to be an exact fit.  You will most likely have to do a lot of sanding, filing, and cutting to get the resin pieces to fit.  But the extra amount of detail is usually well worth it!

That brings up the third point.  Resin dust.  Be sure to wear a mask and/or use plenty of ventilation while sanding or grinding on the resin parts.  Resin dust is very nasty stuff and becomes very fine particles when you sand or grind on it.

Ken

Kiwi that cockpit is looking pretty sharp!

Ken pretty much covered what I was going to say about resin. One thing I do with the parts while sanding is wet sand really cuts down on the dust.

I would like to wish all of our United States Veterans a big THANK YOU!     for a your service in our United States Military.  And a special THANK YOU! to you Russ.  I think you are the only U.S. Veteran on this build, but if there are others, please don't remain silent and let me know!

Ken