f5guy

Really an awesome build Jost!

For me it would be AFV's 1/48th F-5E/F kit. They build up quite nicely, and quickly too with few difficulties. I've built 10 already, and have 2 more going now, plus 14 in my stash. I also like Hasegawa's 48th A-4's. It not the easiest kit to build up, but looks great when done. I've built 9 of them, and am painting number 10 now. I also have 13 more in my stash. It's true... I love aggressors 😂 Fred K.

I've been waiting patiently for a new tool 72nd F-5E/F for decades. All hopes of the Dream Model kit being it were quickly dashed when it became apparent that it was nothing more than a poorly done cash grab before the Wolfpack kit shows up. No doubt the Wolfpack kit will be excellent. I hope we see it very soon! Fred K.

There you go.... problem solved! Fred.

Very nice! And a cool collection too! Fred K.

Thanks! For whatever reason, I find those heavily modified "snooper" and test aircraft quite interesting. Regards, Fred.

Your missus is going to kick you out of your house if you show her that pic 😆 I'm fortunate that when we had this house built 4 years ago, my wife was totally cool with the idea of turning a room that we really had no plans for into my own little museum. She got her big bedroom, closet, and kitchen. I told her that I wanted a big garage, a model room, and someplace to display my built models. Peace ensued! The three smaller cases I bought new from a store display place in nearby Salt Lake City. Every few years I'll pick one up. The bigger one with my USAF subjects my daughter found

Okay guys, here's number 2. This is the preliminary pass with the paint. From past experience I knew that all three colors of Model Master paint, no matter how well thinned, would splatter like crazy. I was not disappointed! So if I can get some time in my model room this week, I'll have to break out my Iwata Micron and begin the painstaking task of cleaning the demarcation lines up. As you can tell by the pic, I added some light green to the Euro One gray to lighten it just a bit, but also give it a bit of a green hue as seen in photo's. I think it came out quite well 👍 All for now. Fred.

Thanks Dutch! I've actually got five cases, four of which are pictured. I need to get a few more though 😆 Fred.

So you did! My mistake... sorry! Fred.

Unfortunately the Trumpeter kit suffers from a windscreen that is far too short. Dream Model did the same thing with their half assed attempt at an F-5E/F too. Fred.

Hi Don, Thanks for the kind words! It looks great sitting in my USAF case (bottom left). As for the most bumps.... I don't know.... some of those USAF C-135 were pretty heavily modified too. I'll tackle them later 👍 Take care, Fred.

Here's the pics....

Now for the wing roots. The first pic is the original non-LEX version. The second pic is the later LEX added version. Notice how much wider it is. I had a pilot from VFC-13 tell me me one day years back that he always enjoyed it when one of his buddies that he used to fly Hornets with came to Fallon for work ups. At the time VFC-13 had a mix of both styles of jets. He said that he'd get maintenance to hook him up with a Tiger that had "hot" engines, and the duckbill nose and LEXs, and would proceed to beat the pants off of them in a dogfight! Lots of free beers at the Officers Clu

Let's see if this helps out any.... Here's the original round nose cone, and the later duckbill/shark nose cone. Notice how the nose is flatter on the duckbill version. This, and the LEXs help the aircraft turn better, and are a direct result of the F-20 Tigershark program. As a side note, I have never seen a Tiger that had the duckbill nose and no LEXs on the wing. I have only seen one aircraft that had the wing LEXs and a round nose cone. There may have been one or two other cases, but I've only ever seen the one personally or in pics. It seems that if the aircraft had the round

Thanks Dutch! It was a bit of a push to get it done at times, but it sure looks great sitting in my display case. I have the pitot antlers on now, and it really adds a nice touch to the model. It's funny that you mention the Eastern Airlines 737-800 that I'm working on. After being sidetracked with building a string of 48th scale aggressors this spring, I've been getting the itch to build another airliner. However, I'm not going to do so until I finish off the Eastern jet, so back on the bench it went last just last night. I got a little burnt out on it with the endless sanding inv

Much appreciated Dutch ;0) Fred.

Hi Michael, Which jet are you modeling? I probably have a picture of it. If its from 1977, then it will have the round nose cone, and no LEXs. Those mods didn't arrive until the early 1980s. Regards, Fred.

Hi Armando, You are correct about the ballast for all F-5Fs, except the three Navy jets that I gave BuNo's for..... they had their radars removed to save weight, and did not need the tail ballast. They are the only three F-5F's that I am aware of that had this modification. HTH, Fred.

You're welcome! Just to make things easier for everyone: The notes that I made about Topguns F-5E's not having a radar would apply the jets listed below: F-5E's BuNo's 159878, 159879, and 159880 through 159882. This should apply as well (I'm not 100% certain of this as I have not seen a pic) to east coast based airframes originally from VF-43: BuNo's 160792 through 160796. Some of these jets later ended up with Topgun as attrition replacements. The one Topgun F-5E that I'm not sure about is BuNo 162307 #41. It was originally USAF aggressor serial number 74-

Hi Michael, As Joe mentioned, all three of Topguns original F-5Fs, BuNo's 160964 through 160966, had their radars removed and a blanking plate installed over the hole (As did all of their F-5E's). Apparently they remained this way throughout their entire Navy careers. The easiest was to tell the aircraft apart from others is by the BuNo. Also, no counterweight between the engine exhausts either. If you're building a jet from the 1977 time period, you'll need a kit with the original round nose cone, and no leading edge extensions (LEX's) on the wing roots. In the early 80

Thanks! Fred.

Yeah, this kit has been around awhile. I'm currently stalled on the wing scribing, and fixing the toy-like ailerons which have bad fit, but it's still on the burner. I also got side tracked with several 48th aggressor builds 😉 Thanks, Fred.

Hi Don, I haven't yet. Several others have suggested it, but when I ordered several different brands of silver to test drive from Sprue Brothers awhile back, they were out of the Tamiya rattle cans. I just haven't gotten around to ordering again, but it's in the near future. I'll give it a go then. Thanks for the intel! Fred.

Thanks Jeff! Number two is coming along 👍 Fred.