Ben Brown

I was flying to Atlanta that day. I walked into the station office just in time to see the second plane hit. We got stranded there for several days, and eventually got permission to ferry back to RDU. It was eerie, spending days in a hotel right next to ATL airport and not hearing a single airplane other than the occasional fighter. When we ferried home, we could only hear the ATC half of the conversations with the military planes, since the military was using UHF. The only traffic we saw was a flight of F-16s with a KC-10 cruising above us near Columbia SC. Professionally and personally, it changed me, too. Ben

+2!

It might sell, especially for an open refueling door. If you build it closed, it's easy to just fill the seams and rescribe the door in the correct location. Of course, others might prefer a drop-in solution over rescribing. 😁 Ben

Yes, they’re the same. Darren, perhaps some kind of simple aux air intake interior might be a good idea for a future product in 1/48? Ben (looking at the multitude of Phantoms in his stash)

Bummer. I figured you had already checked but I thought I’d mention it, just in case.... 😁 Ben

I'm a little late to this thread, but has anyone searched "f/a-18" on Ron Downey's blog? I know he's got a couple of pics of the spin test aircraft. There might be more pics buried in the blog. Some of the files about the engines and radar have pics of the test Hornets. One might have a shot of the logo you're looking for. Ben

I think the Monogram nose is fine. Years ago, some friends and I stood next to a real one and compared a built Thud kit to it (details in the link below). The problem with the appearance of the nose is due to the poor fit of the radome and the clunky shape of the pitot tube part. Do a little work blending the radome into the fuselage first. Then extend the radome enough so a Master Details pitot tube will fit. Here’s my attempt at the kit. I ‘be never been completely happy with the way I blended the pitot tube to the radome, but it’s still an improvement: LINK Edit: I’ve never heard that the Monogram kit needs reshaping in the wings or aft fuselage area. The Trumpeter kit certainly has a lot of shape issues there. Perhaps you’re thinking of that kit? There are a few small items on the Monogram F-105D that are left over from the F-105G kit, but those can be fixed with a little sanding. Ben

There were two 1/48 F-101 decal sheets from Almark way back in the Stone Age. I’m pretty sure one of them had some RF-101B decals. It would probably be easier to find some decals for an F-4 and piece together the serial number on the tail. Both jets used the same size. The 15” national insignia, ejection seat triangles, and formation strip lights would also be the same for both jets. The only thing you’d have to do on your own would be the data placard (“RF-101B Serial No. xx-xxxx/Service this aircraft with...”). I’ve drawn those up on my computer and printed them on clear decal paper. Agreed about the Monogram vs KH cockpit. KH should be ashamed of theirs. Ben

A 1/48 DC-3 fuselage would be a little over 16”. You can probably find a Monogram kit for not a lot of money. You might even be able to find someone on the forums who has a scrapped one. Ben

I do a Google image search for my subject and scale, with “ decals” in the search. I’ll browse the hits until I see a scheme I like, then start searching eBay or wherever for that specific sheet. So, if I search “Bf-109G-6 1/48 decals,” and see a scheme I like on Superscale 48-xxx, I’ll narrow my search from there. Ben

Great! We need a good tall tail B-52 in 1/144. The Minicraft kit leaves a lot to be desired. Ben

Any chance of including a camouflaged C-131A on the sheet, in case Roden releases that version, or for those of us with the Authentic Airliners 240? All they seemed to carry was 15" national insignia, serial numbers, red prop warning stripes, and yellow emergency exit markings. I have a few pics I can send. Ben

Awesome! Ben

Consider a light coat of clear gloss along the tape edges before you spray the blue. It will help prevent the blue from creeping under the tape. Be sure to use a clear that’s compatible with the yellow and blue paint you’re using. Ben

Bump