defaoite62 Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 (edited) Ok, here it is, almost a year and a half after my original post here. Sorry for the crummy picture quality, I took them with my cell phone. I plan on having better pictures up soon. I want to have a sort of diarama display with both the EP-3 and the EA-3 and I'm currently working on a scratchbuilt JG-75 towtractor which is about 80% complete. As soon as that's done I'll try to get better pictures. The P-3 has several modifications including rescribed the panel lines and an EP-3 conversion kit I bought from a company called 12 Squared back in the late 80's. The main cabin door was moved forward and made into a double door as it was on PR-31. The decals were made using a CAD program and printed on clear decal sheet. I hope you guys like it. Def PR 31 number 1 PR-31 number 2 PR 31 number 3 PR 31 number 4 Edited February 15, 2012 by defaoite62 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jennings Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 Nice! Always good to see a spook bird hereabout. Definitely post some more pics when you can. I wasn't aware of the wide doors on those birds, but it makes sense that they'd have needed to do that to get all the electronic goodies in there. The RC-135 has a nice big fat cargo door on the main deck that makes that a lot easier! Great job! J Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Trojan Thunder Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 Looks nice, any chance of some clearer pictures? I have one on the 'to do' list. Did all EP-3E have the double doors of just specific airframes? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
defaoite62 Posted February 16, 2012 Author Share Posted February 16, 2012 (edited) Looks nice, any chance of some clearer pictures? I have one on the 'to do' list. Did all EP-3E have the double doors of just specific airframes? Thanks for your comments. In 1964 there were four P-3s modified for clandestine operations by the CIA. They were all given the double mirror doors. The first one was damaged during the first test flight due to weakening of the aft fuselage from the double doors. Of the remaining three, two went to VQ-1 and became PR 31 (149678) and PR 32 (149669). the other, I believe, was assigned to VQ-2. None of the other EP-3s that I know of had the double doors. Mirror doors closeup PR 32 My guess is, that the doors were needed to load and unload heavy electronics equipment. This was in a time of vacuum tube technology and some of that equipment may have been pretty huge. If you look at pictures, you can see two radial strips that go around the fuselage aligned with the doors. I believe these were probably to reinforce the fuselage. Also note the guillotine style latches on the aft door. During my tour with VQ-1, I don't remember ever seeing the aft door opened but I do remember that you had to be extra careful while handling the boarding ladder so as not to ding the flaps. There are a couple of websites that talk about the doors pretty extensively here: http://www.p3orion.nl/p-3%20cargo%20door%20mods.pdf http://www.p3orion.nl/sneaky.html On a side note, it's rumored that one of these P-3s may have shot down a Chinese MiG with a sidewinder. Def Edited February 16, 2012 by defaoite62 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
pminer Posted February 18, 2012 Share Posted February 18, 2012 Ok, here it is, almost a year and a half after my original post here. Sorry for the crummy picture quality, I took them with my cell phone. I plan on having better pictures up soon. I want to have a sort of diarama display with both the EP-3 and the EA-3 and I'm currently working on a scratchbuilt JG-75 towtractor which is about 80% complete. As soon as that's done I'll try to get better pictures. The P-3 has several modifications including rescribed the panel lines and an EP-3 conversion kit I bought from a company called 12 Squared back in the late 80's. The main cabin door was moved forward and made into a double door as it was on PR-31. The decals were made using a CAD program and printed on clear decal sheet. I hope you guys like it. Def Great looking P-3! Love that aircraft. Looking forward to some clearer closeup pics! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Prop Duster Posted February 20, 2012 Share Posted February 20, 2012 Great job! the time was well spent. It will be good to see your display setup, an' the new pictures. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
defaoite62 Posted April 1, 2012 Author Share Posted April 1, 2012 (edited) Nuthin like a day late and a dollar short. New pics are here Def Edited April 1, 2012 by defaoite62 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
pminer Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 Nuthin like a day late and a dollar short. New pics are here Def Very nice! Wow... 2 questions: How did you do the antenna wires from the tail to fuselage? How'd you do the static discharge wires on the tail and ailerons? Thanks, Paul Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DonSS3 Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 Very nice. I especially like the panel line weathering. Not too overdone for a well used Gull Gray & White P-3… Quote Link to post Share on other sites
defaoite62 Posted April 17, 2012 Author Share Posted April 17, 2012 (edited) Thanks for the replies. I used copper wire from an old extension cord for the antenna wires. On the EP-3, The ends were fed through tiny holes drilled into the fuselage and super glued in place. I then drilled a small hole through the verticle stabilizer and fed one wire through to make a loop then fed the other wires through the loop, pulled them tight and glued them down. The antenna wires are one of the toughest parts because they're a bear to pull tight and get them straight, pull too hard and the wire breaks and you gotta start over. If you look closely you can see a few slight bends. If anybody has a different method I'd love to hear about it. The static discharge wicks on the EP-3 were made from the same kind of wire and held in place with a small drop of superglue. Then carefully bent to give them the right "hang". I think they look a little thin. I used thread on the EA-3 which I think looks a little thick. I need to find something a little more in between. The panel lines on the EP-3 were sanded off and rescribed (can you say tedious??). After painting I drew them in with a drafting pencil. After decaling I went over the lines with a small amount of dry pastels and a Q-tip paying careful attention to maintenance panels and areas that would get dirty. On the P-3 the number 3 engine gets filthy from the APU exhaust which is right next to it. Also the areas around the overwing exits from maintenance personel climbing through them on a regular basis. To tell the truth it got a little difficult to keep the white on the model from getting dirty from handling. I plan on doing a VP-16 P-3 in the near future that will look brand new so it will be tough to keep it clean. By the time I was stationed with VQ-1 most of the planes were older than me. They were "ridden hard and put up wet" so they got pretty nasty looking. Even after fresh paint jobs they didn't stay pristine very long. Def Edited April 17, 2012 by defaoite62 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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