easixpedro

Ouch! That stinks...fixable with some metal tubing and wire inserts? When I looked at your earlier pics, I was thinking that'd be my mod/fix before even attaching 'em. Watching your progress makes me really hope they do a whole family of Hueys--boggles the mind that such an iconic platform isn't currently kitted. -Peter

Alrighty Amigos. We're back. Thought I would start back in easy and work on some bits for the front cockpit. Up first was the glare shield and the covering. Some pretty significant differences between the Intruder and Prowler, especially the lack of a sight. As molded by Trumpeter, it shows a fairly rigid cover. In real life its covered by vinyl. Or Naughahyde from the mythical Naugabeast as we used to joke. It was usually in tatters after cooking and freezing in all sorts of environs. So I set about to replicate it with a bit of foil. That and I had to trim the part abit to get a natural drape--there's nothing under the real deal other than all the wiring for the IP. Here it is after a coat of paint and some dry brushing to show the folds. On the real deal, those folds are often where the vinyl is starting to rub through. Ive seen 'em with tears and the maintenance folks would just tuck it back up into place, so I tried to replicate that with a really rough look. And the vent in the middle is a piece from a metal coffee filter. You can also see the radar hoods i was toying around with. It's just a styrene tube that I heated and molded to shape. And here's how it'll look under the windscreen. Up next should be the front cockpit instrument panels. Happy to be back at work on her! -Peter

What’s the airframe it’s on? Is it a squadron marking? Lots of 50s and 60s squadrons used that shape…otherwise I agree it looks like the standard Collins marking.

Thanks Maru!

Mathieu, thank you. You're on track to blow this out of the water with what you've already shown us. Even better, you've made the drawings available for everyone to attempt it. That's what I like about this joint: everyone is willing to share and we all learn and improve. Anthony, you're making me blush. Was fun having someone as crazy as me working on the same (ish) airframe. Can't wait to see what you've got in store for us, as she's going to be a stunner when done. Now back to that cockpit! -Peter

Thanks man! Ye’ old girl has been waiting patiently and is now back on the workbench. Lots of thoughts on what and how to tackle the next bits. More on that soon!

Thanks Ron! Doing the scene with a Phantom is easier as that hook is so monstrous that it makes a good anchor to mount the model.

Done! Link here for the RFI section Thanks to all the followed along and humored me with encouragement along the way! -Peter

Almost 9 months to the day, we're done! Build log is here: If you remember this picture--it is the scene I wanted to recreate, but from the Kitty Hawk's 66-67 Tonkin Gulf cruise. Think it came out pretty well. Here's a couple more (actually tough to photograph) Thanks to everyone for following along and your encouragement. Hopefully I showed how easy it is to make a B out of the J kit. She's by no means perfect, and definitely won't win any awards, but I'm happy to have recreated the scene I had in my head. Now back to the Prowler build! -Peter

Here's a teaser. Have 1 TER done, working on the other. Then I can mount the tail and mount her to the base. First time using Eduard aftermarket stuff. Holy crap their decals are fiddly. Super thin and look great, but I attempted to wet a bunch at once to knock out a couple of LAUs in an assembly line method. Realized the error of my ways rather quickly. Salvaged enough to press on, but not a fun way to wrap up the last bits. Hope to have her done and get some good photos for the RFI section tomorrow. -Peter

Nope. One or the other (that I remember, but never flew with JHMCS). And they only wear goggles while flying--not during takeoff or landing, especially at the ship. Not sure if I'm an expert anymore...things are changing so rapidly. The latest air wing curtently deployed on Carl Vinson is light years ahead of my first air wing, and frankly my last one from a decade ago. The march of time I guess.

Yup, it’s JHMCS. Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System. As John says, it displays the HUD and other stuff, no matter where the aircrew are looking. Came out around 2005 and has been standard since. Peter

They do tend to crank it up in these videos. Honestly one of the things I miss the most. The young kids keeping me on my toes regarding new music. Always fun to walk into a shop full of 18-22 year olds and sit and talk music…one of those things that bonds in any culture.

Friend just sent me this…VFA-154’s 2021 cruise video. Better cinematography than you see in a lot of movies these days. Lots of good details if you aren’t blown away by it all. -Peter

Ok, down to the last fiddly bits. Punch list has just a few items left, and these showed up in the mail today I've made them in the past, but went the easy route and put the frangible nose cone on the front and the RF barrier on the back. Doesn't work for an in flight scene after the rockets have been fired. The thing that tripped me up was the little edge around the outside. Six tries under my belt and I couldn't hack it. Pretty simple to use some styrene tubing with inserts for the rocket tubes. But that edge... I couldn't get something that fit the circumference and still fit the tubes to create the edge. But that's where resin comes to the rescue, shown here next to one of my earlier efforts. Will get all of them built up and mounted to the TERs. Then I can wrap up the last bits and secure it to the base. More in the next few days! -Peter