Italeri S3A with Phase Hangar resin conversion, Metallic Details and Black Dog Sets 1/48

[MattN]

That's too bad 😞  I had good luck with the one set (for the ES-3A) that I used.  That was a long time ago though - at least 10 years.  Maybe their quality was a bit better then.

[Curt B]

On 6/7/2023 at 6:22 AM, Collin said:

 

Just the thought that the S-3 Viking is (I can't believe I am writing this)....a goofy looking aircraft is so against the rules of humanity.

Perhaps a better way to refer to it would be 'unusual looking', between the combination of large, podded, underwing engines and the HUGE oversized empennage, it its extremely distinctive.  I actually meant no disrespect to the airplane, though it may have seemed that way.  I think it is/was a truly cool plane.

Edited June 8, 2023 by Curt B

[Collin]

50 minutes ago, Curt B said:

Perhaps a better way to refer to it would be 'unusual looking', between the combination of large, podded, underwing engine and the HUGE oversized empennage, it its extremely distinctive.  I actually meant no disrespect to the airplane, though it may have seemed that way.  I think it is/was a truly cool plane.

A very descriptive and acceptable reply. 
 

Im just ribbing ya….even when I flew her to air shows, I knew we weren’t going to be the beauty at the dance. 
 

Cheers

Collin

[habu2]

That "big tail" was necessary for two related reasons:

 

- there was a lot of relatively heavy and bulky equipment located in the aft end of the fuselage.  The MAD boom itself was relatively light but the entire MAD assembly, including the extension/retraction mechanism, was many times the mass of just the boom. 

 

- the large sonobuoy deployment array/grid added a lot of weight when the jet had a full load of 60 sonobouys, and also drove fuselage width to some extent. 

 

Now you have a short, fat fuselage with a lot of weight out back when fully loaded. You needed a big-azz tail to maintain directional authority and keep the CP:CG relationship where it needs to be. 

 

Speaking of short and fat, the S-3 fuselage was built by LTV alongside with the A-7 Corsair II (aka SLUF) at the Jefferson plant in Dallas.  Lockheed had no real carrier jet design experience, something LTV/Vought had plenty of, so the fuselage structure and landing gear were primarily LTV designs.  (Compare the landing gear of the S-3 to the A-7 and F-8)  I worked at LTV back then and remember seeing S-3 fuselages loaded into enclosed rail cars for the trip out west to Lockheed for the wing mate and final assembly. 

 

.

 

Edited June 8, 2023 by habu2
typos

[dai phan]

4 hours ago, Curt B said:

Perhaps a better way to refer to it would be 'unusual looking', between the combination of large, podded, underwing engines and the HUGE oversized empennage, it its extremely distinctive.  I actually meant no disrespect to the airplane, though it may have seemed that way.  I think it is/was a truly cool plane.

I am kidding with you. Dai 

[dai phan]

7 hours ago, MattN said:

That's too bad 😞  I had good luck with the one set (for the ES-3A) that I used.  That was a long time ago though - at least 10 years.  Maybe their quality was a bit better then.

SAC ? I don't think they existed back then but the general concensus is that their products suck. I find their gears to be poor copies of the original. Dai 

[dai phan]

Greetings all,

 

The resin parts are glued in. The kit's landing gear fits well to the resin part and both engines are completed. Tomorrow will be joining the halves and assembly of the weapon bay and nose compartments. The cockpit assembly can be placed after the fuse is joined as it can be inserted from above. 

 

 

 

Edited June 9, 2023 by dai phan

[Curt B]

13 hours ago, Collin said:

A very descriptive and acceptable reply. 
 

Im just ribbing ya….even when I flew her to air shows, I knew we weren’t going to be the beauty at the dance. 
 

Cheers

Collin

No worries...I should have thought about my words and the impact they would have, particularly on those who flew or maintained the plane.

[lockheed2004]

19 hours ago, dai phan said:

SAC ? I don't think they existed back then but the general concensus is that their products suck. I find their gears to be poor copies of the original. Dai 

 

A truer statement has never been made.  If you’re going to poorly copy kit parts, at least use a better metal that doesn’t deform over time.

[dai phan]

Hello my fellow modelers,

 

I ordered the ES3A as I may add the spine avionic hump and some cool under wing pods. Is the Black Dog set in the nose still applicable to the ES version? I heard some avionics in the S3A were removed in the ES version. Dai 

 

Edited June 10, 2023 by dai phan

[dai phan]

Hello all,

 

The nose compartment and the weapon bay do not fit well and require lots of shimming and putty work. There is a weapon bay set made by Metallic Design in Ukraine but with the current situation, there could be long delay so I went ahead with the Black Dog set. Dai 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 13, 2023 by dai phan

[dai phan]

Greetings to all,

 

The joints between the wings and the fuselage must be puttied and sanded smooth as in real life no such panel lines exist. I had to do some rescribings. When I look at the ES3 version, the "canoe" on top of the fuse does not have any locating pins and the fit is poor. There will be some puty work should I choose this version. On the bottom, there is much difference in the center section between the S3A and ES3A. The Black Dog set is designed for the S3A version so some research is called in order to determine if it can be used as the ES version. For an old kit, I am surprised of the very few injection pins and sink marks. Dai 

 

 

Edited June 15, 2023 by dai phan

[Collin]

The ES-3A had a fairing over the bomb bays so if you choose that version…beware the kit instructions, they have you put the parts in backwards. Test fit a lot (but you will still need some putty). 
The ES-3 had a different COTAC (front right seat) instrument panel. 
The cool underwing pods are drop tanks (actually a standard drop tank and an air refueling pod [ARS] on the box art). That’s all the ES-3A could carry …or nothing at all but our AirWing ES-3’s always had drop tanks on. 
 

Enjoying watching your progress. 
 

Cheers

Collin

[A-10 LOADER]

Collin is correct, the kit parts are wrong. The dead giveaway are the "cooling grilles" on each door, they should be on the sides not the bottom. I had to fix this on mine, not too difficult just annoying.

Steve

 

 

 

 

 

Here's what the bottom of the ES-3A should look like. Note the "cooling grilles" are on the sides where they should be.

 

[dai phan]

Hello all,

 

I am going with the standard S3A version. The top part for the ES3A does not fit well and the resin bomb bay is for the S3A. Dai 

 

 

 

Edited June 16, 2023 by dai phan

[Collin]

Bomb Bays are a two part affair.  Smaller bottom door hinges on the inboard side and folds down.  The outer door "L shapped" hinges at the top and opens outward.  

 

S-3B (159766) Viking Walk Around Page 1 (primeportal.net)

 

twas3-45.jpg (1000×661) (fc2.com)

twas3-46.jpg (1000×661) (fc2.com)

twas3-47.jpg (1000×664) (fc2.com)

 

walk-around photos of Lockheed S-3B Viking (fc2.com)

 

 

[dai phan]

Hi all,

 

I am surprised to find out it is rather hard to find decals for this project. Ultracast in Canada has a few sheets but they run about 40-75 USD a sheet! CAM website does not show their S3A Vikings decals available. Dai 

[Specter1075]

1 hour ago, dai phan said:

Hi all,

 

I am surprised to find out it is rather hard to find decals for this project. Ultracast in Canada has a few sheets but they run about 40-75 USD a sheet! CAM website does not show their S3A Vikings decals available. Dai 

 

 

That's why I asked earlier about decals. I know there are few low-vis options out there and I was wondering what you had found. I am now at the point of hoping one of the decals makers comes up with a new set. My second S-3 waits until then.

Edited June 16, 2023 by Specter1075

[dai phan]

2 hours ago, Specter1075 said:

 

 

That's why I asked earlier about decals. I know there are few low-vis options out there and I was wondering what you had found. I am now at the point of hoping one of the decals makers comes up with a new set. My second S-3 waits until then.

Ultracast in Canada has a few OOP sheets but each sheet runs between 30-75 USD! Dai 

[Specter1075]

Ive paid an arm and a leg for some of their sheets before. Sometimes they have some real gems, even if priced like a gem too. 

 

Ultimately, my hope is to get a low-vis profile from the Gulf War era, but no luck so far. The low-vis on their site seem to be from the end of the S-3' service life.

[Collin]

IMO: Avoid CAM decal sheets. I’ve been through a bunch of their older sheets and the either fall apart or are very brittle coming off the sheet. 
 

Collin

[habu2]

ARC member DONG has this S-3 sheet for sale in the Buy & Sell sub-forum:

 

https://modelingmadness.com/scott/decals/aero/am48550.htm

 

Link to post:

 

 

[dai phan]

Hello all,

 

I decide to go for the S3A version to make things simple. The "canoe" on top of the fuselage will require some putty work and I will need to move the cool grills to the side on the doors. Let's make it as simple as it can be so the S3A version will be.  For the past three days I have pulled my hair out trying to get acceptable result as I need to rescribe some panel lines due to sanding and  uneven match of the panel lines.  Three days and perhaps hundreds of filling, sandings ,scribings and nothing to show for. Scribing is a skill one must master so after countless filling, sanding, scribings  and cussing I give up for now and order another Tamiya scriber. I tried to sharpen the blades to no avail.  The Black Dog cockpit fit well but some shimming is needed to make things flush. Dai 

 

 

Edited June 20, 2023 by dai phan

[dai phan]

The decals I ordered for this bird. Thank you Habu 2 for hooking me up with a fellow ARC who has one (top picture) for sale. Dai 

 

 

\

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 20, 2023 by dai phan

[dai phan]

Greetings to all,

 

If you plan to build the S3 get the Shadow ES3A version as you get all the parts for the S3A/B and ES3A. But the main thing is you can use the part 214 for the underwing fairings. The  parts supplied for the S3A is poorly molded, highly inaccurate and un-usable. The instruction on the Italeri on placement of these fairings is wrong. The two fairings on each wing should be placed over the oval panel lines. Dai 

 

 

Edited June 25, 2023 by dai phan