easixpedro

Akihabara! It’s the “geek district” meaning anime and hobby shops galore! Volks’ has a big store, plus Yellow Submarine and a ton I can’t remember. Was stationed there twice and miss it greatly. So much to do and see...

Omg, tell me you painted the ties along the wiring! If you tied them like the real deal, I’m going to start another hobby... I’m stunned. Peter

Dude, I feel your pain with the canopies...that’s what stalled my 1/24th bird. No easy solution. But that being said, you nailed it. It might not have the changing hues of the 1:1 bird, but they changed constantly and look the part in the pic. Can’t wait for my next trip to PAX so I can see it in person! Peter

Yes please!

I’m not gonna lie...I check this site everyday, hoping that you’ve posted an update on her. Haven’t touched a kit in 10 months and I’m trying to live vicariously through you improving this kit! Peter

Honestly, it depends. Helmets were introduced circa 2005ish. Took awhile to outfit, and even then pilots don’t always fly with them (depends on a lot of variables, including qualifications etc). I’d take a look at the www.navy.mil photo gallery and go after what squadron your looking for. You can even see the pilot and WSO wearing different helmets in the 2-seat squadrons, when both have the capability to use it. another detail is the sensor system in the cockpit...am guessing the Revell missed that detail. Jake Melampy’s Book covers it quite well. HTH -Peter

Beautiful...thanks for sharing!

Damn Pig. I can small the BO and Copenhagen...that’s some seriously sharp painting!

Honestly, I think we’re all overthinking it. The real one has fore and aft seams and is split in three pieces. I’d make a mold and cast one, or carve the basic shape, and then smash mold some pieces to trim following the same seams as the real deal. Food for thought. I don’t have the kit, but when I get it, that’s how I plan on tackling it. HTH Peter

Following up on this...did some more digging on APT-2 Carpet Jammers. (I'm an old EA-6B ECMO, so I might have nerded out a bit). Found a couple of links that may be of interest for folks. http://www.rkk-museum.ru/documents/archives/images/52b-45-01.pdf (it's a pdf scan of a wartime document called "Radio and Radar equipment used by the USAAF" shows all the black box and antenna locations) http://aafradio.org/ is a goldmine. Check out "Old Crows Corner" and "Docs" He's got pictures of the equipment, plus tons of photos of PBY-2s for those so inclined. Also, if you haven't read Alfred Price's "Instruments of Darkness" I can't recommend it enough. It's the EW history of WWII. -Peter

Ah yes. Cool, thank you! Have read about it, just never seen the install! Funny thing about this a/c. My uncle said that his waist window was blown out and never replaced in the rest of his 35 missions. When they finally did, it was lost on the very next mission. He came home and never got in an airplane again! Literally drove all over the country for vacations etc, but never flew.... thanks again -Peter

Hey folks, Have been thinking about pulling the trigger, because I'd love to build my uncle's a/c. He was a RTO/Waist Gunner in the 461st BG, 15th AF. Not too concerned about the kit as I'll have to modify it to an L variant anyway. My question though, is what are the little fairings underneath the fuselage? Seems to be at least 4 aerodynamic fairings covering some sort of antenna? At least that's my guess... What say the crowd? Iain, Am loving what you're doing, as it'll allow me to build one that I've wanted to for years! -Peter

Not sure if you follow Jalopnik, but one of their contributors drove out in a Jeep he acquired for $800. Pretty fun reading it, but I'm glad it was him and not me! Cool photos and thanks for sharing. Love that part of the country... Peter

Marcel, It's called a Jury Strut. As Finn alludes, they're used when not going flying for sometime, especially if the a/c is towed elsewhere. Taxiing with the wings folded isn't good for them, but ok for taxiing to the catapult or from the landing area. They're usually removed before aircrew arrive to preflight the a/c. HTH Peter

Bill, I highly recommend John Roberts "Anatomy of the Ship: The Aircraft Carrier Intrepid" by John Roberts (naval institute press). Its got plans and drawings of pretty much every frame on the ship. While probably more detail than you need, I used it when building that Franklin dio that was at Nats. I just blew up the drawings from 1/350 to 1/48 and started building. Of course my photos of the build over at Z5 bit the dust with the great photobucket saga of 2017, but I'm trying to figure out the best way to put all my builds on a single webpage. USN colors of the era are problematic at best. The changed continuously and weren't always followed as ships stayed at sea fighting. Polly Scale used to have the deck colors down pat...of course those paints are long gone. I used their "5N" color which was perfect for the late war color. I'll leave you with the thought that nothing simulates the wood deck like real wood. It's easy to stain like the real deal, and then scruff up and sand etc to show the wear and tear. Washes even work well to simulate the continuous oil drips of radial engines. HTH Peter