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NASA T-38 Decals for the new Wolfpack kit


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...Second, I've been in touch with our decal printer and I can shoe-horn on another set of the two-tone blue stripes.

Great news, thank you Mr J.

It makes sense for those of us who would like to build the traditional NASA birds with the different tail logos.

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I think y'all will really dig this project... Here's a revised preview. And note that this is only representative of what's on the sheet. There are other choices as well...

:)

J

NASA_T_38preview2.jpg

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The photo of Wally suited up for a ride in that airplane is the earliest association we can find between a NASA astronaut and a T-38. Interestingly, the same aircraft was used the year before by Jackie Cochran to set several womens' world speed records, for which she was awarded the Harmon Trophy in 1962. And we've included the slightly different markings for *that* version too!

:)

J

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There's also a photo of Deke Slayton with 0551, taken the week after Schirra's photo:

Deke with 0551

I've done some research on the Schirra and Slayton photos, but I didn't find any firm evidence that they flew the aircraft, only that it was a photo op.That was years ago though, so there may be newer information that I don't have. The aircraft had been bailed from the USAF to Northrop for Cochran's flights, hence the lack of any AF titles.

Here's a blue stripe scheme with a different tail design:

NASA 717

Peter

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Thanks Peter. Unfortunately we're not going to be able to include 717. In addition to the totally unique tail design, the cheat lines are also completely different from other NASA T-38s. The one on the main part of the fuselage sits higher, but the bigger problem is that the one on the nose angles down. Looks like they tried to get the middle of the blue stripe to be centered on the tip of the nose. We'd need to include a completely separate nose section stripe just for that one airplane, and there is **no** more room on the sheet as it stands. If 150 people who live near Ames come crying we might consider doing a small addendum at some point :)

Thanks for the links!

J

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Don't worry, Jennings, I don't expect you to shoehorn anything else into the sheet. I'll probably need a microscope to separate the decals as it is :)

As an aside to the Schirra and Slayton photos, they're identified as being taken in late 1963, but I'm not sure that's correct. Cochran set her records in August 1961, so I suspect the astronaut photos were taken then also. Otherwise the aircraft would either have to have been returned to the AF, then bailed to Northrop and repainted exactly the same again, or stayed with Northrop for over two years, neither of which is likely.

NASA has a long history of mis-identifying its photos, so it would be no surprise if the dates are incorrect.

Do you have any plans to make Thunderbird decals? I was sworn into the AF by the Commander/Leader in mid-1976, and had VIP seating for the airshow at Pease AFB, NH.

Peter

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Just to add another wrinkle to Cochran's aircraft, here's one of her record listings from the FAI website:

FAI Record

The two photos of 0551 on this page show the aircraft had day-glo on the tail, at least when the photos were taken.

Also, re the Schirra/Slayton photos, it occurs to me that Slayton was not on flight status in 1963; he was taken off flight status in 1962 when the astronauts' doctor found a heart murmur. So it's unlikely NASA would have taken his photo with the T-38 in '63, since he couldn't fly it solo at that time.

Peter

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...

The release date is the day we get them back from the printer. And not a single minute longer. They're being printed now and we anticipate them next month sometime. Don't have a price yet. Keep an eye on our web site.

www.fubdekals.com

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  • 5 weeks later...

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