Viet Nam War Aircraft Group Build

You are on the list, Stephen.  You are committed.

Did I mention that anyone who doesn't finish gets a year on mess hall grease trap duty?

StephenL

Recently started the Roden OV-1A , guess I'm in.

 

In that case, back to tedious masking... 

Funny about the soccer comment.  The RF-8A's used during the Cuban missile crisis had little Fidel wearing a baseball uniform painted on them. 

Heading to the bench. 

Greg

It's real, no grease trap for me

Well, I see you have an F-14A listed. I just so happen to have one of those in the stash. Put me down for a 1/48 Academy F-14A.

BK

StephenL

It's real, no grease trap for me

You will need the grease for your elbows with that kit!  I have the JOV-1 and it is a poster child advertising the pitfalls of Roden.  To be fair, the kit was from several years back.  But still, the soft moldings, ejector pin marks in lousy places, and tricky fit all add up to a tough build.  The greasy plastic and lack of space to fit the copious amounts of lead weight add to the fun.

But the Mohawk is a fascinating plane that really stads out in a collection.  Best wishes on your build!

Will do, Brandon.  Welcome!  1/72 or 1/48?

The base coat of Alclad II has been applied over a base coat of Model Master Ford Engine Blue, which had been wet sanded with 2500 sandpaper.

jeaton01

Will do, Brandon.  Welcome!  1/72 or 1/48?

 

BK

John, you are cruising on the C-123!  My progress is shameful compared to yours.  Blue instead of black on the base coat?  Interesting, do tell... 

I have learned a couple of lessons.  1, if you build the An-2, get an aftermarket mask set.  2, if you want to actually find what you are searching for in relation to models, scrap google, and use duck duck go.  All the An-2 reviews I wanted BEFORE I started, and couldn't find, I now have.  

Cool on the Mohawk.  A very interesting plane indeed. 

Greg

Greg, my theory is that when you are looking at a reflective surface what you see is what it is reflecting, which on a good day is blue.  But really the gloss part is the most important and I just happen to have a lot of Ford Engine Blue from when I bought the paint stock from a hobby shop that was closing.

I have Italeri kit 091 of the An-2, and I thought maybe it might be a different kit, but the parts are the same.  That canopy is a nightmare, but then that's how Antonov built it.  I tried a test fit of the injected parts and it seems a workable strategy is to attach the two lower parts to each fuselage half first, then add the top part.  Definitely need masks.  Does anyone make them using them Tamiya type tape?

I probably got that little front triangular part a little low but given the acute angle a little white glue should hide that well enough.  It doesn't look to me like it is shaped quite right, and in any event there is an angle to the main canopy that it does not conform to and if a bend is tried there will probably be stress marks.  Might be better to use it as a pattern for a replacement acetate sheet.  Given the scale I don't know if it is worth it.  These pictures are a lot larger than the model, and the main canopy is just resting in place. 

The Pavla vac canopy does not look good at all, and the resin parts look pretty rough to me, in the pictures I found on the net.

Thanks for the tip about DDG.

 Here's a picture I found on Prime Portal.  Looks like the plastic part is too long and should only come up to the frame on the upper canopy, and the rest is sheet metal after the break.  Hope this isn't TMI, but once I get going on research...

Great stuff here on the group build!  My paint arrived and I'm starting. 

I would like to join in this GB also. I dug through the stash and have decided on a Monogram 1/48 A-37 Dragonfly. I will get started on it this week and will get some photos up in a few days. I look forward to this one!

cbaltrin

Got the fuselage buttoned up and the intake installed on the F-100D

 

 

Trying to get over the first construction  hurdle. There is a rectangular panel on the botton of the nose (to facilitate better molding of two of the 20mm cannon I suppose) and it does not fit that well. In addition to gaps on all four sides, the rear edge bulges up above the contour on the fuselage quite a bit and I am trying to get it filled and  sanded down without losing the gun detail.

Jeaton, is it too late to get onboard? Some of the aircraft in your list I already have on my shelf, a couple even in VNAF livery. In the meantime I have some of the kits on your list in my stash that I have been looking for a reason to build. They are mostly vintage kits that I find that build up well. A couple are new tool kits like the Airfix A-4 Skyhawk. I need to sort through what I have to see what strikes my fancy. Bish's 80 Years of Airfix is about to wrap up so I need to find another group build to keep me busy.

One already on my shelf:

Consider yourself having the number 1 in the draft lottery, Frank.  Let me know what you are going to build.

Good luck on that seam, cbaltrin.

Jacknewbill, you are on the list.  Mind the greasetrap hazards.

jeaton01

Consider yourself having the number 1 in the draft lottery, Frank.  Let me know what you are going to build.

 

By the time I got my lottery number, which was very low, I was already three years into my Air Force enlistment. Fooled Selective Service didn't I.

I've made up my mind, Jeaton. I don't have any bad guys on my shelf yet so I'm going with these two:

I'm going to pose them the way jets look best: In flight. They're pretty simple kits and should go together pretty quickly. The kits are pretty old and the decals are dried up with age so I'll have to get some aftermarket decals to make them NVAF.

And away we go...

Added to the list, Frank. 

These old kits are very simple and I enjoy them. They can be made to look nice on the shelf with a little effort. The major subassemblies for the MiG 15 are already glued together. Now begins the clean up. There's some flash to be removed and panel lines as big as ropes to be sanded off. The kit certainly shows its age, that's for sure.

Simple is good, Frank.  I'm ready for some simple, as I have finished the Roden C-123.  While it is rewarding to have it done and ready for the display case, it made me work for it, because of all the little details and the decals.  The only way I could get the decals to settle down was to use a Top Flight heat gun that I normally use to shrink mylar film on my R/C models, but they still did not adhere well so I applied a clear coat of Alclad Matt.  It gives the airplane the look of an older oxidized skin, and I think I like it.  Not going to trap myself with Roden decals again anytime soon.  I am pretty sure I used the kit decals on my Roden Sea Gladiator, maybe they had a different maker then.  The fiddley bits have been added, on to the pictures.  Ifr you look close you may be able to see that I painted the rubber surrounds on the windows that had them, that's what I remember most about the first time I saw a C-123, windows held in like the back window on a 53 Ford Pickup.

And next to a C-46.  Both had Pratt and Whitney R-2800's, but the C-123 had 300 more horsepower per side.  Cruise speeds are about the same according to the usual sources.

That C-123 looks great! Nice finish, John.

Here is a progress update on the F-14A.

After the glue dried on the wings, I painted, decaled, and Dullcoted them.

I then added them to the lower fuselage.

I then painted the upper fuselage and glued the halves together. I also started on the stencils while I waited for the glue to dry. I then added the tailfeathers and exhaust nozzles.

Here's where it sits now with tailfeathers painted.

Jeaton, your C-123 looks great. These airplanes didn't get polished ever and they had a pretty rough and tumble existence in S.E.A. so the matte NMF suits this airplane just fine. Well done.

Congrats on finishing the C-123 John. It looks great!

Looks great John.  Very nice finish.

Congratulation John for the fast and great looking build!  You have bettered a Roden kit - no mean feat!

Thanks, all, glad you liked it.  Sure beats the alternative!  Now I need to figure out another project for this GB.  Maybe the Italeri A-26A aka B-26K.  I'm trying to get the Whirlybird tail correction for it.

Nice progress, Mach I.