WildBill50

Good day mates! I am starting to build the 1/48th Hasegawa British F-4 with Spey engines and have a question about cat launches. I want to put this on a base that has the plane ready for a cat shot. I have pictures for the bridals for the front and the various hook ups. What I can't find is a picture of the hold back area of the plane where the dogbone gets attached. Is it right in back of the tailhook, or father forward. Every oicture I've found has that area in deep shadow. Any help would be appreciated. I've always liked how the Brit birds have the double extended nose gear and since the Phantom is in my top 5 favorite aircraft it's time to put another one on the shelf. Stay tuned. Bill

Thanks everybody for the comments. They are appreciated. Max, I almost called you up to get the Mattel fired up again...no need now. Thanks for the experiment on it though, Gil, If this the kit you have (Classic Airframes), double check that you have a left and right main gear well. Also, don't press to hard on the canopy. Thanks Clare, this is one plane I wish I could have seen flying. It seems like an impressive bird from everything I've read. The book "Doom Pussy" is a great read if anyone is interested in B-57 ops in Viet Nam. Again, thanks for the comments.

This is really coming together well. Even though I don't build WWI aircraft This is really a nice build for something that old. Great job. Bill

Duke, here is what I have. You are more than welcome to them. Bill

Here is the final product. I really like how this came out. I had to vacuform a new canopy which came out pretty good. While taking the tape off the glass, I cut through the thin replacement. So I smash molded a new canopy with thicker plastic. This worked even better for me. Overall, no real disasters. This is one large aircraft. Enough Viet Nam schemes for now. Comments welcome and thanks for looking. Bill

Mark, No joy on the decal selection. Sorry about that. I do have some for an A model, not much...tail code markings AT -630

A silk purse from a sow's ear. Nice job. Bill

But will it float??? Looks good so far. You'll probably have it done before I get my canopy painted. I like it. Bill

I'll look around. I may have the decals...no promises.

Thanks Mark. All I need for the Spec Opt's birds is a AC-130.

Thanks all. It's nice to be able to complete a model with a few additions in a short amount of time and also have it come out nice. I think a may have to get out a couple more 1/72nd models out of storage and join Mark over on the dark side. Bill

Hi Chris, There is a Regional coming up. I may go and enter it there. We'll see. For once, I can say it looks better in person than the pics. Real happy how it came out.

Hi all, Completed this on Sunday. Fun build and I'm really happy how it came out. The build is over in the "On the Bench" forum with interior detail pictures. MM Enamels and Acryl's for the exterior colors followed by Acryl clear gloss and flats before and after decaling. I used a gunship decal sheet from Zotz for the markings. Powder pastels were used for engine exhaust markings and gun powder residue on the fuselage by the mini-guns. Nylon sewing thread was used for antenna wires and tightened with a blown out match. It looks pretty cool with the other gun ships I have. Thanks for looking. Bill

. What If SOF Viet Nam. Well, it's done. More finished pic's on the Aircraft Forum.

How would a nice OV-10 be? A late model NOGS bird or how about a Navy Black Pony early addition? This is just something that needs to updated already, instead of the Testor's kit with a Cobra Co. update. Just thinking out loud. Bill

Nice work, Gil. Did the kit go together well? Really eyecatching. Bill

It looks like my fingers after a softball game. This looks pretty neat so far. Continue on, sir! Bill

I think you could use the wing as a ping-pong paddle. I've made a repair to the cracked canopy and made a stand to mount it on for vacuforming. Tomorrow is the big day for it. Hope it works. Finished pictures hopefully soon. Bill

Thanks Steve. It's getting there...S..L..O..W..L..Y.

Very cool looking, Steve. The black paint makes it look sinister looking. Nice job. What did you do for the chipped paint...pencil, paints, salt? Bill

I like the flag in the Dora's gun. You should have a guy shooting out of there like in the circus. "BANG" works just as well. Nice chunk of plastic you carved there Duke. Where oh where will that be displayed? It does take up quite a piece of real estate. Bill

Good evening,. Well it's on it wheels. The camo has been applied and then the closscoat. I am waiting for a Zotz decal sheet to arrive at any time so I can apply them to this build. After they are applied, windows will have the tape removed and the front canopy will be attached. All that will be left to do is rig up a couple of antennas and add the nav lights and rotating beacon. I want to get this done by Friday for our club meeting. It all depends on the USPS. Finished pictures asap. Bill

Hi guys, Well the camouflage has been redone, a clearcoat has been put on and the decals are applied. All that's left is to give it another gloss coat and then a flat coat. After that, I will be attaching the landing gear , bomb racks,750's and the napalm tanks. I have to wait until Friday to replace the canopy that cracked.We'll be having a demo on vacuforming at our meeting. The camo looks harsh in these pic's but it is more subtle than it looks. I'm happy with it. Until it's finished...over an out. Bill

Duke, You need to build a control tower and have them sort out that flight plan. Your scheduling of arrivals (new models built) and departures are overlapping. It may be that the Cub just ran out of fuel while stacked in the pattern. Remember, the heavies need more separation due to wake turbulence. Bill

Hi guys, Here is my two cents worth on this subject. 1/48th 737 passenger aircraft... some, but not alot of takers. 1/48th P-8 Poseidon sub chaser...bigger audience. If you make the military version of a commercial aircraft, I think there is more of a chance that it could be done. A 737-200 model is also alot smaller than the -800. If the military version took off (get it) with buyers, then I think maybe the company might give a go at the commercial side. I think 1/72nd scale would be a logical step in commercial aircraft model progession. Duke, you'd have a whole new world out there for yourself. This is just an opinion of mine. By the way, I'd buy a 1/48th Poseidon. Cool bird. Bill