f5guy

Agreed..... I like this one too! Here's another version. Fred K.

Like this perhaps? ;0) Fred K.

I don't make those kind of videos anymore Paul ;0) Fred K.

You can build a South Vietnamese jet or an aggressor out of this kit. It has all of the parts necessary to do so. What you need to do is figure out which jet that you want to build. The SVAF jets would all be the same configuration. With aggressors though it largely depends on time frame. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, and that is very true with the US aggressors/adversaries! HTH, Fred K.

There's a thread over at LSP about the KH kit and its issues that's nearly 60 pages long! Not that there's 60 pages worth of issues to the kit, it just goes really in depth. HTH, Fred K.

Thanks for the story.... very interesting! All of the F-5E's that returned to the US from the SVAF ended up in aggressor service or with the 425th TFTS at Williams AFB. The jet in this pic, 73-0865, was one of them and served as a USAF aggressor at Nellis for number of years before being passed on to the Navy in the early 90's. It served with VFA-127 then VFC-13 until about 2005 or so before finally being retired. I do believe that it got preserved and is at a museum at Perris, Ca (I think) I'd bet money that its one of the jets pictured on the USS Midway in the pic that Habu posted! Fred K.

It' still a nice kit. What it mainly needs is a good resin cockpit set, but since it's not a teen fighter (F-14 F-15 F-16, ect) or BF/FW-whatever, it's not looking like it's going to happen. KH screwed up many of the small details of the kit, but the overall kit is still quite nice, and a good starting point. Don't be fooled, its totally build-able. All of the modifications that need to be done are based on the time frame of the particular aircraft being modeled. The South Vietnamese jets were very early production jets, and didn't have most, if any, of the later modifications. They were very basic versions. Lots of folks here would be happy to help you get the KH kit right. It's not really that hard..... just a little research. As a side note, while the SVAF apparently did not fly their new F-5E's a whole lot, many were captured by the North Vietnamese, and incorporated into their air force. They were reportedly flown for several years in a mixed F-5/MiG-21 squadron, and used in combat against their neighboring countries. That would be an interesting build option ;0) HTH, Fred K.

Personally, I'd really like to see some standard orange & white VT birds in 72nd scale. There has been zero coverage of these jets in the small scale. Fred K.

Yeah, I didn't think so. I saw that A-Model does one in 1/144th that I might be able to use as a pattern, assuming that its correct. Lots of scratch building on this one! Thanks, Fred.

Hi guys, Did Roden ever release their Provider kit with ski's? Or perhaps an aftermarket set exists? I've done a little searching and haven't come up with anything, so I'm guessing not. I came across a pic of an Alaska ANG C-123J with ski's that ran supplies to the Distant Early Warning radar system in the 60's and though that it would be a neat subject. Thanks, Fred K.

You must be seeing different news casts than I'm seeing. Yes, this is something to be concerned about and take precautions for. It just doesn't help anything when you've got the media desperately trying to up the body count as high as they can. And no, I'm not upset about it. Annoyed and disgusted, yes. Fred K.

Out here in Utah its full on panic mode. We've got a bunch of doomsday preppers out here, plus an enormous amount of huge Mormon families. The media has got them all whipped into a frenzy and they're stripping the grocery stores of everything in sight. You can't get water, TP, paper towels, sanitizer, rice, beans, potatoes, frozen food, and most canned goods. My wife went by the local Winco store at 9 this morning to do our weekly shopping while most folks are at work. It didn't matter...... it was so crowded that if you wanted a grocery cart you had to wait until someone came out with one and unloaded it. Usually there's 200 of them out in front of the store. She ended up waiting in the check out line for over an hour just to get out of the store! It's just flat out stupid the way that people are reacting to this. It's a flu people.... settle down. It probably never occurred to these folks that they're a lot more likely to catch it in a public store with 1000 other crazed shoppers than sitting at home. I find it really appalling that the media and social media has so much control over people that they go into a crazed frenzy at the slightest provocation. What would happen if we had a large earthquake or similar natural disaster? Widespread looting and people killing each other over TP probably! It's like a contest to see who can overact the most.... I caught part of some morning show at the doctors office yesterday and this host Savannah something or other was talking to Vice President Pence, and she was trying everything that she could to get the VP to say that "millions could be ask risk in the US". She was so desperate to get him to say "millions" that she was literally putting the words in his mouth. Thankfully he didn't let her. I found it to be an utterly disgusting display! As far as I'm concerned, the media is largely responsible for pouring gas on this fire. Fred K. Oh... and before anyone gets too worked up, a lot of my friends (including several here on ARC), neighbors, and co-workers are Mormons. They're generally good people, but they do tend to have large families. Its a running joke out here.

At one point I thought that I would get them all built, but the stash just kept getting bigger and my time to model decreased. I used to build around 20 to 25 72nd jets in a year, but now due to working far too much, and competing past times, I'll be lucky to get 10 or 12 done this year. I have over 600 kits in my stash, and will hit my 55th birthday in a few months.... do the math! I don't have a problem buying more kits, although I try to keep it limited to new kits. Sometimes though, I'll run across a good kit at a very good price and will stock up if its something that I know I will build. As a case in point: I am currently working on four of the old (raised panel line) Hasegawa Tomcats. Yes, its not the latest and greatest kit by any measure, but still builds up nicely if you replace the seats and close the canopy. I picked up a box of eight of them from a local guy that was selling off his stash some years ago. His stash was so huge that it took up his entire garage, and he was reduced to cutting parts off of the sprues, bagging the parts, and putting multiple kits into one box. Hence the 8 Tomcat kits in one box. I think I paid $20 for all 8 kits though, and once built they look great on my shelf! That kit will currently run you about $15 each plus shipping on ebay. I just finished a VF-124 jet and have VF-33 VF-41 and VF-302 to go. Another reason for my big stash is that over the years I've figured out that I have about a 4 day window of interest to start a kit. If I don't have the kit on hand, and get started on it, my interest will fade before the kit arrives in the mail. Once its started, it will get finished sooner or later. It may take awhile, but it will get finished! Fred K.

Several of these will be joining my stash! Fred K.

I'd love to see these in 72nd scale as well 😁 Fred K.