Rex

Cool, Galfa,,,,I also started at 8 years old,,,,,,,in 1965. I had hoped to keep "perceived inflation" out of this, mostly because the cost of a kit gets divided, buy the income never does. And given our ages and the changes that we should have seen in our income, above just ordinary inflation to minimum wage, a $50 kit really is a reasonably cheap kit. (now, if someone on here is still only getting 50 cents US per lawn on Saturdays, I deeply apologize for offending your earning potential, yup, it took me 1 1/2 lawns to buy a 1/72 kit back then, and I pay $50

Does anyone wonder sometimes "who someone is working for?" I only ask, because right after a photo of the AMK and Tamiya rear fuselage pieces, showing how very close they are,,,,,,a post appears that still says that area is wrong.

I see it, Dave. If your photo is of AMK parts after a newer test shot,,,,,,,,it looks just like the Tamiya parts in that same area. It even looks like it has that "upturned hump" thing going on that was missing before. If that is right,,,,,,,,then it is now time to argue about relief tube lengths. (and no, for the illogical among us, "longer is NOT better." )

I know how some might read this. But, for the others on here,,,,,,,,,,ummm, isn't the shape of an aircraft why we buy a model in the first place? If shapes aren't important enough to discuss,,,,,,,,then I could have just bought a bunch of TF-15s and applied Tomcat decals to them. Or, even cheaper, a bunch of Talons. (two engines, two seats,,,,,,,"close enough." )

Unless there is some error in the markings that I don't know about, you could use the Airfix 1/72 instructions and box art as a guide. They released a new tool 1/72 P-51D recently. If there are no errors, that would be a fairly cheap way to get a reference. I buy 1/48 or 1/32 scale decal sheets all the time, just to get the instructions for my 1/72 models, sometimes it is cheaper than buying a book. And 1/32 scale aircraft data sheets and decals are a great way to figure "what goes where" when we have to dig out stencils from multiple sources in 1/72, since

I did mean it as humor. Glad you got a laugh out of it. But, to say something serious,,,,,,there is so much cross-over that the odds are very good that there is at least one member of any other forum on all the forums that we visit. I go where the info is good and useful,,,,,,or where questions are likely to get asked that I might be able to answer. Or read questions and other poster's answers that might teach me something. (sometimes, I make a mistake, and learn something in the corrections to my posts)

As one of the very many dual members, I feel that I should point out that that thread is NOT about this one. (I am actually something like a Septuple member, or maybe even more forums than that) I guess it is okay to "take a shot at" something,,,,,,but, all that I ask is that the shot is actually aimed, not just shot gunned. Otherwise you get something like "Rex is a Z-5 member, taking pot shots at ARC,,,,,,I know, because I read it on Steel Navy, a long time Large Scale Planes member told me to go look at the post, posted on SN by a BritModeler."

ahhh, I saw that. 40 more finished Tomcat models coming one day from one builder.

Paul, did that Genie and trailer come with the kit? Just wondering if that Genie looks as good in person as in your photo.

"......one will go crazy trying to get a definitive shade for each FS color!" Oh, I agree with this completely. I also agree completely with the "tolerances" part of your posts. (and other posters in the past) But, I disagree completely with any notion that a color is so far out of tolerance that new Light Gull Gray will somehow look like a pure Neutral color, or look like ADC Gray, or that Dark Ghost Gray ends up looking like 35237,,,,,or close to all of the other Grays in the FS system that weren't used or specified for aircraft paints. Or that one Gray was produced a

Sebastion, it is too bad that corrosion control service members didn't take photos of the paint cans from back in the day. I clearly remember spray cans with the FS number on them, and with another item number for actual ordering. (FS is NOT the item number for paint, just the color,,,,because of the different paint formulae used by the same FS color in different applications) A google search only found a 5 gallon can of OD paint from WW II, obviously premixed. And of course, the mixing of colors to get a USN color during a transition from one color to the next in the

Well, Berkut is right,,,,,,to a degree. We have seen CAD renders, and injected parts,,,,,but, if they differ in any area, that merely means that we have seen some CADs and some parts. Obviously, we didn't see the final CAD used to make the mold that made those parts.

Not to mention that Z-M themselves would have just stood their ground on that shape, if they believed in it as strongly as some of the fans seem to. Instead, they have decided to correct that area on their long-nosed Phantoms when they release those kits. Sorry guys, but when tooling corrections get promised by a model manufacturer, that means that the guys that examine an area, decide it is off, and then say so in public,,,,,,,,are actually correct in saying so. Y'all will know for sure, when F-4J Z-M models start showing up sometime in the future,,,,,,built with Z-M front fuse

Very sad news, Stefan. Tom was one of the guys that was very helpful, and patient, when it came to answering questions about the Crusader. His posts and articles are all over the Web, so, we won't have any trouble remembering him in the future. Rest in peace Tom,,,,,,I miss talking and PM'ing with you already, bud.

here is a Kansas to ARC translater program for Darren

Great post, Janissary. Those are the options for forums and the companies that post their products in the pre-production stages. I will add one line to your summary, though. "Who does it hurt to discuss details?" If an accuracy discussion is going on,,,,,,,why does anyone that claims not to care about such things even bother to weigh in at all? Unless a person is on some weird "I want all models to look like 1959 Hawk releases" sort of kick,,,,,,how does a modeler ever get hurt by discussing the details? The model buyer is free to ignore or use a

I'm with 11Bee on this one. As much as Jennings and I don't get along,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,I still buy his decals, and trust his research into the subject matters he releases. If he screwed up a Skyhawk or Phantom sheet, I would be the first to howl at him and his work. But I am very happy to have his Fundekals F4U sheet.

Oh, and as for "mixed bomb loads", it is okay to put one kind of bomb on a MER or TER, and a different kind on a different MER, or on the wing pylon bomb rack. Back around 1973 or so, Squadron published their first Skyhawk booklet, with color photos instead of profiles. One subject was loaded with #750 on the inner pylons, and #500 Snakeyes on the outer pylons. Just don't mix them together on the same MER, each bomb and size had a different bomb trajectory when released. (although I think it was Finn that posted some photos of mixed bomb types on MERs, I don't remember)

Oh, and here is an old post of mine that explains some of the colors and stripes. Many of these colors were based on an International Agreement, so that all involved would instantly know what he was looking at when he saw, for instance, a Gray looking bomb shaped like a Mk 82, with Green stripes. https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/hangardeckresource/weapons-colors-and-stripes-t13.html Still missing is a post about about the stripe sizes and what different numbers of stripes meant. (yes, the number and width of the stripes also had a specific meaning)

you're welcome, I'm just glad you didn't ask about the stripes just in case, here are some thoughts on that, on my old site that got "photobucketed" to death https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/hangardeckresource/some-aircraft-and-weapons-timeline-notes-t42.html you will need to scroll down a bit, if you don't need or want to know the other stuff in that thread, a lot of it pertains to Skyhawks and Phantoms, though

yes, they were painted in plain and simple Federal Standard Olive Drab They were painted at the factory. Any controversy about the color stems from the fact that they were then shipped all over the US, with many more of them shipped to Vietnam. (with whatever stops along the way) Then, some were stored at bases, and some on ships,,,,,some in holds, some in a bomb farm next to the flight deck. (with fin groups not attached yet, and with fins assembled to them) Some got loaded and de-loaded, some flew and were "bring backs", and some came right out

I'll dig out that research, and send it to Tommy so that anyone else can use it if they choose to. For myself, I am just going to change the BuNo decals and Modex numbers to match a photo that I have of an A3D-2 with temporary Tanker Package. (then I don't have to wonder if the temp package was ever removed from an airframe) I did find, by BuNo/date squinting, that the temp package was removed from one airframe when it became a KA-3B later on. (Permanent package was higher capacity than the Temp) I'll also do this digging using only books, not my memory or n

Yeah, I have that sheet But, I went with the Phantom for that squadron. The reason was that I have a lot of Phantom models in the stash, and I was trying to minimize the number of Crusaders that I will build.

Right now, the only way I know to find them is to photo-dive and squint at the aircraft designation above the small BuNo. That means to find a tanker A3D/A-3B that is not a KA-3B, I have to see the designation and see the Whale giving birth in the same photo. Only some of the time are the photos taken from that angle. I do remember seeing a couple of airframes that were A-3B Tankers and then later became KA-3Bs,,,so they must have removed the small package and installed the larger one when they did a permanent conversion. I'll start on that tonig

Haha, talk about functions that don't help. Until Autocorrect can replace a BuNo that I typo on with the one that I actually mean to say,,,,,,,all it does is tick me off. (yes, you stupid computer "Navair" is really a word,,,,,,,,,STOP underlining it in red squiggles!! )