niki4703 Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 Hi guys, I am reading 'Beyond The Horizon' at the moment and have begun discovering the beauty of AEW&C :) About half way down the content of the book I came across the P-3s of the Customs Service in their early livery: Now, I knew about these planes, but on this occasion I gave it a second thought about having a scale replica on the shelf. Is it indeed true that one would have to mate an Orion fuselage with a Hawkeye rotodome? Or did this latter came in a different dimensional layout for the Orion? I see the pylon(s) to be different... Also, any chance on some decals for the scheme shown above? 1/72 would be nice but 1/144 is more practical space-wise, I suppose. Although I would have to go out and find a 1/144th scale Orion... Cheers! Niki Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jennings Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 I believe they were P-3Bs modified with E-2 radomes. No different from other P-3s. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
don f Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 ...1/144 is more practical space-wise, I suppose. Although I would have to go out and find a 1/144th scale Orion... 12 Squared had a nice conversion set for the LS P-3. OOP a long time ago. Here's a link: 12 Squared Models Look for set 1-3. These show up occasionally on eBay. Don Quote Link to post Share on other sites
riffraff Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 I have the 12 squared conversion set, and a E-2 radome would work just as well. The only problem is decals. Has anyone ever made decals for this plane? Lee Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Trojan Thunder Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 (edited) Not too hard to scratch build the support (it is not the same as the E-2 support) and the radome is that used on the E-2. I have had a crack at it and a friend has built one and made his own decals. I will see if I can find a picture and post it. I think I have the artwork for the decals somewhere. My attempts at the support. (E-2 Support on the left, P-3 support parts on the right) Also the scheme has changed a while ago: Link Edited April 8, 2015 by Trojan Thunder Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jennings Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 Wow... 12 Squared - there's a name I hadn't heard in several decades! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
niki4703 Posted April 8, 2015 Author Share Posted April 8, 2015 So, no joy on decals for any* of the USCS schemes...? *ahm, actually the 'early' scheme looks nice(er) :D Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Trojan Thunder Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 So, no joy on decals for any* of the USCS schemes...? *ahm, actually the 'early' scheme looks nice(er) I was out most of last night and was unable to check. Will have a look tonight Quote Link to post Share on other sites
niki4703 Posted April 9, 2015 Author Share Posted April 9, 2015 Thank you for your trouble, Ray! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Trojan Thunder Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 (edited) Found a picture of the build. Also found the decal sheet layout, PM me if you want it. You will need to print it yourself. Edited March 6, 2017 by Trojan Thunder Quote Link to post Share on other sites
82Whitey51 Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 I built a similar aircraft, the Naval Research Lab operated an AEW&C NP-3D for a few years (it is currently assigned with VX-30 out at Pt. Mugu). Our aircraft started life as the Hawkeye 2000 test bed, and thus had the underside CEC antenna but the ROTODOME installation was the same as the Customs birds. I used Hawkeye 2000 parts for the dome, used the top portion of the kit pylon so that I could retain the attaching pin: For the pylon "feet" fairings I used the supports from and old AWACS kit, cut them to size and scratch built the rest of the pylon using bits of Evergreen plastic and a chuck of resin sanded to size. The white strips are areas of the airframe that were beefed up structurally. Not sure if the Customs bird has the same. The bomb bay on our bird was where the vapor cooling system for the RADAR is housed. There are various vents and intakes to feed air to it. I used some scratch photo etch from some ship ladders to replicate them. The finished product Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Trojan Thunder Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Nice job Andrew, I will finish mine one day! :D Quote Link to post Share on other sites
niki4703 Posted April 10, 2015 Author Share Posted April 10, 2015 Indeed, lovely finish on that NP-3D *** Ray, I've sent you a PM. Thanks again! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
scjh Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 I just saw on eBay somebody selling P-3 Rotodomes in 1/72 and 1/144. I am not associated with the seller and I don't know anything about the parts, but thought I would point it out. Search for "P-3 Rotodome" Quote Link to post Share on other sites
niki4703 Posted April 17, 2015 Author Share Posted April 17, 2015 Of course, Contrails! Had forgot about them. Thanks for the heads up Quote Link to post Share on other sites
82Whitey51 Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 I just saw on eBay somebody selling P-3 Rotodomes in 1/72 and 1/144. I am not associated with the seller and I don't know anything about the parts, but thought I would point it out. Search for "P-3 Rotodome" From looking at the pics, it looks like they used the Testors/Fujimi E-2 rotodome pylon for those sets. I was going to buy one when I built my NP-3D but opted to scratch build instead. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Trojan Thunder Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 From looking at the pics, it looks like they used the Testors/Fujimi E-2 rotodome pylon for those sets. I was going to buy one when I built my NP-3D but opted to scratch build instead. Yep, it is the E-2 mount. I have made mention of this Contrails some time ago but got no response. It would be nice not to have to scratch build it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
P3aewguy Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 (edited) I built a similar aircraft, the Naval Research Lab operated an AEW&C NP-3D for a few years (it is currently assigned with VX-30 out at Pt. Mugu). Our aircraft started life as the Hawkeye 2000 test bed, and thus had the underside CEC antenna but the ROTODOME installation was the same as the Customs birds. I used Hawkeye 2000 parts for the dome, used the top portion of the kit pylon so that I could retain the attaching pin: For the pylon "feet" fairings I used the supports from and old AWACS kit, cut them to size and scratch built the rest of the pylon using bits of Evergreen plastic and a chuck of resin sanded to size. The white strips are areas of the airframe that were beefed up structurally. Not sure if the Customs bird has the same. The bomb bay on our bird was where the vapor cooling system for the RADAR is housed. There are various vents and intakes to feed air to it. I used some scratch photo etch from some ship ladders to replicate them. The finished product Hi, The Customs AEW are structurally the same, with the same reinforcing doubler plates. I know I worked on them for twenty years. Your bird had a generator on #1 engine to power the radar and test equipment. We didn't have that. We also tested the CEC equipment for awhile. I did one of these conversions for a friend of mine, had to scratch build the pylon also. He still has it displayed at his house. Nice job on your conversion! I even have a flight manual for your NP-3D. They had several copies and were disposing of some of them and I got one. Dave Edited April 19, 2015 by P3aewguy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
82Whitey51 Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 (edited) Hi, The Customs AEW are structurally the same, with the same reinforcing doubler plates. I know I worked on them for twenty years. Your bird had a generator on #1 engine to power the radar and test equipment. We didn't have that. We also tested the CEC equipment for awhile. I did one of these conversions for a friend of mine, had to scratch build the pylon also. He still has it displayed at his house. Nice job on your conversion! I even have a flight manual for your NP-3D. They had several copies and were disposing of some of them and I got one. Dave Thanks you for the info and the compliment! I enjoyed building this one. It was a commission build for our squadron CO. I want to build another for my own collection. I have a lot of great memories from detting out with 442 to Mugu, Hawaii...parts unknown. We always got some funny stares when we showed up to regular P-3 bases. Had to change out a #2 gearbox once out at MCAS Kaneoe Bay, everyone was unsure if the bird would fit in the hanger (in order to use the overhead lift), the regular P-3Cs parked with their tails outside the doors because of tail height but they didn't have to worry about "dome height". After exhausting all resources trying to get the dimension from the top of the dome to the ground, as First FE I just told them to tow her on in while I climbed up to the rafters to keep an eye on things. We fit in with about 2 feet to spare. I still couldn't give you an exact dimension on that...for the model I pretty much just "eyeballed" it. Edited April 20, 2015 by 82Whitey51 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Glynn Jacobs Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 Gents, I have a 72nd Fujimi E-2C roto-dome and struts for a reasonable price since I'm using the wings, tail plane, etc for my (eventual) C-2 Greyhound build. Contact me at glynnj (at) swell.net if interested. WARDOG Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dutch Posted March 5, 2017 Share Posted March 5, 2017 Whitey, Beautiful work, there! Â And Ray, yours is coming along well too! Â I am sticking to 1/144 scale, but am taking in all the education you guys can give me. Â Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Scooby Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 On 2015-04-20 at 9:55 AM, 82Whitey51 said: Thanks you for the info and the compliment! I enjoyed building this one. It was a commission build for our squadron CO. I want to build another for my own collection. I have a lot of great memories from detting out with 442 to Mugu, Hawaii...parts unknown. We always got some funny stares when we showed up to regular P-3 bases. Had to change out a #2 gearbox once out at MCAS Kaneoe Bay, everyone was unsure if the bird would fit in the hanger (in order to use the overhead lift), the regular P-3Cs parked with their tails outside the doors because of tail height but they didn't have to worry about "dome height". After exhausting all resources trying to get the dimension from the top of the dome to the ground, as First FE I just told them to tow her on in while I climbed up to the rafters to keep an eye on things. We fit in with about 2 feet to spare. I still couldn't give you an exact dimension on that...for the model I pretty much just "eyeballed" it. Â I did a gearbox change on a Hercules in Hawaii, the overhead lift snapped as we were moving the new gearbox into position. I think we were given a hanger that wasn't used since December 7th, 1941. Â We didn't mind, it gave us another week in Hawaii while we waited for a replacement gearbox from Canada. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dutch Posted March 9, 2017 Share Posted March 9, 2017 @ Ray,  I see you made the struts & "feet" (i.e. the fuselage to strut curved moulding) from one piece of plasticard.  I assume you had to fair them in with a little putty.  @ Whitey, I see you used plasticard for the struts and the "feet" from some other source?  Is this correct?   As I am building in 1/144 scale, I think I will follow Ray's example.  I can probably do well with just a single width of plasticard and make sure I have a curved section for the "feet."  I will probably also not add the fuselage reinforcing strips, as it will most likely be overdone in 1/144 scale.  Thanks for all the help.  R/ Dutch Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Trojan Thunder Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 Dutch,  I did not get past the pictures posted, those pieces are sitting in a box with a kit :D  I asked Whitey about his build a few years ago, he modified the support legs from an Airfix E-3 for his build, I might go that way as well since I have a few spare. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dnl42 Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 That's just awesome! You did a great job on that paint scheme. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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