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Howdy folks. I wasn't sure if I had time for this GB, but months ago I had bought a second T-38 kit from Wolfpack, and Fundekals' NASA sheet. I have always loved the T-38; it is very similar to the 2-seat F-5B, only lighter and not (originally) designed as a weapon-carrying fighter. The Wolfpack kit is really nice, and the decals are superb.

NASA operates the T-38 as both a taxi and a pilot proficiency aircraft. Those astronauts who have been military pilots get a chance to keep up their skills by flying these machines, and this build will be a tribute to my friend Chris Hadfield, one of several Canadian astronauts. I've seen pics of Chris flying the T-38, but can't find them at the moment.

He and I crossed paths many times in the 80s. As an instructor on the Tutor in the early 80s, I had a student (Mac was his first name) whose best friend was the young Chris Hadfield. Late in the course (the spring of 1983), the students learn to fly in formation. On the 6th flight of that syllabus, the instructor leads the student around on the student's first solo in formation, which is a big confidence-booster for the students. The day of Mac's first solo, he asked if his buddy Chris could ride along with me in the lead aircraft, so I said sure, and Chris and I strapped in for the flight. I gave him the left seat, since he was used to flying from the student's seat, and told him that if Mac was stable enough, he could take the controls and lead his buddy for a bit.

Mac was one of the best students that I ever had in Moose Jaw, and Chris was as good (if not just a tad better), so as we flew around with Mac on our wing, I handed control to Chris and he carefully led his friend. Chris was very methodical, and made certain to ask me what he should be doing for manoeuvres, and also made sure to monitor his friend's performance as we rolled in and out of turns, did station changes (where Mac went from the wing to line astern, for example), and other basic formation exercises.

I took over for the more aggressive manoeuvres (one called trail and rejoin, where the lead banks sharply away, the student follows after a pause, and he practises his use of angles, closure, and cut-off to maintain 1,000 feet behind his lead). I also led the approach, overshoot in formation, and the overhead break to landing. Throughout this flight, Chris was attentive, helpful, and eager to learn.

Some days later, I was scheduled to fly a low-level navigation mission with Chris, and he was very, very, well prepared, and a smooth and accurate flyer. In short, even early on in his pilot training, he showed the talent and drive that has characterised his "ascent" (pun intended) to the lofty post of ISS commander.

A few years later, I ended up at Bagotville on the CF-18, with 433 squadron, while Chris was finishing his time flying the CF-18 with 425 at the same base. We had a few chats at the bar in the mess, and he told me he was keen on becoming a test pilot, which he left to do shortly after I arrived in Bagotville. Just before I retired, Chris was back in Bagotville, having done a stint with the USN flight test department in Pax River, and he gave an excellent talk to all the pilots about departures from extreme manoeuvres in the Hornet, and how to deal with them. We had had at least one ejection and crash due to these departures, so everyone paid close attention to what he had to say. It was around that time that Chris told us he had been selected as an astronaut, which surprised nobody.

The funniest story about that involved his interview before the selection committee, where they perused his resumé and said "very impressive, Mr. Hadfield... anything to add?" to which he said "oh, yes - I was just named Test Pilot of the Year by the USN." Can you say slam-dunk? :thumbsup:

Chris flew the T-38, as I said, with NASA, but I also considered building a Hornet for this from his 425 days, but to me the T-38 embodies the organisation more clearly than an aircraft flown by a future astronaut before the fact. So here goes!

The box

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The decals (deliberately allowed the glare, to help protect the copyright of the artwork)

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I haven't decided which era/scheme yet, but I'll likely aim for the late 90s. More soon.

ALF

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The kit decals include the main instrument panels, and the circuit breakers in the back seat (side consoles). Not being one to pretend my skills are better than well-printed instrument decals, I used them.

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I also love the instructions. There are a couple minor errors in them, but the colour illustrations and clear indications are very nice.

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The cockpit tub and seat parts are not as detailed as AM resin would be, but actually not too bad.

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Here's what it builds up into; fairly simple work.

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The fit is nice on this kit. I did the little plastic black inserts in the cockpit sidewalls with black marker pen. I used Tamiya XF-19 light grey for the cockpit background colour.

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Here's where I am now. Ready to button up the fuselage, and I see some required touch-ups in this pic. One thing that I did better this time around is ensure that I assembled the glare shield for the rear cockpit panel before gluing the rear MIP in place. By doing so, I got the fit nicer with the glare shield and the seats.

Assembly order used: Rear rocket boosters glued to cockpit back walls. Seats glued to rocket boosters. Two rear glare shield parts glued to rear MIP. Rear MIP with glare shield fits nicely in right behind front seat's rocket booster, in the slot designed for that purpose. Front MIP glued in place, then cockpit glued into fuselage. This cockpit brings back fond memories of flying the dual CF-5; that was a fun jet to fly.

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More soon; thanks for stopping by.

ALF

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Awesome start and great story! I've been waiting for this build and am glad you started it!

I have been trying to get my brother to set-up a jam session with Chris but it just hasn't happened yet. Last time I inquired about it Chris had just gotten home from his ISS mission so probably wasn't really settled yet. I understand at times he'll sit in with some of the local bands around Houston and plays in the Astronaut band, but I haven't been around when any of that happens. Perhaps one day I'll get to meet him. Seems like a really down to earth and great guy.

Bill

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Coming along nice!

I'm in the middle of building one as well, fun little kit! I'll definitely be buying a couple more.

Thanks Whitey. Have you flown the '38? If it's anything like the F-5, it's a fun little jet. Nimble, and quick once you get it honking along. Just a bit underpowered, though...

Awesome start and great story! I've been waiting for this build and am glad you started it!

I have been trying to get my brother to set-up a jam session with Chris but it just hasn't happened yet. Last time I inquired about it Chris had just gotten home from his ISS mission so probably wasn't really settled yet. I understand at times he'll sit in with some of the local bands around Houston and plays in the Astronaut band, but I haven't been around when any of that happens. Perhaps one day I'll get to meet him. Seems like a really down to earth and great guy.

Bill

Nice to have you along, Bill. Last I heard (second-hand) was that Chris had retired from astronauting, and had moved back to Southwestern Ontario, where he's from. He sang the National Anthem during a Leafs game in the spring, and he's been around for a few other Canadian events as well. He definitely is down to earth (especially now that he no longer orbits above it), and is a genuinely sincere and nice guy. Not something you can say about all fighter pilots or astronauts, unfortunately.

Have you read his first book? It provides some insight into his temperament.

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18170143-an-astronaut-s-guide-to-life-on-earth

ALF

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I haven't read that, I'll have to check it out, thanks.

He retired huh, Oh well, I guess I didn't pursue the jam session hard enough and waiting too long. My brother knew him some through the astronaut training program when my brother was an engineer involved in EVA training. I didn't think even ask about Chris's music until he was already back on Earth, by then it looks like he was pretty close to retiring. That's how it goes I guess.

Look forward to seeing your build. Love the T-38. IMHO one of the best looking aircraft ever designed. Looks like it's flying even when it's just sitting still on the ground.

Bill

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Not being musically inclined, I will stick to flying and gluing... :woot.gif: and singing in the shower when nobody can hear me.

This is coming together quickly.

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The gear going in place. Almost everything is white on this jet, so I will prime it with Tamiya light grey spray, then spray with Tamiya white primer in light coats until satisfied.

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Sitting on its feet. Wheels left off for now.

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White primer done. Looking good so far, but wait for the black bits... :bandhead2:

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Thanks for stopping by

ALF

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Looking great so far! Very fast build

Thanks Hotdog

This kit builds up quickly (in my hands, anyway, because I'm not a perfectionist). Imagine how fast the Phantom would build it!

Much progress since the last update. First, the bad news. I masked off prior to spraying the black, but I got some major leakage. Here, I have used an Exacto to scrape off most of the offending black, right down to the primer or even to the plastic.

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After remasking and repainting, here is how it looks. Not too bad.

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With open canopies, I often hand-paint the frames.

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I scraped off the tiny imperfections with an Exacto, and painted the interior frames the same grey as the cockpit.

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This NASA bird has black strips along the wing and tail leading edges. I thought about ignoring them, and making life easier, but this time I decided to tape along the leading edges, and brush-paint some Tamiya semi-gloss black.

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Turned out OK. Some very minor scraping of the black leakages, and it works.

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Fiddly work around the cockpit. I realize this kit is missing something; the glass between front and back cockpits, inside this inverted U-shaped frame with the red around it. At least I think it should be there; the F-5B has perspex there.

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ALF

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I masked off the wings with Tamiya tape, then hand-painted the leading edges black. I then had to scrape some under-running paint, and touch up. I hate those tiny black borders; very hard to do for me.

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The front canopy is quite fragile for attachment points. The real thing (exactly like the F-5B front canopy) has such flimsy attachment points that it bounces and weaves around as you taxi; hardly inspires confidence in the structure.

To make it glue easier, I first attached the two side struts to the canopy portion, and ensured the splay was correct for the vertical supports to glue to the side rails.

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On to decals next!

ALF

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I bought the Fündekals NASA sheet. The art work is great, and the on-line instructions are very detailed. In fact, I probably should have read them first, because the differences between T-38 models over the years was very well explained in them. Things like antennae, markings, etc, are very clear.

The negative side? They are very thin! I made the mistake of letting one side stripe soak for more than 3 seconds: here's what happened.

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:bandhead2:

So, I modified my technique. Using tweezers, I very quickly ran the decals through the water, and immediately put them on my cutting mat. They slid easily, but also stuck hard on the model, and moving them around was tough without breaking them. That's why my side stripes have little imperfections, as they split and needed to be coaxed into place.

In this picture, also note that I have installed the rear canopy support structure without the part that glues into the canopy itself.

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Done!

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More photos in the finished models thread.

ALF

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  • 1 month later...

Nice build of one of my favorite aircraft & markings! Your thread is a good inspiration for when I get around to my Wolfpack T-38/Fundekals combo.

Have fun modeling!

Mike

:cheers:/>/>

Thanks for the kind words, Mike!

Been a long time since I browsed this GB.

Update: I have succeeded in contacting Chris Hadfield. I'll be sending him the model in the mail. Hope he likes it!

ALF

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  • 2 months later...
  • 3 weeks later...

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