cyclopsactual

That weathering job is absolutely beautiful and dead-on for a bird in the Southwest Pacific. Great work!!!! Regards, Ian

Thanks for the kind words everybody. Granted the Airfix "Brick" is not the easiest kit in the world to tackle but it builds up into a great replica of that aircraft. Holmes, the article was posted on 11.06. Regards, Ian

Well stated Pookie.................a little TLC and ANY kit can be made to look good. I think if modellers spent less time complaining about kits and more time building them the hobby would be better off. Great job on the Prowler Pookie! I am sure you had your hands full with the build but you produced a great model in the end. Nuff said.

I could imagine how this would go if I incorporated sheep into my diorama for an IPMS Show. Judge One:"Well obviously this modeller should not have Norfolk Horn Sheep wandering around the pasture for an Upper Heyford diorama. Those should clearly be Dorsets." Judge Two: "I think the soil coloring is wrong as well on the sheep's feet. Shouldn't those be Devon Long Wools for Upper Heyford anyway"? Judge One:"Well, when I read about Upper Heyford on the internet it said the sheeps would be Dorsets" Judge Two: "I think he used the wrong shade of Vallejo Livestock grey for the wool, too". Judg

I agree with Diamond Back Six.................AGM-130 would be perfect for anti-infrastructure precision strike.

Need some F-4E expertise from the Rhino luvr's. I am planning to do a F-4E from Taegu AFB, Korea, circa 1987 using the Afterburner Osan/Taegu sheet. The A/C will be configured for precision strike utilizing a 2000 lb. GBU and Pave Spike...etc. Will the long finned GBU (i.e early Hasegawa weapon set) or the short finned GBU be appropriate for this timeframe? Also, could the big-finned GBU-15 glide bomb be feasible in place of the 2000 lb GBU. I have seen photos of Clark AFB F-4E's dropping the GBU-15 but wasn't sure if that was a common piece of ordnance for the Rhino. Anyway, if anyone has an

I would not care to tangle with either the Rhino or the F-14.................hats-off to both aircraft. They are truly beastly death machines.

A manicure stick works well. It has all three grades of polishing material that you will need on one stick. Start with the coarsest material on the stick and then gradually work your way down to the smoothest material. By the time you finish sanding you will have a faint haze where the seam used to be. Dip the canopy in Future and the seam and remaining haze will be obliterated. I have used this technique dozens of times on Hasegawa Hornet and Tomcat canopies, which have the worst seams out there, and the results have been flawless. The manicure sticks are available at beauty shops or pharmaci

Rod, stunning job on the F-14. The model itself is impressive enough but coupled with the stunning photographic techniques, it is a true masterpiece. Regards, Ian

The reason for the nose art was because this jet served as a hangar queen for spare parts when assigned to VF-31 for Iraqi Freedom. The jet was given a "medal" for graciously donating her parts to the remainder of the squadron for the deployment. Regards, Ian

Squadron Signal also did a good book documenting the A-6. I believe it was called "Intruder" and was just a stand-alone publication, not from the "Walk-Around" or "In-Action" series. I have not seen a copy in several years but it is a good reference if you can find it. Hope you enjoy your A-6 kit............it builds up well and with a little TLC is as good as anything else out there.

There are some good avionics bay shots in Detail and Scale #69 for the F/A-18E & F. The color photos in there show interior green on the inside of the doors to the bay, white on the interior of the avionics bay itself and the boxes inside as black, green and grey with black cables and yellow connectors. The plane that is shown is a production E-model from VFA-14 Tophatters. Regards, Ian

In regards to your question about the LITENING pods I have only seen them mounted on the wing pylons. Attached is a photo I took at a local airshow of a AV-8B+ equipped with the LITENING pod. Incidentally, this plane was in the new 36118/35237 scheme and it looked very sharp. Regards, Ian

SU-25..............go Frogfoots....or is it Frogfeet?

Simply beautiful work on this A-4. Finish is exquisite and the decals really make it stand out. Great work Artur!

If you can find the kit, the 1/48th scale Promodeller F-15E Strike Eagle that came out in the late 90's in Tiger Meet markings, comes with a datalink pod for the AGM-130. I believe the pod is very similar, if not the same.

I apologize..........thanks for catching that. The World Airpower Journal article did not include the wingtip stations for whatever reason, so it screwed the numbers up.

Good shot of the data link pod on the "Sunliners" jet.

Rafael did a truly wonderful job on this aircraft. The finish is extremely realistic and the detail work around the afterburner section is stunning as well.

Hey "Waylandcool"....hope you are doing well. The AGM-162 Walleye could be hauled by an A, C, or D model F/A-18. It would always be carried on the outboard pylons underneath the wings....Stations 1 and 5. The Walleye needed a datalink pod for guidance. The pod was designated AWW-9 and was carried on the centerline pylon, Station 3. The aircraft launching the Walleye did not necessarily have to carry the pod because it could be hauled by another aircraft ...kind of like "buddy lasing". The AWW-9 was basically just a grey pod with pointed ends. All the photos I have seen of F/A-18's when they ar

The finish on this aircraft is really stunning. The demarcation lines on the camo were beautifully executed and the decals really make this aircraft look like it is going to fly off the table. Great work Mark!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for the positive feedback guys and I am glad you enjoyed the photos. I got to see some of these jets in person when they were doing touch-and-go's at Davis Monthan AFB a few years ago after touring the musuem at Pima. These jets are a sight to behold in the flesh. Best wishes, Ian

Beautiful job on the Lancaster. Certainly not an easy build but the result is fantastic. Very true-to-life weathering on this Lanc, especially in regards to the fading of the black sides/undersides. I am sure "Will" Sawyer and the rest of the Bomber Comand crews would be proud of this model.