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Three Builds By Kyle Lord for Tim Connelly


TGarthConnelly

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Hi Guys,

 

I have asked Kyle Lord to build me two kits. Both are 1:72. One is a F-106A Delta Dart and the other is a T-33 Shooting Star. Originally, I gave him the Hasegawa 1:72 F-106 kit and the Hasegawa 1:72 T-33 kit. He started both kits straight away. However, he found the Hasegawa F-106 kit lacking in detail, so he stopped work on it and ordered a Trumpeter 1:72 F-106 kit. I must say, that after seeing photos of the sprues, the Trumpeter kit definitely has more detail, especially in the area of the cockpit.

Both, the F-106 and the T-33 models will be finished in the markings of the 101st FIS of the 102nd FIW of the Massachusetts Air National Guard. The F-106 will wear the markings of “Alpha-Kilo one-one”, my good friend, (now retired LT. COL.) Art Bugbee often flew “one-one” (although “Alpha-Kilo one-four” was his personal mount while the 101st flew the Dart and had his name on it. But, there is no sheet out with markings for “one-four”, but there is a sheet with the markings for “one-one” and that’s the one I bought and mailed to Kyle this past week.

I was going to ask Mark of STARFIGHTER DECALS if he’d take the sheet he created in 1:48 for me of the markings of “one-four” (complete with Maj. A. J. Bugbee on it) and resize it to 1:72. A couple of years ago, I had Stan Pienkowski rebuild the old Revell/Monogram 1:48 F-106A that I built myself in 1984, and mark it up as Art’s “one-four” and gave it to Art. He loves it. He even has the windscreen from the real “one-four” sitting in his barn in New Hampshire. One day, in 1981 (when I was 21 and a first semester Junior at CCSU), Art got me some simulator time in the F-106 simulator they had on base. I thought that was so cool. Why? Because I’ve got Cerebral Palsy, and am confined in a motorized wheelchair. That meant/means I can’t/couldn’t serve in the military and fly fighters, or any plane for that matter. I shot down a TU-95 and a MiG-25. He also had me sit in on a mission briefing once too.

I sent Mark an email about it, but he did not and still hasn’t replied. That’s OK, inasmuch I found the sheet I’ve just mailed off to Kyle.

The T-33, well, that old bird holds a special meaning to me as well. There’s a photo of me from 1981 (that I can’t bloody well find – but I know still exists), the same day that I got my two “kills”, behind my parents’ 1979 Plymouth Voyager (the full-sized van, not the mini-van), wearing Art’s flight helmet, holding his flight jacket that he had just given me (and I still have and wear), the jacket had/has over 1,000 flight hours (all in the 106). In the photo, behind me, is the T-33 being prepped for a cross-country hop. Art has told me that he, and another 101st pilot, were trying to figure out a way to get me into the back-seat of the T-33, because the back-seat of the B-model of the 106 was too high off the ground to safely get me into.

Sadly, those plans never came to fruition – that would’ve been so cool! I can picture it; he and I flying from Cape Cod, back to Connecticut – to do a fly-over of my college girlfriend’s house in Ansonia. Oh, well. What’s that old saying? “The best-laid plans of mice and men …”

A few weeks ago, Kyle emailed me to tell me that he was going to build me a pro-bono kit. That is the Tamiya 1:72 F-4U-1D. I accepted his kind offer and said that I’d like it as the ‘883’ which Pappy Boyington (a childhood hero) is said to have flown. But, I haven’t been able to find 1:72 decals for it … I can find ‘em in 1:32 easy enough though ………………..

Here are some photos of the progress on all three kits by Kyle:

 

The new F-106:

24073756107_be43e7e492_z.jpgF106BUILD by Tim Connelly, on Flickr

38938854261_d1c17a508f_z.jpgF106BUILD4 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr

 

38902655082_8dc2b76d71_k.jpgF106BUILD10 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr

 

24073772297_c4fbcf11ba_z.jpgF106BUILD11 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr

 

24073772427_21ec3c8abc_k.jpgF106BUILD14 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr

 

24073772027_037ff7f754.jpgF106BUILD17 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr

 

The T-33 Shooting Star:

27161451759_4b4dbaa372_z.jpgT33BUILD3 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr

 

38902687192_6f85b1815d_z.jpgT33BUILD45 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr

 

27161453499_21560bdef5_z.jpgT33BUILD49 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr

 

38938903781_72eb9326a9_z.jpgT33BUILD50 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr

 

38938903711_db81205537_z.jpgT33BUILD51 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr

 

38902686672_6f31d16688_z.jpgT33BUILD53 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr

 

27161453489_3ccce45586_z.jpgT33BUILD54 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr

 

Kyle’s surprise F-4U:

 

25067291028_24b880ab6e.jpgF4UBUILD6 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr

 

38902785632_ff37f84d5b.jpgF4UBUILD7 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr

 

38902785532_fd01d7b324.jpgF4UBUILD9 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr

 

25067290818_495409a59b.jpgF4UBUILD10 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr

 

25067290468_92727126dc.jpgF4UBUILD16 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr

 

25067290388_5f9724739f.jpgF4UBUILD18 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr

 

38902785252_12d8584b50.jpgF4UBUILD19 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr

 

38902785192_73efd68365_z.jpgF4UBUILD21 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr

 

Tim

 

 

 

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hi Guys,

 

Kyle has sent me some in-progress shots of all three projects, and here they are:

 

The F-106A:

 

38412020235_b0125c5475.jpgF106BUILD22 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr

 

39288767111_51acbfe972.jpgF106BUILD21 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr

 

24426154587_87932cf80a.jpgF106BUILD20 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr

 

24426154657_d124d46c2d.jpgF106BUILD19 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr

 

39288753201_af72fdd1c8.jpgF106BUILD18 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr

 

39288753981_c796b6222e.jpgF106BUILD17 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr

 

39288754061_ba793b44ab_z.jpgF106BUILD16 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr

 

39260399722_3834eb64c4_k.jpgF106BUILD15 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr

The gear is painted silver, but, if memory serves, on the real Dart, they were white, he says he’ll correct that.

 

Here are some of the many shots of the T-33 build. He says it’s all-but done, just the canopy needs to be glued down.

39288713241_4c90a82f61_z.jpgT33BUILD66 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr

 

25421211798_9497266ec6_z.jpgT33BUILD65 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr

 

39288713401_fcd7bda3f9_z.jpgT33BUILD64 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr

 

39288713451_e476bfa686_z.jpgT33BUILD63 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr

 

39288713601_be03b89144.jpgT33BUILD61 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr

 

And, lastly – the “surprise” F4-U-1D build; it’s being finished as Boyington’s #86 “Lulubelle” (I’ve heard it was actually “Lucybelle, I don’t know). After Kyle told me that he was going to this build for me as a surprise; I tried to track down the decal sheet which has Boyington’s #883”, but could only find it in 1:32. I wanted that one because he actually flew 883 … #86 was only used in that set of publicity shots.

Here are some of the many in-progress shots he has sent me.

 

24426036887_8ba55874d3_z.jpgF4UBUILD55 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr

 

24426036987_b99618f142_z.jpgF4UBUILD54 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr

 

24426037087_6e17459c42_z.jpgF4UBUILD53 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr

 

24426037157_ca4946640f_z.jpgF4UBUILD52 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr

 

27512524469_5e5a2119d9_z.jpgF4UBUILD51 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr

 

24426037407_3c345ea1d7_z.jpgF4UBUILD49 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr

 

24426037507_40648f54d2_z.jpgF4UBUILD48 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr

 

27512524729_0e86339675_z.jpgF4UBUILD47 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr

 

27512524799_3cf0272a70_z.jpgF4UBUILD46 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr

 

27512525089_06b5872bb8_z.jpgF4UBUILD43 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr

 

 

 

Tim

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