CD48038: 1/48 Air National Guard F-4C Part 3

[TXCajun]

Great to know that those Louisiana Air Guard "Coonass Militia" pics & links to pics I sent you paid off! This is an outstanding sheet!

Historical note, though: Since you provided the black stencils for the LA ANG F-4s, that allows one to do the compass ghost schemes from the William Tell meet where the Coonass Militia tail motto made its' debut. Check this picture out: Also note "Coonass Militia" in red on the baggage pod. Never saw that before!

http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2011/190/c/d/coonass_militia_phantom_no__2_by_f16crewchief-d3lhmxr.jpg

Also:

http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/modeling_subjects/f/2/t/69634.aspx

Here's a gray scheme with the white lettering.I know for a fact that #704 appeared with "Coonass Militia" in black on SEA as well as this scheme. I also think #704 had a single MiG kill:

http://www.cybermodeler.com/hobby/ref/arc/images/arc_1007_p3.jpg

This appears to be white lettering with a black outline on a gray aircraft:

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6192/6129925706_a205f8566f.jpg

...and an F-15A tail several years later after political correctness got the upper hand

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Vc0KitlL8wY/T8pzraRkkzI/AAAAAAAABKc/y4tS6edHbNI/s1600/BayouMilitiaSMALL.jpg

Now in case the politically correct among us gets their naughty bits in a wad, I'm a born and bred Cajun from South Louisiana. My family in LA goes back to the late 1700s and my dad and countless numbers of his generation ran around with "RCA" (Registered Coonass) stickers on their cars for YEARS. To some in Louisiana who have promoted Cajun culture, the term "Coonass" is on par with the "N" word. I'm not going to argue politics here, but the fact that the 122nd proudly wore this as their name for several years is a fact of history that the politically correct among the Air Force community have tried to bury. I applaud Caracal for capturing this slice of Air National Guard history.

Oh...the other schemes are cool, too!

[KursadA]

Thanks for the post, and sorry for not being able to respond yesterday. I still have hundreds of orders to pack and ship, and it is taking all of my time outside work.

I had originally intended to include the Compass Ghost airplane 64-0852, the aircraft in one of the photos you posted above. This is why the black "Coonass Militia" and the appropriate serial numbers are still on the black portion of the sheet. I have been promised some reference photos which would have allowed me to draw a complete camouflage scheme for both sides (each aircraft painted in this scheme seems to be unique). But I have not received these photos on time to meet my scheduled shipping date, so the instructions and promotional materials have no mention of 64-0852. The markings are there on the decal sheet, though; and I will post a note on the Web site if and when I get more information on the details of the camouflage on this aircraft.

[TXCajun]

No sweat, man. I fully understand that work comes first.

My main fascination with the LAANG birds is I grew up in the New Orleans area and used to belong to the Flying Tigers club in New Orleans YEARS ago. When I was a member, we undertook a project to build at least one example of all of the aircraft flown by the Louisiana Air Guard from its' inception to that date (Mid 80's at the time). Once completed, the models were to be donated to the Louisiana National Guard museum at Jackson Barracks. I took on two projects: an AT-6 and an F-4C. I delivered the AT-6 which to my knowledge was still on display until Katrina wiped out the museum.

I was working on the F-4C when I had a falling out with the then-president of the club. The event soured me so badly on the hobby that I walked away from plastic modeling for nearly ten years. The F-4C (Hasegawa 1/48th kit) remained in my possession since we weren't getting paid for our costs. It was about 75% complete when I left it aside. I'm now in the process of cleaning it up and assessing what needs to be done to get it finished. The project will be the topic of an eventual Fine Scale Modeler article should they express an interest in it.

Interesting note on the lettering... Based on various photos I have seen, the lettering appeared as a solid while font on the SEA camo birds, as well as solid black, stencil black, and white with black outline on the gray birds. Individual airframes definitely sported multiple schemes over their lifetimes with the 159th TFS. It makes research fun, right?

The specific airframe I planned to build for the Louisiana Air National Guard museum is now in the possession of the Pima air museum (airframe 64-0673) rotting away in the sun. :(

Thanks for the post, and sorry for not being able to respond yesterday. I still have hundreds of orders to pack and ship, and it is taking all of my time outside work.

I had originally intended to include the Compass Ghost airplane 64-0852, the aircraft in one of the photos you posted above. This is why the black "Coonass Militia" and the appropriate serial numbers are still on the black portion of the sheet. I have been promised some reference photos which would have allowed me to draw a complete camouflage scheme for both sides (each aircraft painted in this scheme seems to be unique). But I have not received these photos on time to meet my scheduled shipping date, so the instructions and promotional materials have no mention of 64-0852. The markings are there on the decal sheet, though; and I will post a note on the Web site if and when I get more information on the details of the camouflage on this aircraft.