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Skyraider Maniac

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Posts posted by Skyraider Maniac

  1. Just wanted to give a shout out to CivicSiKL, aka Kyle, who is an outstanding trader! Just complete a great trade with him, so ya'll can deal with confidence :thumbsup:

    Thanks again for the great deal, Kyle! :cheers:

  2. Arrrgh! :bandhead2: I can hardly believe you've never :OMG-OMG:… well never mind <sigh>. :sarcasm_on: No one should be allowed out of grade school without this particular piece of knowledge. Not your fault. Pardon my frustrationâ€â€I have a 75 minute presentation I give several times a year on the topic of safety with materials. It's called "What You Don't Know Will Kill You." The title alone should give you an idea of how important I think it is, especially in this day and age. Okay, enough rant…:soapbox:

    Material Safety Data Sheet. You can almost always find them on the manufacturer's web site, in this case the Tamiya USA site. Last time I was there, they did have MSDS for all their products sold in the US. If you have any questions about how to read or interpret them, post to this thread or send me a message and I'll explain.

    Thanks, I'll give it a look

  3. Hey guys: as the title states, I want to thin down my Tamiya primer so I can use it in my airbrush. What do I use to thin it? Will the Tamiya acrylic paint thinner work? Or would I be better off using mineral spirits or lacquer thinner?

    Problem is I don't know if the primer is acrylic-based, or enamel based; which would make the decision making process a lot easier.

    Thanks in advance! :cheers:

    Justin

  4. I believe that in many of it's applications, the U-2 also uses a data link to download it's take in real time. That would be just as vulnerable to disruption as the one on the GH.

    You are correct about a pilot being "unhackable" but conversely, a shot-down drone, even one as expensive as a GH, will not have the same political impact as would a captured pilot being displayed to the world.

    U-2's were being easily shot down 50 years ago, I doubt that their survivability has improved much since then.

    Quite true, but as for the reference to the data link; I was talking with respect to the ability to take physical control of the aircraft, not the information it was taking in. That's not something that can be as easily done with a U-2 (and what makes it more reliable over "unfriendly territory").

    As to your second paragraph, I disagree. An entire, intact airframe that's classified, with classified equipment has just as much political impact, if not more than a mere pilot. A pilot can't say much, whereas equipment speak volumes; giving the enemy insight into our technological secrets. A pilot merely works out to be a political pawn, eventually winding up back in friendly hands; the equipment will never be seen again (on friendly terms anyway). The topic of the most recent drone loss is still a viable topic in many places - which, in no doubt is having lasting ramifications on Air Force drone TTP's (and could very well have been an influencing factor in this particular decision we are now discussing).

    Though, I also agree that the survivability of the U-2 hasn't improved much (that we know of).

    I think the U-2 is still a better alternative because the only option the enemy has to get their hands on it, is to shoot it down - leaving a much smaller intelligence footprint. Whereas the footprint from this recent loss is... Quite large....

  5. Sounds like the Eduard kit to me - it's a very nice kit. You might want to check sprue brothers website. The aircrew come seperately.

  6. I don't see why the U-2 costs would be far higher. Both aircraft are powered by a single relatively modern jet engine, so engine maintenance costs and fuel costs will be comparable. The maintenance costs for the on board electronics will probably also be comparable, the U-2 will have flight instruments, where is the Global Hawk will have more datalink. The datalink uses a lot more satellite bandwidth (which is very expensive, but probably not factored into the equation). Depending on the sensor load, the maintenance costs for those is also comparable I'm sure. I really don't see a stand out area where the per flight hour costs for either aircraft would be vastly divergent from the other. There are areas in each where you have to spend some money where you wouldn't on the other, and the big costs are going to be comparable.

    After a brief search: Defense News Article

    "According to the Air Force's Total Ownership Cost database, the U-2 cost $31,000 per flight hour while the RQ-4 sits at $35,000."

    Hoops

    There's also "zero" capability to "hack" a human pilot, whereas UAVs are completely open to cyber attacks; that data link being the "achilles heel". And why I still see the U-2 as the superior aircraft.

  7. Congrats on the new phone. Don't forget to get the IP Boards app. I browse the ARC Forums mostly through that.

    Is the app good? I've heard bad things about it when I first got my phone, so I've just been using safari to get on. Also, does that app allow more access to the desktop features of the forum? The mobile version of the forums sucks - no smileys and can't post like normal either - specifically, you can't do multiple quotes.

    So does the app do all that? I also read a review that you couldn't go back to viewing the mobile site like normal after using the mobile app, which is why I haven't bothered downloading it yet.

    I went out and bought the 32 gig

    4S the 2nd day it came out...Put it in a $40 case right out of the box.

    I happen to drop it the 2nd day i had it and it nicked the ONLY place the case does not cover.

    Really? I've dropped mine, without a case, several times over hard surfaces (tile, concrete, etc...) and haven't knicked it or scratched it once.

  8. Things I learned about the airwar from watching Red Tails:

    - The midships portion of a German destroyer is apparently filled with explosive and highly combustible material. Two firing passes by a single P-51 will blow up the ship.

    - Similarly, the locomotive of a German train is filled with the same mixture. A few .50 cal hits and it will explode in a fireball and tumble end over end, derailing the train. But you must hit it from the front!

    - Multiple hits from the four 30mm cannon in the nose of a Me262 have little effect on a P-51, except putting some small holes in the canopy and in the airframe. The rounds are so puny, that a P-51 pilot can be hit by one (or more) rounds and still be alive to fly and talk for a while.

    - Only one pilot in the Luftwaffe flew in a plane with a yellow nose. If you see a Me262 with a yellow nose over Berlin, it's obviously the same pilot who flew a yellow nosed Bf109 in Italy. And his name is Pretty Boy.

    - Attacking German airfields was easy. The AA gunners are poor shots, allowing 4 planes to make 4 or 5 runs down the length of the field with little hindrance. Also, every German aircraft on the field is lined up in a nice narrow row and is loaded with combustible material waiting for just a .50 cal bullet or two to make it blow up spectacularly.

    - The best place for the escort fighters is in the middle of the bomber stream. That way, the Germans get the first shot on the B-17s as the dive on the formation before the P-51s can chase them as they fly through the formation.

    - Who needs thrust vectoring? When someone is behind them, a Bf109 or P-51 can just pull up, perform a stall turn and blow up the chasing aircraft in one quick burst as they pass by.

    Who knew?

    Best review yet :thumbsup::cheers:

  9. Ok, the rest of the pics are of the paint job I did for the anti-glare panel. I was going to try and get to the tail today, but that was going to be more work than I had time for, so I decided to mask and paint the panel. Today was the first coat, second will go on tomorrow. I thought it turned out pretty good.

    here it is getting masked off - I masked, then painted over the edges with future to help seal it and prevent leaking.

    72a8c341.jpg

    My first go with the airbrush resulted in this:

    ede8531d.jpg

    As it turned out, I had over-thinned the paint with thinner, so it was like spraying water. Added another part of paint and it improved drastically.

    After the adjustment, here's how it turned out:

    dc37d3fb.jpg

    4a68616e.jpg

    9be71d06.jpg

    e890a9c8.jpg

    All in all, I think it all turned out pretty well. Anyhoo, that's it for tonight! more to come.... :salute:

  10. ok, a real update with pics!

    As promised, I have pics. First off, the binder and folder I was working on for the cockpit - probably will make some other stuff as well, we'll see as I finish up the cockpit. I think they turned out pretty good - just tamiya tape and paper. the folder I painted olive drab - the binder... I tried coloring with a pencil, but the tape wasn't condusive to the lead - so I'll have to paint that as well (it'll be blue). Now, here's the pics.

    The folder:

    The Front Side

    72699b3a.jpg

    The Back Side

    fbc7d9c1.jpg

    The notebook/binder:

    896e2f52.jpg

    589f4b0d.jpg (sorry for the quality, using my phone)

    Both together:

    aad8e86e.jpg

    and with a paint bottle for scale

    ee195069.jpg

    Ok, after that, I prepped the Quickboost refuling probe - it's a very nice probe, actually! Very nicely cast, can't wait to install it :D Now I've not painted it yet, but I did saw it off the block and give it a nice, soapy bath.

    Here's the probe (I apologize for the pics, I tried playing with the lighting, but with my phone it just wasn't working out):

    d23a96d7.jpg

    and with the kit probe for comparison

    f68697f8.jpg

    more in the next post....

  11. So..... A lot has happened since I last posted anything on here... Though not with the kit, lol. This has got to be the longest I've ever taken to get one knocked out... But, several months, one move and 1100 miles later, I'm finally getting back to it! Anyway, quick update for tonight. I was working on the paint job tonight....and.....I had some overspray on the tail... Well, I tried to take it off, but I wound up taking off some of the blue paint in the process (which is weird, cause the tail is coated in future...). Anyway - I'm going to attempt to touch it up tomorrow - hopefully I won't have to completely redo it. Aside from that, I worked on some notebooks and other pilot cockpit related knickknacks, of which I'll attempt to post pics tomorrow. I think they turned out pretty decent - just paper and Tamiya tape. Anyway, that's it for tonight - more tomorrow!

  12. Now, I wouldn't despair about "movies today..."

    remember "Glory", "Saving Private Ryan", "A Few Good Men", "Master and Commander", "The King's Speech" and "The Hurt Locker" just to name a few. Not exactly the end of cinema.

    I beg to differ; hated glory, couldn't stand a few good men, despised saving private ryan (the character of the fella from the 29th ID is repulsive; why cast the person as a loser from a unit that landed right next to the 1st ID on Omaha Beach, who's A Co. out of Bedford, Va sustained 90-something percent casualties in the opening wave... There's a reason why the D-Day memorial is in Bedford... The only thing decent about the movie was the opening scene), and I couldn't stand hurt locker.....

    Now, Gettysburg and Gods and Generals were both excellent movies. Albeit from the looney Ted Turner, but good nonetheless. Flags of our Fathers and letters from Iwo Jima, We were soldiers, black hawk down, the great raid (book was better though... :) ), and let's not forget Band of Brothers! Taking Chance is also a pretty excellent movie as well. These are all great movies....

  13. Ok, I went and dug through the stash to find my spad kits (really bugged me that I couldn't remember the innards, haha...); anyhoo, there is no closed door option on the Tamiya kit, but on that kit its really easy to do, so no need to sweat it.

    Just dry fit and see what works best for you (I also second what Joe said above)

    BTW, do you plan on doing an in-progress thread? :D

  14. I did gear up on my tamiya spad (Viet Nam SEA Camo bird), and I recall it being super easy. If I recall correctly (can't remember exactly as I've not opened one in a while, and all my other spad kits are packed away in a corner at the moment...), but I think Tamiya either included an option with closed doors, or they fit really good and didn't need any modification. As for the monogram spad, that was a bit of work to get the doors to sit right....

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