Modelmkr

Yup, you're the only one... you are banished to Monster Island. Marc B.

I just picked up my Tomcat today and have been pawing through it... very impressive!! The main clear canopy has a seam down the middle, but it is so incredibly fine you could get away with leaving it alone. Don't know if this was mentioned yet, but in looking at the instructions they have you remove a few bumps and panel lines as well as trimming the mating surface for the A/B cans on the beaver tail. Looks like more variants are coming, or at least the intention to do so... Tamiya can be fickle that way. Marc B.

Because... ? Marc B.

Dual AN/ALE-47 chaff/flare buckets are fitted to BuNo airframes 165171 thru 165532. Oh, and just noted this the other day... Mr. Chung had mentioned that photoetch items PE17 were the "missing" splitter intake braces, but in step 27 of the instructions these same parts (PE17) are being used for the boarding ladder release latches. So not so sure they are the splitter intake braces. Marc B.

As many as this? :blink:/> King Air Marc B.

AFAIK, all Walleye glide bombs (they were not missiles) were TV guided. The ER refers to Extended Range, with the use of a data link pod. The Walleye II ER was in use in the latter part of the Vietnam war, so I would imagine the NSAWC bird in question were employing these. These were used up to Desert Storm and retired shortly after. Of course if anyone has more info, chime in. Marc B.

Unfortunately, no. I am lucky enough to have the Hasegawa set with that. Marc B.

Just to clarify; Item 2 above is not quite correct. The AAQ-28 LITENING is indeed made from parts HH-1, 2, 5 and 6 (as shown in instruction step 31)... which are not supplied in the kit. Instead they give you sprue GG (parts 1-5) which is, in fact, the AAQ-14 pod (as seen in Kinetic's F-16I kit). This should normally mate up with an AAQ-13 (not supplied in the kit) to make up the LANTIRN system and would be moot as these pods are not used on F/A-18s. Pods that *should* have been included: ASQ-173 LDT/SCAM, AAR-50 TINS, AAQ-28 LITENING. Only one included that is correct is the AAS-38 Nitehawk

You know what... for some reason I was getting the L-19 designation mixed up with the L4H Piper Cub from WWII. Brain sorted out now... thanks all. Marc B.

Am I wrong in thinking that the L-19 is WWII era and the O-1 is Vietnam? Same airframe, but different markings and ordnance? If so, presumably this kit will have markings/ weapons for both WWII and Vietnam? Marc B.

There's not a lot of manufacturers out there that come close to Barracuda for quality and accurate resin upgrades. Zactoman is one of the few that immediately comes to mind. If you get the Barracuda sets you will not be disappointed. Marc B.

Yeah, Tamiya is famous of late for keeping their engineering open-ended for other variants, but their follow-through has been spotty to non existent. So people, all I'm saying is don't go forward thinking there will be further variants, only that the possibility is there. :pray:/> Marc B.

But it is not going to be cheaper. If the prices listed at HLJ are any indication, the Hobbyboss offering will be 25% MORE that the AMK offering. I know HLJ prices for Hong Kong supplied kits are more than other suppliers, but I'm just looking at the % difference in price which *should* be relatively consistent. HLJ So just... nope. Marc B.

While I don't have that particular decal set I do have their 1/32 set for the Ukrainian Su-25M1 Frogfoot with digital camo. This set also comes with masks. I have not yet used this set but I can tell you that the decals are well colour saturated, in perfect register and nice and thin. The mask sheet is very precisely cut and has large surrounding mask of each digital pattern, so you get the positive and negative mask patterns. I would imagine the Su-27 set is much the same. Marc B.

Anodized aluminum! That explains the odd tone to what appeared as bare metal. The aircraft I am doing is one of the new Ukrainian digital camo schemes. I'm going to go with anodized aluminum. Thanks harvy5.

Hmmm... I have that second photo which is pretty inconclusive (could be bare metal reflecting the green compressor fan, or could be some odd colour). The first photo I am thoroughly unconvinced that *that* is the normal intake colour :wacko: Surely the Russian boffins must know? Marc B.

Asked this on another forum, but no luck... I'm building the Trumpeter 1/32 Su-25 Frogfoot and am trying to ascertain what the proper colour of the inside of the intake ducting is supposed to be. Photos are few and far between and suggest anything from white to natural metal to what looks like a shade of RLM-02. FWIW, Trumpeter suggests a mix of RLM-02 and white, but I'm not convinced. Anyone know for sure what this should be? Marc B.

Here ya go... Yankee Headrest looks a bit undersized to me, but that can be fixed. Also looks like it will need the launch rails; two pieces of Evergreen channel shapes will cover that. Marc B.

Linden Hill decals does that scheme (different Bort number) Frogfoot decals Marc B.

In 1967, 39 T-37 trainers were modified as the A-37A. Wing hardpoints were added, a minigun in the nose, etc. 25 of these were sent to SEA for CAS, FAC and night interdiction missions in Vietnam and Laos under the name "Combat Dragon". With the success of these, new build A-37Bs were ordered by the USAF under "Combat Dragon II". Given only 25 A-37As went to SEA and largely for active combat evaluation, I suspect only one unit had these operational. Marc B.

Already answered; post #60 in this thread. Marc B.

What about Aerobonus (Aires)? They make a fair range of Soviet/ Russian weapons. Marc B.

If 900 parts on a kit that size (read large), is over-engineered, then every modern tooled armour kit out there is waaaaay over-engineered with parts counts at 500-1000 for kits 1/4 the size of the falcon, so... Besides, I look at higher parts count (with a purpose) as more build time, so more bang for the buck. I have the FM Falcon and all the parts will clearly be able to be seen with 99% of them external. It's clearly not your cup of tea, but I love the kit :) Marc B.

Yes, the Italeri kit. Tamiya do re-boxings of Italeri with a few extra gubbins for thier local market. Marc B.

Just as a tip, I always take the paint I'm going to spray and sit the bottle or cup in a dish of hot water. This warms up the paint and it sprays easily and goes on creamy smooth. That said, I'm not spraying in a cold winter garage, so YMMV. Marc B.