Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy Posted March 23, 2016 Share Posted March 23, 2016 Not my best build, and certainly not great photos, but I've wanted to do 70-389 for about 20 years now. It is the aircraft lost that April night during its attack run into Libya. While the official report concluded pilot error and a crash, evidence is extremely high that it was shot down by a SAM. Supporting this is the following: -Eyewitnesses saw a fireball appear, and then DESCEND to the water -The aircraft 389 was following on its approach was locked on to by a SAM site just before 389 met its fate -The body of Captain Ribas-Domenicci (pilot) was returned to the US by the Libya government; autopsy showed the cause of death to be drowning, with no other injuries expected from a crash Mostly OOB other than rebuilding the Pave Tack pod. Kit decals were a total writeoff being so old and crumbly, and so were scavenged from a variety of sources including F/A-18 for the formation light strips, cut to the appropriate lengths, and black Tomcat engine striping laid piece-by-piece to do the refueling port marking. Kindest thanks to MrVark for his very special expertise which he was willing to share for this build. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RKic Posted March 23, 2016 Share Posted March 23, 2016 I like it. What did you build the pavetac pod from? Do the LGB's come with the kit? And when did this aircraft go down? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy Posted March 23, 2016 Author Share Posted March 23, 2016 Thank you! Pave Tack had been done as basically a single piece in the kit and therefore looked horribly simple, devoid of details and more like a toylike representation, even if the overall shape was pretty good. Plus it was positioned wrong for an aircraft sitting on the ground. So it was redone by cutting out the rotating section, then carving the small pod section from the u-shaped mount, then rebuilt the mount. After that the small pod was scratchbuilt (original one was a write-off after being cut out) using F-4 mainwheels as a basis, believe it or not. No weapons have come with Hasegawa kits since I was about 14 years old. Got 'em from the weapons set. The Libyan Raid was April '86. This was the incredibly long mission from England, down the western coast of Europe, all the way around Spain at Gibraltar, on through the Mediterranean to Libya, attack, and return the same route. This could have been cut down by 2/3 if France had not denied overflight rights to the strike force, or even Spain for that matter. Ironically on two points, the French people were largely angered at their government for denying the overflight once they learned after the fact; seemed while their government was too afraid of terrorist reprisals, the average citizen was ready to fight back (Vive DeGaulle!). Second, with the incredible distance flown, contributing GREATLY to the high failure rate of aircraft systems, one aircraft missed its target and hit close to the French Embassy. When the inevitable complaints arose, the unofficial reply was that "Maybe our crews would have been rested and better focused had they not been forced to fly for such a long distance...!", a lovely snub to the overflight issue. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RKic Posted March 23, 2016 Share Posted March 23, 2016 Interesting story. I would love to get my hands on a 1/72 F-111. They're such cool looking planes, and just too big for 1/48 in my house. The Hasegawa kit seems to be like hen's teeth in hobby shops around here, and always has been. I forgot to mention in my first post, that I think you did a great job with the camouflage. Was it done freehand, or with raised masks? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy Posted March 23, 2016 Author Share Posted March 23, 2016 (edited) Yeah, I had to get this one from eBay. Really your best bet these days. Although if you want an F version you'll need to search for "F-111D/F" since that's the title on the box. Freehand airbrush all the way, but takes a fair amount of touchup, especially since I was trying to match as closely as possible the subtleties of the pattern from photos of the actual aircraft. :) Edited March 23, 2016 by Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jinxter13 Posted March 25, 2016 Share Posted March 25, 2016 A most excellent build Andrew....It never ceases to amaze me the quality of craftsmanship you "gentlemens' scalers" get out of some kits. :worship: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TomCooper Posted April 17, 2016 Share Posted April 17, 2016 Beautiful work, especially painting and weathering, Andrew! Any photos of her left side? I'm searching for some since years, without luck. Would love to ready an artwork (I've already drawn Remit-31 and Puffy-11, and would like to continue that series.) BTW, Ironically on two points, the French people were largely angered at their government for denying the overflight once they learned after the fact; seemed while their government was too afraid of terrorist reprisals, the average citizen was ready to fight back (Vive DeGaulle!).Actually, French government was insisting on Americans removing Q from power, not 'just striking him'. When their Pres Mitterrand heard about 'small' scope of this attack, they refused to grand over-flight permission in disappointment. And yes: sadly, Karma 52 was shot down by the only SA-6 SAM-site in Tripoli area that survived the HARM-onslaught launched by VA-46's Corsairs... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mungo1974 Posted April 17, 2016 Share Posted April 17, 2016 (edited) Very Nice Tribute to Karma52... The 495TFS lost a well respected crew that night... The fact that 30 years on Capt Lorence is still classified as Missing In Action is so sad for all those who knew him. Edited April 17, 2016 by mungo1974 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.