Harv

...Interesting pic! Normally, Intake & exhaust covers are considered FOD hazards themselves, and are NOT seen on the flightdeck of a carrier. The picture is unusual as it shows aircraft spotted on the center of the deck vice along the edges as would normally be seen. My guess is that this shot was taken in preparation for some kind of 'open house' type visit, and definately not 'the norm'. So, I'd say for 99% of the time, the answer is 'no FOD covers on deck'; but if you are happy with photographic proof that Navy jets have been parked on the flightdeck with FOD covers, the answer is 'yes'. Boils down to two things: How you present your aircraft & how much you care if it is 'authentic'...IF you just want your Hornet on a flightdeck base and use the FOD covers, go for it. IF you're showing it on the flightdeck being prepped for a launch, pilot doing pre-flight, etc. probably FOD covers would be out of place. If you are satisfied that you have seen photographic proof that it COULD happen, then great- you're covered (no pun intended) either way. And if you just want to build & show it with FOD covers to 'take the easy way out' as you stated, then build it how you like, and be happy with your efforts! Oh, and as far as the carrier name on the aircraft- that does NOT mean that they cannot/don't operate from land bases. One-Oh-Four was correct; VFA-125 (NJ/356 pictured above) is the PacFlt (West Coast) FRS (Fleet Replacement Squadron) - And is a shore-based command (NAS Lemoore in central California). When these squadrons take their students out for the carrier landing/ops evolution part of their training, the squadron will typically add the name of the carrier utilized during the CQ (carrier qualification) portion. That CQ portion may last anywhere from a few days to several weeks, depending upon the number of student pilots to CQ, the different aircraft involved, and training of the carrier (ship's company) - they all need to train, too! Happy modeling (and post pics of your progress!)

...Aaaand cue sound effect of "needle scratching across record". Wow. Russ, you've jumped off the train and into the fire, to mix metaphors! I have the 'notorious' Cutting Edge (Wild Hare Ass'n) resin conversion meant for the Tamiya kit, and I haven't had the guts to slice into that, yet...while you just forge ahead with a half-built, POS Kangman, putty, sheet stock and some drawings. Awesome.

...Wow! already added to the database! Quick work, Kevin!

New email sent w/ a couple more pics & a little more kit info...

Kevin, just sent you an email with 17 new images, including one kit not previously included- the Atomic City/MRC Project: Mercury capsule & escape tower in 1/12. I've also sent some detail info & a couple correction items in a small Excel file. Hope this helps!

Russ, don't know if it matters much to you, but it appears that the picture shows your intrepid Norse pilot sittin' on something that proably is supposed to represent either an ESCAPAC (used in the prototype YF-16) or a Stencel ejection seat (used in the Full Scale Development a/c), which I believe are what your kit markings (and box picture) show it to be. I'm pretty sure the production F-16s all had ACES II seats fitted; and if any of the earliest models were delivered with anything else, I'm 99.9% positive that they were all replaced with ACES units. Not a critique; just wanted to point it out in case you care one way or the other. I've got a number of F-16 kits in my stash, some with AM cockpits- I'm sure I could scrounge you up a spare ACES II if you want one.

...Sadly (well, maybe not for Hasegawa), the Kangman is NOT a Hasegawa re-box, but rather a 'knock-off'. I've heard it referred-to as one of those 'unbuildibles' due to poor fit and bad moldings. The Fit and accuracy of the 1/32 Hase F-16s may not be up to the standard of Tamiya's latest big Vipers (which are exquisite examples of model engineering and fit), but are pretty good for kits that are 20 some-odd years old. Regardless, as always, Russ you are beating it into submission!

...The panels ARE there on the F-14; just not nearly as 'proud' of the surface as Tamiya molded them. So, really, it is whatever looks best to your eye...left in-place at 'some' level above the surrounding fuselage surface, or sanded down to 'level' as more paneling- which is probably closer in-scale to their height above the surface, which is why they don't show up well (if at all) in most pictures. FWIW...

'Bout time you showed up over here, Pig- Welcome aboard! ..."We Likes 'Em BIG!"

Typhoonattack1, M1Carbine, LSP_Dave: Thanks for the kind words of encouragement! Most appreciated- Brian- Thanks for the input. I'm aware of the Nautilus Models jig - and agree it sounds like a good solution to help get everything on the Tamiya Phantom lined-up - just haven't gotten around to picking one up yet! Per the write-up you linked to, yes, you are correct on the attachment angle of outer wing panel (OWP) - (i.e. amount of dihedral between the main wing & the OWP): "...One of the most difficult portion of assembly is ensuring the outer wing panels are set at the proper dihedral and the horizontal stabilizers are set at the proper anhedral... It is then possible to set the proper angles to the four parts requiring precise alignment." I'm not so worried (at this point) about the angle of the horizontal stabs, as I'm trying to assemble the empennage without having to resort to cutting & then re-gluing the H-stab pivot in order to assemble it. Thanks again for the suggestion & links-

Wow. Seeing this 'in-person' just might make the drive from the coast over to Phoenix in August worth the effort...

...Hey! This jet looks remarkably similar to the one I've just ressurrected in the stalled group build! Nice, clean job- well done!

...Thanks, Texas - Here are a couple more recent pictures. First up - I've closed up the fuselage (added the lower fuse/wing piece); upper cockpit areas are Tamiya 'Nato Black'; RIO's upper IP is just set in place, and will get wiring added to the back (front?) of the intsruments; I've faired-in the intakes at the top & bottom (per the ARC build, I used the kit parts, but built-up the insides of the intakes to smooth the transition to the rear intake portion), and had started to sand down the so-called battle repair patches, but decided that once the paint, decals & weathering were done, they won't seem so prominent. I've given everything (on top) a shot of Gunze "Gull Gray", which is kind of a semi-gloss. I like Floquil 'Reefer White' for the bottom and other white parts...it is a flat finish, but I'll gloss-coat later. Next up - An over-all look at the port side. She's up on her gear (well, for now...I really like that Tamiya uses screws to hold the metal gear legs in place. Easy to temporarily install and then remove as desired.)...radome and tail are just taped in-place 'for effect'. The hot-metal areas under the tail & the horizontal stabs are 'snap-fitted': I've left the last inch or so at the rear of the fuselage (back near the engine exhausts) unglued so I can slip the BMF piece (& H. stabs) off for ease of empennage painting down the road. Starboard side view. Outer wing panels are done; but I've yet to decide how to tackle the 25-degree angle that needs to be reduced to the proper 12-1/2 degrees, so they are not yet attached. Unlike their Navy counterparts launching from carriers, Marines operating from Da Nang often preferred using the twin wing tanks on their outer pylons - which is what I'll use on this bird. Centerline station will carry a MER with 6 rockeye, poached from the mass numbers contained in each of my 3 or 4 Tamiya F-15Es in the stash; inner wing pylons will have the standard double-sidewinder rails (empty), with TERs below, each armed-up with 3 LAU-10, 4-shot Zunis for troop support. (The six resin Zunis are from Dave Roof's Orion Models). The two forward missile rails will sport AIM-7E Sparrows from the kit for some air-to-air protection, decorated with TwoBobs markings. Sorry for the less-than-stellar pictures; wanted to post something quick that was more representative of the current state of progress. More later, thanks for checking-in & I humbly invite any/all critiques/feedback.

Okay, these shots of the cockpit were taken back in late October, in fact, on Hallowe'en night. These are the most recent shots I have on file in my computer, but I have made more progress since then. Will add more pics to catch everything up to date, but this is where I was before stalling at the holidays: Shot of the kit cockpits with basic colors and some dry-brushing: The Pilot's cockpit - from the other side: RIO's office - also from the right (I had some problems with the radar scope decal...it folded and wrinkled all over. I've since removed it and just painted it reddish-orange: Front & Rear 'buttoned up' in the fuselage (Note the upper IP added to the RIO's cockpit): Last one: Another view of the front pit: Thanks for looking - More to come!

Started this one in October 08, while recuperating from a heart attack. Actually part of an ARC Group Build: "Gone But Not Forgotten" aircraft & squadrons. Here's a shot of the opening intro from that thread. I got a good jump on it (since I was home for a chunk of time & couldn't do much else), but got bogged-down around the holidays. Picked it back up again, and once more, got bogged-down around the holidays. Here is a link to the thread of that Group Build: F-4J ARC Build Thread Many thanks to those (mentioned in the linked article) for their help! I've made much progress since my last entry there, but still far from finishing...Will post some more pictures to update the status from here. Maybe I'll break my GB streak of 'entered but not finished'.