Paint, Those DSES Guys, and A Few From Nanks

 

Let's Put Some Color On the Thing

Well, let's try to do that anyway! Sometimes it seems as though there's a new hobby paint out there every fifteen minutes or so, and it also seems as though there's an unpleasant side effect to that phenomena, ergo; the paint either doesn't behave like I'm used to it doing, or the specific color mixes offered by whatever new-to-me paint manufacturer show little if any resemblance to the real thing as I perceive it to be. Those are vexing things to me, maybe because of my substantial seniority on life or maybe because I've pretty much always been a dance-with-the-one-that-brung-you kind of guy. Whatever the cause, the bottom line is a certain irrational resistance to change as far as scale paint is concerned. 

Let's get one thing clear right off the bat: I have experienced a great many different paint brands and formulations over the years, beginning at an extremely young age with those little square bottles of Testors enamels, back when the price on the lid said ten cents. After that came Pactra, followed by AHM (a true lacquer that was far beyond my technical ability at the time), followed in turn but not necessarily in order by Official, Frontier Headquarters, Scale Master (I think that's what it was, anyway), Imrie-Risley, Floquil, Humbrol (the original one, not the goo that's currently sold as paint), the late and in my world greatly lamented Model Master, Mr Color, AKAN, AK of various flavors, and a few more to boot that I can't remember. All of those were either enamel or lacquer-based. I also had a brief flirtation with the water-based modeling paints beginning with Floquil's original Poly-S back when it was first introduced in the late 60s or early 70s.I have to admit that I wasn't that impressed with the water-based stuff and still am not right up to the present day. Your mileage may vary on that one but since it's entirely irrelevant to this discussion, we'll agree to shine it right on by, because it isn't the point of this ramble anyway. 

We won't stress too much over accurate colors either, because it's easy enough to mix paint once you understand color and how it works. It would be nice, of course, if the current multitude of paint manufacturers, or paint repackagers, whichever applies, would do a better job of getting things right in the first place but that too is a topic for a different day. My current beef is far more fundamental; The brands of paint I prefer to use keep going Tango Uniform on me! Floquil, the real one that was Dio-Sol based, was the first to go, but that was ok because Testors' Model Master came quick on its heels only to be discontinued by a new ownership a couple of decades later. All of those admittedly minor speedbumps to my own personal road led to a search for replacements that were both viable and available, roads that took me to a substantial personal preference for Mr Color, Tamiya Lacquer, and AKAN. Life was good, except that it wasn't, mostly because of that Great Bugaboo called "limited availability".

Of those preferred paints of mine, Mr Color has never been easy to find, primarily because so few brick and mortars will carry the stuff and it's often a mail-order-when-you-can-find-it sort of thing. I've heard it has to do with ongoing EPA or similar regulation but whatever the reason it just ain't fair because the stuff is far and away the best modeling paint I've ever used. Period. End of story. Tamiya's lacquer line is newer, at least in this country, but it's good stuff too, although its color variety is somewhat limited at the moment. AKAN is an entirely different kettle of fish since it's of Russian manufacture and only available through one American source right now, added to which is a limitation of available colors. Those are my Big Three, for whatever that's worth. I'm not recommending them, mind you, but those are the ones I personally like.

If you talk to my wife, she'll tell you that I've got enough paint on hand to last far past the day I finally shuffle off this mortal coil. She doesn't use that particular phrasing or those exact words, of course, but the bottom line in whatever wording anyone might choose to employ is that I've got a lot of paint already on hand. I just want to have a continuing supply of the stuff I prefer to use and I'm getting really tired of having to track it down when I need a resupply of some particular color (even though yes; I'm perfectly capable of mixing colors, remember? I just don't want to do that very often nowadays).

I usually end these things with some sort of a point but today there probably isn't one to share. I just want what I want, and I thought I'd express a degree of lament regarding the topic.

Does anyone have some cheese to go with that whine...

Pretending to Be a Bad Guy

Once upon a time there was a breed of Air Force unit known as the Defense Systems Evaluation Squadron, or DSES for short. Their mission was both simple and essential to the defense of the Continental United States; to simulate an enemy strike, either as a manned asset or a cruise missile of some sort, and to attempt to penetrate American radar defenses in order to reveal weak points and improve the overall system. As it happened, the Martin B-57 proved to be a viable platform with which to perform such nefarious endeavors, which is to say it was a good airplane for the mission. Thanks to the late Marty Isham and the kindness of Doug Barbier we have a few B-57s to share today, so let's get started!

Let's lead off with a shot of 55-4238, a B-57E of the 17th DSES taken on 8 July 1975 at an unknown location. There's some slight scuffing on the airplane's radome but it's otherwise immaculate in appearance, a normal situation since the evaluation mission was assigned primarily to the ANG by this time, which led to some extremely well-maintained aircraft being employed for the mission.  Isham Collection via Doug Barbier

Here's a profile shot of 4238 to compliment the 3/4 view shown immediately above. She had previous service with both the 4677th and 4758th DSES prior to being assigned to the 17th. She finished up her career with them and then went to Puerto Rico where she was donated to an education facility where it's possible she still resides, although I don't know that with any degree of certainty.   Isham Collection via Doug Barbier

The 117th DSES of the Kansas ANG was operating EB-57B 52-1526 when she put in an appearance at one of ADC's William Tell events back in 1976. She was a bit of a traveler, originally built as a B-57B and serving with the 3510th CCTW, then to the 345th TBG prior to conversion to EB-57B configuration and assignment to the 4713th DSES before finally arriving in Kansas for employment by the 117th. Subsequent service saw her going to the 134th DSES in Vermont before returning to Kansas for public display. You could say she was a girl who got around!   Isham Collection via Doug Barbier

53-3965 was assigned to the 4758th DSES when photographed on public display, unfortunately at an unknown place and date. She was originally an RB-57D-2 and served with the 4028th SRS/4080th SRW prior to assignment to the 4577th DSES and ultimately to the 4758th, with a stop at MASDC and bailment back to Martin along the way. That nose really makes her stand out among the crowd of evaluation birds, doesn't it?   Isham Collection via Doug Barbier

Here's a great study of Kansas' 17th DSES, EB-57E 55-4280, taken by Ken Buchanan while attending the 1976 iteration of William Tell. Normally well-maintained, she absolutely sparkles in this image after a round of pre-event spiffing up. She previously served with the 4677th and 4758th ECESs prior to her arrival in Kansas and was retired to MASDC in 1979.   Isham Collection via Doug Barbier

Let's end today's essay with another shot or two of a Kansas bird, EB-57E 55-4295 from the 17th DSES. Nicknamed The Antique, she spent some time with the 4677th DCES prior to her arrival with the 17th. She went to MASDC in 1979 and was ultimately scrapped. This photo was taken when she was in her prime, back on 08 July 1975.  Isham Collection via Doug Barbier

Here's a detail shot of her nose, showing to fine advantage some of the lumps and bumps commiserate with her line of work. Her by then highly appropriate nickname is barely visible on her port nose gear door.   Isham Collection via Doug Barbier

Let's end our essay with a closeup of her name as presented on the port nose gear door. In addition to The Antique, she also carried the following on that door in deference to her age and service: Member of the Antique Aircraft Club of the United States Air Force. Dare we say it was a simpler time?   Isham Collection via Doug Barbier

The DSES story encompasses quite a bit more than this handful of images, of course, and there's a possibility, however remote, that I might actually remember to run some photos of some of them at a later date, although a few have previously appeared on these pages should you want to scroll all the way to the very bottom of this page and enter either B-57 or DSES in the search function found down there. 

Many thanks to Doug Barbier for making these shots available to us!

Here Since the Beginning

Well, almost from the beginning anyway. This project had only a couple of issues under its belt when some guy named Mark Nankivil contacted me and asked if I'd like some A-7 photos. I said sure, having no idea what I was letting myself in for until the absolute flood of Corsair II images began to arrive. Since that day Mark has been a constant around here, a superb photographer, collector extraordinaire, and most importantly, friend. You've seen a great many of his images on these electronic pages over the years and it's probably time to look at several more. Don't bother looking for a common thread because there isn't one; let's just sit back and enjoy some neat old photos.

Let's start with a true old-timer, a SOC-2 BuNo 4203 of Scout Observation Service Unit Three (SOSU-3) flown by then Lt (JG) Fred Dickey out of NAS Alameda. I don't know the date and it wasn't on the information supplied with this image, but the late 1944-1946 time frame is probably a fairly safe bet given her Glossy Sea Blue paint job. If you know more, please drop me a line.   Fred Dickey via Greater St Louis Air and Space Museum, Mark Nankivil Collection

Next up we have a couple of Tee-Birds:

Ben Knowles took this shot of AT-33A 53-5141 while she was at Hill in June of 1973, when the type could still be found in fairly great abundance in the service, particularly within ANG and AFRES units. She had previous service with the 6604th ABW as a straight T-33A prior to redesignation to AT-33A and assignment to the 4330th CCTS/4554th CCTW, followed by a final stint with the 508th FG at Hill AFB. She was surplussed out shortly after this image was taken.   Ben Knowles via Greater St Louis Air and Space Museum, Mark Nankivil Collection

This is one of those when was it kind of conundrums. We know the What; a QT-33A BuNo 155919 of the NMC, and we know the Where, at Pt Mugu, but we don't know the When. She was built for the Air Force as a straight t-33A then went to the Navy as a drone and was struck off charge on 08 May, 1970. Note that she's manned in this image, which places the date at some time prior to that. Aside from the paintwork, the photo is valuable to us because it provides a look at the electronic fitment in what was formerly the rear cockpit of the airplane. This bird probably died in her element, in the air, in so many ways a fine tribute to a beautiful old stager.   Greater St Louis Air and Space Museum, Mark Nankivil Collection

Finally, here's one for the markings enthusiasts among what remains of this project's readership! RF-4C, 65- 905, was photographed by Fred Roos on 06 May 1988 at Hill AFB. That scheme is a knockout, with just enough of the right sort of color application to make her really pop. She's a beauty, and a fine way to end this photo essay.   Fred Roos via Greater St Louis Air and Space Museum, Mark Nankivil Collection

Under the Radar

This is going to be another issue without a book review for your edification and entertainment, mostly because I haven't read anything lately. There are several titles in line, though, so stay tuned!

The Relief Tube

It's a circle of sorts, don't you know. I publish something but nobody comments or corrects anything because when I do that it's infrequent and most of the responses, well; all of them actually, are of the "glad you're still alive" or "enjoyed the blog" variety and not much else. Don't get me wrong; it's my own doing for sure and I honestly do enjoy hearing from you, but there must surely be a mistake in at least one of the recent postings of this blog that requires correction. The law of averages says there has to be!

That said, if you'd like to get in touch with the project and don't fall into the following categories of humanity:

A picture pirate.

A salesman.

A recently deposed monarch looking to regain their throne and looking for money. 

A scammer.

A generally despicable person of some sort.

Then feel free to contact me. The hopefully suitably mangled email address to throw off all those categories of people I just listed above is    replicainscaleatyahoodotcom   .  You'll have to use the at sign and a period in there, but you already knew that. You did know that, right? Right?

Happy Snaps

As defined by myself for the purposes of this project a happy snap is an air-to-air photograph taken by one of our readers, and boy oh boy do I have one for you today!

Many years ago Mark Nankivil (yes, that very Mark Nankivil who contributed all those great photos I published today) sent me a photograph of his son Jack, a young man in elementary school at the time and who was busily engaged in photographing an airplane with one of his dad's DSLR rigs. That assortment of equipage he was employing was very nearly bigger than young Jack was at the time, but a course was obviously set nonetheless. I have no idea what Jack was shooting on that fateful day, but I've got a pretty fair idea of what he's doing now!

There are expressions that come to mind upon viewing this photograph. In my world they range from JUMP BACK or HAVE MERCY to several expressions that include colorful language, because that image is just darned near perfect! Subject matter (a two-ship of Beech Staggerwings; you can't beat that one!), lighting, composition; it's all there. Wow!

I have to admit that I lost, which in our electronic world means "probably deleted", all of the information Mark provided me for this shot, but I think Jack took it from yet another Staggerwing at a Beechcraft gathering earlier this year. I'm old and getting older by the minute, and I do goofy stuff like that, but that photo is well worth sharing with or without the information. 

Wow...

And that's it for today. Maybe I'll come along with another issue soon or, given my track record, maybe I won't, but in the meantime be good to your neighbor. It's the right thing to do!

phil
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A Cunundrum of Sorts, Friends Forever, It Seems Like Yesterday, Near the Beginning, One of a Kind, and Some Old Sikorskys

 It's Something to Think About

Remember Way Back When, a moment in time best defined by your own definition of such things, when building a store-bought scale model of just about anything was a relatively simple task? You know; back in those more primitive times when there was no internet to "educate" us and no cottage industry to speak of unless you were a model railroader? It was a simple world in which we all were dealing with basic and, in many cases horrible, kits, aftermarket decals, albeit few and far between, that wouldn't adhere to much of anything for very long, and enamel based paint of wildly varying quality. Back in those days a truly high-end modeler might have an airbrush, although that was far from a given, and advanced research materials often lay between the covers of a book that said "Harleyford" on the spine. A few of us shopped in the railroad part of the local brick and mortar hobby shop to buy sheet styrene and shaped rods, but for the most part the kit was the kit, and enhancement was something that lived entirely in the hands and imagination of the more adventurous modeler. 

Those days are long gone now, and our scale lives are ruled by aftermarket out the wazoo. We've got the often taken-for-granted photoetch of several varieties, and resin parts, machined metal parts, and the relatively new 3d-printed parts, which for the moment anyway seem to be the wunderkind of our modeling world. We aren't limited to available kits anymore either, since access to computers and computer programs ensures that anyone who cares to learn basic CAD skills (that particular acronym stands for Computer Aided Design, in case you didn't know) enables those of us with the talent and basic intellect to literally design and produce their own kits or aftermarket right at home. Traditional waterslide and dry transfer decals are slowly but surely being made obsolete by paint masks which once again, presuming you have the equipment and the basic ability, can be designed and produced by anyone. We're at a crossroads of a sort, because we're less and less constrained by what's available as kits and aftermarket. We can literally produce and build whatever we want to, in any scale we desire, and to any level of detail. The Future of our hobby is, quite literally, now. 

Whether or not that particular Future is a good thing for any of us remains to be seen, because the day could easily come when our hobby morphs into one of electronic research, computer downloads, CAD work, and a knowledge of 3d printing rather than coordinated motor skills. That can be a bit intimidating and maybe even scary if you don't possess said skills or a desire to work with the technology, but they're all a direction our hobby seems to have become fully immersed in. It's unsettling in a way, but every succeeding week simplifies that technology a little bit more, and the prices for the hardware required in our brave new do-it-all-yourself world are becoming more and more affordable. Those of us with a certain seniority on Life can easily remember a time when His-Air-Dec decals and Testors paint in those little square bottles was as good as it ever got, and the aforementioned Harleyford books were equally as good research-wise. Hold that as a working premise.

Our point for the day is that the hobby we're all so comfortable with has evolved towards its present state over a span of decades. The guys and girls we all admire for their mastery of the hobby as it currently exists all had to learn their skills the same way everyone else did, with the caveat that some of them were possessed of more innate talent than most of us and were more willing to go exploring the less than obvious techniques and materials that consequently made them the stars of our show. Think about it for a moment, because at the end of the day only one thing has changed and that's the advance of technology to the point where the more skilled and ambitious among us, or maybe just those more adventurous than the norm, are finally able to use a new technology to produce the kits they want to build, in the markings they want to represent, and in whatever scale they desire. The technology is empowering to say the least. 

Consider this; there are those who have taken relatively poor 1950s-vintage kits such as the Hawk F2H Banshee and used them to produce museum quality models. There are also those who have taken any of the new Kotare kit-sets of your choice (as people Over Yonder like to call what we here in the States identify as just plain old kits), and produced first-class trash can filler with them. At the end of the day it still takes skill and patience, mixed in with a bit of acquired experience, to get a good result. Do you disagree with me? OK, then; when was the last time YOU built a detailed scale model airplane out of spruce, balsa wood, and wire off of a mediocre set of "plans" to produce a great replica of something, and then painted it with dope or highly thinned household enamel?

Here's the takeaway from today's usual mindless rambling on my part: You don't have to embrace the new technology, nor do you have to even sample it, but it's not going away. At the end of the day what you do, and how you do it, is your choice. If what you're doing pleases you and gives you the results you want then it's a good way to do things, but you shouldn't be afraid to step a bit out of your comfort zone either. I think we'll call that "Growth". 

As usual, that's my story, etc etc...

Two More Gone

Nobody lives forever, but that doesn't make it one bit better when you lose someone you care about, and today we need to say a belated farewell to not one but two good friends who have recently departed from our lives.

I first met Mark Aldrich several years ago, back when he took over the stewardship of The Tailhook Association's photo archives from Doug Siegfried. It took all of five minutes for me to figure out that he was most assuredly one of the good guys; self-effacing, kind, and generous to a fault. I'm fairly certain that the word "no" was not included in his vocabulary and he was one of those guys who was always there; a go-to guy of the highest order. He proved time and time again, to others as well as myself, that no request for photography, either from "The Hook's" institutional files or his own personal ones, was beyond his ability to help.

Mark got sick a few years back, and spent the remainder of his time on the planet fighting a disease he couldn't beat. We never knew it though, not until just a year or two before he left us. He continued helping out with photography and insight until the last when many, perhaps most of us, would have turned inward. Inward wasn't Mark's way, though, and he was in the game until the end.

Bob Mills was a different sort of collector entirely. He was in the Air Force when I met him back in 1968, and he was originally slated to be on the staff of our budding print incarnation of Replica in Scale, although we lost his services immediately after we published our first issue. He was the first person I personally knew possessed of a photo collection numbering in the tens of thousands of images, and he provided an insight to collecting such things subsequently reinforced by Norm Taylor, Dave Menard, Marty Isham, Jim Sullivan, and so many others. 

The last time I saw Bob was on a photo shoot at Randolph back in the mid-80s. I had done my "real" photography the day before the event so as to miss all the kids, ice chests, and crowds that typified air shows in those days but had come back on show day because I still had some K25 available and wanted to shoot it. I was moseying along the show ramp when I ran into Bob, who was at Randolph on TDY and helping out the 12th FTW PA officer during their event. After we shook hands and spent a minute or two catching up he asked if I wanted an escort for the day. I said yes, and we were able to spend a great morning and early afternoon roaming the display area and, thanks to Bob's uniform, wings, and gold oak leaves, going into some of the places I would normally have had to have made prior arrangements to have accessed. I still treasure the memory of that day.

Life is finite, and it ends far too soon. Some people leave a bigger footprint that others when they finally cash in, and Mark and Bob were of that ilk. Their personalities couldn't have been more different but in many ways they were cut from the same cloth. They were of a special breed. They will be missed.

Doug. Bob. Jim. Marty. Dave. Norm. Ron. Maddog, and so many more. It's painful and I think it always will be, in my world anyway, but my life was enriched by their friendship and there's always that to fall back on. It's part of the plan, I think. 

Blue skies, Doug and Bob. We'll all meet again...

Vaya con Dios, Doug and Bob!

 

Defending the Continent

It seems like only yesterday, presuming you're of a particular age, but in point of fact it's been several decades since the United States was defended by purpose designed manned interceptors. This family portrait, originally from the collection of Marty Isham and shared with us by Doug Barbier, shows us what the late and highly lamented Air Defense Command once used to protect the continent. The inclusion of Nike Ajax and, to a lesser extent Hawk anti-aircraft missiles, as well as the 1958 serial number on the Voodoo, suggests a post-1958 time period, although I'd be lying if I said I knew the year.

 

There are family portraits and then there are family portraits, but boy oh boy do we like this one! The presence of buzz numbers shows how long it sometimes takes for things to change; the directive to remove them dates from the 1965 time frame, while the F-101B's  1958 serial number says that the shot had to have been taken post '58. However you want to slice it this is a fine photo and we're grateful indeed to Doug for sharing it with us.  Isham Collection via Doug Barbier

While It Was Still Small

The Vietnam War wasn't always the center of the five o'clock news in the United States. There was a time, in fact, when we barely heard about it at all and rarely knew anyone who had been over there. This photo, taken back in the relatively early days of our involvement, shows us a C-123B, probably of the 12th SOW and most likely taken in 1964, although 1962 has also been offered up as a possible year, sitting on what passes for a ramp at a yet to be developed Vietnamese air base.

Vietnam was still the home of The Silver Air Force back in those early days, as indicated by the finish on the fixed-wing aircraft in this photo. The Army would soon learn that painting its ARMY logo on the sides of its helos was a classic bad idea, but that realization was yet to come. It was still an advisory war when this image was taken.   John Kerr Collection

I wish the quality of this shot was better---it should have been since it was taken on a medium-format camera, but it beats nothing and I'll take it. Hopefully it's of interest to the readership as well!

An American Original

Everybody knows who Chappie James was, but just in case you don't...

Daniel "Chappie" James went into the Army Air Force and was winged at Tuskegee Army Air Field on 28 July 1943. He missed combat in the Second World War but was fully engaged in Korea, flying F-51Ds with the 12th FBS/18th FBW as well as F-80s later on. He later flew as Robin Old's deputy wing commander with the 8th TFW during the fracas in SEA, where he and Olds earned the proud monikers "Black Man and Robin" and several subsequent assignments as an ADC squadron commander led to his ultimate rank as a four-star leading the Air Defense Command. This image is fairly well-known but I'm running it today as an homage of sorts because Marty Isham served under General James during that worthy's tenure running ADC. Marty thought highly of Chappie James, and I do too, so running this image is the right thing to do!

If ever there was a photograph that said Fighter Pilot, then this one is it. The image was taken during Chappie's first combat tour, back in the bad old days in Korea, and the dedication, as well as the exhaustion, shows. There were giants in those days...   Image via Isham Collection and Doug Barbier

Many thanks to Doug for sharing this one with us!

How About Some Helos?

It's one of those days, I suppose. I was looking for a couple of shots of something else and stumbled on these slides, all dupes but I think the subject matter is well worth the slight degradation in image quality. The aircraft depicted might prove of use to those owning the old Revell kit of this immortal helo or the far newer but significantly fussy AMP kit, both of which are in 1/48th scale. There's also an H-19 offering in 1/72nd scale from Italeri or the long-in-the-tooth and not especially good Airfix kit from a great many years ago, should your tastes run towards that itty bitty scale! Be advised that I know virtually nothing about the aircraft in these photos except for what was on the slide mounts, which wasn't very much!

Maddog John Kerr was an absolute wizard at finding veterans who had taken photographs of airplanes while they were in the service, but he was forced by the technology available while he was collecting to have duplicate images made rather than by scanning the originals, which had the unfortunate side effect of greatly reducing the clarity of any slide so copied. This H-19B (52-7483) is a prime example of that, but it's a classic shot and well worth looking at. Bob Cutts took the original photograph on 14 July 1952; unfortunately she later crashed to destruction, on 15 July 1955, while still in Korea and serving with the 2157th ARS. I have no idea who operated her during the conflict, but it's a neat shot anyway.   Bob Cutts via John Kerr Collection

This H-19 is rather obviously an Army bird and was photographed by Vince Reynolds, although I have no idea whatsoever when that occurred (a recurring theme while describing these photos), or what the unit was. It's yet another photo from John Kerr's collection.   Vince Reynolds via John Kerr Collection

Finally, we have a fine Bob Cutts image of an HRS-1 in Korea. She was assigned to HMR-161 when Bob took the shot on 14 July, 1952, but after Korea she was transferred to the Navy's HS-4 and ditched off the coast of California on 01 September 1953 when her engine failed.  Bob Cutts via John Kerr Collection

Thanks very much to Maddog for preserving these images, and so many more. 

The Relief Tube

Not this time, since the only folks who have written to the project since I last published have been long-standing friends who mostly wanted to let me know they were happy I'd finally gotten off my lazy rear end and done something. That made me feel good in an obscure sort of way, but would do nothing to help clarify or correct anything I'd previously written which pretty much negated the use of any of them in this project. Of course, if there's something you'd like to contribute I'd be delighted to hear from you! That email address, suitably scrambled to annoy the picture pirates and all those folks who want me to gift them money or support their long-awaited return to their rightful place on the throne can contact me at   replicainscaleatyahoodotcom  . Drummers, grifters, and scoundrels need not apply!!!

And that's pretty much it for today unless I think of something later and decide to add it. Be good to your neighbor and there's an off chance we'll meet again soon!

phil