For the aviation fans

[Spokey]

 

Republic P47 Thunderbolt.

And a Fairchild Republic A10 Thunderbolt II, of course known as the Warthog.

 

 

 

First pic at The New England Aviation Museum at Bradley, Windsor Locks, Connecticut.

Scond at The American Hangar, IWM Duxford, UK.

Edited May 24, 2019 by Spokey

[patham]

What version of the F16 is this?

I think its a UAE Block 60 or F16F, with conformal fuel tanks. It does look like its loaded up for bear though. Looks totally different to the cleaner versions of the original F16A.

[Spokey]

Do any of you guys build these small plastic kits? I started some time ago when trying to show my son the relative size of modern fighters compared to what we had seen at the War Museum in Josie. Chose the 1/72nd scale for ease of display. Detail at my level is a bit compromised on the small scale, but it is fun. Carried on from there. I have not built for a few years but there are around 30 of the little things and around another 30 collected to still build!

[Spokey]

A little more.

 

They had been in storage for a couple of years since moving from Josie. I picked up the old display cases at auction. I need to install some soft strip lights or lighten the interior perhaps....or not!

.

[patham]

A little more.

 

They had been in storage for a couple of years since moving from Josie. I picked up the old display cases at auction. I need to install some soft strip lights or lighten the interior perhaps....or not!

.AD5F56E2-E7D2-4605-90B8-7DCBE947A7BA.jpegA6052148-BDFA-4559-BD73-06969D199283.jpeg

 

Those are really cool, and kudos to you in being able to keep the collection - they are darn fragile.

 

In my teens that was all I did. Although as a teen I did not have the patience to do things properly - i.e I built first and painted later, never filed down bad joints etc. I had 1:72's of the B17, B24, Stirling bombers, C-47 etc. and 1:48's of some of the fighters P47, Spitfire, ME109 come to mind.

 

They never survived various moves. In my last year at Uni & first year at work I got into it again. This time with the patience to do it properly. 1:72 of a C-119, and then the one I was most proud of: a 1:48 of a F-105 Thunderchief. Again - destroyed in  moves. I have a 1:72 CH-53 Pave Low in the box (internals painted) that is waiting for me to start on it after a 20 year hiatus, my 10 yr old has a 1:72 F-15 Strike Eagle that he was given. Maybe its about time to get him started.

 

My dream kit was and probably still is a 1:24 Stuka. Would need a big display case for that...

 

If you want to see how awesome some scale modellers are in terms of the detail they can achieve, visit the modelling sections of the SAAF forum. I will never be at that level.

 

https://www.saairforce.co.za/forum/viewforum.php?f=12  

[patham]

 

Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird

 

 

I have a cool book out from the local library on the SR-71 (aus tax dollars at work). Amazing how advanced the A-12 and SR-71 were for their time. I have not read it properly yet (my 10 year old called dibs) but two things on paging through were interesting:

 

1. The use of advanced plastics. The leading edges of the wings and chines are actually some form of plastic for better heat resistance. I always thought the plane had high tech alloys for that reason.

 

2. The leaking fuel tanks. I knew that the tanks were designed with expansion joints to allow movement at high temperatures when going fast, resulting in leaks whilst cold but this book goes into detail as to what magnitude of leak (i.e. gallons per minute for some, drops per minute for others) was acceptable for each tank whilst on the ground. 

 

Edit: looked up the leakage in the Book (Col Graham, titled SR71 Complete Illustrated History- he was pilot of them for 15 years). There were 15 leak measurement zones, the largest of them - the DR Bay Area was allowed to leak at 0.95 Litres/minute per side as per the maintenance manual. Apparently the planes had their own drip trays. Still nothing compared to a Landy and its oil though !

Edited May 25, 2019 by patham

[Fruity]

Do any of you guys build these small plastic kits? I started some time ago when trying to show my son the relative size of modern fighters compared to what we had seen at the War Museum in Josie. Chose the 1/72nd scale for ease of display. Detail at my level is a bit compromised on the small scale, but it is fun. Carried on from there. I have not built for a few years but there are around 30 of the little things and around another 30 collected to still build!F411DF38-BF2B-4F09-9458-5CB4171493EB.jpegBDF904EA-0E3F-47CE-BD33-CFA96DA03055.jpeg873AD841-A88D-44C7-84DC-F71BF4B8D5A8.jpeg

I was actually thinking last night, of maybe getting a kit and attempt to build it. The last time I built something like that was when my dad was still alive, and that was just before 1990.

[kosmonooit]

I have a cool book out from the local library on the SR-71 (aus tax dollars at work). Amazing how advanced the A-12 and SR-71 were for their time. I have not read it properly yet (my 10 year old called dibs) but two things on paging through were interesting:

 

1. The use of advanced plastics. The leading edges of the wings and chines are actually some form of plastic for better heat resistance. I always thought the plane had high tech alloys for that reason.

 

2. The leaking fuel tanks. I knew that the tanks were designed with expansion joints to allow movement at high temperatures when going fast, resulting in leaks whilst cold but this book goes into detail as to what magnitude of leak (i.e. gallons per minute for some, drops per minute for others) was acceptable for each tank whilst on the ground.  

 

 

The other ground breaking tech on aircraft was the materials science: titanium alloy, 85% of the aircraft and the other 15% of the aircraft was made from polymer composite material as you mention, the days long before carbon fibre,

 

https://tmstitanium.com/the-lockheed-sr-71-blackbird/

Edited May 25, 2019 by kosmonooit

[patham]

I was actually thinking last night, of maybe getting a kit and attempt to build it. The last time I built something like that was when my dad was still alive, and that was just before 1990.

 

Go for it. The worst that can happen is you superglue your fingers together (separate under water, do not them touch again for the next few hours is what worked for me) or nearly slice your finger off because you are using the wrong tool for the job (swiss army pen knife folding blade folded onto my finger). That one should have required multiple stitches, but because I was a boy, home alone - nothing a band-aid or 20 couldn't fix.

[Patchelicious]

[Robbie Stewart]

Perspective!

[Spokey]

Wow, a lot of holds there, but I expect it was al worked out with available slots out of ORTIA and the meeting up with the Silver Falcons and possible speach overruns!

[Spokey]

I was actually thinking last night, of maybe getting a kit and attempt to build it. The last time I built something like that was when my dad was still alive, and that was just before 1990.

Do it! I was in Josie recently and picked up the paints for my Gloster Meteor and SE5a.

[Spokey]

Those are really cool, and kudos to you in being able to keep the collection - they are darn fragile.

 

In my teens that was all I did. Although as a teen I did not have the patience to do things properly - i.e I built first and painted later, never filed down bad joints etc. I had 1:72's of the B17, B24, Stirling bombers, C-47 etc. and 1:48's of some of the fighters P47, Spitfire, ME109 come to mind.

 

They never survived various moves. In my last year at Uni & first year at work I got into it again. This time with the patience to do it properly. 1:72 of a C-119, and then the one I was most proud of: a 1:48 of a F-105 Thunderchief. Again - destroyed in  moves. I have a 1:72 CH-53 Pave Low in the box (internals painted) that is waiting for me to start on it after a 20 year hiatus, my 10 yr old has a 1:72 F-15 Strike Eagle that he was given. Maybe its about time to get him started.

 

My dream kit was and probably still is a 1:24 Stuka. Would need a big display case for that...

 

If you want to see how awesome some scale modellers are in terms of the detail they can achieve, visit the modelling sections of the SAAF forum. I will never be at that level.

 

https://www.saairforce.co.za/forum/viewforum.php?f=12  

I went to the Model Engineer Exhibition a few times back when I lived in the UK. Talented peeps out there! Even the 1/72nds get some amazing detail. I do try and build neatly, as in trimming edges, careful painting etc, but over all, just for fun.

 

When I moved from Joburg I packed a max of two per shoe box and filled the box with polystyrene bean bag fiiller! All put into larger boxes. All that broke was a drop tank came off the Phantom F4, an easy fix. It was not difficult at all to clear the small polystyrene balls out of the models with a small paint brush.

 

I fancy to do some of the WWII bombers, in addition to that little Heinkel, but display space is tricky for those bigger models.

[Lotus]

Do any of you guys build these small plastic kits?

I built these some time ago, in 1:48 so that I could scratch-build some extra details (radiator flaps, guns details) and hand painted the P47 cowling and invasion stripes (the decals were crummy). Then weathered as appropriate.

 

I originally had hundreds of models to build, mostly F1 and racing sports cars, and some aircraft. I sold the entire stash off a couple of years ago when priorities changed. I'm shocked at what the high end kits cost nowadays, and when you add on the costs of after-market detailing kits, airbrushes, and all the other stuff you end up getting you realise this is an expensive hobby. (I sold an un-built limited edition F1 Senna 1:24 scale Toleman to Australia for about R6k).

 

If you want to get into the hobby there are lots of websites and YouTube videos to get ideas from. The local modelling clubs are also a good place to start. In Jhb the scale model club meets at the War Museum once a month (last time I checked).

 

It's a fun hobby, and the guys who build kits develop a huge knowledge of the subjects they build (and those that take it to extremes are called "rivet counters").

[RoddieJ]

Just got this message from a Buddy earlier today...

 

“About an hour or so ago they did a flypast while I was in Griffith road next to Emperor's. They were even lower (200ft limit? Maybe) than they were the other day. Then they did a split climb with a roll as they cleared the runway. I was waiting for the wings to fall off. Spectacular.”