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Thanks Jake. I've seen the bungee cord, in fact I have your Modern Hog book which has a good shot of it. However, I've seen a narrow, black canvas or cordura nylon system made of pockets in ARC's walkaround photos by Rick Chin and walkaround photos on Prime Portal. It lays across the glare shield where the bungee cord you mention should be. Some of the systems have the unit's patch or a Warthog patch on them. http://data3.primeportal.net/hangar/michae...0a_32_of_32.jpg http://data.primeportal.net/hangar/pat_hen...10_16_of_48.JPG

I've noticed in some pictures of the glare shield on A-10s, some have a narrow, canvas/nylon cover, which spans the width of the shield. It is just forward of the shield's front edge in front of the HUD. It appears they are pockets for maps, approach plates or other documents. Is this something the pilots place on top of the shield after parking or is this actually attached to the shield itself? Thank you much!

Geezz!! A guy asked a question and he gets hammered by some about what "should have" instead of answering his question. I agree with the A-6 family and an up to date EA-6B Prowler in 1/48, an updated Osprey in 1/48 and an F-111 series.

It is the Huey II for Kern County. Bell Helicopter did the re-build. We know it was stationed at Fort Belvoir, Virginia from 1971-2000. It went to AMARC in 2000 and later went to an unknown air museum that same year. It was removed from the museum in 2008 and delivered to Bell where it was rebuilt as a Huey II for my unit. Basically, we wanted some photos and history if anyone flew or worked on it. We have some of the original maintenance cards from when it was stationed at Fort Belvoir, but we don't know what it was used for. We think it was used for medical transport. GET THIS...the airframe

Hi all, A co-worker is gathering information about our unit's Huey II which was rebuilt from a UH-1H frame. We've checked with AMARC and Bell, but nothing came of those checks. So, if anyone can direct me or if anyone has personal knowledge of serial # 70-16291 (UH-1H) I would appreciate any information. If you were a crewmember or A&P, anything is helpful!!. Thanx in advance guys!!!

I believe the Marines use the HGU-84.

Our bird has the FRIES (Fast Rope Insertion Extraction System) for tactical missions. We removed it and most of the seats for hoist operations. It also has the Aero Computer moving map system. We hope to have mounts installed for the nightsun and FLIR next year. We have four lighter helicopters, two MD500Es and two OH-58a+s, we fly on patrol and use for tactical missions. They'll all be updated with new avionics, moving map systems and newer FLIR sytems as well. So many toys, not enough time!!!I'll post some fast rope pictures as soon as I can. Our SWAT guys salivate every time they come over

My unit's first day of hoist training with Priority One. Instructors are wearing the blue suits. It started out as a nice, partly cloudy day with little to no wind, but the afternoon turned nasty. Skip (Cheyenne56) showed up that morning to grab some shots for Vertical magazine, so the following photo were taken courtesy of Skip Robinson. Thanks Skip!!! In case you are wondering, the instructor (Bob Watson) dressed in blue is not asleep...I don't think??

Thanks for the kind words. I love to hear stories from those who were there and actually touched the real aircraft. I hope it brought back good memories. I have several more of these Revell Phantom kits. The next one will have a SEA camo finish. Like I said before, it was fun to build and I was satisfied with the detail. I'll add an Avionix pit and seats to the next one with some ATG ordinance. So many Phantoms to build, so little time!!!!

It has the engraved panel lines.

Finished this a few months ago. There may be some accuracy of shape issues, but for the price I'll take this kit any day. Overall it was a fun kit to build. Take a close look at the last photo...it's not staged.

I stood outside the heli-pad the other day as it lifted off the trailer. YES!!! It thumped through my chest something fierce!! The tail rotor blades are about two-three inches narrower than a OH-58A+'s main rotor blades. I flew it for the first time yesterday and the tail rotor authority is AWESOME!!! 120 kts with 60% torque!!!

He was working for us about two years ago to help get one of our OH-58A+ up and running. We've tried to bring him back to help out, but so far he's not interested.

I rescribed a Tamiya Tomcat a few years back when I was new to rescribing. Like Brian said, I followed the raised panel lines with a carbide scriber. I found the carbide scriber at Harbor Freight for less than a dollar and it works great for making the initial groove or track for the panel scriber to follow. It also works great for creating rivets. I made very light passes, just enough to make a light track for the Squadron panel scriber. I took my time and I had it finished within a few hours. I also used a flexible, plastic ruler you'll find in the school supply area in stores. It bends arou

...and the last ones...

A few more...

Pics of my unit's Huey II the day after it arrived.

CAM made a set, but their web site shows it is no longer available. Maybe you can find one on Ebay? Here's a link to CAM's decal set http://www.camdecals.com/main.asp?img=32-076 Academy does include VFA-27 in their F-18 OIF release.

Thanks for the kind words! Reference photos of these Vipers with the sharks mouth from Pope AFB are hard to find. I assume that's one reason why I've never seen anyone model them. The photos I have seen are poor quality too. I think the F-16 looks awesome with the shark mouth and Im surprised we don't see more squadrons with them. My wife LOVES it!! That's a good thing when my "financial adviser" (aka: my wife) is happy with the end results :lol:

A few more...

I started building this a year or so before Tamiya and Academy released their 1/32 Vipers. I used the Cutting Edge Large Mouth intake and resin pit and seat from CAM. The bulged main gear doors and beefier wheels were part of CE's Large Mouth intake. All panel lines were re-scribed. The main LG bays are bare compared to Tamyia and Academy's offering and I really didn't have the will power to detail them. Decals are TwoBobs Block 40 Big Mouths from the 74th FS from Pope AFB, The Flying Tigers. Little did I know that this jet, 90-776, assigned to a different squadron at the time, was destroyed

The Huey II wasn't purchased with the intent to fight fires...however, our sheriff offered it's use to the county fire chief IF they ever need help fighting fires. We had a good chuckle over that one. It's a long story, but there's some friction between our department's air unit and the county fire department's air unit. This friction, we've learned, is common between sheriff and fire departments all across the country. As far as SWAT being excited, yes they are!! They are looking forward to the fast rope system (I doubt we'll ever have to use it) and the ability for the snipers to have a more

Here's my unit's Huey II on a test flight somewhere in Alabama. Delivery set for the first week of October!!

:D As Lord Vader would say, " Impressive.... very impressive. Perhaps you are as powerful as the Emperor has foreseen". All I can say is WOW!!!!!!!

I have to admit, the box art alone made me salivate! I remember a long time ago I built a Monogram Tomcat, painted it in the tac grey scheme and finished it with VF-211 low viz decals. Wow!! R/M's cat can look just as nice as a Hasegouge-us cat if done right. I'm sure I'll buy several along with new decals too. If the wife gets new shoes with every new outfit, then darn it , I get new decals with each new model!!!