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Pappy121

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Posts posted by Pappy121

  1. G'day Jim,

     

    Great work!

     

    Looking at available pics of Desert Storm jets show them to have the ALE-40 installation. and no CMRS.  I cannot see any GPS antennas, but those pics predate '94 (taken in '91) so that would make sense. The CMRS blanking plate is an easy mod, it should take me all of a minute to execute

     

    My biggest headache will be the ECS intakes forward of  stabs. BAM made a set (sized fir the HB kit) but unfortunately Arnaud has suspended ops indefinitely. The Academy fairings are just shapes and lack detail, but that is my problem.

     

    Any chance you could send me a pic of the artwork as I could not find it.

     

    Thank you very muh for the help,

     

    cheers,

     

    Pappy

  2. G'day people,

     

    I want to build a Raven (Spark Vark) and while looking through the on-line pics I have seen a few different equipment configurations. The areas that I need information concern the CMDS installation at the rear of the jet on either side of the engine exhausts, the tail and the area in front of the windscreen. 

     

    My subject jet is 66-0044 (Straight Flush') based at Cannon AFB  and my questions are,

     

    1. Did this jet have the GPS dome installed in front of the windscreen when it carried the nose art?

    The GPS dome seems to have been a later addition.

    2. What type of CMDS config was installed. I believe the initial fit was ALE-28 but later pics show Ravens were upgraded with the ALE-40 system which had larger fairings and four dispenseres per side for a total of eight

    3. Did the rear of the ECM 'football' have the IR sensor installed or was this plated over?  The system was removed toward the end of the Raven's service. 

     

    and finally some generic questions.

     

    Most F-111s have antenna panels embedded within the Forward Equipment Bay (FEB) doors 1101/1102/1201 and 1202 however it seems from the pics that  on Ravens the 'I' shaped antenna on the rear FEBs (1102/1202) was deleted and that some of the ECM panels on the fwd FEBs were also deleted?

     

    It is hard to tell as the light camouflage colour makes it hard to see the outlines of the dielectric panels,

     

    cheers,

     

    Pappy

     

    I assume that the Compass Sail and Strike Camera fairing swere also removed/not installed?

     

    cheers,

     

     

    Pappy

     

     

     

  3. G'day people,

     

    This is my FAA Hurricane, an ex-RAF Hurricane Mk.1 serving with 760SQN Naval Fighter School at RNAS Yeovilton in 1942. It is the excellent 1/72 Arma kit and the marking are one of three options supplied with the kit. The kit was excellent and I only had a couple of trouble spots,

     

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    DSCN0224.JPG

     

    DSCN0216.JPG

     

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    DSCN0092.JPG

     

    cheers,

     

    Pappy

  4. 7 hours ago, Tailspin Turtle said:

    In glancing at this post just now, I realized that the dimension for the location of the leading edge slat and the one for the inboard A-6E wing fence couldn't both be correct. It appears that Grumman misplaced the location of the arrow for the leading edge slat on two different drawings (very precisely in one case: 87.476"). I've corrected it on the post.

     

    G'day Thommy,

     

    Thanks very much for doing that, that is a great help,

     

    cheers,

     

    Pappy

  5. 8 hours ago, Tailspin Turtle said:

    I'm pretty sure that that the slat did not change. I'm looking for a drawing that would accurately locate its inboard edge. In the meantime, this is a bottom view of the fairing and the interface with the forward main landing gear door. Note that the cutout extends outboard of the wheel well opening because the door is outboard of the opening when the gear is down.

    A-6E Inboard ECM Fariing from below.jpg

     

    G'day Thommy, I am a big fan of your work (thank you very much) and I have been using on that post to update some details already. I was planning on moving the I/B wing fences further I/B by about 8mm to place them in the right spot

     

    I think that Dave Roof has nailed identified the issue in his pot below

     

    7 hours ago, Dave Roof said:

    A-6-wing.jpg

     

    Dave, you rock man!

     

    As soon as you pointed that out that point in the picture, it all made sense. That is a much better solution, thanks very much

  6. G'day people,

     

    I have both the Kinetic and HB 1/48 A-6 Intruder kits. I have noticed something strange with the Kinetic kit. In step 6, there is an insert diagram which indicates the pats placement for several items.

     

    DSCN0011.JPG

     

    The parts labelled H14 and H13 seem to be some sort of fairing that is added adjacent each wing 'cuff'. These cuffs were integrated into the wing LE to incorporate some antennas when the A-6A was upgraded to the A-6E.

     

    Here is a pic taken by Howard Mason I found on Prime Portal of the area in question.

    If this contravenes any rules I will happily remove the pic (if the mods don't do it first) as I have only included the pic for illustrative purposes

     

    a-6e_33_of_81.jpg

     

    This is the RH wing and fairing part  (H14, H13 opposite side)provided by Kinetic. I will only show the RH wing parts but the same issue occurs with the LH wing. I believe that this is a fixed part of the wing. As depicted in the Kinetic instructions, it needs to be installed over the slat which would prevent their deployment. I don't think any part of it is attached to the slat, nor does any part of it move with the slat when deployed.

     

    DSCN0007.JPG

     

    If I add the item as suggested it does not fit flush as per the pic with a noticeable step. Also, it seems too long as it extends aft of the adjacent cuff area when compared to the ref pic

     

    DSCN0006.JPG


    DSCN0010.JPG

     

    Here is a direct comparison with the HB wing

     

    DSCN0005.JPG

     

    Notice how the cuff extension of the HB kit includes the extension and the back edge lines up with the cuff. The HB wing could probably do wth having te outboard extension scribed in but it is otherwise correct.

     

    So, my questions are in regards to correcting this;

     

    1. Should I shorten the tail of parts H13/14 and glue into place adjacent the wing cuff?

     

    2. This means the slats need to be modified by leaving small inboard sections (the ones directly under the cuff extensions) fixed. In other words the slats are shortened lengthwise and this inboard sections is faired back into the wing?

     

    This are of the Kinetic kit is a mess, but I want to complete the kit. I think the issue is that Kinetic have tried to include a common wing (for metal winged A-6s anyway) so that you can build an A-6A/E/E TRAM but in doing so they have taken shortcuts. The HB kit is better BY FAR and if  you want to build a 1/48 A-6 I would suggest avoiding the Kinetic kit, but since I have the kit (it was a freebie!) there is still the potential for a nice kit to emerge with a little work

     

    thanks,

     

    Pappy

     

     

     

  7. G'day Quixote,

     

    Thank you very much, that is an excellent explanation that clearly outlined the differences.

     

    I can see why I was confused. The EA-6B  had all metal wings but employed a similar design to that used on the composite wing A-6Es. Externally the bulged pylon and wing fold cover look similar but the comp wing A-6s employed a rotary actuator (which is why they needed a bulged pylon). Both the comp wing A-6Es and EA-6Bs  wing fold had horizontal locking lugs vice the vertical lugs of the original metal winged A-6s.

     

    A simple parts swap will not cut it as the metal A-6 wing will be incorrect for the Prowler and although close the Prowler wing will not be correct for the A-6E

     

    cheers,

     

    Pappy

     

     

  8. G'day Steve,

     

    Thanks for the quick reply.

     

    I have the Kinetic legacy A-6A/E/E TRAM kit which has all the bits for a comp wing jet included (bulged outboard pylons, the wingfold cylinders, different wingfold inserts etc.) but the wing parts themselves are the metal type. Kinetic originally released their A-6E TRAM kit with the comp wing. Unfortunately, the legacy boxing only allows the builder to make a metal wing bird. 

     

    My Kinetic Prowler kit has comp wings. I was hoping to swap the wings between the two kits so that I will have a metal wing Prowler and comp wing Intruder, which would work if the early Prowlers had metal wings,

     

    cheers,

     

    Pappy

  9. G'day people,

     

    Did all Prowlers have the composite wings from new or was this a mix between new build and retrofit?

    I know that A-6Es were a mix of metal/composite but unsure about the Prowlers.

     

    I have the 1/48 Kinetic kit which has the composite wings. I want to do a 1978 VMAQ-2 'Playboys' jet in LGG over white. The kit looks like it has an ICAP III  or later cockpit which looks too advanced for 1978 so I assume this will need to be backdated for a 1978 jet (ICAP II?) but not sure if they had composite wings from then?

     

    cheers,

     

    Pappy

  10. On 6/4/2023 at 4:52 AM, BastianD said:

    Thanks, a nice build that surprisingly fits good despite its age.

     

    You’re right about the sinkhole, shouldn’t be there. Will fill it and repaint, thanks for the sharp eye 😉

     

    IMG_9678.jpeg

     G'day Bastian,

     

    You are welcome. It looked a little strange having a hole in the headrest.  The seats is certainly very 'busy' looking isn't it? 

     

    cheers,

     

    Pappy

  11. Thank you all,

     

    I had a gret experience building this kit. I have an Italeri A-6E in the stash and by comparison although quite a nice kit, the detail is a little less sophisticated e.g. the panel lines are a little deeper and wider and the cockpit is less detailed. On the plus side it is much more widely available. however, It would be nice if the Fujimi A-6 family of kits was re-released by H2K as I would love to build a few more of these

     

    cheers,

     

    Pappy

  12. G'day people,

     

    Here is my recently 1/72 Fujimi EA-6A Intruder built for the Britmodeller Salty Sea Dog GB.

     

    Based on the earlier A-6A, the EA-6A was adapted for the role of Electronic Attack/Warfare during the Vietnam war. The nose was extended to accommodate additional avionics and the top of the tail (the 'football') was also enlarged to house jamming equipment. Even though the EA-6A remained capable of carrying all the weapons that the A-6 was cleared for, in practice stores were typically limited to the external fuel tanks, ALQ-76 ECM pods and the ALE-32 Flare pods. Some units also carried the AGM-45 Shrike and AGM-78 Standard missiles. Although the EA-6A was not the sole EW platform used during the Vietnam conflict, it was considered the most capable

     

    The markings represent the colourful COs jet of VMAQ-2 'The Playboys' and was adorned with the iconic 'Playboy' symbol on the rudder in the attractive LGG over white scheme. The unit retained the markings when the low-vis TPS was introduced  and eventually transitioned to the EA-6B Prowler, a dedicated EW platform. The long arm of the PC police eventually caught up with the playboys however, and they changed their Playboy emblem for a jester to become 'The Jokers', being the last unit to operate the EA-6B before it was phased out

     

    Early A-6s used fuselage mounted air brakes however, issues with fatigue cracking resulted in a design change to the wings and horizontally split wingtip mounted speed brakes were adopted. The fuselage brakes were made inoperative but were retained. Later the solid doors replaced the perforated design however the EA-6A did not receive wing tip brakes and retained operation of the fuselage air brakes. The instructions correctly indicate that the external actuator fairings should be removed but do not instruct that the control surface outlines should be filled in. I missed this detail as I thought the surface would act as a normal aileron but this is not the case. I realised this error too late to correct it, hopefully others will avoid this pitfall

     

     

    I initially was going to have the kit sitting on the ground so I added a few details to the cockpit and canopy

     

    DSCN9367.JPG


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    I decided I liked the look of the jet airborne instead and Fujimi include a pair of very nicely moulded figures for this purpose. The fit of the u/c doors in the closed position was mostly very good as was the fit in general. Anyhoo, onto the piccies

     

     

    DSCN9870_tr9vnx1hMnw8PzpFNiSNsW.JPG


    DSCN9861_oYkNvFnXvsmUuGn9bJ4nm7.JPG


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    DSCN9872.JPG


    DSCN9861_1NYrRTUnEae5BaFSc8SLhA.JPG

     

    I also made a few additions to the exterior,

    • AoA probe added to upper stb'd intake
    • Pitot probe added to exterior of port intake
    • The lower anti-col light was added to a small pedestal and added off-set to port
    • An additional antenna was added to the stab'd lower fuselage nose
    • A small ILS antenna was added to the underside of the stb'd intake
    • The single point refueling cap was added to a recess beneath the stb'd intake
    • The landing and taxi light was added to the nose wheel door. This was re-positioned off-set to stb'd to accommodate the large blade antenna but Fujimi forgot to include this detail
    • The spinning RATs for the ALQ-76 ECM pods was represented with some acetate discs
    • The perforated speed brakes were left just cracked open. Early A-6s used these however, issues with fatigue cracks resulted in a design change to the wings and horizontally split wingtip mounted speed brakes were adopted. The fuselage brakes were made inoperative but were retained. Later the solid doors replaced the perforated design however the EA-6A did not receive wingtip brakes and retained operation of the fuselage air brakes.

     

    DSCN9795.JPG


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    DSCN9863.JPG


    DSCN9867.JPG

     

    cheers,

     

    Pappy

  13. On 12/6/2022 at 12:26 PM, Ed DeVivo said:

    Im building an old Revell F-15E I had stored in  my stash. Really a great kit regrettably its discontinued but anywho, Id like to dress it up with a nice weapons load out. The kit weapons are ok but Id like something better... Can anyone recommend a nice detailed set of weapons w/crisp decals and detail for 1/48 scale? 

     

    Thanks!! 

     

    G'day Ed,

     

    I agree that Eduard, Reskit et al do amazing weapons but I think their decal sheets let them down a bit. Also, as good as these weapons look, you are also on your own regarding fit as they are typically not designed to work with the kit suspension parts which can be frustrating.

    Additionally, some of the reson weaps will need careful cleanup to get the parts aligned properly.

     

    Thinking a little left field, perhaps consider buying an Academy 1/48 F-15E kit. I have the F-15I boxing and the box is crammed with an abundance of weapons that go together very well and the box includes a second decal sheet just with weapons markings (printed by Cartograph) which went down beautifully.

     

    By the time you buy all you AM weaps you will probably have spent more than the Acad kit ( which is also nice BTW). think of it as a weapons set with a kit thrown in!

     

    cheers,

     

    Pappy

  14. G'day people,

     

    I have a question regarding the forward avionics bay (FAB) colours. I have the Verlinden Lock-On No.4 for the F-15C and it has a colour pic showing the FAB as a metallic green/blue colour similar to  Bay 5. I know that the Bay 5 colour can vary due to fiscal year build, which changed over from the green/blue to white around FY 80. Some people have started that Bay 5 was repainted following MSIP but I do not think that this was true. Some jets may have had their bay repainted but the majority retained their original paint colour post MSIP.

     

    My question is:

     

    Did the FABs also follow the same practice?

     

    I am building a 65th Aggressor Sqn F-15C with an 80+  s/no,

     

    cheers,

     

    Pappy

  15.  

    G'day,

     

    Thank you to all who replied. 

    CTD, thank you for the link, some great reference pictures and details.

     

    I am going with white for the Y launcher and grey for the fuselage pylon. It was interesting to see a pic of both the LAU-3 and earlier Aero-3B fitted to the same Y adapter,

     

    cheers,

     

    Pappy

  16. G'day people,

     

    What colour were the USN fuselage pylons?

    ,I am referring to the fuselage mounted pylon that could have the missile rail (Aero 3B?) attached to it and the ' Y' pylon that could have twin missile rails attached. It is hard to determine if it should be gloss white like the missile launchers or light gull grey like the fuselage.

     

    I am leaning towardd white,

     

    cheers,

     

    Pappy

  17. G'day,

     

    I believe that that the articles you mentioned were authored by Dave Aungst over on Hyperscale given the timeframe (4-5 years agao).

     

    Also very worthwhile reading is the  In Progress section  thread started by Lucio Martino (Improving the Hasegawa 1/48 Tomcat) which deals with the kit assembly sequence as well as improvements for accuracy,

     

    cheers,

     

    Pappy

  18. 16 hours ago, habu2 said:

    Enjoying the progress reports, but have a question: you stated the build will be "canopy down, in flight" yet you went the extra mile (kilometer?) in detailing the landing gear bays.  Will the completed kit be "in flight, gear down" ???

     

    Yup!

     

    I am thinking mid retract for a more dynamic pose.

     

    Will take some surgery though🤔

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