Another Modular Hawk on the Bench, More Hogs, Some Mustangs, And a Couple of Spiffy Skyrays

Long Time Gone

Or, where I've been. It's New Job time again---what an odd little economy we've more or less got---and we missed last week due to the requirements thereof. Missing a week isn't my first choice, but if I don't pay the bills I can't do this blog; it's a classic case of priorities, as it were. Anyway, we're back again and, I think, with some really special stuff; let's us get started, whaddayathink?

Another Modular Hawk

There's something about the P-40 that has an appeal for most modelers, and I have to admit I'm hooked on the airplane too. For me it's mostly the early ones, most specifically the "E" models in use in the SWP back during The Bad Old Days of WW2, but I'll occasionally do an "N" to break things up a bit and, if I'm really in the mood to shake the tree, I'll build one in 1/32nd scale. That's what's happening today or, more specifically, for the past three weeks. Here's where I am as of today:

First, there was the simple act of getting the kit. I saw a release notice on one of those internet scale modeling sites and immediately put in a call to My Favorite Local Hobby Shop, the employees of which were convinced that such a marvel did not exist and that I was, in fact, chasing the 1/48th scale Hase offering of same. It took about 6 weeks before I was able to convince them that the 1/32nd scale kit really existed, and another two weeks after that to get it. Oh well, I'm stubborn, and I wanted the kit. I kept after it, and I eventually got it. There's a lesson therein.

Anyway, I got the thing, and now it's mostly together and partially painted and, as usual, it's going to be finished as an aircraft from the 49th FG; this time the 7th FS using some exceptionally nice decals made by the folks at Zotz. We're not going to to a blow-by-blow account of how to build the thing, because I figure you've already got some modeling skills to your credit, but there are a couple of things that could stand mention.

First, everything on this kit fits, which is in direct opposition to the ranting, raving, wailing, and general silliness you may have read on the internet about Hasegawa's 1/48th and 1/32nd scale Warhawks. All it takes is a little care when you're removing the parts from the sprues and cleaning them up, plus a little finesse when you're aligning things and Zip-Zap-Zoop; you've got an airframe! The Hasegawa P-40s are eminately buildable.

Second, there's not much of an aftermarket for the type. The cockpit can stand some Eduardizing, as it were, but that's mostly to get the various placards, etc, that you'll need to complete the interior. Those placards, plus a set of belts and harnesses, will finish off the almost-adequate kit cockpit very nicely. (I've only seen one release of the "N" model in 1/32nd, the Every-Schoolboy-Used-to-Have-the-Picture 1 of 15,000 bird. The only decals given with the kit are for that airplane, making the aforementioned Zotz sheet an essential.)

Third, and as to be expected with any airplane assigned to the 49th FG in the Pacific during the war, there are some questions about the markings. We'll get to those in modest detail later, but the bird I'm doing makes for the usual Interesting Study in Contradictions Regarding Airplanes of the 49th. If any of you hold original photography on the airplane, please wait until I've completely finished the model and couldn't possibly go back and un-do the damage, then scan and send those photos to replicainscale@yahoo.com . Right on!

 Here's where we are so far. Sharp-eyed readers will notice that there's a lot of work to do on that spinner before we call it Done. Masking it most assuredly was not my finest hour! The transparencies have been faired into the fuselage but not yet masked and painted, and the major paintwork (sans those transparencies) has been done. I'm not certain about the cut line where the white conspicuity markings on the emennage meet the aft fus and may alter them later, or maybe not. Colors are Testor ModelMaster enamel, with RAF Azure Blue being used for the pale blue tail stripe; it seems to be an excellent match right out of the bottle. The poorly-masked spinner is done with USN True Blue, and I've used Insignia Blue forward of that little white trim stripe on the nose, because the photos I've got all seem to show a color that's slightly darker than the surrounding area up there. That may be because the white stripe makes it appear darker, but there's no way to know for certain without a color photo of the area and we already know that nobody's going to send in a photo until after the model is done, right?

The starboard side of the airplane, offered mainly because of those dark green splotches. They were the norm on AAF aircraft of the 1942-1943 era and seem to have been a standard feature on the P-40N. They also seem to have had a well-defined pattern rather than being just a random thing. The best explanation of them that I've seen, and the one that I'd recommend to you, is a drawing in Ian Baker's excellent Aviation History Coloring Book 44; Green Splotches, White Splotches; Another Look at USAAF Camouflage 1942-1943. As with all of Mr. Baker's offerings, this one is superb and well worth its modest price. The placement of the blotches on the model were taken directly from that monograph. Note the area under the canopy; it's OD to match the surrounding fuselage. You don't want to follow Hasegawa's painting instructions back there, gang!

We'll come back to this P-40 in a later installment, when it's a little bit farther along. Meanwhile, how about some Real Airplane Pictures for a Monday?

Props Are Good, and Hogs Have Props

You see a whole lot of Chance Vought F4Us on this site, and there are reasons for it. First, and most important to me; it's my site and I happen to like the airplane. Also, frequent contributors Jim Sullivan and Doug Siegfried like the U-Bird too, and they send in some neat stuff from time to time. Finally, there are really good kits of the Corsair out there in any scale you could think of, and of almost every variant ever produced. In my world that's motivation enough to do yet another photo essay on the type so here, without further ado, are some more F4U photos for your enjoyment:

A prime example of how to load one's britches on the flight deck. An SNJ takes the wire on the FDR while an F4U-5 gets stupid overhead. The adrenalin level in those cockpits, and on the boat, must've been something else---if you look carefully you can see the LSO coming out from behind his wind screen to marvel at the festivities. I'd love to see the plat camera footage on this one!  Tailhook Association via Doug Siegfried

133843, a Marine AU-1 from an un-named unit, shows off its pylon suite; the AU could carry a lot of ordnance! Of interest is the frequently seen Non-Specular Sea Blue anti-glare treatment on the upper fuselage decking and cowling.  Tailhook Association via Doug Siegfried

The AU-1 saw considerable service in Korea during the "police action". This VMF-212 bird, "Miss Penny", is one of the more famous AUs of the period. Note the natural metal main landing gear and tail wheels, and the pylon suite. There are some oddly-shaped areas on the forward mlg doors, which could be painted a light blue but which are more likely to be silver duct tape picking up a blue sheen from the airframe. A mystery, as it were! Gotta love that arrow on the forward fuselage!  Tailhook Association via Doug Siegfried

A Korean War veteran friend of mine once called that particular place "a very cold corner of Hell". I suspect he was right. This photo shows 129362, an AU-1 of VMA-323, getting ready for a mission. The fuse extender on the 250lb GP bomb is remarkable, and could provide a neat touch to a model. The spAD in the background is probably an AD-2, although it's tough to tell from this view. The shot, most likely taken at Kimpo, portrays typical operations for the Corps during the Korean War.  Tailhook Association via Doug Siegfried

Another AU-1, this time 129401 from VMA-323, sitting in a revetment. This shot reveals the exhaust pattern on a well-used Corsair, and may be of interest to modelers. Note that the squadron code ("WS") has been applied to the mlg doors as well as the usual vertical stab.  Tailhook Association via Doug Siegfried

If it goes up it will come down sooner or later! This landing falls into the "any one you can walk away from" category, and depicts an F4U-5N from VMF(N)-513 after a slight misfortune. The Corsair was a tough airplane and could take a lot of abuse, although that twisted aft fuselage would indicate that this bird became a parts source shortly after the picture was taken. A lot of profile illustrations show the squadron's -5Ns in overall black; a few of them may have worn that color but this aircraft wears the regulation Glossy Sea Blue.  Tailhook Association via Doug Siegfried

Some MO Birds for the Morgan Boys

It's been a long time since I first met the Morgan Brothers, Rick and Mark, but I think they're from Missouri, or at least they have an interest in airplanes from that State. That said, here's a selection of MO NG birds from the early 50s in honor of that interest (and for our mutual enjoyment as well):

There was a time, Way Back When, when almost every American military pilot learned his craft in North American's T-6 Texan. Here's a fine study of a 110th FS/71st FG AT-6D in flight to start the ball rolling. Of special interest is the lack of national insignia on the fuselage, although the star is evident under the starboard wing. Most ANG fighter units had at least one AT-6 (later T-6) on strength for proficiency training. Neat shot!  G. Sommerich via Mark Nankivil

A pair of MONG Mustangs on the prowl. The large discs on the aft fuselage appear to be in black, although dark blue could be equally valid; your guess is as good as mine! Note that the second aircraft is carrying a nose number, while lead is not. Spinners appear to be white but may also be yellow. Fred Roos via Mark Ninkivil

Here's that disc again, this time on aircraft No. 5. The mystery deepens when you look closely at the image, because the spacing of the "MO" and "NG" would barely allow a conventional national insignia to fit between them, and there's no indication that one was ever there. Sounds like an opportunity for a Relief Tube entry to me!  Fred Roos via Mark Nankivil

Taken on the ground at Lambert Field, this P-51D depicts a Missouri Guard bird early in its career. Note the pre-1947 national insignia (which appears to be greyed-out in finest WW2 ETO tradition) and the nose number. The early buzz number treatment is noteworthy; the P-51's "PF" became "FF" after the 1947 changeover to the USAF. It's really odd to see that greyed-out star on a post-War CONUS bird... G. Sommerich via Mark Nankivil

PF-105 flying a little form. There's nothing other than that nose number to indicate any sort of unit affiliation, although the aircraft does appear to have a red spinner. Of interest here is the oil streaking on the cowling, so typical of an operational Mustang. G. Sommerich via Mark Nankivil

And PF-106, bearing the nose number 16 and with an interesting spinner configuration; the aft portion is obviously in natural metal, while the forward part is apparently painted yellow (although it could just as easily be white). These guys were probably flying over Germany in the same kind of airplane just a few short years before! G. Sommerich via Mark Nankivil

Virginia Mayo was a popular actress of the day---here PF-650 (nose number 1) pays tribute to her. The photograph has obviously seen better days, but the airplane is pristine! Sure wish those guys had put a little more color on their birds---there's just not much there once you get past that red spinner. G. Sommerich via Mark Nankivil

Mustangs can crash too. This 116th FS P-51D exhibits all the classic signs of the results of a torque roll on takeoff. (A friend of mine once told me that his dad, who'd flown P-51s after the war, once informed him "you never straight arm a P-51!". Truer words were never spoken!) Then again, it may have landed long and flipped once it got to the over-run. Whatever happened, it provided a classic Bad Day for somebody!  G. Sommerich via Mark Nankivil

A slightly later time frame, but once again torque roll seems to have been the culprit---look at the way the vertical stab is bent over. Everybody loves the P-51, but it's an airplane that can kill you in a heartbeat if you don't pay attention. Civil Mustang owners re-learn the lesson every year, it seems...  G. Sommerich via Mark Nankivil.

Remember the Skyray?

Frequent contributor Mark Nankivil's dad was a naval aviator during the 50s and 60s. Mark's sent along a couple of really nice "FORD" images taken by his dad, and I think that offers a nice round-out for our day:

Here's an F4D-1 from VF-20 getting ready to take on a little gas. The Skyray was a tiny airplane, and a ferocious performer. It was also woefully underarmed and short-ranged to boot, making it relatively useless in anything other than the fleet defence or point-defense interceptor roll. It was also one of the most beautiful jet fighters ever designed. This photo really defines the type's good looks.  Nankivil Collection

And THE F4D scheme, an F4D-1 from VF(AW)-3 out of North Island. This has got to be one of the prettiest fighter schemes of all time, even if those AIM-9Bs comprise the type's total armament!  Thanks, Mark!  Nankivil collection

The Relief Tube

Mark Morgan has sent along a comment or two on the F-94 photos we ran a few installments back:

Phil - WHOOPS, I goofed big time and left off a couple of items. The first shot with the 2nd FIS F-94As was taken at Nellis, the photo was marked by the Nellis photo lab on the back. I assume the event was oneof the early fighter gunnery meets.



The -94C shot is Burbank, my old plant (as distinguished from Plant B-1, which was further north near the railroad tracks). That hanger in the center background is where the Skunk Works was located while I worked there, 1/87-5/89, with the office building on the far side, out of sight. I fully expect that hanger had several U-2s under construction at the time this photo was taken; the aircraft in the foreground are pre-delivery F-94Cs and T-33As. Sad to say, this entire historic old complex is now gone, bulldozed in order for Lockheed Martin to get it off the California tax rolls. Sigh.. last time I rolled through there was May of '04 while I was doing the Noble Eagle road trips, was shocked to see everything removed..MK
 
A quick note from Tom Gaj regarding the Boeing T-43; the type flew its last operational mission last Friday, 16 September, out of Randolph AFB. The honors of that last GATOR flight fell to 73-1153. And another one bites the dust...
 
And please remember, I'm always looking for photographs and hard information on American military aviation of all eras, but in particular from 1919 to 1975 or so. If you've got anything of that nature that you'd like to share, please contact me at replicainscale@yahoo.com . I don't make money off this thing so you won't either, but full credit will be given for your contributions.
 
That's it 'til next time, so be good to your neighbor. We'll talk again soon.
phil

Another Round of Memories, Tailhook Tommy, A Nautical Mishap, A Nautical Clanger, White Talons, Asian Skyraiders, Prowler Humor, A Jump Jet, and an Old Boat

Talkin' 'Bout a Schedule, or Maybe Not Exactly That

Here we are again, with another missed week in-between, or at least it's a missed week if you're expecting this missive to be weekly. In my world it's a weekly thing, no doubt about it, so we've just had a Missed Week. It's official. (That didn't make much sense, did it?)

There's precedent, of course. When we birthed the original Replica in Scale all those years ago we knew there was no way we could ever support a monthly magazine since the two of us (we started out as a foursome, but that fell apart pretty quickly) had Real Jobs to contend with in addition to the production of our Brand Spanking New Model Airplane Magazine. With Monthly gone by the wayside there were still options, of course: Bi-monthly, Quarterly, and Annually, to be specific. Annually was discounted right off the bat since nobody would want to wait for it to come out, while Bi-monthly wasn't much better than Monthly from a Real Job perspective. (I'll bet it makes some folks nuts when I capitalize stuff like that, but I enjoy doing it. It's a Small Price to Pay, right?) That left Quarterly as the only viable option, so we launched as same.

Things began to unravel from the very beginning when our lead article was delayed two or three times while the author waited for That Last Piece of Information to make the work complete, which resulted in our first issue coming out a couple of months later than we'd scheduled that particular event to occur. That first article set the stage for our schedule, and we never really caught up. We were consistent, though, because we never published anything early; Late was our claim to fame and Late is what we did. That wasn't what we wanted, but after we slimmed down to just the two of us Late was what we had, forced on us by that aforementioned necessity to earn a living and an earnest desire on our part to put out the best, highest quality publication we possibly could in spite of the circumstances. Jim and I used to joke about that "schedule" from time to time, to the point of calling ourselves an Occasionodical rather than a Periodical. We had to grin about it. It was the best we could do.

Jump ahead to Right Now, and to the fact that we sometimes miss a week, or at least a couple of days, in what I'm considering to be the publishing schedule. My typical work week involves days that are 12 to 14 hours long, including one weekend day, and it doesn't look like there's going to be relief any time soon so, once again, Replica in Scale finds itself in a situation where schedules are blown and things happen later than I'd like for them to. It's not my first choice and, in certain respects it's deja vu all over again, as that great American philosopher Yogi Berra once said, but at the end of the day it's what we've got. I have to grin about it. It's the best I can do.

That said, I hope you'll be understanding and patient with the schedule, and keep checking in. There's some Neat Stuff ahead, ya'll, and there's a small chance that it just might happen weekly. Maybe.

Another Shameless Plug for a Friend

I've already mentioned Rick Morgan's Tip of the Spear and recommended it to you without reservation. It's time, my friends, for yet another recommendation. You've seen correspondence and the occasional photograph from Tommy Thomason in these pages, and you'll see even more as we go along. I've known Tommy since 1984 or so, and have always been impressed with the quality of his work. He's written a couple of books on naval aviation too, and has been doing some exceptional work that I think you'll enjoy.

Here's a partial scan of the cover of Tommy's book on US naval fighter aviation aviation, U.S. Naval Air Superiority, Development of Shipborne Jet Fighters 1943-1962, Specialty Press, 2007. You're going to have to forgive the chopped-off cover of the book since its format exceeds the dimensions of my scanner bed, but the photo will give you an excellent idea of what to expect. This one's a must-have, folks. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Bad Day on the Boat

There's no need to remind anybody that naval aviation is about the most dangerous thing happening in the world of military airplanes. Here's a photo to prove the point:

Jim Sullivan got me seriously interested in Chance Vought's immortal Corsair, and I've been trying to collect images of that aircraft (which means I'd be tickled to death if you had any such photos and were willing to scan them and e-mail them to replicainscale@yahoo.com  ) for the past few months now. I know absolutely nothing about this particular photo except that it looks like it's been in a fire, probably as the result of a flight deck mishap of some sort. The "Hog" is a good-looking bird even when it's been beat up like this one has. Tailhook Association via Doug Siegfried

Somebody Needs to Look Closely 'Cause I Sure Didn't!

Check out the Douglas Skywarrior photo re-published below. I said the photo was taken while the aircraft was in the process of being launched. Sharp-eyed Tommy Thomason points out that we're actually looking at a bolter, which is painfully obvious when you look closely at the photo. Thanks, Tommy!

And here she is; a bolter for sure. Arghh!  Frank Garcia

Up in the Air, Junior Birdmen

Northrop's T-38 family has spent the past 45+ years training pilots for the Air Force. Here's a reminder of what used to be...

There was a time when all USAF trainers were painted glossy white. Here's a four-ship from the 12th FTW at Randolph AFB, taken during the mid-1970s. The 12th trained instructors, among other duties---these guys fly pretty good form, don't they?  RAFB History PAO

It's easy to forget that the T-38 is a thoroughly supersonic aircraft. During the 1980s the type started showing up in the Air Force's Aggressor program with a vengeance. Here's a blue on blue example from the 479th TFW; AT-38B 71-3203. I shot this one at Laughlin AFB on 28 March, 1987.  Friddell

Look Out, Dad, You've Been Had By a (Vietnamese) Spad

It's a well-known fact that some Vietnamese units did poorly during that particular war, but I've never heard a bad word spoken about the VNAF. I was going through some archives looking for something that had nothing whatsoever to do with the A-1 when I rediscovered these shots. I have little or no information on them, but I thought you'd enjoy seeing them.

An unknown VNAF A-1 taxis out at DaNang in March of 1968. The bomb load appears to be 4 Mk82s and a pair of M117s.  I. Gandara

Gettin' ready for the boogie. This SpAD is armed with a load of Mk82s and is getting ready to launch. This airplane's just been cleaned, and displays little of the staining so common to the A-1. That'll change as soon as the engine cranks!  I. Gandara

Pride. This VNAF A-1 driver poses for a Happy Snap before a mission. In contrast to the airplane in the previous photo, this airplane looks like the Skyraider normally appeared when in operational use. Anything that could leak did leak, and that slick under the wing is oil from the A-1's engine. This airplane is filthy; modelers take note! I. Gandara

Humor is a Good Thing

Contributor and friend Rick Morgan spent a fair part of his career as a naval aviator in the Prowler community. His brother Mark (another contributor to these pages) did the following cartoon for Rick to commemorate the fact. I'm not sure how I managed to get a copy of it but I think it's pretty cool and am offering it for your consideration today:

Pretty neat, huh? Kindof makes me wish Mark had had the time to do a comic book to go with that cover!
Mark Morgan

Jumping Jack Flash, or Maybe Just a Harrier

It was radical when it was new. It was a seriously neat, if sometimes flawed, airplane. Here's a quick tribute to the Alpha model of same:

A pair of AV-8As are operating off the FDR in the Med as captured by this November, 1976 photo. The IFR probes were generally removed for ops, but the Alpha model of the Harrier never went to war. The bird was dangerous to fly in certain flight regimes but was quite an airplane nontheless.  US Navy 1168917

Mystery Meat. I know absolutely nothing about this shot, but it gives a neat perspective on deck operations with the AV-8A, so here you are. Note that the IFR probe has been removed in this photo.  US Navy

It's a soft, fuzzy shot, and I don't know the unit or the boat, but this photo gives a pretty good idea of the sort of space the Harrier was capable of operating from when at sea. It was a force multiplier par excellence.  US Navy

And Now for Something Completely Different

We're always showing pictures of carrier aircraft on this site, so it's somehow fitting that we're going to end this installment with a photo of an aircraft carrier:

Here's something you just don't see every day; a photo of CV-4 USS Ranger negotiating the Pedro Miguel Locks of the Panama Canal. It was a simpler time...   Friddell Collection

That's All, Folks!

For today, anyway. We'll try to get back on schedule for next week. In the meantime, be good to your neighbor!
phil

A Nimrod Song, I Happen to LIKE the Fury, Even More Corsairs, An Oddball B-47, That Nate, and Any Old Albatros in a Storm

You Gotta Have a Theme Song, So Here's One For the Nimrods

Don Jay is our official Nimrod, having served with them and all, and he's sent us another bit of information on the outfit in the form of their unofficial song. This one's a little different than most Air Force songs because you can actually sing it in semi-polite company!

First, the lyrics:

On November 20, 1966, four Cricket FACs wrote this song in honor of the Nimrods. Woke up ops officer (Joe Kittinger) to sing it to him. Sung to the music of ""NIMROD BALLAD"



An old VC truck driver went out
One dark and rainy night

He would have to drive that dark trail
Without a beam of light

He knew that Uncle Ho Chi Minh
Would be so proud of him

So he loaded up his P-O-L
And headed out of Vinh


[chorus]
Nimrods, Nimrods, those truck killers of the night

He rattled through Mugia Pass
(missing verses)

The call came through the night ... Nimrod Lead this is Gombey 105 *
Lead your cleared in hot if you've got that truck in sight

They bombed and strafed and flared ... and blew that bastard up
Oh Nimrods, Nimrods ... Truck Killers of the night


[chorus]
Nimrods, Nimrods, those truck killers of the night.

(*) Gombey - call sign for the Cessna O1-E Bird Dog FAC

And he also gave us a link to a performance of the song, which hopefully will work if you copy and paste it into your browser bar (I think that's what they call it---this audio/visual stuff is a new wrinkle for me!)

http://www.woolyfsh .com/seasongs/ Nimrod.mp3

You Can Never Have Too Many FJ-3s!

That's how I feel about it, anyway! Here are another couple of shots of one of my favorite birds, obsolescent as it was when it was operational. (As were the Cougar, Banshee, and Demon too, come to think of it...)

Here's Randolph's flight deck ca. 1958. The FJ-3Ms are from VF-84 back before they assumed the Jolly Roger from VF-17---it's a heritage thing, right? Lots of aeroplanes on that flight deck!  Tailhook Association via Doug Siegfried

And some more FJ-3Ms from Fighting 121 during 1957. I don't think I ran this one before (I've had computer issues all day & am trying to get this thing published before the next crash!) but if I did please forgive the duplication. Stuff happens sometimes!  Tailhook Association via Doug Siegfried

The Argonauts of VF-33 had a crack at the Fury too. Here's one of their glossy sea blue FJ-3s in flight while deployed to the Med aboard Lake Champlain in 1955. It's possible that I'm just the least little bit prejudiced, but I don't think the Navy ever had prettier airplanes than the glossy sea blue jets!   Tailhook Association via Doug Siegfried

And finally, another blue bird. This one's from VF-51 as deployed aboard the Kearsarge during 1955. You modelers might note that both the leading edge slats and the tail bumper are deployed on this FJ-3
Tailhook Association via Doug Siegfried

Old Hose Nose

The F4U series is one of my all-time favorites, and it's time for another picture of one, or maybe even more than that. Our first shot's from the collection of Jim Sullivan and shows a -5 on the boat:

An F4U-5 launches off the USS Wright on 3 November 1948. It's peacetime and this VF-21 bird is clean, with no ordnance or gas bags to ruin its lines. The -5 was, in my opinion, the most pugnacious appearing of the Corsairs, but what an airplane!  Sullivan Collection

This -5 is loaded for bear but it's not headed for combat. The photo was taken during July of 1951 and the bird is from VX-3 while based in Atlantic City. I don't think I'd want to be on the receiving end of that salvo!  Sullivan Collection

The Reserves used the -5 too. This Glenview bird is taxiing out in early 1952. Note the absence of that pesky "V" prefix to the BuNo!  Sullivan Collection

And another Glenview bird. This one shows the International Orange fuselage band and the matte blue anti-glare treatment to advantage. Few people model Reserve aircraft but I can't understand why---this one's a beauty!  Sullivan Collection

The Navy Flew Some Oddball Stuff From Time to Time

And here's a prime example of same. Rick Morgan dropped us a quick note after the last shots from Douglas Tulsa and commented that the Navy had a couple of EB-47Es there at one time. He's right, of course, and I'm thinking we need to see a photo or two of at least one of them:

A Navy EB-47E, originally AF52-0410 and flown as BuNo 24100 by the Navy, at Douglas Tulsa ca. 1974. Note the pylon with the Whatsis (either telemetry gear or a sensor pod, but I don't know which) hanging from it. I await your letters with anticipation!  Tulsa Air & Space Museum via Mark Nankivil

What a neat photo of 42100! Of considerable interest is the OU helmet on the nose; wish we knew what that tic-tac-toe thingy was for! Guess it's time to go look up some info on this program, huh?  Tulsa Air & Space Museum via Mark Nankivil

And here's the entire airplane. Note the pylon, which appears under both wings.  When the Navy first took possession of their two EB-47E-80s (52-0410 and 52-0412) the pylons were used for the mounting of podded sensors and telemetry gear. Later on the left pylon was used to mount a GE TF34 turbofan for testing. Tulsa Air & Space Museum via Mark Nankivil

And one final shot of 4120 . I think it's time to seriously investigate this program and see if I can turn up a little more photography on it. We aren't finished with this one, gang!  Tulsa Air & Space Museum via Mark Nankivil

As a postscript, 52-0412 (not illustrated here) ended up as a display aircraft at Dyess Linear Air Park in Abilene, Texas. It's not displayed in Navy markings, though!

And another postscript, because I just checked my e-mail! Rick Morgan is pretty sure the pod under that EB-47E is in fact an ALQ-31. Here's a shot of one on an RF-8G of VFP-62 to finish out our day:

And with this photo (and the additions you may have noticed on the preceeding B-47 piece) we really and truly are done with this for today. We are. I promise...  USN via Rick Morgan

So Where's the Nate?

Not done is where it is. I'm doing the panel lines right now, and it's so close to finished that it could almost fly off on its own, but it still isn't ready and there's nothing to show you that you haven't already seen, so No Nate Today! Instead, here are a couple of photos to prove that you can build the unbuildable, even though it might be a little bit of a challenge to do it!

Back before there were Wingnut Wings kits, Roden were pretty much it as far as Great War kits in 1/32nd scale were concerned. They did some neat subjects, but you could never call the kits easy to build. Here, as a case in point, is their 1/32nd scale Albatros DIII, more or less done in the markings of Otto Hartmann from Jasta 28 ca. 1917. 

Here's a 3/4 front view. The plywood effect was done with a stiff brush and pastels over light buff paint, each panel being done individually. I don't like the way I did the prop and may redo it some day, presuming I ever build another 1/32nd scale WWI model to go with this one.

This shot shows beyond any doubt why everybody hates Roden decals. Check out the cross on the left wing. Arghhh!

It looks pretty good in this view, though. There's truth in the saying that the camera never lies, but it's entirely possible to make it fib a little bit...

I like this shot quite a bit, but that's mostly because of the lighting. I don't like the prop, but we already discussed that. The rigging, which I don't think I mentioned before, is stainless steel wire; it actually serves a structural purpose on this model which might have fallen apart by now if it hadn't been used. Roden does their struts and affiliated attachment points in scale thickness, ya'll!

Eduard makes a photo-etch set for this kit, and it was used on the model you see before you. It's a great set and is essential if you're going to build this thing! In addition to that PE I also scratch-built the engine rocker arms and wound all the individual valve springs, which was fun but pretty much counterproductive at the end of the day. I like the model, but that's mostly because I'm a sucker for biplanes. It looks ok though, doesn't it?

Sometimes We Build Stuff For Our Kids

and that's where this came from, built back in the late 80s, I think. I put it in here just to see if you guys were paying attention. Letters to the editor are not necessary; it won't happen again!

And on that note I think it's probably time to say goodbye 'til next week! In the meantime, be good to your neighbor!
phil