easixpedro

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

They have spruces for E E and G! And IPs for early birds, as well as the ACS cockpit. They have both the leading edge flap for the E & F, as well as the dog tooth for the G. The price is supposed to be $69, and looks superb!

And OBTW, anyone else notice the Revell 1/32 Super Hornet sprues?! They have stuff for what looks like F/A-18 E-GS! Seriously, there's ALQ-99 pods and ALQ-218 wingtip pods, plus various ECS stacks/vents. They had a little sticky on it saying $69. If so, it'll blow the Trumpy kits away!

Well, the rain is better than the 115 deg (heat index) we were having over the weekend. Should be nice the rest of the week though. Dropped off my dioramas (large Kitty Hawk scene and a few others) today. It was a blast! Can't wait to head back. Peter

Its been varying...it's supposed to be from 9pm-6am, but they had it shut off one night at around 7... Honestly, if it's closed go to the next exit and come back around from the other direction (though that overpass is pretty bumpy with potholes) welcome to construction season.

Folks, as a heads up for anyone driving Westbound I-80, exit 442 for Giles RD (right next to the convention) is experiencing nightly closures. It bit me for the second time (they seem to close at different times than the signs indicate) and I ended up detouring a long way around to get home from a swim meet tonight. Thought I would warn folks before everyone gets close and then realizes they're unable to exit as they drive past the hotel... -Peter

Cool, enjoy! I did an internship there one summer during college. It was a blast and I learned a lot--have lots of fond memories of Tucson

Love it! Especially that raft. I made some for a vignette I made of the USS Franklin many moons ago. A pita to get right, but it looks like you're off to a great start. Thanks for sharing Peter

There's a great distillery about 1/2 mile from the convention center. Patriarch Distillery--they have limited hours, but it's a great place. Lucky Bucket and Nebraska Brewing company are both within 2 miles. There's also an Alamo DraftHouse (movie theater, with a great bar about 100 yards away) plenty of places to meet up and chat with folks!