Von_L

WOW! Just saw these for the first time. Fantastic work. Very good photography. I am inspired.

Am researching SAC KC-135 paint schemes to match them up with various historic stable-mates. A few questions: 1 - When did Boeing/USAF start painting the NMF tankers with silver (Corrogard?)paint? Am guessing mid 1960's, based on available pix. 2 - Some pix of the silver KC-135A's show the nacelles painted in the gloss gray, while some look white, compared to the fuselage. Is that a photography issue, or did some of them have white nacelles? 3 - When did the silver KC-135A's get painted in the overall gloss gray scheme? Am guessing early 1980's, based on available pix. Certainly there is

Spot-on, SOGman. Thanks for that. Have likewise had the privilege to serve and to meet vets from our previous fights. Am more and more conscious that I am talking to the survivors. Dad was a WWII sailor who joined up with his best buddy from high school. His buddy was a US Marine who never returned. For the rest of his life, Dad always remembered that he was going to college, raising a family, pursuing a career and fishing those lovely trout streams for a brother who gave up all of those things on our behalf, at age 19 in a firefight on Okinawa, 09 JUN 1945. Remember our gold star familie

Straight up trade: Your choice of my 1/72 Academy B-17C or -D kit, for your 1/72 Academy B-17B, preferably complete & unstarted. The C & D are each unstarted. Cheers!

Am looking for any info on a WWII "fighting plane" that was at least partially paid for by a patriotic contribution campaign at the Utah Ordnance Plant. The December 1941 donor certificate I'm looking at says it would be known as "Utah Ordnance." Have not heard of this one before, so I'm unaware of what type, unit or markings it may have had. Thanx for any help here!

F-84F fighter, t/n 52-8886 was assigned to the French AF during the period of the Suez Crisis. Have been unable to determine its unit of assignment, and whether it may have seen combat. Hoping to find its markings in this period, or at least a squadron/reference. Suggestions?

The BONE's turkey feathers were removed for ease of maintenance, about 1992-93. This change coincided with the transition from SAC to ACC markings & command structure. Cannot recall seeing SAC jets flying with the feathers removed, nor ACC jets with them mounted.

BUMP THIS TOPIC! Would love to see the SAC-era, original turkey feather exhausts for this one (The Monogram kit has B-1A type feathers). AFAIK, there never was an accurate set of these made. The F-101 engines are bigger than their F-110/F-100 descendants.

Good call, TX. This is about where I am today, too. Until we get some real pix and AAR info, take another look at Austin Kennedy's MH-60 Fast Rope dio. I'm guessing it looked a lot like this. Very cool that one happens to be posted today. "Live Free or Die!"

DeHavilland DH-4 in British and US versions - !!!

Before CE's featherless exhausts there was a somewhat rougher set by Masterpiece Models. AFAIK, the Eduard PE is a set of featherless cans as well. Have never seen AND WOULD LOVE TO GET a set of the original, SAC-era turkey feather exhausts in BOTH 1/72 and 1/48 scale. The engines are not the same size as F-100's and F-110's, nor do the larger scales seem to adapt. Shull24 makes the TDS blisters for the tail in 1/48 My 2 cents.

Model building *IS* therapy - ! Glad you've made it through the rouh bits. Hang tough!

What is the nomenclature for this cart, next to a B-52G at Loring AFB, c.1989-? It looks like the dash-86 HOBART shown above, but I'm not sure. Also: Is this the cart that would have been hooked up to these jets on alert? If not this one, would a Dash-60 do, instead?

My experience was similar to "AK-47's", having been on alert with BUFFs and then with BONEs as the end game played out, 1988-92. One thing that's been lost (or deliberately obfuscated) is the comprehensive nature of the communist threat across military, diplomatic and global propaganda venues. Have since met our Soviet/Russian counterparts and still respect those guys far more than the terrorist low-lifes that we fight today. It did turn very hot: Korea and Vietnam, etc, were the larger instances, considered 'proxy wars' between the Free World and the communist sphere. The effects are signif

Fantastic piece of work. I've built and/or restored these monster kits for others several times and never quite had the success with that big, aft fuselage seam that you have here. Out--standing!