So many to choose from!

[mlicari]

Man, looking through the stash, I'm realizing I have a ton of options, even after weeding out all my search planes, flying boats, and seaplanes that did recon work with the good old eyeball. Help me out!

What should I build?

In no particular order, here's some of what I have that would qualify:

(These are all 1/72 scale)

EC-121 Warning Star

P-3C Orion

RF-84 Thunderflash

P2V-7 Neptune

SP-5B Marlin

TBM-3W

RA-5C Vigilante (I'm going to shove this down on the list, since I notice another is already doing one)

E-2C Hawkeye

E-1B Tracer

RF-4B Phantom (dito the caveat for the RA-5C)

F9F-5P Recon Pather

F7U-3P Recon Cutlass

PBJ-1 (does it count, with the radome?)

AF-2W Guardian Hunter

AD-4W Early Warning Skyraider

PB-1W Early Warning B-17 used by the Navy (how cool would this conversion be?)

(In 1/48 scale)

RF-101B Recon Voodoo

U-2C (again, someone else is doing this one)

Ar-234C-4

and finally, I can probably order a camera nose to turn one of my Monogram P-80 kits into an RF-80)

Suggestions from the peanut gallery?

Mike

[Dave Williams]

Lots of choices there, but I think we can narrow the list somewhat. AWACS/AEW aircraft like the Hawkeye and such really aren't reconnaissance aircraft in my mind. Same for maritime patrol aircraft like the Neptune and Orion, unless you do the EP-3 version of the Orion, since that's a SIGINT bird.

Of the ones left on the list, I think the Cutlass would be very cool. You don't see many of those built up, much less the recon version.

[Kelly Quirk]

I would love to see the 1/48 RF-101B. The PB-1W sounds cool too, if it counts.

[mlicari]

Yeah, I wasn't sure if the AEW planes would count. Thanks for the clarification there!

:blink:

Mike

[mlicari]

Of the ones left on the list, I think the Cutlass would be very cool. You don't see many of those built up, much less the recon version.

The Cutlass it is!

Mike

[Spooky 01]

Lots of choices there, but I think we can narrow the list somewhat. AWACS/AEW aircraft like the Hawkeye and such really aren't reconnaissance aircraft in my mind. Same for maritime patrol aircraft like the Neptune and Orion, unless you do the EP-3 version of the Orion, since that's a SIGINT bird.

Of the ones left on the list, I think the Cutlass would be very cool. You don't see many of those built up, much less the recon version.

Just on a philisophical note...:

Photography is the capturing of light, and as we all know; light is a form of energy. Just like light, RADAR also uses energy to produce a picture. Te only difference being that Light & Electro-Magnetic energy happen to "operate" in a different frequency-spectrum. Never-the-less, both forms of energy are used to create a picture which is used for either, detection, observation, interpretation, and gathering intelligence (amongst others). The purpose remains the same, however: "assesment". Kinda makes You wonder, doesn't it...

Besides all the aforementioned "mumbo-jumbo philosophy", You wouldn't believe the results of today which are obtained by means of SAR (Synthetic Aperture RADAR) !!! The modern "Grandfather" of all of this surely is the EC-121.

To cut a long story short: A real pitty You didn't decide on building the EC-121... :-( :-( :-(

Good luck on Your Cutless, though.

"Check Six....."

Spooky.

[Julien (UK)]

A cutlass has been done already!

I like the sound of PB-1W Early Warning B-17 used by the Navy

Julien