First Annual USAF Vietnam Group Build

Striker8241

To finish up the detailing of the lower front deck area, I've added the TO rack next to the ladder. It's amazing how much extra room and storage space these planes had in the crew areas, as apposed to bombers and fighters. It's more like an airliner. I flew many miles in them and it was nice to be able to stand up and move around and even gaze out the windows. Noisy beasts though .

Cheers,

Russ

 

Nice work once again Russ!  That looks great!     

I can attest to the noise level inside a C-130 myself.  As you know Russ, one of the benefits of being in the USAF (or at least it used to be, don't know if it still is), you could put your name on a list for a ride to another AFB.  You just never knew when your name was going to get to the top of the list.

When we were stationed at Kadena AFB, Okinawa, my Dad put his name on the list to fly to Tachikawa AFB (which is no longer in existence).  It was an AFB just outside of Tokyo, Japan.  He had a couple of friends there he knew from Randolph AFB (the last AFB we were stationed at).

When you put your name on these lists, you never knew what you were going to fly on.  So when his name came up, it was hurry up and pack and off to the Kadena AFB to catch our "flight".  Our "flight" was a C-130.  I don't remember what model it was.  It was December 1963.  But I do remember how loud it was!  And the only seats were the "troop seats" that lined each side of the fuselage.  But there was plenty of room to move about!

Ken

Well, everybody seems to be tied up with the holiday so not much model building going on. I've been busy as well with family visiting us from out west. But I did manage to do a little on the model.

 I can't really start on the cockpit until I set up my spray paint booth, which will be at least two more weeks, so I've been working on the main landing gear. I discovered some of the detail on the main gear assembly just isn't accurate. For example, there is no bar between the tops of the two struts. I'm sure this was added to strengthen the model assembly. Also, the struts are of uniform diameter most of their length, as opposed to the model's rendition which has a large sleeve in the middle.

The picture below shows the original strut assembly and what it looks like after I modified it. The struts rode up and down in tracks and were driven by electric motors and worm gears.

Cheers,

Russ

Striker8241

Well, everybody seems to be tied up with the holiday so not much model building going on. I've been busy as well with family visiting us from out west. But I did manage to do a little on the model.

 I can't really start on the cockpit until I set up my spray paint booth, which will be at least two more weeks, so I've been working on the main landing gear. I discovered some of the detail on the main gear assembly just isn't accurate. For example, there is no bar between the tops of the two struts. I'm sure this was added to strengthen the model assembly. Also, the struts are of uniform diameter most of their length, as opposed to the model's rendition which has a large sleeve in the middle.

The picture below shows the original strut assembly and what it looks like after I modified it. The struts rode up and down in tracks and were driven by electric motors and worm gears.

Cheers,

Russ

Very good information to know Russ!  And great job on "fixing" yours to represent the real thing!

I plan on building several of the 1/48 scale versions of the C-130 and was going to use the Scale Aircraft Conversions white metal replacements shown here:

 Obviously it is just a recast of the plastic part.  Starting with the metal part and customizing it may offer more strength though.

Ken

Hi Everyone,

I just wanted to stop by and drop a note to say I am still alive!  Now that it is the middle of summer it is hard for me to find time to spend at the workbench.  I have two house holds to take care of, my mother's and my own.  And we have been getting an unusual amount of rain this year which has meant a lot more lawn care.

In addition, there have been a couple of big projects come on board where I work which has been equating to more overtime.

But like all things it will settle down eventually so I am sure I will be able to get back soon.  I would really like to get that fuselage buttoned up!

Ken

Hello all,

I would like to joint this group build, if it is not too late. I am a returning modeler and you can read more, if you desire, in my Tamiya P-51D Tuskegee thread. I have simultaneously just joined the Pearl Harbor GB. I figure I would work on both planes concurrently. Anyways, if I can joint this build I will be building an F-102A Delta Dagger. The kit, a ProModeler 1/48th is one I "inherited" from a deceased friend, and Vietnam vet, Bill. This build will be done in his memory and honor. At a later date I'll fill you in on Bill.

Please let me know if I can join in the fun and also, if anybody is familiar with the kit, if there are some good aftermarket parts I should look at.

Cheers,

Pete G

Buffalo, NY

PeteG

Hello all,

I would like to joint this group build, if it is not too late. I am a returning modeler and you can read more, if you desire, in my Tamiya P-51D Tuskegee thread. I have simultaneously just joined the Pearl Harbor GB. I figure I would work on both planes concurrently. Anyways, if I can joint this build I will be building an F-102A Delta Dagger. The kit, a ProModeler 1/48th is one I "inherited" from a deceased friend, and Vietnam vet, Bill. This build will be done in his memory and honor. At a later date I'll fill you in on Bill.

Please let me know if I can join in the fun and also, if anybody is familiar with the kit, if there are some good aftermarket parts I should look at.

Cheers,

Pete G

Buffalo, NY

Hi Pete,

Welcome aboard!!    No its not too late to join, there are no deadlines here!  In fact our "official" start isn't until August 5th.  But you can start now if you like.  We are currently in the "advisory period".   

As far as aftermarket parts, you can purchase some for the kit you have or buy another kit that has them already in it that is currently on sale!  Here is the link:

http://www.squadron.com/product-p/ec48001.htm 

Here is a link to a review of that kit:

http://www.cybermodeler.com/hobby/kits/encore/kit_encore_48001.shtml 

It is basically the same kit you have but has the aftermarket parts already put in it!  And at that sale price, it is hard to beat!

But if you have your heart set on building that particular model, (which I most certainly can understand), here is a list of aftermarket for your kit;

Aires resin cockpit http://store.spruebrothers.com/product_p/ars4474.htm 

Aires resin wheel bay set http://store.spruebrothers.com/product_p/ars4477.htm 

Avionix resin cockpit http://store.spruebrothers.com/product_p/bbxav48026.htm 

Eduard color photo etch http://store.spruebrothers.com/product_p/edu49263.htm 

Master Model metal pitot tube http://store.spruebrothers.com/product_p/masam48043.htm 

Scale Aircraft Conversions white metal landing gear http://store.spruebrothers.com/product_p/sac48052.htm 

And there are a plethora of decal sets available, old and new.  The older ones you can shop on eBay for.  For your kit you will need to look for ones that are for the Case X wing F-102A.

Monogram put out two versions of this kit to accurately build the two versions of the F-102A.  F-102A  aircraft with serial numbers 53-1790 through 56-1316 had the Case X wing.  F-102A with serial numbers 56-1317 through 57-0909 had the Case XX wing.

The Case X wing was straight all the way to the end corner.  The Case XX wing bent down at the end corner.  Here is a link to a very detailed lengthy discussion about the differences:

http://s362974870.onlinehome.us/forums/air/index.php?showtopic=177494&st=0 

Later this evening I will post some pictures that my Dad took of some F-102As in Vietnam.

Ken

Hi Everyone,

Well as promised here are some pictures of F-102As that my Dad took while he was TDY in Vietnam.  These were taken around August 1964 at Tan Son Nhut Air Base which was located near the city of Saigon in southern Vietnam.

This first one is a picture of my Dad with the F-102As behind him:

You will notice that they are not camouflaged.  The USAF did not start camouflaging their aircraft until  August 1965.

In this next one you can see an F-102A on the left with a row of RF-101Cs on the other side.  It has obviously just rained.  And I am pretty sure that it a C-123 Provider that has just taken off that you see in the distance.

 This next picture shows a F-102A heading out for the runway.  Once again, no camouflage and still in their original home base markings.

 This next picture shows a row of F-102As.  Notice the armed guard with the M16 rifle!  You can also see an C-124C Globemaster II behind them.  In the far distance are more C-123s.

 Ken

Ken-

Thank you for all of the info and the fantastic pics. You're right, the price for the kit with all the extras is hard to beat. I think I may just have to pony up for that kit (that's Buffalo speak). I really want to start trying out all of the aftermarket parts.

Thanks again. I'm looking forward to this.

Pete

Son Of Medicine Man

Hi Everyone,

Well as promised here are some pictures of F-102As that my Dad took while he was TDY in Vietnam.  These were taken around August 1964 at Tan Son Nhut Air Base which was located near the city of Saigon in southern Vietnam.

~

Great pictures, Ken! Thanks!

 It's definitely early on in the war if that guy is guarding the aircraft. Otherwise, he'd be wearing a helmet and flak vest as a minimum .

Cheers,

Russ

PeteG

Ken-

Thank you for all of the info and the fantastic pics. You're right, the price for the kit with all the extras is hard to beat. I think I may just have to pony up for that kit (that's Buffalo speak). I really want to start trying out all of the aftermarket parts.

Thanks again. I'm looking forward to this.

Pete

You are most welcome Pete!  By the way, Cliff (aka Gamera) was the one that told me about that kit on sale, so if you happen to run into him on this website, you can thank him.  If I didn't already have it in my stash, I would have snagged it for sure at that price!  Also, I don't know how long it is going to be at that price, it may be only until they run out, which is how they usually operate.

Ken

Striker8241

 

Great pictures, Ken! Thanks!

 It's definitely early on in the war if that guy is guarding the aircraft. Otherwise, he'd be wearing a helmet and flak vest as a minimum .

Cheers,

Russ

You are most welcome Russ!

You bring up a good point about the lack of a helmet and flak jacket.  Like I said, these pictures were taken shortly after the "Gulf of Tonkin" incident and we had just started escalating.  I know by the time you got there the war was in full swing!  When my Dad was there people were just learning what Vietnam was.

In fact, when we came back to the States from Okinawa which was right after my Dad was TDY in Vietnam, everyone was asking him a million questions about it!

Ken

Ken, this might be a good place for me to ask about Berny's Recce squadron.

If I remember correctly, it was the 12th TRS.

have I got that right?,,,,,,,,I want to do one RF-4C for my shelves with his tail codes on it. I have a few that will be sort of in memoriam to modelers that we have lost that I knew, if they had aircraft they were connected to.

Rex

Son Of Medicine Man

Hi Everyone,

Well as promised here are some pictures of F-102As that my Dad took while he was TDY in Vietnam.  These were taken around August 1964 at Tan Son Nhut Air Base which was located near the city of Saigon in southern Vietnam.

This first one is a picture of my Dad with the F-102As behind him:

You will notice that they are not camouflaged.  The USAF did not start camouflaging their aircraft until  August 1965.

In this next one you can see an F-102A on the left with a row of RF-101Cs on the other side.  It has obviously just rained.  And I am pretty sure that it a C-123 Provider that has just taken off that you see in the distance.

 This next picture shows a F-102A heading out for the runway.  Once again, no camouflage and still in their original home base markings.

 This next picture shows a row of F-102As.  Notice the armed guard with the M16 rifle!  You can also see an C-124C Globemaster II behind them.  In the far distance are more C-123s.

 Ken

Great picture of your dad.

Think i see some Martin B-57's,

I finally broke down and got the Airfix B-57B a while back.....very nice kit,

and three variants.

Dom

TarnShip

Ken, this might be a good place for me to ask about Berny's Recce squadron.

If I remember correctly, it was the 12th TRS.

have I got that right?,,,,,,,,I want to do one RF-4C for my shelves with his tail codes on it. I have a few that will be sort of in memoriam to modelers that we have lost that I knew, if they had aircraft they were connected to.

Rex

Gosh Rex, I dug through all of my emails from Berny that I have and a lot of them have where he talked about his USAF history.  But none of them say anything about what squadron he was in while he was a crew chief on the RF-4C.  The only thing I could find was that when he was stationed in Vietnam, he was a crew chief on the RF-4C.  So the squadron had to be one that was operating in Vietnam, not Thailand or Okinawa.

Dom, do you remember during any of our conversations with Berny on our trip at the museum if Berny ever mentioned the squadron he was with while a crew chief on the RF-4C?

Ken

Bockscar

Great photos Ken!

Great picture of your dad.

Think i see some Martin B-57's,

I finally broke down and got the Airfix B-57B a while back.....very nice kit,

and three variants.

Dom

Thanks Dom!  And yes, those are actually RB-57Es that you see behind the F-102A, the two original "Patricia Lynn" aircraft.  Which is one of the variants you can make with the Airfix kit!

Ken

jbell30

Count me in......I will be building Esci's 1/72 KC-13&. So hard to make a decision on which kit to build with so many choices in the stash. I will get some starting pics up some time tomorrow. :)

Hi JBELL30!  Welcome aboard!    Which version KC-135 will you be building?  The A or the Q?

Ken

I will be building the A model.

Please count me in! First group build! Woohoo!!!

I have a vintage 1/48 Monogram Douglas A-1H Skyraider US Navy in the collection to contribute. I bought it last year after watching Rescue Dawn and reading about Dengler's experience. I will likely add no aftermarket parts.

jbell30

I will be building the A model.

Front page has been updated jbell30! and once again welcome aboard!

Ken

Kiwi

Please count me in! First group build! Woohoo!!!

I have a vintage 1/48 Monogram Douglas A-1H Skyraider US Navy in the collection to contribute. I bought it last year after watching Rescue Dawn and reading about Dengler's experience. I will likely add no aftermarket parts.

Hi Kiwi, welcome aboard!   

Just be aware that you will have to build that as an USAF aircraft to meet the rules of this group build.  I won't be a complete stickler and say you would have to go so far as to buy the aftermarket Yankee ejection seat and larger tail wheel.  But you will need to at least put USAF markings on it from a squadron that flew in Vietnam.   

Ken

Son Of Medicine Man

Kiwi

Please count me in! First group build! Woohoo!!!

I have a vintage 1/48 Monogram Douglas A-1H Skyraider US Navy in the collection to contribute. I bought it last year after watching Rescue Dawn and reading about Dengler's experience. I will likely add no aftermarket parts.

Hi Kiwi, welcome aboard!   

Just be aware that you will have to build that as an USAF aircraft to meet the rules of this group build.  I won't be a complete stickler and say you would have to go so far as to buy the aftermarket Yankee ejection seat and larger tail wheel.  But you will need to at least put USAF markings on it from a squadron that flew in Vietnam.   

Ken

Hi Kiwi,

I just looked for you and found a set of decals that would work!  Only $12 plus shipping.  Here is a link:

http://www.squadron.com/product-p/il48019.htm 

Ken

Thanks for the link! I will pick those up for sure!

But now I know that I have the wrong ejection seat and tail wheel I shall have to hunt those down too,

Hi Everyone!

Well we are closing in on the "official" start date of this group build, August 5th!  The 49th anniversary of the "Gulf of Tonkin Incident".

Well after some long hours at my job, I finally got to spend an evening at the workbench!   

I started back on the fuselage getting it ready to button it up.  The instructions that came with the Eduard Brassin exhaust showed that I needed to cut off 7mm from the fuselage shown here (I marked it with a Sharpie):

 I cut it with my Dremel using a plastic cutting bit.  Here it is after the cut:

 The next thing I worked on was fitting the mechanical up latch inside the fuselage.  Here it is after I was done.  (It is currently being held in place by tape.):

Tomorrow night is my local chapter IPMS meeting.  Always a good time.  And I have this weekend off from work!   

Ken 

Nice work, Ken! Glad to see you back at your bench. Enjoy the weekend!

Nice job.

I had the pleasure of watching eight Oregon Air National Guard Phantoms go out in pairs, one afternoon while I was "punch listing" our design work for a new parking garage at Portland International Airport.

I was up on the roof and these were taking off two at a time on parallel runways just across the road.

Striker8241

Nice work, Ken! Glad to see you back at your bench. Enjoy the weekend!

Thank you Russ, yes, it felt like years!

Ken

GMorrison

Nice job.

I had the pleasure of watching eight Oregon Air National Guard Phantoms go out in pairs, one afternoon while I was "punch listing" our design work for a new parking garage at Portland International Airport.

I was up on the roof and these were taking off two at a time on parallel runways just across the road.

That had to be a great sight to see!  One of those moments you wish you had your camera with you!  And I bet the sound was great too! 

Ken

Hi Everyone,

I changed the official start date of this build from August 5th to August 7th.  I don't know what I was thinking when I set the original date, since the Gulf of Tonkin Incident actually spanned two different incidents on two different dates, August 2nd and August 4th.  To settle on one date, I picked the date of the "Gulf of Tonkin Resolution", August 7th.  Which actually makes more since because that is when the United States "officially" started escalating.  I apologize for any confusion, but I would like to stay on track on the historical basis of this build.

Ken

Hi Everyone,

I have more progress on the Phantom to report.  I have glued the mechanical uplink in place.  Here is how I did it.  First of all, I left the resin piece attached to it's molded block.  It was almost exactly the right width to fit inside the fuselage.  That way I could use the block to glue it to the fuselage.  Here is a picture where I had it attached with tape for test fitting:

 Next I mixed up some 20 minute epoxy. I used 20 minute so I had enough time to fiddle with it to get it in just the right position. This turned out to be a really good thing because I needed that much time to get it square both horizontally and vertically.  Here is how it turned out:

It took a lot of patience to get it square like that.  Now I will let it setup overnight.  Tomorrow I will work on the front pieces.

Ken