BillS

I’m in agreement. Lots of subjects out there are in need. One of the trickiest to replicate is Blue Angel and Thunderbird F-4 ADF antennas installed in the rear canopy.

Thanks Mstor. They have what I want. Thanks a ton!

Do any of you guys in North America have any Xtracolor enamel you’d part with? I just dont like painting something flat only to spray on clear glossthen spray flat again. I have this penchant for “the fewer coats, the better” plus i use a water color wash for engraved detail/panels that easily wipes off of gloss surfaces leaving the wash in the engraved detail. I particularly need USAF Vietnam colors and RAF. I’m willing to purchase or trade. I hope I dont get scolded for the wrong forum, I just figured more readers would see this post

Virtually everything I was around in the tactical community enabled the pilot to select flashing or steady modes on nav and position lights. In the early 2000s an “n viz” tcto was incorporated at least on ‘16s” but I’m certain everything else in USAFs inventory as well. With this modality the lights could only be seen through night vision goggles.

They make a weathered and fresh version of radome gray. I got it from Linden Hill. It really sprays nicely.

I’m a major fan of Tamiya spray and have transitioned to using their various silver colors for bare metal. No more so-called metal products for me! BUT, one thing I think effects how they spray is temperature. I experienced a curdling effect last winter when I was spraying outside in temepratures around 40 degrees. The can specifies spraying in warmer temperatures; can’t remember the range but was above 60 If I remember. I also lay on a misty coat first followed by heavier shiny coats. Heavy early coats have resulted in a “bird’s eye” effect.

See? This is why I like Murph’s posts. He’s a straight shooter The thing of it is, those intakes were dark and the skin was plain old dull metal so it would appear gray. In order to facilitate inspections, technicians used a thing called a “jet light” to brighten things up. For some reason I think the C models have painted intakes though. As an added note on T-38s, wheels and struts went from silver to white in the 80s. Inside of gear wells and doors could have been white, silver or ADC gray. I saw all of those used. Our corrosion control shop also turned out jets with painted on markings or 3M dry decals (stickers).The Air Force generally is very standardized and after Vietnam there was less and less variation in my experience. As an example, that little colored tail flash band on TAC jets of the 1980s/90s was approved at Langley. Woe to the unit that went out on its own and applied ANYTHING unapproved.. But this is a whole new discussion!

I gotta take a friendly swipe at Murph who I think gets stuff right all the time except this one. I had 120 T-38s assigned to my care as a maintenace officer at Reese AFB from 1978-1981 and saw them through all phases of maintenace. I then had two late model 38s assigned to my flight test organization at Holloman from 1981-84. None had painted intakes. They were dull bare metal. I have forgotten a lot since those days but not that particular detail. It was readily apparent when engines were pulled and you could see the intakes from the engine bay vs looking down a dark intake.

The heck of it is I was at nellis when they had a slew of those there. I’m gonna go with bare metal. For sure the T-38s of that era were. Since the intakes couldnt be crawled, i dont think it made much sense to paint them. For sure they weren't big enough for a guy to crawl in and paint.

There is a great thread here on ARC outlining the differences. I believe Tom authored this piece so check out the archives. I intend to do a VF-201 F-8 at some point. I have the Cutting Edge conversion which includes the whole nose. The thing with the F-8 H was the early nose profile i.e. intake size, narrow profile and different vent arrangement. You really cant do an accurate H without the conversion.

I’ll take a stab. I think it has to do with night vis. Around the early 2000s we went with exterior lighting that is only visible when viwed through night vision goggles. I was in F-16s at the time and although USAF jets did’nt have strip lights, our stuff go modified for night vision. Just guessing.

I built the Airfix Vulcan in the mid to late 90s using the Modeldecal set to build XM607. For Black Buc ops this jet had Dark Sea Gray undersides according to Modeldecal, a company well known for arguably the most extensive research and detailed instructions. XM607 was gate guard at RAF Waddington in 1986 when I attended TAC Fighter meet ‘86 wearing that scheme. I doubt it had been repainted. As a side note, I still have that model and I love that old kit. It looks a treat all done up.

Get some Testor’s paint remover/stripper in the tan can. For that fact any stripper. It’s like a laxative for your airbrush! I often put a drop or twi in the cup after a paint session. It keeps things “loose” because any residue will stay emulsified. Just purge it with thinner before putting you paint in the cup for your next spray session.

Thanks Tony and Nikolay for calling my attention to the intake “how to” on Britmodeller. I applied this to my jet yesterday and like the way it turned out. Considering KH often has open panels to display avionics, cameras, etc ala the Cougar and ‘101B, I’’m surprised they didn't do an open camera bay option for this kit. Still, I’m tickled to have it as is.

I just got this kit off ebay and have started tearing in to it. Basically I really like this kit. I’ve built the B save decaling and final assembly and that was overall a good experience. Of course the RF is largely the same kit as many may have seen from sprue shot images published on various sites. Everyone has anticipated the intake shape issue; not a fatal error but personally makes me whince. I’m going to attempt some reshaping to see if I can fake a more accurate appearance. The othe bug bear I’m aware of is the right fuelage bleed air vent. The larger round grill is wrong. There should be a rectangular grill in place of the round grill. This should be remedied without too much hair pulling. Probably my greatest complaint is the cockpit. Yes it lacks finer detail and yes the PE approach to panels isn't optimal. My beef is that the panel details are not even close for a ‘101C and this includes the glare shield. The kit components may more closely approximate the G model. Unless you’re in to scratch building or cobbling together a cockpit based on what’s out there, one will have to wait for after market accessories. Anticipate sink marks in speed brakes and gear doors that will need your filler of choice. Summing it up, I think the KH ‘101s have nice surface and landing gear detail, major components fit well and there is a nice variety of marking options. This one will be a Sun Run jet and I’m tempted to do a SEA camo jet down the line.