ikar
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Posts posted by ikar
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When the A-10 first showed up in the late 70s we had one of the first production models come through Little Rock AFB on its way to its first assignment. It was being escorted by the aircraft it was replacing, an A-37. Its color was light grey.
Not long after that some pictures showed up at a firepower demonstration for NATO. It showed an A-10 painted like a spotted frog doing a pylon turn around a tree as it lined up for another kill on some Russian tanks set up in a field. The paint scheme didn't last very long and they were back to light grey.
There were a picture or two in the Squadron in action book from back then.
If I remember right, somebody did that paint job on the Tamiya model by punching some random holes in a piece of paper of a couple index cards and held them just above the aircraft. Just move the masks around randomly, I'm pretty sure that pattern was not in my old copy of T.O. 1-1-4. I'm guessing the spots were about 10-12 inches across.
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During the war we used "D' models with the big belly configuration, giving them an amazing amount of bombs in their bay. The pylons under the wings mounted 12 750 bound bombs under each wing.
At first they aircraft were still natural with the white undersides but it wasn't too long before they went to camouflage with black sides, tails, and black undersides. Missions were launched at least every hour, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, except for Christmas and the Bob Hope U.S.O. show.
In 1972 the camouflaged "G" models arrived for a short time.
I never heard of Skybolt missiles being used in theater. These and hound Dog missiles carried atomic warheads and were used of stateside aircraft on nuclear alert aircraft.
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If you de3cide to use the curve, mark the beginning and end spots to get the same points.
Normally I laid down the tape and drew the lines on the tape before cutting it with a #11 bladed knife.
I'm planning on doing a series of 106s from my old squadron because there was a change as they went along. Not much, but a change. I took a picture of one of our "B" models sitting it its maint. pod and it had a straight anti-glare panel. The other one had the usual curved panel.
I'm even considering including one of our T-33 multi mission aircraft and our F-15A we picked up to replace the 106s.
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Those colored panels started back on the early "G" models way back in the early 70s. In 1971 we got our first "G" at Ellsworthand whiole it was put on display for the base to see the "D/F" replacement I got a couple shots of it. Soon all the earlier models were shipped off to the war. Eventually some "G"s showed up to do what they could with a more limited bomb load.
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You're right, it was HG.
One day I was on the flight line with my camera when a 111 came in with an engine blowing out blue smoke. I as they parked it in front of the reventmants on the upper layer and the fire dept met it. The crew got out as the firemen approached and then the brakes gave out and the 111 rolled into the sie of the fire vehicle.
I could see it rolling, but could not get close enough for a couple pictures.
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Our two squadrons at Korat, the 428th and 429th had the NG tail code while they were there.
When I was attending a class at Sheppard AFB in Texas, I found a few of the original F-111s in their grey and white paint, just like the Revell model from the mid 60s where they gave the option of an A.F. or Navy scheme. I managed to get a couple shots of them.
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So, who's markings are you going to use?
We had two squadrons at Korat and they carried 500 pounders on their wing racks or cluster bombs and also mounted two ECM pods center line.
At one point the A.F. told all squadrons to remove the shark mouths and the fight was on, for a short time. One shift of mechanics woult take off their mouths and the later shift would put them back on. Not long after that, they moved the location of the mouths. The F-4Es put them on the top of their AIM 9 rails and the F-111s put them on the nose of their ECM pods. The A-7Ds just went along with orders and the RF-4Cs never carried them anyway.
The EB-66s had already gone away to die in the Philippines and no type of C-130s we had ever had a mouth.
The whole thing lasted only a few weeks, but it was interesting to watch when I was out on the flight line taking pictures.
This happened in 1974 during my second tour and only a couple months after I left the war was done.
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I have seen some try stressed skin on a couple models, mostly the B-52, which has some good ones in front of its wings. I tried it myself once and it didn't come out that well so I stopped. Most people don't want the stressed effect so I don't see the companies adding it anytime soon if at all. This leaves you with a choice, try it or don't. You could always practice on an old kit.
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And then there's the XC-99 that was brought from its resting place between Lackland and Kelly air force bases. It was the only one and I went through it on one of my TDYs to Lackland for either Combat school or Traffic Accident Investigtion school. It was an interesting aircraft and I got some nice pictures of its interior.
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I could be wrong about the 111s. It was a long time ago and I eventually had to sell a lot of photos I took from the war because I needed money badly. I wasn't making all that much at the time. I have some good shots of them with the wings out and getting full loads of various bombs, including clusters and other things.
I didn't know the B-57s were there. What year was that?
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The B-10 bomber they have was found in 1973 during an air show one of our C-5s from Dover went to. A few of the people were walking around the base and stumbled on it in a hanger when someone looked through a window. A message was sent back and it was most likely relayed to M.A.C. HQ. Sometime after the show another C-5 picked it up and took it to Dover for what I think was an overall evaluation and I was told some minor work before it was sent to Wright Patterson. I was told it was the only surviving example left and they had been using it for maintenance training.
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During the war the F-4D as well as the F-111 carried laser bombs. I don't remember seeing any other aircraft using them, but then, I was Air Force. Our A-7Ds were used for close in work and took over the job the A-1 had as an escort for the rescue helicopters, using the call sign Sandy.
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What size was the MPC kit?
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Love the Phaser. That would look great next to my E.M. pistol and Phase pistol from Star Trek Enterprise.
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Sometimes paint will last longer than you think they would. I still have some Pactra paint I bought back in the 70s and a couple bottles of Testors paint that I had intended to use for a B-24 desert camouflage that I bought at the same time. They still look like the did when I bought the in the last century.
I will not be building the B-24 so I will most likely be selling them at the next Modelpalooza in October.
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Way back when my Father took me to the museum when I got drafted and decided to go into the A.F. the whole placed was completely different. Most of the aircraft were outside and in some cases you could get into the bays, or with the B-36, they had a maint. scaffold you could walk up and see into the flight deck.
The XB-70 had other aircraft parked under it and you could just walk over and touch the wheels. The B-24 was sitting alongside a rail car with the Goblin on it and a B-58 was parked off to the side waiting for a spot. I didn't see the Memphis Belle there but there was a B-17G outside with bombs in its bay next to a P-61 and an A-20.
I didn't see the X-15 there but I did see it at the 1964 World's Fair in N.Y.C.
When I was assigned to the 5th FIS in the mid 80s, I was given the assignment to hit up all the pilots and operations people for donations to build the new structures they have now. The squadron commander told me that if anyone gave me a problem, I was to tell them that he would appreciate it if they actually did contribute to the museum building fund. I had to use it a couple times and it did work.
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One day I was talking to a C-47 Load Master and he said a few days previously they had a load of perforated planks for a base a bit up north. He said the pilots had a tough time getting off the ground and he saw both straining at their wheels and just barely got off the ground. They were having trouble getting altitude and he went and checked the cargo. According to the manifest they were hauling perforated aluminum planks but when he really checked he found out it was actually steel planks and they were almost 1/3 past their gross weight limit. Tough little aircraft. My Father was flying them for a time during WWII until he got grounded and could only be a passenger, but he had nothing but praise for them.
I didn't think much about the 130s until my second tour where we had several different types of C-130s based there and eventually got the AC-130A and H models When I got to Little Rock, I got to see what a C-130 Trash Hauler could really do and sometimes we would get some very strange ones stop by. I was impressed by them.
But I still hate flying, Too many near misses with other aircraft and the copter we were in, and even a light fight one night.
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3 hours ago, Da SWO said:
Please share it.
I'd like to but for some reason I have trouble posting on this site. It's not easy easy as it used to be. I can post it over on the Aircraft section on Fine Scale's forums, I have no problem there.
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Seafoam green was quite popular in the A.F. The inside of our barracks had the same color. Eventually we got used to it, tired of it and it became somewhat of a bad comment. Every barracks and most of the offices had the same color. If you flew you had t be surrounded by the same color.
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A long time ago I had some decals for one of the F-15s for the 5th F.I.S. I had been working on the design during our transition from the F-106 and after it was approved and they started to show up in our squadron parking area two of us went out in about 60 below weather to get some shots. We submitted them to Bare Metal who made them in 1/72nd and 1/48th scale. Eventually we went to Fighting Pirannah decals to get a couple sets for 1/32nd scale.
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I have a shot of F-4 number 463 with all six kills and also a kill marking for a Firebee drone. It's on the right column on the top of the other markings. I caught it on my sedcond tour when the aircraft make a short stop at our base and they parked it along side one of our reventments.
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It's good work, but what is the Sky 1 fighter doing there and I don't remember there being any Shadow Mobiles stationed on the moon.
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Never heaqrd of it. Where is it and what happens there?
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The only C-47s I saw over there were for lighter cargo and passenger runs, and these were seldom seen. I had to take one to Bangkok once and it was a unforgettable flight. The best thing about it, besides getting out of it, was that it sounded just like it did in the movies. My Father used to fly them for a while but after he was grounded, he ended up jumping out of them into Europe as a member of the OSS.
On me second tour I did see a civilian marked C-46 make an emergency landing at our base with a blown out engine. We had to assign a guard who was given orders by the crew to shoot anyone trying to get to the aircraft without escort. That was my first and only actual contact with the CIA.
MY 1:350 ENTERPRISE
in Sci-Fi Modeling
Posted
That came put very nice. It's one of my top two Enterprise kits in the scale, the other is the NX-01.
One Modelpalooza contest we had one show up with the hanger bay open, the nacelle caps running, and you could look into the bridge from above.