Of Huns, Shakers, and a Quick Trip to the Hard Deck

Nothing Much Going On

Or in other words, I've got a full plate today with things that have precious little to do with aviation  or  model airplanes, so it's going to be a short one. Regardless of that, we still oughta do something,  so here are some odds and ends to start the week:

All We Need is For Him to Start Another Project!

About 18 years ago I began building a 1/48th scale Heller RF-84F. It was a pretty neat kit for its time, although it's somewhat less so nowadays---time and technology have largely passed it by. Still, the Thunderflash was a pretty significant airplane in its day and even though you'd hope that in this New Golden Age of Plastic Modeling somebody, preferably somebody mainstream, would see fit to issue a brand new, state-of-the-art kit of the RF-84F, it probably happen any time soon. That leaves us with Heller to fill the gap.

There are a couple of different ways to approach a project like this. One way is to take the superb if aging Monogram F-84F and graft the RF nose and wings to it. That's a possibility, but not this time. This time it's going to be the straight Heller kit, since it's already been started and most of the bad places sanded out. How do you feel about building that dinosaur?

There's Good News to be found regarding that old Heller offering, you know. It isn't a bad kit. It isn't a real good one either, but it's not so bad that it can't be built with a relative minimum of hassle, and there's lots you can do with it. There's a resin set by somebody (I can't remember who, though) that replaces the entire cockpit (the kit's major shortcoming) and also spiffs up the intakes a little, and another French company (FM, I think) did a re-issue of the Heller model but with the addition of photoetch and resin. I haven't seen that one either and I'd have to tear my existing Thunderflash apart to utilize the new components anyway, so what you're probably going to see here is an excercise in 1980s modeling! All the big pieces are together (have been for years, remember?) so it ought to be a quick project, one that we'll probably kick off in a day or so. And we'll proceed once you stop laughing about that "quick" part. I shall serve no model before its time...

Here's a shot to whet your appetite for the Thunderflash. It shows a pair of Taiwanese RFs in close formation with a pair of PACAF birds. Of partilar note to modelers is the shape of the wing anti-skid material and the Olive Drab anti-glare panels.  USAF via Jahant

It's a Good Day For a Hun

Remember that part, really early on in this adventure, when I said I got by with a little help from my friends? Here's proof; a couple of really nice photos of the F-100 from the collection of valued friend Jim Sullivan. Enjoy!

How about a gorgeous F-100C from the 120th TFS stationed at Robertson ANGB, CO, during December of 1969? 54-1748 has a tiger's head painted on the vertical stab and the name "Coors Express" on the nose. Her paintwork's a little bit worn but she's well-maintained!  Fred Roos via Sullivan

Here's 55-2853 of the 524th CCTS/27th TFW at Cannon AFB during August of 1970. She wears a Wing badge under the windscreen and the normal TAC badge on the tail. Note the articulated pitot boom. Every production F-100 ever built incorporated this feature. It made life on the ramp a whole lot easier!  Chuck Mayer via Jim Sullivan

It's Just a Big Ol' Truck, That's All

The fighters, bombers, and attack aircraft get the glory. The transports keep their more flashy cousins in the air. Let's take a quick look at a couple of classic transports:

More Douglas C-74 Globemasters in one place than I've ever seen before. This ramp full of MATS C-74s sport full arctic conspicuity markings and are representative of the way that command's birds looked Way Back When. 42-65407 is obviously undergoing fairly heavy maintenance at the Home Drome, but that's about all I know about the shot!  AMC via Mark Morgan

Photo and caption removed due to possible copyright issue.  pf  07 Apr 2010

Progress on the Scooter, By Jingo!

Yep; hard though it might be to believe, that A-4C that's been languishing on the bench for the past month made it out of the paint shop yesterday! Somebody call the headline news! Hot diggedy!!! (Does anybody know if that's really how you spell "diggedy"? That's the problem with using that sort of slang...)

Anyway, the Scoot's all nice and gray, with white undersurfaces and red in the appropriate places. It's beginning to look a whole lot like an A-4C, ya'll! There's a tiny, almost negligible, amount of touch-up to do, then it'll get a gloss coat (I use Testor Metalizer Sealer for that sort of thing; never did like the notion of spraying floor wax on a model airplane!) and some stickies. I still haven't figured out who's bird I'm doing yet, but there are a couple of strong contenders under consideration. I also haven't found that accursed Hasegawa Weapons Set with the MERs, sway braces, and MK 82s yet (you wouldn't believe how much stuff is in that attic of mine!) but that's apparently the remaining stumbling block of any great significance, although you should never deny me the chance to snatch defeat straight out of the jaws of victory. I've done it before; got the tee-shirt to prove it!

One thing, and it's a neat reason to keep your collection in a constant scale; right now this minute that Scooter's sitting on my workbench next to a P-38G that's awaiting a canopy. The P-38 is, by any standard, a big fighter, but it doesn't look like that parked next to the A-4. I won't say the Hot Rod dwarfs the P-38 or anything absurd like that, but almost any military jet is big compared to the tactical stuff of the WW2 era (we aren't counting Folland Gnats here, so please don't write me about that particular airplane, ok?) and sometimes the difference is pretty dramatic. If I can remember to do it I'll photograph those two airplanes sitting together so you'll understand what I mean!

Here's An Airplane I Dropped

Not once but twice, and both times were after it had been painted and had the wings and floats attached. That Hasegawa F1M2 "Pete" is one tough cookie; both times it dropped from waist height to a tile floor, and both times it bounced. I ended up reattaching one wing float and that was the extent of the damage! (I've always said I'd rather be lucky than good!) We're showing you this one because of that "defeat from the jaws of victory" thing. This was one of those at one time!

Be good to your neighbor. We'll see you again real soon!
phil