Ben Brown

@Cajun21 Cool! Thanks for the info! Ben

I’ve always wondered at exactly how the pylon attached. I assume the bomb bay doors themselves were structurally stressed to be able to carry a loaded MER? I thought they usually carried a fuel tank in the bomb bay, which would prevent the pylon from being attached to the bomb bay piston (not sure what it was called). I’ve never been able to find any pictures showing exactly what the pylon attached to. Ben

TERs were usually white, although I found a photo of an F-4D with a black one. The other one wasn't visible. MERs were also white, but the ones intended for the F-105 centerline station were painted black to distinguish them from MERs intended for other aircraft. I can't recall why the Thud needed its own dedicated MER. Ben

All kit boxes have been opened, but all of the kits are intact, except where noted. All reasonable offers will be considered. KITS Aoshima 1/24 Gulf McLaren F1 GTR Long tail $60 Polar Lights 1/1000 USS Enterprise original series $15 Italeri 1/48 OH-58A $20 Classic Airframes 1/48 Sea Hawk Royal Navy $15 Heller 1/48 Mirage III with Red Roo Mirage IIIO resin conversion and drop tanks $25 Doepker 1/144 C-141A solid resin display model (no landing gear) started $10 RESIN True Details 1/48 Spitfire F.22/24 cockpit for Airfix $10 Hypersonic 1

I think just add a touch of clear flat to some gloss until you get the sheen you’re looking for. Test spray on some plastic spoons or an old model. Ben

@Gene K If I end up getting one, I'll be backdating it, too. @TheGloriousTachikoma RE. the F-4E, yes, Academy missed their chance by not releasing the long nose F-4s 10 years ago. Probably too late now that Z-M is in the mix. Except for the F-4B and C/D kits, the Hasegawa F-4s are very good, in spite of their age. Somebody could still make some good money selling an all-inclusive Air Force or Navy "Hasegawa F-4 Update set," with intakes, afterburners, and seats. If you don't want to wait for the slatted F-4E from Z-M, Hypersonic sells a very nice conversion. Ben

(Quietly moves partially built Monogram kit to shelf of doom....) Ben

“Fat Amy?” 🤣 I do like the “Panther” nickname the AF pilots have given it. Ben

I haven’t been able to find any drawings or anything showing the shape of that pylon, but I’ve been meaning to ask a friend who flew F-100s if he has anything. I’ll do that this morning and will report back. You’re pushing me closer to starting a Weasel F-100. I broke one of my old War Eagle conversions out of the stash this past weekend. 😆 Ben

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Anyone who flies the Wild Weasel role has very big brass cojones! The basic tactics developed by the F-100F and F-105G crews are still used, just with more sophisticated sensors and weapons. Basically, expose yourself as bait to get the anti-air batteries to turn on their radar, then try to shoot them before they shoot you. "The Hunter Killers" by Hampton (Thuds in Vietnam) and "Magnum" by Eisel (F-4Gs in Desert Storm) are good reads. Those guys are nuts! Ben

The Shrike testing occurred late in the program. I've been able to track down very little info on them, other than the fact they used them. Until Detail & Scale published the photo of the F-100F loaded with a Shrike, the only photo I'd been able to find was in the video "First In, Last Out." If you get the digital version of the D&S book, you can zoom in on the photo and see all kinds of interesting detail. There is a sunscreen that covers the backseater's right side and then extends across the rear instrument panel; different from the anti-flash hood originally fitted to F-100s. You c

I’m stuck on my iPad right now, so click this link HERE. In addition to some other reference photos and info you might find of interest, I’ve added a note about that annotated photo you have above. I’ve learned in the time since I first labeled it that the “unknown antenna” was the data link antenna for the Bullpup missile. In answer to your questions: Yes, the best information I’ve been able to find is that they only carried one. It looks like nothing was carried on the starboard inboard pylon when a Shrike was carried. Yes, just the black nose Shrike, per my correspon

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Thanks! I’ve got the black paint standing by. I’m also going to give the exterior a gloss black base coat before I spray the copper. Ben

Thanks! I’ll do a little experimenting. I’d never thought of sanding the LEDs. Ben

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Hi All, I bought a lighting set for my Martian War Machine for my first time at lighting a model, and I'm looking for a good way to evenly diffuse the light in the green nose and wingtip parts so I don't have hot spots. Will spraying the insides of the clear green parts with clear flat or thin flat white work, or am I better off hiding the LEDs behind tissue or thin plastic? Thanks! Ben

It’s the 1/24 SA and FB. They’ve broken it down so they can produce kits of both. The FB kit looks like it has the same wheels as the GSL-SE, to there’s a possibility for that version in the future too. There’s also a version for the Daytona race winner. Ben

There hasn’t been a lot to talk about. Still no Lamborghini Huracan GT3! Hopefully Hasegawa will release left hand drive versions of their new RX-7s. Other than new versions of Tamiya’s P-38 and F-4B, I haven’t seen much of interest in the aviation side of things. Here’s a link to some of the new kits: LINK Ben

Yeah, I recently built their Super Etendard. Their older kits are not in the same league as the newer kits. I think the F/A-18 series was the first of their new line of much higher quality kits. Ben

KH’s Mirage F.1 needed a lot more than gear struts and a decent cockpit. I keep hoping Kinetic will eventually release the F.1 they announced several years ago. Ben

Cool photo, Mike! I recently read that the reason they’re going with 8 Rolls Royce engines instead of four big fans is due to a lack of rudder authority after an engine failure. This will also avoid the problem of having to do major redesigns of the cockpit, wings, and other systems for four engines. Ben

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5/14 bump