Ben Brown

PM sent. Ben

Thanks for posting those photos! That's the green I remember on an F-100C and a couple of Ds. It is slightly different than the green I suggested, so go with Bill's suggestion, not mine. I also recall that paint flaking off in spots, revealing a layer of zinc chromate green beneath it. F-100 trivia: I believe that F-100F is the only F-100 left that still retains the full data stencils worn when it was still operational. The F-100A in Connecticut still has a few and the NASM's unrestored camouflaged F-100D now been partially repainted. Ben

Not sure what kind of load UK-based F-100s would carry at that point in time. ChesshireCat's suggestion was common in Vietnam, so it would probably have applied in Europe, too. Four 500 lb or 750 lb bombs could also be a possibility. The Bullpup missiles provided in the kit were pretty much out of service on the F-100 by the time they were camouflaged. By 1965, the F-100's 275-gal drop tanks, the kind provided in the kit, were converted to 335s by adding a 28" plug at the panel line at the leading edge of the pylon. You can either add the plug yourself using styrene or try to trac

Weapons load will depend on the time period of your subject. What jet are you planning to build? The insides of the speed brake and landing gear doors were painted aluminum, as were the gear struts. The wheel wells and speed brake well were painted a medium green color. I like to use Medium Green FS 34102, although getting an exact match doesn't matter since the wells collected a lot of hydraulic fluid and grime. It looks pretty close to what I've seen poking my head up inside the gear wells of a couple of unrestored F-100s, plus I just happen to a lot of it around beca

Avoid the Aeromaster “Smokers” sheet with XV590. The red parts of the decals were so brittle they broke up when I tried to apply them. I spent a year looking for a replacement sheet and had the same results when I finally found one. I ended up finding a kind soul who traded his 30 year old kit decals. Ben

You might be onto something. A similar strategy has worked for McDonalds for years with their McRibs. “McRibs are going away forever! Get ‘em while you can!” (A year later) “McRibs are back! Get ‘em while you can!” 😄 Ben

It's also a completely misleading statement, because it is comparing diseases that are not the same. Cancer and heart disease are not easily transmissible diseases like Covid. If a person smokes or leads a lifestyle conducive to cancer or heart disease, they only risk themselves. Refusing to get vaccinated and refusing to wear a mask unnecessarily and selfishly puts others at risk. If you want to compare diseases, compare Covid with the flu (Covid is far deadlier: 4 million in a little over a year worldwide [Source] vs 290,000 to 650,000 every year worldwide [Source]), polio, or smallpox. But

It’s been quite a few years since I’ve been there, too. They were kind enough to let me in before they opened so I could crawl around the F-4S to take pictures. Ben

OT, but I’m glad to see they’re planning to reopen the Carolinas Aviation Museum in 2023. It’s been closed for at least two years. Their restoration of their CH-46 is very good. @Tank, you helped with that restoration, didn’t you? Or did I imagine it?

Try checking some of the model car aftermarket companies. There are 1/24 hose fittings and electrical connectors in various sizes that might be repurposed to 1/32. Here are the results on a quick one-word search on SpotModel: LINK The Hobby Design ones are out of production, but there are probably others. I'm not very familiar with the many car aftermarket companies, but you could try asking over on the Model Cars Magazine forum or the one on Britmodeller. I don't think the car forum here is very active. Ben

I’ll probably pick up a Z-M F-4D when it’s available again, rather than wait for Tamiya. @F4DPhantom II you can get Hypersonic’s products directly from them from their web site (ships from Japan) or from The 48ers (ships from Cyprus, IIRC). Both are great to order from. I think Victory Models in the US carried some of their products at one time, too. Ben

In order of what I think is best, your mileage may vary 😉 Z-M (fewest warts, Hypersonic has a correction for the fuselage if that bothers you) Academy (nice after a little aftermarket help: stabilators, intakes, ACS intakes, seats) Hasegawa (the newer version with recessed panel lines, needs cockpit, intakes, and afterburners) Monogram Hasegawa (original version with raised panel lines) Ben

Tamiya’s is better than the already very good Academy F-4B, which is far better than the Hasegawa F-4B. Not so much better that I’m going to bin my built Academy F-4B and build another Jolly Rogers jet, but better enough to tempt me to do it. 🤔 If Tamiya produces an F-4C/D, it will surely be a bit better than the beautiful Zoukei-Mura short-nose F-4s (because of their minor aft fuselage shape issues) as well as the Academy F-4C/D. The Academy F-4s have some accuracy issues with the stabilators, the ACS intakes on the sides of the nose, and a minor size issue with the center and front

Great! I’ll start putting an order together at The 48ers. Thanks! Ben

Wow, those look great! The only thing missing are the placards on the landing gear struts. Am I reading the instructions correctly that you've provided light gray stencils for the lower surfaces of the gray/white camouflaged jets? Thanks! Ben